#War #Ukraine #Developments
Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– EU prepares Russian gas shutdown –
The European Commission is urging EU members to cut demand for natural gas by 15 percent in the coming months and give it the power to impose gas rationing in preparation for a winter without Russian gas or with a severely reduced supply.
“Russia uses energy as a weapon and therefore Europe must be ready in any case, whether it is a partial major disruption to Russian gas or a complete disruption,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In a draft plan seen by AFP, the Commission is asking member states to turn down heating and air conditioning in public and commercial buildings.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and the West responded with sanctions, Russia has started cutting gas supplies to EU members including Germany, and in the case of Bulgaria, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark set completely.
– Russia’s goals go beyond Donbass: Lavrov –
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin’s plans for Ukraine went beyond the eastern Donbass region, which put Moscow in the spotlight after it failed to take the capital Kyiv and second-biggest city Kharkiv.
In an interview with Russian state media, he says “it’s not just about the DNR and LNR,” referring to the two territories that make up the Donbass, but also the Russian-occupied southern Kherson region, the partially occupied southeastern one Zaporizhia region “and a number of other areas”.
He says Western arms shipments to Kyiv, including shipments of US medium-range multiple rocket launchers, have prompted Moscow to reconsider its goals.
Russia cannot allow Ukraine “to have weapons that pose a direct threat to our territory” or to areas controlled by pro-Russian rebels, he argues.
– Three dead in Kharkiv –
As Russian forces advance in the Donbass, they have continued to bombard Kharkiv, where three people were killed by shells on Wednesday.
Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said a 13-year-old boy was among the dead. AFP journalists see a shocked man kneeling over the body of a boy in a blue sweatshirt.
Elsewhere, two people were killed in artillery attacks on the southern town of Nikopol, near Zaporizhia.
– “No sense” in peace talks: Lavrov –
In the same interview, Lavrov also states that peace talks with Ukraine make no sense “in the current situation”.
He accused Kyiv of “not wanting to discuss anything seriously”.
The two sides made some progress during talks in the first month of the conflict, but they stalled after the bodies of hundreds of civilians massacred in areas occupied by Russian forces were discovered.
– No Ukraine grain unless Russia grain lifted: Putin –
Putin is demanding that the West first lift export bans on Russian grain before Moscow agrees to ease the export of Ukrainian grain that is stuck in that country’s blocked ports.
After talks with the presidents of Iran and Turkey in Tehran, Putin stated: “We will facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, but we assume that all restrictions on possible supplies for the export of Russian grain will be lifted.”
The war in Ukraine has hampered shipments from one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, prompting fears of worsening food shortages, particularly in Africa.
Ukrainian and Russian military delegations are expected in Istanbul this week for a second round of talks to end the impasse.
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