In the first direct contact after six months, Antony Blinken and Serghiei Lavrov had a direct but difficult confrontation. Many hot topics were discussed in the phone call, one above all the question of the exchange of prisoners between Washington and Moscow. According to information reported by CNN, it seems Russia has responded to the US proposal, informally through its secret services. Topping the list of names would be the infamous ‘death merchant’ Viktor Bout. Russia also wants the release of another controversial figure: Vadim Krasikov, a former FSB spy sentenced to life in prison for the murder in Berlin in 2019.
S&P Global Ratings cut Ukraine’s long-term debt rating by three notches, saying the recently announced plan to postpone payments means a default is “a virtual certainty”.
The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic reported the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners in an attack on a prison in the city of Olenivka. Exchange of accusations with Kiev that speaks of a “false flag operation” and asks the UN and the International Red Cross to send an inspection mission to the prison. In corroborating his thesis, the Kiev communiqué points out that no prison staff member, Russian soldier or separatist militant is killed or injured.
The case – Ukraine, the sentence of the young soldier sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes reduced to 15 years
Analysis – A soldier strike like in 1917, the only hope for achieving peace
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00.03 – Kiev opens investigation into attack on prisoners of war
Ukraine’s Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the attack on the pro-Russian-controlled Olinivka prison in Donbass and where more than 50 prisoners of war were killed, according to accusations made by Kiev in Moscow. «The occupants hit the territory of the prison n. 120 “, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that 130 people were injured. Ukraine and Russia accused each other of responsibility for the massacre. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of being responsible for the attack and called on the international community to condemn what he called a “brutal violation of international humanitarian law”.
00.01 – UN “shocked” by video castration, no to torture
The United Nations has called on “all parties” to the conflict in Ukraine to avoid torture after the release of a video in which the Russians seem to emasculate a Ukrainian prisoner of war. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said it was “shocked” by the images, according to the Kyiv Independent. Mykhail Podolyak, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed the authenticity of the video that circulates on various social channels and in which a group of alleged Russian soldiers cut the genitals of a prisoner of war. The video initially shared on pro-Russian Telegram channels was then relaunched by several Ukrainian politicians to denounce the war crimes perpetrated in the country by the Moscow army.
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