Russia completely captured Avdivka. Lithuania calls for more European initiatives. More information on the news blog.
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Ukraine: Russia shoots prisoners of war
10:33 PM: Ukraine accuses Russia of shooting unarmed Ukrainian soldiers. “An investigation has been launched into the shooting of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war in Avdiivka and Vesele,” the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office said on its Telegram channel.
A drone video shows a Russian soldier shooting two captured Ukrainian soldiers at close range in the village of Vesele. No comment was initially available from the Russian Defense Ministry. Saspilne Channel quoted a Ukrainian military spokesman as saying that this was not the first time that Russia was involved in a war crime.
Russia's former president has threatened the West with nuclear war
8:22 PM: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has threatened the West with nuclear war, calling them “idiots”. In a Telegram post on Sunday, the current vice president of the Security Council reiterated his well-known position that “nuclear powers will never lose a war as long as they protect their homeland.” You can read more about it here.
Fighting Continues in Ukraine – “Operational Situation Difficult”
8:09 PM: Ukraine's troops continue to come under pressure by attacking Russian units. “The operational situation in eastern and southern Ukraine remains difficult,” writes Public Service in Kyiv on its Facebook page. A total of 56 battles were recorded in various sectors of the front. During the Russian attacks, residential areas were also subjected to artillery and rocket attacks. There were deaths and injuries among civilians. The information could not immediately be independently verified.
South of Zaporizhia, particularly heavy fighting took place in the central part of the front. There, seven Russian attacks were repulsed with the support of fighter jets.
Video | That is why it became necessary to leave Avdivka
Putin sees the war in Ukraine as a “life or death issue”.
5:17 PM: Russia considers the situation around Ukraine “critical,” according to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. For the West, however, it's just a question of tactics, Putin says in an interview with state television, quoted by state agency TASS. As the West takes a tactical stance around Ukraine, for his country it is “a matter of fate, a question of life or death.” Had the West not intervened, “the war would have been over a year and a half ago.”
“We initially moved from peaceful operations to military instruments and tried to end this conflict peacefully,” Putin says. Also: Russia is still willing to negotiate a peace settlement.
Moscow's and Kiev's positions on a possible peace settlement differ widely. While Kiev insists on the return of all occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula, Russia wants to keep the captured territories already integrated into its national territory.
Russia: Complete capture of Avdiivka
12.40 pm: Russia says it has fully captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. Russian news agencies quoted the Defense Ministry in Moscow as saying that the troops had advanced about nine kilometers. The Russian leadership previously said some Ukrainian soldiers were holed up in a Soviet-era coking plant on Saturday after Ukrainians pulled out of a months-long hard-fought city.
Ukraine says it shot down a Russian fighter jet
9.12 am: Ukraine says it shot down another Russian fighter jet last night. It was an SU-34 fighter jet, Ukrainian Air Force Chief Mykola Oleshchuk said on the Telegram messaging service.
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