UKRAINE WRAP | Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher pledge $3m to relief efforts

March 04 2022 - 21:38

From FIFA to Disney, these businesses are cutting ties with Russia

With war escalating in Ukraine, sports and entertainment organisations have been stepping up the culture ban against Russia.

Here is a running list of what’s been affected:

Olympics

After the February 24 invasion, the International Olympic Committee issued a statement calling on sports organisations to cancel events in Russia and Belarus. Since then, the two nations have been shut out of most of the top tournaments in the world, including the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, which run from March 4 to March 13. The IOC on March 2 approved Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral flag, but it reversed that decision on March 3 after member nations protested.

March 04 2022 - 19:31

BBC suspends reporting in Russia after new 'fake news' law is passed

Britain's BBC said on Friday it would temporarily suspend the work of all its journalists and support staff in Russia after the introduction of a new law that could jail anyone found to be intentionally spreading “fake” news.

Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, said in a statement the legislation appeared to criminalise the process of independent journalism.

March 04 2022 - 15:26

Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher pledge $3m to relief efforts

Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have revealed that they will match “up to $3m (about R46m) worth of donations” to aid Ukrainians seeking help after Russia’s invasion.

The duo on Friday took to social media to share their support for the country more than a week after its invasion by neighbouring Russia. 

Kunis, 38, was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, in 1983 but moved to the US in 1991. And while the Bad Moms star said she’s proud to be a US citizen in a video posted on Kutcher’s Instagram page, she expressed her pride to be Ukrainian “today”.

March 04 2022 - 13:56

Over 18,000 refugees have come from Ukraine to Germany

Over 18,000 refugees have come to Germany from Ukraine so far and about 3,000 of them are not Ukrainian nationals, a German Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"But of course, people who are now fleeing the war zone can enter the EU, regardless of whether they are Ukrainian asylum seekers or third-country nationals," the spokesperson said.

He added that most of the non-Ukrainians had a permanent residence in Ukraine, which means they do not have to go through an asylum procedure.

Reuters

March 04 2022 - 13:40

Putin says Russia's neighbours should not escalate tensions

President Vladimir Putin urged Russia's neighbours on Friday not to escalate tensions, eight days after Moscow sent its forces into Ukraine.

"There are no bad intentions towards our neighbours. And I would also advise them not to escalate the situation, not to introduce any restrictions. We fulfil all our obligations and will continue to fulfil them," Putin said in televised remarks.

"We do not see any need here to aggravate or worsen our relations. And all our actions, if they arise, they always arise exclusively in response to some unfriendly actions, actions against the Russian Federation.

"Putin was shown on TV taking part online, from his residence outside Moscow, in a flag-raising ceremony for a ferry in northern Russia.

Reuters

March 04 2022 - 13:26

JPMorgan warns Russia headed for 1998-like ‘collapse’ in economy

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s analysts are starting to factor in the increasing disruptions to Russia’s exports, with the US bank’s latest tally of damage from sanctions showing the economy’s “collapse” might be comparable to the fallout from the country’s default in 1998. 

A “peak-to trough” crash in Russian GDP is now expected at around 11%, “in line with the drop in the 1998 debt crisis,” JPMorgan economists said in a note to clients. Sanctions imposed on the central bank, alongside the cut-off from the SWIFT global messaging system, created obstacles for Russia’s ability to sell oil and gas, according to JPMorgan. 

March 04 2022 - 13:00

Global watchdog targets Russian money flows to amplify sanctions

 A global financial watchdog is discussing a coordinated approach to trace Russian money flows into several nations in an effort to curb sanctions evasion, people familiar with the matter said.

The issue of money from Russia was a major concern raised by member states at the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force’s plenary this week, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private. Efforts are underway to coordinate across the body to address the matter in a comprehensive way.

The FATF has been talking about priority jurisdictions that will receive additional scrutiny to ensure Russian capital isn’t able to evade recent penalties, the people said.

A spokesperson for FATF declined to comment. An inter-governmental body that sets standards on anti-money laundering, FATF was created by the Group of Seven nations at a summit in 1989 and is tasked with protecting their financial systems from criminal activity.

 Its membership includes many of the world’s largest developed economies as well as a number of developing nations. The organization already has working groups focused on beneficial ownership, environmental crime and a myriad of other issues.

The FATF discussions come as the U.S., U.K., European Union and Asian countries have ramped up sanctions against Russia in an effort to isolate its economy after initial penalties failed to persuade President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his forces from Ukraine.

The U.S. banned people and companies from doing business with the central bank of Russia and excluded some Russian lenders from the SWIFT messaging system, used for trillions of dollars worth of transactions around the world, in coordination with European allies.

