April 12 2022 - 11:45
Ukraine says checking unverified information that Russia used chemical weapons in Mariupol
Ukraine is checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Tuesday.
"There is a theory that these could be phosphorous munitions," Malyar said in televised comments, adding: "Official information will come later."
Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia-backed separatist forces trying to wrest complete control of Mariupol denied using chemical weapons in comments carried by Russian news agency Interfax.
Mariupol's city council wrote on the Telegram messaging service that it was not yet possible to examine the area where the poisonous substance had allegedly been used because of enemy fire. It added that the city's civilian population had minimal contact with the unspecified poison but that Ukrainian soldiers had come into closer contact with it and were now being observed for possible symptoms.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Monday that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Britain and the United States have said they are aware of reports that Russia may have already used chemical agents in Mariupol. Britain said it was working with partners to verify the reports.
Russia has previously accused Ukraine of preparing to use chemical weapons, without providing evidence.
Last month the Kremlin said U.S. talk of Russia using such weapons was a tactic to divert attention away from awkward questions for Washington.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands and displaced millions. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to destroy Ukraine's military capabilities and capture what it views as dangerous nationalists, but Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
Reuters
UKRAINE WRAP | Russia has enough funds to service its debt, finance ministry says
April 12 2022 - 20:22
No evidence Russian military equipment being sent to border with Finland -Pentagon
The U.S. Defense Department has not seen anything to confirm social media reports of Russian military equipment being sent to the border with Finland, press secretary John Kirby said on Tuesday.
-Reuters
April 12 2022 - 19:17
Ukraine continues talks on security guarantees online -negotiator
Ukraine is continuing to hold talks online to try to win future external security guarantees for the country, senior ruling party lawmaker David Arakhamia said on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday. Arakhamia is a member of Ukraine's negotiating team holding talks with Russia.
-Reuters
April 12 2022 - 14:17
EXPLAINER-What are chemicals weapons and are they illegal?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concern that Russia could deploy chemical weapons in the war and there has been an unconfirmed report of their use in the besieged southern port of Mariupol.
Chemical weapons production, use and stockpiling is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Only Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan have not signed or ratified the international arms control treaty. Israel has signed but not ratified.
April 12 2022 - 13:40
Russia has enough funds to service its debt, finance ministry says
Russia has enough funds to service its debt in time and to redeem all its debt obligations, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.
Facing waves of sanctions over what it calls "a special military operation" in Ukraine, Russia could face its first sovereign external default in over a century after it made arrangements to make an international bond repayment in roubles, even though the payment was due in dollars.
"Russia has not declared default on its Eurobond obligations," the finance ministry said.
"All possible claims of creditors in connection with the current situation should be forwarded to the authorities of states that have illegally created obstacles for Russia to fulfil its debt obligations.
"Earlier in April, S&P lowered Russia's foreign currency ratings to "selective default" on increased risks that Moscow will not be able and willing to honour its commitments to foreign debtholders.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 13:02
Russia recommends no Eurobond payouts if Russian holders don't get money
Russian authorities recommended a halt in issuing permits for payouts on Eurobonds if Russian bondholders do not receive payments, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.
"Now, due to ongoing violations of the rights of Russian holders of Eurobonds by the international settlement and clearing system, payments on Eurobonds are received only by those bondholders whose rights are recorded in a foreign accounting system," the ministry said in a statement.
"The money does not reach Russian holders of Eurobonds.
"In order to protect Russian investors' interests, authorities recommended an early redemption of Eurobonds in roubles using the Russian market infrastructure, the ministry said.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 12:56
Russia will launch a lunar probe and deepen space links with Belarus- Putin
Russia will launch a lunar probe later this year and deepen cooperation with Belarus on space infrastructure and technology, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, Putin recalled Soviet successes in space and said no sanctions on Russia could halt its progress.
What Russia calls its "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine triggered a barrage of sanctions from Western countries including restrictions on scientific funding and cooperation.
Putin said Russia would develop a new generation transport spaceship and technologies for nuclear energy in space.
He also said it would launch a probe called Luna-25 to the moon in the third quarter of this year.
Russia would work with Belarus on infrastructure that guarantees the countries independent access to space, said Putin, adding that he'd asked Russia's space agency, Roskosmos, to train a Belarusian for flight on a Russian spacecraft.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 12:05
‘I had no choice, my people are dying’: Ukraine ambassador to SA on her ‘undiplomatic’ tweet
Ukrainian ambassador to SA Liubov Abravitova says she was forced to use Twitter to request a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) minister Naledi Pandor.
