Russian troops and mercenaries unleashed a barrage of shells on the final approaches to the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Friday, bringing Moscow closer to its first major victory in six months after the bloodiest fighting of the war.

The latest information about the war in Ukraine, 374th day, TEXT:

08:01Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin said on Friday that the opening of the office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is being prepared in Kyiv, in the context of which the Ukrainian authorities seek to create a special court to prosecute Russian leaders. , reports AFP.

07:54Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that there are talks about holding Russia accountable for aggression against Ukraine and that the world has a moral obligation to Ukrainian fighters.

“We are gathering maximum support for the tribunal in the case of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. (…) We are doing everything so that the International Criminal Court can punish Russian war criminals,” he said.

In a message sent on Friday evening, Zelensky noted that the “United for Justice” conference was held in Lviv, which was attended by representatives of the countries of the European Union, European institutions, in particular the European Commissioner for Justice, as well as Great Britain and the United States.

“The main topic at all these meetings and at the Lviv conference is accountability. Bringing Russia and its leadership to justice is a personal matter! For aggression and terror against the state and our people. And when they are brought to justice, justice will be restored. We are gathering as much support as possible for the tribunal for Russian aggression against Ukraine. For our draft resolution on the protection of international law, which will be put to a vote in the UN General Assembly. We are doing everything so that the International Criminal Court can punish Russian war criminals. And that our national law enforcement and judicial bodies ensure fair sentences for all Russian criminals and executioners,” Zelenskyy said.

Summary for the last 24 hours:

• Russia is close to encircling Bakhmut after months of fighting. Russian troops and mercenaries unleashed a barrage of shells on the final approaches to the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Friday, bringing Moscow closer to its first major victory in six months after the bloodiest fighting of the war, AFP and Reuters reported.
• US President Joe Biden on Friday, welcoming the German chancellor to the White House, said that Olaf Scholz’s support for Ukraine “made a huge difference” during the war, CNN reports.
• US Attorney General Merrick Garland, who heads the Justice Department in the Biden administration, made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Friday, his second trip to the country since the Russian invasion just over a year ago.
• The reaction of the Republic of Moldova to Moscow’s accusations regarding the rejection of the “Moldovan language”: “We are outraged by Russia’s outrage.” The Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Niku Popescu responded to the reaction of Moscow, which criticized the vote of the parliament in Chisinau regarding the exclusion of the phrase “Moldovan language” from all legislation of the Republic of Moldova, stating that this decision belongs exclusively to Chisinau and no one from outside has the right to challenge it. descire.md reports.
• Lavrov says Moscow “will not allow the West to blow up gas pipelines again” and will no longer rely on the West as an energy partner, according to Reuters.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the G20 summit in India that Russia did not attack anyone, but only defended itself against an attack made against it through Ukraine. The moment when most of the people in the hall started laughing.
• Moscow may run out of money next year, the Russian oligarch believes. Russia may run out of money as early as next year and needs foreign investment, said Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who openly opposes Moscow’s war, CNN reports.