‘JDN News’ lays out for you the events of the past day, the 162nd day of the Russia-Ukraine war – as it happened minute by minute.
00:19 – The American administration announced another round of sanctions against Russia that include a number of Russian personalities. As part of the new round, the US also imposed sanctions on the MMK company – one of the world’s leading steel producers, as well as on the company’s managers. The US State Department said it is imposing restrictions on the visas of 893 Russian officials and military personnel, who are involved in activities against Ukraine, and on 31 foreign entities. from around the world that supported the annexation of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. In addition, sanctions were imposed on 24 Russian defense and technology companies.
09:53 – Russia stated at the UN that the war in Ukraine does not justify its use of nuclear weapons, but clarified that it may decide otherwise in response to the “direct aggression” of NATO countries. Russian diplomat Alexander Trofimov said that Moscow would use nuclear weapons only in response to the use of weapons of mass destruction or a scenario where Russia’s existence would be in danger. According to him, “None of these hypothetical scenarios are relevant to the situation in Ukraine.” However, he emphasized that “if the Western countries try to test our determination, we will not back down.”
12:06 – The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the forces destroyed a warehouse with weapons supplied by Poland in the Lviv region of Ukraine.
12:56 – In Kharkiv they warn: “The Russian Federation continues its terrorist activities” and claim that Russia is planning a major missile attack on the city.
13:13 – USA: The Senate is expected to vote on the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
15:17 – Cooperation between Russia and Iran is intensifying: Russia will launch a satellite for Iran in a few days.
16:00 – The war in Ukraine is facing a change in trend: more than 5 months after the start of the war in Ukraine – in the last few days, there is a growing assessment that the picture is about to change. The Russian initiative on the battlefield has been almost completely blocked, and on the other hand, the Ukrainians are preparing to take back large parts occupied by Moscow.
19:58 – After the announcement by the US envoy to the nuclear talks about the resumption of the talks: the Russian envoy to the nuclear talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, announced that Russia would be ready to assist in this.
21:00 – The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the completion of the inspection of the ship “Razoni”, the first ship to leave the port of Odessa three days earlier – with the shipment of the first grain export from Ukraine since the outbreak of the war. The ship arrived at the port in Istanbul, and successfully passed the examination of the Turkish Ministry of Defense officials – and sailed towards its destination in Lebanon. Following this, Ankara announced that in light of the success of the shipment – three grain ships will leave Ukraine every day, instead of the one initially agreed upon in the agreement between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations.