Ukraine-Russia war – live: China says it won’t ‘add fuel to fire’ in first war call with Zelensky
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China says it will not “add fuel to fire” in the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
During the phone call, which President Zelensky described as “long and meaningful”, the Mr Xi told him that China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace, Chinese state media reported.
“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, we will neither sit idly by, nor pour oil on fire, still less seek to profit from it,” he said.
Mr Xi said China will focus on promoting peace talks, and make efforts for a ceasefire as soon as possible.
The White House welcomed the call, but said it was too soon to tell whether it would lead to a peace deal.
“That’s a good thing,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “Now, whether that’s going to lead to some sort of meaningful peace movement, or plan, or proposal, I just don’t think we know that right now.”
Key points
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Casualties among Putin’s troops drop, says UK Ministry of Defence
China says it won’t ‘add fuel to fire’ in first war call with Zelensky
Wednesday 26 April 2023 16:22 , Martha Mchardy
China says it will not “add fuel to fire” in the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese president Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
During the phone call, which president Zelensky described as “long and meaningful”, the Chinese president told Mr Zelensky that China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace, Chinese state media reported.
“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, we will neither sit idly by, nor pour oil on fire, still less seek to profit from it,” the Chinese president said.
President Xi, the most powerful world leader to have refrained from denouncing Russia’s invasion, said China will focus on promoting peace talks, and make efforts for a ceasefire as soon as possible
The White House welcomed the call, which it said it had no advanced knowledge of, but said it was too soon to tell whether it would lead to a peace deal.
“That’s a good thing,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “Now, whether that’s going to lead to some sort of meaningful peace movement, or plan, or proposal, I just don’t think we know that right now.”
President Xi made a state visit to Moscow last month and since February, he has promoted a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, greeted sceptically by the West but cautiously welcomed by Kyiv as a sign of Chinese interest in ending the war.
What is the significance of the Ukraine-China call
06:00 , Martha Mchardy
China said it will not “add fuel to fire” in the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese president Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
China is the only major government that has friendly relations with Moscow as well as economic leverage as the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas after the United States and its allies cut off most purchases.
Beijing, which sees Moscow as a diplomatic partner in opposing U.S. domination of global affairs, has refused to criticise the invasion and used its status as one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members to deflect diplomatic attacks on Russia.
Zelensky earlier said he welcomed a Chinese offer to mediate.
Xi’s government has pursued a bigger role in global diplomacy as part of a campaign to restore China to what the ruling Communist Party sees as its rightful status as a political and economic leader and to build an international order that favours Beijing’s interests.
That is a sharp reversal after decades of avoiding involvement in other countries’ conflicts and most international affairs while it focused on economic development at home.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran issued a surprise announcement, following talks in Beijing, that they would reopen embassies in each other’s capitals following a seven-year break. China has good relations with both as a big oil buyer.
Last week, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks.
Wednesday’s statement warned against the dangers of nuclear war, suggesting Beijing might also have been motivated by what it sees as the growing danger of a more destructive conflict.
Mediating between Ukraine and Russia would increase China’s presence in Eastern Europe, where Beijing has tried to build ties with other governments. That has prompted complaints by some European officials that China is trying to gain leverage over the European Union.
US, Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine’s grain exports
05:30 , Namita Singh
US and European officials yesterday toured Ukraine’s southern port of Izmail that’s important in bringing Ukrainian grain to the world – and could become critical if a deal with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports expires.
From Izmail, which has been upgraded since the start of the war with the help of US and other funding, grain is taken by barge down a branch of the Danube through Romania to its Black Sea port of Constanta for shipment onward.
US ambassador Bridget Brink said after looking over the port facilities with Ukrainian and EU officials, as well as Ukrainian grain companies, that they were exploring ways to increase the exports from Danube ports.
More in this report:
US, Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine's grain exports
Bianca Jagger hails Independent TV’s ‘powerful and moving’ Ukraine documentary after UK premiere
05:00 , Martha Mchardy
Bianca Jagger attended the UK premiere of Independent TV’s documentary on war crimes in Ukraine on Tuesday evening, hailing it as a “powerful and moving” piece of reporting.
The 77-year-old veteran human rights defender joined more than 100 people at the Frontline Club in central London to watch The Body in the Woods.
The film follows the story of international correspondent Bel Trew’s bid to find out the identity of a young Ukrainian man shot dead by Russian soldiers. She stumbled across his corpse lying in woodland with his hands tied behind his back.
Jagger said the documentary made her draw comparisons between Ukraine’s efforts to identify its victims and build war crimes cases with the decades of work spent documenting atrocities in countries that made up former Yugoslavia.
Tara Cobham reports:
Bianca Jagger hails Independent TV’s ‘powerful’ Ukraine documentary at UK premiere
Russians pound frontline positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine military says
04:42 , Namita Singh
Russian forces pounded the city of Bakhmut, the months-old focal point of their attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian industrial region of Donbas, the Ukraine armed forces said.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, in a report on Facebook, said fighting gripped Bakhmut and nearby areas. It said Russian forces failed to advance on two villages to the northwest. At least a dozen localities came under Russian fire.
Separately, Serhiy Cherevatiy, spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces, told national television yesterday that in the past 24 hours Russian forces had attacked 324 times using artillery and multiple rocket launchers.
“The Russians are destroying buildings in Bakhmut to prevent our soldiers from using them as fortifications,” Mr Cherevatiy said.
On Tuesday, he said there had been a record number of attacks on a section of the front further north - near the city of Kupiansk, in northeastern Ukraine.
The governor of the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv said Russian missiles had hit an apartment building and a private house in the city of the same name.
One person was killed and 15 were injured, Vitaliy Kim wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Belarusians wary of being drawn into war with Ukraine
04:00 , Martha Mchardy
For Ruslan, an engineer in the Belarus capital of Minsk, Russia‘s war in neighboring Ukraine suddenly seemed closer than ever when a conscription office recently sent him a summons for military training.
It’s part of an effort that will see thousands of men in Belarus attend drills amid fears that the staunch Moscow ally could be drawn into the fighting.
“They are telling us that Belarus won’t enter the war against Ukraine, but I hear Russian warplanes roar over my house heading to the Machulishchi air base outside Minsk,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He asked not to be fully identified out of concern for his personal safety.
Read the full story:
Belarusians wary of being drawn into war with Ukraine
Wimbledon set to make £500,000 Ukraine donation after Russian ban U-turn
03:00 , Martha Mchardy
Wimbledon will offer substantial financial support to Ukrainian players and causes this summer after reversing the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
At the spring press conference to announce plans for this summer’s tournament, organisers revealed that £1 for every ticket holder – expected to be more than £500,000 in total – will be donated to Ukrainian relief.
Meanwhile, the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association will provide two hotel rooms per Ukrainian player free of charge and training facilities for the duration of the summer grass-court season as well as funding a day at the tournament for 1,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Read the full story:
Wimbledon set to make £500,000 Ukraine donation after Russian ban U-turn
Ukraine launching tech cluster to boost military capability
02:00 , Martha Mchardy
The Ukrainian government is launching an initiative Wednesday to streamline and promote innovation in the development of drones and other technologies that have been critical during Russia‘s war in Ukraine.
