Putin: Civilians in Kherson need to be evacuated

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that civilians need to be evacuated from the Moscow-controlled Kherson region in southern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been evacuating since mid-October.

Putin said on the Day of Moscow’s Unity in Red Square on Friday that the residents of Kherson should be evacuated from the dangerous war zones as soon as possible.

“Now, of course, those who live in Kherson should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer,” Putin told pro-Kremlin activists.

Moscow authorities have said they have helped tens of thousands of people leave the region so far and have vowed to turn Kherson into a “fortress.” Kiev, however, has accused Russia of forced deportations of civilians out of the territory, a war crime, which Russia denies.

Putin also said on Friday that Russia’s confrontation with the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kiev was inevitable.

G7 agreed on helping Ukraine against Russia

Meanwhile, a senior State Department official said on Friday that senior officials of the Group of Seven countries have agreed on the need to create a coordinated mechanism to help Ukraine repair and defend its energy and critical infrastructure against Russian attacks.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and China’s growing assertiveness were at the top of the agenda for the G7 nations that met this week in the western German city of Muenster.

The countries also discussed the situation in Ukraine to figure out what weapons to send to Kiev.

Officials from the G7 countries discussed the needs that Ukraine might face this winter and agreed that a G7 coordination mechanism should be created to help Ukraine repair, rebuild and defend infrastructure, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

US admits its soldiers are on the ground in Ukraine as risk of escalation soars

The United States confirms that it has sent soldiers to Ukraine. That’s while Russia has repeatedly warned that Washington’s involvement in the Ukraine war risks direct confrontation with Moscow.

He emphasized that the focus of the group will be on these issues in the coming days and weeks.

Kiev says 40 percent of its electricity infrastructure has been damaged, and Ukrainian officials have warned residents could face blackouts for hours.

Xi, Scholz warn against nuclear threats in Ukraine

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have censured any threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Scholz warned on Friday that Russia risks “crossing a line” in the international community by resorting to nuclear power.

In his first trip to China since the pandemic, Schulz pressed Xi Jinping to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine, saying Beijing is a major world power that has responsibility.

Xi stressed that both leaders “jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.”

Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine in late February, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the 2014 Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Since the onset of operations, the US and its European allies have imposed waves of sanctions on the Kremlin and sent numerous batches of advanced weapons to Ukraine. Moscow has been critical of the weapons supplies to Kiev, warning that they will prolong the war.

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