Russian President Vladimir Putin made a visit to military headquarters in Russian-occupied Ukraine, according to the Kremlin. Putin was seen disembarking from a military helicopter in a Russian-held region, where he greeted senior military commanders. The exact date of the visit was not disclosed. The Kremlin stated that Putin attended a military command meeting in the Kherson region, where he was briefed by commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” army group, as well as other senior officers, on the situation in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Moscow has proclaimed both regions as part of Russia. Putin also visited national guard headquarters in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in the eastern Donbas, which Moscow has also claimed to have annexed along with adjacent Donetsk region.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal against his arrest and detention in Moscow on charges of espionage, according to court documents. A Russian court will hear a complaint filed by Gershkovich on Tuesday against the decision to keep him in custody in Lefortovo prison while the case is being investigated. The hearing is essentially procedural and will cover how Gershkovich should be detained as he awaits trial, not the substance of the charges. On Monday, US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy stated that she had visited Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia two weeks ago. “He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release,” Tracy said.
Poland and Ukraine will resume negotiations on Tuesday to try to reopen the transit of food and grains, according to the Polish agriculture minister who spoke to public radio station PR1. The two countries held talks on Monday over bans by central eastern European countries seeking to shelter their farmers from the impact of an influx of cheaper Ukrainian grain.
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces stated that Russian forces are increasing their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Meanwhile, the UK has condemned the sentencing of Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years on Monday for opposing the war in Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrei Kelin, for an explanation. Kara-Murza holds dual Russian-British citizenship. Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, told British broadcaster LBC that she was “baffled” by the UK government’s “weak” response. “Introducing sanctions against his perpetrators would actually be a very practical step that I would very much like to see,” she said. The UN’s human rights head, Volker Türk, urged Russia to release him, while Baltic neighbour Latvia sanctioned 10 Russian officials and lawyers involved in the case.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting with the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, on Tuesday. G7 foreign ministers have condemned Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus as “unacceptable” after a three-day meeting in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa. “Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences,” they warned.
The Pentagon stated that it expects findings within 45 days from a review into how the US military handles classified information after last week’s arrest of an airman over the leak of a trove of highly classified documents online. Russia said it had repelled an “illegal” Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate Russian territory in the southern border region of Bryansk, 11 days after reporting a similar incident.
In summary, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited military headquarters in Russian-occupied Ukraine, while Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal against his arrest and detention in Moscow on charges of espionage. Poland and Ukraine will resume negotiations on Tuesday to try to reopen the transit of food and grains. The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces stated that Russian forces are increasing their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The UK has condemned the sentencing of Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting with the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, on Tuesday. G7 foreign ministers have condemned Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus as “unacceptable”. The Pentagon expects findings within 45 days from a review into how the US military handles classified information after last week’s arrest of an airman over the leak of a trove of highly classified documents online. Russia said it had repelled an “illegal” Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate Russian territory in the southern border region of Bryansk, 11 days after reporting a similar incident.
