Ukraine, Briefly

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• Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded an honorary title to a military unit accused of war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine, Axios reported Monday. Ukrainian authorities had accused Russia’s 64th Motorized Infantry Brigade of being “directly involved in committing war crimes against the people of Ukraine in Bucha.”

• At least seven people were killed Monday after missiles struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Ukrainian officials said, according to NBC News. The strikes were a lethal extension of Russia’s conflict into a city that has become a haven for thousands fleeing from the east as well as a vital supply and logistical hub. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised not to cede land in the country’s east in order to stop the war with Russia, Al Jazeera added.

• Syrian fighters are preparing to enter the next round of the Ukraine battle, the Associated Press wrote. According to analysts, the next stage of Ukraine’s war might see Russia bring in more battle-hardened militants from Syria.

• Ukraine has completed a questionnaire that will serve as a starting point for the European Union’s decision on Kyiv’s membership, Reuters reported. Elsewhere, employers and unions in Germany have joined forces to oppose an immediate European Union embargo on natural gas imports from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, claiming that such a step would result in industrial closures and job losses in the bloc’s largest economy, the Associated Press added.