In view of the casualties and destruction caused by the Russian war of aggression, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has strongly demanded justice for his country. "Justice for our state, for all our people who have lost their relatives, their friends, their health, their homes and their normal lives because of Russian aggression, because of the terror of the occupiers," he said in his evening video address on Friday.

Zelenskyj: Day of Justice will come

Selenskyj had commemorated on Friday in the Kiev suburb of Butscha with international guests of the victims of the short Russian occupation. The commemoration was attended by Moldovan President Maia Sandu and the heads of government of Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia – Eduard Heger, Robert Golob and Andrej Plenkovic.

After their invasion a good 13 months ago, Russian troops captured the small town of Butscha near Kiev in early March 2022. On March 30, they withdrew. Three days later, published images of the handcuffed corpses of civilians caused international horror. Butscha is regarded worldwide as a symbol of Russian war crimes.

In the afternoon, Zelenskyi and his guests held a conference of "United for Justice", at which Ukraine wants to gather support for the prosecution of Russian war crimes. "And the day will come when the world will hear that justice has been restored for Ukraine," Zelensky announced.

Zelenskyj on possible end of the war

In his meeting with foreign leaders, Zelenskyi reiterated his vision of a peaceful solution. First of all, a representative of Russia – whoever that may be, he does not know – must withdraw all troops from all areas of Ukraine without a fight. "Then the diplomatic format begins," Zelenskyi was quoted as saying by Ukrainian media. But if Ukraine is forced to expel all Russians by force, then there is nothing to talk about in view of the many victims. "Then what should you talk about with such people?"

Nuclear weapons: Zelenskyj accuses Russia of loss of reality

For Zelenskyj, the planned stationing of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is a sign that the meeting between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and China's head of state Xi Jinping was not crowned with success. "Russia should have been shown a sense of reality that the country has completely lost under President Putin," Ukrayinska Pravda quoted Zelensky as saying. Putin had received Xi in Moscow the previous week. In addition, Belarus' ruler Alexander Lukashenko has lost all independence, said Zelenskyj. "He no longer decides, I think, what weapons are on his territory."

Against the backdrop of strong tensions with the West as a result of the Ukraine war, Putin had recently announced that tactical nuclear weapons would be stationed in the neighboring ex-Soviet republic of Belarus. He justified the stationing with the fact that the US had been doing something similar in Europe for years.

UN warns of nuclear escalation

Following Russia's announcement of the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus, the United Nations warned against an escalation. "All states must avoid measures that could lead to escalations, errors or miscalculations," UN Special Envoy for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu told the UN Security Council in New York on Friday. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons must also be respected.

Kiev: Russia attacks civilian targets

The Ukrainian military leadership accused the Russian armed forces of once again concentrating on civilian targets. "Having failed to achieve the desired results on the battlefield, the enemy continues to cynically terrorize the civilian population of our country," the Ukrainian General Staff said in the evening situation report on Friday. Among other things, the city of Zaporizhia and other places were attacked with ballistic missiles. At least six so-called kamikaze drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense. The information could not be independently verified.

According to the generals in Kiev, the Russian ground forces continued their attacks at Avdiivka, Maryinka and Bakhmut in the east of the country. Russian troops continued to try to bring the heavily contested city of Bakhmut completely under their control.

Ukrainian Air Force uses 'smart' bombs

As part of military aid from the West, the Ukrainian Air Force now has so-called smart bombs at its disposal. "We now have bombs called JDAM," Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said on television on Friday. JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) are basically equipment kits developed in the USA for conventional bombs, which become high-precision weapons through a navigation system. "These bombs are slightly less powerful, but extremely accurate," said Ihnat. "We would like to have more of these bombs to succeed on the front lines."