Moscow wants to take full control over southern Ukraine, a Russian general said on Friday, a statement Ukraine said gave the lie to Russia's previous assertions that it had no territorial ambitions.
Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying full control over southern Ukraine would give it access to a breakaway, Russian-occupied part of Moldova in the west.
That would cut off Ukraine's entire coastline and mean pushing hundreds of miles west beyond current lines, past the major Ukrainian cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa.
Moscow says it is conducting a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine and liberate its population from people it calls dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia's invasion is an unjustified war of aggression.
"They stopped hiding it," Ukraine's defence ministry said on Twitter. Russia had "acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked if Russia had expanded the goals of its operation and how Moscow saw the political future of southern Ukraine.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call on Monday from US President Joe Biden to discuss the latest developments in negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza and the dangers of a military escalation in Rafah, Egypt's presidency said.
A man, armed with a sword, has been arrested in London after he attacked members of the public and two officers near a train station, the British police said on Tuesday.
Australia's food safety agency said on Tuesday it was weighing accusations of contamination about some spice mixes sold by Indian companies MDH and Everest to decide if a food recall was required, becoming the latest regulator to step up scrutiny.
Indonesia's Ruang volcano off the island of Sulawesi erupted on Tuesday, spewing ash and lava, after an eruption earlier this month led to hundreds of evacuations and an airport closure.
A Russian missile attack on an educational institution in a popular seafront park in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa on Monday killed at least four people and injured 32, local officials said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop in a broader trip to the Middle East to discuss issues including the governance of Gaza once the war with Israel ends.
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Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!
Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!