European Council – President Klaus Iohannis reiterated, on Friday, in Prague, Romania’s stand regarding the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the continuation of Bucharest’s constant support, on multiple levels, including in preparation for winter, in the context of the new escalations caused by the Russian Federation. The head of state participated in the informal meeting of the European Council in the Czech capital, where he expressed Romania’s openness to the reconstruction process. In another move, regarding the high level of energy prices, a constant concern for Romania, Klaus Iohannis recalled the need to adopt measures to ensure the decoupling of the price of electricity from the price of natural gas. The main topics on the agenda of the European Council meeting concerned the situation in Ukraine, developments in the field of energy, from the point of view of the impact of high prices and efforts for ensuring supply security, as well as the economic situation at the European level. As for Ukraine, European leaders strongly rejected and unequivocally condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions following fake referendums.
Ukraine – The Ukrainian authorities have announced that two cemeteries were found in the city of Liman (east), recently freed from the control of the Russian occupiers. Liman, a town in the Donetsk region, was liberated from the control of the Russian forces a week ago. According to the BBC, the governor of the region, Pavlo Kirilenko, said that at one of the cemeteries there are about two hundred graves, where civilians are believed to be buried. The other is a mass grave, where both civilians and soldiers could be buried. Kirilenko stated that the authorities have started an investigation and soon the dead bodies will be exhumed. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of committing war crimes against civilians in the occupied areas. In another development, several rocket attacks have been reported today on the city of Kharkiv. Also today, the bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia was badly damaged after a truck was detonated alongside a train of fuel tank cars. The destruction of the bridge deals another serious blow to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, disrupting a crucial supply route. Moscow illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, ahead of this year’s Russian invasion.
