MOSCOW — After openly suggesting that Ukraine may give up land to Russia in exchange for Nato membership and an end to the war, a top Nato official has since apologized and clarified his views. NATO Secretary General’s Chief of Staff Stian Jenssen gave an interview to the VG newspaper, where his quotes were first published. I made an insensitive remark about this during a roundtable discussion of potential outcomes in Ukraine. A blunder,” he said. Ukraine’s deputy defense minister announced that after retaking the Donetsk area village of Urozhaine from Russian forces, Ukrainian soldiers have dug in on the outskirts of the city. On Wednesday morning, Hanna Maliar announced on the Telegram messaging service that the community had been freed, and that offensive operations were still ongoing.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian air force reported that a big fleet of Russian army drones had entered the Danube River’s mouth and were proceeding toward the Izmail River port, which is located close to the Romanian border. Oleh Kiper, governor of the southern Odesa region, issued a shelter-in-place order for the Izmail district at 1:30 a.m. (2230 GMT) and then lifted it an hour later. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that it has shot down three Ukrainian drones southwest of Moscow. At 5:00 a.m., Ukraine launched a strike using “three unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the Kaluga region,” the ministry claimed on Telegram.
An extensive air attack on the western Ukrainian regions of Lviv and Volyn left three dead, several injured, and numerous buildings damaged. Lviv’s mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, said, “Many missiles were shot down, but there were also hits in Lviv,” adding that residents of at least one burning apartment building were ordered to flee. A security conference between Russia and its Asian, Middle Eastern, and African allies was held just outside of Moscow, just hours before the barrage. The key rate at the Bank of Russia is now 12%, up from 8.5% before. While the rouble hit a new low on Monday, it was not mentioned in the announcement announcing the hike. As a result of the central bank’s action, the ruble strengthened.
According to RIA, quoting a Moscow court, Russia issued Reddit its first ever fine for failing to remove “banned content” that featured “fake” information regarding Russia’s military assault in Ukraine. In Russia, Reddit has joined the ranks of Wikimedia, Twitch, and Google in being investigated for hosting content that the government there considers unlawful. The German government has abandoned its ambition to make a binding legal commitment to NATO’s yearly 2% military budget target.
According to the authorities, three Bulgarian nationals living in the United Kingdom were arrested and charged with spying for Russia. After a lengthy counter-terrorism investigation, five people, including the defendants, were arrested in February. The Metropolitan police, who are in charge of espionage cases, say that three of them were subsequently charged with possession of counterfeit identification documents. President of Ukraine’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak suggested that after Russian strikes destroyed a sports center in Dnipro, Russian athletes should be barred from competing internationally. Kira Rudik, a member of parliament and the head of the liberal Golos party in Ukraine, has also indicated that her country will skip the Olympics if Russia and Belarus take part.
On Tuesday, Assimi Goita, the military leader of Mali, announced he had called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the coup in neighboring Niger. Mali’s interim president, Assimi Goita, said on Twitter that Putin had “emphasized the importance of a peaceful resolution of the situation for a more stable Sahel.” The Kremlin said Mali had made first contact. The statement went on to say, “The parties specifically focused on the current situation in the Sahara-Sahel region and emphasized, in particular, the importance of settling the situation in the Republic of Niger solely through peaceful political and diplomatic means.”
Russia and North Korea’s leaders have urged for closer collaboration, but the United States has warned that any arms agreement between the two countries would be in violation of United Nations regulations. Vedant Patel, a spokesman for the US Department of State, told reporters, “Any kind of security cooperation or arms deal between North Korea and Russia would certainly violate a series of UN security council resolutions.”
On Tuesday, the government of Sweden announced that it will give Ukraine ammunition and replacement parts for weapon systems valued more than $300 million (£240 million). At a news conference, Defense Minister Pal Jonson revealed that Sweden would be sending its 13th military aid package to Ukraine, consisting of ammunition and spare components to the tune of roughly 3.4 billion kronor ($313m/£250m). Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, announced on Tuesday that the country would spend roughly $35 million to construct additional fortifications and military infrastructure in the northeastern districts that border Russia and Belarus.
The Ukrainian president, Zelenskiy, traveled to the Zaporizhzhia area in the country’s southeast on Tuesday to meet with troops participating in the counteroffensive against Russian forces, according to the president’s office. According to the president’s office, the video was shot at the frontline command center of the 46th separate airmobile brigade near the town of Orikhiv, where Zelenskiy was seen with top Ukrainian soldiers studying a battlefield map. On Tuesday, Russia and North Korea called for even more cooperation, this time extending to the defense industry. According to AFP, relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have improved since the Kremlin sent soldiers to Ukraine and launched widespread skirmishes last year.
