(Finance) – “It is necessary to be ready for a further aggravation of the situation”. This is what the Minister for the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Iryna Vereschchuk, inviting the residents of three eastern regions – Lugansk, Donetsk and part of the Kharkiv region – to evacuate immediately. After a month and a half of war, with 1,563 civilian victims ascertained by the UN and hundreds of other as yet unidentified bodies on the streets and in the mass graves of cities looted by the Russians, Ukraine is preparing for a new siege. The enemy troops, having withdrawn from the Kiev front, are ready to launch another offensive within 3-4 days, to achieve the primary strategic objective of taking control of the entire Donbass territory.
“Ukraine urgently needs military support, both heavy and light weapons. That is why it is necessary for the Allies to agree on what help to provide,” said today. NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, opening the Atlantic council to the level of foreign ministers. A choice that could change the nature of NATO’s involvement in the conflict unleashed by Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile thehe Russia continues to reject accusations of war crimes committed in Bucha. In the interview with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin – according to reports from the Kremlin – has rejected and spoke of “crude and cynical provocations” by Ukraine.
In a video message sent to the Irish Parliament, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he said Russia is using hunger as a weapon in its attempt to take over Ukraine. Zelensky said that Russian actions will lead to a shortage of food and very high costs for millions of people around the world and asked again to convince the EU to tighten sanctions against Moscow to stop the Russian war machine, blaming Europeans for “indecision” on sanctions.
Today i EU countries have expressed a consensus on the fifth package of EU sanctions against Russia, but to give time to investigate technical issues, the formal decision has been postponed until tomorrow. At the center of the debate also the contracts in place between EU countries and Russia for the import of coal, the subject of the fifth package of measures.