“If Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war”, declared the Ukrainian president on Sunday April 7. The aid, although wanted by the White House, is refused by the Republican Party and the supporters of former American president Donald Trump. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that drones hit the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Volodymyr Zelensky has, for the umpteenth time, called on kyiv’s allies to provide him with more anti-aircraft defense systems. “The Russians began using guided aerial bombs against the city (Kharkiv) almost daily”, says the Ukrainian president in his Sunday evening message. According to him, without American aid blocked in Congress, “Ukraine will lose the war”.
According to the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, Russia “launched missiles at civilian areas in Kharkiv – to sow panic”.
Drone attack on nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrote on “confirmed the physical impacts of drone attacks at the plant (…), including on one of its six reactors”. However, they did not attribute these attacks by name to Ukraine. without attributing them by name to Ukraine. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said there had been “at least three direct impacts on the main containment structures” of the plant.
The head of Russian diplomacy in China
Sergei Lavrov arrived in China on Monday, his services announced, for an official visit aimed at strengthening ties with Beijing, Moscow’s key diplomatic and economic partner. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on X that Mr. Lavrov had landed in Beijing.
Mr. Lavrov will stay in the capital until Tuesday, where he is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to a previous press release from the Russian ministry.
“An in-depth exchange of views is planned on a number of hot topics”the statement said, with the Russian ministry citing “the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region”.
The two leaders “will discuss a wide range of issues relating to bilateral cooperation, as well as cooperation in the international arena”also specified the press release.
Since the outbreak of the Russian assault on Ukraine in February 2022, relations between Moscow and Beijing have greatly strengthened.
Three Ukrainian prisoners executed
Ukraine accuses the Russian army of killing three unarmed Ukrainian soldiers. The office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, published a video on Telegram showing a Russian soldier firing several bursts from an automatic weapon at unarmed and immobile Ukrainian soldiers.
According to the office, the incident occurred near the village of Krynky, in Kherson Oblast, on an unspecified date. “Once again, representatives of the aggressor state ignored the provisions of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war, which indicates that such actions are supported by the high-level command of the Russian armed forces”, it is indicated. Dmytro Lubinets emphasizes that he contacted the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Russian propaganda
Russian propaganda has found its way into the United States, according to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Mike Turner. He says he hears anti-Ukraine and pro-Russian messages, even “in the House (of Representatives)”.
Donald Trump’s position
The former US president reportedly privately said he could end the war in Ukraine. To do this, he would push Ukraine to cede certain territories, according to reports the Washington Post, Sunday. The Republican candidate says he could negotiate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours of his election. However, he refuses to publicly specify how he would go about it.
Donald Trump’s campaign team also refuses to answer questions directly from the Washington Post. “Any speculation about President Trump’s plan comes from unidentified and uninformed sources who have no idea what is happening or what will happen”campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Chemical attacks?
Russia has once again been accused of chemical attacks in Ukraine. This is what an investigation by the British daily reports The Telegraph. Ukrainian positions are regularly attacked by drones dropping mainly tear gas but also other chemicals.