Russia’s defense minister warned France’s defense minister against sending troops to Ukraine in an unusual telephone conversation on Wednesday.The Associated Press reported. Sergey Shoigu told the French Minister of Defense Sebastian Lecornu According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, if Paris follows up on its statement on the possible deployment of French troops to Ukraine, it will “create problems for France itself.” Details were not explained. French President Emmanuel Macron said in February that he could not rule out the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine. French officials later clarified that the proposal was about using troops for training and other operations away from the front lines. The phone call was the first contact between Russian and French defense ministers since October 2022, according to the Associated Press.
According to Agence France-Presse, France denied Russia’s claims to discuss possible negotiations with Ukraine..Russia said this Shoigu and Les Cornes Possible talks on the Ukraine conflict were discussed during a phone call on Wednesday, a claim Paris quickly denied. “France did not accept or propose anything like that” regarding the conflict, the official told AFP.
Early Thursday morning, a Russian drone struck a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Five people, including three rescue workers, died in repeated strikessaid the mayor and local governor. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Telekhov said on the messaging app Telegram that four people were killed at the scene of one attack, at least three of them rescue workers who died after arriving at the scene and a new strike broke out. Ta. Five people were injured. Telekhov said a fifth person was killed in a strike against a house in another city area. Kharkiv Governor Ole Sinevov said a total of four strikes had hit the city, damaging the top floor of one apartment building. Reuters could not independently verify the account.
Finland’s president signed a 10-year security agreement with Ukraine in Kiev on Wednesday. which president Volodymyr Zelensky He said he believed Russia planned to mobilize 300,000 new troops into the war by June.However, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry PeskovReuters, citing Russian news agencies, said the Ukrainian president’s claims about a new Russian mobilization are false.agreement signed by the president alexander stubbe and Zelensky This year, Finland became the eighth NATO member to commit to long-term security cooperation and defense support for Kiev.
NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday with Jens Stoltenberg.Regarding the future of aid to Ukraine, the Alliance’s Secretary-General announced: “Today, the Allies agreed to move forward with plans to expand NATO’s role in coordinating security assistance and training.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski was asked about the possibility of 100 billion euros in NATO funds for Ukraine.“We support the Secretary-General’s efforts,” he told reporters. The fund is an attempt to protect support for Ukraine in the face of Donald Trump’s possible return to the US presidency.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on allies to increase defense spending. “The most important thing we can do to ensure that this alliance continues to grow and strengthen is to ensure that we all spend at least 2% of our gross domestic product (GDP) on defense,” he said. ” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy once again called for strengthening the country’s air defense system. “This terrorism has wreaked havoc in cities and villages across Ukraine, with Russia carrying out relentless shelling, especially on front lines and border areas,” he wrote. Ukraine’s partner countries do not provide sufficient air defense for Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister said. Dmytro Klebahe said in an interview with Reuters.
Ukraine’s bill lowering the military draft age from 27 to 25 takes effect. The changes are part of an effort to replenish military forces depleted after more than two years of war following a full-scale Russian invasion. The new mobilization law took effect on Wednesday, a day after it was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Associated Press reported.
Russian security official Nikolai Patrushev said today, without providing any evidence: “Ukrainian special forces” were said to be behind last month’s horrific concert shooting near Moscow.
Two Russian TU-95MS strategic bombers conduct a scheduled 5-hour flight Over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea.
