Ukraine updates: 'Dozens' of Russian nukes stored in Belarus
Published April 25, 2024last updated April 25, 2024
What you need to know
For the first time since the Soviet era, Russia has stored nuclear missiles in a foreign country.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said "several dozen" of the Russian nuclear weapons are on Belarusian territory, according to Belarusian state media.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech that Russia's behavior is "uninhibited" following its invasion of Ukraine.
Macron said Europe must do more to defend itself and be less reliant on the US.
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Russian attacks kill at least 3 in Donetsk region, Ukraine says
Russian shelling killed at least three people in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, while a missile attack further north in the Kharkiv region hit a train station and wounded 10, local officials said.
Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said shelling killed three people and injured four in the village of Udachne, which is in part of the eastern province not currently occupied by Russian forces.
In the Kharkiv region, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said a Russian attack hit the city of Balakliia, which was occupied by Russia at the start of its invasion, and recaptured by Ukraine months later in 2022.
"The injured were in the passenger train carriages," he said on Telegram.
Synehubov said the train was standing 15 meters from where the missile landed.
Kharkiv, which lies about 30 kilometers south of the border with Russia, and the surrounding region have long been targeted by Russian attacks but the strikes have become more intense in recent weeks, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure.
Ukraine's farm minister offers resignation over corruption allegations
Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky tendered his resignation amid criminal allegations for involvement in an illegal acquisition of state-owned land worth $7 million (€6.5 million).
Solsky has denied the allegations against him, which prosecutors say relate to events between 2017 and 2021, before he became agriculture minister in March 2022.
A court is expected to decide Friday whether to remand him in custody. Prosecutors said at a hearing Thursday that the charges against him are punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
Solsky has been at the center of Ukraine's efforts to keep its grain industry going as Russia's full-scale invasion has blocked Black Sea export routes, littered fields with landmines and seen farmland occupied.
Macron: Russia's behavior 'uninhibited' after Ukraine invasion
French President Emmanuel Macronnamed actions of Russian aggression as "existential threat" to Europe in his speech on the future of Europe at theSorbonne University.
He said that for the security of European countries it is crucial that Russia "does not win the war of aggression in Ukraine."
He said that invading Ukraine Russia behaved itself "uninhibited" and it was no longer clear where Moscow's "limits" are.
Macron emphasized the need for Europe to develop a credible defense strategy that is less dependent on the United States: "Our Europe, today, is mortal and it can die. Europe was not armed against the risks we face."
Lukashenko: 'Several dozen' Russian tactical nuclear weapons are located in Belarus
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that "several dozen" of Russian tacticalnuclear weapons are located in Belarus, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
In May 2023, Russia and Belarus signed documentson the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Last June Belarushad started taking delivery of the weapons.
Lukashenko also warned of "apocalypse" if Russia uses its nuclear weapons ‘in retaliation for Western actions’.
The Belarusian leader called the probability of military incidents on the border between Belarus and very high, the Russian state news agency RIA reported.
ac/wd (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)