Russian forces bombed kyiv again overnight from Thursday to Friday, according to the city’s civil and military administration. In its daily morning brief, the Ukrainian General Staff reported 55 Russian air attacks since yesterday, including 36 by explosive drones, and four missile attacks. For its part, Russia announced that it had intercepted two American strategic bombers, in the process of “violating the state border” above the Baltic Sea.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, meanwhile, said he was ready on Friday to resume contact “when the time comes” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has not spoken since December. The United States, for its part, announced a series of economic sanctions targeting the most senior official of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner in Mali, Ivan Maslov. “The presence of the Wagner group on the African continent is a destabilizing force for any country that authorizes its deployment on its territory,” Washington said in a statement.
Olaf Scholz ready to resume contact with Russia “when the time comes”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was ready on Friday to resume contact “when the time comes” about Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has not spoken since December. “It’s been a while since my last phone conversation. But when the time comes, I intend to speak with Putin again,” Olaf Scholz said in an interview published by the German daily. Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger.
The Chancellor nevertheless clarified that “Russia must understand that it cannot be a question of sealing a kind of cold peace, which would see the current front line become the new border between Russia and Ukraine, that would only legitimize Putin’s criminal expedition”. Relations between Berlin and Moscow are at their lowest since the start of the war, when the two countries had maintained strong economic and diplomatic ties for several decades.
Japan adopts new sanctions against Russia
In accordance with the commitment of the G7 countries at their summit in Hiroshima at the end of last week, Tokyo announced that it had imposed additional sanctions on Russia. This new package should contain an asset freeze of 17 Russian nationals and 78 organizations, as well as a ban on the export of goods and services to 80 Russian entities, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno announced. Export bans relate to products destined for Russian companies linked to the country’s military-industrial complex and construction and engineering services should also be imposed.
Japan condemns in particular Russia’s intention to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and calls on these two countries to “stop such actions which would aggravate tensions”, said Hirokazu Matsuno. These measures come as other members of the G7 (United States, European Union, United Kingdom) have just stepped up their own sanctions against Russia, 15 months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
New bombardments in the night against kyiv
According to the city’s civil and military administration, kyiv was once again the target of Russian bombardments during the night from Thursday to Friday. “Another air attack on Kiev, the 13th in a row since the beginning of May! And as always, at night. According to preliminary information, all enemy targets in Kiev airspace have been detected and destroyed,” the authorities said. authorities on Telegram. These cruise missiles would have been launched by Tu-95MS strategic bombers, which came from the Caspian Sea region.
Other attacks took place this night on the territory of Ukraine in the night. “An S-300 missile hit a dam in the Karlivka area of the Donetsk region. As a result, there is a great danger of flooding of the surrounding communities,” the general staff explained, adding that they intercepted the missiles.
An explosion causes damage in the Russian city of Krasnodar
In Russia, a “detonation” caused damage to a building in Krasnodar, a city located a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border, east of Crimea. According to the local authorities quoted by the Ria Novost agency, no casualties are to be deplored. “The cause of the incident is under investigation,” Krasnodar Mayor Yevgeny Naumov said on Telegram, adding that the roof of a nearby building was also damaged.
Since the beginning of May, Russia has faced a series of attacks and sabotage, including the derailment of two freight trains and a fire at an oil depot caused by a drone attack. Last Monday, two armed groups claiming to be Russian launched an attack from Ukraine against the Russian region of Belgorod, constituting the most serious incursion since the beginning of the war.
Sanctions against the head of Wagner in Mali
The United States on Thursday announced a series of economic sanctions targeting the top official of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner in Mali, Ivan Maslov. Washington accuses him of seeking to obtain military equipment there with a view to using it in the Ukrainian conflict. These sanctions “are intended to put an end to essential operations in support of the global activity of the group”, justified in a press release the Under Secretary of the Treasury in charge of terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson.
In fact, all financial and real estate assets, as well as companies having a direct capital link with Ivan Maslov in the United States should be seized. The sanctions package also prohibits American companies or companies present on American territory from carrying out the slightest transaction with the leader of Wagner. “The presence of the Wagner group on the African continent is a destabilizing force for any country that authorizes its deployment on its territory,” added the Under-Secretary of the Treasury in his press release.
Two American bombers intercepted over the Baltic, announces Moscow
Moscow announced on Thursday that it had dispatched fighters to prevent two American strategic bombers from “violating the state border” over the Baltic Sea. This is the second time that the Russian authorities have communicated on such an operation this week. “A violation of the national border was avoided”, explained the Russian Ministry of Defense, which specified that the intercepting devices had then “returned to their base in complete safety”. Their flights were “carried out in strict compliance with international rules on the use of airspace”, added the same source.