WRAP | Ukrainian police investigates allegations of sexual violence by Russian soldiers

June 03 2022 - 16:43

Ukrainian police investigates allegations of sexual violence by Russian soldiers

Ukrainian police have received around 50 complaints and opened 16 criminal investigations into allegations of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers against civilians, Ukraine's deputy interior minister said on Friday.

Ukraine, its international allies and the United Nations human rights office have been investigating potential war crimes, including sexual violence, in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February.

Moscow denies committing war crimes or targeting civilians during a war that has killed thousands and forced millions of people, mostly women and children, to flee abroad.

"As for sexual violence against the civilian population, this is a very difficult topic," deputy minister Kateryna Pavlichenko told a briefing.

"A topic that, as a rule, the victims do not want to talk about, because the fear and pain that they experienced ... they want to forget as soon as possible."

Russian forces retreated from areas around the capital after failing to capture Kyiv in the early weeks of the war. Out of the 16 cases opened by police, 13 related to incidents in the Kyiv region.

-Reuters

June 03 2022 - 13:25

Sweden's defence minister sees ongoing support necessary for Ukraine

Sweden and other European countries must be prepared for ongoing support and weapons deliveries to Ukraine as it faces a long-running conflict with Russia, Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said on Friday.

Sweden is seeking NATO membership as the conflict in Ukraine changes Scandinavia's security landscape, and on Thursday it announced it was providing Ukraine with more economic aid and military equipment, including anti-ship missiles, rifles and anti-tank weapons.

The military aid was the third package Sweden has provided to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, although Hultqvist declined to comment on further aid being planned.

"I see this conflict as a long-running conflict," he told reporters on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, a foreign policy gathering."

We must be sustainable in deliveries, so we can come back with more later on. Different countries must be complementary to each other."

Hultqvist said the conflict would change the environment for a long time, and that "we will have some sort of Iron Curtain, or if you would like to call it a new Cold War between a democratic Europe and Russia".

Amid that, Sweden and Finland last month applied to join NATO, but they have faced resistance from Turkey, which accuses them of being safe havens for Kurdish militants and wants them to scrap arms export bans.

Hultqvist declined to comment on any change in dialogue with Turkey, but he reiterated he hoped the membership process would go as fast as possible.

He said NATO integration would go smoothly once Sweden got the nod to join.

"I think we have a very good platform because we have interoperability with so many NATO countries and we have exercised a lot with so many NATO countries," he said.

"Integration is not a big problem."

Reuters 

June 03 2022 - 13:00

German exports bounce back in April from Ukraine war impact

German exports rose more than forecast in April, as Europe's biggest economy relied on trade with the United States and the euro area to recover from the initial impact of the war in Ukraine, government data showed on Friday.

Exports rose 4.4% from the previous month, the Federal Statistical Office said, almost three times the 1.5% increase predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.

In March, exports had fallen by 3%.The boost for Germany's export-driven economy came despite a collapse in trade with Russia over recent months due to severe sanctions imposed by the West in a bid to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Exports from Germany to Russia dropped 10% in April after plummeting 60% in March, the statistics office said.

Imports also increased more than expected in April, by 3.1%, following a 3.2% rise in March, the statistics office reported.

ING chief economist Carsten Brzeski called the April trade data a "pleasant surprise".

"German exports have defied renewed supply chain disruptions and the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. At least for now," he said.

However, the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) warned that the upswing could be short-lived.

"The export engine is grinding tremendously," said DIHK foreign trade chief Volker Treier, adding that the April growth was solely due to price increases in exports, which had actually fallen in real terms.

Supply-chain bottlenecks were yet to come - but with some delay - as a result of China's weeks-long Covid lockdowns, Treier said.

The DIHK expects German exports to stagnate in 2022 on the whole.

Reuters 

June 03 2022 - 12:11

Ukraine waits for West to tip balance against Russia after 100 days of war

After 100 days of war, Ukraine is fighting for time, trying to hold out against overwhelming Russian fire on its eastern front long enough for Western weapons to arrive and give it a badly needed edge.

