Moscow confirms its commitment to avoid nuclear war and denounces its exclusion from the Nord Stream investigation
Ukraine regains 400 square kilometers south of Kherson... and the Russians confirm their steadfastness
Volunteers clear the rubble of a building in search of survivors after a Russian attack in the city of Zaporizhia.
AFP
Yesterday, Ukraine announced that its army had recaptured more than 400 square kilometers in the south of the Kherson region in less than a week, after Moscow announced the annexation of the region.
While Russia confirmed that it remained "fully committed" to the principle of never allowing a nuclear war, as fears of an escalation of a potential danger in the Ukraine conflict exacerbated, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had been informed through diplomatic channels that there was no intention to invite it to join an investigation into the causes of the gas leak. from Nord Stream pipelines.
"The Ukrainian armed forces have liberated more than 400 square kilometers of the Kherson region since the beginning of October," the spokeswoman for the Southern Military Command, Natalia Gumniuk, said in an online statement.
On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the control of three new villages in this region: Novovoskresensky, Novogrigoryvka and Petropavlevka.
For its part, the Russian army confirmed in its daily report that "the enemy has been removed from the line of defense of the Russian forces" in the same area.
Having recaptured most of the Kharkiv region in the northeast, the Ukrainian army is launching an offensive in the east, most recently capturing Lyman, where it aims to capture the city of Kherson.
Russia said yesterday it remained "fully committed" to the principle of never allowing a nuclear war, as fears grew of a potential threat escalation in the seven-month-old conflict in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a press briefing yesterday that Moscow's position, which is never to engage in a nuclear war, has not changed.
The Russian president has previously said he was "not cheating" about his willingness to use nuclear weapons to defend his country's territorial integrity.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian officials demanded the imposition of international sanctions on Russia and its nuclear facilities.
This comes after the Russian President issued orders on Wednesday to transfer the management of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, located in an area recently annexed by Moscow from Ukraine, to Russia.
The European Union had agreed to a new package of sanctions against Russia, including setting a price ceiling on oil sales, at a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his forces were advancing towards the south.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters yesterday that Russia had been informed through diplomatic channels that there was no intention to invite it to join an investigation into the causes of the gas leak from Nord Stream pipelines.
Europe is investigating the causes of the explosion of three Nord Stream pipelines, in what is a suspected act of sabotage near Swedish and Danish waters, which Moscow quickly sought to attach to the West, suggesting that the United States is the beneficiary of this act.
Nord Stream operators said this week that they were unable to inspect the affected parts, due to restrictions imposed by the Danish and Swedish authorities on entering the area of the leaks that occurred in their exclusive economic zones.
"We have been informed through diplomatic channels that there are no plans yet to invite the Russian side to join the investigations," Peskov said, adding that Russia replied that it was not possible to conduct an objective investigation without Moscow's participation.
Separately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said yesterday that Moscow would insist on conducting a "comprehensive and open investigation" with the participation of Russian officials and Gazprom.
"Not allowing the owner company to participate in the investigation means that there is something to be hidden from it," she added.
At least two people were killed and five others were missing after bombing the city of Zaporizhia in southeastern Ukraine, the region's governor said Thursday, accusing Russia of carrying out the strikes.
"A woman died, then another died in an ambulance," said Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhia region.
He pointed out that five others are still trapped under the rubble, indicating that rescue operations are continuing.
According to the governor, seven Russian strikes targeted "high-rise buildings".
On the other hand, the Kremlin yesterday denied reports that 700,000 Russians have fled the country, since Moscow announced a mobilization campaign, during which it said that it would summon hundreds of thousands to fight in Ukraine.
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