Live War in Ukraine: Russian defense minister inspects frontline

The toll rises after a missile strike hit an apartment building in Zaporozhye at midnight on Thursday: Ukrainian emergency services now have 10 victims, including a child. Rescuers found three more bodies in the rubble about 36 hours after the strike.

Put off by the Estonian government’s belligerent stance toward Russia, many Russian-speakers in the Baltic nation are likely to abstain from voting in Sunday’s legislative election, even as they oppose the war in Ukraine.

Russian speakers, who make up a quarter of the population, are worried about the bill to teach exclusively in Estonian in schools.

Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, said on Saturday that there is “hope” that accession talks between Kyiv and the EU will begin. “Ukraine’s future lies in the EU,” he said from Kyiv.

“I am impressed with the speed with which the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) and the government are moving forward with the EU initiative,” he added.

The European Union granted candidate status to Ukraine last June. The next step in the long and difficult road to integration is the opening of accession negotiations, which must be taken unanimously by member states.

Before the war, the Kryvyi Rih Ironworks in central Ukraine repaired mining equipment. Now some workers are busy making metal bunkers for the front line troops.

They have already deployed 123 structures in Zaporizhia, and many other regions such as Donetsk.

African Olympic Committees have come out unanimous in their support for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. “It will be a question of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in complete neutrality without any identification,” ANOCA notes in a press release.

African Olympic Committees thus align themselves with the position of the International Olympic Committee. “No athlete should be banned from competition solely on the basis of their passport,” the IOC executive assured.

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, joined by the German stock market elite, is in talks with Ukrainian authorities over the construction of a tank factory in Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing an article in Der Spiegel magazine.

Marjorie Taylor Green, an influential far-right elected congresswoman, called on the US to end aid to Ukraine. This gives added resonance to the challenge brewing within the Republican Party.

“I think the United States should be pushing for peace in Ukraine instead of funding a war that puts the whole world at risk of World War III,” said Marjorie Greene.

“Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Joe Biden initially said that he will not defend Ukraine because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, he continues. This is meaningless and the American people do not support it. »

The Georgia state deputy is often described as a notorious provocateur, accustomed to making racist statements and a proponent of some conspiracy theories.

In its latest intelligence update, Britain’s Ministry of Defense tweeted that Kyiv was “reinforcing the area with elite units” and that key bridges had been destroyed.

“Ukrainian defenses of the town of Bakmut in the Donbass are under increasingly severe pressure, with intense fighting taking place in and around the town.”

Invited to a conference in India, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov unwittingly provoked laughter from the audience. “The war we are trying to stop has been started against us,” he said so earnestly that the congregation laughed.

Ukraine’s chief prosecutor says the country is moving toward eventually opening an office of the International Criminal Court in Ukraine, as Kiev calls for the creation of a special court to try Moscow’s alleged crimes on its territory.

The ICC is currently investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

According to Moscow, Ukrainian “saboteurs” have infiltrated a border area. One version, observers say, is that the Kremlin is struggling to hide its embarrassment over the presence of far-right anti-Russian groups. Our encryption.

“Wagner’s units have practically surrounded Bagmouth and there is only one way out,” Wagner boss Evgeny Prigozhin said in a video posted on Telegram on Friday.

He called on Zelensky to order Ukrainian troops out of the city. “If we were facing a professional Ukrainian army that fought against us, today we see more old people and children. They fight, but their life in Bagmouth is short, a day or two,” Prigozhin said.

The battle for Bagmouth, an industrial city whose strategic importance is disputed, has been ongoing since the summer.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected a “command post” in eastern Ukraine, his ministry reveals. In a press release, the ministry indicated that Sergei Shoigu was “in the Donetsk-South direction,” though the exact location or date of the visit was not specified.

The ministry released a video showing him riding in a helicopter, then talking to a soldier (without a helmet or bulletproof vest) in front of damaged buildings under guard.

Encouraged by the war, the arms group Rheinmetall, the manufacturer of some of the Panther tanks expected by the Ukrainians, would coordinate the German star-code docs instead of the Fresenius Medical Service, which specialized in dialysis.

“It’s good to be back in Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter. To be with those who have sacrificed everything for our values. With Europeans who are home to the EU. »

They will support Ukraine “as long as necessary”: Biden and Scholz sent a signal of solidarity to Russia and, presumably, China, from the White House on Friday.

The visit to the White House will be the second by a German leader on February 7, 2022. At the time, Russia “massed its troops” on the Ukrainian border, recalling Joe Biden from the Oval Office. Both made brief statements to reporters. The Westerners pledged to “respond” and “we will keep our word,” thanks US President Olaf Scholes, sitting next to him.

Welcome to this live coverage of the 374th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.