Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russia’s decision to withdraw from a key arms pact enacted at the end of the Cold War to create a military balance between NATO and the Warsaw Pact members and to reduce arms stockpiles accused of

In a statement, NATO called the landmark Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) “the cornerstone of Europe’s security architecture,” giving nations “legally binding and verifiable access to major categories of conventional military equipment.” explained the treaty’s role in establishing “substantial limits”. involvement.

“Russia has not complied with its CFE obligations for many years, notably suspending its implementation of the CFE Treaty in 2007 without a legal basis. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and Belarus’s complicity are contrary to the objectives of the CFE. It’s a treaty,” NATO said.

Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty “is the latest in a series of actions that systematically undermine Euro-Atlantic security” and states that “Russia continues to enforce arms control, including reciprocity, transparency, compliance and verification.” It further shows that they are ignoring it.”

— Natasha Turak

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky that Japan was ready to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine following the Kakhovka Dam explosion and resulting massive flooding and damage.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan would send about $5 million in aid to be allocated through humanitarian organizations, according to Reuters.

President Zelensky also posted a reading of his phone call with Kishida, saying, “I spoke about the consequences of Russia’s bombing of the Kakhovka thermal power plant. It’s a war crime,” he tweeted. of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. ”

Zelensky said the two had discussed “further engagement of Japan’s security assistance, especially in the field of humanitarian demining, and measures towards the implementation of the Ukraine Peace Officials and preparations for a World Peace Summit.”

— Natasha Turak

Ukraine’s internal security service said it had intercepted a phone call demonstrating that a Russian “sabotage group” had blown up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and dam in southern Ukraine.

The company posted a recording of the intercepted call on its official Telegram channel. The recording is said to have been made between two unidentified Russian soldiers or officials and does not indicate when or where the call took place.

One of the men appears to have claimed that a Russian sabotage group was involved in the dam attack, but has provided no evidence to support this. CNBC has not confirmed the recording.

According to NBC’s translation, the recorded audio is:

–There was a video on Telegram yesterday. A soldier covers his face and stands in full gear. And tell them there are no floods and people are living a normal life.But there’s a window behind him and he sees the sea up to his knees [means lots of water].

-Aha… cool. Do you mean HPP? Destroyed HPP?

– Yes yes.

-ah I see.

-The main problem, as it turns out, is that this HPP cools the reactor, that is, the reactor.

– Well, great, spoil yourself. It will explode and that’s it!

– it’s ours [Russian] to blow it up.it’s not theirs [Ukrainians]that’s what we did.

– No way, ours?called cohorus [derogatory term for Ukrainians] blew it up.

– There were no explosions. That was our sabotage group.they wanted to give a kind of terror [blackmail] But it was more unplanned than they planned.

– Well, naturally it will be covered [affect] Like in Chernobyl, right?

– Construction is from 50 days [1950th]. collapsed rapidly. There was a safari park there and thousands of animals died.

-Took.

Separately, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service, Vasyl Malyuk, reportedly said in a telegram post: “Let me remind you that the Ukrainian Security Service has opened criminal proceedings on the facts of war crimes committed by the Russian Federation.”

— Natasha Turak

The Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhia, a region of southeastern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, announced the formation of the militia through his Telegram account.

In a translation provided by The Guardian, Governor Yevgeny Baritsky writes: ”A People’s Militia has been created in the Zaporizhzhya region, which will take over patrol and law enforcement in settlements in the Zaporizhzhya region, in cooperation with the police and the military commander’s office. ”

“Today, the first militia took an oath of allegiance to the Zaporizhia region and to the inhabitants of our region,” he added. “I am confident in the openness of my compatriots’ hearts, in their steadfastness and desire to help.”

— Natasha Turak

The Ukrainian security service SBU said it had intercepted a call proving that Russian forces had blown up the Kakhovka dam in southeastern Ukraine, causing massive flooding and destruction in the surrounding area.

Kiev and Moscow exchanged responsibility for the explosion. This dam on the Dnipro River was in the Russian Occupied Territory. Built in 1956, it supplied water for the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and irrigation, as well as for cooling the reactors of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Both the power plant and the dam were occupied by Russian forces shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

— Natasha Turak

The Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant along the Dnipro river in the southern Kherson region burst on Tuesday, forcing residents of the downstream area to evacuate due to the danger of flooding. The cause of the dam’s collapse has yet to be determined, and Russia and Ukraine have each accused each other of destroying the dam.

After the Russian withdrawal from Kherson and the surrounding area last autumn, the Dnipro River has served as a frontline between the two armies. The dam and power station were under Russian control covering large swaths south and southeast of the river.

Ukrainian frontline officials and soldiers told NBC News that the long-awaited counterattack has begun. For weeks, Russian forces have been preparing for a renewed Ukrainian offensive as Western allies refrained from speculating on the timing of a counterattack.

The revelations came on the heels of the catastrophic attack on Kakhovka Dam in southeastern Ukraine, for which both Kiev and Moscow have blamed each other.

Read the full NBC News here.

—Amanda Macias