❗️France is providing Ukraine with EUR 2 billion of additional military support - President Macron.

Thank you, France! 🇫🇷🇺🇦

"Vladimir Putin, in my opinion, not only sends people to die for nothing but also kills our future."

Elena Abramova, a translator and activist from Russian St.Petersburg, was sentenced to two years in jail for an anti-war poster. She is raising her 16-year-old daughter alone.

Here is an excerpt of Abramova's last statement:

"We are at a point where persecuting a person for not accepting mass deaths no longer seems unacceptable, and aggression itself no longer seems intolerable. It's as if this new horrible reality has become a familiar background. But I am convinced that human life is the highest value on Earth.

What am I accused of? What does our state consider a crime? My love of life? Or that we have nothing to do in a foreign land with weapons in our hands? We have our own land that can and should be developed.

'A world without war! Russia without Putin!' - that's what was written on one of my posters. For me, Putin is a synonym for the word 'war.' Russia is not Putin. Russia is its citizens, in the interests of whom the government should act. Vladimir Putin, in my opinion, not only sends people to die for nothing but also kills our future. It is not enough to spend 30 years in power - you need to immortalize yourself, to inscribe your name in history with someone else's blood. In the minds of many people, Russia is inconceivable without Putin.

When they saw my poster, the representatives of law enforcement said, 'If you don't like Russia, leave.' How can I interpret this? I want to live in my country. I want to defend my right to live in a free and peaceful Russia. It seems unthinkable to me to put a person behind bars just for their views."

EU said its sanctions regime will stay in place until the "unconditional withdrawal" of Moscow's troops from Ukraine, Financial Times report.

"The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions," Anitta Hipper, European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs, said.

She noted that the EU's main focus remains "to maximize pressure on Russia, using all tools available, including sanctions" to diminish Russia's ability to wage its war against Ukraine, adding that the bloc did not have sanctions targeting agricultural goods.

Putin:

"The thing is that we have a lot of friends everywhere - in the west, in the east, in the north, in the south. All over the world. And we have far more friends than people who don't really understand us. There are people who are in the so-called 'West,' which you mentioned, and there are people who don't understand Russia."

The results achieved in Saudi Arabia do not look like a quick path to a lasting and sustainable peace. It was indeed a technical round of negotiations, not a political one.

The main conclusion that can be made right now is that Russia is dragging its feet in negotiations and that a quick peace is probably not in the cards.

This round of negotiations can hardly be called a successful one for the following reasons:

◾️It became obvious that Russia is playing for time.

◾️All sides recognized the ceasefire as one already in place but the clear and united understanding of the agreements by all parties was absent. Can this really be called a ceasefire then?

◾️The Kremlin only recognizes preferential conditions for Russia and limitations for Ukraine.

◾️Russia wants to impose its own vision for the "energy ceasefire." In case it takes place, Ukraine will be forced to stop attacking almost all targets that have been successfully attacked by long-range drones in recent weeks and months. But it looks like the ceasefire is not extended to Ukrainian gas production facilities (that Russia keeps attacking).

◾️Russia has refused to consider stopping its strikes on Ukrainian civilian objects (that Putin promised earlier).

◾️Claiming a readiness for a ceasefire at sea, Russians avoid making statements that they will stop their strikes on ports and port cities (like Odesa, for example).

◾️Russia plans to enlist US help in exporting Russian agriculture products and fertilizers. In "exchange" for that, Russians want to have control over the civilian ships en route to Ukraine.

◾️Russia was promised that Europe will remove some of the sanctions off Russia. It is unclear how exactly this will be implemented.

In the "peace talks" with Ukraine and Russia, the United States follow an approach in which the US, as a mediator, makes separate agreements with the Ukrainian and Russian sides. This is a valid approach, and certainly not a novelty for international relations. However, this time an identical and detailed text of the agreement was not approved. Thus, this round of "peace talks" ended without any coordinated joint statements. The US, Ukrainian and Russian "readouts of the results contain significant differences. There was no joint statement.

To summarize: the war continues. Ukraine continues deterring the Russian army that has also intensified its attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Ukraine continues remaining a subject in the negotiations. The voice of Europe needs to be heard in this process.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed strong words of support and a principled position on the abduction of Ukrainian children:

"The abduction of Ukrainian children is grotesque. The UK will play our full part to bring them home. It's a stark reminder that any peace settlement must see Russia held accountable for their deplorable actions," Keir Starmer said.

Reportedly, Russian soldiers started going into assault on scooters. Not all of them know how to ride scooters.

Russians dropped a FAB-250 bomb on Kurtivka, Donetsk region, killing two civilians – a 36-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter. Her other daughter, who is 15 years old, was badly injured. She was evacuated by medics together with local residents.

📹: National Police of Ukraine

"Here's a tripwire. From the Koreans. It's a warning. Because those narrow-eyed f*cking loiter around here at night and steal things."

A Russian soldier from Kursk region complained during a "tour" of his dugout that they are forced to set up tripwires at the entrance from North Korean comrades. According to him, the Koreans loiter around the dugouts at night and steal things.