Russia-Ukraine crisis: Top developments today

Here are the top updates from Kyiv and Moscow:

🔴 Russia on Friday signalled that it was scaling back its ambitions in Ukraine, and would now focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east, Reuters reported. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the first phase of its operation was close to completion and it would now be focussing on the Donbas area bordering Russia.

“The combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been considerably reduced, which … makes it possible to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbas,” Sergei Rudskoi, head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, told Reuters.

🔴 Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy once again called on Russia to negotiate an end to the war, but stressed that Ukraine was not willing to give up any of its territory for the sake of peace, AP reported.

🔴 In a speech he is set to deliver in Poland on Saturday, US President Joe Biden will call on the “free world” to stand together against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said. Biden is also expected to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda.

🔴 Russia’s former president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev on Friday said that Western sanctions were not enough to have any effect on the Moscow government. The sanctions will only consolidate the Russian society and not cause popular discontent with the authorities, Medvedev told Russia’s RIA news agency in an interview.

🔴 The city of Kherson is “contested territory” yet again, US officials have said. This could prove to be a major setback for Russia.

🔴 According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 300 people were killed during the Russian bombing of a theatre in the port city of Mariupol last week. With this, the incident has become the single deadliest attack since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

🔴 Putin on Friday signed into law a bill that introduced jail terms of up to 15 years for publishing “fake” information about Russia’s actions abroad. The new bill expands on a law which was passed earlier this year, that allows for up to 15 years in jail for publishing false information about the Russian army, AFP reported.

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