"The European Union will rebuild Ukraine because it is a moral obligation for the EU ".
Ursula von der Leyen , on the 106th day of the war, talks about Ukraine at the New European Bauhaus International Festival - NEB from the Maxxi in Rome, giving the official start to the event, scheduled from 9 to 12 June mainly in Brussels, but with over 300 online events and in presence in all countries of the Union.
"Today there will be a meeting with the mayor of Mariupol and a Ukrainian architect to rebuild Ukraine: it is a duty to do it and we will do it in the right way ", added the president of the EU Commission who then met the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in an interview that lasted about 50 minutes.
The European Union and the Commission, said the Head of State, must try to have the same approach used for post-Covid initiatives also to try to find all the tools to solve the many problems arising from the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin promises a return to lost greatness , through a struggle to "strengthen his sovereignty", as in the time of Peter the Great. The enemy is the West, which tries to weaken Moscow with sanctions, but the new tsar is sure: "He will not put a fence in us. Russia will not end up like the USSR , our economy will remain open".
Putin relaunched his message by meeting young Russian entrepreneurs , to whom he promised support from the government. The president addressed the new generation by outlining his idea of the future, which evidently comes from the invasion of Ukraine.
"The world is changing rapidly and to claim leadership any country, any people and any ethnic group must guarantee their sovereignty ," he stressed. Because the alternative would be to become a "colony with no prospects".
(Unioneonline)
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The day by the hour:
Media: "42 thousand requests to the Kremlin on missing soldiers"
In April, the Kremlin received nearly 42,000 requests for information on soldiers missing or captured in Ukraine from their friends or family. This was reported by the Russian investigative portal IStories, quoted by the Moscow Times, specifying that there is no evidence on how many of these reports have been examined or received a response. The last official Moscow toll dates back to March 25 and was of 1,351 fallen soldiers.
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London: "The trial of our former soldiers is a farce"
The Foreign Office owner, Liz Truss, expressed "total condemnation" for the death sentence inflicted on Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, the two former British soldiers identified as "mercenaries" in the service of the Kiev forces by a "pro-Russian court" who hold them in eastern Ukraine ". "They are prisoners of war, accused in a sham trial that has absolutely no legitimacy", insisted the foreign minister of the government of Boris Johnson: "My thoughts are for them and their families, we will continue to do whatever it takes. we can to support them ".
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Filorussi: "Foreign mercenaries can ask for pardon"
British and Moroccan "mercenaries" sentenced to death by the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic have the right to seek pardon. This was stated by the court of pro-Russian separatists, according to reports from Tass.
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Putin: "Russia will not end up like the USSR"
Russia "will not fall into the same trap as the USSR, its economy will remain open". Vladimir Putin said this when speaking to young Russian entrepreneurs. He added that the challenge facing the country today is to "return and strengthen".
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The pro-Russians sentence the two British mercenaries to death
The Supreme Court of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic sentenced to death British "mercenaries" Aiden Aslin, 28, of Nottinghamshire, Shaun Pinner, 48, of Bedfordshire, and Saaudun Brahim, Moroccan, who fought for the Ukrainian army . Russian agencies make it known.
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Johnson: "It would be repugnant to force Kiev to surrender"
To push Ukraine into a "bad compromise", a peace agreement imposed by Russia, would be "repulsive" and the West must not do that. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this on the sidelines of a public intervention in the county of Lancashire during which he presented a project to support national housing and the possibility of buying houses in the United Kingdom among the initiatives through which he seeks to regain support. In his speech, the Tory leader then attributed part of the responsibility for the surge in inflation in the Kingdom and "globally" to the "effects of Vladimir Putin's aggression".
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Ukraine, von der Leyen: "We will rebuild it, it is our duty"
"This afternoon we will have a debate between the mayor of Mariupol and the Ukrainian architects": "We will rebuild Ukraine: we must do it and we will do it" because "it is our moral obligation" to be implemented "in the right way, with the spirit of the new European Bauhaus ". Thus the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the opening of the International New European Bauhaus festival taking place at the Maxxi in Rome.
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Kremlin: "No agreement on wheat reached in Ankara"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, speaking to reporters, as reported by the Guardian, that no agreement was reached yesterday in Ankara on the export of Ukrainian grain cargoes across the Black Sea. Turkey pushes for an agreement between Russia. and Ukraine to alleviate the global food crisis by negotiating a safe passage for grain blocked in the Black Sea ports and yesterday in Ankara a meeting was held between Turkish foreign minister Cavusoglu and his Turkish counterpart Lavrov.
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Zelensky calls for Russia to be excluded from the FAO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to the OECD ministerial council, called for the exclusion of Russia from the FAO, the UN organization for food and agriculture based in Rome. "There can be no discussions to extend Russia's membership of the FAO. What would Russia's place be if it causes famine for at least 400 million people, if not over a billion?", He said speaking by videoconference at the Paris ministerial. , this year chaired by Italy.
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Zelensky to the OECD: long-term sanctions on Moscow are needed
"The primary interest of the world is to help protect Ukraine": said the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris, this year chaired by Italy. "The aggression of Russia must end as soon as possible", continued Zelensky, calling for "painful long-term sanctions against Russia".
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Ukraine, EU launches a 20 million fund dedicated to start-ups
The European Union today launches a 20 million euro fund to support Ukraine's technology sector, in particular towards start-ups. This was announced by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth. "The Ukrainian technology sector is advanced and is the country's flagship: this fund will encourage start-ups to integrate into the European system, especially at the level of SMEs, and then it will support companies that want to return to Ukraine as soon as the situation allows it, "Mariya Gabriel emphasized.
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Kiev: "With Western weapons Severodonetsk will be recovered in 72 hours"
With Western long-range weapons Ukraine could "clean up (of Russian troops) Severodonetsk in two or three days". The Lugansk regional military chief Sergiy Gaidai wrote on Telegram, explaining that at the moment the Federation army is forcefully attacking the industrial area and it is impossible to evacuate the population.
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Still bombing in Lugansk, 4 dead
The Russians continued bombing the Lugansk region overnight, looking for weaknesses in the defense of Severodonetsk, killing at least four civilians and causing numerous destruction. This was stated by Sergiy Gaidai, head of the Lugansk regional military administration on Telegram. "The Russians unsuccessfully continue their search for weaknesses in the defense of Severodonetsk, while firing at peaceful neighborhoods and industrial facilities in the Lugansk region. At least four people have died in the region."
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The Azot chemical plant bombed
The Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk was bombed twice by the Russian army between last night and last night, where about 800 civilians, 200 employees and about 600 residents took refuge. At least two workshops were hit, including one for ammonia production. This was reported by the head of the Lugansk regional military administration Sergiy Gaidai, reported by Ukrinform, but there is no information on the fate of the civilians. Inside the factory there are also some Ukrainian military units which, according to the pro-Russian fighters, would have retreated following the assault of the Moscow army.