Biden accuses Russia

On the 44th day of the conflict, the EU condemns a “horrifying” attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine where evacuees had gathered. On Friday, a senior Ukrainian official said, a total of 6,665 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities via humanitarian corridors.

The figure exceeds the 4,676 who fled on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote in an online post.
The US has expanded its export restrictions against Russia and Belarus, restricting access to items such as fertiliser and pipe valves, in an effort to increase pressure on Moscow and Minsk in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Additionally, President Joe Biden’s administration restricted flights into Belarus of American-made aircraft owned, controlled, or leased by Belarusians “as part of the US government’s response to Belarus’s actions in support of Russia’s aggressive behaviour in Ukraine.”

The Commerce Department announced that it will begin requiring Russians and Belarusians to obtain a special licence in order to purchase a variety of goods from US suppliers, and it has vowed to deny such licences.

According to a senior US defence official, the Pentagon has determined that several Russian combat units that have withdrawn from the Kiev area in recent days are so severely damaged and depleted that their combat utility is in doubt.

The official described these units as “all but extinct,” with only a few operational troops and weapons remaining. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal US military assessments, did not specify how many units sustained such severe damage.

According to the official, some combat units withdrew from the Kiev area and are now making their way to the Russian towns of Belgorod and Valuyki for refit and resupply before likely deploying to Ukraine’s Donbass region.

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