A mayor for nine recruits

The mayor of Melitopol city of Zaporozhe region Ivan Fedorov was awarded the Order of Courage, III Class, by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He was kidnapped, but refused to cooperate with the occupation troops. After five days of detention, the mayor was exchanged for nine Russian recruits born in 2002-2003, who, according to Putin, “are not on the territory of Ukraine”.

Yevhen Matvyev, the mayor of Dniprorudny, Zaporozhe, remains hostage to the Russian occupants, while the mayor of Skadovsk Alexandr Iakovlev was set free.

Negotiations on ceasefire, withdrawal of troops, guarantees

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Russia was only pretending to negotiate with Ukraine in talks held between the two countries. For the Kremlin, it is important that Ukraine renounce the idea of joining NATO and accept demilitarization. For the process to be efficient, the discussions should primarily focus on ceasefire.

“Negotiations are a large-scale process involving not only Russia and Ukraine,” said Zelensky’s aide Mikhail Podolyak.  “It is not just about signing the agreement. We want to develop a specific mechanism that will guarantee our security in the future,” Podolyak explained, suggesting that even reaching the deal would not mean the end of the conflict.

Volodymyr Zelensky may meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “in the next weeks”. The meeting, however, could only take place when a “peace treaty” between Kyiv and Moscow is signed, he said.

Turkey, guarantor of peace in the region?

The Russian press disseminated the Turkish foreign minister’s assertion that Turkey does not object to becoming a guarantor of security.

The press in Moscow reported that Erdogan talked to Putin and told him that the declaration of a permanent ceasefire with Ukraine would pave the way for a long-term solution and stressed that Turkey can host a meeting of Putin and Zelensky in Istanbul or Ankara.

Schwarzenegger about aberrations over Nazism in Ukraine

Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an impassioned plea to Russian troops in Ukraine, telling them he does not want to see them be “broken” like his father who fought for the Nazis in the Second World War, and warning them that “every bullet you shoot, you shoot a brother or sister”. Schwarzenegger said the Russian government’s claim that it’s attempting to “de-Nazify” Ukraine was pointing out that Ukraine’s President Volodymir Zelensky is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust.

Court accuses, the Kremlin does not recognize

Russia cannot take into consideration the ruling by the UN International Court of Justice, directing Moscow to stop the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

The court must have the consent of the parties to make such a decision, and in this case, “there can be no consent,” Peskov said at a daily briefing in Moscow.

“No, we will not be able to take this decision into account. The International Court of Justice must have such a thing as the consent of the parties. There can be no consent here,” the spokesman said.

“By refusing to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice, Russia must then waive all rights under the UN Charter, primarily the right to veto in the Security Council, as well as immunities,” said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko.

“If Russia does not comply with the decision of the UN International Court of Justice, this will affect its final ruling in this case, in particular in the context of determining the amount of compensation to Ukraine,“ said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, noting Russia’s allegations that Ukraine committed a crime of genocide in its territory were completely shattered at the highest international level.

Putin’s brutality is just inhuman

U.S President Joe Biden, in a virtual meeting with the Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, said that they have to be united. “We certainly are. But [Vladimir] Putin’s brutality and what his troops are doing in Ukraine is just inhumane,” he said, referring to the Russian president.

Russian president’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov said this statement is “unforgivable rhetoric”.

World wonders were Putin will stop?

Russia’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Kalabuhov said that Bosnia and Herzegovina has the right to decide whether or not to join NATO, but he warned that Moscow also keeps the right to respond to such a possibility in line with its interests.

“If (Bosnia and Herzegovina) decides to be a member of any alliance, that is an internal matter. Our response is a different matter. Ukraine’s example shows what we expect. Should there be any threat, we will respond,” Kalabukhov said.

Zeljko Komsic, the Croat presidency member who advocates Bosnia’s integration into the alliance, condemned the given statements of the Russian ambassador.

In another development, French President Emmanuel Macron didn’t rule out a large-scale war in Europe. “Our forces are the only full-fledged army on the European continent. We need to increase investment to be prepared for a possible high-intensity armed conflict that could begin on our continent,” Macron said.

Matei 10:21-23 ESV– “A brother will betray his brother to death”

During 21 days of war in Ukraine, the Russian troops used almost all the supplies of Kalibr cruise missiles and Iskander missile systems and therefore bombard infrastructure and residential areas in a number of cities, as the Ukrainian military said.

According to the UN, the Ukrainian refugees came to 3.16 million. More than half of them are in Poland, about 500,000 in Romania and also in Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Russia.

The Czech Republic can no longer accept refugees from Ukraine, said the Czech Premier Petr Fiala.