More than two and a half months after the start of the war in Ukraine, the first contact between Washington and Moscow arrives. An approximately one-hour phone call between Defense Ministers Austin and Shoigu, requested by the Pentagon.
The US called for a " rapid ceasefire " and underlined "the importance of preserving the communication channels" between the two countries which were abruptly cut off on 24 February. The meeting, the Pentagon points out, did not resolve any "serious problems".
Meanwhile, according to the 007 in Kiev, Vladimir Putin is "seriously ill" with cancer and a coup is underway in Moscow to remove it.
FINLAND AND SWEDEN IN NATO - The possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO continues to hold its own. Today Erdogan's flat no arrived: the Turkish leader told reporters that "he does not want the same mistake made with the accession of Greece" to be repeated, accusing Stockholm and Helsinki "of hosting PKK terrorists". A heavy denial, whatever the real motivation, because for the entry of new partners into the Alliance, the unanimous ok of the member countries is needed .
Diplomacy is already at work: Sweden and Finland want to speak with Turkey as soon as possible to clarify Ankara's position. The Biden administration is also "working to clarify" Turkey's opposition to the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said this, underlining that there is " broad consensus " on the accession of these two countries. Consent reaffirmed today also by our Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.
THE FIGHTING - The tenacity of the Ukrainian resistance is also paying off on the north-eastern front. The Russians, according to the New York Times, are withdrawing from Kharkiv .
The region of the second city of the country, almost on the Russian border, has for days been the scene of a counter-offensive by the defense forces, which have managed to regain control of several villages. The successes now appear consolidated, so much so that there is a real withdrawal of the Russians from the area. Successes that Kiev reads without too many triumphalisms, aware that the pressure from Moscow remains and will remain high .
On the Black Sea, on the other hand, Putin's Army still fails to close Mariupol's game . The general staff of Kiev reported continuous air and artillery attacks on the Azovstal steel plant , now without civilians, and where the fighters of the Azov Battalion continue to resist against all odds. The Russian raids are conducted with "aircraft designed to hit strategic targets" and are set to increase in the near future, "the Ukrainian army estimated. The troops could also attempt to launch a ground assault.
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The day by the hour:
007 Kiev: "Putin seriously ill with cancer"
President Vladimir Putin is seriously ill with cancer and a coup is already underway in Russia to remove it. This is what the head of the Ukrainian 007s, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview with Sky News, without however providing any details or proof of his statements.
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Biden: "NATO's door open for Sweden and Finland"
US President Joe Biden assured Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto his support for NATO's open door policy and the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy and its own provisions on security. "The White House reported in a note on the telephone call between the three leaders.
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Pentagon calls Moscow: "Ceasefire immediately"
US Defense Minister Austin had a telephone conversation with his Russian colleague Shoigu calling for a quick ceasefire and stressing the importance of preserving communication channels. This is the first call since the beginning of the war. The interview did not resolve any "serious problems," says the US Department of Defense.
The phone call lasted about an hour and was requested by the Pentagon chief. "The two leaders got to talk," and Austin expressed "interest in keeping the line of communication open," explains a Pentagon official.
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Finland: "We can do without Russian electricity"
The Finnish electricity grid operator has assured that it will be able to dispense with energy imports from Russia, suspended from tomorrow for unpaid bills in a phase of tension with Moscow over Helsinki's plans to join NATO. "We were prepared for that and it won't be difficult. We can handle a little more imports from Sweden and Norway," Timo Kaukonen, an operations manager for Fingrid, told AFP.
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Moscow suspends electricity supply to Finland
Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland from tomorrow. This was announced by the company that provides the service.
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Born, Biden calls leaders of Finland and Sweden
US President Joe Biden spoke today with the Swedish Prime Minister and the Finnish President. This was reported by the White House in a note.
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Di Maio: "Italy strongly supports Finland and Sweden in NATO"
Italy strongly supports the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio says so. "We are delighted to welcome them to the Alliance, an Alliance that has guaranteed peace for decades", added the head of the Farnesina speaking on the sidelines of the G7 in Germany.
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EU: "Arms in Kiev until requested"
"We will continue to support Ukraine militarily as long as it is necessary" and will be "requested" by Kiev. This was stated by a senior EU official, focusing on the financing of an additional 500 million euros from Brussels within the European Peace Facility. "We know that Russia is concentrating on the Donbass but other areas may be the object" of the Russian offensive: "Not only the Black Sea but also Transnistria", explain the same sources. "We do not know how long the conflict will last but the challenge is who first between Russia and Ukraine will have difficulty in finding ammunition, weapons, equipment", he explains.
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Sweden and Finland will talk to Turkey about joining NATO
Sweden and Finland want to discuss with Turkey their accession to the Atlantic Alliance tomorrow in Berlin, on the occasion of the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers. This was announced by the foreign ministers of the two countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the entry of Finland and Sweden into the Alliance "a mistake", which requires the unanimity of the member countries.
