4:19 p.m
Moscow warns Washington: ‘A big mistake if you send NATO troops’
Russia has warned the US of “further mistakes” in Ukraine, starting with the possible deployment of NATO troops. “We warn Washington against further failures and mistakes with dangerous consequences. No NATO troops in Ukraine,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned in an interview with Rt, noting that the warning was due to the fact that the United States is the country that NATO “controls.”
3:01 p.m
Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashes in Belarus
“The Belarusian Defense Ministry reports that around 1:30 p.m. local time, a Russian Mi-24 helicopter made a hard landing in Belarus in the Baranovytskyi district. According to the ministry, crew members were injured, but there were no injuries on the ground. The cause of the event is being determined.” Ukrainska Pravda writes it.
2:31 p.m
Kiev: At least four injured in Russian raid in Kherson
Russian forces launched an attack on Kherson, injuring four people. This was announced by Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. This was reported by the Kyiv Independent. “At noon today the Russian army attacked a residential building. Two people were injured in the attack,” Prokudin wrote in Telegram. An 86-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man are in serious condition. Doctors are fighting to save her life,” he added. The other injured are two volunteers from Rivne, aged 25 and 23, who are receiving medical assistance, the governor said. Many volunteers came to Kherson Oblate to help the population affected by the Kakhovka dam disaster on June 6, while Russian forces continued attacks even during evacuation operations, the Ukrainian website recalls.
2:21 p.m
European Council: “The destruction of the Kachowka Dam is a war crime”
The European Council “condemns in the strongest possible terms the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam with its devastating humanitarian, environmental, agricultural and economic consequences and the associated risks for the safety and security of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.” The destruction of civilian infrastructure is considered a war crime.” This emerges from the first draft of the conclusions of the European Council, which will meet in Brussels on 29th and 30th June. The European Union and its Member States “stand ready to provide additional support to Ukraine in addition to emergency assistance for assistance operations under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism”.
11:50
The death toll from the Kachowka Dam explosion rises to 46
46 residents of the Kherson region died in the floods caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam. The head of the pro-Russian government of the region Andrey Alekseenko wrote on Telegram.
11:48
Lula: Peace? We need a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin”
Only a direct meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, can put an end to this terrible conflict. This is what Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today at the end of his trip to Italy. In a press conference summarizing his numerous meetings, Lula addressed the Ukraine issue, defining it as a “priority” for returning to a positive trend in international relations. “It seems that China and the United States are ready to face a new phase of the Cold War,” he stressed, “but we don’t want that.” The parties need to sit around the table and start a dialogue. Stop spending on arms when there are 800 million people in the world who don’t know every day if they can eat at least once.” Lula reminded that Brazil supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine outside of Security Council directives condemned, but noted that “in the past other states have invaded and bombed Iraq, Libya and the former Yugoslavia”. For him, at this point, “the two presidents must sit down and look for a solution that allows both to keep most of their reasons.” “My international political adviser Celso (Amorim),” he then revealed, “will travel to Copenhagen on Saturday for a meeting on Ukraine.”
According to the media, the meeting convened by Kiev will be attended by US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and high officials from neutral countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa, with the hypothesis that China and Turkey will also attend.
11:45 a.m
The Kremlin: Bombing of Zaporizhia? A lie from Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that the Russians want to launch an attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is “another lie”. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
11:42
Zelenskyy: Moscow is considering an attack on the Zaporizhia power plant
Russia is considering a possible terrorist attack on the nuclear power plant Zaporizhia with a resulting spread of radioactive material in the environment: Ukrainian President Volodymyr writes it on Telegram Zelenskyy noting that Kiev has already shared relevant intelligence information with its international partners.
10:50
007 GB: “Moscow established a commission to investigate Kiev’s crimes against children”
On Tuesday, April 20, “Russia’s Duma voted to establish a parliamentary commission to investigate alleged crimes committed by the Ukrainian government against minors in Donbass since 2014”. British intelligence wrote on Twitter, stating that “the Duma is almost certainly responding to the international condemnation of Russia’s deportation of children from occupied Ukraine since the all-out invasion”. According to the Ministry of Defense in London, the notice on the rights of minors “is likely to be an important issue for the Kremlin, given that the alleged deportations of children formed the basis of the March 2023 arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against President Putin”.
