Ukraine is ready to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive to retake the territories occupied by Russia, Zelenskyi said. “We firmly believe that we will succeed. I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can happen in different ways. But we will do it and we are ready,” said the Ukrainian president.

Highlights of the war in Ukraine, day 465, LIVETEXT:

16:26 The Kremlin announced on Saturday that journalists from “unfriendly countries” will not be accredited to the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, the official TASS news agency reported.

The international agency Reuters writes that on Friday the organizers of the forum reported that its accreditation for the event was canceled after it received confirmation of accreditation the day before, on Thursday.

15:49Prigozhin says that his troops are ready to defend Belgorod, but he has one condition: “We don’t want to find ourselves, as they say in our country, with bare feet in the cold.”

15:27“The Ukrainian counteroffensive will be very impressive.” General David Petraeus explained in detail how this joint military operation will be conducted

The Russian army allegedly bombed its own citizens in Belgorod

14:57 The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said that he met with South Korea’s defense minister on Saturday to discuss Ukraine’s ammunition needs.

The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security summit, came amid pressure from the United States and NATO nations for the South Koreans to supply arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

A US ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea has so far ruled out sending lethal aid to Ukraine, citing business ties with Russia and Moscow’s influence over North Korea, despite growing pressure from Washington and Europe. (Reuters)

14:21Zelenskyi said that there is “no point” in going to the NATO summit if Ukraine “does not receive a signal” there.

“If we are not recognized and we are not given a signal in Vilnius, I think it makes no sense for Ukraine to be present at this summit,” the president of Ukraine told the Wall Street Journal.

13:53VIDEO Legion “Freedom of Russia”: Putin’s army chaotically bombards its own citizens / Belgorod citizens can hide in Ukraine through the humanitarian corridor

OPEC+ is preparing to cut production again

13:18 OPEC and its allies begin two days of meetings on Saturday that could result in further output cuts of up to 1 million barrels a day, OPEC+ sources told Reuters, as the organization grapples with falling oil prices and an imminent supply glut.

OPEC+, which brings together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps about 40 percent of the world’s oil, meaning its decisions can have a significant impact on oil prices.

Three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Friday that output cuts were among the options for Sunday’s session.

12:54 pmIn Moldova, the state of emergency was extended for 60 days: “Aggression on our border”

12:39 pm Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Serhiy Ryabkov said that Russia will return to full compliance with the New Treaty of the SNO if Washington abandons its “hostile position” towards Moscow.

“Regardless of any measures or countermeasures by the US, our decision to suspend the SNO treaty is unwavering,” he was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.

“And our own condition for returning to a fully operational treaty is that the U.S. renounces its fundamentally hostile stance toward Russia,” he added.

What the Ukrainian emissary said at the defense summit in Singapore

12:17 pm“It was a big surprise for Russia.” What the Ukrainian emissary said at the Singapore Defense Summit about missile strikes and counterattacks

11:28 Some Russian military bloggers continue to use the situation in the Belgorod region to criticize the country’s leadership, while others downplay the latest raids.

A blogger associated with “Wagner” stated that the Ministry of Defense of Russia does not consider the Belgorod region as Russian territory, but only includes it in the list of victims of Ukrainian bombings.

Another called on Russian forces to destroy the increasingly well-equipped Ukrainian forces on the border and not to lie in their reports about the situation in the area. (Institute for the Study of War)

10:36 amThe head of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Department of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Yevhen Burdynskyi, said that by the end of 2023, the Russian army will form two new military districts and other new units.

An article by Burdynskyi was published in the magazine “Military Commissariats of Russia” of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, in which he stated that the Russian troops need to create the Moscow and Leningrad military districts, as well as organize and staff new combined and aviation forces, the army corps, the Azov regional navy formation, five divisions and 26 brigades in 2023.

Burdynsky did not explain how the Russian military plans to create the personnel and equipment needed to form these new formations. (Institute for the Study of War)

Very large losses of the Russians in the last day

10:22 amThe British assessment of Saturday morning refers to the units that Moscow sent to Bakhmut in place of Wagner’s troops:

• “Russia has continued the redeployment of regular military units to the Bakhmut direction, and the airborne assault units of the “Wagner” HVK are completing their withdrawal to the rearguard areas.
• The Russian Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces) played an increasingly important role in Bakhmut, with units of the 76th and 106th Divisions and two additional separate Airborne Brigades now deployed in the sector.
• The Airborne Forces have deteriorated significantly from their pre-invasion “elite” status. However, the Russian command probably tried to keep some of these still relatively combat-ready units as a non-combat reserve.
• Because they were instead forced to deploy them to hold the front line in Bakhmut, all Russian forces may be less flexible in responding to operational challenges.”

09:58According to the Ukrainians, in addition to the “liquidation” of 560 enemy soldiers in the last day, they destroyed a lot of equipment of the Russian army: 10 tanks, 12 other armored vehicles, 32 guns, 7 rocket salvo systems, 7 anti-aircraft systems, 10 special vehicles and 22 pieces of equipment were shot down. as well as 28 drones and 15 cruise missiles.

Zelensky: Ukraine is ready for a counteroffensive

09:33Zelenskyi said that Ukraine is ready for a counteroffensive: “We firmly believe that we will succeed”

09:18Singapore Defense Summit: Indonesia proposed a peace plan for Ukraine that includes a demilitarized zone and a UN referendum.

09:02 Two publications have confirmed the identities of more than 24,400 Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine.

The independent Russian media “Mediazon” and BBC Russia established from open sources the names of 24,470 Russian soldiers who died during the 15 months of war.

Ukrainians began training on Abrams tanks

08:13 Deputy Tolstoy is fighting the “transgender industry in the West, which is also penetrating Russia.” Internet commentator: “Thank God that we will finally get well!”

08:06Ukrainian troops have started training on Abrams tanks

07:58ISW: Invasion of Belgorod raises concerns in Russia

01:07Chief Wagner accuses Russian forces of trying to blow up his soldiers

00:25 VIDEO Zelensky ordered to check bomb shelters: “Such level of negligence in the city cannot be justified” / Dispute with Mayor Klitschko

A brief summary of recent events:

• Blinken criticizes the Russian army: “The second strongest in Ukraine”, but not in the world. The US Secretary of State called Moscow’s army “the second strongest in Ukraine” in terms of its capabilities.
• Ukraine is ready to continue exporting grain through the Black Sea as part of “Plan B” without Russia’s support, if Moscow withdraws from the current agreement, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said on Friday.
• All we know so far about attacks on Russian territory on both sides of the border. Russian officials on Friday made new statements about the escalation of attacks in the border regions of the country.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyi admits that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is “impossible” until the war with Russia ends.
• Kadyrov’s troops “Akhmat” began an offensive in the direction of Donetsk Maryinka, Moscow reported. The city of Maryinka, now a ruin, was on the front line from the beginning of the invasion.
• Polish President Andrzej Duda has said he will propose amendments to the law on undue Russian influence on Polish politics that he just unveiled this week, responding to criticism that the law would effectively target opposition politicians.
• The Kremlin on Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO: “This is one of our main sources of irritation, it will be a problem for many, many years.”
• A group of pro-Ukrainian forces said Friday they were fighting Russian troops on the outskirts of a village on Russia’s western border, a day after Moscow said it had repelled three cross-border attacks.
• China’s special representative for Eurasia, Li Hui, said on Friday that he believed neither Ukraine nor Russia had “stubbornly” closed the door to talks, despite the difficulties in starting talks at the moment.

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• Friday’s events regarding Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro