UKRAINE WRAP | Europe steps up support for Ukraine as Russia presses offensive

June 17 2022 - 21:54

Russian imports may drop by 30% this year, says top official -Tass

Russian imports may drop by 30% this year but will not dwindle to zero, Tass news agency reported Alexei Kudrin, a former finance minister who now heads the state Audit Chamber, as saying on Friday.

It did not give more details. Last week a global banking industry lobby group predicted that Western sanctions would cut Russian imports by 28% in 2022. 

-Reuters

June 17 2022 - 18:53

Putin says Russia-Ukraine relations will normalise after 'special military operation'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at the St Petersburg Economic Forum that Russia anticipates restoring relations with Ukraine after the "special military operation" in that country concludes.

During a question-and-answer session with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Putin said: "sooner or later, the situation will return to normal".

Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24, in what it calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Both Ukraine and Western nations say that is a pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression.

-Reuters

June 17 2022 - 13:10

Eurovision 2023 cannot go ahead in Ukraine due to war - EBU

 The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest cannot be held in Ukraine given the ongoing war in the country, the European Broadcasting Union said Friday, adding it was in talks with the BBC to host it in the United Kingdom.

"The security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host, organize and produce the Eurovision Song Contest under the ESC Rules cannot be fulfilled by (Ukraine's public broadcaster) UA:PBC," ESC said on Twitter."

The EBU would like to thank UA:PBC for their wholehearted cooperation and commitment in exploring all scenarios in the weeks since Kalush Orchestra's win on 14 May in Turin and share their sadness and disappointment that next year's Contest cannot be held in Ukraine."

Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won this year's contest last month in Turin, with the United Kingdom's entry coming second.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was quick to offer his congratulations to Kalush Orchestra when they won.

He had also said in the online message that Ukraine would host the Eurovision song contest.

"Clearly these aren't a set of circumstances that anyone would want ... we will of course discuss the BBC hosting the Eurovision Song Contest," the BBC said.

As per tradition, the winner of the ESC hosts the competition the next year, but the security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host the competition meant it had to go to the runner up.

"It is our full intention that Ukraine's win will be reflected in next year's shows," the EBU said.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We would be committed to ensuring that it overwhelmingly reflects Ukraine's rich culture, heritage and creativity as well as building on the ongoing partnership between our two countries." 

Reuters

June 17 2022 - 12:59

Kremlin says Putin to delay St Petersburg Forum speech after cyberattack

The Kremlin said on Friday that the St Petersburg Economic Forum had suffered from a denial of service cyberattack, forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay a scheduled address by an hour.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters that specialists were working to fix the problem. 

Reuters 

June 17 2022 - 11:56

Russia to delay boosting annual LNG output to 140 million tonnes

Russia could delay reaching its strategic goal of producing 140 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually as western sanctions limit equipment imports while domestically-made substitutions cost as much as twice, energy officials said.

Western sanctions imposed on Moscow after it sent troops into Ukraine saw Russia largely blocked from the global financial system and from foreign equipment essential for its energy sector, airspace, car industry and many other industrial areas.

June 17 2022 - 11:27 

Google’s Russian subsidiary submits bankruptcy declaration - Ifax

The Russian subsidiary of Alphabet’s Google has submitted a declaration of bankruptcy, Interfax reported on Friday, citing court filings online.

The subsidiary announced plans to file for bankruptcy in May after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors.

"The Russian authorities’ seizure of Google Russia’s bank account has made it untenable for our Russia office to function ... Therefore, Google Russia has filed for bankruptcy," a company spokesperson said.

"People in Russia rely on our services... and we’ll continue to keep free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play available."

Russia has restricted access to Twitter and Meta Platforms Inc's flagship social networks, Facebook and Instagram.

Google and its YouTube video hosting service, though under pressure, remain available for now. Moscow in particular objects to YouTube's treatment of Russian media, which it has blocked.

But Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma committee on information policy, said the US company was not yet at risk of being blocked.

Reuters 

June 17 2022 - 10:55

Slovak gas importer sees Russian deliveries cut by half on Friday

Slovak gas importer SPP was informed by Russia that its deliveries of gas would be reduced by half on Friday, its chief executive was quoted as saying.

"Cutting the deliveries by a half does not hurt us at the moment. We are working with a realistic risk that they will be cut completely," SPP boss Richard Prokypcak was cited as saying by Slovak news website Dennik N.SPP was not immediately available for comment. 

Reuters 

June 17 2022 - 08:00

Europe steps up support for Ukraine as Russia presses offensive

Britain will host talks on Friday on rebuilding key infrastructure in Kyiv, a day after the leaders of Germany, France and Italy visited Ukraine and offered it the hope of EU membership as it battles a ferocious Russian offensive in the east.

Air raid sirens blared while French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Mario Draghi visited the Ukrainian capital and a nearby town wrecked early in the war.

After holding talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leaders signalled Ukraine should be granted European Union candidate status, a symbolic gesture that would draw Kyiv closer to the economic bloc.

June 17 2022 - 07:15

Netherlands says Russian spy was caught seeking war crimes court internship

The Dutch intelligence service said on Thursday it had uncovered a Russian military agent attempting to use a false identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating accusations of war crimes in Ukraine.

Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov created an elaborate cover story dating back years to try to enter the Netherlands as a Brazilian national for an internship at the Hague-based ICC in April, the agency’s head told Reuters.

“This was a long-term, multi-year GRU operation that cost a lot of time, energy and money”, said Dutch intelligence agency chief Erik Akerboom, using the acronym for Russia’s military intelligence service.

June 17 2022 - 06:30

'You can count on our brotherhood' - Macron to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to Kyiv with three other European leaders that Ukraine could count on European allies for support, saying 'You can count on the brotherhood of Europe to make sure that Ukraine remains free.'

June 17 2022 - 06:15

3 Americans reported missing in Ukraine: The US says working hard to verify reports

Three Americans have been reported missing in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion. The US says it is working hard to verify these reports. Two American veterans were fighting in the Ukraine war.

June 17 2022 - 06:00

Intense fighting in Eastern Ukraine: Ambulance teams rescue soldiers  

It has been more than 100 days since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started and scores of civilians have lost their lives in the conflict. Now, Ambulance teams rescue soldiers amid intense fighting in Eastern Ukraine.