• Russia: Navalny's lawyer, who helped his mother retrieve her body, was arrested.
• Macron and the hypothesis of NATO forces in Ukraine.
12:57 a.m. – Zelenskyy arrived in Albania for the security summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived shortly before midnight in Tirana, where he will take part today in the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit organized by the Albanian and Ukrainian governments. “A crucial moment to promote bilateral relations and demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine in its heroic fight against Russian aggression,” Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani wrote on social media X, immediately after meeting Zelensky at Mother Teresa Airport welcomed in Tirana. Before the summit, Zelensky will have a meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama, with whom he will also sign the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the two countries.
It is the Ukrainian president's first visit to the Balkan state since the Russian invasion. Zelensky has sought to rally support for his beleaguered country in recent weeks as Ukraine's armed forces face an ammunition shortage and struggle to contain Russia's military advance on the ground. Today in Tirana, Zelensky will meet with several heads of state and government from across the region as part of the summit. Albania, a NATO member since 2009, is a strong supporter of Ukraine but remains silent on arms sales to Kiev.
During a visit to Albania earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Tirana's support for Ukraine. “It was one of the first countries to send military aid, weapons, ammunition and mine-resistant vehicles to Ukraine after Russian aggression, and is currently one of the ten countries with the highest per capita support to Ukraine,” Blinken said. Before arriving in Tirana, the Ukrainian president was in Saudi Arabia, where he wanted to publicize his peace plan and discuss a possible exchange of prisoners of war. Saudi Arabia has relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has previously mediated between the warring parties, including an agreement reached in September 2022 that called for the release of more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners.
12:56 a.m. – Kiev, Russian drone attack on Odessa, explosions
Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian coastal city of Odessa, which was the target of an attack by Iranian-Russian Shahed Kamikaze drones, writes RBC-Ukraine, citing the Ukrainian armed forces. The attack, according to the broadcaster's website, was declared “rejected” at 11:09 p.m. local time (11:09 p.m. in Italy). It is currently unclear whether there are any casualties or damage. Ukrainian RBC also writes that 13 Shahed drones have been fired over Ukraine so far this evening, 11 of which were shot down by anti-aircraft missiles.
12:56 a.m. – Kiev, a civilian dies in a Russian bomb attack in Kherson
Russian forces continue to bombard the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, where a civilian, an 83-year-old woman, was killed in the village of Biloserka. This was announced by the regional prosecutor's office, citing Ukrinform, which is investigating the incident as a crime, in this case “premeditated murder”.