Washington also issued full blocking sanctions on eight tycoons and their family members and sanctioned seven Russian entities that control media outlets as well as 26 individuals who work at those outlets. Moscow has retaliated by banning airlines from 36 nations from its airspace and ordered economic counter measures, including restrictions on residents transferring foreign currency abroad. 

Bloomberg

March 04 2022 - 12:40

Russia restricts access to BBC and Voice of America - RIA

Russia's state communications watchdog said on Friday it had blocked the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and other media outlets for spreading "fake" information, the RIA news agency reported.

Russian officials accuse the West of spreading false information about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow describes it as a "special military operation". President Vladimir Putin has described the West as an "empire of lies".

"The grounds for restricting access to (these) resources was their deliberate and systematic circulation of (reports) containing false information," RIA quoted Roskomnadzor, the watchdog, as saying.

It said the fakes regarded "the essence of the special military operation in Ukraine, its form, the methods of combat operations (attacks on the population, strikes on civilian infrastucture), the Russian armed forces' losses and civilian victims".

The Russian language websites of the BBC and Voice of America could not be opened without using a Virtual Private Network on Friday, a Reuters reporter said. Voice of America's English language site was accessible, but BBC's was not.

Reuters

March 04 2022 - 12:16

Ukraine's president urges Russians to protest over attack on nuclear plant

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Russians on Friday to stage protests over Russian forces' seizure of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

A building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was set ablaze during intense fighting, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday, triggering fears of a potential nuclear disaster. The blaze was later extinguished.

“Russian people, I want to appeal to you: how is this possible? After all we fought together in 1986 against the Chernobyl catastrophe,” he said in a televised address, evoking memories of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

March 04 2022 - 11:52

Putin is playing with fire attacking nuclear plant -UK's Wallace

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on Friday said Russia's Vladimir Putin was playing with fire by attacking a nuclear power plant in Ukraine's southeast and called on him to stop targeting such sites.

Ukraine said Russian military forces had seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - Europe's largest - after attacking it in the early hours of Friday, setting an adjacent five-storey training facility on fire.

"We call upon the Russian president in the strongest possible terms to absolutely cease attacking sites such as that, it is incredibly dangerous," Wallace told a news conference during a visit to Copenhagen.

"It's not just dangerous for Ukraine and Russia, it's dangerous for Europe, and it is playing with fire that really is beyond anything that has to do with logic or necessity." 

Reuters 

March 04 2022 - 11:43

NATO meets as Ukraine calls for no-fly zone to hinder Russia

 NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine as Kyiv called on Western allies to implement a no-fly zone or provide them with more planes to protect civilians and infrastructure including nuclear plants.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has consistently called for a no-fly zone since Moscow's invasion more than a week ago, but NATO allies have resisted a step that could drag them into the war with nuclear-armed Russia.

Speaking ahead of the meeting in NATO's Brussels headquarters, Lithuania said the alliance would be dragged into the war if it were to enforce a no-fly zone.

"All encouragements for NATO to get involved into the military conflict now are irresponsible," said Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that NATO's red line was to avoid triggering a wider international conflict, but said all scenarios should be discussed.

France's presidential office described a no-fly zone as "a very legitimate request and very difficult to satisfy.

"On Thursday Zelenskiy said that if allies wouldn't meet his request to protect Ukrainian air space, they should instead provide Kyiv with more war planes.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin's land assault on the capital Kyiv has stalled, Russian forces have shelled residential blocks and key civilian infrastructure, including in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv in the northeast.

Ukraine said on Friday that Russian forces seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe after a building at the complex - but not the reactor - was set ablaze during intense fighting near the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.

The fire was later extinguished.T

he Azov Sea port of Mariupol has been encircled and left without electricity or running water by heavy Russian bombing, Ukrainian officials said.

Reuters 

March 04 2022 - 10:58

LISTEN | Putin plays 'sugar daddy' to influence world powers – analyst

Legal scholar, political analyst and author Prof Richard Calland joined Eusebius McKaiser to debate SA's abstention from a UN resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

March 04 2022 - 10:30

Russia to introduce jail terms for spreading 'fake' information about the army

The lower house of the Russian parliament on Friday passed a law which makes it a jailable offence to spread "fake" information about the armed forces.

The law, passed by the State Duma in the third and final reading, introduces fines and jail terms for those who intentionally spread false information about the armed forces that has a serious impact, according to a statement by the lower house.

Reuters

March 04 2022 - 10:04

Russia to introduce jail terms for spreading 'fake' information about the army

The lower house of the Russian parliament on Friday passed a law which makes it a jailable offence to spread "fake" information about the armed forces.

The law, passed by the State Duma in the third and final reading, introduces fines and jail terms for those who intentionally spread false information about the armed forces that has a serious impact, according to a statement by the lower house.