“I don’t only have no choice, I have no time. My people are dying, tortured, raped,” she told TimesLIVE on Tuesday.
Abravitova made headlines on Monday when she tweeted: “Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, I did not have any requested meeting with SA government officials. 45 days. My people are under brutal attack from Russians now.”
April 12 2022 - 11:45
Ukraine says checking unverified information that Russia used chemical weapons in Mariupol
Ukraine is checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Tuesday.
"There is a theory that these could be phosphorous munitions," Malyar said in televised comments, adding: "Official information will come later."
Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia-backed separatist forces trying to wrest complete control of Mariupol denied using chemical weapons in comments carried by Russian news agency Interfax.
Mariupol's city council wrote on the Telegram messaging service that it was not yet possible to examine the area where the poisonous substance had allegedly been used because of enemy fire. It added that the city's civilian population had minimal contact with the unspecified poison but that Ukrainian soldiers had come into closer contact with it and were now being observed for possible symptoms.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Monday that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Britain and the United States have said they are aware of reports that Russia may have already used chemical agents in Mariupol. Britain said it was working with partners to verify the reports.
Russia has previously accused Ukraine of preparing to use chemical weapons, without providing evidence.
Last month the Kremlin said U.S. talk of Russia using such weapons was a tactic to divert attention away from awkward questions for Washington.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands and displaced millions. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to destroy Ukraine's military capabilities and capture what it views as dangerous nationalists, but Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 11:26
Putin says Russia will achieve 'noble' aims of its Ukraine military campaign
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow's military operation in Ukraine would undoubtedly achieve what he said were its "noble" objectives.
Speaking at an awards ceremony at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East, Putin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies that said Moscow had no other choice but to launch a military operation to protect Russia and that a clash with Ukraine's anti-Russian forces had been inevitable.
"Its goals are absolutely clear and noble," Putin said of Russia's military campaign.
Putin said the main objective of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine was to save people in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
"On the one hand, we are helping and saving people, and on the other, we are simply taking measures to ensure the security of Russia itself," Putin said. "It's clear that we didn't have a choice. It was the right decision.
"Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee the country since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.
Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 11:20
Ukraine's Zelenskiy urges EU sanctions on Russian oil, banks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the European Union on Tuesday to slap sanctions on all Russian banks and Russian oil and to set a deadline for ending imports of Russian gas.
He was speaking in a video address to the Lithuanian parliament.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 10:57
Putin says Russia and Belarus will cooperate on space projects- RIA
Russia and Belarus will cooperate on infrastructure projects in space, RIA news agency quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying on Tuesday during a meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 09:29
Ukraine braces for new Russian offensive as Moscow dismisses rape allegations
Ukraine pleaded for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east, as more reports emerged of rape and brutality against Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised address late on Monday that Russia could resort to chemical weapons as it amassed troops in the eastern Donbas region for a new assault on the port of Mariupol, where thousands are believed to have died under a near-seven week siege.
April 12 2022 - 06:30
Putin to discuss Ukraine with Belarus leader Lukashenko on Tuesday
Russia's President Vladimir Putin will meet Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and Western sanctions, news agencies in Russia and Belarus reported.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 from both Russian and Belarusian territory in what it called a "special military operation" designed to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour.
Ukraine and Western governments reject that as a false pretext for an invasion, which has killed thousands and displaced millions, and has now shifted from the gates of Kyiv to the east of Ukraine where a huge offensive is expected.
Lukashenko has insisted that Belarus must be involved in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, saying also that Belarus had been unfairly labelled "an accomplice of the aggressor".
However, the European Union, the United States and others have included Belarus in the sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia.
Lukashenko arrived early on Tuesday in the Amur region in the Russian Far East where he is to meet Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport, Belarusian Belta news agency reported.
April 12th is celebrated in Russia and some other former Soviet countries as the Cosmonautics Day, commemorating the first manned space flight made in 1961 by the Russian Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
Reuters
April 12 2022 - 06:15
Ukrainian orphans celebrate bar mitzvah in Jerusalem
Four orphans from the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr celebrated their bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem
April 12 2022 - 06:00
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - 'Tens of thousands' killed in Mariupol says Zelenskiy
Ukrainian leaders said tens of thousands of people have likely been killed from Russia's assault on the southeastern city of Mariupol