Russian drones destroyed a PMM warehouse in western Ukraine in the Rivne region on Thursday, Governor Vitaly Koval said. There were no casualties as a result of the attack. Russia’s Defense Ministry announced early Thursday morning that it had shot down 13 drones, 11 of which were near Crimea and two were flying toward Moscow, following several similar attacks in recent days.

Basic information about the war in Ukraine, day 533, LIVETEXT:

07:51 The United States and Canada announced new sanctions against Belarus on Wednesday, three years after mass protests challenged the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, whose government called criticism from the European Union “false accusations”, AFP and Agerpres reported.

The U.S. said the new measures also apply to Belavia Airlines and a tobacco tycoon close to Lukashenka. In addition to the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions against eight individuals and five entities, the State Department announced Wednesday that it is imposing visa bans on 101 Belarusian officials. .

Also on Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada announced in Ottawa the introduction of sanctions against nine individuals and seven organizations from Belarus “in response to serious and systematic violations of human rights.”

“Those guilty of human rights violations should not have the right to impunity,” Melanie Jolie said in a statement, adding that “Belarus’ support for the shameless actions of Russian leaders will not go unpunished.” She emphasized that the European Union, Great Britain and New Zealand are planning parallel actions.

07:27“Putin’s useful idiots”: how each Austrian paid Putin 590 euros

According to “The Economist”, Austria is one of “Putin’s useful idiots”. The Alpine country not only continues to import Russian gas, but also signed long-term contracts in this regard with Russia, writes Deutsche Welle.

07:13 Russia’s Defense Ministry announced early Thursday morning that it had shot down 13 drones, 11 of which were near Crimea and two were flying in the direction of Moscow, following several similar attacks in recent days, AFP reported.

A brief summary of recent events:

• On Wednesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to his compatriots about the ongoing counteroffensive and how it can be improved, noting that the task of everyone in Ukraine is to build the potential of capabilities at the front and weaken the occupiers.

  He made the announcement in the context of Germany’s delivery of additional Patriot systems, but noted that the entire area needed much more air defenses and promised diplomatic efforts to do so.

• “Little Cartel”. Organized crime from Constanta and corruption in Romania are cited as factors preventing the promotion of Ukrainian exports – The Guardian
• A senior Ukrainian official defends the speed of the counteroffensive: “Russia will cease to exist as a military threat after the war in Ukraine”
• The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine claims that since the beginning of the war in February last year, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed 5,000 units of Russian artillery.
• More than 11,000 people from 53 towns and villages will be evacuated from the city of Kharkiv region amid the escalation of hostilities, the governor of the region said.
• Germany has announced that it has sent two more highly regarded Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine as part of its latest aid to the country
• ​​An official of the German military procurement agency has been arrested in Germany and is accused of passing classified information to the Russian intelligence services, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday, writes The Guardian with reference to Reuters.
• Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday published a new tally of losses it says its forces have inflicted on Ukraine since the start of a “special military operation” last year.
• Russia will strengthen its forces on its western borders after Finland joins NATO, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday. At a meeting of the ministry’s collegium, he said that “threats to Russia’s military security require an adequate and timely response,” writes Reuters.

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