The International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced that it will remain steadfast in the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, evaluating the Russian authorities' decision to issue a warrant against the prosecutor of that court as unacceptable.
"The court considers this measure unacceptable and will remain unwavering in carrying out its legal mandate to answer those who are accused of the most serious crimes," the court based in The Hague said in a statement.
On March 17, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accused of war crimes for the "illegal deportation" of several thousand Ukrainian children since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The court added that it was "aware of and deeply concerned about the unjustified and inappropriate coercive measures taken by the Russian authorities against ICC officials."
The court called on its 123 member states to "redouble their efforts to protect the ICC, its officials and staff and to ensure the continued fulfillment of its independent mandate."
British Attorney General Karim Khan, who issued the warrant for Putin, has been placed on the Russian warrant, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced.
In that warrant, Khan is described as a man born on March 30, 1970 in Edinburgh, Scotland, but does not specify what he committed to be wanted.
Russia, which is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the warrant for Putin's arrest, considers the warrant "illegal". Russia also announced the opening of a criminal investigation against the prosecutor and three ICC judges.
Ukrainian authorities have previously said that more than 16.000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the invasion of Moscow began in February 2022, many of whom are believed to be placed in institutions and foster homes.
(BETA)
The presence of Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the summit of the Group of Seven Industrially Developed Countries (G7) can change the situation in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said today in Hiroshima to his Ukrainian counterpart at the beginning of the bilateral meeting.
"It's a unique opportunity" for Zelenskiy to talk to his G7 allies, but also to talk about Ukraine with the various leaders of the countries invited to the summit, Macron said.
The French president assessed that this could change the situation in favor of Ukraine, adding that his country will be with Ukraine "until the end".
Upon his arrival in Hiroshima, Zelensky spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told him that India would do "everything possible" to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
According to the French presidency, Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva also plans to meet with Zelensky.
A meeting of the leaders of the G7, made up of Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, the USA and Canada, is underway in Hiroshima today.
(BETA)
The Ukrainian army denied that the Russian private paramilitary organization "Vagner" had taken full control of the town of Bakhmut and said that its troops were continuing to fight there.
"That is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut," Ukrainian army spokesman Serhiy Cherevatji told Reuters after Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that full control had been achieved over the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin made these claims in a video in which he appeared in uniform in front of fighters holding Russian flags and symbols of Wagner.
"Today at 12 o'clock, Bahmut is completely occupied," said Prigozhin.
He added that his forces will withdraw from Bahmut from May 25, for rest and new training.
"We have completely taken over the whole town, from house to house," he said. While Prigozhin was speaking, distant explosions could be heard in the background on the video.
The leader of the Russian private paramilitary organization Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced today that they have achieved complete control over the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
By the way, Bakhmut is the scene of the longest and fiercest fighting in the war in Ukraine, reports Reuters.
Prigozhin made these claims in a video in which he appeared in uniform in front of fighters holding Russian flags and symbols of Wagner.
"Today at 12 o'clock, Bahmut is completely occupied," said Prigozhin.
He added that his forces will withdraw from Bahmut from May 25, for rest and new training.
"We completely occupied the entire city, from house to house," Prigozhin said.
(MINE)
The leaders of the Group of Seven richest democracies (G7) today called on China to pressure its strategic partner Russia to end its war against Ukraine.
In a joint statement released today, G7 leaders stressed that they do not want to harm China and seek "constructive and stable relations" with Beijing, "recognizing the importance of sincere engagement and expressing concerns directly to China."
"We call on China to put pressure on Russia to stop its military aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine," the statement said.
They further encourage China to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on territorial integrity and the principles and goals of the UN Charter, which includes direct talks with Ukraine.
But the leaders expressed "serious concern" over the situation in the East and South China Seas, where Beijing is expanding its military presence and threatening to use force to bring Taiwan back under its rule.
They called for a peaceful settlement of China's claims to Taiwan, which have remained unresolved since the Communists took power on the Chinese mainland in 1949.
"Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China, nor do we seek to thwart China's economic progress and development," the statement said.
Chinese officials have responded to various G7 statements on economic coercion and other issues by accusing the US and other members of hypocrisy.
The state-run Xinhua news agency published a scathing editorial on Friday describing such accusations as a "witch hunt", bullying and "pressure from a superpower".
(BETA)
Ukrainian military officials said 18 Russian drones were shot down over the capital Kiev overnight.
"All detected air targets were destroyed by our anti-aircraft defense," wrote the head of the Kyiv military administration Sergej Popko in a post on Telegram today.
There was also a fire in a residential building due to a drone attack, but there were no casualties.
The explosions also rocked the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv.
Several explosions were reported in the port city of Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, which was occupied by Russia, writes TASS.
Russian media also reported that the explosions hit the city's airport.
(BETA)
The Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its 450th day. You can see what happened yesterday at the link below.
Bonus video:
