It is Ukraine today that is moving its troops forward. And the renewed confidence allows Kiev to set conditions in the negotiations that will resume on Tuesday morning, this time in Istanbul, Turkey. The first meeting is scheduled for 9 and will go on until Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the Ukrainian capital, orders have been given to reopen schools (at a distance), also to distract children from the war. But without exaggerating with the homework, it is the recommendation made to the teachers.
Zelensky: “The war can end quickly, Putin is delaying it”
–
–
The Istanbul negotiations
Last night, to prepare the ground for the negotiations in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky anticipated that he was willing to discuss the country’s future neutrality and its denuclearization, but not to cede any territory. The (ambitious) goal of the Istanbul negotiations is to bring Putin and Zelensky together in person.
Abramovich’s suspicions of poisoning
Certainly it does not help to tone down the news spread by the Wall Street Journal, according to which the Ukrainian delegation that had started negotiations a week after the outbreak of the war showed symptoms of poisoning. In addition to them, also the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovic, former owner of Chelsea, involved in mediations. They would show “red eyes, peeling skin on the face and hands”, but they would not be in danger. However, the news indicates how strong the pressure is not to reach a ceasefire by Russia.
Wsj: for Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators symptoms of poisoning
by our correspondent Antonello Guerrera
–
The backward steps of the Russian troops
On the ground, meanwhile, the Russians have abandoned the outpost of Irpin, the town northwest of Kiev which they had earned at the price of a river of blood. Their tanks also withdrew from two towns in the north-east of the country, in the Sumy region: Trostyanets and Boromlya.
According to a report by the Ukrainian General Staff, the 106th Russian Airborne Division has returned to Belarus due to the losses suffered. In return, Russian-supplied missiles landed in the Gomel region in south-east Belarus (where the first negotiations took place). Launching them towards Ukraine would mean directly involving Minsk in the war.
Ukraine, the mayor of Odessa: “I loved the Russians, but today no peace with Putin”
by our correspondent Corrado Zunino
–
Mariupol’s tragedy: 5 thousand victims
Even our prime minister Mario Draghi today spoke with Zelensky, who complained about “the failure of the humanitarian corridors”, blocked by the Russians. Draghi expressed pain over “the bombing of cities, including schools, with the killing of many civilians including children”.
Mariupol is certainly the most tragic symbol of this situation. Nearly 5,000 people were killed, including 2,000 civilians and 210 children, according to Mayor Vadym Boychenko. 90% of its buildings would be damaged and 40% completely destroyed, including 3 hospitals and 57 schools.
The idea of a trip by the Pope to Ukraine divides the Vatican, between geopolitics and historical precedents
by Orazio La Rocca
–
The siege of Mariupol has been ongoing for 28 days. Before the exits from the city were blocked, the mayor explained, 140,000 people had fled. Another 150 thousand were subsequently evacuated and 30 thousand “deported” to Russia or to areas occupied by the Russians in eastern Ukraine. About 170,000 people remain stranded in the city. “This is genocide, they want to wipe the city off the face of the earth,” Boychenko said. Emmanuel Macron, French president, could speak to Putin today or tomorrow to convince him to evacuate the remaining inhabitants.
Novaya Gazeta also closes in Russia
Meanwhile, Mosca continues to tighten his muzzle on information. Today also the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta, in which the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov works, has stopped publishing, after warnings received by the Kremlin authorities. “After all this, we abandon our work both on the site and on social media and on paper, until the end of the special operation in Ukraine.” Special operation “is the only term that the Russian media can use to define war, penalty a prison term of up to 15 years.
Moscow suspends publications Novaya Gazeta, the Nobel Prize newspaper Muratov: We don’t go out until “the special operation in Ukraine” ends
by our correspondent Rosalba Castelletti
–
Refugees welcomed in Europe
Not bowing to Putin’s will are the G7 countries, which have rejected the Kremlin’s request to pay for hydrocarbons in rubles as a whole. “It would be a unilateral breach of contracts” cut the group of the Big 7 in a statement. The European Union has decided to welcome all Ukrainian immigrants for 3 years. About 10 million Ukrainians have fled from home, of which almost 4 have emigrated abroad.
The maxi American military budget
Meanwhile, from Washington, US President Joe Biden presented the budget for 2023, inflating war expenses. 813 billion will go to Defense, 4% more. Almost 7 billion will be dedicated to strengthening NATO and one billion to militarily support Ukraine.
