Russian soldiers were sentenced to life in prison by Ukraine, the Kremlin reacted harshly to the West

According to Reuters and AP news agency, Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin admitted to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in the village of Chupakhivka, northeast Ukraine on February 28. Judge Serhiy Agafonov said that Shishimarin was only carrying out orders from his superiors.

Shishmarin’s lawyer, Viktor Ovsyannikov, said he was not surprised by the verdict because there had been certain pressures from society, and he would appeal. This trial has great symbolic significance for Ukraine. This could be the first of many similar trials that will take place, one lawyer said.

Ukraine claims to have identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes. Russia denies Ukraine’s accusations. Commenting on the sentence with soldier Shishimarin, Dmitry Peskov – spokesman for the Russian President said that the Kremlin is concerned about the incident and will find ways to support this soldier.

Russia accuses the West of causing the global food crisis

The Kremlin today (May 23) said that the West has sparked a global food crisis when it imposed the heaviest sanctions in modern history on Russia because of the war in Ukraine.

The war and efforts to isolate Russia as a way of Western sanctions have sent the prices of grains, cooking oil, energy and fertilizers soaring. Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower and rapeseed oils.

The United Nations says that 36 countries rely on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine, among them very poor countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Kremlin claims that Ukraine has made commercial shipping impossible by planting mines in its waters. Ukraine has now lost control of a number of major seaports in Kherson and Mariupol and the country is concerned that the port in Odessa will also fall into Russian hands.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that Russia does not prevent Ukraine from exporting grain to Poland by rail, despite the fact that the West is sending weapons in the opposite direction to Kiev.

An official with the United Nations food agency said two weeks ago that nearly 25 million tons of grain was stranded in Ukraine due to infrastructure challenges and blocked seaports.

Notable developments related to war between Russia and Ukraine

– US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomed his counterparts from more than 40 countries to the second Ukraine Contact Group meeting, held online today, nearly three months after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war .

– The Polish government today announced the termination of the natural gas contract with Russia without waiting for the expiration date at the end of the year. Along with Bulgaria and Finland, Poland has refused to accept a payment mechanism based on the ruble. “After 30 years, it can be said that the relationship in the gas industry between Poland and Russia has ceased,” said Polish official in charge of strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimsky.

– Soldiers Russia cleared mines and debris at the Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol after hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers at the plant laid down their weapons after weeks of resistance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 87 people were killed in a Russian air strike on the town of Desna last week. This is the largest loss of life in a Ukrainian air strike.

Hoai Linh