10:23
Putin: “Violating the Biological Weapons Convention”
There are “systematic violations” of the Biological Weapons Convention. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a message to an international conference on “Global threats to biological security” organized in Russia. “In the current difficult international conditions, it is very important to preserve and strengthen the existing mechanisms of multilateral cooperation to counter various threats of a biological nature,” Putin said, as quoted by Tass.
10:17
Scholz: “I asked Beijing to exert its influence on Moscow”
“Already at the Munich conference, China recognized that there is a peace solution that respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine. But that means that Russia has to withdraw its troops. That’s what Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in front of the Bundestag. “I asked China to exert its influence on Moscow. Merely freezing the conflict will not bring peace. “A peace will only be just and lasting if it respects territorial integrity and the principles of the UN Charter,” he added.
09:02
Von der Leyen: “Kiev’s future lies in the EU”
“A strong political message emerges from the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine: that we are committed to the long term, while it lasts.” But it is also something very concrete: there is a promise of support beyond 2023, in fact I have the EU Member States have proposed to allocate 50 billion euros to Ukraine.” This was stated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in an interview Corriere della Sera gave to a number of European newspapers (El Mundo, Le Monde, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Ta Nah) led. “We’re also here to fix things while the war rages on,” he adds, “to help Ukraine keep its economy functioning.” As for the possibility, so do the vast assets held by the Russian oligarchs and the Russian state were deprived of providing for reconstruction: “I am deeply convinced, from a political point of view, that it is impossible whoever has done this devastation and destruction in Ukraine.” not to contribute to reparation and reconstruction . For this reason, we are preparing a legislative proposal before the summer break.”
Von der Leyen emphasizes: “We all want peace and there is no one who wants peace more than the Ukrainians.” But we have one principle: Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. Ukraine has presented a ten-point plan and that is what we support: as a starting point, it is a very good proposal. As for the prospects for the country’s EU accession, “despite the war, Ukraine is making important reforms that we called for: it needs to take seven steps, it has already done two and it has made good progress on the other five.” In October “there will be a written report from the commission and this will determine the next steps”. This war “is a turning point: the region must be part of the European Union, otherwise we will have a problem.” “It is not possible,” he concludes, that Ukraine and the Western Balkans will not become members of the EU.”
08:59
Pro-Russian authorities: “Kiev hits the bridge between Kherson and Crimea”
08:57
Von der Leyen: “The Russians will pay for the reconstruction”
“It is not a simple matter legally, it is very complex, our experts are working hard on it: but I am deeply convinced, from a political point of view, that it is not possible for whoever committed this devastation and destruction in Ukraine to do it does.” not contribute to repair and reconstruction. That is why we are preparing a legislative proposal before the summer break.” This is what Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said in an interview with Corriere della Sera about the war in Ukraine.
Meloni, on the phone with Von der Leyen. Zelenskyy: “We will work together for peace.” Biden: “Italy an important NATO ally”
Von der Leyen adds: “China has an important role to play, they are members of the UN Security Council and that gives them a responsibility: but they also undoubtedly have an influence on Russia, so China has a role to play.” The whole world is in favor of reconstruction invited, and it would send a strong message if China contributed to it.
08:55
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Kuleba: “It is impossible to deal with Putin”
Sit down at some point to deal with Putin? “No, that’s impossible: I’m saying it in an undiplomatic way”: These were the last words of an interview that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba gave last night for the BBC program “Hard Talk” from London, at the urging of the interviewer Stephen Sackur. after some hesitation in answering. When asked if it is true that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has no intention of going to the NATO summit in Vilnius in July because he has not received enough offers in the process of joining the alliance due to the reluctance of some states, including Germany To cut the time, Kuleba replied that after the war, Kiev’s full membership of NATO would be a guarantee of strength and security on Europe’s eastern flank: a burden Germany now carried on its shoulders.
Responding to Western fears of an “escalation” in the conflict, which have delayed key decisions such as those over F-16 deliveries, and fears fueled by threats from Moscow, Kuleba replied: “Putin doesn’t need any.” “There is no direct reason to escalate,” as evidenced by the invasion of Ukraine itself and, more recently, the catastrophic destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Finally, regarding the sanctions against Russia, Kuleba responded to the objection that they are not working, that they “work”, but that they are not yet strict enough, although he is aware of the difficulties that many countries have in further tightening .