“The way we view this development [Russians leaving the Snake Island] is that the Ukrainians were very successful at applying significant pressure on the Russians, including by using those Harpoon missiles that they recently acquired to attack a [Russian] resupply ship,” the official said during a press briefing.
The Ukrainians made it very hard for the Russian military to sustain operations on the island because they became “very vulnerable” to Ukrainian strikes, the official claimed.
At the same time, the official admitted that Russian troops leaving Snake Island is not a “panacea” for Ukraine, but it has made it easier to defend Odessa from potential attacks and has enabled opening up sea corridors.
On Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces left Snake Island located in the Black Sea near Odessa. The ministry called the retreat a “gesture of goodwill” to show the world community that Russia does not interfere with the efforts of the United Nations to organize a humanitarian corridor for exporting grain from Ukraine.
"Today, the international community is mobilising to support your efforts to rebuild your beautiful country. Next Monday, together with President Zelensky and Prime Minister Shmyhal, I will participate in the Lugano conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Your European path and the reconstruction of the country will go hand in hand," von der Leyen told the Ukrainian parliament.
"But to maximise their impact and to foster business confidence, investments will have to be coupled with a new wave of reforms," von der Leyen continued.
"Many of the laws and the institutions you need are already in place. Now is the time to translate rules and bodies into positive and enduring change," the Commission president said, adding that "there is a long road ahead but Europe will be at your side every step of the way, for as long as it takes."
"Our friends are now working to organize negotiations with both ... Putin and ... [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky. We will hold talks on the re-escort of agricultural products. There are countries that have problems, we can help," Erdogan told reporters.
"We have reached a historic milestone. We can either go on with changes for a prosperous nation, or risk a return to behind-the-scenes deals, puppet governance, and [serving] foreign interests. We will not allow Bulgaria to choose the wrong direction ... the prosecutors to remain inactive, and foreign diplomats to issue ultimatums until 12 o'clock. Because we are not afraid," Petkov said, as quoted by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.
"A decree of the Russian president on the Sakhalin-2 project was issued. But this does not mean that LNG supplies will be immediately stopped. But we will closely monitor what requirements will be in the content of the contract as a result of this decree. It is also necessary to consider further steps together with companies," Kishida told reporters.
"We are not discussing proposals that would make it difficult for us to access Russian gas. It is not that we are looking for a compromise, but that we have nothing to discuss," Orban told the Kossuth radio broadcaster.