Overview: Russia stops gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and Zelensky warns of ‘global attack on democracy’
These are the main developments from Tuesday evening and the night from Tuesday to Wednesday:
- Russian state gas company Gazprom puts the gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria stop. Both countries refuse to pay the bill in rubles, as Russia demands. Poland and Bulgaria both say they have enough gas to meet the needs of consumers and businesses, despite the Russian gas taps being turned off.
- Russia’s goals go far beyond the current war against Ukraine, Ukrainian president says Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily video message on Telegram. According to Zelensky, Russia wants “a global attack on democracy” execute, reports The Guardian† He states that “the ultimate goal of the Russian leadership is not just to conquer the territory of Ukraine, but to tear apart the entire center and east of Europe and deal a blow to democracy worldwide.”
- Kiev has dismantled a Soviet-era monument that symbolized the friendship between Russia and Ukraine, Reuters news agency reported. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, taking down the statue is a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine“This monument symbolized friendship between Ukrainian and Russian nations, but we now see what this friendship is: the destruction of Ukrainian cities, the destruction of the lives of Ukrainians, the death of tens of thousands of peaceful people.”