After the stalemate of the meeting in Turkey, Putin, during the meeting with his counterpart from Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, made it known that on the negotiations with Ukraine “there are some positive developments, as our negotiators told me” . Kiev denies. Meanwhile, Ukrainian TV and media report explosions in Lutsk, north-west of the country, as well as in Dnipro, an inland city on the Dnieper River, in the central-eastern part. Missiles and cannon fire were also reported in Ivano-Frankivsk in the southwest, a hundred kilometers south of Lviv. Ukrainian authorities have reported that a Russian raid hit the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, home to an experimental nuclear reactor.
Moscow accuses the United States of carrying out “military biological activities in Ukraine”, with the request to convene the meeting of the UN Security Council today. Zelensky replies by denying that chemical weapons are manufactured in his country and saying that he is concerned that it is a pretext for carrying out attacks with prohibited weapons: “If you want to know Russia’s plans, look at what Russia accuses others of planning,” he says. Moscow strengthens Russia’s western borders against NATO (but does not foresee its closure, the Kremlin specifies) and claims that there are 16,000 volunteers from various Middle Eastern countries ready to be drafted to fight in the Donbass. At Versailles, Europe decides new strategies on common defense and energy dependence.
The mayor of Melitopol kidnapped by the Russian military: “Taken away with a bag on his head”
Live updates hour by hour
00.13 – Zelensky: the kidnapping of the mayor of Melitopol sign of weakness of the Russians
The kidnapping of the mayor of Melitopol “is the sign of the weakness of the invader who has not found support on our land: they have been counting on us and telling for years how in Ukraine they would have welcomed them with joy. Instead they did not find collaborators who would hand over the cities and power to them and therefore they moved to the new level of terrorism, trying to liquidate the legitimate representatives of the government ». This was stated in a message by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, observing that “evidently in Russia during the years of autocratic power, people are no longer used to the fact that the mayor is the person chosen by the citizens of a particular city”.
00.02 – Deutsche Bank withdraws from Russia
Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, will withdraw from Russia, following in the footsteps of other international financial institutions. “We are reducing our remaining assets in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements,” the group said in a statement.
00.01 – The Pentagon: no evidence of Belarusian presence
The United States has no evidence of the presence of Belarusian troops in Ukraine. This was declared by the Pentagon: “We have no indication of Belarusian troops or forces that have moved inside Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaking to reporters. “We are not seeing any imminent involvement by the Belarusian forces,” he added. “That’s not to say it couldn’t happen,” the spokesperson added. To report it is The Telegraph.
Yesterday’s news and insights
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