According to the government in Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have broken through the Russian defense lines near Cherson. Germany and France are against EU entry bans for Russians. All developments in the live blog.
3:22 a.m
Germany and Russia against entry bans for Russians
The foreign ministries of Germany and France have jointly opposed a far-reaching entry ban for Russian citizens into the EU. “We should think about clever ways to use the important lever of issuing visas,” says a position paper sent to the other member states for today’s meeting of foreign ministers. Applications from Russian nationals should be carefully scrutinized for possible security risks.
At the same time, one should not underestimate the impact of direct experience of life in democracies. This applies in particular to future generations. “Our visa policy should reflect this and continue to allow people-to-people contacts in the EU with Russian nationals who are not associated with the Russian government,” it said.
3:22 a.m
Ukraine reports successful counteroffensive
According to the government in Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have broken through the Russian defense lines in several places during their counter-offensive near Cherson. This is announced on YouTube by Oleksy Arestovych, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces are also attacking boats that are supplying Russian troops across the Dnipro River. The information cannot be verified by an independent body.