Ukraine claims Russia has suffered ‘colossal’ losses as Pentagon press secretary condemns Putin’s ‘cruelty and depravity’
Continue reading...Category Archives: Ukraine
Ukraine claims ‘colossal’ Russian losses have taken place in the effort to fully capture the eastern Donbas region – as it happened
This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog
A checkpoint at the Russian village of Krupets in the Kursk region came under fire, according to Kursk’s governor Roman Starovoyt. The RIA news agency reports he said there were no casualties, and fire was returned. Krupets is close to the Ukrainian border, near the Sumy region in the north-east of the country.
The UK’s international trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has been interviewed on Sky News in the UK. She stressed again that the UK government did not support British people going over to Ukraine to fight.
The Foreign Office is working very closely with those in Ukraine, both to make sure that, you know, the identification is correct. And indeed to work with local authorities and to support families here. As we’ve set out right from the beginning, we don’t want British nationals to go and fight.
But there are many, many ways in which so many people, and I think the heartfelt, genuinely heartfelt, anxiety and appalment that Putin has illegally invaded and is now continuing to bombard those areas where he had stepped away from, is something that quite rightly horrifies the British public.
Continue reading...Facebook moderators call on firm to do more about posts praising Bucha atrocities
Company insists any content glorifying violence against Ukrainians not allowed, but moderators say lack of guidance means they feel forced to leave up some content
Facebook moderators have called on the company to let them take action against users who praise or support the Russian military’s atrocities in Bucha and across Ukraine.
Almost a month after evidence of widespread murder and mass graves was uncovered by Ukrainian forces taking the suburb of Kyiv, the social network still has not flagged the atrocity as an “internally designated” incident, the moderators say.
Continue reading...Ukraine accuses Russian forces of seizing 2,000 artworks in Mariupol
City council is reportedly preparing materials to initiate criminal proceedings over mass cultural looting
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of seizing “over 2,000 artworks” from museums in the occupied city of Mariupol and moving the pieces to areas of the Russian-controlled Donbas region.
“The occupiers ‘liberated’ Mariupol from its historical and cultural heritage. They stole and moved more than 2,000 unique exhibits from museums in Mariupol to Donetsk,” the Mariupol city council said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
Continue reading...UK to send 8,000 soldiers to eastern Europe on expanded exercises
British army also deploying tanks in joint action with Nato and Joint Expeditionary Force
About 8,000 British army troops will take part in exercises across eastern Europe to combat Russian aggression in one of the largest deployments since the cold war.
Dozens of tanks will be deployed to countries ranging from Finland to North Macedonia this summer under plans that have been enhanced since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Continue reading...Ukraine names 10 Russian soldiers in alleged human rights abuses in Bucha
Prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova says ‘more than 8,000 cases’ of suspected war crimes identified
Ukraine’s prosecutor general has named 10 Russian soldiers allegedly involved in human rights abuses during the month-long occupation of Bucha.
Iryna Venediktova also told German TV that that Ukranian investigators had identified “more than 8,000 cases” of suspected war crimes since Russia’s invasion, which included accusations of “killing civilians, bombing of civilian infrastructure, torture” and “sexual crimes”.
Continue reading...Biden asks Congress for $33bn Ukraine aid package
President’s request includes over $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief
Joe Biden has called for a giant $33bn package of military and economic aid to Ukraine, more than doubling the level of US assistance to date, in an emphatic rejection of Russian threats of reprisals and escalation.
A few hours after Biden spoke, Kyiv was shaken by two powerful cruise missile strikes, while the UN secretary general, António Guterres, was visiting the Ukraine capital following a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
More artillery and armored vehicles, as well as anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft systems.
Help to build up Ukraine’s cyber warfare capabilities.
More intelligence sharing.
Support to increase Ukraine’s ability to produce munitions and strategic minerals.
Assistance in clearing landmines and other explosives and in Ukraine’s defence against chemical, biological and dirty bomb attacks.
A further buildup in the US military presence on Nato’s eastern flank.
Continue reading...‘We’re not attacking Russia,’ Biden says as he asks for $33bn in Ukraine aid – as it happened
- ‘We’re helping Ukraine defend itself,’ says president
- Full report: Biden asks Congress for more Ukraine aid
- Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates
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Joe Biden is also taking steps to ensure the money raised from assets seized from sanctioned allies of Vladimir Putin directly aids Ukraine.
According to a White House fact sheet about Biden’s new aid request, the administration is “proposing legislation to streamline the process to recoup proceeds from seized and forfeited assets and use them to remediate the harm caused in Ukraine”.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv rocked by missile strikes during UN chief’s visit, Ukraine responds to ‘heinous act of barbarism’ – live
Two cruise missiles strike Ukrainian capital, injuring at least ten; officials respond to attack
- At a glance: what we know on day 65 of the invasion
- Russia bombs Kyiv with cruise missiles during UN visit to Ukraine capitol
- ‘We’re not attacking Russia’, says Biden in push for extra aid
- Briton killed in Ukraine believed to be ex-soldier Scott Sibley
- Donetsk separatists’ draft campaign empties streets of men
- Ukraine names 10 Russian soldiers in alleged human rights abuses in Bucha
More than 8,500 alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are under investigation, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office has said.