As part of the initiative dubbed BRAVE1, the government hopes to bring state, military, and private sector developers working on defense issues together into a tech cluster that would give Ukraine a battlefield advantage.
“Considering the enemy that is right next to us and its scale, we definitely need to develop the military tech so that we can defend ourselves,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, said.
Read the full story:
Ukraine launching tech cluster to boost military capability
In pictures: Destruction in Bakhmut as war rages in
01:00 , Martha Mchardy
Russian airstrike destroys Ukrainian history museum
Thursday 27 April 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy
At least one person died and 10 people were injured after a Russian missile hit a history museum in Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Tuesday (25 April), Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“There are still people under the rubble... All those guilty of these war crimes will definitely be brought to justice,” the Ukrainian president said.
Mr Zelensky posted footage on social media showing devastated buildings and emergency services on scene.
At least three people were hospitalised, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Tucker Carlson receives a job offer from Russian state TV after Fox News firing
Wednesday 26 April 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy
It didn’t take long for Tucker Carlson to land a job offer after losing his primetime slot on the most-watched cable news network in the country.
Within hours after Fox News announced that the network agreed to “part ways” with the far-right nationalist pundit on Monday morning, Russian state media personalities and propaganda outlets opened their doors.
RT – the Russian state broadcaster formerly known as Russia Today, which is banned in dozens of countries, inducing across Europe – offered him a platform. “Hey @TuckerCarlson, you can always question more with @RT_com,” the outlet wrote on Twitter.
Read the full story:
Russian state-owned media offers Tucker Carlson a job
US and Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine’s grain exports
Wednesday 26 April 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy
U.S. and European officials on Wednesday toured Ukraine’s southern port of Izmail that’s important in bringing Ukrainian grain to the world — and could become critical if a deal with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports expires.
From Izmail, which has been upgraded since the start of the war with the help of U.S. and other funding, grain is taken by barge down a branch of the Danube through Romania to its Black Sea port of Constanta for shipment onward.
U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink told The Associated Press after looking over the port facilities with Ukrainian and EU officials, as well as Ukrainian grain companies, that they were exploring ways to increase the exports from Danube ports.
Ukrainian grain supplies are critical to millions of people around the world, and Wednesday’s visit comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov again this week threatened to abandon the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July.
Read the full story:
US, Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine's grain exports
House members propose resolution calling for bold victory in Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers are introducing a resolution calling for the United States to support an outright victory for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina emphasised the need to not make the mistakes of history.
“We must not repeat the error of Sept. 1, 1939,” he said in reference to efforts to prevent the Nazis from invading Poland. The resolution would require a full review from the House Foreign Affairs Committee before it goes to the House floor. Yahoo! News first reported on the resolution.
Read the full story:
House members introduce resolution defining what victory in Ukraine would look like
Italian reporter hurt and Ukrainian fixer killed in Kherson ambush
Wednesday 26 April 2023 20:54 , Martha Mchardy
A reporter for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica was injured and his Ukrainian fixer died on Wednesday when they were ambushed in southern Ukraine, most likely by Russian snipers, the paper said in an article on its website.
La Repubblica said correspondent Corrado Zunino and fixer Bogdan Bitik were fired on near a major bridge in the southern city of Kherson after passing through a series of Ukrainian checkpoints. Russian forces left the western part of the city last year but regularly shell it from the eastern portion.
La Repubblica said the two men had been ambushed, “most likely by Russian snipers”.
Separately, the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said a foreign reporter had been injured and a Ukrainian civilian died but did not name them. It said Russians shelled Kherson, and the reporter received a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
Zunino said in the article he had been injured in four places and was being treated in a Kherson hospital. The newspaper published a photo of what it said was his bullet proof vest, with damage from a projectile clearly visible.
Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At least five journalists have died since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022
Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny to face new trial
Wednesday 26 April 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy
A court in Moscow held a hearing Wednesday to set the stage for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to face a new trial on extremism charges that he has described as a Kremlin-ordered effort to extend his time behind bars.
Navalny, who exposed official corruption and organized massive anti-Kremlin protests, was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
He initially received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a parole violation. Last year, he was sentenced to a nine-year term for fraud and contempt of court. He is currently serving time at a maximum-security prison 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow.
Read the full story:
Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny to face new trial
Italy's Meloni urges quick start of Ukraine's EU entry talks
Wednesday 26 April 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday urged European allies to accelerate Ukraine‘s European Union membership bid, as Rome hosted a bilateral conference on the war-torn country’s reconstruction attended by hundreds of Italian and Ukrainian businesses.
“The future of Ukraine must include an always wider capacity of integrating with the European dynamics and institutions,” Meloni said, in joint statements with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the sidelines of the conference.
“The smartest way to thank Ukrainians for what they are doing is to accelerate their chance of being part of the European institutions. We need to acknowledge Kyiv’s enormous efforts to reform its system and bring it closer to targets required by the EU Commission,” Meloni added, urging a quick start of negotiations needed to grant Ukraine full EU membership.
Read the full story:
Italy's Meloni urges quick start of Ukraine's EU entry talks
Fire damages Russian cultural centre in Cyprus as Moscow cites ‘terrorist attack’
Wednesday 26 April 2023 19:47 , Martha Mchardy
A fire damaged a Russian cultural centre in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on Wednesday, prompting Moscow to denounce what it called a “terrorist attack.”
The cause of the fire was under investigation, fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said.
The fire broke out around noon in the complex, which is in the heart of the commercial centre of Nicosia, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky. It was contained in just under two hours.
The centre, which was being renovated, is thought to have strong links to the Russian embassy in Cyprus, and is a popular venue for art exhibitions and plays.
Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government’s cultural promotion agency, said foul play was clearly responsible, TASS reported.
“We qualify this as a terrorist attack since it is an attack on a civilian, peaceful building, clearly with the aim of not only causing damage, but also intimidating both our employees and the people who come to this cultural centre,” it cited him as telling the Russia-24 TV channel.
Earlier this month Cyprus said it was investigating how a number of its nationals ended up on U.S. and British sanctions lists over allegations of cooperating with Russians under sanctions. Some of those restrictions were imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Brazil's Lula stands ground on Ukraine in Spain
Wednesday 26 April 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with Spain‘s prime minister Wednesday for talks aimed at making progress on an intercontinental trade deal, but his differences with the European Union on the war in Ukraine remained evident.
The 27-member EU completed negotiations in 2019 on a wide-ranging trade deal with Mercosur, a South American bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. But ratification stalled during the presidency of Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, due to concerns over environmental standards and price protections for European farmers.
Lula and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez held a news conference after the signing of bilateral agreements Wednesday. The warmth between the two left-wing leaders was evident, but their divergent views on Ukraine left a note of tension in the room.
