The war continues for an 86th day in Ukraine as Russia claims to have taken control of almost the entire Lugansk region.

6:11 am | Russia creates new military bases in response to NATO expansion

Russia will create twelve new military bases in the west of the country in response to the strengthening of NATO and its expected enlargement to Finland and Sweden, the Russian Minister of Defense announced on Friday.

5:50 am | Russian soldier tried for war crime “not guilty” according to his lawyer, verdict expected on Monday

The Russian soldier tried in Kyiv for war crimes in Ukraine “is not guilty”, said his lawyer on the third day of this first trial of its kind since the start of the Russian invasion, the verdict of which will be announced on Monday.

5:26 | Moscow says it has almost completed the conquest of the Ukrainian region of Lugansk

The Russian Defense Minister assured Friday that the conquest of the Ukrainian region of Lugansk (east) was almost complete, and that 1908 Ukrainian soldiers entrenched on the Azovstal steel site in Mariupol had surrendered.

5:19 | Orban’s Hungary, an uncomfortable welcoming land for Ukrainians

Kristina Novytska, who came from Kyiv, landed in Budapest a week after the Russian invasion and is in a hurry: to leave Hungary, where the leader Viktor Orban is wary of any frank support for Ukraine, contrary to European unanimity.

READ | “Hell” in the Donbass, massive help from Washington

Russian forces are stepping up the pressure in the Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, which they have turned into “hell”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, who also considered that the massive aid announced by Washington in Kyiv is an investment in Western security.

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