4:46 a.m .: Moscow could set up a military base in the Kherson region
The administration set up by Russia in the Ukrainian region of Kherson will ask Moscow to set up a military base there, the RIA news agency reported, citing a local representative.
4:19 am: an "extremely difficult" situation in the Donbass, worries Zelensky
"The next weeks of war will be difficult," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Monday evening in his daily televised address.
"The Russian occupiers are trying to show that they will not abandon the occupied areas of the Kharkiv region (north-east), that they will not return the Kherson region (south), the occupied territories of the region Zaporizhia (southeast) and Donbass (east). They are advancing somewhere. They are reinforcing their positions elsewhere."
The situation is even "extremely difficult" in the Donbass: the Russians are seeking to "eliminate everything that is alive", accused Volodymyr Zelensky.
1:54 am: Moscow will prioritize relations with China
During a question-and-answer session at an event in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov assured that Russia would study any offers from Westerners to restore ties and then determine whether this is necessary.
He also indicated that Moscow's objective now was to strengthen ties with Beijing.
Sergei Lavrov criticized Western countries for adopting a "Russophobia" since the start of the offensive in Ukraine.
Russia is working to replace products imported from Western countries and in future will only rely on "reliable" countries not beholden to the West, he said.
"We must stop being dependent in any way on deliveries of anything from the West in order to guarantee the development of sectors that are essential for the security, the economy of the social sphere of our homeland."
With AFP and Reuters
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