Read the full story:
Brazil's Lula stands ground on Ukraine in Spain
Watch: British and German warplanes intercept Russian spy jets flying over Baltic Sea
Wednesday 26 April 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy
Xi holds first call with Zelensky since Russia’s invasion – and promises delegation to Kyiv
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:45 , Martha Mchardy
China’s President Xi Jinping has held his first call with Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky, since Russia invaded – offering to send an envoy to Kyiv and other capitals for talks on resolving the war.
Beijing has not condemned the invasion – or shied away from its close ties with Moscow – and Mr Zelensky quickly played up the significance of the “long and meaningful” call in which Mr Xi is said to been willing to help facilitate peace talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible. Kyiv also announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Beijing.
Mr Zelensky tweeted: “I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
Chris Stevenson reports:
Xi holds first war call with Zelensky – and promises delegation to Kyiv
In pictures: Ukrainians mark Chernobyl disaster
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy
Watch: Volodymyr Zelensky pays tribute to victims of Chernobyl disaster on 37th anniversary
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:20 , Martha Mchardy
France joins US in welcoming Ukraine-Chinal call
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:10 , Martha Mchardy
France has joined the US in welcoming the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese president Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the French leader had pushed Xi to hold this call with Zelenskiy during his visit to Beijing this month.
Russia changes head of peacekeepers in Karabakh
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:05 , Martha Mchardy
Russia appointed a new head of its peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh, the RIA news agency said on Wednesday, citing the Russian defence ministry.
No reason for the change was given. Russia sent peacekeepers to the South Caucasus region in 2020 when it brokered a truce in a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but tensions between the two countries remain high
Ukrainians mark Chernobyl disaster amid nuclear threats
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy
Workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on Wednesday marked the 37th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster amid an ongoing war and nuclear threats, somberly laying flowers at a monument for victims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the day to repeat his warnings about the potential threat of a new atomic catastrophe in Ukraine amid the war with Russia, drawing a parallel between the Chernobyl accident in 1986 to Moscow’s brief seizure of that plant and its radiation-contaminated exclusion zone following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Last year, the occupier not only seized the (Chernobyl) nuclear power plant, but also endangered the entire world again,” president Zelensky said in a Telegram post in English.
UN confirms JPMorgan processed payment for Russian bank
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:53 , Martha Mchardy
The United Nations confirmed on Wednesday that JPMorgan processed a payment for the Russian Agricultural Bank.
“I wouldn’t dispute that there was that there was a transaction involving JPMorgan that happened that happened earlier this month, but I don’t have any details to provide about that at this stage,” Deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.
The United States gave JPMorgan permission to process payments for agricultural exports via the Russian Agricultural Bank, but the arrangement was no substitute for reconnecting the bank to the SWIFT system, two Russian sources told Reuters earlier on Wednesday.
Russian fighter jet crashes into lake after bursting into flames
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:45 , Martha Mchardy
A Russian fighter jet has crashed into a lake after bursting into flames during a training exercise, according to Russian state media.
The MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the northern Murmansk region on Wednesday, TASS news agency said, citing Russia’s defence ministry.
The incident took place 10km away from the town of Monchegorsk, near Russia’s Rizh-Guba island.
One of the plane’s two jet engines exploded during a training exercise and the pilot then lost control before the plane plummetted into a nearby lake, state media reported.
Emily Atkinson reports:
Russian fighter jet crashes into lake after bursting into flames
China tries to act as mediator in Russia's war with Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:30 , Martha Mchardy
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia’s war with the country.
Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led to them restoring diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
Xi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that a Chinese envoy would visit Ukraine and “other countries” to discuss a possible political settlement, according to a government statement reported by state TV.
Read the full story:
China tries to act as mediator in Russia's war with Ukraine
Ukrainians will get arms in time for counter-offensive, US general says
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:01 , Martha Mchardy
Ukraine’s military will get the weaponry it needs in time for an upcoming counter-offensive against invading Russian forces, the top U.S. general in Europe told Congress on Wednesday.
General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, cited as an example that more than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Kyiv had already been delivered.
“I am very confident that we have delivered the materiel that they need and we’ll continue a pipeline to sustain their operations as well,” general Cavoli told a hearing at the House Armed Services Committee.
‘Anything could be discussed’ once Russia and Ukraine sit down to talk peace - Brazil’s Lula
Wednesday 26 April 2023 16:37 , Martha Mchardy
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday called again for a “peace group” to broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, saying anything could be discussed once the nations sat down to talk peace.
“There are a lot of things to be discussed - Crimea, other territories, NATO,” president Lula said during a trip to Spain when asked about Crimea. He said it was not up to him to say who owned Crimea. “That is a discussion between Russia and Ukraine.”
Zelensky discussed ‘fair and sustainable peace’ with China’s Xi
Wednesday 26 April 2023 16:31 , Martha Mchardy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed ways of “possible cooperation to reach a fair and sustainable peace for Ukraine” during a one-hour phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises,” president Zelensky said in a readout of the call on the Telegram messenger.
“The territorial integrity of Ukraine must be restored within the 1991 borders.”
White House welcomes Xi-Zelenskiy phone call
Wednesday 26 April 2023 16:00 , Martha Mchardy
The White House on Wednesday welcomed a phone call between Chinese president Xi Jinping and Ukraine president Volodomyr Zelenskiy but said it was too soon to tell whether it would lead to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
“That’s a good thing,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said about the call. “Now, whether that’s going to lead to some sort of meaningful peace movement, or plan, or proposal, I just don’t think we know that right now.”
Military plane crashes in Russia's Murmansk region
Wednesday 26 April 2023 15:53 , Martha Mchardy
A Russian military plane crashed in the northern Murmansk region after catching fire, the TASS news agency said on Wednesday, citing the defence ministry.
According to preliminary data, the plane fell into a lake, it added.
“The jet crashed in an uninhabited area,” it quoted the ministry as saying.
The pilots ejected and are safe, TASS added.
It did not say what had caused the fighter plane to crash.
European Commission to ban Ukrainian grain exports to Romania - minister
Wednesday 26 April 2023 15:30 , Matt Mathers
The European Commission will ban Ukrainian grain and oilseeds exports to Romania until June 5, Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea said on Wednesday.
Romania has stopped short of enforcing a ban, whereas Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia took unilateral steps to protect local markets from a flow of Ukrainian farm products.
"Negotiations with the states are still ongoing," Mr Daea told reporters after meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg.
"Romania will be protected through a European Commission decision, and ... will receive compensation for farmers."
Zelenksy has ‘long and meaningful’ talk with China’s Jinping in first conversation since war started
Wednesday 26 April 2023 15:00 , Matt Mathers
President Zelenksy said he had a “long and meaningful” conversation with China’s President Xi Jingping in the pair’s first talks since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The two leaders spoke by telephone on Wednesday. “I had a long and meaningful phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Mr Zelensky said following the call.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations”.
No breakthrough on Black Sea grain deail - Russian envoy to UN
Wednesday 26 April 2023 14:40 , Matt Mathers
Russia’s envoy to the United Nations in Geneva said "no real progress" had been achieved in resolving issues raised by Moscow over the Black Sea grain deal, which is set to expire next month.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said the deal will not be renewed beyond May 18 unless the West removes obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports.
