UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic: the party of pro-Russian President Andrej Babiš, who opposes broad support for Ukraine, won.
However, it fell short of a majority — 80 out of 200 seats. Babiš called the ammunition supply scheme to Ukraine corrupt and did not rule out an alliance with other European forces opposed to support for Ukraine.
Babiš, inspired by Fico and Orbán, could become the third “anti-European agitator” in the EU.
Municipal elections in Georgia have ended. The Georgian Dream headquarters is celebrating victory — Newsgeorgia.
According to an exit poll by GORBI for Imedi, Georgian Dream candidates are winning mayoral elections in all major cities by a wide margin.
Tbilisi mayoral candidate Kakha Kaladze, former Dynamo Kyiv and AC Milan player, received 76.3% of the vote, according to pro-government polls.
Ruling party leaders, including billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, have already declared victory and congratulated their supporters.
Meanwhile, clashes continue near the presidential palace in Tbilisi: police are using tear gas, and firecrackers are exploding in the air. Protesters are being detained.
Demonstrators are tearing up paving stones, burning Russian flags, and erecting fiery barricades against the police.
Whether Georgians will be able to overcome Mriya on their road to freedom will become clear in the coming hours.
The EU is creating legal grounds to intercept at least 16 suspected Russian-linked oil tankers if they enter the Baltic Sea in the future — EUObserver.
The new measures are being discussed due to drone threats, risks of oil spills, and potential damage to cables by Russia’s shadow fleet.
As part of its 19th round of sanctions, the EU plans to blacklist another 120 Russian oil tankers, bringing the total to 568, according to internal documents obtained by EUObserver. The listing would bar these ships from calling at EU ports or doing business with European companies, including insurers and bunkering service providers.
So far, the EU blacklist has had limited effect, as shadow fleet vessels still freely traverse the Baltic Sea, which belongs to EU states, transporting Russian oil to Asian customers under the “right of innocent passage” established by the 1994 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1857 Copenhagen Treaty.
However, under Article 110 of UNCLOS, states may intercept “visiting vessels” if they “have no nationality.” According to leaked EU documents, 16 of the 120 new ships have “undefined” flags and, per the maritime database Eqasis, no real flags.
These ships are Adonia, Apate, Apus, Aquilla II, Bolu, Briont, Ethera, Everdine, Leona, Manaslu, Myra, Nemrut, Omni (now Evali), Samos, Tagor, and Tassos.
President Zelenskyy: Last night, Ukraine was again subjected to a combined Russian attack — more than 50 missiles and around 500 strike drones, including cruise missiles, Shahed UAVs, and Kinzhal missiles. Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Kirovohrad regions were targeted. About 10 people are reported injured, and five have been killed. My sincere condolences to all who lost loved ones to this terror.
President Zelenskyy: Last night, Ukraine was again subjected to a combined Russian attack — more than 50 missiles and around 500 strike drones, including cruise missiles, Shahed UAVs, and Kinzhal missiles. Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Kirovohrad regions were targeted. About 10 people are reported injured, and five have been killed. My sincere condolences to all who lost loved ones to this terror.
🇺🇸 North Carolina signs Iryna’s Law after the murder of a Ukrainian refugee
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has signed “Iryna’s Law,” which strengthens bail screening for criminals and bans cash bail for violent and repeat offenders. At the same time, he criticized the possible reinstatement of the death penalty and called for a broader package of security measures.
This night, the Russian Federation carried out a large-scale combined strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, using UAVs, cruise, and ballistic missiles.
▪️ The main target was Lviv, which was under rocket and drone attack for four hours. Part of the city is without electricity. “Kinzhal” missiles were also used.
▪️ In Zaporizhzhia, more than 73,000 consumers remain without power. One person has been killed and nine injured.
▪️ Explosions were reported in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Strikes were recorded in many other regions of Ukraine.
As a result of one of the most massive attacks on Lviv since the beginning of the war, the Sparrow industrial park caught fire. There is no information about injuries. This is a civilian facility, the mayor of Lviv noted.
Due to the massive combined Russian attack with drones and missiles, parts of Lviv were left without electricity, and public transport operations were suspended as the assault continues.
‼️ In the Chernihiv region, Russians have once again attacked infrastructure facilities, the State Emergency Service reports.
Rescuers are working to clear the aftermath of the shelling.