Ukraine update: Zelenskyy praises western artillery - Russian depots not sure

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has expressed optimism about the further course of the war against Russia, also because of the Western arms aid for his country.

"The occupiers have already learned very well what modern artillery is, and they will no longer have a safe rear anywhere on our soil that they have occupied," Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, criminal proceedings have been initiated in Moscow against the liberal opposition politician and war opponent Ilya Yashin for allegedly defaming the Russian army.

Zelenskyi: Russians lack “the courage to admit defeat”

After initial hesitation, several western states have now also supplied Ukraine with modern rocket systems and artillery, with which attacks on Russian targets from a greater distance are possible.

According to media reports, several Russian military bases, ammunition and weapons depots have been destroyed far behind the front lines in recent weeks.

Several explosions were heard on Wednesday night in the pro-Russian separatist-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

The Russians are now afraid of the Ukrainian army, also thanks to the partisan activity of Ukrainian agents in the occupied territory, Zelenskyy said.

But they also lack "the courage to admit defeat and withdraw troops from Ukrainian territory."

Despite the high losses, the Russian troops could only continue fighting thanks to the "inexhaustible stocks of old Soviet weapons," he said.

Criminal proceedings against Russian opposition figure Yashin

The authorities in Russia have initiated criminal proceedings against the Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin for spreading allegedly discrediting false reports about the deployment of the Russian army.

"The investigator just called me - a search is beginning in his house," said Yashin's lawyer Vadim Prokhorov on Tuesday evening on his Facebook page.

If convicted, Yashin faces up to ten years in prison.

Yashin belongs to the liberal opposition and was one of the last outspoken critics of the war against Ukraine still at large in Russia.

In the spring he had already been fined several times for disparaging the army.

He is currently serving a 15-day detention for alleged resistance to state authority.

Yashin was originally supposed to be released on Wednesday night.

The criminal investigation is said to have been triggered by a stream by Yashin on YouTube, in which he had spoken about the murder of civilians in the small town of Bucha near Kyiv.

According to Ukrainian sources, more than 400 civilians died during the Russian occupation of the city. Many of the bodies were tied up and had shots in the head.

Russia denies accusations of war crimes.

Chasiv Yar death toll rises to 45

Meanwhile, in the small town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, the death toll after a Russian rocket attack on a house has risen to 45.

Nine people have been rescued from the rubble since the attack on Saturday, civil defense in the Donetsk region said on Tuesday.

While the authorities in Kyiv speak of a civilian residential building, the Russian army claims to have attacked a building used by the military.

The information can hardly be verified independently.

Separatists lift moratorium on death penalty

The pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region have lifted a moratorium on the death penalty.

Separatist leader Denis Puschilin signed a corresponding decree on Tuesday, the Russian state news agency Tass reported.

Last month, the separatists sentenced to death three foreigners serving as mercenaries in the Ukrainian army.

They are two Britons and one Moroccan.

That will be important on Wednesday

Negotiations on lifting the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea and resuming Ukrainian grain exports will begin in Istanbul on Wednesday.

To resolve the dispute, representatives of the UN and Turkey are meeting with MPs from Moscow and Kyiv.

Russia and Ukraine are major wheat exporters and thus play an important role in world food security.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits the barracks and the US military training area in Grafenwoehr in north-eastern Bavaria on Wednesday.

According to the Office of the Federal President, he wants to thank the soldiers for their contribution to the freedom and security of Germany and NATO allies in Europe.

He also wanted to make it clear that Germany was fully committed to solidarity within NATO.

According to the Office of the Federal President, this is the first visit by a German head of state to US troops stationed in Germany in more than 25 years.