Zelensky says Russia trying to incite war in the Middle East
Vladimir Putin has arrived in Kyrgyzstan on a rare trip abroad after Ukraine thwarted an attempt overnight by a Russian saboteur group to cross its border.
The Russian leader is meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov on Thursday, having not travelled abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March over the deportation of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied these accusations.
Meanwhile, Ukraine overnight prevented a Russian saboteur group from crossing its northeastern border in the Sumy region, the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday.
"The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities," Lieutenant General Serhiy Naev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
It comes as the Russian occupation authorities are “suffering staff shortages” at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In its assessment on Wednesday of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it reported Mayor Dmytro Orlov said only about 2,000 of the 11,000 staff who worked at the ZNPP prior to Russia’s occupation of Enerhodar continue to work there.
