• 9 a.m.: Volodymyr Zelensky assures that "new Ukrainian flags will fly over the Donbass"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured Saturday that his army, which now controls the strategic town of Lyman, will take over "in the coming week" other towns in the Donetsk region, annexed on Friday by Russia.

"During the week, new Ukrainian flags will fly over Donbass", where the Donetsk region is located, Zelensky said in his daily address.

"There will be even more in the coming week."

The loss of Lyman, a strategic rail hub in the region, is a major setback for Moscow, which announced Friday the annexation of Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions to Russia.

"They have already started attacking each other: they are looking for culprits, accusing generals of having failed...", Zelensky said of Russian government officials.

"This is the first alarm signal that should be heard at all levels of the Russian government."

Then he said, speaking of Russian President Vladimir Putin: "Until all of you solve the problem of who started it all, who started this senseless war against Ukraine, you will be killed one by one, becoming scapegoats, because you do not admit that this war is a historical mistake for Russia".

  • 8:30 am: Kadyrov calls on Russia to use 'low-power nuclear weapons' in Ukraine

Reacting to the Russian withdrawal from the city, the leader of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, denounced the "nepotism" reigning in the Russian army and called on Moscow to use "low-power nuclear weapons" in Ukraine, without taking "account of the +western-american community+".

"In my opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, up to the declaration of martial law in border areas and the use of low-power nuclear weapons," Ramzan Kadyrov said in a message posted on Telegram.

  • 8 a.m.: Ukraine seizes the International Court of Justice after the Russian annexations

Following the annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Moscow, kyiv announced to seize the International Court of Justice (ICJ), "urging the Court to take up the case as soon as possible".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also announced that he would "sign Ukraine's candidacy for accelerated NATO membership", a decision supported by the United States and Canada.

“We strongly support the entry into NATO of countries which wish to join and which can bring their capacities to it”, declared the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while recalling “the process to be followed” for the candidate States. .

With Reuters and AFP

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