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Summary
It’s 2am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
- Belgium will reopen its embassy in Kyiv and send a new ambassador, its prime minister confirmed. The embassy will open next week and Ambassador Peter Van De Velde, whom Alexander De Croo met before he was sent to Ukraine, will represent Belgium.
- Luhansk’s governor said Russian forces were indiscriminately shelling populated areas on Friday, Reuters reports. “They are not stopped even by the fact that civilians remain there, dying in houses and yards,” Serhiy Gaidai said.
- Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has asked all residents in the Russian-occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to “evacuate by all possible means”. There will be “harsh battle” as the Ukrainian army will be “de-occupying these territories”, he said.
- Ukraine’s military says that it has destroyed two Russian command posts near Kherson, according to Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the joint southern command of Ukraine’s armed forces.
- The Ukrainian foreign minister criticized Russia at the G20 summit in Bali, saying that it prefers to follow its own rules instead of cooperating multilaterally with the international community. “I am strong supporter of multilateralism. But it lacks tools to protect itself from those who disrespect other nations. Who prefer to play with common rules instead of playing by the rules. We have such a country at this table today – Russia,” said Dmytro Kuleba.
- The Ukrainian parliament adopted a set of new laws on Friday during its plenary session. The new laws include safety guarantees for journalists working in battle areas, improved social protection for rescuers, and postponed transitioning to keep records of the gas volumes in units of energy.
- The US is sending four more Himars, or high mobility artillery rocket systems, to Ukraine, a US senior defense official told reporters at a press briefing on Friday. The four additional Himars will bring the total number given to Ukraine to 12. According to the official, the first eight were especially useful as the fighting in Donbas against Russian forces evolved into an artillery fight.
Updated