"As of today, we regret to say that no real progress was reached in resolving this problem," Russian envoy Gennady Gatilov told reporters at the Russian permanent mission in Geneva on Wednesday.
China says it will send peace envoy to Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 13:32 , Matt Mathers
Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on Wednesday that his government will send a peace envoy to Ukraine and other nations, state media said, after Beijing said it wants to act as mediator in Russia’s war with the country.
A government statement reported by state TV gave no indication whether the Chinese envoy would visit Russia.
"China will send a special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," the statement said.
Spain welcomes Brazil's mediation efforts in Ukraine peace talks
Wednesday 26 April 2023 11:50 , Matt Mathers
Spain welcomes Brazil’s interest in the push for mediation in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a joint news conference with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday.
da Silva is on the second stop of a European tour aimed at resetting relations and making progress on a long-delayed trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Following five days spent in Portugal, Lula will arrive in Madrid to attend a business forum this afternoon ahead of meetings with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI on Wednesday.
Kremlin: Guterres letter on grain deal is being considered
Wednesday 26 April 2023 11:57 , Matt Mathers
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a letter sent by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to President Vladimir Putin about the Black Sea grain deal had been passed on via diplomatic channels and was being considered.
Just yesterday Moscow reaffirmed its position on Tuesday that the deal is not working for Russia, a day after the head of the United Nations handed Russia a letter with proposals to improve and expand it.
“Despite the fact that so much time has passed, (the deal) has not yet been implemented, it has not come together as a package, the conditions that concerned us have still not been realised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Therefore, while the circumstances don’t add up in favour of this deal, we continue to observe,” he said.
Ukraine condemns Russian nuclear 'blackmail' on Chornobyl anniversary
Wednesday 26 April 2023 11:08 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine marked the 37th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster on Wednesday by urging the world not to bow to Russian "blackmail" over nuclear facilities it has seized during its invasion.
Former workers at what was then known as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) began commemorative events, holding an overnight vigil in the northern town of Slavuytch to remember victims of the world’s worst nuclear accident on April 26, 1986.
An explosion at the plant in what was then Soviet Ukraine sent radioactive material across Europe. About 30 plant workers and firemen died in the immediate aftermath and many more people died later from radiation-related illnesses.
"Thirty-seven years ago, the Chornobyl NPP accident left a huge scar on the whole world," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Three Russian ‘ghost’ military aircraft intercepted over Baltic Sea
Wednesday 26 April 2023 10:36 , Matt Mathers
Three Russian military ‘ghost’ aircraft have been intercepted in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, Germany’s Luftwaffe said on Wednesday.
The planes were flying without transponder signals.
Germany and Britain sent Eurofighter jets to identify the two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft, the German air force said on Twitter.
Aufklärungsflieger abgefangen. 🇩🇪 und 🇬🇧 #Eurofighter wurden alarmiert, um 3 Militärmaschinen zu identifizieren. Die zwei SU-27 Flanker und eine IL-20 aus 🇷🇺 flogen erneut ohne Transpondersignal im int. Luftraum über der Ostsee. #SecuringTheSkies #VAPB @NATO @GermanyNATO… pic.twitter.com/sOY4CPkrbe
— Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) April 26, 2023
Drone falls on top of Moscow City Court
Wednesday 26 April 2023 10:29 , Matt Mathers
A drone fell on the grounds of Moscow City Court on Wednesday, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper said.
Details of the reported incident were not clear.
No foreign objects were attached to the drone, the paper reported, citing a source.
The world knows Russia can be stopped - Zelensky
Wednesday 26 April 2023 09:15 , Matt Mathers
The “world knows Russia can be stopped”, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenksy said last night as he sought to drum up more support for his country’s war effort.
“This is a common interest,” Mr Zelensky said in his latest overnight address. “Stopped by the might of our warriors on the frontline.
“By our weapons, both Ukrainian and those we receive from our partners.”
FBI working with US companies to collect war crime evidence in Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 08:31 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine is working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and American companies to collect evidence of war crimes by Russians, such as geolocation and cellphone information, senior officials said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian authorities are collecting digital information from battlefields and Ukrainian towns ravaged by the war since Russia invaded the country last February, said Alex Kobzanets, a FBI special agent who previously worked as a legal attache for the agency in Ukraine.
“Collection of that data, analysis of that data, working through that data is something the FBI has experience working through,” Mr Kobzanets said at the RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco.
Three Russian aircraft intercepted over Baltic Sea - German air force
Wednesday 26 April 2023 07:30 , Matt Mathers
Three Russian military aircraft flying without transponder signals have been intercepted in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, Germany’s Luftwaffe said on Wednesday.
German and British forces were deployed to identify the two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft, the German air force said on Twitter.
It posted several images of the Russian aircraft mid-flight.
Three Russian aircraft intercepted over Baltic Sea - German air force
Wednesday 26 April 2023 07:10 , Arpan Rai
Three Russian military aircraft flying without transponder signals have been intercepted in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, Germany’s Luftwaffe said today.
German and British forces were deployed to identify the two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft, the German air force said on Twitter.
It posted several images of the Russian aircraft mid-flight.
Aufklärungsflieger abgefangen. 🇩🇪 und 🇬🇧 #Eurofighter wurden alarmiert, um 3 Militärmaschinen zu identifizieren. Die zwei SU-27 Flanker und eine IL-20 aus 🇷🇺 flogen erneut ohne Transpondersignal im int. Luftraum über der Ostsee. #SecuringTheSkies #VAPB @NATO @GermanyNATO… pic.twitter.com/sOY4CPkrbe
— Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) April 26, 2023
Heavy, short-range combat grips Bakhmut, fighting seen on outskirts – UK MoD
Wednesday 26 April 2023 07:08 , Arpan Rai
Heavy, short-range combat continues in the western districts of the contested Donetsk oblast town of Bakhmut, the The British Ministry of Defence said.
“A key development over the last week has been fighting on the outskirts of the town, especially near the village of Khromove, as Ukraine seeks to maintain control of its 0506 supply route,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.
It added that Ukraine’s other resupply options into Bakhmut are likely complicated by muddy conditions on unsurfaced tracks.
“With the town having now been under attack for over 11 months, the Ukrainian defences of Bakhmut have now been integrated as one element of a much deeper defensive zone, which includes the town of Chasiv Yar to the west,” it said.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 26 April 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/wtiXllWpl9
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/olhe70Sfw5— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 26, 2023
Wimbledon set to make £500,000 Ukraine donation after Russian ban U-turn
Wednesday 26 April 2023 06:59 , Andy Gregory
Wimbledon will offer substantial financial support to Ukrainian players and causes this summer after reversing the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, reports Eleanor Crooks.
At the spring press conference to announce plans for this summer’s tournament, organisers revealed that £1 for every ticket holder – expected to be more than £500,000 in total – will be donated to Ukrainian relief.
