Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today requested more weapons and additional sanctions after Moscow's announcement of expanding the offensive in Ukraine.
"The Russians want blood, not negotiations. I call on all partners to strengthen sanctions against Russia and to speed up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
He was reacting to the announcement of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, that Moscow will not exclusively concentrate on the east of Ukraine and that negotiations between the two countries make "no sense" in the current situation.
"The confessions of the Russian foreign minister about his dream to occupy additional Ukrainian territory prove that Russia rejects diplomacy and concentrates on war and terror," said the Ukrainian minister.
Moscow is bombing cities across Ukraine and has seen progress in recent weeks in the country's east.
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, said today that the geographical tasks of the "special operation" in Ukraine have changed and that they now include not only the territory of the Donbass, but also a number of other territories.
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The Russian news agency TASS posted on Twitter a video of the damaged Antonivsky bridge in the Kherson region. Russia claims that this bridge in the region now controlled by Moscow was shelled by Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the US-made Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher was destroyed in the Odesa region of Ukraine, reports Reuters.
In May, Ukraine began receiving Harpoon missiles from Denmark as part of a wider shipment of Western weapons to Kiev.
Reuters says it could not immediately confirm this information.
The Antonivsky bridge in the Kherson region in the south of Ukraine was badly damaged after Ukrainian shelling, TASS reported, citing Reuters.
That region is under the control of Russia.
"The bridge will probably be closed to traffic," TASS added, citing regional authorities set up by Russia.
The governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, Valentin Reznichenko, announced today that Russian forces fired multiple rocket systems at Nikopol, killing two people, reports Kyiv independent.
According to reports, nine people were injured, including four children, the youngest of whom was only three years old.
In the attack, three houses were also destroyed and around 10 were damaged.
Russia is preparing the ground for the annexation of Ukrainian territory and placing illegitimate officials in the areas it controls, the White House announced on Tuesday. Voice of America.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a news conference that the Russians were preparing to install officials close to Moscow, establish the ruble as currency and force residents to apply for Russian citizenship.
He also added that Russia is trying to take control of the transmitters.
Kirby also announced that the United States of America (US) will announce a new weapons package in the next few days to Ukraine, which is fighting a Russian offensive in the east.
The new military aid is expected to include mobile missile launchers, such as HIMARS, and ammunition for multiple missile systems, as well as artillery ammunition, Reuters reports citing unnamed sources.
Russia's offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region continues to make minimal gains as Ukrainian forces hold the line, British military intelligence said on Wednesday.
The Antonov Bridge over the Dnieper River that was struck by Ukrainian forces is likely still serviceable, the British Ministry of Defense said on Twitter.
"It is very likely that the bridge will remain serviceable – but it is a key vulnerability for Russian forces," the ministry added in a regular bulletin.
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