A total of 8,653 cases have been reported and 217 children have been confirmed to have been killed, the office added.
Unfortunately this is the type of step, the type of almost weaponising energy supplies that we had predicted that Russia could take in this conflict.
And we have been working for some time now, for months, with partners around the world to diversify natural gas supply to Europe to — in anticipation of and to also address near-term needs and replace volumes that would otherwise come from Russia.”
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 64 of the invasion
Vladimir Putin warns against western intervention in Ukraine; Liz Truss says the war must be a ‘catalyst for change’; António Guterres visits Kyiv
Russia’s foreign affairs ministry has issued a stern warning to western countries over encouragement given to Ukraine to strike within Russian territory. The spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “[F]urther provocation prompting Ukraine to strike against Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response.”
The Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak has defended Ukraine’s right to strike inside Russia, saying “Ukraine will defend itself in any way, including strikes on the warehouses and bases of the killers in Russia. The world recognises this right.”
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has repeated the assertion that it is legitimate for Ukraine to target logistics within Russian territory, saying: “If Ukraine did choose to target logistics infrastructure for the Russian army, that would be legitimate under international law.”
Wallace also suggested the UK would be supplying Ukraine with weaponry that can strike Russian naval forces in the Black Sea. Russia’s Black Sea fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets, despite its “embarrassing losses”, Britain’s defence ministry said in its latest intelligence report.
Russia’s defence ministry said its missiles had struck four Ukrainian military targets overnight, destroying two missile and ammunition depots near the settlements of Barvinkove and Ivanivka in the east of the country.
The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, which Russia claims to have captured, will transition to using the rouble from 1 May, according to Russian state media.
The head of Ukraine’s parliament energy committee, Andriy Herus, has tried to reassure the country that energy supplies are secure for the summer.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is in Ukraine and has visited Borodianka to see the destruction there.
Efforts are under way to get emergency contraception into Ukrainian hospitals as quickly as possible, as reports of rape after the Russian invasion continue to rise.
More than 8,500 alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are under investigation, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office has said.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, has said in Brussels “if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be welcomed with open arms to Nato”.
The Financial Times is reporting some of Europe’s largest gas importers are preparing to acquiesce to Russian demands that energy must be paid for in roubles. It says Gas distributors in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are planning to open rouble accounts at Gazprombank in Switzerland.
Germany’s Bundestag lower house of parliament has overwhelmingly approved a petition on support for Ukraine, backing the delivery of weapons including heavy arms to the country to help it fend off Russian attacks.
The UK government has released figures stating that about 27,100 people had arrived in the UK as refugees under the Ukraine visa schemes as of Monday. UNHCR states that 5,372,854 people have fled Ukraine for abroad since Russia’s latest invasion began on 24 February.
Continue reading...UN secretary general describes war in Ukraine as ‘absurdity’ in 21st century
António Guterres visits Borodianka outside Kyiv where Russian forces are accused of massacring civilians
The UN secretary general has described the war in Ukraine as “an absurdity” in the 21st century on a visit to the scene of civilian killings outside Kyiv, as Russia warned the west that increasing arms supplies to Ukraine would endanger European security.
António Guterres was touring Borodianka on Thursday, where Russian forces are accused of massacring civilians before their withdrawal, on his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the invasion on 24 February, before talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...Unprecedented inflation ahead as Ukraine war adds to costs, says Unilever
Rise in energy and ingredient costs suggests consumers will have to pay more for well-known brands
The consumer goods firm Unilever has said “unprecedented cost inflation” lies ahead as Russia’s war on Ukraine has added to a surge in energy and ingredient costs, and said that shoppers will pay even more for well-known brands in the coming months.
The company, which makes goods ranging from Dove soap to Magnum ice-cream and Marmite, said on Thursday it expected its costs to rise by €2.7bn (£2.3bn) in the second half of 2022, after an already steep increase on the €2.1bn expected for the first half.
Continue reading...Russia accused of blackmail after gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria halted
EU hits out at move that Kremlin says is response to countries’ failure to pay in roubles
Europe appears to be on the brink of an energy crisis that could further drive up household bills after Russia halted gas supplies to two EU countries and threatened others, in a move condemned by European leaders as blackmail.
The immediate consequence of Gazprom’s decision to stop supply to Poland and Bulgaria while warning other nations opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine that they could soon be hit was a 20% rise in the wholesale gas price.
In an address in St Petersburg, Vladimir Putin said any countries attempting to interfere in Ukraine or creating “unacceptable strategic threats for us” would be met with a “lightning-fast” response from Moscow. He claimed he had “all the tools for this – ones that no one can brag about … We will use them if needed. And I want everyone to know this. We have already taken all the decisions on this.”
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, arrived in Ukraine committing to evacuate civilians and seek a diplomatic way to end the war, after his controversial meeting with Putin and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on Tuesday.
