It is the 135th day of the war in Ukraine. Putin threatens the West: “We haven’t started getting serious yet.” Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Kiev that it should quickly accept Moscow’s terms or prepare for the worst. Speaking at a meeting with the leaders of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, the leader accused the West of fueling hostilities.
Meanwhile, the Russian army is trying to eliminate the last pockets of resistance in Lugansk and to push into Donetsk. The aim is thus to occupy the entire Donbass mining basin, which pro-Russian separatists had partially controlled since 2014. But for this they have to take Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the two largest cities in the region that are still in Ukrainian hands. Moscow troops are pressing Ukrainian forces around Sloviansk. And in the face of the advance of Russian forces, the evacuation of civilians continues in the cities: Sloviansk, which had 110,000 inhabitants before the war, has been the target of massive Russian bombings for several days.
Russian cruise missiles hit and destroyed agricultural hangars with tons of grain in the Odessa region overnight. Meanwhile, the Russian ship Zhibek Zholy, blocked because it was carrying stolen Ukrainian wheat, left the waters in front of the Turkish port of Karasu, a hundred kilometers east of Istanbul on Wednesday. Kiev summoned the Turkish ambassador to the foreign ministry, calling it “unacceptable” that the ship was released by Turkey “ignoring the appeal of Ukraine”.
How to donate – Mirror of the Times Foundation
Follow the updates hour by hour
00.01 – Zelensky: Britain’s support will not change
“Britain’s support for Ukraine shouldn’t change, no matter what happens in London’s circles of power. Britain’s role in protecting freedom is truly global. ” This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the usual evening video, after the resignation of Boris Johnson.
Yesterday’s news and insights