Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu has called Kremlin claims a “provocation” that the perpetrator of a deadly car bomb outside Moscow fled to Estonia.
Reinsalu told Estonian television that the claim was the latest “in a very long series of provocations by the Russian Federation, and we have nothing more to say about it at the moment.” Reinsalu said the complaint was an attempt by the Russian regime to pressure Estonia for its support for Ukraine during the war.
The US State Department issued an alert Tuesday, urging Americans in Ukraine to leave the country immediately, fearing Russia would increase missile strikes.
The warning comes amid public outcry in Russia over a car bomb that killed a hardline Russian commentator outside Moscow on Saturday. Hundreds of people lined up on Tuesday to pay their respects to Darya Dugina, 29, the daughter of right-wing Russian political philosopher Alexander Dugin, who was widely seen as the intended target.
Ukraine has banned large public gatherings that had been scheduled for Wednesday, Ukraine’s Independence Day which marks its break with the Soviet Union.
Latest developments:
►No breakthrough seems to have come out of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the conflict with Russia approaching the six month mark with no end in sight.
►The 25th cargo ship carrying grain has left Ukraine as part of an agreement with Russia brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to unblock Ukrainian ports, according to Agence France-Presse.
SIX MONTHS IN THE WAR:The whole world is losing. Will this conflict ever end?
UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES:Long-term survival is a big concern. Here’s why.
The Ukrainian football league plays its first game since the invasion
The Ukrainian football league kicked off its new season after a poignant ceremony honoring those who fought in the war with Russia. The opening match at Kyiv’s empty 65,500-seat Olympic Stadium brought together two teams from the war-torn east, Shaktar Donetsk and Metalist 1925. The players entered the pitch with Ukrainian flags draped over their shoulders and observed a minute of silence as the names of towns where people had died in war were projected on the big screen.
The first top-flight football match played in the country since the Russian invasion in February ended in a 0-0 draw.
Rodman’s plan to help Brittney Griner could backfire, experts warn
Dennis Rodman has once again inserted himself into US diplomatic relations, this time in an effort to free detained WNBA star Brittney Griner. He told NBC News he plans to go to Russia to “help this girl”. But his contributions to the negotiations — if Russia even chooses to pay attention to him — will be minimal, or even could hurt Griner’s case, experts say.
Rodman, the enigmatic three-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer, made his first foray into trying to make peace with American adversaries by linking up with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in basketball. The current task would be to negotiate with Russia the release of Griner, who was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to nine years in prison at the beginning of the month (She is currently appealing).
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that Rodman would not be traveling on behalf of the U.S. government and that “anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and impede these liberation efforts”. Learn more here.
— Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY
Contribute: The Associated Press