The Russian military fired on a bus carrying fleeing Ukrainians from the Kherson region. According to the head of the local Ukrainian military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, two people died. It is said that seven people were in the red minibus trying to flee the occupied municipality of Starosillya.
At the level of the village of Dovgove, the Russians opened fire with anti-tank guided missiles. The five survivors were taken to a hospital, Vilkul said. Two of them are in very serious condition.
The Ukrainians, meanwhile, are looking forward to strengthening their own artillery systems. According to information from Kyiv, multiple rocket launchers of the type Mars II arrived from Germany on Monday. Defense Minister Olexej Resnikov thanked his German colleague Christine Lambrecht for the arms assistance.
Lambrecht had already announced the delivery last week. Accordingly, three Mars II systems went to Ukraine. In terms of heavy weapons, Germany has also handed over the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks and Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery pieces to Kyiv.
Kyiv has sharply criticized Moscow for indirect threats to use nuclear weapons in the course of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “The world is witnessing how nuclear terrorism, sponsored by a nuclear-armed state, is becoming a reality,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi on Monday (local time) at the start of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York, according to the speech. Robust collective action is needed to prevent a nuclear catastrophe. No-fly zones would have to be set up over Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The aggressor Russia should not get away with invading Ukraine just because it has nuclear weapons.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which is more than 50 years old and to which 191 countries have joined, forms the basis for nuclear disarmament worldwide. It states that only the US, Russia, China, France and the UK can possess nuclear weapons. The four other suspected nuclear powers India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have either not joined the treaty or have withdrawn from it. The aim of the treaty is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, promote nuclear disarmament and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin countered fears that Moscow might use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, which had been growing since the beginning of the war. “We assume that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and that it must never be started,” Putin wrote in a greeting to participants at the NPT conference in New York published on the Kremlin’s website on Monday. Russia will stick to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
After the resumption of grain exports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was cautiously optimistic that he would be able to solve the global supply crisis and boost his own economy. “The port has started to work and this is a positive sign that there is a chance to stop the development of the food crisis in the world,” Zelenskyy said in his daily video message on Monday evening. According to him, 16 more ships are waiting in the ports to be dispatched.
Zelenskyj made it clear that the implementation of the grain agreement, which provides for an end to the Russian naval blockade, is also of enormous importance for Ukraine. It’s not just about billions in foreign exchange earnings. “About half a million Ukrainians are involved in growing export agricultural products, and if we add related industries, that’s an additional million jobs,” he said.
A spokesman for the Russian military assured on Monday evening that Russia would honor its commitments to implement the agreement. Moscow has taken all measures to guarantee the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. Corresponding corridors have been created for the Ukrainian ports.
Despite this, tensions with the West continue to increase: On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry blacklisted a further 39 politicians, businessmen and journalists from Great Britain, including ex-Prime Minister David Cameron. In Great Britain alone, 255 people are now affected by the Russian sanctions.
In addition, the Russian leadership declared the non-profit British organization Calvert 22 Foundation, which specializes primarily in cultural exchange with Eastern Europe, to be an undesirable organization in Russia, which is effectively tantamount to a ban.
Latvia’s parliament, the Sejm, wants to discuss whether to declare Russia a terrorist state. Such a classification would further increase tensions between the two countries.
Paratroopers’ Day is celebrated in Russia. In Moscow, official military events are held in Red Square, Victory Park and Gorki Park, among other places. Because many former paratroopers traditionally use the holiday to get drunk and start fights, the police presence in Moscow and St. Petersburg has been increased.
The first grain carrier to leave Ukraine since the war began is set to turn up in Istanbul. The ship is expected to be checked on the Bosporus on Wednesday night – not on Tuesday afternoon as originally planned.
