UKRAINE WRAP | Putin accuses West of trying to murder Russian journalists

April 25 2022 - 13:00

Putin accuses West of trying to murder Russian journalists

.Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused the West of trying to murder Russian journalists and said the Federal Security Service (FSB) had thwarted one such attempt on a television reporter.

Speaking on state television, Putin did not provide evidence to support his claim. 

Reuters

April 25 2022 - 12:17

Russia warned US against sending more arms to Ukraine

Russia has warned the US against sending more arms to Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Washington told Russian state television.

“We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the US of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice,” Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

Antonov said an official diplomatic note had been sent to Washington expressing Russia's concerns. He said such arms supplies from the US would further aggravate the situation and raised the stakes of the conflict.

April 25 2022 - 11:35

EU, India agree to broaden ties amid Ukraine war

The European Union (EU) and India agreed on Monday to set up a trade and technology council to step up cooperation, as the bloc's chief held talks with officials in New Delhi who have seen a flurry of top visits since the start of the Ukraine war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is on a two-day trip to India's capital, part of Western efforts to encourage New Delhi to reduce ties to Russia, its main weapons supplier, following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

India has refrained from explicitly condemning Russia's invasion, while calling for an immediate end to violence. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation".

April 25 2022 - 10:38

Russian rockets hit Ukraine's Vinnytsia region, deaths reported - regional governor

Russia fired rockets at two towns in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region on Monday, causing an unspecified number of deaths and injuries, regional Governor Serhiy Borzov reported.

"Today, Vinnytsia region is once again under rocket fire (in) the towns of Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn. The enemy is attempting to hit critical infrastructure," Borzov said in a video released on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia did not immediately comment on his remarks.

Reuters

April 25 2022 - 08:20

Finland's Stora Enso divests two sawmills in Russia

Finland's Stora Enso has entered into an agreement to divest its two sawmills and their forest operations in Russia to local management, the group said on Monday.

The forestry group already recorded an impairment loss of 70 million euros ($75 million) for the sawmill sites in Novgorod and Karelia in the first quarter and said an additional loss for the transaction would be around 60 million euros to be recorded at the closing date, expected in the second quarter this year.

Reuters 

April 25 2022 - 08:00

Ukraine’s farmers fight on the front line of global food crisis

Around this time of year, Yaroslav Andrushko would normally be overseeing the sowing of crops on his 1,000-hectare farm in the Vinnytsya region of central Ukraine.

Instead, he swapped his workwear for fatigues, joining the army a day after Russia invaded his country. “Once a farmer always a farmer,” said Andrushko, the CEO of a small agriculture company. “But circumstances required us to take up arms.”

As Ukrainians resist Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military machine, the 36-year-old is another example of the resilience shown by so many of his compatriots in protecting their nation’s statehood. Yet Andrushko and farmers like him are also defending a core component of the global food supply chain that’s increasingly in peril.

April 25 2022 - 07:52

Rheinmetall seeks approval to export 100 Marder fighting vehicles to Ukraine -source

The German defence company Rheinmetall has requested approval to export 100 old Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, a defence source told Reuters on Monday, confirming an earlier report by Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The company is seeking an export licence for the vehicles in their current state for now, aiming to restore them over the coming months before shipping them to Ukraine, the source said.

The deal will have to be approved by Germany's national security council, a committee chaired by Chancellor Olaf Scholz that meets in secret session.

Reuters 

April 25 2022 - 07:40

UK says Russia made minor advances in Ukraine after its shift to Donbas

 Russia has made minor advances in some areas since shifting its focus to fully occupying the Donbas, the UK's Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin on Monday.

"Without sufficient logistical and combat support enablers in place, Russia has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough," it said.

Ukraine's defence of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness, British military intelligence said.Reuters could not immediately verify the report. 

Reuters 

April 25 2022 - 06:30

Large fire at oil depot in Russia's Bryansk, near Ukraine - agencies

A large fire was reported early on Monday at an oil storage facility in the Russian city of Bryansk, Russian news agencies said, citing the emergency services ministry, but gave no details.

There was no immediate indication the fire was related to the war in Ukraine, although Russian officials said last week that Ukrainian helicopters hit residential buildings and injured seven people in the area.

Bryansk is an administrative centre 154 km (95.69 miles)northeast of the Ukrainian border, near the Sumy and Chernihiv regions, and is about 380 km (236 miles) distant from Moscow, the Russian capital.

Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine, now entering their third month, a special military operation. 

Reuters 

April 25 2022 - 06:15

WILLIAM GUMEDE | On Russia, SA is its own worst enemy

SA has much to learn from how vigorously its Brics partners India, China and Brazil have defended their own strategic interests in their relationships with Russia during the Ukraine conflict. SA’s positioning in the Russia-Ukraine war has been at best naive and at worst lap-dog-like — both destructive to the country’s economy, stability and trading relations with non-Brics countries.

SA has abstained from criticising Russia or supporting Ukraine, essentially indirectly supporting Russia, without extracting tough concessions from Russia in return. This means SA is staying “neutral” without getting any direct benefits from Russia. The war has negatively impacted on SA’s economy, increasing food, transport and energy price inflation — risking another violent revolt, like last July’s looting, by the hard-pressed poor.

April 25 2022 - 06:00

Blinken, Austin pledge return of US diplomats, more security assistance on Kyiv visit

Washington's top diplomat and defense secretary both visited Kyiv on Sunday, and used the first official US visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded two months ago to announce a gradual return of US diplomats to the country and the nomination of a new ambassador, officials said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Poland on Saturday then overland into Ukraine on Sunday, where they met President Volodomyr Zelenskiy and other top Ukrainian officials, a senior State Department official said, declining to discuss in detail their travel or security arrangements.

The visit was designed to show Western support for Ukraine and the cabinet secretaries also pledged new assistance worth $713 million for Zelenskiy's government and countries in the region, where Russia's invasion has raised fears of further aggression by Moscow.

Reuters