Live – Ukraine: Odessa bombing during Zelensky’s visit, Moscow claims military base targeted

Here is information to remember for yesterday:

◾ Russia claimed to have landed fighters over the Black Sea to intercept three French military planes approaching its border, an incident denied by a French military source.

◾ Ukraine yesterday claimed to have destroyed a Russian warship near the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, a fresh snub to Moscow in this strategic area of ​​the Black Sea. Kyiv also says it has attacked an oil depot in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine. In recent weeks, similar attacks against oil sites have followed one another in Russia.

◾ Two men were sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 10 to 12 years in prison for transmitting sensitive information to Russia amid its country’s invasion.

◾ The International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday issued arrest warrants for alleged war crimes in Ukraine against two top Russian military officers, the heads of the strategic air force and the Black Sea Fleet.

◾ French President Emmanuel Macron “admitted” on Tuesday that he had called for a “strategic surge” by raising the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine, warning against a “defeatist spirit” “that lurks”, during a press conference with the Czech in Prague. Equivalent.

◾ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “never asked foreign troops to fight for his country,” a White House spokesman said yesterday, when asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments. “There will be no American troops on the ground in Ukraine. And you know what? That’s not what President Zelensky is asking for. He’s asking for equipment and capabilities. He’s never asked for foreign troops to fight for his country,” National said. Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

◾ We must “defeat Russia” without “waging war” on it, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sjourne said in an interview on LCI last night. “We are experiencing a tipping point that leads us to stand up to Russia and we must play the balance of power to protect the French, to protect the Europeans,” he said, adding: “Our belief is that we must continue to support . Ukraine”, a country that was invaded by Russia on February 24, 2022.

◾ French foreign affairs ministers and their counterparts from the armed forces and other countries aligned with Ukraine will meet by video conference on Thursday, ten days after discussing steps in Paris to bolster military support for Kiev.