Moldova condemns false narratives of Russia
Some 50 UN states, including the Republic of Moldova, issued a statement on Monday condemning Russia’s attempts to justify its military invasion of Ukraine with false narratives about the neighboring country, Ukrinform reports.
“We condemn Russia for once again abusing its seat on the UN Security Council to spread disinformation,” the statement said. “We reject Russia’s efforts to distort history for its own political purposes and promote extremely harmful false narratives and disinformation about neighboring countries, in particular by labeling others as neo-fascists and neo-Nazis, which have no basis in fact”, the statement reads.
The authors of the statement note that this is another cynical and transparent attempt by Russia to justify its unprovoked, full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine and that they will continue to condemn Nazism, neo-Nazism, anti-Semitism, anti-Roma racism and other forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
Among the signatories of the statement are Ukraine, EU states, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, Great Britain, USA and other states.
Pill taken on time and “everything goes according to plan”
According to the representative of the Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, Vadym Skibitsky, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will not publicly recognize that Russia's military actions in Ukraine are a full-scale war and he won’t announce mobilization in Russia in near future.
On May 28, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that Russia continues to conduct covert mobilization to replenish its forces.
Unblocking of grain exports under ongoing discussions
Turkey will host Russian and Ukrainian delegations with UN diplomats on Wednesday to try and free up grain exports through the Black Sea.
“Military delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine and a United Nations delegation will be conducting talks in Istanbul tomorrow regarding safe transfer of grain waiting in Ukrainian ports to international markets via sea route,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday.
A plan proposed by the UN would see the shipments start along specific corridors, avoiding known locations of mines.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said the issue must be resolved under the auspices of the UN.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "there is still a way to go" in talks to try and resume the exports.
HIMARs hits far and precisely
Ukraine’s military said it launched a major counteroffensive in the south of the country on July 12 as it seeks to recapture territory taken earlier by Russian troops.
Ukrainian military strikes destroyed artillery, armored vehicles, and an ammunitions warehouse in the town of Nova Kakhovka, the Ukrainian military said at the start of its counteroffensive against Russian troops occupying parts of the Kherson region.
A general and five Russian military officers were killed in a Ukrainian strike on Russian headquarters using the U.S.-supplied M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARs), according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a representative of the Odesa regional military administration.
Crimes, so evident. – Do you have evidence?
The Government of the Netherlands is hosting, together with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the European Commission, a Ukraine Accountability Conference at ministerial level at the World Forum in The Hague, the city of peace and justice, on 14 July.
The Ministerial Conference will be hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim A.A. Khan QC and EU Commissioner Didier J.L. Reynders.
Participants will include President Zelensky (digital), the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (digital), the Prosecutor-General of Ukraine and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten.
The fourth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein-4) will take place online on July 20, the Pentagon announced following talks between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov on July 11.
Secretary Austin and Minister Reznikov also discussed the agenda for the next Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) to be held virtually on July 20 and exchanged perspectives on the future of U.S. and allied assistance to Ukraine through the UDCG format," the Department of Defense said in a press release.
Iran to share conclusions drawn from Israeli attacks with Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, Ebrahim Raisi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Tehran on July 19, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
Putin’s trip to Tehran is being prepared and there will be a meeting of the leaders of the three guarantor countries of "the Astana process" on the Syrian settlement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily briefing.
Recently, the United States accused Iran of sending weapons-capable drones to Russia.
Putin intends to leave for Tehran right after the end of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia to discuss Iran’s nuclear program and malign activities in the region.
