‘JDN News’ presents the events of the past day, the 126th day of the Russia-Ukraine war, as it happened minute by minute.
06:34 – Australia is considering reopening its embassy in Kiev, said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanis “We would like to have a presence on the ground to assist”. This is after several NATO members, including the US, recently moved their embassies to the Ukrainian capital in a demonstration of solidarity after leaving the country when Russia invaded it in February.
04:57 – Dozens of people are still defined as missing after the attack on the shopping center in Kremenchug, Ukraine – according to local authorities. In the attack, missiles from Russian forces hit the compound and killed at least 18 people. Russia also denies that it is targeting civilians, claiming that it was a weapons depot that was attacked.
06:26 – US President Joe Biden welcomes a statement issued by Turkey, Finland and Sweden on reaching an agreement paving the way for Sweden and Finland to join NATO – the North Atlantic Alliance. “This is a crucial step towards Sweden and Finland joining NATO, which will strengthen our alliance and our collective security,” Biden said.
08:20 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalansky, released the documentation of the moment of the attack on the crowded mall, as captured by security cameras. In doing so, he denies Russia’s claims that it did not harm the mall but Western weapons depots. In Russia they claimed to have bombed a western weapons depot, which is what caused the big fire in a nearby mall.
08:28 – The TASS news agency reported that preparations have begun in Moscow for the holding of the Mashal Ha’am in the Kherson region of Ukraine, regarding joining Russia.
08:56 – At least three civilians were killed and five others were injured in a Russian army missile strike on a residential building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. This was reported by the local authorities, who launched an operation to rescue survivors. Mayor Oleksandr Sankiewicz said eight missiles were fired at the city and called on residents to evacuate. Meanwhile, the Russian news agency Tas reported that the Russian administration forced by Moscow into the occupied port city of Kherson announced that it had begun preparations for a referendum on joining Russia.
Photo: Ukrainian Army
09:53 – NATO Secretary – General Jens Stoltenberg said during the second day of the summit of the North Atlantic Military Alliance in Madrid that “China is challenging NATO’s values and interests. The United States needs to take into account Chinese investment in long-term modern weapons. ” He further said that the summit in Madrid would be “historic and life-changing” and added that he expects a quick ratification of the accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance.
11:03 – NATO Secretary-General officially invites Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said of the decision: “It proves that NATO’s door is still open.” He further added that NATO members are ready to help Ukraine in the long run.
11:55 – The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that its forces attacked and hit a military training base of “foreign mercenaries” near the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.
12:19 – US President Joe Biden said at the NATO summit in Madrid that the US military “will increase its military presence in Europe so that NATO can respond to threats coming from all directions – from land, air and sea.” He said that the threat posed by Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. , And said that Washington would send more F-35 fighter jets to Britain and establish another headquarters in Poland, the fifth in number.
13:54 – Britain announces that it will impose sanctions on oligarch Vladimir Putin, the second richest man in Russia.
13:56 – Zalanski told NATO: “Ukraine needs support for weapons and funds, we need $ 5 billion a month for defense and security.”
14:54 – The Interior Ministry of Ukraine has announced that the chances of finding survivors among the missing buried under the rubble of the Kremenchuk shopping center bombed on Monday are nil. According to the announcement, the death toll stands at 20 and 21 more people are defined as missing – and are not expected to be alive.
15:00 – The Russians announce that they are preparing to hold a referendum in Kherson province on official joining the Russian Federation. It will be recalled that the Kherson district was one of the first to fall to the Russian army after the invasion of Ukraine, but in recent weeks Ukrainian forces have been attacking Russian forces in the region. According to reports, real fighting is taking place in the northern part of the province.
15:10 – Ukraine announced this week that they arrested a former Russian KGB agent who was staying in Ukraine and aimed and ranged Russian bombs in the west of the country. In Kiev it is said that he is suspected of providing the Russian military forces with precise coordinates of military targets through the telegram messaging app.
15:27 – After US President Joe Biden said at the NATO summit that the US military “will increase its presence in Europe” following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow “is not intimidated by his remarks”. According to Ryabkov, “People who make such proposals live in the illusion that Russia can be intimidated and stopped – they will not succeed.”
16:37 – At the NATO summit in Madrid, the leaders of the participating countries declared that Russia was “the most significant and direct threat to the security and safety of the United States.” After the Cold War, Allied leaders promised to “increase political and practical support for Kiev.”
18:35 – A senior Russian diplomat informs the UN secretary general that his country is ready to help fight the global hunger threat.