The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has alleged that the Russian army has chosen around 1,000 volunteers from what it called “the so-called army of Bashar al-Assad and Hizbullah.”

“The Command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continues to take measures to make up for the loss of personnel at the expense of foreigners. According to available information, the Russian occupiers have already picked up close to 1,000 volunteers from the so-called army of Bashar al-Assad and Hizbullah,” the General Staff said in an English-language Facebook post.

President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati held a meeting Friday at the Baabda Palace to discuss the latest U.S. proposal regarding the demarcation of the maritime border with Israel.

The proposal had been submitted to Lebanon during a recent visit to the country by U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein.

President Michel Aoun on Friday denied any role for the Presidency in the judicial measures that have been taken against a number of banks in recent days.

“The media campaigns that escalated over the past two days, which tried to allege a role for the Presidency in the judicial measures that have been taken against several banks, are the epitome of falsification, unjust accusations and disinformation,” Aoun said.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati held a meeting Friday at the Grand Serail with Justice Minister Henri Khoury, amid unprecedented measures by some judges against a number of commercial banks.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon confirmed Friday evening that all Lebanese banks will stage a two-day strike on Monday and Tuesday in protest at the latest judicial measures against the country's biggest banks.

"This is a first step aimed at cautioning and raising awareness about the dangerousness of the current situations," ABL said in a statement, demanding "the rectification of the current irregularity, the issuance of the capital control law as soon as possible, and the approval and implementation of a recovery plan."

NAHNOO, a Lebanese non-governmental organization, launched Friday in collaboration with the U.N. Information Center in Beirut (UNIC Beirut), a campaign titled “Our Crafts, Our Identity,” to advocate for the ratification of a law that organizes and develops the crafts sector in Lebanon in line with the market needs.

The campaign will be promoted on social media and local TV stations. It aims at advocating for a legal framework for the Lebanese crafts sector to ensure much-needed economic, social, and cultural protection for craftsmen and craftswomen. It also falls within the framework of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that Lebanon is working on achieving, particularly SDGs 8 and 9 on promoting decent work, sustainable industrialization and innovation.

The U.N. Security Council has held closed consultations on the report of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) and the situation in Lebanon.

The Council was briefed by U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Thursday that voting for the Free Patriotic Movement is exactly like voting for Hizbullah.

Geagea slammed, in a statement, the relation between Hizbullah and the FPM, after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that Hizbullah's battle is to make its allies succeed in the parliamentary elections.

President Michel Aoun told UNIFIL chief Major General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, Thursday in a meeting, that the Israeli violations are threatening Lebanon's stability and sovereignty.

Aoun underlined Lebanon's commitment to the U.N. resolution 1701, condemning the Israeli violations.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun on Thursday ordered the detention of the businessman Raja Salameh, the brother of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, after questioning him for several hours.

"Raja Salameh was detained during his interrogation at the Justice Palace and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh will be summoned," the lawyers of the People Want to Reform the Regime group told al-Jadeed TV.