Russian invasion: War against Ukraine: That's the situation

After the Russian rocket attack on the city of Zaporizhia that killed at least two, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced retaliation.

Russian invasion: War against Ukraine: That's the situation

After the Russian rocket attack on the city of Zaporizhia that killed at least two, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced retaliation. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin reacted indignantly to an alleged push by Ukrainian nationalists across the border into Russian territory and convened the National Security Council for this Friday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to speak to US President Joe Biden in Washington about the situation in Ukraine.

Zelenskyj: We are reacting

"We will react militarily and legally to today's brutal Russian rocket attack on Zaporizhia," said Zelenskyy in his nightly video speech. "The occupier will inevitably feel our strength, the power of justice in the truest sense of the word." A multi-storey residential building in the southern Ukrainian city was hit by a rocket during the Russian air raid on Thursday night. Two residents were killed and eight people injured. According to official information, ten residents were still missing.

Ukraine: Further Russian attacks repelled at Bakhmut

According to the military leadership in Kiev, the defenders of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut repelled several Russian attacks on Thursday. Russian artillery shelled a number of smaller towns around Bakhmut, the General Staff in Kiev said in its situation report. Russian troops are besieging the city from three sides and have been trying to encircle it for weeks. Repeated Russian artillery raids caused unrest on the southern front sections near Cherson and Zaporizhia.

Kiev sees a chance of winning this year

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov sees the possibility that Russia's war of aggression could end in his country's victory this year. "I am an optimist, I see the situation on the battlefield, I see the development of support and I really see that there is a chance to end this war with our victory this year," Resnikov told the "Bild" newspaper. Newspaper. His goal was "the liberation of all of our temporarily occupied territories up to our internationally recognized borders of 1991".

Moscow outraged by attack by Ukrainian nationalists

After the suspected advance of a Ukrainian nationalist group in the Russian region of Bryansk, Russian authorities began investigations on Thursday. A car with investigators drove into a mine, four occupants were seriously injured. According to Russian sources, a motorist had previously been killed and a child injured by fire from Ukrainian sabotage squads.

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced that it would inform UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. "Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN will soon transmit the information, although the official statements from the Kremlin, the (domestic intelligence service) FSB, and local authorities have already gone around the world," Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by the TASS agency . Putin spoke of a "terrorist attack and crime". Kiev rejected responsibility for the incidents and spoke of targeted Russian disinformation. The attackers were pushed back into Ukrainian territory, Tass reported, citing the domestic intelligence service FSB.

Ex-Kremlin boss warns NATO against aircraft deliveries to Kiev

Former Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO against providing fighter jets to Ukraine. The handover of NATO fighter jets and their maintenance in Poland would be tantamount to a direct entry into the war by the western military alliance against Russia, Medvedev wrote on Telegram. "And anyone deciding on the supply (repair) of such equipment or means of destruction, as well as foreign mercenaries and military trainers, would have to be considered a legitimate military target."

Moscow accuses the West of sabotaging the grain deal

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the West of sabotaging the grain agreement concluded with Ukraine last year. Moscow will be prevented from fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, the ministry said in a statement released on Thursday. "We have to realize that the package of deals proposed by UN Secretary-General (Antonio) Guterres and signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 is not working."

One of the reasons for the upset was the ongoing blockade by Kiev of the ammonia pipeline between Togliatti in Russia and the Ukrainian port of Odessa. The agreed export of Russian fertilizers will also be blocked in ports in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands. The agreement established procedures for the safe export of grain from Ukraine, while allowing Russia to export fertilizers in return. The time-limited agreement was due to be extended for another four months this month.

Brazil promotes international mediation initiative

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva again promoted his idea for an international mediation initiative during a video link with Zelenskyj. "I have reiterated Brazil's desire to speak to other countries and engage in any peacemaking and dialogue initiative," Lula wrote on Twitter. "War cannot be in anyone's interest." However, Ukraine rejects a Russian dictated peace and demands that Russian troops withdraw completely from Ukrainian territory.

What does Friday bring?

After the reports of fighting on Russian territory, Putin convened the National Security Council for this Friday. Chancellor Scholz wants to talk to Biden in Washington about Ukraine, among other things. The war and its effects on Germany will also occupy the Bundesrat on Friday.

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