Daily Briefing from Ukraine

·      Top 5 Headlines

·      President Zelensky’s Message of the Day 

Top 5 Headlines

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that intelligence indicates Russian forces are potentially preparing to conduct a sabotage attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). Zelensky said such an attack would release radiation from the ZNPP and announced that Ukrainian officials will widely share their intelligence with partners and international organizations. Zelensky emphasized that the complete liberation of the ZNPP is needed.

2.     Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to react to the potential preparation of a Russian attack at the ZNPP.  The ministry emphasized that, by occupying the ZNPP, Russia violates international law and standards of nuclear safety, including the IAEA’s principles. They called, in particular, on the G7 and the EU, to strengthen restrictive measures against the Russian nuclear industry and the military-industrial complex. 

3.    Europe’s leading human rights watchdog demanded a total ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics “as long as Russia’s war of aggression” in Ukraine continues. The Council of Europe urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its constituent sports federations to uphold “its position expressed in 2022 and to ban the participation” of these athletes from the next Olympics. Olympic chief Thomas Bach criticized the Ukrainian government for “sanctioning” its own athletes by not allowing them to compete in recent global competitions where Russian and Belarusian representatives are participating.

Other Topics of Interest

Zelensky Meets CIA Director William Burns in Ukraine

Zelensky said he had met Burns on multiple occasions throughout the war, but their meetings had been undisclosed.

 4.     The United Nations has put Russian military forces and proxy armed groups on its “list of shame” over the killing and maiming of nearly 500 children in its war against Ukraine. In an annual report on children in conflict zones, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine” committed in 2022. “I am particularly shocked by the high number of attacks on schools and hospitals and protected personnel, and by the high number of children killed and maimed attributed to the Russian forces and affiliated armed groups,” Guterres said in the report, which was distributed to members of the Security Council.

5.    US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” in a joint statement released in Washington. To date, India has refused to sanction Russia or provide aid to Ukraine. The joint statement “called for respect for international law, principles of the UN charter and territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

President Zelensky’s Message