Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and founder of the private military group Wagner, praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a strong and confident leader who should not be underestimated.
"Although he is the president of a country that is hostile to Russia at the moment, Zelensky is a strong, self-confident, pragmatic and nice guy," Prigozhin said on the social network, as reported by Reuters.
He said they were not underestimating Zelensky in another statement, after being asked why they were praising a man who has been widely criticized, belittled and attacked by Moscow since he came to power in 2019.
After a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France will help Ukraine overcome the winter and that it will help repair water and energy infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes.
France will also help strengthen Ukraine's air defenses, and Macron said he and Zelensky agreed to hold an international conference in Paris on December 13, Reuters reports.
The bilateral conference on December 12 will also aim to increase the support of French companies to Ukraine, Macron said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that Russia could consider continuing the agreement that allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, reports Reuters.
Putin pointed out that this could happen, but only after the end of the investigation into the attacks on the Crimean port, Sevastopol.
Only "after a detailed investigation into the circumstances of this incident and receiving real guarantees from Kiev about strict compliance with the Istanbul Agreements, especially about not using the humanitarian corridor for military purposes," the Kremlin statement said.
Three cargo ships loaded with grains left Ukrainian ports today and headed for the Black Sea humanitarian corridor, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul announced.
"The movement of these three ships has been approved by the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations. The Russian delegation has been informed," said the center, which oversees the export of Ukrainian grain under an agreement reached in July.
Russian authorities said on Saturday they were withdrawing from an agreement on grain exports from Ukrainian ports, vital to the world's food supply, after the attack on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow attributes to Ukraine and Great Britain.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fijala appealed today in Prague, after his return from Kiev, that it is necessary to isolate Russia even more with sanctions, and that Belarus, which indirectly helps Russia in the war in Ukraine, is also in line for sanctions.
"We discussed the effectiveness of sanctions with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi. We are convinced that it is necessary to push Russia into greater and greater isolation. Eight packages were adopted. We know that these sanctions are working, many data show that. The debate on sanctions in the European Union does not end , we are ready for further steps towards the development of the situation," said Fijala.
The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency until the end of this year, said at a press conference that the role of Belarus in the conflict is now being considered and whether it is necessary to tighten sanctions against that country as well.
"Belarus cannot follow Russian policy or Russia avoids sanctions through countries like Belarus," said Fijala, and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky added that Russian attacks on Ukraine also come from the territory of Belarus, which also supplies Russia with weapons.
The Czech Prime Minister also criticized Russia for not respecting the agreement on the export of grain from Ukraine.
"We have to find a way to rebuild that road with the help of the countries participating in the agreement, i.e. Ukraine and Turkey. The Czech Republic will support them in every way to rebuild that important road because we cannot afford the luxury of destabilization due to a lack of food, for example in Africa," said Fjala.
The Czech Prime Minister recalled that on Monday, when he arrived in Kiev with several ministers for consultations between the Czech and Ukrainian governments, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the Czech ministers a "welcome" with 55 rocket attacks.
The Czech Minister of the Interior, Vit Rakusan, promised that Ukrainian refugees who received temporary refuge and have since returned to their homeland can return to the EU.
"Russia is attacking the infrastructure, which could result in a new wave of refugees to Europe. In the Czech Republic, we have issued 457.000 temporary residence permits that will be automatically extended for one year," Rakušan said.
During her visit to Kiev, Czech Minister of Defense Jana Cernohova discussed with the Ukrainian side how to most effectively involve the Czech Republic in the training of Ukrainian soldiers, most likely through three-week or monthly courses, and there were also talks about companies that would deal with the overhaul of Ukrainian weapons and military equipment.
Prime Minister Fijala said that his visit to Kyiv together with seven ministers was organized to give reassurances to the Ukrainian authorities and Ukrainians that the Czech Republic and other countries will continue to provide them with military and humanitarian assistance.
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today began inspecting two sites where Russian authorities claim that Ukraine is producing a dirty bomb.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said inspections had begun at two sites in Ukraine and would be completed soon.
Ukraine requested these inspections after the Russian accusation.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently had telephone conversations with the Defense Ministers of Turkey, France, Great Britain and the USA.
Shoigu conveyed to his colleagues his concern "about the possible provocation of Ukraine" and "possible Ukrainian use of a 'dirty' bomb on its soil in order to blame Russia for that attack."
Ukraine and Western countries see it as a threat from Russia, which is suspected to be able to use the "dirty bomb" on its own under this pretext.
A radiological bomb or "dirty bomb" consists of a conventional explosive surrounded by radioactive materials that spread at the moment of explosion.
Three ships have left Ukrainian ports under an agreement on grain exports across the Black Sea, the United Nations coordination center said, a second day after Russia suspended participation in the initiative.
The announcement states that the movement of the ships was agreed upon by the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations in the center in Istanbul and that the Russian delegation was informed, reports Reuters.
It said the UN coordinator for the grain initiative, Amir Abdullah, continued talks with all three parties (Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish as a mediator) in an effort to restore full participation in the center that oversees the safe passage of ships.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, expressed his dissatisfaction and indignation over Israel's neutrality towards the war in that country, but hinted at a possible change of attitude since the supply of communication systems was promised.
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Water and electricity supply has been restored throughout Kyiv after the Russian attacks that caused major interruptions, the mayor of the capital of Ukraine, Vitaly Klitschko, said today.
Water and electricity supply "has been fully restored," the mayor wrote on Telegram.
Monday morning's Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure cut off water supplies to 80 percent of Kyiv's population, leaving 350.000 homes without electricity.
Hulusi Akar, Turkey's defense minister, told Ukrainian defense and infrastructure ministers that maintaining the Black Sea grain export agreement was important and, as a humanitarian initiative, should be kept separate from the conflict in Ukraine.
Akar's comments, released by his ministry on Tuesday, came after Russia suspended its participation in a United Nations-Turkey-brokered deal in July aimed at keeping food flowing to world markets.
Akar also told his Russian counterpart on Monday that Moscow should reconsider its decision, Reuters reports.
Two hundred and fifty is the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Officials of Russia's Kherson Oblast military administration said they were expanding the evacuation zone further from the Dnieper River, saying it was possible Ukrainian forces were preparing to attack the Kahovka dam, Reuters reports.
In a Telegram post, Vladimir Saldo, head of a Moscow-backed region in southern Ukraine partially occupied by Russian forces, said he was expanding the area covered by the order to evacuate civilians by an additional 15 kilometers to include seven more settlements.
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