8:57 a.m.: “Numerous” nighttime drone strikes reported in Belgorod region, Russia says
“Numerous” drone strikes targeted Russia’s Belgorod region Tuesday night, said the governor of that region, which has been rocked by a recent incursion by armed groups from Ukraine.
“The night wasn’t really quiet. There have been many drone attacks. Anti-aircraft defense took care of a large part of it,” regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, specifying that these attacks nevertheless damaged vehicles, houses and public buildings in the region, but without causing any casualties.
8:00 a.m.: Black Sea grain deal, three new ships allowed to go to Ukraine
Three new ships are allowed to participate in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the United Nations announced after Moscow agreed to a two-month extension to the deal. However, according to Kiev, Russia is impeding the implementation of this initiative. Details from our correspondent in Ukraine, Gulliver Cragg.
6:07 am: Russia says it will achieve “all of its goals” in Ukraine
Russia will achieve “all of its goals” in Ukraine through its “special military operation” or otherwise, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Wednesday.
“Russia is focused on conducting its ‘special military operation’: defending its interests and achieving its goals through this operation or other available means,” Dmitry Peskov said.
Moscow routinely portrays its offensive in Ukraine as a “special military operation,” which Kyiv and the West brand as an invasion.
5:42 a.m.: Russia and China want to sign bilateral agreements
Russia and China are preparing to sign a series of bilateral agreements in which both countries pledge to step up their cooperation despite criticism from the West.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mikhoustin has held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Prime Minister Li Qiang, according to the Russian government.
“As a result of these talks, many bilateral agreements are expected to be signed,” Russia’s Interfax news agency reported, without giving further details.
The visit comes after Moscow and Beijing reacted harshly to statements by the G7 criticizing them on a range of issues including Ukraine, nuclear weapons and economic coercion.
12am: France and EU will support Ukraine ‘over time’, Paris reminds China
France and the European Union are determined to support Ukraine “in the long term” and “in all areas,” they reiterated in Paris on Tuesday to a Chinese envoy sent to Europe from Beijing to discuss a political solution to the Russian-Ukrainian dispute to discuss conflict.
The French Foreign Ministry, through its Director General for Politics and Security, FrĂ©dĂ©ric Mondoloni, stressed “Russia’s full responsibility for the outbreak and continuation of the war” at a meeting with the responsible Chinese special envoy Li Hui. the Ukrainian file, according to a press release from Paris.
According to the text, while France “welcomed the resumption of dialogue between China and Ukraine”, it recalled that Kyiv “is exercising its right to self-defense” and stressed that it and the EU were “determined to (Ukraine) in Ukraine.” to support”. long-term, in all areas.”
Li Hui, a former Chinese ambassador to Moscow, has been touring Europe for a week to discuss the “political solution” to the conflict in Ukraine. He had spent two days in Kiev and one day in Poland before traveling to France. He then has to win Germany and Russia.
Russia and China maintain close ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March and said relations were “entering a new era”.
China describes itself as neutral in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and has been criticized for not condemning the Russian invasion.
The essentials of the day of May 23rd
After accusations from high-ranking Russian diplomats, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s had not made the alliance “a party to the conflict”.
Russia said in the morning it had “disrupted” the group that had attacked Russia’s Belgorod region from Ukraine the day before, the heaviest incursion into Russian territory since the offensive began.
With AFP and Portal