Day 231 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Zelensky asked the G-7 for Help in creating a Shield against Russian Missiles

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Moscow blamed Ukraine's military intelligence for the Crimean bridge explosion

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said today it has detained five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia over the explosion that damaged the Crimean bridge last Saturday, Reuters reported, citing Russian media.

According to the FSB, the explosion was organized by the Main Directorate of Intelligence under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and its director Kyrylo Budanov.

The explosion used on the Crimean bridge was sent from Odesa through Bulgaria, from where it was transported through Georgia and Armenia, the FSB also claimed, as quoted by TASS.

The FSB's findings are consistent with Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims that Kyiv was responsible for the attack, while Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of orchestrating the attack to justify its subsequent missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Zelensky asked the G-7 for help in creating a shield against Russian missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expects progress to be made at the meeting of defense ministers in Brussels, with a Ramstein-style decision on new supplies of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

President Zelensky demanded that new sanctions and new forms of political pressure be imposed on Russia in response to the "new wave of terror from Moscow". He asked for support from G7 leaders to build an anti-aircraft shield after indiscriminate missile strikes on Ukraine earlier this week and to deploy a mission of international observers along the Ukraine-Belarus border because of Moscow's attempts to draw Minsk...