Vladimir Putin has raised the possibility of a settlement to end his war in Ukraine, while still claiming that his “own military operation” will be planned. “The settlement process as a whole, yes, is likely to be difficult and will take some time — but one way or another, all participants in this process will have to come to terms with the realities that are shaping up on the ground,” the president said at a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. His remarks came just days after he said military action could be a “long-term operation”.
Explosions have been reported at Berdyansk Air Base in Zaporizhia Region, Ukraine. Three large explosions were heard in addition to smaller ones. Near the Russian-occupied city On the coast of the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine says its southern regions suffer the worst blackouts Days after the recent bout of Russian attacks on the country’s energy grid. Volodymyr Kudritsky, the head of Ukrainian grid operator Okenergo, said workers were struggling more to restore electricity in the Black Sea regions of Odessa, which were hit hard on Monday, and around the recently restored city of Kherson.
Vladimir Putin said that Russia could amend its military doctrine by introducing the possibility of a preemptive strike to disarm the enemy., an apparent reference to a nuclear attack. Speaking just days after he warned that the risk of nuclear war was growing but that Russia would not strike first, Putin said on Friday that Moscow was considering whether to adopt what he called Washington’s concept of a preemptive strike.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said his government is working with the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency to create a safe zone around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear plant. said Dmytro Kuleba At a joint press conference in Kiev with his Slovak counterpart, Rastislav Kair, in Kiev stayed in close contact With Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia claimed that the proposed safety zone around the Zaporizhia plant would ‘Stop the Ukrainian bombing’. A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said the US withdrawal from a treaty banning intermediate-range nuclear missiles was “devastating” work That created a vacuum and led to additional security risks.
President Joe Biden He said He spoke with NBA star Brittney Griner and found her to be ‘in good spirits’ After her release from custody. Russia released Grenier on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been held in a US prison for 12 years.
Viktor Bout’s mother thanked Vladimir Putin for releasing her son as part of the exchange with the United States. Bot, nicknamed “Death Dealer”, is a former Soviet officer with the rank of colonel of the US Department of Justice He was once described as one of the most prolific arms dealers in the world. Russian state media mentioned He has returned to the country.
Belarus has informed the United Nations that it will accept, without preconditions, the transit of Ukrainian grain through its territory for export from the ports of Lithuania.A UN spokesman said. UN Secretary-General António Guterres met with the Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister, Yuri Ambrazevic, in New York on Friday. The spokesman said after the meeting that Ambrajević “also reiterated his government’s demands to enable the export of its fertilizer products, which are currently subject to sanctions.”
The United States has expressed concern about a “broad defense partnership” between Moscow and TehranDescribing it as “harmful” to Ukraine, Iran’s neighbors and the world. Western powers have accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia – which Moscow denies – as Russian forces bomb Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Washington had previously condemned security cooperation between Iran and Russia, but on Friday described a wide-ranging relationship that includes equipment such as helicopters and combat aircraft as well as drones, the latter provisions of which led to new US sanctions.
French oil giant Total Energy bowed to international pressure and announced that it intends to “gradually withdraw” its Russian investments.. The world’s fifth-largest oil company said on Friday it would remove representatives from the board of directors of Novatek, Russia’s dominant private gas exporter.
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