Today
Friday, May 26, 2023
17:21
ANTHONY BLINKING IN FINLAND FOR A PRO-UKRAINE SPEECH
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to travel to Finland, which recently joined NATO, next week and deliver a speech in support of Ukraine against Russia. The announcement was made by the State Department on Friday. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said he would take the opportunity to highlight “continued efforts in assisting Ukraine in defending its territory, sovereignty and democracy in its quest for a just and lasting peace.”
17:00
Sergei Lavrov mentions “serious obstacles” to peace
Russian diplomatic chief Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that he saw “serious obstacles” in the search for a peace solution in Ukraine. This statement was made during his meeting with Chinese envoy Li Hui in Moscow.
“The Russian foreign minister reiterated Moscow’s commitment to a politico-diplomatic solution to the conflict and pointed to the serious obstacles created by Ukraine and its Western backers to the resumption of peace talks,” Russian diplomacy explained in a press release picked up by AFP.
16:31
NORD STREAM: NEW TRACKS LEAD TO UKRAINE
In the investigation into the sabotage of the two Nord Stream gas pipelines that connect Russia with Germany, new leads seem to lead to Ukraine. The German weekly Der Spiegel reported this Friday that the police investigations focused in particular on a sailing boat, the Andromeda, which is believed to have been used in September 2022 to transport explosives for sabotage purposes in the Baltic Sea.
The metadata of an email sent during the sailboat rental would lead to Ukraine. In addition, the weekly newspaper picked up by AFP also reports the discovery of traces of an explosive in the boat, octogen, which is “very common in both the West and the former Eastern Bloc”.
15:35
UKRAINIAN ARMY DEMANDS F-16
In a tweet published this morning, the Ukrainian army claims it needs four F16 squadrons to counter the Russian offensive. That’s 48 devices. Several countries, like the Netherlands or the United States, plan to send them F-16s. Nevertheless, the handover of the devices could take several months.
4 squadrons of F16 (48 planes) is exactly what we need to rid our country from the aggressor. pic.twitter.com/TvqUNeDBOd – Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 26, 2023
13:20
MICHELIN SELLS ITS ACTIVITIES IN RUSSIA
Tire giant Michelin announced on Friday that it had sold its operations in Russia to Russian group Power International Tires LLC. In a press release, the French group “announces today the signing of an agreement with Power International Tires LLC to acquire its two local companies, Michelin Russia Tire Manufacturing Company (MRTMC) LLC and Camso CIS LLC.”
12:55 p.m
TWO DRONES CRASH IN KRASNODAR
Two drones fell on Friday in central Krasnodar, a major city in south-west Russia about 200 kilometers from Crimea, without causing casualties but causing some material damage. “The reason for the incident this morning on Morskaya Street is the shooting down of two drones. Buildings were damaged, but no vital infrastructure. And the main thing is that there were no injuries,” he said. The regional governor stated on Telegram.
12:36
SAPORISHJIA
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi will present a proposal to the United Nations on Tuesday to protect Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by the Russian army, in hopes of reaching an agreement ahead of a possible Kiev counter-offensive.
“Mr. Grossi plans to brief the UN Security Council on the situation regarding nuclear safety” in Zaporizhia “during a May 30 meeting chaired by Switzerland,” read a statement sent to AFP.
11:13
BOMBING
Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has come under dozens of artillery barrages over the past 24 hours, the governor of that region, which was rocked by an armed raid earlier in the week, said on Friday.
On Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov specifically noted that the village of Kozinka, Graivoron district, where this raid, claimed by two Russian armed groups fighting for Kiev, took place, was hit by 132 shells. Several buildings in the area were damaged, again according to the governor, who said there were no injuries.
10:59
DNIPRO
A Russian missile hit a clinic in Dnipro, Ukraine, local authorities said on Friday. “Rocket attack on a clinic in the city of Dnipro. One person was killed and fifteen others injured,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced. A video of the Ukrainian president’s embassy shows badly damaged buildings covered in clouds of black smoke.
10:58
ARREST
Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the US Wall Street Journal who was arrested in Russia in March on espionage charges he denies, has appealed the extension of his pre-trial detention, according to court filings released on Friday.