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Kiev accuses Russia: "He deported 210,000 children"
Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, Lyudmyla Denisova, said that more than 210,000 Ukrainian children have been deported against their will by the Russians. They were among the 1.2 million Ukrainians that Kiev claims were forcibly taken from their country. Speaking on national TV, Denisova said that "when our children are deported, national identity is destroyed and our country is deprived of the future". Denisova did not provide evidence to support these figures - the Guardian could not independently verify them.
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Moscow advises Russians not to travel to the UK
Russia advises its fellow citizens not to travel to the United Kingdom. This was announced by the Moscow Foreign Ministry.
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Erdogan opposed the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO
The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO would be a "mistake" like that of Greece's entry into the Atlantic Alliance: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this. The Turkish leader told reporters that "he does not want the same mistake made with the accession of Greece", accusing Stockholm and Helsinki "of hosting terrorists of the PKK", the Kurdistan Workers' Party. "We don't have a positive opinion," Erdogan insisted.
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Putin chairs security council on NATO enlargement
Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian Security Council discussed the military operation in Ukraine and the potential threats posed by Finland and Sweden's decision to join NATO. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to reports from Interfax.
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12.45 - Kiev at the G7: "Seize Russian assets for reconstruction"
Kiev asks the G7 to seize Russian assets and use them for the reconstruction of Ukraine. This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
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Ukraine, Russia to Serbia: "Do not join the sanctions"
The hope that Serbia, under severe pressure, will not change its position against the sanctions against Russia was expressed by the Russian ambassador in Belgrade Aleksandr Bocan-Harcenko. Quoted by the Serbian media, the diplomat said that "sanctions are not a friendly step, especially sanctions of this magnitude".
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Kremlin: "At the moment a Putin-Zelensky meeting is impossible"
"There is no progress in drafting a possible document that Putin and Zelensky can sign. Russia is not against a meeting between the two presidents but it is impossible to hold it without adequate preparation". This was stated by the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, quoted by TASS.
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Over 1,500 hectares of burning forest in Kherson
Over 1,500 hectares of forest are currently burning in the Ukrainian region of Kherson in southern Ukraine, occupied by the Russians, while fighting continues on the border with the regions of Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk. Ukayinska Pravda reports it.
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Lavrov: "EU has become aggressive, doubts that Kiev's entry is harmless"
"This is a question of relations between Kiev and the EU. But there are strong doubts that this desire on the part of Kiev is harmless". Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov said this, according to Interfax reports, speaking in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, about Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU. "The EU - he added - has transformed itself from a constructive economic platform into an aggressive and militant actor that has declared its ambitions far beyond the European continent".
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Kiev: 26,900 Russian soldiers killed since the beginning of the war
At least 26,900 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began, according to the Kiev army. In its update on the losses suffered by Moscow so far, the army indicates that after 79 days of conflict there are also 200 fighters, 162 helicopters and 405 drones shot down.
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"Russians are withdrawing from Kharkiv"
Moscow is withdrawing its soldiers from the surroundings of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, where it is losing ground. The New York Times writes, citing Ukrainian and Western officials, highlighting that this is the second largest Russian setback since the withdrawal from Kiev
last month. According to officials, the Kremlin should probably redirect troops to the south-east, where it is strengthening its presence in Izium, a city two hours from Kiev, captured a month ago, at the gates of the Donbass.
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Borrell: "From the EU another 500 million for heavy weapons in Ukraine"
"The EU will make an additional contribution of 500 million euros to Ukraine to finance the purchase of weapons". This was stated by the High Commissioner for EU foreign policy Josep Borrell at the G7. "In this way, the EU will contribute 2 billion euros", he added, specifying that the money will be used to buy "tanks, ammunition, armored vehicles, heavy artillery, everything needed to fight this war".
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More attacks on Azovstal, with artillery and airplanes
Air attacks continue on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. This was announced by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the latest operational update published on Facebook. The Russians "continued to launch artillery shells and air strikes on Mariupol, focusing their efforts on blocking the units of our troops near the Azovstal plant", writes the General Staff of Kiev, specifying that "to establish full control of the city and suppress the resistance of the Ukrainian defenders "Moscow uses aircraft designed to hit strategic targets. According to the General Staff, the Russian fire "should increase in the near future".
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Kiev, 38,000 residential buildings destroyed, 220,000 displaced
Over 220,000 Ukrainian citizens are in need of housing as the Russian army has destroyed nearly 38,000 residential buildings in the country since the invasion began, the commissioner for human rights in the Parliament of Kiev, Lyudmila Denisova, said on Telegram, according to as reported by the Ukrinform agency. Denisova also announced that she has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the international association ATA, aimed at providing temporary housing to citizens who have lost their homes due to the war.
(Unioneonline)
