An opponent opposed to the military campaign in Ukraine is arrested in Moscow
Leonid Gozman, an opposition politician opposed to Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, was arrested today at a Moscow metro station, said his lawyer, Mikhail Biriukiov.
“Leonid Gozman has been arrested. Now we are in a police station,” the lawyer told the Interfax agency.
According to Biriukov, the agents argued Gozman’s arrest, included in the list of “foreign media agents”, with the fact that he issued a search and arrest warrant against him, which does not specify the reason for it.
“There is no reason for this, no charges have been filed against him at the moment,” the lawyer stressed.
Gozman, 72, chairman of the liberal Union of Right Forces movement, in 2014 signed a manifesto against Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Russian Foreign Minister arrives in Congo, second stage of his tour of Africa
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, arrived in Oyo, in central Congo, on Sunday night, where he began the second stage of his tour of Africa that started in Cairo, Egypt.
His agenda includes a night in Oyo, birthplace of the Congolese head of state, Denis Sassou Nguesso, some 400 kilometers north of the capital, Brazzaville. The two leaders will meet on Monday.
Since Russia began the invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, Congo has shown itself to be a “neutral” country in the conflict.
Lavrov will then travel to Uganda and Ethiopia this week.
Zelenski claims his troops are advancing on Jerson
Ukrainian troops are advancing towards Kherson, according to statements by the country’s president, Volodímir Zelenski, about the situation in that region in the southeast of the country, under Russian control since the beginning of the invasion.
“The occupiers are trying to control the area. But the Ukrainian army is advancing stage by stage in the region,” the Ukrainian leader said in a video message.
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) already warned this Saturday of the advance of the Ukrainian forces on certain settlements in the region, although apparently the local authorities have asked their population not to give information about it so as not to alter the military strategy .
According to this Institute, quoted by the Ukrinform portal, the Ukrainian resistance in the region has managed to repel several Russian attacks on an unknown number of villages in Kherson.
Russia says attack on Ukrainian port of Odessa should not hamper grain exports
Ukrainian grain exports from the port of Odessa can be carried out in accordance with the agreement signed under the auspices of the UN, despite Russia’s bombing of port infrastructure, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The shelling “is only aimed at the military infrastructure. It has nothing to do with the infrastructure used for the implementation of the grain export agreement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
“That is why it cannot and should not hinder the start of the charging process,” the Kremlin spokesman added.
Ukraine bombs Russian positions in the south and destroys a command post
Ukrainian aviation has bombed Russian positions in the south of the country, in the Kherson region, in its counteroffensive to recover part of the lost territory, according to the latest report issued this morning by the Southern Command.
The head of the Press Center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, reported during a national telethon that the Ukrainian forces had destroyed a Russian command and observation post from which they were trying to carry out a “counter-offensive operation” in the direction of Kherson.
“We are not standing still, we are making progress, but these results can only be announced to the extent that they materialize,” said Humeniuk.
According to the Southern Command report, quoted by the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, Ukrainian aircraft hit five targets of the Russian army, in the Beryslav district and two more in the Kherson district.
The Kremlin assures that Russia “is not interested” in cutting off gas to Europe
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia “is not interested” in the cessation of gas supplies to Europe given the statements heard in some European capitals about that possibility.
“Russia is not interested in that,” said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, at his daily press conference.
Peskov added that Moscow is a “responsible” gas supplier despite what is said in Brussels and Washington. “Russia has been and remains a country that largely guarantees Europe’s energy security,” he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that “if Europe continues the path of adopting senseless restrictions and sanctions, which affects itself, the situation will be different.”