Russia continued to launch rocket attacks on key infrastructure in Ukraine on Tuesday. Amid warnings from the United Nations and some NATO countries that Moscow could be committing a war crime with its continued deadly attack on civilian targets, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its forces are continuing to launch long-range airstrikes on Ukraine’s energy and military infrastructure.
G7 leaders “strongly condemned” Russia’s recent rocket attacks on cities across Ukraine. and vowed to stand “firmly” by Kyiv “as long as it lasts”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on G7 leaders to deliver more air defense systems and for an international surveillance mission on the Belarusian border.
French President Emmanuel Macron described Russia’s attacks as “a profound change in the nature of this war”. During Russian attacks in recent days, cruise missiles and armed drones rained down on parks, playgrounds, power plants and other civilian targets.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is a “rational actor who has seriously miscalculated”. US President Joe Biden said so in a clip of a CNN interview that aired on Tuesday.
Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday they had exhumed the bodies of dozens of people. including civilians and a one-year-old baby, to establish the cause of death after Russian troops withdrew from Lyman and Sviatohirsk, two recently liberated cities in the eastern Donetsk region.
Around 30% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been hit by Russia since Monday. officials said. With millions of people in Ukraine facing power cuts as a result of the attacks, the government has urged civilians to reduce their electricity consumption and refrain from using household appliances such as ovens and washing machines.
The Kremlin has confirmed that Putin will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. on Thursday to discuss Ukraine.
Moscow would not oppose a meeting between Putin and Biden at next month’s G20 meeting, That said Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Moscow is open to talks with the West about the Ukraine war, but has not yet received any “serious offers” for negotiations, Lavrov said in an interview on Russian state television.
Putin has told the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency he is ‘open to dialogue’ about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russia.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of the Zaporizhia power plant has been kidnapped by Russian forces. This was announced by the state nuclear power company Energoatom of Ukraine. Valeriy Martynyuk was arrested on Monday and is being held at an unknown location, Energoatom said in a post on Telegram.
Elon Musk denied a report that he spoke to Putin before tweeting a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that would have resulted in territory being permanently handed over to Russia.
Belarus’ Defense Ministry said the joint deployment of forces with Russia on its borders is a defensive measure. The steps were intended to ensure “security” along the Belarus-Ukraine border, it said.
Russian strikes have damaged hundreds of cultural sites, Zelenskyy said when he asked the UN culture agency to exclude Russia, which currently holds the rotating chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.