Erdogan-Putin discussion, the weight of sanctions is felt

by time news

► Six people killed in a former “prayer house” of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Six people were killed when a shell fell on a residential building in Toretsk, according to local officials in the Donetsk region, one of the two Donbass provinces that Moscow is seeking to conquer in full.

Two people also died in 24 hours in Russian bombardments in the Kharkiv region, the second largest city in Ukraine near the Russian border, according to the governor of the region Oleg Sinegoubov.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Monday that 250 “foreign mercenaries” had been killed in a Russian airstrike on the village of Konstantinovka, in the Donetsk region, without further details.

Russia announced on Saturday that it had officially ended the “operational pause” of his army decreed eight days ago, and the bombardments have resumed with more intensity in the Donbass, an industrial region already partly controlled since 2014 by pro-Russian separatists.

► Ukraine dismisses senior officials suspected of espionage

As Russia continues its offensive launched on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky relieved General Prosecutor Iryna Venediktova and the head of the security services (SBU), Ivan Bakanov, from their duties on Sunday.

In his request to deputies published on the parliament’s website, Zelensky proposed to “dismiss” this manager without providing an explanation, but a Ukrainian news site has implicated a “systemic problem” related to “the infiltration of Russian agents within the SBU”.

In announcing Sunday evening the departure of Ivan Bakanov, his long-time friend, Volodymyr Zelensky notably mentioned the arrest of a senior regional SBU official who provided “secret information” to Russia. He added that about sixty agents of this structure were “remained in occupied territories” by Moscow where they “work against our country”.

► Putin recognizes the difficulties linked to the sanctions

In Brussels, EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday reaffirmed their willingness to increase pressure on Moscow with new measures, including an embargo on gold purchases from Russia, despite the threat of a disruption of Russian gas supplies.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that the European sanctions imposed on Russia were ” a mistake “because they do not have “did not reach their goal” and stifle the European economy.

Vladimir Putin acknowledged Monday for his part the serious difficulties posed by the “blocking” access « presque total » from Russia to high Western technologies on which it is dependent.

► Erdogan-Putin talks on wheat

Food prices around the world have soared because of the war in Ukraine, a crucial exporter of wheat. Millions of tons of grain are blocked in Ukrainian ports by the presence of Russian warships and that of mines, placed by kyiv to defend its coasts.

Negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN are to take place in the coming days in Turkey. As of Tuesday, Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are due to speak to Tehran. The agreement negotiated through the UN aims to bring out through the Black Sea some 20 million tonnes of grain blocked in Ukrainian silos.

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