This article summarizes the most important events of the war in Ukraine from Friday, October 25, 2024. It is the 975th day of the war.
- Lukashenko: Crimea does not legally belong to Russia
- Zelenskyi gave Pakit to the UN Secretary General
- The central bank of Russia raised the key interest rate to a historic high
Lukashenko: Crimea does not legally belong to Russia
The autocratic leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has said that the Crimean peninsula does not legally belong to Russia.
Russia conquered Crimea in 2014. Based on the comment given now, Lukashenko would admit that there is no legal basis for the region’s belonging to Russia.
– The Crimean peninsula practically belongs to Russia, but not legally. It is because these matters are decided unilaterally, says Lukashenko, according to the newspaper.
According to Lukashenko, the problem with the Crimean peninsula being part of Russia is that the international community does not accept the annexation of the region to Russia.
If the claim about Lukashenko’s statement is true, it is the opposite of what he said in 2021. At that time, he felt that the Crimean peninsula legally belonged to Russia.
Alyaksandr Lukashenko expressed different thoughts about Vladimir Putin’s Russian conquests than what has been heard before. EPA/AOP
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Zelenskyi gave Pakit to the UN Secretary General
News agency AFP reports that Volodymyr Zelenskyi has denied UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a visit to Ukraine.
Guterres traveled to the Brics meeting held in Russia earlier this week. At the meeting, the UN leader made a speech in which he asked Russia to stop hostilities.
The speech did not warm many Ukrainians. Guterres’ presence and collusion with Russia and its allies was met with dismay in Ukraine.
Guterres was supposed to head to Ukraine after participating in the meeting of the Brics countries, but the audience has been cancelled. The matter was confirmed to AFP by a high-ranking official from the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry criticized Guterres for skipping a peace conference hosted by Ukraine in Switzerland in July.
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The central bank of Russia raised the key interest rate to a historic high
On Friday, the Central Bank of Russia raised the key interest rate to 21 percent.
The key interest rate is now at its highest since 2003, when Vladimir Putin had only been in power for a couple of years. The key interest rate was at the currently set readings for a moment in February 2022, when Russia began its attack on Ukraine.
The Central Bank of Russia says that inflation in the country is currently 8.4 percent. The reading is the highest this year. Inflation is expected to accelerate further in the coming months.
The high key interest rate and ever-increasing inflation are predicted to eat up 1.7 percent of Russia’s GDP this year.
According to the central bank, the key interest rate may be raised in the future.
The value of the Russian ruble against the US dollar has melted by 12 percent this year alone.
The Russian central bank announced today that it will raise the key interest rate to a record level. EPA/AOP
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South Korea turned to the Kremlin
South Korea urges Russia to stop its “illegal cooperation” with North Korea, reports AFP.
On Thursday, the Russian Duma ratified a defense agreement with North Korea, which includes a clause on providing mutual assistance in the event of an attack.
In a statement, South Korea’s foreign ministry expressed its “serious concern” about the ratification of the agreement at the same time as North Korean troops have appeared in Russia.
Dictator Kim Jong-unin controlled by North Korea has denied that it has sent soldiers to Russia, although Western countries have evidence of this.
South Korea has announced that it will take “appropriate measures” if North Korean troops end up on the front in support of Russia’s war of aggression.
South Korea’s M270 MLRS rocket launcher system fires a missile during a training exercise. Illustration image. AOP
Russian drones attacked Kiev twice during the night
The capital of Ukraine, Kiev, was again attacked by Russian drones. During the night before Friday, Russian drones have flown into the capital twice. Local news sources and authorities report air raids and explosions. The Russian-language BBC reports on the matter.
– Air defense is underway in the capital and its surroundings. Stay in shelters until the air raid warning is lifted, the city’s military officials warned residents.
No serious damage or personal injuries have been reported. Drones have also been spotted in other regions of Ukraine, such as Lviv, Cherkassy and Mykolaiv.
Belarus’ Lukashenko scoffs at Zelensky’s plan
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has previously said that he is hopeful that the war will end during 2025. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko considered the idea “ridiculous” and “wishful thinking”.
– These are his wishes, and nothing more, Lukashenko said on the Russian Rossiya 1 channel.
The president of Belarus refused to predict when the war would end. However, he was sure that it would not happen this year. The Moscow Times reported on the matter.
Earlier, Zelenskyi released his much talked about five-part victory plan.
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