2023-11-22 14:04:11
► At virtual G20 summit, Scholz urges Putin to end conflict
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday November 22 that he had urged Vladimir Putin to stop Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, during the first online G20 in which the Russian president participated since the start of the war.
“I called on him to withdraw his troops from the territory of Ukraine so that this war finally ends”declared the German leader, during a press conference in Berlin with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
► Russia claims to have destroyed Ukrainian naval drones
Russia claimed on Wednesday to have neutralized four Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea which were heading towards Crimea and destroyed three aerial drones above this annexed peninsula.
“Four unmanned launches of the Ukrainian army, which were heading towards the Crimean peninsula, were detected in the western part of the Black Sea,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. “All detected targets have been destroyed,” according to the same source.
► Moscow will continue to release detainees who enlist for Ukraine
The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was maintaining its policy of presidential pardon for prisoners agreeing to fight in Ukraine, after the Russian press revealed the release of a man convicted of satanist and cannibalistic murders.
Nikolai Ogolobiak, sentenced to twenty years in prison in 2010, was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin and returned home in early November, according to the 76.ru news portal from the Yaroslavl region, where the person concerned was installed and where his crimes had been committed.
This pardon and those of other convicts, like one of the accomplices in the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, opened a timid debate in Russia on the merits of this policy.
► Sixteen foreigners accused of spying in Poland for the benefit of Russia
Sixteen foreign nationals have been formally accused in Poland of espionage, preparing acts of sabotage and collecting information for the benefit of Russia, the office of the coordinator of special services said on Wednesday.
“The indictment has been sent to court” against this network of spies dismantled in March, according to a press release from the office. “The tasks assigned to them included identifying military buildings and sensitive infrastructure, monitoring and documenting military and humanitarian aid transports to Ukraine, and preparing for train derailments.”added the office.
► The Ukrainian Air Force announces that it has shot down Russian drones
Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday with more than a dozen drones and a cruise missile, the Ukrainian Air Force said Wednesday, claiming to have shot down all the drones.
The air force said the shots were launched from southeastern Russia and that a combination of different air defense units in several central regions had “destroyed the enemy’s 14 Shahed-131/136 drones”.
“The X-22 cruise missile did not reach its target and landed in the Zaporizhia region in an open area, and the shock wave damaged private homes. There were no casualties”added the ministry in a press release.
► Iran could take “an additional step” in its aid to Russia, according to Washington
The Wagner paramilitary group, at the request of the Russian authorities, “preparing to deliver an anti-aircraft defense system to either Hezbollah or Iran”a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday. “We are prepared to use our anti-terrorism sanctions regime against Russian individuals or entities” in response, said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council.
Iran, for its part, “could prepare to take a further step” in its military assistance to Russia, he said. In addition to the drones and other equipment that, according to Washington, it already supplies to the Russian army, “Iran plans to deliver ballistic missiles that Russia could use in Ukraine”added the spokesperson.
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