The Russian army repeatedly targets Ukrainian cities. This time, Western journalists are also being harmed. The Ukrainian president has clear words for this.
After the deadly Russian artillery shelling of a hotel with foreign journalists in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly condemned the attack. “This is everyday Russian terror,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address. The world must act quickly and decisively to stop the aggressor Russia. “Time means losses. And the longer we have to wait, the more damage Russia will be able to do.”
The shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk hit a hotel where a six-person team from the Reuters news agency was staying. A British security adviser to the journalists was killed and his body could not be recovered until hours later. Two other journalists were injured, including a German.
During the course of the day, at least four people were killed by Russian artillery fire in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy. Another 13 civilians were injured.
Zelensky took these attacks as an opportunity to call on the international community to put more pressure on the “terrorist state” that has been waging a destructive war of aggression against Ukraine for two and a half years. In addition to the full implementation of sanctions against Moscow, Zelensky once again called for the use of frozen Russian money for the benefit of his country. He recalled a decision by the seven major western industrialized countries (G7) to grant Ukraine a loan of 50 billion dollars, which is to be secured by interest income from frozen Russian assets.
The Ukrainian government confirmed the troop reinforcements on the border announced by neighboring Belarus a week ago. According to the Foreign Ministry in Kiev, new units with tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft guns were observed in the Gomel region of Belarus. Mercenaries from the former Russian Wagner troops were also identified.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on those responsible in Minsk “not to make mistakes that would be tragic for their own country under pressure from Moscow” and to withdraw troops to a reasonable distance from the common border. At the same time, Kyiv stressed that they were not planning “any kind of hostile actions” against the Belarusian people.
Just a few days ago, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko announced troop reinforcements towards the border with Ukraine. He cited large troop concentrations on the Ukrainian side as the reason for this. Ukraine has stationed up to 120,000 soldiers there, he claimed.
The neighboring country, which is allied with Russia, is not actively involved in the war against Ukraine. However, in February 2022, Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to advance from Belarus into Ukraine. After severe setbacks and losses during the attempted advance towards Kyiv, these Russian units had to withdraw.
In eastern Ukraine, heavy fighting around the Donbass region continues unabated. Once again, Russian troops repeatedly attacked the towns of Pokrovsk and Toretsk. There was still no concrete information about the evacuation of the civilian population from Pokrovsk, which has already begun.
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian units achieved further successes in their advance into the western Russian region of Kursk. “We are advancing further in the Kursk region – up to three kilometers,” said Zelensky. The Ukrainian troops have brought two more settlements under their control and taken more prisoners of war.
