. BBC (UK)
‘No victims’ after attack at Ukraine nuclear plant
A fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, has now been extinguished. Mayor Dmytro Orlov of nearby Enerhodar had earlier said the fire was caused by “continuous enemy shelling.”
.AL JAZEERA (QATAR)
Zelensky asks Putin for direct talks
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to sit down for direct talks and end Russia’s invasion of his country, while also calling on the West to increase military aid to Kyiv.
. TASS (RUSSIA)
US expects talks between Moscow and Kiev to end Russia’s operation — official
The United States expects that Russian-Ukrainian talks will lead to the immediate halt of Russia’s military operation and withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Robinson said.
. GULF NEWS (UAE)
Saudi Arabia offers to mediate in Russia-Ukraine crisis
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman affirmed the Kingdom’s support to de-escalation of Ukraine’s crisis in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and told him the Kingdom is willing to mediate to resolve the conflict with Russia.
. REUTERS (CANADA)
Russian forces seize huge Ukrainian nuclear plant, fire extinguished
Russian forces seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe after a building at the complex was set ablaze during intense fighting with Ukrainian defenders, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday.
. NIKKEI ASIA (JAPAN)
China urges all sides to ensure nuclear plant safety
BRICS development bank puts new transactions in Russia on hold; Ukraine says Russians seize nuclear plant
. AP (USA)
At least 30 killed after mosque bombed in northwest Pakistan
A powerful bomb exploded inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing at least 30 worshippers and wounding dozens more, many of them critically, police said.
. DAILY MAIL (UK)
The West’s delusions about this war – and its failure to understand the enemy – will prevent it from saving Ukraine, writes military analyst BILL ROGGIO
Wishful thinking has the upper hand in the battle to shape Western perceptions of the war in Ukraine. Sympathy for the outnumbered and outgunned defenders of Kyiv has led to the exaggeration of Russian setbacks, misunderstanding of Russian strategy, and even baseless claims from amateur psychoanalysts that Putin has lost his mind.
. AFP (FRANCE)
Ukraine Plans 3rd Round Of Ceasefire Talks With Russia This Weekend
Ukraine plans to hold a third round of talks this weekend with Russian officials to try to end the fighting triggered by Moscow’s invasion, one of Kyiv’s negotiators said Friday.
. INTERFAX (UK)
Putin, Scholz discuss development of situation in Ukraine
German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue discussing the development of the situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin press service said. Putin has set out Russia’s principled approaches in the context of conducting the special military operation to protect Donbas’s population and extensively explained its goals and objectives, which will definitely be attained,” it said.
