US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov spoke by telephone on Tuesday, Washington and Moscow said. This is the first meeting between the head of the Pentagon and his Russian counterpart in more than a year – Sergei Shoigu was at the time head of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Pentagon spokesperson clarified to journalists that the meeting was at the initiative of Lloyd Austin. The American defense minister stressed to his Russian counterpart the importance of keeping the lines of communication between their two countries open, as tensions have increased in parallel with the war in Ukraine.
For its part, Moscow highlighted the warning formulated by Andreï Beloussov on the risks for Washington of continuing to supply weapons to kyiv. The Russian defense minister “pointed to the danger of a further escalation of the situation via continued deliveries of American weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces”declared his services via Telegram messaging.
This telephone interview comes after Moscow accused Washington over the weekend of being responsible for a deadly Ukrainian attack on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia, by having supplied the missiles used by kyiv.
Read also: MAP. War in Ukraine: ICC arrest warrants, European media blocked… The point of the day
Prisoner exchange
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 90 prisoners each following a “humanitarian mediation” of the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange, posting photographs on Telegram of men surrounded by yellow and blue national flags. According to him, those released include defenders during the siege of Mariupol in 2022 and soldiers who fought in the area of the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the start of the conflict.
The last exchange between the belligerents dates back to the end of May, when they exchanged 75 prisoners from each side. A large-scale exchange of a hundred people from each camp also took place in February. The UAE also mediates the return of Ukrainian children to their country from Russia.
EU accession process
The European Union officially launched accession negotiations with Ukraine on Tuesday in Luxembourg, a step described as “historic” both in kyiv and Brussels. Russia has sought by all means to obstruct this accession process, which promises to be long and difficult, leading this former Soviet republic to anchor itself in Europe.
“Over the past year, our country has been the subject of hybrid attacks orchestrated by Moscow, (…) in an effort to derail the European integration process”denounced Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean on Tuesday, in his speech to the 27 in Luxembourg.
EU security commitments for Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be present on Thursday June 27 at the European summit in Brussels where an agreement on the European Union’s “security commitments” towards Ukraine is to be signed, the Elysée announced on Tuesday. “President Zelensky will be there at the opening of the European Council for the discussion on Ukraine and in particular on the subject of security commitments”explained the French presidency.
According to European officials, an agreement on these EU security guarantees has been approved by member countries and is due to be signed on Thursday. A draft text seen by AFP indicates that the European Union would seek to continue financing arms deliveries to kyiv, maintain training of Ukrainian soldiers and step up efforts to strengthen the country’s defense industry.
But it does not include any concrete commitments for new aid from the EU. As with other pacts, a clause stipulates that the EU would consult Ukraine within 24 hours in the event of “future aggression” of Russia.
Arrest warrants
The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Tuesday that it had issued arrest warrants against Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. They are both accused of being responsible for the war crimes of directing attacks against civilian objects and causing excessive accidental harm to civilians, as well as the crime against humanity of“inhumane acts”said the ICC in a press release.
The Ukrainian presidency on Tuesday welcomed the “important decision” of the International Criminal Court (ICC). For their part, the Russian authorities judged “insignificant” this arrest warrant, Russian news agencies reported.
European media blocked
Russia has announced that it is blocking access to the broadcasting of 81 European media outlets, including the websites of Le Monde and AFP, in “retaliation” to the EU’s decision in May to ban four Russian state media outlets. The list published by the Russian ministry on Tuesday also includes the German media Der Spiegel, the Spanish El Mundo and El Pais, the Italian television RAI, and other French media such as the daily Libération and the LCI and CNews channels.
Russia has “fear of the truth”declared Tuesday the American Department of State, in reaction to the announcement by Moscow of its intention to block access on its territory to the broadcasting of 81 European media, including the site of Le Monde and Agence France- Press (AFP).
Family evacuations
Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday ordered the “forced” evacuation of children and their parents from five villages in the Donetsk region, in the east of the country. This measure concerns “children with their parents or other legal representatives” living in localities close to the area where fighting has intensified in recent weeks, the governor of this region said in a press release.