Meanwhile, the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association will provide two hotel rooms per Ukrainian player free of charge and training facilities for the duration of the summer grass-court season as well as funding a day at the tournament for 1,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Wimbledon set to make £500,000 Ukraine donation after Russian ban U-turn
Wagner chief says relations with Russian military have not improved
Wednesday 26 April 2023 06:38 , Arpan Rai
Russian mercenary Wagner Group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has denied that relations with Russian military have improved after intelligence assessments indicated that Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s miltiary have worked on their internal conflict.
Kremlin-backed private mercenary Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin called the Institute for the Study of War’s assessment a “fake,” the think tank reported on 25 April.
The Wagner chief added that he “wouldn’t exchange ammunition for (his) guys even for friendship with God.”
Russia’s Lavrov warns EU becoming militarised now like Nato
Wednesday 26 April 2023 06:28 , Arpan Rai
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has warned European Union “is becoming militarised at a record rate” and aggressive in its goal of containing Russia.
Mr Lavrov said he has no doubts that there is now “very little difference” between the EU and Nato.
Vladimir Putin has long complained about Nato’s expansion, especially toward his country, and partly used that as a justification for invading Ukraine.
Russia’s Lavrov was asked whether the war in Ukraine was a miscalculation since Moscow strongly opposed Nato’s expansion and the invasion sparked Finland’s membership, with Sweden next and Ukraine hoping for a road map to join.
“Nato never had any intention of stopping,” the Russian minister replied, pointing to the recent EU-Nato declaration and actions in recent years that saw non-Nato members Sweden and Finland “increasingly taking part in Nato military exercises and other actions that were meant to synchronise the military programs of Nato members and neutral states.”
Mr Lavrov said Russia was promised on several occasions that Nato would not expand, but said “those were lies.”
“Unbiased assessments that our political scientists as well as those abroad made is that Nato sought to break Russia apart,” he said, “but in the end it only made it stronger, brought it closer together. So, let’s not make any hasty conclusions now as to what this will all end in.”
FBI, US companies collecting war crime evidence in Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 06:17 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine is working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and American companies to collect evidence of war crimes by Russians, such as geolocation and cellphone information, senior officials said.
Ukrainian authorities are collecting digital information from battlefields and Ukrainian towns ravaged by the war since Russia invaded the country last February, said Alex Kobzanets, a FBI special agent who previously worked as a legal attache for the agency in Ukraine.
“Collection of that data, analysis of that data, working through that data is something the FBI has experience working through,” Kobzanets said at the RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco.
That work includes looking into cellphone information, forensic analyses of DNA samples, as well as analysis of body parts collected off battlefields, he said.
“The next step is working with national US service providers, and transferring that information...obtaining subscriber information, obtaining geolocation information, where possible,” Mr Kobzanets added.
The work reflects deepening collaboration between the US and Ukraine on the cyber front, where Russia has been a common adversary for both nations.
The Russian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lavrov quizzed over detained WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich
Wednesday 26 April 2023 05:59 , Andy Gregory
Russia’s foreign minister was asked about detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich during a UN press conference on Tuesday.
Sergei Lavrov told reporters that he was not involved in talks on any potential prisoner swap.
Tucker Carlson receives a job offer from Russia after Fox News exit
Wednesday 26 April 2023 05:34 , Arpan Rai
It didn’t take long for Tucker Carlson to land a “job offer” after losing his primetime slot on the most-watched cable news network in the country.
Within hours after Fox News announced that it had agreed to “part ways” with the right-wing nationalist anchor on Monday morning, Russian state media personalities and propaganda outlets sought to mock American media by offering him a job.
RT, the Russian state broadcaster formerly known as Russia Today, which is banned in dozens of countries, seemingly offered him a platform.
“Hey @TuckerCarlson, you can always question more with @RT_com,” the outlet tweeted. Analysts, however, said the apparent offer has not been made seriously.
Russian state-owned media figures offer Tucker Carlson a job
Ukraine boosting ‘Army of Drones’ on frontline – report
Wednesday 26 April 2023 05:28 , Arpan Rai
Officials in Ukraine have confirmed a rapid spike in production of drones amid growing demand from troops on the frontline.
The Volodymyr Zelensky administration has relaxed import laws and scrapped taxes for drone parts and equipment, reported BBC.
It added that the expansion of drone production is being funded by the Army of Drones campaign.
Under the initiative which has seen support from celebrities like Mark Hamill, Ukraine has raised more than $108m (£87m).
The money is also being spent on training new pilots for the front line.
Chances of Putin ‘backing down’ in response to Kyiv’s counterattack ‘less than zero’ – US think tank
Wednesday 26 April 2023 05:10 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin will remain defiant on negotiations to a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive expected to start soon, senior US and EU officials assessed, a US-based think tank has said.
Citing a report by The New York Times, the Institute for the Study of War has said that a senior European official stated that the chances of Putin “backing down” in response to a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive are “less than zero.”
“The official stated that Putin would likely mobilize more soldiers to fight in Ukraine. US assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs Celeste Wallander said that there is ‘very little evidence’ to suggest that Putin would alter his strategic goal of subjugating Ukraine ‘politically, if not fully militarily’,” the ISW said in its latest assessment on the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It also pointed to the comments by the US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stating that the US is increasing security assistance to Ukraine because the US expects that Russia will attempt to go on the offensive as the weather improves.
War criminals could visit UK without prosecution fear unless law changed, MP warns
Wednesday 26 April 2023 04:50 , Andy Gregory
Russian generals responsible for war crimes in Ukraine could visit the UK without fear of prosecution unless a legal loophole is closed, MPs have been told.
Brendan O’Hara of the SNP raised concerns with existing legislation as he introduced his Universal Jurisdiction (Extension) Bill, which seeks to implement the calls to “tighten up” existing legislation and bring to justice those responsible for the “world’s most heinous crimes”.
War criminals could visit UK without prosecution fear unless law changed – MP
UK sent thousands of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, says minister
Wednesday 26 April 2023 04:45 , Arpan Rai
The United Kingdom has sent “thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds,” UK armed forces minister James Heappy said.
He added: “For operational security reasons, we will not comment on Ukrainian usage rates for the rounds provided.”
Mr Heappey was responding to written inquiries from Kenny MacAskill, House of Commons member from Scottish Alba Party.
The minister said that while the UK carried “no obligation” to clear up depleted uranium rounds fired from Challenger 2 tanks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the UK remains “committed to helping Ukraine emerge from this war secure, prosperous and free and we are supporting a range of activities to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs, restore essential infrastructure and services, and lay the groundwork for its longer-term recovery and post-war reconstruction.”
Top Ukraine minister argues for place in Nato: ‘New raison d’être’
Wednesday 26 April 2023 04:29 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has penned a sharp op-ed and argued for a place in Nato for the war-hit nation despite multiple apprehensions, stating that entry of Finland confirms that fears around Russian retaliation are “unwarranted”.