The journalist’s defense on Tuesday appealed a judge’s decision to extend his pre-trial detention until August 30, according to the Moscow City Court’s website.
10:22
RECONSTRUCTION
Huge 3D printers are being used in Ukraine to support reconstruction. LCI teams monitored one of these sites and within days a school emerged from the ground.
International
Posted today at 9:56am.
09:24
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan on Friday scrapped the possibility of a closer union along the lines of the one existing between Russia and Belarus. “Kazakhstan has no intention of forming or joining any kind of state union,” said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s spokesman.
09:01
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia had started transferring nuclear weapons to his country. Moscow, for its part, does not let up the pressure and continues to carry out night bombings on Kiev. Here are the highlights of the last 24 hours.
International
Posted today at 8:19am.
08:54
JEAN FRANCOIS COLOSIMO
“We fear a real freezing of the front: over 50 years? A century? Putin missed everything but one: he got this strip of the Black Sea while keeping Crimea,” estimated Jean-François Colosimo, historian and author of The Crucifixion of Ukraine, on LCI this Friday.
08:51
RUSSIAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS TRANSMITTED TO BELARUS
“There is a prospect of a Ukrainian counter-offensive that is becoming clearer without knowing its contours. It’s a threat once again!” estimated Jean-François Colosimo, historian and author of The Crucifixion of Ukraine, on LCI this Friday. And to add: “It’s not a military threat, it’s a political one. He is trying to protect his political power.”
🔴 Belarus claims that Moscow is supplying nuclear weapons to the country 🗣️ “There is a prospect of a Ukrainian counter-offensive that is becoming increasingly clear without knowing its contours. It’s a threat again!” Jean-François Colosimo 📲 #LesMatinsLCI @mchantrait pic.twitter.com/uU4YDMQQRt – LCI (@LCI) May 26, 2023
08:37
JEAN FRANCOIS COLOSIMO
“The more this war spreads, the less Putin really has to do with what is happening in this war,” estimated Jean-François Colosimo, historian and author of The Crucifixion of Ukraine, on LCI this Friday. And to emphasize: “Putin is not crazy, but he is losing reality.”
07:54
IMPORTS FROM UKRAINE
The European Union on Thursday agreed to suspend restrictions on imports from Ukraine for another year, reports The Guardian. A decision welcomed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he pledges to respect European Union standards in order to gain membership of the 27.
As a reminder: In June 2022, the EU lifted tariffs and other restrictions for an initial period of 12 months.
06:58
Bomb attack on Kyiv
Russian forces bombed Kiev again on Thursday night, the city’s civil-military administration said, saying all missiles had been intercepted and destroyed. “Another air raid on Kiev, the 13th in a row since early May! And as always at night,” criticized the government on its Telegram account. According to her, cruise missiles were fired from the Caspian Sea region by Tu-95MS strategic bombers. “According to preliminary information, all enemy targets in Kiev airspace were detected and destroyed,” she added.
06:54
NEW SANCTIONS IN JAPAN
Tokyo said on Friday it had imposed additional sanctions on Russia, in line with the G7 countries’ commitment at their summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, late last week. The Land of the Rising Sun will therefore impose asset freezes on 17 Russian nationals and 78 organizations, as well as an export ban on goods and services to 80 Russian companies, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno announced.
06:53
SCHOLZ-PUTIN
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday he was ready to resume contacts on Ukraine “in due course” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has not spoken since December. “It’s been a while since my last phone call. But when the time comes, I intend to speak to Putin again,” the leader said.
Nevertheless: “Russia must understand that it cannot be about sealing some cold peace, in which the current front line would become the new border between Russia and Ukraine, that would only legitimize the expedition criminal Putin,” he warns.
06:50
An impossible Russian military victory
Russia will not win the war in Ukraine by military means alone, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley reiterated, warning that Kyiv is also unlikely to quickly expel all Russian forces from its territory.
Russia’s original goals, which consisted in particular of overthrowing the Ukrainian government, “cannot be achieved by military means, it will not work,” said the highest-ranking American. On the other hand, there are currently hundreds of thousands of Russian troops in Ukraine, making Ukraine’s goal of retaking all of its territory unlikely “in the short term,” he continued.
06:50
LIVE
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