Ukrainian forces shot down five Russian cruise missiles on Tuesday, most of them in the south, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, without mentioning a new military success in the east that Ukrainian officials hinted at on Tuesday. The Ukrainian army has attacked the eastern town of Balaklia in the Russian-controlled Kharkiv region, a senior pro-Russian separatist official said, while Ukrainian officials remained tight-lipped about how their counteroffensive was going.

Highlights of Wednesday, the 196th day of the Ukrainian war, LIVETEXT:

08:26Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow had sent a request to the International Atomic Energy Agency for “further clarification” on some aspects of their report after visiting the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the Russian news agency reported. Interfax, selected on Reuters.

08:20France supports the plan proposed by Brussels to limit prices for the supply of Russian gas, Politico notes. French President Emmanuel Macron said that if a cap on the price of natural gas purchased in Russia is introduced, France will support the measure.

07:47Uniper, Germany’s biggest gas importer: The worst is yet to come

07:27Russian missiles hit the city of Kharkiv on Wednesday morning and damaged the infrastructure, but there were no casualties, said the mayor of the city, Ihor Tereyov, The Kyiv Independent reports.

01:45Washington Post: A promising plan to stop the flow of Russian oil money (editorial)

“Russia is bathing in cash,” an economist at the Institute of International Finance recently told the Wall Street Journal. This is not the kind of financial news the US and its allies were hoping for, more than six months after President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine and the West responded with economic sanctions, the US newspaper The Washington Post wrote in an editorial cited by Rador.

01:00Bulgargaz is negotiating with Gazprom, and there is a strong political nuance from the Russian side – says the Minister of Energy of Bulgaria

00:40London abandoned by financial markets: a dark scenario that is starting to worry

00:20 Ukraine repels Russian attacks in Donbas and strikes key targets.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported on the unsuccessful offensives of the Russians near Dolyna, Soledar, Novobakhmutivka, Kodema, Zaytsevo, Avdiivka, Maryinka and Lyubomirivka in the Donetsk region, the Kyiv Independent quotes.

According to the General Staff, Ukrainian troops destroyed eight Russian ammunition depots, as well as control points and pontoon bridges.

11:30 in the evening Russian occupation government: Commandant Berdyansk is still alive, but has lost both legs.

The head of the Russian occupation administration in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, Artem Bardin, did not die as a result of the attack on his car, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported with reference to the head of the health care department of the Berdyansk administration Mykola Miroshnichenko.

He lost both legs and is now fighting for his life, reports the Russian state news agency TASS. Earlier, the Russian state media, citing the occupation authorities, reported that Bardin had died.

A quick recap of the latest developments on Wednesday morning:

• Ukrainian troops repelled several Russian offensives in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Army reported. In a report on the situation on Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian military also announced the destruction of Russian facilities in the Donetsk region.
• According to an official representative of the Pentagon, the US Department of Defense sees that the Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to advance”, including the recapture of villages. The US also noted “some offensive Russian activity… near Bakhmut.”
• The governor of Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, said that Ukrainian troops “made some progress” in Luhansk region and repelled Russian attacks.
• Ukrainian troops are conducting counteroffensive actions in the east and southeast of the country, a senior adviser to the president of Ukraine said. Oleksiy Arestovych said that the Kyiv troops “liberated several settlements on the west bank of the Dnieper” and in a month the Russian troops on the right bank of the Dnieper will find themselves in an “extremely difficult” situation.
• VIDEO The Russian commander from Berdyansk was hospitalized in serious condition after the car was blown up.
• Although Ukrainian officials have not released details, military bloggers and eyewitnesses have reported fighting around Balaklia, a city in the east of the country between Kharkiv and Russian-controlled Izyum, which is a rail hub used by Moscow.
• The White House said Russia is set to buy “millions” of artillery shells and missiles from old Cold War ally North Korea.
• Russia has questioned the UN-brokered agreement with Ukraine to increase grain and fertilizer exports from the two countries, accusing Western countries of failing to fulfill their obligations to facilitate supplies to Moscow.
• New British Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke with President Zelensky in her first conversation with a foreign leader and accepted an invitation to visit Ukraine.
• According to the mayor, a powerful explosion occurred in the occupied Energodar, where the Zaporizhzhya NPP is located, which cut off the water and electricity supply.
• The UN nuclear body called for the creation of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia plant, which is on the front line of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a long-awaited report detailing extensive damage in the area, the IAEA said it was “deeply concerned” by the “unprecedented” situation at the plant and called for interim measures to prevent a nuclear disaster.
• Gazprom said Russia’s largest gas pipeline to Europe would not resume flow until Siemens Energy repaired faulty equipment. At the same time, Siemens Energy said that an engine oil leak at the last remaining turbine at the Portova compressor station did not justify closing the pipeline.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia stated that the United States is responsible for the gas crisis in Europe, which is pushing European leaders to the “suicidal” step of ending economic and energy cooperation with Moscow.
• The Kremlin said “with great confidence” that relations between Russia and Great Britain will not improve under the leadership of Liz Truss. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the new British Prime Minister for his inability to compromise.

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Tuesday’s events surrounding the Russian invasion were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro