Day 551 of the Invasion of Ukraine: A Political Solution for Crimea is Possible and Preferred, according to Zelensky

Day 551 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Zelensky: A political solution for Crimea is possible and preferred
• Poland and the Baltic states demanded that Belarus expel "Wagner"
• UNIAN: 24,000 Russian servicemen apply to surrender in response to Ukrainian project
• New Russian missile attack in Ukraine, Russia reports drone attacks
• Ukraine is advancing slowly to the southeast. Russian missiles in Kryvyi Rih and Poltava
• Zelensky supported the idea of wartime elections in Ukraine. If the West finances them

Zelensky: A political solution for Crimea is possible and preferred

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it is possible to negotiate a political settlement rather than use force to resolve the issue of the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, DPA reported.

"When we reach the administrative borders of Crimea, I think it is possible politically to impose the demilitarization of Russia on the territory of the peninsula," he said yesterday in an interview published today by several Ukrainian publications.

Kyiv is currently struggling to repel a full-scale invasion by Russia and has repeatedly reiterated that it aims to regain both Crimea and the territories occupied after February 2022. Ukrainian soldiers in the south of the country are gradually advancing towards the Black Sea coast to cut off the Russian supply route to the peninsula. Zelensky said a political solution to Crimea was preferred because there would be fewer victims.

The president of Ukraine also...