It is day 804 of the war in Ukraine. Follow the recent developments here in this live blog.
Dick Zandee: Russia wants to sow fear with nuclear exercises
“Russia is trying to scare us and sow division, that is the main objective.” This is what defense specialist Dick Zandee of the Clingendael Institute said after Moscow’s announcement that it will conduct exercises in the south of the country that will also test tactical nuclear weapons. However, according to defense specialist Zandee, there is no ‘escalation in warfare’.
Also read | Russia nuclear exercise is ‘not an escalation in warfare’
Putin starts his fifth term in office today
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be sworn in later today, beginning his fifth term in office. In March he was given a new mandate after convincingly winning what Western observers considered an unfair election. After being sworn in, Putin will be president of Russia until 2030.
Ukraine is urging Western allies not to recognize Putin as Russia’s “legitimate president.” Many Western countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, are not sending representation to Putin’s inauguration. France does send its ambassador Pierre Levy.
This live blog is based on reporting by BNR’s own correspondents and editors, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC, Sky News and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online messages from the news agencies Tass, RIA Novosti and Interfax (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Because reporting from these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases it is explicitly stated where the reporting comes from.
