Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said yesterday that more than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers, including hundreds of wounded, are still at the Azovstal plant in the Russian-controlled southern city of Mariupol.
“More than a thousand” Ukrainian soldiers are still at the plant and “hundreds of them have been wounded,” she told AFP. There are seriously injured people in need of emergency evacuation. The situation is getting worse every day.”
Meanwhile, fighting is raging in southern and eastern Ukraine, and US arms shipments to Kyiv are expected to accelerate after US President Joe Biden activated a symbolic gear from World War II.
The city of Odessa was hit with rockets, and the Ukrainian army counted seven hits, resulting in one death and five wounded. European Council President Charles Michel was forced into hiding during a surprise visit to the city in the south of the country.
And Michel turned to the Ukrainians with the words: “You are not alone. The European Union is on your side,” he said, condemning “Russian aggression” against Ukraine.
And the Ukrainian General Staff said yesterday morning that the Russians “continue to prepare offensive operations in the Limansky and Severodonetsky regions” located in the Donbass (east), adding that shelling and air strikes on the Azovstal plant in the city of Mariupol continue.
The governor of the Lugansk region (east) Sergei Gaidai said that “very sharp battles are going on around Robyzhne and Belogorivka”, which are within his region.
In turn, Washington is watching the session of the Russian military industry, which, according to the Pentagon, has begun to suffer from international sanctions and is having difficulty obtaining supplies of guided missiles used in Ukraine due to the ban, especially on radio-electronic components, according to official who wished to remain anonymous.
“There are Ukrainians who are being sent to Russia against their will,” said US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby, without specifying how many, while Kyiv says 1.2 million people have been sent to Russia and placed in camps.
Japan announces new package of sanctions
Yesterday, Japan announced new sanctions against Russia, freezing the assets of more individuals and banning the export of advanced goods to Russian organizations, including research institutions.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after an online meeting of G7 leaders the day before yesterday that Japan would “in principle” ban the import of Russian crude oil as part of the group’s campaign to counter the Russian invasion. Ukraine.
“For a country that is heavily dependent on[импорта энергии]it is a very difficult decision,” he added in a government statement. But coordination with the G7 is most important at a time like this. a[رداتالطاقة،فهذاقرارصعبللغايةلكنالتنسيقمعمجموعةالسبعهوالأهمفيوقتكهذا
Last week, Fumio Kishida warned that the invasion of Ukraine could be repeated in East Asia if the major powers did not unite, saying peace and stability must be maintained in the Taiwan Strait. He added that the time has come for the G7 countries to strengthen their unity.
Lavrov arrived in Algeria on an unannounced visit
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Algeria yesterday on a previously unannounced visit, during which he is expected to meet with his counterpart Ramtan Lamamra and President Abdelmajid Tebbun, Algiers International TV reported.
The official channel stated that “the visit is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Algeria and Russia”, without further details.
Neither the Russian nor the Algerian Foreign Ministry had previously announced a visit, and Lavrov’s agenda for this week did not include a visit to Algeria or any other country in the Maghreb region.
Last month, the Algerian president was on the phone with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and “the two presidents agreed on the importance of exchanging high-level visits between officials from the two countries and the upcoming meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation,” which was postponed due to the pandemic. coronavirus, according to the President of Algeria.
Le Drian: Putin’s speech is full of denials
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFMTV that the Russian president “justifies the motives for the war in a completely revisionist way.” His rhetoric is full of denial and reversal of responsibility.”
In a video released an hour before the Russian president’s speech, Zelenskiy said: “We will not let anyone take this victory and own it.” But French President Emmanuel Macron urged on Monday not to “humiliate” Russia because “tomorrow there will be a world that we must build.”
Instead of Kyiv joining the European Union, a process that would take “decades”, Macron proposed the creation of a “European political organization” including, in particular, Ukraine, as well as “European democracies that believe in our fundamental values.”
UN Human Rights Session to Consider Aggression
Tomorrow, the UN Human Rights Council will hold an extraordinary meeting at the request of Kyiv and with the support of dozens of countries to consider the “deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression.”
On the same day, the UN Security Council, at the request of France and Mexico, will hold a new open meeting, the 16th since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The meeting came after Russian shelling blew up a school in eastern Ukraine late last week, killing at least 60 civilians, according to Kyiv.
German Foreign Minister visits Ukrainian Bucha… and a red object on the head of the Russian ambassador
German Foreign Minister Annaline Bierbock-Bucha, where Russian soldiers are accused of killing civilians, visited Ukraine during a surprise visit to Ukraine.
Burbuk, who met with residents of the Kyiv suburbs on a previously unannounced visit, is the latest in a group of diplomats and foreign leaders to visit Bucha, one of several towns and villages surrounding Kyiv where Russian soldiers are accused of war crimes.
In addition, the Russian ambassador to Poland was attacked by pro-Ukrainian demonstrators who threw a red substance symbolizing blood on his shirt and head as he prepared to lay a wreath at a cemetery in Warsaw where Soviet soldiers died during World War II. put.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, citing RIA, said that Russia does not plan to close its embassies in Europe in response to the unfriendly measures of the West and the expansion of sanctions against Moscow. “This is not in our tradition,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA. “Therefore, we believe that the work of diplomatic missions is important,” Reuters reports. Moscow then sent a note of “strong protest.”
