Russia bombards Kharkiv after the visit of the German Foreign Minister

Russia responds with bombing attacks to surprise visit by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Moscow attacked the city of Kharkiv on Tuesday night, hours after Baerbock reaffirmed alongside her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, that Germany would provide combat vehicles to Ukraine.

“Kharkov is a reflection of all the horror of this brutal war caused by Russia, but also of Ukraine’s courage, resilience and hope to live in peace,” Baerbock told a news conference.

“The longer it takes to make the decision, the more people will die due to the lack of tanks in our army,” Kuleba reproached due to Germany’s delay in approving this shipment.

Russia Seeks Control of Bakhmut

The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Dmitry Prigozhin, has stated through his social networks that his forces had taken control of the Ukrainian city of Soledar, in the Donbass region; but the confirmation of the Ukrainian authorities is still missing.

According to the UK Ministry of Defense, it is very likely that they already possess almost the entire settlement, and that this military victory is part of a strategy to encircle Bakhmut.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his usual late-night speech that he had discussed the Donetsk situation with European leaders and stressed the importance of having modern military equipment, as well as the fact that action cannot be delayed in order to finish with the Russian attacks.

“The free world has everything it takes to stop Russian aggression and bring this terrorist state to a historic defeat. And it’s important not just for us. It’s important for world democracy, for all who value freedom. It’s even more important important now, when Russia is gathering forces for another escalation,” declared the President of Ukraine.

Ukraine strips nationality of opposition politicians

Zelensky has also announced that he has revoked the citizenship of four opposition politicians, including Viktor Medvedchuk, once considered the main ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in kyiv and accused of high treason.

Medvedchuk, 67, is for many Ukrainians the “traitor” par excellence due to his close ties to Russia, to which must be added that in recent years he was one of the main enemies of President Volodimir Zelensky.

Medvedchuk is familiarly known as “Putin’s compadre” because the Russian leader was the godfather of one of his daughters, a ceremony that was held in St. Petersburg.

A hundred Ukrainian soldiers will head to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, starting next week to begin training with the Patriot missile defense system. With this, kyiv aims to move closer to gaining much-needed protection against Russian missile attacks.

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