With casualties mounting and some delays in Western capitals with deliveries, Ukrainian officials fear the relief may not come quickly enough.

A White House pledge this week of $700m (about R10.8bn) of weapons, including advanced rocket systems, has been greeted with a touch of scepticism by some of those watching their homes pummelled and cities overrun.

June 03 2022 - 11:24

Ukraine says Russia trying to move war into 'protracted phase'

Ukraine's defence minister on Friday said he believed the Kremlin was trying to move the war into a "protracted phase" by building layered defences in occupied regions in the south of the country."

The Kremlin is trying to move the war into a protracted phase," Reznikov told the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum by video link.

"Instead of advancing, the Russian armies are constructing layered defences" in southern occupied regions, primarily Kherson, he said.

Reuters 

June 03 2022 - 11:16

NATO should consider 'de facto' membership for Ukraine - Ukrainian defence minister

NATO should consider granting Ukraine "de facto" rather than "de jure" membership of the alliance when it discusses its strategy for the next 10 years at a summit in June, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday.

"I think that if we are talking about the membership of Ukraine with NATO de facto not de jure, it could be the good idea in this strategy," Reznikov told the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum by video link."

Ukraine will be also part of the strategy because we also are the part of eastern flank of Europe, the eastern flank of NATO countries, eastern flank of the EU. I think it will be a win-win situation for all countries," Reznikov said.

Reuters 

June 03 2022 - 10:20

Fire breaks out at Moscow office building

 A fire broke out at the Grand Setun Plaza business centre in western Moscow, Russia's emergency ministry said on Friday.

There have been no reported casualties.According to the emergency ministry, 120 people have been rescued from the building and firefighting efforts are ongoing.

The fire covers an area of 1,000 square metres, the ministry said. 

Reuters 

June 03 2022 - 09:24

100 days of Russia’s war in Ukraine

Russia’s war in Ukraine is now 100 days old. Here’s a look at some of the key moments and important facts of the conflict to date.

June 03 2022 - 09:00

Russia urges Turkey not to launch military action in Syria  

Russia urged Turkey not to launch an offensive in northern Syria after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed threats of a military campaign targeting Kurdish terrorists.

June 03 2022 - 08:07 

Russian service sector shrinks again in May on weak demand - PMI

Russia's service sector shrank for the third consecutive month in May, under pressure from the impact of Western sanctions and weak demand at home, the S&P Global purchasing managers index (PMI) showed on Friday.

The index's headline figure of business activity climbed to 48.5 in May from 44.5 in April, though remained below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

"The fall in output reflected weak domestic and foreign demand conditions, with total inflows of new work and new export business decreasing sharply," S&P Global said in a statement.

Russia's economy is under heavy pressure following the imposition of Western sanctions in response to Moscow's move to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Some economists are predicting the country could suffer its worst recession in more than two decades in 2022.

Service companies cited reduced purchasing power among Russian consumers as one of the main drivers of the fall in business during the month.

With new orders drying up, the level of outstanding business fell at its fastest pace since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020 and companies continued to lay off staff.

Despite the dip in activity, fading inflationary pressures and hopes for an improvement in conditions over the coming year pushed business confidence in the sector to its highest level in six months, S&P Global said.

A sister survey showed earlier this week that Russian manufacturing activity expanded in May after three months of contraction and price pressures eased notably, but sanctions continued to dent client demand.

Reuters 

June 03 2022 - 06:00 

Russian Pacific fleet begins week-long exercises with more than 40 vessels -Russian agencies

Russia's Pacific Fleet launched a week-long series of exercises with more than 40 ships and up to 20 aircraft taking part, Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying.

The ministry statement said the exercises, taking place from June 3-10, would involve, among other matters, "groups of ships together with naval aviation taking part in search operations for (enemy) submarines".

The exercises were taking place amid Russia's three-month-old incursion into Ukraine, described by Moscow as a "special military operation".

Ukraine lies thousands of kilometres to the west of where the exercises are occurring in the Pacific.

Reuters