On Friday alone, Russia launched a total of 408 attacks on ten villages in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine. The attacks left three people injured. Russia also attacked Nikopol in southern Ukraine.
Live updates
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China denies supporting Russia’s stance on Ukraine war
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denied today that China is supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine, despite “strong economic, diplomatic and military ties with the Russians,” AFP reports.
According to the note, the Chinese government presents itself as “a measured interlocutor in relation to the Westerners” who “are adding fuel to the fire” from the conflict by supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Several Western countries, particularly the United States, have criticised China for stepping up its economic support for Moscow and accused Chinese companies of selling products in Russia to support the Kremlin’s war effort.
“China opposes being defamed and false accusations against it”Wang Yi told Antony Blinken, adding that the Chinese will not accept “pressure or blackmail” and will take “firm and effective measures to safeguard their interests and rights.”
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Lebanon condemns violence against civilians following attack on Golan Heights
The Lebanese government on Saturday condemned the attack, which the Israeli army said left 10 dead and 20 wounded. It also called for an end to hostilities.
“Hitting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and goes against human principles,” the Lebanese government said in a statement cited by Al Jazeera.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the attack and accused the group of firing 30 rockets from Lebanon. Hezbollah has already denied being behind the attack, which comes after months of gunfire in the border area.
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Ukraine says more than 75% of wounded soldiers return to duty
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Nataliia Kalmykova said today that more than 75% of soldiers wounded in combat are returning to service. “We have a very high percentage of quality rehabilitation. This is being noticed by our Western partners, countries that have never had such an experience, a war like ours,” she said.
“As soon as treatment begins, rehabilitation also begins immediately. It is not something that happens later. And rehabilitation is now applied in all civilian and military institutions,” he added, as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.
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Orbán says Ukraine will never be a member of EU or NATO, praises Russia’s ‘rational’ position
The Prime Minister of Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, said today that Ukraine will never be a member of the EU or NATO. The reason? “We Europeans do not have the money for this,” he said, as quoted by Reuters. Viktor Orbán believes that Ukraine “will return to the position of a buffer state.”
Orbán spoke in Baile Tusnad, a predominantly ethnic Hungarian town in central Romania. The government official also said he foresees a shift of power from the “irrational” West to Asia and Russia. “In the coming decades, maybe centuries, Asia will be the centre of the world,” he argued, adding: “We, the West, push Russia into this bloc.”
The Hungarian leader also praised Russia, saying that in contrast to the “weakness” of the West, Russia’s position in world affairs was “rational and predictable” and that the country had shown economic flexibility in adapting to Western sanctions.
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Three Russian helicopters sabotaged in Ukrainian operation
Ukrainian forces sabotaged three helicopters in an operation that took place on Russian territory, according to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, citing sources in the Ukrainian intelligence and defence services.
The same newspaper recalls that this week two other Russian helicopters were damaged in a fire near Moscow.
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The Kremlin says it has no plans for new military mobilizations
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that the Kremlin does not plan to declare a new military mobilization in Russia to fight in Ukraine due to the large number of volunteers enlisting in the army.
“Nobody is thinking about the mobilization, nobody is talking about it,” Peskov told Ria Novosti news agency.
The Kremlin spokesman was responding to a question about whether the army had enough volunteers or whether a new military mobilization would be mandatory, as in September 2022.
Several Russian military bloggers have repeatedly suggested the need to increase the number of soldiers at the front.
However, independent Russian media do not rule out the possibility of a new military mobilization if the military command decides to launch a new offensive in the neighbouring country.
The head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrikin, however, recalled that foreigners who receive a Russian passport “acquire not only rights, but also obligations as citizens of the Russian Federation.”
At the end of June, Alexander Bastrikin estimated that 10,000 new Russian citizens had been mobilised to fight in the special military operation.
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Borrell asks China to help bring Russia to the negotiating table
The head of European diplomacy today criticized China’s support for Russia in the war in Ukraine, and called for Chinese influence to bring the country led by Putin “to the negotiating table.”
“Without the economic support that China is giving to Russia, it would be very difficult for Russia to continue the war effort,” Josep Borrell told reporters.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy met on Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which ends today in Vientiane, Laos.
Borrel said that during the meeting he told Wang that Chinese companies were escaping sanctions imposed by Brussels on Moscow, which the European bloc considers as support for the conflict.
“We call on China to use its influence in Russia to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict and bring Russia to the negotiating table,” the official said.
Borrell also highlighted the importance of the recent visit of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba to China, stressing the “important role” of the Asian giant in the peace process.
Following a meeting in Switzerland to discuss peace in Ukraine, which was not attended by representatives of China and Russia, the European diplomat said that “the next step in this process should be to hold a meeting in which Russia can participate.”
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Zelensky thanks Ukrainian doctors for keeping hospitals running during war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday publicly praised Ukrainian doctors, nurses and healthcare workers working on the front lines and across the country during the war.
“Today, there is no hospital in Ukraine that has not experienced what war is like and has not received wounded at the front or after Russian attacks,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
“We can only be proud,” the president said, highlighting the “dedication” of health professionals during the war. “We can only thank our medical specialists, who work so hard on the front lines, in areas close to the front, in border communities and throughout the country.”
“Medical systems across the country continue to function. This is the merit of all those who dedicate their lives to saving the lives of others,” he said.
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Russia launched 408 attacks against the Zaporizhia region in the past 24 hours
On Friday, Russia launched 408 attacks on ten Ukrainian villages in the Zaporizhia region in the south of the country, the region’s governor, Ivan Fedorov, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Two women and a man were injured in the attacks.
In addition, eight airstrikes were carried out on towns including Kamianske, Lobkove, Robotyne, Mala Tokmachka and Malynyvka, in a region that has seen intense fighting in recent months.
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Good day.
The Observer follows developments in the war in Ukraine on Saturday.
Oh live blog Friday is archived here.
The Kremlin liked hearing Trump say that Russia is a “war machine,” but he doesn’t wear “rose-colored glasses”
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Source: Observadora
