The European Union today condemned the agreement between Russia and Belarus on the deployment of Russian nuclear warheads on Belarusian territory.
"It is a step that will lead to a further extremely dangerous escalation," said in a statement the high representative of the European Union for foreign policy and security, Josep Borelj.
According to Borelj, the decision is contrary to what Russia committed to in the Budapest Memorandum, according to which Belarus eliminated all nuclear weapons on its territory.
The decision, it is added, is contrary to the joint statement of the five nuclear-armed countries from January 3, 2022, that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.
"We call on Russia to stick to what it promised," announced Borelj.
He also assessed that the Belarusian regime is "complicit in Russia's illegal, unprovoked aggressive war against Ukraine" and called on the authorities in Minsk to "immediately stop supporting" that war and to "give up decisions that can only contribute to the strengthening of tensions in the region and undermine sovereignty of Belarus".
"Any attempt to further aggravate the situation will be met with a strong and coordinated reaction," warned Borelj.
(BETA)
The Netherlands is "seriously considering" sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but has not yet made a final decision, the country's Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
Earlier this week, the Netherlands said it wanted to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the type of aircraft as soon as possible.
Asked whether the Netherlands would send fighter jets to Ukraine, Rutte said at a press conference that a final decision had not been made, but added that "if you start training pilots, it's obviously something you're seriously thinking about," reports Reuters.
Any decision to send the F-16 depends on US approval for it, Rute said. He added that the Netherlands would potentially have fighter jets to succeed them as it is currently retiring its F-16 fighters.
According to the country's defense ministry, the Netherlands currently has 24 operational F-16s that will be retired by mid-2024. Another 18 jets are currently available for sale, 12 of which have been temporarily sold.
Last Friday, US President Joe Biden approved training programs for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised Biden that the planes would not be used to cross into Russian territory.
Deputy President of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said that the conflict in Ukraine could last for decades, reports Reuters.
He also pointed out that negotiations are impossible while the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is in power.
"The conflict will last a long time, decades, maybe. This is a new reality," Medvedev said, as reported by Russian agencies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed in a telephone conversation with his Brazilian counterpart Luis Inacio Lula da Silva that Russia is open to dialogue on Ukraine, the Kremlin said, as reported by Reuters.
Earlier in a post on Twitter, Lula reiterated Brazil's willingness to talk to both warring parties.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese special envoy Li Hui discussed the prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine at a meeting in Moscow, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Reuters reports.
Li toured European capitals, including Kiev.
In a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels on Thursday, Li said China has always supported an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue and actively promoted peace talks.
The United States of America (USA) imposed sanctions on the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner in Mali, Ivan Maslov.
The US Treasury Department said Wagner may be secretly trying to procure military equipment for the war in Ukraine through operations in Mali and other African countries.
The statement states that Wagner employees may have been trying to acquire mines, drones, radars and other equipment for war, the BBC reports.
Wagner is known to operate in some African countries, including Mali.
The group provided assistance to the Malian military authorities in the fight against Islamist rebels.
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, previously accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of not providing enough weapons and ammunition to his fighters for operations in Ukraine.
The US has suggested that Wagner may be trying to use large quantities of weapons in Mali, which ended up in the country after mercenaries returned from Libya where they fought on Muammar Gaddafi's side.
Earlier this year, the US designated Wagner as a "transnational criminal organization", and Prigozhin and senior Wagner officials are already under US sanctions.
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Two people were killed in a Russian missile attack in the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, and 23 people were wounded, according to Reuters, according to local authorities.
A Russian missile hit a clinic in Dnieper overnight, killing a 69-year-old man who died while "passing by," the regional chief said.
Sergij Lisak said that the body of another man was pulled from the rubble and that 21 of the 23 wounded were taken to the hospital, while three were seriously injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a "crime against humanity."
"Another Russian missile attack, another crime against humanity. The buildings of the psychological and veterinary clinic in the city of Dnipro were destroyed," Zelensky wrote, among other things, on Twitter.
China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui, who is visiting Moscow, began consultations on Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously announced that the Chinese special envoy is expected to speak with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzhin.
The visit to Moscow is part of the European tour of the Chinese diplomatic delegation aimed at resolving the Ukrainian conflict, Tas reported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the Chinese envoy will visit Russia, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and France.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko previously told Tas that China's idea is for Li to present to those countries Chinese proposals for a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine and listen to their opinions and comments.
Rudenko noted that Russia expects to hear Li's impressions of his trips to Kyiv and EU countries.
Li, after visiting Kiev on May 16 and 17, said that there is no universal solution to the war in Ukraine, but called on all parties to create conditions for peace talks, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Li exchanged views with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other state officials on ways to end the Ukrainian-Russian conflict with a political solution, the Chinese ministry said, Reuters reported.
At least one person was killed and 15 were wounded in a rocket attack on a hospital in Dnipro, a city in eastern Ukraine, reports N1.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed that the attack took place and added that authorities are working to rescue others from the hospital, BBC reports.
He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that all services are on the ground.
Serhij Lisak, the regional governor, said earlier that the city was attacked by rockets and drones.
Ukraine shot down 10 missiles and over 20 drones launched by Russia overnight in attacks on the capital Kiev, the city of Dnipro and eastern regions, Ukrainian officials said Friday.
Russia has stepped up missile and drone strikes against Ukraine this month, mostly targeting logistics and infrastructure facilities ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to Reuters.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced that it shot down 10 missiles fired from the Caspian Sea, 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones and two reconnaissance drones.
Russia will have to launch a pre-emptive strike if the West delivers nuclear weapons to Ukraine, said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and former president of that country.
"There are irreversible laws of war. If nuclear weapons are involved, there will have to be a preventive strike," Medvedev said, as reported by Reuters.
The war in Ukraine entered its 457th day. You can check what happened yesterday in this conflict at the link below.
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