It is day 617 of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has admitted the war has reached a stalemate with Ukrainian troops unable to break through.
Russia’s UN ambassador has said Israel has no right of self-defence in its war with Hamas.
Billionaire and Alfa Group founder Alexey Kuzmichev has been released on an €8 million bail by the French authorities.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief concedes war with Russia has ‘reached a stalemate’
General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who has served as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since July 2021, has admitted that despite its counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military has failed to make a significant breakthrough against Russian forces in the country.
Writing about the situation on the frontlines for The Economist, Zaluzhnyi said that Ukrainian troops had managed to advance just 17km in five months.
He stressed that huge technological advances would be required to break the deadlock. In his view, “The biggest risk of an attritional trench war is that it can drag on for years and wear down the Ukrainian state.”
Nebenzya: Israel has no right of self-defence in this military conflict
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, has said that Israel has no right of self-defence in its war against Hamas.
“As an occupying power, Israel does not have the right to self-defence, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice in 2004,” Nebenzya said, adding: “We don’t deny Israel’s right to fight terrorism. But fight the terrorists. Not civilians.”
He also called for “an end to bloodshed to stop the crisis engulfing the entire region”.
Anti-war activists Aikhal Ammosov and Natalya Narskaya granted asylum-seeker status in Kazakhstan
Aikhal Ammosov and Natalia Narskaya, two Russian activists facing criminal charges for discrediting the army and inciting extremism, have been granted asylum-seeker status in Kazakhstan, their lawyer announced on Wednesday.
Charges were first brought against Ammosov when he attempted to put up a banner saying “Yakutian punk against war” in the city of Yakutsk in the Russian Far East during a visit to the region by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin last year.
Neither activist can be extradited while their asylum requests are under review.
Russian billionaire Alexey Kuzmichev, who was detained in France, has been released on €8 million bail
Russian billionaire and Alfa Group co-founder Alexey Kuzmichev, who was detained in France on suspicion of money-laundering, has been released on an €8 million euro bail and with a ban on leaving France while the investigation continues, Le Monde reported on Wednesday.