Members of the Bulgarian parliament approved today the sending of the country's first package of military aid to Ukraine, after months of political bickering over the issue.
In favor of sending military aid to Ukraine, the content of which has not been published, 148 deputies voted, 46 were against, and one abstained.
Bulgaria has previously agreed to repair Ukrainian military equipment at its factories, but until now has refused to send weapons directly to Kiev due to opposition from President Rumen Radev and pro-Moscow political parties.
Along with Hungary, Bulgaria is the only member of the European Union that initially refused to send weapons to Ukraine, in the face of the February 24 Russian invasion.
The list of weapons Bulgaria will send to Ukraine remains confidential, and members of the government told reporters ahead of the vote that the package included small arms and ammunition.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said that the aid is "fully aligned with Ukraine's priorities", but he added that Bulgaria will not supply Kiev with either S-300 missile systems or MiG-29 fighter jets.
Today, MPs also ratified the agreement between the defense ministries of Bulgaria and Ukraine on the transfer of weapons, equipment and ammunition, which includes the training of up to 60 doctors, members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that any country that dares to attack Russia with nuclear weapons would be "wiped off the face of the earth", reported Reuters.
Putin said that Russia does not have an ordinance to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack first, unlike the US, but that Russia's advanced hypersonic weapons guarantee Russia that it can respond forcefully if ever in danger.
The Ukrainian Atomic Energy Agency, Energoatom, has accused Russian forces of abducting two employees of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, while a third has been detained, reports Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would likely have to reach an agreement on Ukraine in the future, adding that he felt betrayed by the collapse of the Minsk accords.
Putin said that Germany and France, which in 2014 and 2015 brokered a cease-fire agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk between Ukraine and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, had betrayed Russia and were now bombarding Ukraine with weapons.
American basketball star Britney Greiner landed in the US after 10 months in a Russian prison, which ended with Washington and Moscow agreeing to exchange prisoners, reports Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that it is possible that there will be more prisoner exchanges between Russia and the US.
USA and Russia yesterday exchanged American basketball player Brittney Greiner and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
When asked by journalists whether it is possible to exchange more prisoners, the Russian president said that "everything is possible".
"We do not rule out continuing this in the future," he added.
Despite negotiating an exchange for basketball stars, the most prominent American women imprisoned abroad, the US has failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan. Paul Whelan, a former American soldier was arrested in December 2018 in Russia and sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage, which he denied.
Russian arms dealer Viktor Anatolyevich Bout is known abroad as the "Merchant of Death" who instigated some of the world's worst conflicts.
In Russia, however, he is seen as a businessman who was unjustly imprisoned during an "overly aggressive US surprise operation" of arrests.
A day after he returned to his homeland after 14 years in a US prison, he said the West wanted to destroy Russia and was barely able to contain his emotions when he was freed.
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced by a court to eight and a half years in prison on charges of spreading "false information" about the army.
Yashin was tried over a YouTube video posted in April in which he commented on evidence uncovered by Western journalists about alleged Russian atrocities in Bucha, near Kiev, and cast doubt on Moscow's official version that such reports were fabricated as a "provocation" against of Russia, reports Reuters.
Russia passed a new law after the war in Ukraine began on February 24 that provides prison terms of up to 15 years for spreading false information about the military.
In his closing statement to the court earlier this week, Yashin directly addressed President Vladimir Putin, describing him as "the person responsible for this carnage" and asking him to "stop this madness".
"Looking at the consequences of this monstrous war, you yourself probably realize what a grave mistake you committed on February 24. Our army is not greeted with flowers. They call us occupiers. The words "death" and "destruction" are now firmly attached to your name." Jashin added.
Representatives of Russia and the United States of America will meet in Istanbul, reported the Russian state news agency TASS.
The report said the two sides would discuss a number of "difficult issues" including visas, staffing levels in embassies, the work of institutions and agencies of both sides abroad and other as yet unspecified issues, Reuters reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West's desire to maintain dominance on the world stage is to blame for increasing the risk of a potential conflict, Reuters reported.
The United States will send a new $275 million in military aid to Ukraine, including large amounts of ammunition and high-tech systems, US officials who wished to remain anonymous told The Associated Press (AP), the Kyiv Independent reported.
Officials said the latest aid package included 80.000 rounds of howitzer ammunition and an undisclosed amount of ammunition for the high-mobility missile system, known as HIMARS.
The Ukrainian army announced that during the past 24 hours it targeted 11 areas where Russian forces, their weapons and military equipment are concentrated, the Kyiv Independent reports.
The General Staff of Ukraine also confirmed that the day before, the Ukrainian army shelled Russian concentration areas in several places in the Zaporizhzhya region, and on that occasion 240 Russian soldiers were injured.
Two hundred and eighty-ninth is the day of the war in Ukraine - read what happened yesterday HERE.
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