What has happened in the last few hours
On the 393rd day since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, here’s the top news as of 12:00 this Friday, March 24, 2023:
At least eight dead in Russian attacks in different regions of Ukraine. According to local authorities, at least eight people have died in attacks by Russian forces in different parts of Ukraine this morning. A Russian projectile hit a shelter for displaced people in Kostiantinivka in Donetsk province (east), killing five. Another person died in Kherson in the south while the other two died in the town of Bilopilla in Sumi (in the north).
China has called for reaching a “strategic consensus” with Europe on a ceasefire in the conflict. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the EU to play its part in the peace talks in Ukraine. In Beijing’s opinion, “the ceasefire and the end of the war, the resumption of peace talks and the political solution to the crisis must become the strategic consensus between China and the EU,” and China “hopes that France and other European countries will also play their part.” In this regard”. Wang made the statements after a phone call with French Presidency diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne. The purpose of the talks between the two diplomats was to exchange views on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for several hours.
The Kremlin says it is important to identify the object found near the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that it was important to identify the object discovered next to the Nord Stream gas pipelines, explaining that the ongoing investigation into the explosions that rendered the pipes unusable last September is full transparency must be carried out . Peskov also said he saw it as positive that Denmark invited the Russian operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to help rescue an unidentified object found near the pipelines that run through the Baltic Sea: ” It is certainly positive news that the gas pipeline owner will be invited to participate in the important stages of the investigation.”
Medvedev now says Russia is interested in negotiations to resolve the war in Ukraine. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev from 2008 to 2012 said this Friday that Moscow is not planning a direct conflict with NATO and is interested in solving the war in Ukraine through negotiations, the Interfax agency said. However, Medvedev has warned that any attempt by Ukraine to retake the Crimean peninsula – which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 following a referendum that the international community does not recognize – would be sufficient reason for the Kremlin to use “absolutely any weapon” against Kiev to use.
Borrell denounces Medvedev’s threats to issue an arrest warrant against Putin at the International Criminal Court. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell has denounced former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s “illegal threats” against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its headquarters. Medvedev reiterated that if the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, it would have “egregious consequences” for international justice and said a Russian missile attack on the court’s headquarters in The Hague was “conceivable”. On Thursday, he also stated that Russia would consider Putin’s arrest in any country as a declaration of war and also threatened to attack that country if that happened.