Reuters

March 04 2022 -  09:58

China urges all sides to ensure safety of Ukraine nuclear facilities

China's foreign ministry on Friday urged all sides to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, after a fire broke out in a building adjacent to a nuclear plant that was later seized by Russian forces, according to Ukraine.

"We will monitor the situation and call on all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and ensure the safety of relevant nuclear facilities," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily briefing.

China has refused to condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine or call it an invasion. Wang said on Friday that China is "very concerned" about the situation.

Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant had spread alarm across world capitals, before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training centre, had been extinguished.

Reuters 

March 04 2022 -  08:52

Ukraine nuclear plant fire contained after Russia attack

Russian shelling briefly ignited a fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine early on Friday, Ukrainian officials said, raising the stakes in Vladimir Putin’s invasion as his forces bombarded cities across the country. 

Emergency services said they had extinguished the blaze at a training complex in the Zaporizhzhia plant and there were no injuries. Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency the incident had “not affected ‘essential’ equipment,” and that there had been no change reported in radiation levels. 

March 04 2022 -  08:51

WATCH | 'We are not racist' Ukrainian ambassador says after allegations of discrimination against Africans

Ukrainian ambassador to SA Liubov Abravitova has denied reports that African students and immigrants trying to leave Ukraine were treated poorly.

In a press engagement in Pretoria on Thursday, held in conjunction with the US embassy, Abravitova said there were about 16,000 African students in Ukraine. 

She said she had spoken to South Africans trying to leave the country and asked whether they had been racially discriminated against. They allegedly denied this. 

“The tradition of Russian disinformation and making the narrative out of that is also big and it has it's input and we feel it.”

March 04 2022 -  08:47

Biden meets Finnish leader as Russia rattles European neighbours

US President Joe Biden meets his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö at the White House on Friday as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has roused fresh concern by Vladimir Putin's other European neighbours. 

The talks come as the Russian president's more than weeklong invasion of Ukraine has primed discussions in Finland over a closer alliance with Nato, with which it already co-operates but is not a member. Biden and Niinistö have spoken to each other twice in the past few months.

Finns have traditionally been wary of Russia, given the Nordic country's shared 833-mile (1340-km) border and a history of two wars between 1939 and 1944 that cost Finland territory.

March 04 2022 -  08:25

IAEA says 'essential' parts of Ukraine nuclear plant not affected

Essential equipment at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was unaffected after a fire there, with no change in radiation levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday, citing the country's regulatory authorities.

Ukraine had said the plant in its southeast was shelled overnight, the IAEA added.

"The Ukraine regulatory authority said a fire at the site had not affected 'essential' equipment and plant personnel were taking mitigatory actions," it said. "There was no reported change in radiation levels at the plant, it said." 

Reuters

Zelenskiy pleads Europe to 'wake up' after nuclear plant attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Europe to prevent a 'nuclear catastrophe' after a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following a Russian attack

March 04 2022 -  08:20

Shelling sparks fire at Ukrainian nuclear plant, world leaders condemn the attack 

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has started a fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to tell Europe to “wake up”. Australia’s Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie has joined the world in condemning Russia’s attack on the plant. 

March 04 2022 -  08:00

16,000 foreign fighters flock to Ukraine to fight Russia

CNBC's Perry Russom joins Shep Smith to report on volunteers from outside Ukraine who are going to the country to fight against the Russian invasion. 

March 04 2022 -  07:30

'Piano Man' plays for refugees at Polish border

Ukrainians arriving at the Polish border were serenaded by 'Piano Man' Davide Martello, who travelled from Germany to bring some musical joy to the refugees

March 04 2022 -  07:25

WHO warns about Ukraine's 'humanitarian catastrophe'

The World Health Organization raised concerns about the 'humanitarian catastrophe' taking place in Ukraine, a senior official told Reuters, spelling out the triple threat of war, COVID-19 and an ongoing outbreak of polio

March 04 2022 -  06:10

PATRICK BULGER | Putin’s RT channel: guided missives from the edge of media fantasy

In RT’s view of the world, what you are seeing in front of your eyes is not reality. It’s a Western conspiracy, and it’s being observed without the benefit of a knowledge of “history’’. Perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin has been watching too much of his personal propaganda TV channel, RT, which might explain his blundering into a war in Ukraine that has united the free world against him.

How else does one explain the scale of his miscalculation, his epic error?

March 04 2022 -  06:00

Ukraine, Russia agree on evacuation corridors as war rages

Russia and Ukraine agreed to humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape invasion, the first apparent progress in talks, as the United States added to Western sanctions on more oligarchs