Ground conditions, international reactions, sanctions: an update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
kyiv threatened again
On Friday, Russia announced the destruction of an arms factory on the outskirts of Q, and promised to intensify attacks in the Ukrainian capital in retaliation for attacks on Ukraine.
AFP reporters said on Friday that the Ukrainian military had said that the factory, which manufactures Neptune missiles, had attacked the Russian ship Moscow. According to the Pentagon, Moscow, the capital of the Russian Navy, was sunk by two Ukrainian missiles. Its spokesman commented that this was a “big blow” to Russia.
War in Ukraine: Russia strikes Neptune missile factory
According to the Moscow version, the building was “severely damaged” by fire and sank when pulled.
For the Pentagon, the Russian ship Moscow was sunk by two Ukrainian missiles.
– Zhelensky cites Russian nuclear threat –
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky said around the world that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, “cornered” by his military setbacks in Ukraine, should “worry” about the possibility of resorting to a tactical nuclear weapon. Director of the CIA.
US Secretary of State William Burns has said that the threat posed by President Putin’s use of tactical or low – powered nuclear weapons should not be taken “easily” if he “sinks in despair” in the face of his military’s defeats.
– New victims –
A Russian shelling on a residential area in the main city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine has killed at least seven people and injured 34, the regional governor announced on Friday.
The local police chief said all of the dead were shot dead in Bautza, near Q.
When the city was occupied by the Russian army for about a month, its residents buried the victims.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that Russian artillery had killed at least 30 “Polish mercenaries” in northeastern Ukraine, a threat that could escalate tensions between Moscow and Warsaw.
– Moscow expels 18 EU officials –
Moscow on Friday announced the expulsion of 18 ambassadors from the EU representation in Russia in retaliation for a similar move by Brussels following the Kremlin attack on Ukraine.
The EU called the eviction “unjustified” and hoped it would “worsen” Moscow’s international isolation.
Northern Macedonia expels six Russian ambassadors accused of violating diplomatic rules
– NATO: Finnish candidate “most likely” –
Finland’s European Minister of Foreign Affairs Titti Dupruinen said on Friday that Finland was “very likely” to apply for NATO membership as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian diplomacy warned Finland and Sweden that such action would have repercussions for these countries and European security.
– The problem of the Russian oil embargo –
The European Union (EU) is preparing to suspend oil purchases from Russia during the war in Ukraine, but sources told AFP on Friday that the move was “complicated” and would take “several months”.
“The Commission is considering options,” said an EU official involved in the talks.
– RFI website blocked in Russia –
Russia has blocked the website of the French radio station RFI, which broadcasts information in fifteen languages, including Russian, amid repression of critics of the attack in Ukraine.
– Five million refugees –
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than five million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
This is the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.