REFUGEES – Over 8,200 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania on Thursday, 4% less than on the previous day – the General Border Police Inspectorate has announced. Since the beginning of the crisis roughly 600 thousand Ukrainians have arrived in Romania. The border checkpoints at Romania’s border with Ukraine are functioning at full capacity with additional personnel and equipment in accordance with the international legislation. Border police units are operating jointly with other structures in the field for a proper handling of the situation.
WAR – The Russian troops aren’t withdrawing but repositioning in Ukraine and NATO is expecting more attacks, says the alliance’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. Russia is regrouping, resupplying and reinforcing its offensive in the Donbas region, Stoltenberg told a news conference after Russia had pledged that following ‘substantial negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul’ it would reduce its military activities around the capital Kyiv and Chernigov in the north. According to Stoltenberg, Russia maintains its pressure on Kyiv and other cities so we can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering. The alliance has yet to be convinced that Russia was negotiating in good faith because Moscow’s military objective since launching its invasion has not changed. NATO official says the alliance will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine for as long as necessary. A previous statement by the Russian Defence Ministry says that its troops are regrouping close to Kyiv and Chernigov in order to focus on other essential areas and completely free Donbas, the pro-Russia eastern region of Ukraine. In another development, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on Thursday night announced on Twitter that she was on her way to Kyiv without giving details about this planned visit. News agencies say that she will be the first leader of a European institution to visit the capital of Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.
(Radio Romania International)
