A Russian warplane accidentally fired a gun at the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, caused an explosion and damaged buildings, the Tass news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying. Late Thursday, local authorities reported a large explosion in the city, which is just across the border from Ukraine. Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two women were injured and four apartment buildings and four cars were damaged. Announcing the state of emergency, he said on the Telegram messaging app that there was a “huge” crater 20 meters (65 feet) wide in the city center.
The future of Ukraine lies in NATO, said the head of the western military alliance on his first visit to the country since the Russian invasion 14 months ago. Jens Stoltenberg pledged further military support to Ukraine and said: “NATO is at your side today, tomorrow and for as long as necessary.” He invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.
Zelenskyy said NATO must invite Ukraine to join and give it a timeframe for joining. “There is not a single objective obstacle to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance,” he said. “And now that most people in the NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians are in favor of joining NATO, the time has come for corresponding decisions.”
Zelenskyy has asked Mexico for its support to organize a summit with Latin American countries to end the Russian invasion. Thursday’s appeal follows comments by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who said in China last week that Washington should stop “encouraging” war and that the United States and European Union “must start thinking about peace.” to speak”. .
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday signaled efforts to ease tensions in the wake of the French leader’s recent comments on Taiwan and European security relations with Washington. Referring to Macron’s urging of China to play a role in forging a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, a statement from his office said: “China had a role in helping to end the conflict appropriately in the medium term with the Principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations.” It also states: “The two heads of state agreed on the importance of continuing to cooperate with the Chinese authorities on this basis.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday. said the Ambassador of Russia to the UN. The two last met at the G20 summit in Bali in November. According to Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, the Black Sea Grains Agreement will be a topic of Monday’s meeting.
Denmark joins the Netherlands in donating 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Denmark’s acting defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said these are not Danish tanks, but tanks “that will be bought in cooperation with the Netherlands”. Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen described it as “a very important contribution”.
The admiral of the Russian Pacific Fleet left his position after a review of their combat readiness. Admiral Sergei Avakyants left his post as commander when it was announced that he will oversee a new military sports training and “patriotic education” center. Units of the Pacific Fleet took part in inspection exercises announced by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last week.
The Financial Times has reported that a leaked US intelligence report shows that China has turned down a weapons request from the Wagner mercenary group. According to the FT, Wagner’s request in early 2023 indicated that “it had some confidence that Beijing would be prepared to arm Moscow, which goes beyond other non-lethal forms of Chinese corporate support for the military campaign,” according to the FT.
A group of Ukrainian soldiers have been accused of treason for leaking information during an unauthorized mission that allowed Russia to attack a military airfield. This was announced by the Ukrainian security agency SBU. In a statement, she said the soldiers tried to seize a Russian plane “without consulting the relevant state authorities” last July after its pilot said he was defecting.
The US and other Ukraine allies are considering an outright ban on most exports to Russia to increase economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bloomberg’s report says talks are underway ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in May. Similar actions are expected to be followed by EU Member States.
The US announced new $325 million in military aid to Ukraine. including additional ammunition for highly mobile artillery missile systems (Himars), advanced missiles and anti-tank mines. It is the 36th security package since the war began in February 2022.