Air raid sirens in almost all regions of Ukraine, new bomb attacks and attempts to revive diplomacy mark the 25th day of the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia.
A bomb is said to have hit the building of an art school where 400 people had fled. In addition, Russia has hit Ukraine with cruise missiles from ships in the Black and Caspian Seas. This was reported by the Interfax news agency. Russian authorities also said they used a hypersonic missile for the second straight day. While clashes in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine have killed at least 266 civilians since the Russian invasion began.
Meanwhile, Turkey is trying to reinvigorate its role and diplomatic efforts. Ankara is offering to host a trilateral summit between Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia’s Tass agency reports Sunday morning, citing an interview with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to the newspaper Hurriyet. “If peace is reached, then (the three presidents) will certainly meet,” he added, adding that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders “do not rule out this possibility at all” and that the meeting could also take place in Turkey. Ankara says Cavusoglu, according to TASS reports “wants to hold the trilateral summit”, which can be convened “at the request of two of the leaders”.
Zelensky, internal raid
In a new video address to the nation, Zelenskyy claimed that his people are “proving they can fight more professionally than an army” and condemned Russian “war crimes” in Mariupol. In the afternoon, Zelenskyi will speak to Israel via video. In addition, seven humanitarian corridors are open for today: in the Donetsk region, an evacuation from the city of Mariupol to the city of Zaporizhia is expected.
Internally, the Ukrainian President announced that the activities of 11 Ukrainian political parties, some of which are said to have direct ties to Moscow, will be restricted and brought under control. It can be read on various media including BBC. That’s what Zelensky says in the video posted overnight, where he lists them by name. Among them the opposition platform For Life, one of the major proRussian parties represented in the Kiev parliament. Zelenskyi said the Justice Ministry will immediately implement the restrictions, which will remain in place as long as martial law lasts.