“Russia’s war on Ukraine is about more than killing Ukrainians and stealing our land. President Vladimir Putin is trying to destroy the very foundations of the European security order formed after 1945. This is why the stakes are so high, not only for Ukraine but for the entire Euro-Atlantic community,” Mr Kuleba wrote.
He added: “Ukraine did not choose this battle. Nor did the United States and its Nato allies. Russia started this war. But it falls to Ukraine and its Western partners to bring the conflict to an end, winning a just victory that guarantees peace and stability in Europe for generations to come.”
Zelensky condemns Kharkiv attack: ‘Russia killed two women’
Wednesday 26 April 2023 03:55 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed Russia for carrying out a missile strike on civilian neighbourhood in Ukraine’s Kharkiv which killed two people.
“Throughout the day today, the rubble in the city of Kupyansk, Kharkiv region, was being cleared after a Russian attack with S-300 missiles. Attack on an ordinary civilian neighborhood. The terrorists targeted the local history museum and nearby houses. Russia killed two women with this strike,” Mr Zelensky said.
He extended condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and added that 10 people have also been wounded in the attack.
“In total, more than 60 museums and galleries in different regions of our country have been destroyed or damaged by the occupier,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Watch: The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
Wednesday 26 April 2023 03:42 , Andy Gregory
It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.
His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.
As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.
The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.
The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
New York lawyer pleads guilty to dealing with sanctioned Russian oligarch
Wednesday 26 April 2023 02:33 , Andy Gregory
A lawyer in New York has admitted to making $3.8m in payments to maintain properties that were beneficially owned by a Russian oligarch under US sanctions.
Washington imposed sanctions in 2018 on billionaire Viktor Vekselberg – who owns the Renova group of energy companies – over allegations of Russian interference in the US election won by Donald Trump, and again in 2022 over his ties to Vladimir Putin.
Robert Wise admitted to receiving wire payments from a shell company controlled by an associate of Vekselberg, and then using the funds to pay taxes, insurance and other fees on various properties, including two apartments on Park Avenue and an estate in the Hamptons.
“Admission to the bar carries with it a public trust that attorneys will act with honesty and integrity – a trust that Robert Wise chose to betray in exchange for an easy, illicit paycheck,” Andrew Adams, who leads a US Department of Justice unit targeting Russia-related sanctions violations, told Reuters.
Nasa chief ‘expects' US-Russian collaboration at ISS to continue until 2030
Wednesday 26 April 2023 01:21 , Andy Gregory
Nasa administrator Bill Nelson has said that he expects Russians and Americans to work together on the International Space Station (ISS) until it is decommissioned.
American-Russian space cooperation was put in doubt after the invasion of Ukraine, with the chief of Russia’s space agency Yuri Borisov surprising Nasa by announcing in July that Moscow intended to leave the partnership “after 2024 – only to backtrack a day later.
During a visit to Ottawa, Mr Nelson underscored the history of US and Soviet collaboration in space during the Cold War, and said he expects it to continue despite the war in Ukraine.
“We are completely at odds with President Putin’s aggression” that is “slaughtering people and invading an autonomous sovereign country,” Nelson told Reuters in an interview in Ottawa.
But the collaboration aboard the ISS “continues in a very professional manner between astronauts and cosmonauts without a hitch”, he said, adding: “I expect that to continue all the way through the end of the decade, when they we will then de-orbit the space station.”
Video report: Sweden expels five Russian Embassy employees on suspicion of spying
Wednesday 26 April 2023 00:09 , Andy Gregory
Russia hands ex-police officer seven years in prison for criticising war in tapped phone call to friends
Tuesday 25 April 2023 23:03 , Andy Gregory
A court in Russia has convicted a former police officer of publicly spreading false information by criticising the war in Ukraine in a phone call with his friends, which officials tapped.
Semiel Vedel was sentenced to seven years in prison under a censorship law the Kremlin brought in days after invading Ukraine.
During three phone conversations with friends last year, Mr Vedel referred to Russia as a “murderer country”, used “Glory to Ukraine” as a greeting, and claimed that Russia was suffering “huge losses” in Ukraine, according to the case prosecutor.
Officials deemed the conversations public because Mr Vedel’s phone was tapped and an investigator listened in on the calls. That reasoning – which Mr Vedel’s lawyer rejected as absurd – hadn’t been previously used in cases involving spreading misinformation charges.
Dasha Litvinova has the full report:
Russia convicts ex-police officer over Ukraine war criticism
European politicians urge Olympics ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes
Tuesday 25 April 2023 21:59 , AP
European politicians have urged the International Olympic Committee to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 event instead of seeking ways to let them compete as neutrals, reports Graham Dunbar.
The 46-nation Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)’s panel for sports issues held a two-hour session in Strasbourg to help draft a future report on the question of barring the two countries’ athletes and officials from the Olympic movement because of Russia’s war.
With 15 months until the opening ceremony in Paris, Olympic sports bodies are weighing the IOC’s formal request — a reversal of its advice last year for exclusion — to look at reintegrating some Russians and Belarusians into games qualifying as individuals, but not in team events.
“Imposing a war has to have a clear consequence. Sport also has to take its responsibility,” Danish politician Mogens Jensen said, adding the “only one clear message to send” was excluding athletes.
The Council of Europe was created after the Second World War to advocate for freedom and protection of minorities. It expelled Russia as a member last year.
European lawmakers urge for Olympics ban on Russia, Belarus
‘I do not see anyone talking about peace’: Lula criticises ‘insane war'
Tuesday 25 April 2023 20:55 , Andy Gregory
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but insisted that no one is talking about peace in what he called an “insane war”.
The left-wing leader angered many in the West this month when he called for the US and European allies to stop supplying arms to Ukraine and prolonging the war – prompting the White House to accuse him of “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda”.
After the backlash, Lula toned down his comments and while visiting Portugal and Spain in recent days he has condemned Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
In Spain, Lula again called for more peace efforts “so that Ukraine can keep its territory”, backtracking on a recent suggestion that Kyiv should make concessions to end the war and that Russia should return recently invaded territory but could keep Crimea.
Speaking at a business conference in Spain on Tuesday, he said: “I understand the European view of this war. It is unacceptable that one country invades another, but it is a war in which I do not see anyone talking about peace.”
Black Sea grain deal situation has reached ‘deadlock’, says Lavrov
Tuesday 25 April 2023 20:01 , Andy Gregory
The situation surrounding the Black Sea grain export deal has reached a deadlock, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
The pact was renewed for 60 days last month, but Russia has signalled it may well not agree to extend it further unless the West removes obstacles to the exports of Russian grain and fertiliser.
During a news conference at the United Nations, Mr Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that there are still obstacles blocking Russian exports – after Latvia moved to release a batch of grain seized from Russia last year, soothing one of the key points of contention souring Russia’s view of the deal.
Ukraine ‘conducting raids’ across Dnipro river to dislodge Russian troops ahead of expected offensive
Tuesday 25 April 2023 19:11 , Andy Gregory
Officials have said that Ukrainian forces are frequently carrying out raids across the River Dnipro near the southern city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, reports Olena Harmash.
