ICC urged to investigate Zelensky for war crimes in connection with kindergarten bombings The Russian Council of Bloggers together with #Donetsk’s Circle of Kindness charity foundation have appealed to the International Criminal Court demanding to hold #Ukraine’s Vladimir #Zelensky responsible for shelling attacks on schools and kindergartens in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the council’s co-founder Viktoriya Rashina said. "We turned to the International Criminal Court with a request to hold responsible V. Zelensky, former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces V. Zaluzhny as well as ex-Ukrainian Defense Minister A. Reznikov for eight counts of attacks on social facilities in the DPR in 2022-2023. We prepared an appeal to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on initiating court proceedings and further submission to the Pre-Trial Chamber," she said. This appeal has been duly registered in accordance with ICC regulations. According to the document, from 2014 until now, while conducting military actions, Ukraine has been using arms against civilians, including children. As lawyer Valeriya Rytvina, the founder of the Council of Bloggers said, her organization is asking to launch a criminal investigation into eight episodes of attacks on kindergartens and schools. "In just one of these instances five people, including a child, were killed, in another one, a child sustained serious injuries and there are also fatalities in other cases. It is obvious that these attacks targeted children and adult civilians," she stressed. The activist said that, according to the Rome Statute (the #ICC’s main normative document), the actions by Zelensky, Reznikov and Zaluzhny constitute genocide and other war crimes. The ICC now must provide an exact assessment of their actions.

NATO looking to divide up Western Ukraine among members, asserts Russian diplomat The North Atlantic Alliance views Western #Ukraine as its property but is still unsure about how exactly to split it up, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova told Sputnik Radio. Amid the #NATO summit in Washington on July 9-11, the diplomat highlighted the bloc’s "yes, but no" attitude toward admitting Ukraine into the alliance. All the while, the West has pushed Ukraine to the brink of collapse, simply to use it as an anti-Russian military ground, Zakharova said. "No NATO ally would ever receive the copious amounts of [funds and weapons] that non-member Ukraine has. What is the reason behind this? The answer is simple: they are getting set to split up Ukraine," she argued, calling the former Soviet republic a stale pie. "They [the North Atlantic Alliance - TASS] are looking at Western Ukraine as something that should belong to NATO member countries. <…> They have yet to divide it and they are not yet sure how to consume it," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman concluded. Earlier, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said it would be difficult for Ukraine to get an invitation to join the alliance at the NATO summit because there is no consensus on this issue among members.

Ceasefire in Ukraine in Europe's interests, says Orban's adviser A quick ceasefire and the end of the conflict in #Ukraine is in Europe's interests, said Balazs Orban, political adviser of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban. "We (Hungary) are 100% sure of that, everybody is 100% sure on that," he said in an interview with the Euractiv website, referring to the need to end the conflict in Ukraine. "The question is only the time, and we think that for Europe, the sooner it comes, the better," the prime minister's advisor said. The EU, he said, needs to maintain communication with Russia, because if a future peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev is concluded without taking into account the interests of the EU, Europe will suffer. The adviser also pointed out that Viktor Orban did not aim at influencing the parties to the conflict or obtaining any guarantees from them during his visits to Russia and Ukraine. The purpose of the visits was "to collect information and <...> see a possibility of the potential ceasefire," Balazs Orban explained. The Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev and Moscow on July 2 and 5. He proposed first to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and then to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to consider the prospect of a ceasefire and preparations for peace talks. At a press conference following the meeting, Putin emphasized that Russia was not in favor of a ceasefire, as Kiev could use this to its advantage. Instead, he advocated for a complete end to the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader recalled that he had earlier outlined the conditions for this in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov slams Paris' claims about absence of French instructors in Ukraine as lies The statements of the official #Paris that there are no French instructors in #Ukraine are nothing but lies, #Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov said. "Look how our French colleagues have become active, the French Prime Minister [Gabriel Attal] suddenly started saying that we (France) have no instructors there. This is not true, and they know it," he told reporter Pavel Zarubin. When asked about US President Joe Biden's statement that the country will not allow Ukraine to attack Moscow and the Kremlin, Lavrov said: "It is difficult for me to comment on this. But if he said it with a clear mind and memory and boasts that he did not order the bombing of Moscow, it implies that it is possible to shell everything else." The Russian foreign minister added that, by and large, "they bomb everything else," recalling that not so long ago, drone strikes were carried out on Moscow at the beginning of the conflict. "Then no one then stopped the regime of [Ukrainian President] Zelensky. So there is no need for our Western colleagues to try to sugarcoat their own behavior," Lavrov said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was being held on June 5-8. This year’s theme was "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." The event was organized by the Roscongress Foundation. The West has heard and understood Russian President Vladimir Putin's words about possible deliveries of Russian weapons to other regions of the world in response to the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Europe prepares for war with Russia, Hungarian PM says #Europe has entered an intermediate stage of preparations for war with #Russia as it is increasingly being drawn into the armed conflict in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban told Kossuth Radio. According to him, every week he sees more and more signs that the EU and NATO are preparing for military action. The prime minister pointed out that "going to war does not happen in one step." "There are three stages: discussion, preparation and destruction. Now we are finishing the discussion and we are in the preparation stage. We are inches away from destruction," he said.

