Heading towards World War III?

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country was not prepared to hold peace talks with Russia, a source in the French government told AFP. He reportedly made the position clear when speaking to leaders of the G7 on Monday.

“President Zelensky gave a very clear response that now is not the time for negotiations. Ukraine will negotiate when it is in a position to do so, that is, when it has basically re-established a position of strength,” a French official cited by AFP said.

“In the meantime, he needs to end the war as quickly as possible,” the official added.

The Ukrainian president has repeatedly rejected calls to negotiate with Russia, claiming that the time for diplomacy will only come after Russian troops are pushed out of Ukraine entirely.

www.rt.com/russia/557922-zelensky-no-talks-russia

Latest figures suggest 10 people have died and at least 40 were injured in the missile strike on a shopping centre in Kremenchuk, according to the head of the Poltava regional administration Dmytro Lunin.

A fire has been raging through the site since the missile struck at around 15:50 local time. Some 1,000 civilians were estimated to be inside the building at the time, leading to a major rescue operation.

It is anticipated the number of dead and injured will continue to climb, with Lunin labelling the attack "a war crime".

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61941287

Images from the site indicate that the eastern section of the building was hit.

The shopping centre is located about 130km (81 miles) from Russian areas of control.

Given the limited range of unguided weapons like artillery, it’s likely that the shopping centre was hit by a guided weapon like a missile.

These are usually pre-programmed with their target’s location before launch, and are far more accurate at long range.

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61941287

Leaders of the world's seven richest nations have promised to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes" on the second day of a summit in Germany.

In a statement, the G7 group also said that Russia must stop blocking food from leaving Ukraine's ports.

Addressing the summit via video-link, Ukraine's president appealed for more heavy weapons from Western allies.

G7 leaders are under pressure to be united in their approach against increasing Russian aggression.

"We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," they said in a strongly worded statement on Monday.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61954445

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said he believes NATO and the European Union (EU) are building a coalition that could eventually wage war with Russia.

Russia state media outlets reported Lavrov made the comments while speaking at a news conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, following a meeting with Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijan's minister of foreign affairs.

During the conference with reporters, Lavrov discussed the EU's Thursday decision to grant candidacy status to Ukraine and Moldova. The move by the EU, which is the first step in the process to full membership, was seen as sign of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. (Both Ukraine and Moldova applied to join the union soon after Russia began its attacks on Ukraine in late February.)

RT, a Russia state news outlet, reported that Lavrov also made a comparison to recent actions by NATO and the EU to the strategy used by Adolf Hitler before the Nazi dictator attacked the Soviet Union.

"Hitler rallied a significant part, if not most, of the European nations under his banner for a war against the Soviet Union," the foreign minister reportedly said. He added that "now, the EU together with NATO are forming another—modern—coalition for a standoff and, ultimately, war with the Russian Federation."

www.newsweek.com/kremlin-official-sees-nato-preparing-war-russia-1718934

For months Severodonetsk has been a hotbed of battle with Russian and LPR forces pushing to drive Ukraine forces out and or surround them. Just days ago Russia appeared to have taken full control of the city. We have traveled to Severodonetsk to show you the full real story of what is happening in the city and surrounding areas.

Kiev’s ambassador to Berlin has insulted a group of German intellectuals, who penned an open letter advocating the end of arms deliveries to Ukraine. The signatories called on the West to make Volodymyr Zelensky's regime negotiate peace.

Commenting on their appeal, Andrey Melnik tweeted “Not again” on Thursday, adding in English: “What a bunch of pseudo-intellectual loosers (sic).”

Referring to some of the signatories by their last names, Melnik suggested they “should go to hell with [their] defeatist advice.”

The open letter, which infuriated the Ukrainian diplomat, was published in Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper on Wednesday, titled “Ceasefire now!” In it, a group of 21 German academics, philosophers, journalists, artists and ex-diplomats urged the “West to end the Ukraine war through negotiations.”

www.rt.com/russia/558164-melnik-appeal-german-intellectuals