Russian officials said they had managed to prevent further Ukrainian attacks, a day after Ukrainian drones struck targets in at least six regions of Russia. Russian authorities said their anti-aircraft units shot down two Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk region, while Moscow’s leadership in Crimea said a Ukrainian cruise missile was intercepted on the peninsula.

Highlights of the war in Ukraine, day 554, LIVETEXT:

06:58 Ramzan Kadyrov admits he may “die suddenly” if Putin finds a more loyal follower. The head of Chechnya said that he is ready to give his life for the head of the Kremlin, and attacks those who criticize Russia in the Western media.

00:58Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the digitization of the activities of military medical commissions based on the results of inspections, which revealed that in some regions, the number of those removed from military registration has increased tenfold since February of last year. He claims that these are corrupt decisions, and the bribes ranged from $3,000 to $15,000.

00:17 A cruise missile was shot down over Crimea – a Russian official

A brief summary of recent events:

• After liberating the city of Robotyne, Ukrainian troops targeted the next Russian redoubt in the same direction leading to Melitopol — the city of Novoprokopivka, which they tried to flank with the help of two units of airborne troops.
• Six Ukrainian pilots were killed during a combat mission near Bakhmut, Yevhen Rakita, the spokesman of the 18th separate aviation brigade of the Igor Sikorskyi Air Force, said on the air of “Ukrainian Sospilny” on Wednesday.
• Poland’s government on Wednesday gave the green light to a controversial commission on Russian influence that has been criticized by Washington and Brussels and suspected of targeting the opposition, a month and a half before legislative elections.
• The White House said the US is concerned that arms sales talks between North Korea and Russia are “moving forward”. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently visited North Korea to persuade officials to sell Moscow artillery ammunition.
• Tech giants are ineffective against Russian disinformation. Major online platforms such as TikTok and Twitter have failed to effectively combat Russian disinformation in the first year of the war in Ukraine, according to a study published on Wednesday.
• Lithuania, a predominantly Catholic EU member, has summoned the Vatican’s top diplomat to the country after Pope Francis told young Russians to remember that they are heirs to the “great Russian empire”.
• TV presenter Volodymyr Solovyov, who is considered a favorite propagandist of President Vladimir Putin, and MP Andriy Gurulyov, who seems to be a regular guest on some Russian TV shows, suggested launching tactical nuclear bombs at Robotîne.
• Several waves of Ukrainian drones attacked Russia overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, damaging military aircraft and disrupting air traffic.

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• Wednesday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro