Russian invasionRussian reactions

Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Voronin / AP 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

Putin wants to see agreement before Russia leaves Ukraine  

Russian President Vladimir Putin says an agreement "must be reached" before he ends what he calls "military action in Ukraine", reports AFP. Putin did not elaborate on what such an agreement would contain. 

- I have said several times that we are ready to conclude an agreement, says Putin at a press conference in Kyrgyzstan. 

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected Moscow's agreement. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will not compromise Ukraine's independence. A few weeks ago, he presented a ten-point program that he wants to see fulfilled before peace can be concluded. 

In the program, Ukraine wants, among other things, that Russia be held accountable for war crimes, that Russia leave all of Ukraine and that they pay for the damage they caused in the country.  

Ukrainian military shelling Russian forces in Bachmut two weeks ago. Libkos / AP 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

The city of Bachmut is described as hell on earth: "Soldiers are meat for Putin"  

Russia is in desperate need of a victory on the battlefield, and in the front-line city of Bachmut, fighting has intensified significantly in the past two weeks, writes the Financial Times. Ukrainian soldiers describe the fighting as the worst in the country since the start of the war. 

- Hell. Like hell, says officer Volodymyr as he describes the situation in the city.  

Ukraine now worries that the pre-war city of 70,000, famous for its salt mines and sparkling wine, is turning into a ruined wasteland. Fewer than 7,000 people remain in Bachmut, water, electricity and heat are cut off, the only traffic is ambulances and the square that was once filled with markets and people has almost turned into a fort. 

When the newspaper visited the city this week, there was rarely more than five seconds between the explosions, from both sides. Ukrainian soldier Konstantyn says that Russian soldiers are being shot to death on an "assembly line".  

- For what? For one damn meter of our land, he says.  

- They are just meat for Putin. And Bachmut is a meat grinder.  

Russian soldiers use Grad/Nuclear Power Plant Zaporizhzhya. TT  

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

Russian rocket artillery systems are said to be stationed at the reactor 

Russian forces have installed several rocket launchers at Ukraine's closed nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, Ukrainian authorities say according to AP.  Now there is a fear that the nuclear power plant can be used as a base to shoot at Ukrainian forces and that dangerous radiation will spread.  

According to the nuclear company Energatom, Russian forces have placed several Grad rocket artillery systems in the vicinity of the six reactors. It "violates all conditions for nuclear and radiation safety", warns Energatom.  

Experts believe that the risk of a meltdown has been greatly reduced since all six reactors have been shut down, but there is still a risk of dangerous radiation spreading.

 

Scare dump from Zelensky's Telegram channel.  

Russian invasionUkraine's response   

Zelenskyy warns of mines: "Terrorists' death traps"  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns in his nightly speech that left behind Russian mines will take years to clear. 

- The terrorists deliberately leave as many death traps as possible, says Zelensky. 

According to the president, more than 170,000 square kilometers of Ukraine is "dangerous territory". Recently, Ukraine's Ministry of Interior stated that about a third of the country is dangerous due to explosive objects, reports Radio Free Europe. 

 Zelenskyi believes that the abandonment of mines will be one of the most important charges against Russia after the war. The mines are even worse than the robots, according to him, because the robots can at least defend themselves against them.  

 

Barbara Woodward/North Korean Military. AP  

The Russian invasion. The outside world's response  

UK: Moscow wants to get weapons from North Korea  

Russia is trying to acquire weapons from both Iran and North Korea. That worries Britain, according to UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward, Reuters reports. 

- We are almost certain that Russia is seeking military support from North Korea, she says.  

Regarding the arms deliveries from Iran, she says that Russia is, among other things, trying to get hold of hundreds of ballistic robots and that they want to provide military support in exchange.  

Woodward says that Russia is turning to countries with sanctions as the Russian weapons stockpile is likely to begin to run out.