Vladimir Putin warns world of any attack on Russia
It is day 16 of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. There are still no signs of this fight coming to an end. Many cities in Ukraine have been destroyed by Russian attacks.
The Russian army has come closer to capital Kyiv. Russia continued its heavy bombardment of Mariupol on Thursday. But Ukraine is also giving a befitting reply to the attack.
Meanwhile, Kremlin, the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has warned that if someone attacks Russian troops in Ukraine, then they will also be targeted. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 2.3 million have fled the country since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Here are 10 latest points from the war
1. Russia has surrounded four major cities in Ukraine and has reached close to the border with Kyiv. Kharkiv is still with Ukraine in the east, despite relentless Russian attacks. While in the northeast, Sumy is under the siege of Russian troops, but through the humanitarian corridor, thousands of people managed to get out safely.
2. A big statement has come from the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov who said that Russia never wanted war, even as he demanded an end to the ongoing war. After a meeting with the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Turkey, Lavrov said he was ready to negotiate on Kyiv’s security guarantees.
3. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the attacks by Ukrainian paramilitary forces forced Russian troops to retaliate. Earlier there was such a report that Ukraine has given weapons to the common citizens of its country for the war against Russia.
4. Russia has announced that it will open the human corridor every day from 10 am. This has been done from Russia. The permission of this has not been taken from the Ukrainian government. Through this corridor, civilians trapped in the war will be evacuated and humanitarian aid will be provided.
5. The US has said that it has no intention of sending US troops to Ukraine to fight a war against Russia. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that our assessment is based on how to avoid world war.
6. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved a new law, taking tough measures against Russia. Under this, Ukraine will be able to confiscate Russian assets. This law gives the right to confiscate the properties of Russia or its citizens without compensation.
7. Ukraine has claimed that President Vladimir Putin has fired eight top Russian army generals. It has also been claimed that Putin has also expressed displeasure over the Russian intelligence agency FSB’s failure to gather information and poor strategy. However, both these claims could not be independently verified.
8. Oleg Ustenko, the Chief Economic Adviser to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a statement. He says that the country has suffered a loss of USD 100 billion so far due to the Russian attack. This statement was issued by Ustenko on behalf of Zelenskyy.
9. Ustenko said, Russian assets have been frozen around the world, including even the Russian Central Bank. Only with these can a big loss done in Ukraine be compensated. He said that the fund can also be regenerated by using the confiscated property of the rich class of Russian people.
10. US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday called for an international war crimes investigation against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine and the bombings of civilians, including a maternity hospital.