Fighting continues in Ukraine. Both the warring parties will seek victory for themselves. A decisive battle seems to be brewing in Cherson. While Russia’s President Putin is implicating an important energy partner, NATO wants to establish the facts. A look at the 231st day of the war.
Russians Attack “Critical Infrastructure”
Both sides have scored military victories in the fierce fighting in Ukraine. A group of soldiers from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics has “liberated” the villages of Optin and Ivangrad with “fire support from Russian forces,” pro-Russian officials told Telegram. The villages are south of Bagmut, a salt-mining and wine-producing town that once had a population of about 70,000. Pakmut has been besieged by Russian forces for weeks. Ukraine’s capital Kiev has been attacked again by Russian drones. “Another attack by kamikaze drones on essential infrastructure was carried out” in the early hours of the morning, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Kyrillo Tymoshenko said, without giving further details.
Ukrainian utility Ukrenergo announced during the day that energy supply was stable again in “all Ukrainian regions”. The company added that there is no need to supply electricity. In recent days, Russian attacks have resulted in power outages in many cities and regions of Ukraine. On Monday, Russia began bombing cities across Ukraine, primarily targeting energy supply infrastructure.
Cherson invaders ask Moscow for help
A sign of the successful progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south of the country came from the Moscow-appointed administration in Kherson: “We have recommended that all residents of the Kherson region who want to escape (Ukrainian) attacks go to other (Russian) regions,” administration head Vladimir Zalto said on Telegram. The leadership in Moscow asked Saldo to help organize the evacuations. The Cherson region of southern Ukraine, which it has declared annexed to Russia, has been the target of counterattacks by the Ukrainian military for weeks.
Minutes after Zalto’s telegraphic appeal, his deputy Kirill Stremosov announced that the Kherson region would not be evacuated. “No one plans to withdraw Russian troops from the Kherson region.” Stremoussov admitted on Russian state television last weekend that his administration was preparing for “a difficult time”.
According to Russian reports, Ukrainian troops also bombed a residential building in southern Russia near the border with Ukraine. “Ukrainian forces bombarded Belgorod,” the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Klatkov, told Telegram. Ukraine immediately denied the accusation. Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the president, said the Russian military had tried to bomb the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, near the border. In the evening, the Russian side announced that an ammunition depot had exploded during Ukrainian airstrikes in a village in the Belgorod region. According to initial findings, there were no casualties or injuries.
NATO wants to stockpile ammunition and equipment
Given the new threat of a war of Russian aggression, NATO countries want to increase the production capacity of the arms industry. “We have taken decisions today to increase our stocks of ammunition and equipment,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels. The goal is to provide industry with the long-term demand needed to increase production, using the NATO defense planning process. NATO wants to supply Ukraine with anti-drone equipment. Hundreds of jammers will be delivered soon, Stoltenberg said. These will help render Russian and Iranian-made drones useless. Jammers are electromagnetic jammers. They usually emit a signal that blocks or blocks the radio link between the drone and its controller.
Previous promises of the Ukrainian president were not enough. Before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Volodymyr Zelensky again called for more funding for air defense to protect “the entire Ukrainian sky.” “We only have 10 percent of what we need” in Ukraine, he said.
186 war criminals have been identified
Zelenskyj called on the European Council to designate Russia as an “occupier” and to bring “every aggressor and butcher” before the International Court of Justice for “crimes committed during this war”. According to the Attorney General, Ukraine has so far identified 186 suspected Russian war criminals. Only a few of them are already in custody, Attorney General Andriy Kostin said in The Hague. The scale of crime is huge, he said. Since the outbreak of the war, there have been indications that war crimes of every kind, whether torture, murder, rape or deportation, have been committed. Out of 45 cases, according to Ghost’s information, investigations have been completed and handed over to the court, and 10 people have already been convicted.
Exchanged dozens of prisoners
Kiev and Moscow meanwhile announced an exchange of 20 prisoners each. Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, spoke of “moments of happiness” on Telegram. On the Ukrainian side, 14 soldiers, four members of the National Guard, one member of the National Guard and one member of the Navy were released. Yermak explained that those released will undergo a medical examination. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the return of 20 Russian soldiers from the territory of Ukraine. All of them received “necessary psychological and medical assistance”.
Macron insists on willingness to talk with Putin: “We don’t want a world war”
French President Emmanuel Macron drew attention with strong words. “We don’t want a world war,” Macron wrote in an English-language Twitter message. “We help Ukraine defend its soil and never attack Russia. Vladimir Putin must end this war and respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.” At the same time, Macron explained further arms deliveries to Ukraine: “Caesar howitzers to counterattack, radars, systems and missiles to protect against airstrikes, armored vehicles and training: we will continue. To support the Ukrainian resistance and strengthen our military assistance.”
Putin met Erdogan
Meanwhile, the addressee of Macron’s words met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a regional summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Regarding the export of grain and fertilizers from Russia, as well as possible further cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector. The United States and the European Union have recently increased pressure on Turkey to join Western sanctions against Russia over its attack on Ukraine. Erdogan, on the other hand, argues that Turkey, as a neutral actor, could bring about possible ceasefire negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. The country is also benefiting economically from the conflict: Turkish exports to Russia have almost doubled in recent months.
However, according to Russian reports, the two heads of state did not discuss a solution to the Ukraine conflict. “The agreement between Russia and Ukraine is not an issue,” state news agency RIA quoted Russian presidential office spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
The Kremlin has repeatedly expressed its willingness to negotiate
Peskov made it clear elsewhere that Moscow was ready to talk. According to a Russian newspaper, he named negotiations as an alternative to achieving his country’s goals in Ukraine. Although these did not change, “Izvestia” quoted Pesco. “However, we have repeatedly indicated that we are open to negotiations to achieve our goals.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also told the newspaper that he was ready to consider “certain serious proposals”. Lavrov had already hinted at the possibility of talks on Tuesday. The government in Moscow has always said it is ready to negotiate. However, it is unusual for information to accumulate in a week.
More Books on the War in Ukraine:
All further developments about the war in Ukraine can be found in our Live ticker According to
. “Amateur alcohol specialist. Reader. Hardcore introvert. Freelance explorer.”