According to local sources, several people died when a rocket hit a residential building in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. Poland’s Prime Minister Morawiecki and EU chief diplomat Borrell are open to the delivery of F16 fighter jets. All developments in the live blog.
2:55 a.m
Wagner deserter: “I’m sorry I fought in Ukraine”
The former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, who fled to Norway, apologizes for the fighting in Ukraine. “Many consider me a villain, a criminal, a murderer,” Andrei Medvedev told Reuters. “First of all, I would like to apologize again and again, and while I don’t know how it will be received, I want to say I’m sorry.” He wants to talk about his experiences during the war so that “the perpetrators are punished” for their crimes in Ukraine. He came to Wagner in July 2022 with a four-month contract and during this time witnessed how two people who did not want to fight were shot in front of newly recruited convicts. The 26-year-old is now seeking asylum in Norway. Reuters could not immediately verify his claims. Wagner initially did not respond to a request for comment.
2:42 a.m
Poland’s prime minister and EU chief diplomat open to delivery of F16 fighter jets
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is open to the delivery of F16 fighter jets to Ukraine. “If this were a decision for the whole of NATO, I would be in favor of sending these fighter jets,” the head of government told the “Bild” newspaper. It’s about “what the NATO countries decide together”. “We should do things together and in conjunction with a strategic consideration of the entire NATO alliance,” Morawiecki said. The Russian aggression in Ukraine is “a very serious war”. But neither Poland nor the whole of NATO is “involved”.
Even the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, does not rule out the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine, despite the current reluctance of countries such as Germany and the USA. The delivery of tanks was also initially highly controversial, said the Spaniard in the run-up to an EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on Friday. In the end, however, an agreement was reached on the subject and the “red line” was crossed. So far, there have been warnings of escalation risks for all arms deliveries, he said.
2:42 a.m
Dead and injured in rocket impact in residential building
According to the governor of the region, at least two people were killed and seven others injured when a Russian missile hit a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. “Emergency workers, law enforcement agencies and utilities are working on site to search the rubble of the destroyed building. It is likely that people are still under it,” Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Telegram.