Not only the official confirmation of the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories, but also the desire to reconquer those “temporarily left”. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not back down and reaffirms his strategy, signing the laws to annex the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to Russia. Another signature then came on the decree providing for the inclusion of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant among the structures owned by the Russian Federation. Zaporizhzhia power plant which, according to the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, must urgently have a “safe zone”.
Through Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Moscow then underlined its intention to retake those territories it had to abandon at the moment. “They will be with Russia forever, they will be retaken,” said Peskov, who also accused the United States of “direct involvement” in the war, following Pentagon statements about the possibility of using Himars missiles supplied to Ukraine against targets in Crimea. However, diplomatic attempts also continue. Italian Ambassador to Russia Giorgio Starace met with Russian Vice Chancellor Sergei Ryabkov to discuss “Russia’s relations with the collective West and ways to overcome international tensions”.
Kiev, for its part, is advancing in its counter-offensive and believes that Russia’s annexations “are not worth the paper on which they are signed”, as stated by the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak. Ukraine therefore continues its reconquest of the occupied territories, with the beginning of the liberation of the Luhansk region and other liberated settlements. Progress in the Ukrainian counteroffensive was praised by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who, on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensku, reiterated “support for Kiev as long as necessary” and urged Moscow to “end the war”. . “. In the cities liberated by Russian troops, however, the gruesome discoveries continue. Ukrainian police said they had discovered a “torture chamber” in the formerly Russian-occupied town of Pisky-Radkivski in eastern Kharkiv. , according to the police, there was also a container full of extracted gold teeth.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
