Russian President Vladimir Putin suffered a setback after Ukrainian troops on Saturday claimed that they had taken the key bastion of Lyman, a region used by Russia as a logistics and transport hub for its operations. This prompted the head of Russia’s region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, to call for more drastic measures, including a declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.
Even as Ukraine continues to make significant gains, it’s nuclear power provider has accused Russia of blindfolding and detaining the head of Europe’s largest nuclear plant, AFP reported. This has once again reignited long-simmering fears over the plant’s security.
Here are the top developments of the story:
-Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia’s region of Chechnya has called for the use of low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine after a significant new defeat on the battlefield. “In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram. Apart from this, Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev and other top officials have also suggested that Moscow may need to resort to nuclear weapons, Reuters reported.
-Russia has been accused of blindfolding and detaining the head of Europe’s largest nuclear plant by Ukraine’s nuclear power provider. The alleged kidnapping took place when President Putin annexed four Ukrainian regions, AFP said in a report. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s watchdog agency, questioned Russian forces about the alleged abduction.
-Moscow withdrew its troops from the eastern city of Lyman in Ukraine on Saturday, a stronghold for Kyiv, after being encircled by Ukrainian forces. This came after Putin signed treaties to annex more occupied Ukrainian territory. “Allied forces were withdrawn from the settlement of … Lyman to more advantageous lines because of the creation of the threat of encirclement,” Russia’s Ministry of Defence said.
Ukrainian armed forces make a statement in front of Lyman Town Administration office, in Lyman, Ukraine (Reuters photo)
-Ukraine released a video of the capture in which Ukrainian troops can be seen throwing Russian flags down from the building’s roof and raising a Ukrainian flag in their place.In a late night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that fighting is still going on in Lyman in the Donetsk region.
-Christine Lambrecht, Germany’s defence minister, made a surprise visit to Ukraine ever since Russia’s invasion in February. The German defence ministry said that Lambrecht visited the southern port city of Odesa on Saturday and met her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov.
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-In yet another setback for Russia, it has failed to win enough votes for re-election to the United Nation’s aviation agency’s governing council. This is in rebuke to aviation-related actions taken after it invaded Ukraine. In its response to Ukraine-related sanctions, Russia shut down its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including 27 members of the European Union (EU).
-Russia was also accused of attacking a civilian envoy in which 24 people, including a pregnant woman and 13 children, died. Ukrainian officials have launched an investigation and allege that the Russian forces that were driven out of Kyrylivka last Sunday were behind the war’s latest apparent massacre.
-At a time when Europe is battling an energy crisis, Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom PJSC suspended natural gas deliveries to Italy. This is an apparent scuffle over regulations in Austria.
Military uniform lays next to an abandoned Russian infantry fighting vehicle BMD-4 in the village of Kurylivka, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine (Reuters photo)
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-On Friday, Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions in Ukraine, a move strongly criticised by the West and Kyiv. Kyiv said it would continue its fight to take back the occupied land. The US imposed more sanctions on Russia after the move, targeting companies, lawmakers and the military-industrial complex.
-Australia on Sunday imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials after President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
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