People trapped; persona non grata; world leaders are meeting – the most important events in the past 24 hours
Invasion of Ukraine: Putin Decided to Conduct “Special Operation to Protect Donbas”
100,000 trapped in Mariupol
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said nearly 100,000 people are still trapped in the ruins of Mariupol after more than 7,000 left the city on Tuesday. Human Rights Watch described the southern port city as “a freezing hellish landscape littered with dead bodies and destroyed buildings.”
“More sanctions as Biden heads to Europe.”
As US President Joe Biden heads to Europe. He warned of a “real threat” that Russia could use chemical weapons. Against this background, a senior US official said new sanctions were coming against Russian political figures and wealthy elites close to President Vladimir Putin. “We, The United States, will announce tomorrow a package of sanctions that applies to both political figures, (and) oligarchs ... and legal entities,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One.
NATO is responsible
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said at an emergency summit in Brussels that the allies would sign the sending of four “battle groups” to eastern member states Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. He also called for cybersecurity assistance as well as equipment “to help Ukraine protect itself against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats”.
Russia rejects cyber allegations
Russia has criticized US “absurd” accusations calling on companies to defend themselves better against possible Russian cyberattacks. “These accusations against us are absurd,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Siromolotov, accusing Washington of making “dangerous baseless accusations of a new outbreak of Russophobia amid the situation in Ukraine.”
USA: Ukrainian forces are gaining momentum
According to the Pentagon, Ukrainian forces have managed to regain some of the captured cities. Ukrainians are “in places and sometimes launch offensives, especially in the south,” U.S. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
More German arms aid
Germany says it is sending more than 6,000 missiles, 2,000 additional anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help repel the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian forces have already received 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missile launchers from the Bundeswehr, the German army.
US hinders negotiations: Russia
Russia has accused the United States of seeking to disrupt Moscow's talks with Ukraine in an attempt to turn the tide of the war in Ukraine's favor.
“Talks are difficult, the Ukrainian side is constantly changing its position. It is difficult to avoid the impression that our American colleagues are holding hands,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told students in Moscow.
Scholz: “Putin's Offensive Remains”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said “Putin's offensive has been stopped” and called on Moscow to “stop the fighting immediately”, saying it was not only destroying Ukraine but “Russia's future”. The Pentagon says it believes up to 10 percent of Russian forces deployed in Ukraine may have been destroyed in just four weeks of fighting and that Russian forces “fought poor logistics and maintenance.”
Russia with nuclear threats
Russia would use nuclear weapons in the context of the conflict in Ukraine if faced with an “existential threat,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with CNN.
Belarus expels Ukrainian diplomats
Russia's ally Belarus has said it will expel most Ukrainian diplomats, accusing Kyiv of “interfering” in its internal affairs, leaving only five members of a 20-member team at its embassy in Minsk.
Poland expels Russian diplomats
Poland has said it has expelled 45 Russian diplomats for espionage, a claim rejected as unfounded by Russia's ambassador to Poland.
Aid for European companies affected by the war
The EU allows Member States to offer limited subsidies and cheap loans to companies affected by the war in Ukraine or sanctions imposed on Russia.
Zelensky criticizes the UN
In his latest video address to foreign lawmakers, Zelenskt criticized the UN, saying it had failed to guarantee global security.
“Neither the United Nations nor the UN Security Council is functional,” he told the Japanese parliament.
Over 3.6 million flee
More than 3.6 million Ukrainians have already fled the country since Russia's invasion, the United Nations said. More than 10 million have been evicted from their homes.
Putin: Russia will accept payments for natural gas only in rubles
Russia will now accept payments for natural gas from “unfriendly” countries only in rubles. This was stated by Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the government on Wednesday, RT writes. Bulgaria is also on the “black” list of countries.
Rally in Sofia: Bulgaria says Not the War in Ukraine! /BGNES
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2024-09-20 06:58:00