Ally Putin: ‘Western arms deliveries are causing a global catastrophe’
09:30 | Speaker of the Russian Duma and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stalwart Vyacheslav Volodin has warned that the world will face a “global catastrophe” if Washington and NATO countries start supplying weapons that could threaten Russian territories.
According to Volodin, US and NATO support for Ukraine is leading the world into a “terrible war,” he writes in Telegram. “If Washington and NATO countries supply Ukraine with weapons that can hit civilian targets in Russia or hit our territories, we will fight back with heavier weapons.”
Russia increases bombing intensity
07:53 | Russia has stepped up the intensity of shelling in the industrial area of the Donbas region, Zaporizhia and Sumi officials said.
The United States has now advised Ukraine against launching a new offensive against the Russians until the new shipment of US weapons has arrived and training has been provided on its use, a Biden spokesman said.
Meanwhile, senior US officials have advised Ukraine to suspend launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the last supply of US weapons is completed and training has been provided, said a senior official in the Biden administration.
The US will sanction the Wagner Group
07:34 | US to sanction Russian mercenary army Wagner Group. Much to the surprise of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, he sent a letter to the White House asking what he and his company are accused of.
The Wagner group wants to return the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers who died in the hard-fought town of Soledar in the Ukrainian-occupied territory.
The Wagner Group operates globally to forcibly promote Russia’s military and economic interests, fighting side by side with the Russian military in Ukraine and has made war crimes their trademark. Although the mercenaries of the Wagner group have been active on the world stage for some time, they only emerged from the shadows after the war in Ukraine. Read more about the Wagner Group here.