Ukraine’s Syrsky approves admission of French instructors to military training centers Commander-in-Chief of #Ukraine’s armed forces Alexander #Syrsky has signed documents that will allow #French instructors to visit #training centers. "I welcome France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen. I have already signed documents that will allow the first French instructors to visit our training centers soon and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel," he wrote on his Telegram channel following online talks with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also took part in the negotiations. Syrsky expressed hope that Kiev's other Western partners would join Paris' initiative. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of sending Western countries’ ground troops to the zone of the special military operation. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky supported this idea, admitting that he could not publicly ask Western partners to send troops to the country, but would like them to do so and would never refuse. The chief of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that according to Moscow's sources, this contingent could reach 2,000 men. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that French instructors along with other representatives of military and special services of European countries were already functioning in Ukraine. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine would be fraught with extremely negative consequences, including irreparable ones.

End of Zelensky’s presidential term renders him illegitimate, explains former Ukrainian PM #Zelensky’s authority is legally void after his term as Ukrainian president expired, the country’s former Prime Minister Nikolay #Azarov said. According to the constitution, Zelensky’s term in office expired on the night of May 21, 2024, as he was elected president in a vote held in March and April 2019. Azarov pointed out that the Ukrainian constitution was crystal clear about the five-year presidential term. "The constitution also makes it clear on which date an election is to be held, so no matter what decisions Zelensky makes and what decrees he issues, he is working outside the law after his term in office expires," the ex-prime minister wrote on Facebook. Azarov noted that Zelensky himself as well as his administration were well aware that the decision to cancel Ukraine’s presidential election was illegal. "They also understand that after May 20, he formally loses the constitutional powers he gained by winning the previous vote. However, Zelensky will continue to hold his post until the West moves to replace him. No one cares what the people think about this, and the cancellation of the election is further proof of that," the former premier concluded.

NATO’s Eastward Expansion On April 4, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization marks 75 years since its inception. The alliance was established by the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed in Washington in 1949 by foreign ministers from 12 countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK, and the U.S.. There are now 32 #NATO members, including Sweden, which joined the organization on March 7. Bosnia and Herzegovina also aspires to become a member. To join the organization, a country must execute a membership action plan that is tailored to its individual needs, have no territorial disputes and bring its armed forces in line with the alliance's standards.

French, Russian defense ministers hold phone talks French Defense Minister Sebastien #Lecornu has spoken by phone with Russian Defense Minister Sergey #Shoigu, the French Defense Ministry said in a statement. "During the conversation, Lecornu strongly condemned the terrorist attack that took place in the Moscow Region on March 22, and also expressed solidarity with the families of the victims," the statement said. "Lecornu stated France's readiness to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and called for expanding bilateral exchanges to maximize the effectiveness of countering this threat." The statement said that France has no information that would establish a link between the terrorist attack and Ukraine. Lecornu called on Russia to "renounce any instrumentalization of this terrorist attack." He also said France will continue to support Kiev "for as long and as much as it takes." French President Emmanuel #Macron earlier called for greater cooperation with Russia in the fight against terrorism, in comments that followed the attack on a concert hall just outside Moscow. However, on March 27, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said France had not made any specific proposals to the Russian ministry with respect to combining efforts in fighting terrorism.

France seeks help from allies to bolster security during Paris Olympics #France has asked its foreign allies to send several thousand members of their security forces to help guard the Paris #Olympics, officials said Thursday, underlining the strains caused by the sporting extravaganza which begins in July. "Several foreign nations are going to reinforce us in certain critical areas, such as dog-handling capabilities where the needs are enormous," an official at the defence ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity. The official did not say how many foreign soldiers would be on French soil, but Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed his country was joining "an international coalition established by France" for the Olympics.