Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding consultations to end the nearly three-year-old war show that he is afraid of negotiations and that he aims to "make the war endless", Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"Putin has once again proven that he is afraid of negotiations, is afraid of strong leaders and is doing everything to drag out the war", Zelensky wrote on "Telegram". According to him, with his actions, the Russian president "aims to make the war endless".
Earlier on Tuesday, Putin said that Zelensky "is not a legitimate president of Ukraine" and cannot revoke its own decree banning negotiations with Russia.
Two women died in Nikolaev as a result of a missile strike last night, the head of the Ukrainian Nikolaev regional military administration, Vitaly Kim, announced.
The women were employees of a private enterprise that was hit by a Russian missile, Kim wrote on "Telegram". According to the mayor of Nikolaev, Oleksandr Senkevich, the strike occurred at around 8:00 p.m.
The city's sirens were activated at 7:58 p.m.
According to the last census in Ukraine in 2001, the Bulgarian community in Nikolaev region amounts to 5,600 people, the majority of whom (about 5,000) live in Ternovka, a district of the regional Ukrainian city of Nikolaev. The first Bulgarian settlers founded the settlement of Ternovka on the outskirts of Nikolaev in 1802.
Meanwhile, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced that it had launched a criminal investigation into Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Reuters reported.
A press release from the service stated that the investigation was launched in connection with a complaint filed by a civilian oversight body and that an investigation would be conducted to determine whether Umerov abused his power.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Ukrainian government dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov, who was responsible for public procurement for weapons purchases.