The United States says Iranian military instructors have been sent to Crimea to help Russian forces use Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine, adding a new international element to a war that has already heightened some geopolitical tensions.

The main thing for Friday, the 240th day of the war in Ukraine, TEXT:

07:37 European Union leaders wrapped up fresh talks on the bloc’s response to the energy crisis without reaching an agreement on capping gas prices, deciding early Friday morning to continue exploring options to cap costs.

27 countries have already agreed to fill gas tanks and return revenue from energy companies to spend on helping consumers with very high bills.

At a late-night summit on Thursday in Brussels, EU leaders finally backed proposals from the European Commission this week to introduce an alternative base price for liquefied natural gas and joint gas purchases, although the legislation needed to do so will have to be negotiated in the coming days. weeks

But after weeks of negotiations on the issue between EU leaders, ministers and diplomats, the summit ended around 2:00 am in Brussels without a final decision on capping the price of natural gas in the EU. (Reuters)

A brief summary of recent events:

• Joe Biden said he is concerned that the US commitment to support Ukraine could be shaken if Republicans take control of the House of Representatives.
• Zelenskyi said that the Russians mined the Kakhovskaya dam and hydroelectric power plants in Kherson and planned to carry out a terrorist attack under a “false flag”
• The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that he discussed in detail with the Prime Minister of Israel Kyiv’s request for anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems and technologies.
• UN Secretary-General Guterres has been “very clear” about Russia’s war in Ukraine and has not stopped communicating with Moscow, a UN official said, after Russia signaled it could jeopardize UN cooperation.
• NATO allies will act if Sweden or Finland come under pressure from Russia or another adversary before they become full members of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg emphasized.
• President Zelenskyi said that Russia is attacking Ukrainian power plants because it wants to force people to leave their homes and move west to European Union countries.
• Ukrainians turned off electrical appliances, wrapped themselves in blankets for warmth, and remained defiant as they faced the first nationwide blackouts since the war.
• The UK has imposed sanctions on three Iranian military leaders and a defense equipment manufacturer for supplying Russia with drones to attack civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine.
• A senior Ukrainian military official says there is a growing danger that Russia will open a new front in the war in Belarus.
• The Russian state on Thursday ordered to use $16.2 billion from its main sovereign wealth fund to cover the budget deficit.
• 20 bottles of vodka sent by Russian Vladimir Putin to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for his birthday violate EU sanctions against Russia, Brussels said.
• NATO’s military aid to Ukraine “brings the alliance closer to the dangerous line of direct military confrontation with Russia,” Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

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• Thursday’s events were broadcast live on HotNews.ro