Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not stalled, according to Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman. In an appearance on American TV he was asked what Vladimir Putin had achieved over the last few weeks, he said: “Well, first of all not yet. He hasn’t achieved yet.”
However he added that the Russian president's military operation was going “strictly in accordance with the plans and purposes that were established beforehand”. Mr Peskov said Russia's main goals were to “get rid of the military potential of Ukraine” and “ensure that Ukraine changes from an anti-Russian centre to a neutral country”.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had taken captive some of the rescue workers and bus drivers of a humanitarian convoy trying to reach the besieged city of Mariupol with desperately needed supplies on Tuesday via a route that the Russians had agreed to in advance. “We are trying to organise stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers, by shelling, or deliberate terror,” Mr Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Russian military forces had destroyed a lab at Chernobyl that was working on improving the management of radioactive waste. Russian military seized the decommissioned plant early in the present conflict. The laboratory, built for £4.9 million with EU support, opened in 2015.
And in a separate worrying development, Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory agency said that radiation monitors around the plant had stopped working.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
