Minister of Culture Roth in Odessa
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth has arrived in Odessa for a two-day visit. The Greens politician is the first member of the federal government to be a guest in the strategically important port city on the Black Sea after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. (dpa)
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, up to 75 million tons of grain could be stuck in Ukraine by the autumn. Kyiv needs anti-ship weapons that could ensure the safe passage of its exports, says Zelenskyy in the capital.
However, the idea of ​​a third-country navy guaranteeing the passage of Ukrainian grain exports through the Russian-ruled Black Sea was also discussed with Great Britain and Turkey. However, the best guarantee for this is the arming of Ukraine, Zelenskyj told journalists. (Reuters)
According to US media insiders, Russia is threatening to withdraw its accreditation if the treatment of Russian journalists in the United States does not improve. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened countermeasures should Russian reporters not be able to work freely in the US, say three insiders with knowledge of Zakharova’s meeting with US media in Moscow. If the situation does not change, US journalists would have to leave the country.
Zakharova did not respond to a request for official comment. According to the RIA agency, representatives from the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Associated Press, NPR and Alhurra TV attended the meeting. Initially, there were no comments from the US media. Some western media left Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Others, including the Reuters news agency, stayed in the country and continue to report from there. (Reuters)
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has the majority in the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Sieverodonetsk. But Ukraine has the ability to defend itself, Zelensky said at a press conference. If Russia breaks through in Donbass, it will be difficult for Ukraine. From the Donbass, Russia could attack strategic industrial targets in central Ukraine. (Reuters)
Russia wants to push Ukrainian forces further away from its borders in the face of announced western deliveries of longer-range weapons. “The greater the range of the delivered systems, the further we will remove the Nazis from the line from which the Russian-speaking countries and the Russian Federation could be threatened,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced at a press conference.
The US and UK have agreed to supply state-of-the-art M142 Himars and M270 multiple rocket launchers to reach targets up to 80 kilometers away. Since the invasion began on February 24, Russia has repeatedly said it wants to rid Ukraine of “Nazis.” (Reuters)