Serhiy Volyna, the acting commander of the 36th marine brigade in the besieged port city of Mariupol, said hundreds of civilians including children were living in unsanitary conditions and running out of food and water.
The interior ministry of Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria issued a statement claiming it had come under attack from Ukraine, raising fears that the country would now be dragged into active conflict.
Continue reading...How worried should Europe be as Russia starts cutting off gas supplies?
Analysis: Putin is determined to use resource as a weapon, as shown in move to cut off Poland and Bulgaria
The unavoidable truth looming over Europe’s response to the invasion of Ukraine is that Russian gas heats the continent’s homes and powers its industries.
While European leaders have vowed to wean themselves off Kremlin-controlled supplies, both of gas and oil, the reality is that this is very hard to do in short order. There will be at least one more cold winter to come before major energy-hungry economies that rely heavily on Russia, such as Germany and Italy, can tap other sources.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Putin warns of ‘lightning fast’ retaliation if west intervenes; Mariupol commander makes urgent plea – live
Russian president says he has ‘all the tools’ to respond and will use them ‘if needed’; Mariupol commander says 600 injured in Azovstal steel works
- Russian forces capture villages in push into eastern Ukraine
- Russia accused of blackmail as gas to Poland and Bulgaria cut
- Johnson ‘tempting evil’ by revealing soldiers trained in Poland
- Where is Transnistria and why is region being drawn into war?
- At a glance: what we know on day 63 of the invasion
On the issue of gas supplies to Poland, government figures yesterday were anxious to reassure the public in Poland that the country could cope if Russia cut off supplies.
The Polish Press Agency last night was carrying the following quotes. Anna Moscow, head of the ministry of climate and environment, said:
Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply that protect our security – we have been effectively independent of Russia for years. Our warehouses are 76% full. There will be gas in Polish homes.
The Baltic Pipe gas pipeline will also be commissioned in a few months. The decision to build it was made by the PiS government and has been consistently implemented in recent years. This is another element of Poland’s energy security.
The men detained on 21 and 22 April are suspected of espionage activities for the Russian secret services. The material collected by the military counterintelligence service (SKW) indicates that a Russian and a Belarusian, acting on behalf of the Russian intelligence against Poland, carried out activities aimed at identifying the functioning of the Polish Armed Forces, including the presence of the army in the Polish-Belarusian border zone.
Continue reading...Tesla shares fall 12% after Musk’s Twitter deal; Moscow threatens to halt gas flows to Poland, Bulgaria – live
Investors worry Elon Musk may have to sell Tesla shares to fund Twitter deal, as global stocks slide and US dollar rises to pandemic high
Lloyds Banking Group has raised concerns over the “uncertain” outlook for the UK economy amid soaring inflation, warning that the cost of living crisis could result in higher defaults on its loans, reports our banking correspondent Kalyeena Makortoff.
It came as the bank reported a 14% drop in first quarter pre-tax profit to £1.6bn from £1.9bn a year earlier, although that was better than the £1.4bn that analysts had expected.
The Nasdaq led the equity market wipe-out overnight, with its near 4% retreat led by Tesla, which fell by 12.2%. You could look at it two ways.
Either Elon Musk sold his latest stock awards to generate the $21bn in cash for his part of the Twitter buyout, or the street is starting to wonder how he could possibly effectively run Tesla, Starlink, Space-X and Twitter simultaneously. I do as well.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 63 of the invasion
Russia halts gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria; Volodymyr Zelenskiy accuses Moscow of seeking to destabilise Moldova region
Continue reading...Russia’s war in Ukraine threatens to spill over in dangerous new phase
Analysis: Mysterious explosions in Moldova raise possibility of new Putin gambit after early failures
A series of mysterious explosions in Moldova have raised the threat of Russia’s war in Ukraine spilling over into new territory, with unpredictable consequences.
The blasts destroyed radio antennas in a Russian-garrisoned sliver of eastern Moldova along the Ukrainian border, Transnistria, which had been peaceful since a brief conflict in 1992 waged by Kremlin-backed separatists against the Moldovan army.
Continue reading...Russia accused of shelling Mariupol humanitarian corridor
Safe passage deal for civilians was a trap, say Ukrainians, as Putin’s forces step up eastern offensive
Russia has stepped up attempts to encircle defending forces in the east of Ukraine and stood accused of shelling a humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol, as the US vowed to move “heaven and earth” to help Ukraine win the war.
Amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in Moscow and Germany, a fresh wave of civilian deaths were reported across eastern Ukraine as Vladimir Putin’s forces escalated their barrage of key targets on Tuesday and appeared to renege once again on giving safe passage to women and children.
Continue reading...Russia warns of an immediate ‘proportional response’ if Britain continues its ‘direct provocation’ of Ukraine – as it happened
This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog
Details are scant, but there are reports that the ministry of internal affairs in Transnistria says that two radio antenna that relayed Russian radio have been destroyed in Transnistria, the breakaway eastern region of Moldova.
Reuters quotes the ministry saying: “In the early morning of 26 April, two explosions occurred in the village of Maiac, Grigoriopol district: the first at 6.40 and the second at 7.05”
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