Ukrainian authorities have stated that Russia continues to launch limited attacks despite the three-day ceasefire that started at midnight on Thursday and was unilaterally decreed by Moscow. However, the Ukrainian Air Force has acknowledged that no Russian missiles or drones were detected on their territory this morning.
"Russian forces continue to attack along the entire front line," stated the Ukrainian Foreign Minister. Additionally, the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office reported that two aerial bombs killed a woman and injured two others in a residential area in Sumy.
The ceasefire unilaterally decreed by Vladimir Putin has been denounced as a farce by Ukraine, which maintains a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
The order coincides with the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazism at the end of World War II, gathering in Moscow around thirty foreign leaders such as Chinese Xi Jinping and Brazilian Lula da Silva.
Russia explores ways to restore the flow of Russian gas to Europe
With energy relations between Europe and Russia on thin ice, officials from Washington and Moscow have held discussions on the possibility of the United States helping to revive Russian gas sales to the continent, as reported by eight sources familiar with the negotiations to Reuters.
Europe drastically reduced its imports of Russian gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a decision that led to Russian exporter Gazprom recording a loss of $7 billion the following year.
US President Donald Trump is pushing for peace in Ukraine, increasing the chances of a thaw in gas ties.
Sources close to the bilateral talks indicated that reintegrating Moscow into the EU gas market could help solidify a peace agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia and China claim AUKUS pact is fueling a regional arms race
Russia and China stated on Thursday in a joint declaration that the defense pact AUKUS between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States is fueling an arms race in the region.
In the statement published on the Kremlin's website after talks in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both countries pointed out that they consider the accelerated purchase of long-range missiles by allies of nuclear-armed countries within military alliances as "provocative."
Russia and China agree on the need to address the "root causes" of the conflict in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are convinced that the conflict in Ukraine can only be resolved by addressing its "root causes," as stated by the Kremlin in a joint declaration released on Thursday.
During talks in Moscow, Putin thanked Xi for joining the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the "sacred" victory over Adolf Hitler in World War II.
Ukraine's parliament ratifies "historic" agreement with Washington on minerals
On Thursday, the Ukrainian parliament ratified the "historic" economic partnership agreement between Ukraine and the United States, signed after weeks of negotiations, announced the Ukrainian Minister of Economy.
"The Ukrainian parliament has ratified the historic economic partnership agreement between Ukraine and the United States," said Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on X, expecting the pact to accelerate the arrival of more US military aid to confront the Russian invasion.
Ukraine denounces 734 Russian violations of the ceasefire
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga denounced that Russia has violated the ceasefire 734 times. "From midnight to noon, Russia has committed 734 violations and 63 assault operations, of which 23 are still ongoing; 586 attacks on our troops' positions, 464 of them with heavy weaponry, 176 drone attacks, and 10 bombings with 16 guided aerial bombs," he wrote on the social network X.
Therefore, the Russian ceasefire has proven to be a "farce," he stated. Sibiga emphasized that Kyiv is responding "appropriately" to all attacks and sharing all relevant information about the violations with its allies.
"We will not let (Vladimir) Putin deceive anyone when he does not even keep his own word," he assured, reiterating that the government of Volodymyr Zelensky continues to advocate for a ceasefire of at least 30 days to allow for peace negotiations to begin.
EU delivers another 1,000 million to Ukraine financed with frozen Russian assets
The European Union (EU) delivered a new loan of 1,000 million euros to Ukraine on Thursday as part of the G7 agreement in which international partners committed to providing Kiev with around 45,000 million euros in credits financed with the extraordinary income generated by Russian assets frozen by sanctions, as reported by Efe.
"The EU continues to support Ukraine politically, financially, economically, and militarily (...). Russia will pay for the destruction it has caused," stated European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis in a statement, recalling that this is the fourth loan payment from the G7 that the EU has made this year.
Brussels has already disbursed 6,000 million euros of the 18,100 million that the EU will contribute to the macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine agreed upon by the G7, which includes the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.
The Commission noted that it is ready to advance the total amount of its contribution if necessary and is in contact with Ukrainian authorities regarding the next disbursements to respond promptly if Kiev requests it.
Russian army "respects the ceasefire but responds to attacks"
The Russian Army stated on Thursday that it "strictly respects" the three-day ceasefire in Ukraine decreed by President Vladimir Putin but is simultaneously "responding" to attacks by Ukraine, which never accepted the ceasefire proposal.
"Despite the ceasefire announcement, Ukrainian army units have not ceased hostilities against Russian troops. The Russian army is responding in kind to violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian army," declared the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Ukraine tried twice to breach the border in Kursk, according to Moscow
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated today that Ukrainian troops tried twice to breach the border in the Kursk region, as reported by the Interfax news agency.
The ministry mentioned that Russia continues to respect the ceasefire, while Ukraine has violated it 488 times. In turn, Ukraine has accused Russia of violating the ceasefire on multiple occasions.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister describes the ceasefire as a "farce"
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the three-day ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday as a "farce" because Russian forces repeatedly violated it in the first hours after it came into effect.
"Russian forces continue to attack along the entire front line," wrote Sybiha.
Lithuania approves leaving the convention against the use of anti-personnel mines
The Lithuanian Parliament or Seimas approved on Thursday the country's withdrawal from the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, also known as the Ottawa Treaty.
In a statement, the Seimas stated that "it is appropriate to withdraw from the convention because security in our region has deteriorated significantly, and military threats to Lithuania and other NATO members bordering Russia and Belarus have increased significantly."
The measure was approved with 107 votes in favor, three abstentions, and no votes against.
Lithuania had joined the Ottawa Treaty in 2003, and the withdrawal will take effect six months after the Seimas notifies the decision to the United Nations Secretary-General.
The vote on Thursday comes less than a month after the Latvian Parliament made the same decision, as part of an agreement among the three Baltic countries and Poland to prepare for the use of anti-personnel mines on their borders with Russia and Belarus, as reported by Efe.
The Seimas statement also indicated that Finland will take the same measure, and all European states bordering Russia, except Norway, will do so, indicating a common view of the threats, as well as the willingness of these countries to "use all necessary measures to defend their territory and freedom."