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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Kiev court arrests Russian national detained in east Ukraine

There has been no ruling yet regarding the second Russian detainee

Alexander Alexandrov EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

Alexander Alexandrov

© EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

KIEV, May 22. /TASS/. A court in Kiev has ordered the arrest of Russian national Alexander Alexandrov detained by the Ukrainian military in the Luhansk region.

"The court has ruled to grant an application for Alexandrov’s remand in custody," judge Valentina Malinovskaya said.

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In accordance with the court ruling, the suspect will be kept behind bars until July 19.

There has been no ruling yet regarding the second Russian detainee Yevgeny Yerofeyev.

"Russia’s consul attends the court hearing in Kiev on determining pre-trial restrictions for the detainees," press secretary of the Russian Embassy in Ukraine Oleg Grishin told TASS.

The two Russian citizens are facing a prison term of at least 15 years, spokesman for the Security Service of Ukraine Vitaly Naida said shortly before. He noted that they were suspected of carrying out "terrorist attacks" under Article 258 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. "They may be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison," he said.

On Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry made a statement expressing hope for "the release of the former service members detained by Ukraine’s Security Service." "At the time of their detention on May 17, Russian nationals Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev captured by Ukraine’s Security Service in the Luhansk region were not on active service in the Russian Armed Forces," Defence Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said.

"We checked the Ukrainian side’s information. These guys used to serve in a unit of the Russian Armed Forces and underwent military training. Moreover, I can confirm that the leadership of the Association of Veterans of Special Operations Forces had asked us to contact Ukraine’s General Staff through official channels to put an end to tortures of their wounded comrades by Security Service officers aimed at securing expected confessions," Konashenkov said.

"We reckon on the prudence of the Ukrainian leadership and the speedy release of Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev," he added.

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The Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier in the day that the country’s latest Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile hit all the targets at a major Ukrainian military-industrial enterprise in Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk) with its MIRVed warheads

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Ukraine’s military loses nearly 10,000 troops at LPR borders over week — military expert

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France, UK will have to pay for their helping Ukraine strike inside Russia — diplomat

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said that what has been done by the White House is very dangerous

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Europe unable to wage war attrition on Russia — Ukraine’s ex-commander-in-chief

According to Zaluzhny, European countries lack munitions to shoot down air bombs

Russia’s Medvedev warns Europe could face ‘catastrophic damage’ from Oreshnik missile

Medvedev also commented on Vladimir Zelensky’s "resilience plan."

Gazprombank’s UnionPay cards no longer serviced in several countries

Romanian presidential candidate vows to end military aid to Ukraine

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Russian forces eliminate Ukrainian MiG-29 on ground

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Abkhazia did not reach point of no return, ex-president says

Aslan Bzhania believes that the recent developments in the republic have inflicted reputational damage on it

Western air defense systems unlikely to intercept Russian missiles — France’s Le Monde

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Ukrainian defense line in Donbass may soon collapse — expert

"Those are very important logistical hubs and defence outposts for the Ukrainian armed forces, and losing them will give Russia the advantage to move forward to cities like Kramatorsk and Slovyansk," Marina Miron emphasized

US missile defense base in Poland long among Russian army’s targets — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova stated that the US-NATO construction project, ongoing for nearly a decade with complete disregard to Russian security concerns, has consistently been a focus of Russia's attention

US, West have no capabilities to intercept new Russian hypersonic missile — expert

"There is more in the Russian arsenal than many believe," said Karin Kneissl, the former Foreign Minister of Austria

NATO spies study damage from Oreshnik at Yuzhmash — expert

Alexander Stepanov emphasized that both Kiev and its Western allies are closely scrutinizing the consequences of the strike on the plant

NATO pours with weapons prohibited by INF Treaty to Asia — Russian Foreign Ministry

"This vector highlighted as early as by the Republicans was legally formalized under the Democrats administration and resulted in the dramatic surge of militarization in Asia," Andrey Rudenko said

Kremlin clarifies notification process for Oreshnik missile launch

"An automated warning was sent 30 minutes before the launch," Dmitry Peskov said

Russian troops mopping up enemy positions in Yelizavetovka in Donbass region — politician

On November 20, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the liberation of Ilyinka in the DPR

France only finishes off Ukraine by allowing it to strike inside Russia — diplomat

Zakharova said earlier that no attempts by "French warmongers" would change the outcome of the conflict