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Motoki Tatsunori was arrested by the Russian secret service
Photo: IMAGO/FSB / IMAGO/ITAR-TASS
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Japan: Russian handling of arrested diplomat unacceptable
9.12 a.m .:
The Japanese government has accused Russia of intimidatingly interrogating a country diplomat after his arrest.
The consulate official was arrested on unfounded espionage charges and subjected to a brutal interrogation, the Foreign Ministry said in Tokyo.
Motoki Tatsunori is blindfolded, hands gagged and head fixed
been made to make it moveable.
The Foreign Ministry called the Russian ambassador and lodged a formal protest, expecting an apology from Russia.
The way the diplomat was treated was absolutely unacceptable.
In the city of Vladivostok in Russia's far east, the consulate employee was arrested by the Russian domestic secret service FSB.
He is accused of obtaining information about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region for money.
He is also said to have searched for information about the impact of western sanctions on the surrounding Primorye region.
Last day of Russian mock referendums in Ukraine underway
8.35 a.m .:
The last day of mock referendums began on Tuesday in the Moscow-occupied areas of Ukraine.
The people in the parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Cherson and Zaporizhia regions occupied by Russian troops have until 3:00 p.m. CEST (4:00 p.m. local time) to cast their votes on joining the Russian Federation.
These sham referenda are criticized as breaching international law.
They are not recognized worldwide because they are held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards.
In the Luhansk region, the authorities reported renewed fire from multiple rocket launchers on the town of Alchevsk.
Nevertheless, all polling stations are open, it is said.
LONDON: Putin could announce admission of occupied territories on Friday
8:03 a.m .:
The British Ministry of Defense does not rule out that Russian President Vladimir Putin could formally announce the inclusion of the occupied Ukrainian territories in the Russian Federation on Friday.
A speech by Putin to both chambers of parliament is scheduled for that day.
There is a "realistic possibility" that Putin will use the speech to officially announce the admission, according to the ministry's daily situation report, which is based on findings from British military intelligence.
In Russian-occupied areas, the sham referendums on union with Russia are still going on today.
Nuclear threats: US warns Moscow of extraordinary consequences
1:35 a.m .:
The US government has again warned Russia against the use of nuclear weapons in clear terms.
The consequences would be "extraordinary" and "real," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told CNN.
This was also made very clear to Moscow.
"We didn't give the Russians a shred of doubt," Price said.
The US government means business.
Price declined to say exactly what those consequences would be.
Zelenskyy: Situation in Donetsk "particularly serious"
12:30 a.m .:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj describes the military situation in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk as “particularly serious”.
In his nightly video speech, he explains that the region is Ukraine's top priority: "Because the Donbass is still the number one target for the occupiers."
Merz sees “social tourism” from Ukrainians to Germany
12:01 a.m .:
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has complained about “social tourism” from Ukrainian refugees to Germany.
He told Bild TV in an interview broadcast on Monday evening: "We are now experiencing social tourism from these refugees: to Germany, back to Ukraine, to Germany, back to Ukraine." The background, according to Merz: Initially, Ukraine refugees were entitled to care according to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act - since June they have received basic security, i.e. the same benefits as, for example, Hartz IV recipients.
In his own words, Merz expects even greater problems with refugees from Russia "if the Federal Government did what the Federal Minister of the Interior suggested, namely to give practically all conscientious objectors to military service access to the Federal Republic of Germany for mobilization in Russia".
The Union is “strictly against it”.
svs/dpa/Reuters/AFP