(Central News Agency, Kiev, Comprehensive Foreign Report on the 18th) Ukraine announced on the 17th that it has exchanged prisoners with Russia on a large scale: the 108 exchanged are all women and Russia has exchanged 72 prisoners from Ukraine. On the 18th the Kremlin stated that the four regions that Russia annexed to Ukraine were protected by the Russian “nuclear umbrella”.
● Russia threatens to protect again the annexation of 4 Ukrainian states with nuclear weapons
As tensions between Russia and the West escalate over President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons, the Kremlin said on Tuesday that four states it had annexed from Ukraine in recent weeks would be protected from Russian nuclear weapons.
Putin threatened last month that Russia was prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary to defend Russia’s “territorial integrity”. On the 6th, US President Biden said the threat brought the world closer to a “doomsday” than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when many feared a nuclear war might be imminent.
Asked by reporters whether the four territories annexed by Russia to Ukraine were protected by the Moscow nuclear umbrella, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “These territories are an integral part of the Russian Federation and will all be protected … they have it. same level of security as the rest of Russia “.
Large-scale prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine saves 108 people, all women
Ukraine announced on the 17th that it had exchanged 108 prisoners with Russia, saying it was the first female-only exchange with Russia since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war in the past eight months.
“There was another massive prisoner swap today … We released 108 women, the first time they were all women,” Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, said on social media.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the 72 people exchanged from Ukraine were crew members of civilian ships that had been detained by Ukraine since February.
● Ukraine: the Russian army kidnapped the director of the nuclear power plant and attacked Nikolayev with a missile
Ukraine’s National Nuclear Energy Agency accused the Russian army of kidnapping two senior executives from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on the 18th. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the Russian army on the same day for the attack to the southern port city of Nikolayev. Mykolaiv) fired missiles and killed civilians indiscriminately.
Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said in a statement on social media that Oleg Kostyukov and Oleg Osheka, the head of the information technology department of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, were attacked by Russian troops on the 17th “Kidnapping”.
At the same time, witnesses said that a Russian missile hit an apartment building in Nikolayev, one of three blasts early in the morning of the 18th.
Zelensky later criticized the Russian military for “intimidating and killing” civilians. “Ukraine has been attacked by the occupiers who continue to do what they do best, which is to terrorize and kill civilians,” she tweeted.
Russia hits Kiev with Iranian-made drone, US and EU propose sanctions
Russia bombed Kiev with an Iranian-made drone on the 17th and the United States warned it would impose sanctions on companies or countries involved in Iran’s drone program; EU foreign ministers also called for sanctions against Iran’s supply of drones to Russia.
“Anyone who does business with Iran must be very careful and do their due diligence when it comes to drones, ballistic missile development or arms shipments from Iran to Russia,” Vedant Patel, Deputy spokesperson for the Department of Iran, told reporters. US state. the United States will absolutely not hesitate to impose sanctions or take related actions against the perpetrators ”.
EU foreign ministers have called for sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to Russia, Reuters reported. At the same time, the European Union agreed to impose an asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian officials involved in the crackdown due to the crackdown on internal Tehran demonstrations.
Poll: 70% of Ukrainians are determined to fight until they beat Russia
The Washington Post reported that a poll showed that 70% of Ukrainians are determined to keep fighting until they defeat Russia. The poll took place in early September, when the Ukrainian army was in a strong counter-offensive, taking back large swaths of lost territory in Udong and Unan.
Gallup, a polling firm, said up to 91 percent of Ukrainians supporting the struggle continue to believe that the conquest of all territory has fallen into Russia’s hands since 2014, including Crimea. Crimea).
Although 70% of respondents believe Ukraine should fight to the victory over Russia, 26% said the Ukrainian government should negotiate a truce as soon as possible. (Translator: Chen Zhengjian / Verification: He Hongru) 1111018
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