live blog
According to the governor, Russian anti-aircraft systems shot down 13 missiles over Belgorod. Kremlin spokesman Peskov called a global Ukraine peace summit without Russia’s participation “absurd.” All developments in the live blog.
The secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, has blamed Ukraine for the attack on the concert hall near Moscow. The Russian news portal Shot publishes a video in which a reporter asks Patrushev in passing about those responsible: “ISIS or Ukraine?” Patrushev replies: “Of course Ukraine.”
The government in Kiev has denied any involvement. In contrast, the Afghan branch of the extremist organization “Islamic State”, ISPK, has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the crime, in which at least 139 people were killed.
The President of the aid organizations “Bread for the World” and Diakonie Catastrophe Aid, Dagmar Pruin, urges the involvement of civil society in the reconstruction of Ukraine. “When it comes to the future, structures and political participation for this country, civil society organizations play an absolute key role,” said Pruin in Berlin. After years of war, aid must be thought of in the long term.
Digital analyst Julia Smirnova has called for vigilance when dealing with unverified content on social media, especially on topics involving Russia or Ukraine. Disinformation campaigns are trying to undermine the West’s support for Ukraine, the analyst told the radio station WDR 5.
Unsubstantiated claims and pro-Kremlin political opinions are artificially amplified on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) by being liked and commented on by tens of thousands of inauthentic accounts.
According to the Interfax news agency, the Russian domestic secret service FSB prevented an attack in the Samara region. The attacker blew himself up during the arrest, the agency reported, citing the FSB. It was an accomplice of the Russian Volunteer Corps, which included pro-Ukrainian Russians.
The chairman of the Jusos, Philipp Türmer, distanced himself from SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich’s statement about “freezing” the war in Ukraine and expressed understanding for the criticism of it. At the same time, he warned against giving the statement too much weight in view of the SPD’s stance on the war. “I have to say that I don’t find this concept of freezing very happy,” said Türmer on the talk show “Beisenherz”.
Ukraine says it attacked the landing ship Konstantin Olshansky with a “Neptune” missile. This was announced by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk. “This ship is not combat ready at this time.” Russia captured the ship from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine says it was attacked again by Russia with drones during the night. The Air Force said all twelve unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down. The Iranian-made drones were intercepted over regions in the south and east.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
According to the Defense Ministry, Russian anti-aircraft systems shot down several missiles over the border region of Belgorod. The region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, spoke in his Telegram channel of a total of 13 projectiles. Accordingly, two people were injured in the attacks.
According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, a global peace summit on Ukraine without Russia is “absurd” and doomed to failure. Peskov stated this in an interview with the Russian weekly newspaper Argumenty I Fakty.
“Can the Ukrainian problem be solved without Russia’s participation? The answer is clear: no,” Peskov said. “Because Ukraine has become an instrument in the hands of the collective West, with the help of which, it seems, it wants to put even more pressure on Russia, restrict it and push it to the brink of development. And, if they succeed, it to destroy,” he added.
Since the start of the war, Ukraine says it has defended itself against 2,000 cruise missiles or rockets. Nine people were injured in Russian rocket attacks in Kiev. Monday’s live blog for reading.