Russian forces have held the eastern side of the Dnipro near Kherson since retreating from the city in November after months of occupation, but Ukraine is expected to launch a spring counteroffensive to try to recapture more territory.
Yuriy Sobolevskiy, deputy head of the Kherson regional administration, said the raids were intended to reduce the combat capability of Russian troops who have been shelling Kherson city since being forced to retreat. “Our military visit the left [eastern] bank very often, conducting raids. The Ukrainian armed forces are working, and working very effectively,” Mr Sobolevskiy told Ukrainian television.
“The results will come as they did on the right bank of the Kherson region when, thanks to a complex and long operation, they were able to liberate our territories with minimal losses for our military. The same thing happens now on the left bank.”
Russia seized the Kherson region soon after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago, and has continued since then to hold all of the region’s territory east of the Dnipro.
Ukrainian forces ‘conducting raids’ across Dnipro river to dislodge Russian troops
South Africa’s ANC seeks to repeal ICC membership ahead of possible Putin visit
Tuesday 25 April 2023 18:20 , Andy Gregory
South Africa’s governing African National Congress will aim to repeal the country’s membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC), president Cyril Ramaphosa has announced for the second time.
The party’s decision at a weekend meeting of its national executive committee came after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who is mulling whether to attend a summit of BRICS nations in South Africa in August.
“The governing party, the African National Congress, has taken that decision that it is prudent that South Africa should pull out of the ICC, largely because of the manner in which the ICC has been seen to be dealing with [these] type of problems,” Mr Ramaphosa said, during a state visit by Finland’s president.
The arrest warrant against Mr Putin – for alleged war crimes – was issued after he had already received his invite from South Africa to the BRICS summit in August, and it would oblige South Africa to hand him over to The Hague court if he set foot in the country.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Mr Putin will decide whether to attend the summit in person nearer the time, while the South African official in charge of the relationship with BRICS countries told Reuters that the Russian president “has indicated attendance”.
Rescuers comb wreckage after Russian airstrike destroys Ukrainian history museum
Tuesday 25 April 2023 17:28 , Andy Gregory
A Russian missile has killed two women and injured 10 others as it struck a museum in the centre of Kupiansk, Ukraine’s state emergency service has said.
Footage showed rescue workers at the wrecked remains of the building in the aftermath of the attack.
Bid launched to repeal Russian censorship law banning criticism of Ukraine war
Tuesday 25 April 2023 16:59 , Andy Gregory
Russian human rights groups are seeking to repeal the law banning citizens from speaking out against Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
OVD-Info, one of the groups involved in the appeal to Russia’s Constitutional Court, said the aim was to abolish the legal article banning “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to defend the interests of the Russian Federation”.
“This article should not exist at all since it prohibits criticising the state, which is unacceptable in a democratic society,” Violetta Fitsner, a lawyer for OVD-Info, told Reuters.
While the chances of repealing the censorship law – part of a package ushered in eight days after last year’s invasion – are remote, a rejection of the appeal would signal that human rights and the constitution no longer matter in Russia, Ms Fitsner said.
“In any case, we want to draw attention to the problem of persecution in Russia for anti-war positions and pacifist beliefs and state that such persecution is absolutely illegal.”
Sweden expels 5 Russian Embassy staff on suspicion of spying
Tuesday 25 April 2023 16:33 , AP
Sweden has informed Russia that five employees of the Russian Embassy in Stockholm were asked to leave the country because they were suspected of spying
Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström said the alleged activities of the five were “incompatible” with their diplomatic status. Billström said Russia’s ambassador to Sweden, Viktor Tatarintsev, was informed of the expulsions.
The Swedish Security Service, which is known by the acronym Sapo, recently received a list of names of a number of suspected Russian intelligence officers, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported.
The domestic security agency has said that “every third Russian diplomat in Sweden is an intelligence officer.”
Sweden also expelled three Russian Embassy staff members a year ago. Neighboring Norway said two weeks ago that it was expelling 15 Russian diplomats accused of spying.
Sweden expels 5 Russian Embassy staff on suspicion of spying
Denmark signs 5-year energy deal with Ukraine
Tuesday 25 April 2023 15:59 , Andy Gregory
Denmark has signed a 5-year agreement with Ukraine which aims to help Kyiv rebuild destroyed wind capacity and strengthen its independence from Russian energy.
“The new 5-year collaboration will contribute to Ukraine being able to further expand its electricity supply with wind energy,” Denmark’s climate ministry said, adding that its cooperation with Ukraine on energy dates back to 2014.
“Danish authorities will, among other things, help Ukrainian authorities develop a regulatory framework that can promote onshore and offshore wind,” it said.
In the short term, the deal aims to help get existing capacity destroyed in Russia’s war back up and running, and to expand onshore wind further. Long-term, the collaboration will investigate the potential for offshore wind power, the ministry said.
“We are now even more committed to ensuring Ukraine can access electricity and get the opportunity for a green rethink of its energy infrastructure,” said climate minister Lars Aagaard.
Ukraine plans for 'complete transformation' of six war-hit towns
Tuesday 25 April 2023 15:32 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine will seek the “complete transformation” of six towns which have suffered “terrible destruction” in Russia’s war, in a reconstruction programme announced today by prime minister Denys Shmyhal.
The project is part of a broader plan to fast-track reconstruction even though the war is not over, with Kyiv’s allies preparing to give billions of pounds to support such efforts.
Mr Shmyhal said the towns of Borodianka and Moshchun near the capital Kyiv, Yahidine in the north, Trostianets and Tsyrkuny in the east, and Posad-Pokrovske in the south would be rebuilt “comprehensively and according to new principles” under an experimental programme
“This means that particular houses and buildings will not be rebuilt, but everything - with a system approach, new planning and a complete transformation of these settlements,” he told a government meeting.
Two killed after Russian missile strikes Kupiansk museum, Ukraine says
Tuesday 25 April 2023 14:11 , Andy Gregory
A Russian missile has killed two women and injured 10 others as it struck a museum in the centre of Kupiansk, Ukraine’s state emergency service has said.
Rescue workers dug through mounds of rubble to retrieve the bodies after the local history museum was hit by what president Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff and Kharkiv’s regional governor said was a Russian S-300 missile.
Mr Zelensky posted a video of a devastated building that had spewed out rubble and debris into the street. Its windows were smashed and a section of the wall and roof was destroyed.
“The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely,” he said. “Our history, our culture, our people.”
Kupyansk, local history museum. 🇷🇺 missile strike. So far, it is known about the dead employee of the museum and ten wounded. There are still people under the rubble.
The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy 🇺🇦 completely. We have no right to forget about it for a… pic.twitter.com/U2bt5RtxnL— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 25, 2023
Russia did not immediately comment on the attack, but frequently denies deliberately targeting civilians – despite gruesome and repeated evidence to the contrary.
Kupiansk, an important rail hub with a pre-war population of 26,000, was occupied by Russian forces for months after they invaded Ukraine, but were chased out in Kyiv’s rapid September counteroffensive.
