Putin wants to ‘deny Ukraine in blood’

3:14 p.m.: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy has accused Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin of wanting to “drown Ukraine in blood” – including his own troops. Selenskyj said that in an interview with “Bild”. However, he does not believe that Putin would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The world would not allow that. However, there are “risks”.

The Ukrainian president also said that Russia had already made the partial mobilization announced on Tuesday morning. The mobilization took place last month and his secret services informed him about it. According to the President, the latest move by the Russian military leadership shows that there are “problems with officers and other military personnel” in the armed forces.

2:34 p.m.: A water pipe was damaged in a fire at a Zaporizhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. This is reported by the Russian agency Ria, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.

1:42 p.m.: Kilometers of traffic jams formed on the border between Finland and Russia after the partial mobilization of the Russian armed forces. A webcam at the border crossing near the town of Vaalimaa, the cars close together.

12:51 p.m.: Russia wants to extend the planned referendum on the annexation of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson in part of the Mykolaiv region. This is announced by the local administration installed by Russia, according to the Tass news agency. It is about the parts of the region that are still under the control of Russian troops.

12:37 p.m.: In his speech, the Russian dictator piled false claim after false claim. Three propaganda lies stand out in particular. Read the text here.

11.10 am: After Putin’s partial mobilization, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs announced via Twitter that Latvia would not issue humanitarian visas to Russian citizens “for security reasons”.

Apart from humanitarian visas, Latvia no longer issues any other type of visa to Russia. According to Rinkēvičs, the rule that the Russians are not allowed to enter the territory of Latvia will not change even after the partial mobilization.

11.05 am: Mikhail Podoliak, the closest adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, said that Ukraine wants to take back the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia because “if Russia stays on any part of the Ukrainian territory, the war will end again.”