Zelenskyy says Putin's vow not to hit Ukraine's energy infrastructure 'at odds with reality'
Kyiv (AP/PTI): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that a vow by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin not to attack energy infrastructure was “very much at odds with reality” following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country.
Zelenskyy said that he would speak with US President Donald Trump later in the day and expected to hear more about the American leader's phone call with Putin about a ceasefire and to discuss the next steps to be taken.
“Even last night, after Putin's conversation with ... Trump, when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
The strikes, which hit civilian areas and damaged a hospital, followed Putin's refusal to back a full 30-day ceasefire during discussions with Trump.
The White House described the call between Trump and Putin as the first step in a “movement to peace” that Washington hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting.
But there was no indication that Putin backed away from his conditions for a prospective peace deal, which are fiercely opposed by Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said that one of the most difficult issues in future negotiations would be the issue of territorial concessions.
“For us, the red line is the recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories as Russian," he said. “We will not go for it.”
Shortly after the lengthy phone call between Trump and Putin on Tuesday, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions as residents took shelter.
Despite efforts to repel the attack, several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including a direct drone strike on a hospital in Sumy and attacks on cities in Donetsk region. Russian drones were also reported over Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions.
The Russian Defence Ministry reported Wednesday that its air defences intercepted 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian regions — the border provinces of Kursk and Bryansk and the nearby regions of Oryol and Tula.
Separately, authorities in the Krasnodar region bordering the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, reported that a drone attack there started a fire at an oil depot.
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Delhi: Medha Patkar released seven hours after arrest in 24-year-old defamation case
New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI): The Delhi Police released social activist Medha Patkar from its custody seven hours after her arrest on Friday in connection with a 24-year-old defamation case filed by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, officials said.
Earlier in the day, Patkar was arrested by the Delhi Police, two days after a city court issued a non-bailable warrant against her for not furnishing probation bonds in the case.
She was released at around 4:30 pm after she deposited a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh, which was accepted by the court in the matter of V K Saxena Vs Medha Patkar.
She will now be under the court's watch for a year and if there is any recalcitrant behaviour on her part, she will have to serve the five-month prison sentence.
A police team reached Patkar's residence in southeast Delhi's Nizamuddin area around 9:30 am and took her into custody, an official said.
"We have executed the NBW (non-bailable warrant) and Medha Patkar has been arrested," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Ravi Kumar Singh said.
The arrest came after Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh granted Patkar a one-year probation on April 8, observing that the offence did not merit imprisonment and citing her contributions as the leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and recipient of several awards.
According to the order, Patkar was directed to furnish probation bonds by April 23. However, with no compliance on record, the court issued the NBW against her.
