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1 hour ago

EU warns against 'extremely dangerous' Russian initiative to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus

By Lauren Kent in London, Xiaofei Xu

The European Union condemns the agreement between Moscow and Minsk to deploy Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, calling it "a step that will lead to a new extremely dangerous escalation," the bloc said on Friday.

"The Belarusian regime is complicit in Russia's illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine," the European External Action Service said in a statement, calling on Belarus to "reverse decisions that can only contribute to increasing tensions in the region and undermining the sovereignty of Belarus."

"Any attempt to further escalate the situation will be met with a strong and coordinated reaction," the European Union warned in the statement.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko declared on Thursday that the transfer of some tactical nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus has begun, according to state news agency Belta.

1 hour ago

Search and rescue operations end in Dnipro

By Olga Voitovych

A firefighter examines the destroyed building of a medical center in the city of Dnipro on May 26. (Credit: Vitalii Matokha/AFP/Getty Images)

Search and rescue operations at a medical center in the city of Dnipro that was attacked by Russian forces have concluded, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Saturday.

Rescuers have finished removing debris from the three-story building, according to the service.

More than three dozen high-rise buildings and more than 20 private homes were damaged in and around the site of Friday's attack, Serhii Lysak, head of the regional military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app Saturday.

"There is damage to the stadium, and also to three schools and three kindergartens," Lysak said.

2 hours ago

Senior Ukrainian military official hints counteroffensive may be imminent

By Olga Voitovych, Andrew Carey

In a brief but no doubt carefully crafted post on the Telegram messaging app, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces has increased speculation that a massive counteroffensive against Russia's occupation forces could be imminent.

"The time has come to take back what is ours," Gen. Valerii Zaluzhyhi wrote Saturday morning.

The text appears underneath a video just over a minute long showing Ukrainian forces apparently training at dawn.

The video also shows a range of Western-supplied equipment, including German-made Leopard 2 tanks, considered one of Ukraine's key battlefield acquisitions in recent months, as well as US-made MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) armored vehicles, M777 artillery pieces and HIMARS rocket launchers.

It ends with the soldiers and their commander chanting a defiant message: "Ukraine, my homeland, Lord, our heavenly father, bless our decisive offensive, our sacred vengeance, our holy victory."

Officially, the counteroffensive has not yet begun. As we have previously reported, the different signals from Ukraine may be an attempt to unbalance Moscow.

War in Ukraine