Russia expels Moldovan diplomat in retaliatory move
Tuesday 25 April 2023 13:40 , Andy Gregory
Moscow has said it will expel a Moldovan diplomat, in what its foreign ministry cast as retaliation for the expulsion last week of a Russian diplomat in Moldova over fears of possible interference in a regional election.
The ministry said it had summoned Moldova’s ambassador in Moscow to announce the expulsion, as well as to protest against what it called “unfriendly steps towards Russia” and “regular anti-Russian statements” from Chisinau.
Moldovan foreign minister Nicu Popescu called the move “hostile” and said it was the latest episode in decades of Russian efforts to hold back Moldova’s development as an independent state.
Announcing the initial expulsion last week, Moldova cited the actions of Russian embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who had denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport.
Moldovan police said that Tatarstan governor Rustam Minnikhanov had wanted to visit Moldova to boost support for a pro-Russian candidate in a regional election.
Hungary wants Ukrainian grain ban until end-2023, minister says
Tuesday 25 April 2023 13:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Hungary and other east European countries want to maintain an import ban on Ukrainian grain put in place last week until the end of 2023, Farm Minister Istvan Nagy said on Facebook on Tuesday.
“We would like the (European) Commission to accept our measures as we aim to uphold them until the end of the year, to allow our farmers to harvest and store their crop,” said Nagy, who is attending a meeting with European Union counterparts in Luxembourg.
Hungary last week banned imports of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products after Poland took the same measure to counter an influx of cheaper products that has put domestic pressure on the government to shield local farmers.
Slovakia and Bulgaria also followed suit.
The countries, with others in central and eastern Europe, have said EU measures are needed to tackle the problem. Hungary has called for “progressive” aid from the EU to help move Ukraine‘s grain through central European countries.
The countries became transit routes for Ukrainian grain that could not be exported through the country’s Black Sea ports after Russia‘s invasion. But bottlenecks trapped millions of tonnes of grains in countries like Hungary and Poland that border Ukraine.
Watch: The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
Tuesday 25 April 2023 12:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.
His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.
As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.
The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.
The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
Kremlin dismisses 'lies' that Putin has doubles and sits in a bunker
Tuesday 25 April 2023 12:12 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Kremlin rejected what it said were lies that President Vladimir Putin had lookalike body doubles who stood in for the 70-year-old leader and that he spent much of his time shielding in a nuclear bunker.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov listed what he said were fabrications about Russia in a speech that touched on the country’s history since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, the causes of the Ukraine war and the alleged perfidy of Western society.
“You have probably heard that he (Putin) has very many doubles who work instead of him while he sits in a bunker,” Peskov said at a Moscow conference, before chuckling: “Yet another lie.”
“You see yourselves what our president is like: he always was, and is now, mega-active - those who work next to him can hardly keep up with him,” he said.
“His energy can only be envied. His health can, God willing, only be wished for. Of course, he doesn’t sit in any bunkers. This is also a lie,” Peskov added.
The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed speculation that Putin, Russia‘s paramount leader since 1999, is ill.
During a state visit to Moscow last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Putin he was convinced voters would support the Russian leader again in a presidential election due in 2024. Putin has not yet said whether he will seek another term.
When he first came to power, Putin vowed to end the chaos that gripped post-Soviet Russia in the 1990s, but the invasion of Ukraine is the most serious military crisis any Kremlin chief has faced since the Soviet-Afghan war of 1979-89.
The conflict in Ukraine has ushered in the gravest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, while Putin has vowed to pivot away from the West towards China.
Ukraine stages raids across Dnipro River as counteroffensive looms
Tuesday 25 April 2023 11:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the River Dnipro are frequently carrying out raids on the eastern bank near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday.
Russian forces have held the eastern side of the Dnipro near Kherson since retreating from the southern city in November after months of occupation, but Ukraine is expected to launch a spring counteroffensive to try to recapture more territory.
Yuriy Sobolevskiy, deputy head of the Kherson regional administration, said the raids were intended to reduce the combat capability of Russian troops who have been shelling Kherson city since being forced to retreat. “Our military visit the left (eastern) bank very often, conducting raids. The Ukrainian armed forces are working, and working very effectively,” Sobolevskiy told Ukrainian television.
“The results will come as they did on the right bank of the Kherson region when, thanks to a complex and long operation, they were able to liberate our territories with minimal losses for our military. The same thing happens now on the left bank.”
Kremlin remains downbeat on state of Black Sea grain deal
Tuesday 25 April 2023 11:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Kremlin reaffirmed its position on Tuesday that the Black Sea grain deal is not working for Moscow, a day after the head of the United Nations handed Russia a letter with proposals to improve and expand it.
“Despite the fact that so much time has passed, (the deal) has not yet been implemented, it has not come together as a package, the conditions that concerned us have still not been realised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Therefore, while the circumstances don’t add up in favour of this deal, we continue to observe,” he said.
The deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations last July to allow Kyiv to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports that had been severed after Russia invaded Ukraine five months earlier.
Russia has signalled that it will not allow the deal to be extended beyond May 18 unless obstacles to its own food and fertiliser exports are removed.
On Monday, a U.N. spokesperson said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin a “way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion” of the agreement.
The proposal was outlined in a letter that Guterres asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to deliver to Putin.
The grain deal was aimed at alleviating a global food crisis, as both Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of grain.
Peskov, however, played down the extent to which shortfalls of grain from both countries had contributed to the crisis.
“We all know that the genesis of the global food crisis has other roots. And it is not a direct consequence of the loss of Ukrainian grain from the market,” he said.
“Of course, the loss of Ukrainian grain and Russian grain from the market may be one of the factors, but not decisive.”
UN chief and West berate Russia's top diplomat over Ukraine
Tuesday 25 April 2023 10:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The United Nations chief and representatives from Western nations berated Russia’s top diplomat as he chaired a U.N. meeting Monday, accusing Moscow of violating the U.N. Charter by attacking Ukraine and occupying part of its territory.
Russia’s foreign minister responded by defending his country’s military action and accusing the U.S. and its allies of undercutting global diplomacy, the foundation of the United Nations, which was created to prevent a third world war.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called cooperation among the U.N.’s 193 member nations the organization’s “beating heart” and “guiding vision,” and he warned the Security Council that global collaboration is under the greatest strain since the creation of the United Nations in 1945 on the ashes of World War II.
UN chief and West berate Russia's top diplomat over Ukraine
Long days of gravediggers tell story of Ukraine's war dead
Tuesday 25 April 2023 10:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The graves are dug in the morning. Four plots, each two meters deep in the section of a cemetery in a central Ukrainian city devoted to the nation’s fallen soldiers.
The day begins for Oleh Itsenko, 29, and Andrii Kuznetsov, 23, shortly after dawn, when the two diggers report for the grueling work. A day in their lives tells the story of Ukraine’s mounting war dead. They won’t be finished until sunset.
With a tractor equipped with an earth auger they bore into the ground. Armed with shovels, they go about carving out perfect rectangles with precision, the final resting place for the country’s soldiers killed in fierce battles on Ukraine’s eastern front.
