09:07
“We will never forgive,” says Zelenskyy a year after the bodies were found in Boutcha
“We will never forgive Boutcha’s death,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the first anniversary of Russia’s withdrawal from this martyred city, which has become the most blatant symbol of the atrocities attributed to Moscow’s troops.
“We will punish all the guilty,” he added. On March 31, 2022, the Russian army withdrew from the city of Boutcha. AFP journalists discovered in this city on April 2, 2022, charred car corpses, destroyed houses and, above all, scattered over several hundred meters, the bodies of twenty plainclothes men, one of whom had his hands tied behind his back.
08:56
Nine out of ten Russian drones were shot down
The Russians launched Shahed-136/131 attack drones over Ukraine overnight. According to the Ukrainian authorities, nine out of ten drones launched were destroyed. One of them was shot down by an air defense unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, and eight others were destroyed by Air Force anti-aircraft missile units and the mobile groups of the Air Command of Ukraine.
The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has released video of intercepting Russian drones.
08:28
New Japanese sanctions against Russia
Japan has just imposed new sanctions on Russia. The country will ban the export of steel, aluminum and aircraft, including drones, to Russia. In addition, Japanese companies can no longer export a variety of manufactured goods to Russia, such as construction machinery, marine engines, testing equipment, and optical equipment. These measures will come into effect on April 7th.
08:20
Shortage of parts for Russian automaker Avtovaz
Avtovaz will stop production again due to a shortage of imported parts. Tight controls on Russian parallel imports by Turkey and Kazakhstan appear to have hit the Russian auto industry, which suffered “clinical death” last year. Avtovaz, Russia’s largest automaker, will shut down production again from the end of May due to a shortage of imported parts. “Further production of complete cars will be impossible from the second half of May,” the manufacturer warned.
08:06
India benefits from cheap Russian oil
A year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global oil flows are now counting with India sourcing cheap crude from Russia before being refined and exported west. India is the third largest crude oil consumer in the world after the United States and China, importing 85% of its needs. Its traditional suppliers were in the Middle East, but today Russia has taken the first place. China and India have become Moscow’s main customers.
India imported a record 1.62 million barrels per day, or 40% of its imports, of Russian oil in March, up from 70,000 barrels per day, or 1%, before the war, according to the International Energy Agency.
India has saved $3.6 billion by importing cheap Russian crude in the 10 months since the war in Ukraine began, an Indian lawmaker said in December. According to Energy Cargo Tracers, India is importing Russian crude oil from the Urals at a price well below $60 a barrel, a price cap set by the G7 countries in December.
07:36
Putin will not be able to send his new conscript troops to Ukraine in the spring
Vladimir Putin signed a decree on March 30 that defined the spring’s routine conscription campaign, which called for 147,000 citizens to do legal military service. According to the US War Institute, Russia will only be able to use the limited training capacities of Belarus with an increase of 13,000 conscripts compared to previous years. “The new conscripts will not increase Russia’s combat capability in the short term, as Russian conscripts must complete months of training and service before going into combat,” the ISW said.
07:17
Russia “should not” be a permanent member of the Security Council, says US ambassador to UN
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia “should not be a permanent member of the UN Security Council”. “She shouldn’t be because of what she’s doing in Ukraine, but the UN charter doesn’t allow changing her status as a permanent member,” she told AFP. The US ambassador stressed that she expected Russia to behave “professionally” during the presidency, but expressed doubts.
07:12
Germany plans hydrogen production project in Ukraine
At a meeting between the Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko and the State Secretary for Economics, Finance and Europe in the Federal Chancellery Jörg Kukies, the possibility of jointly implementing hydrogen production and transport projects with Ukraine was discussed.
“There is enormous potential for bilateral cooperation in the field of hydrogen production and transport. Germany is considering related projects, including the possible modernization of Ukraine’s gas transmission system for the transport of hydrogen,” the statement said.
06:59
Turkey wants to continue its peace efforts
A meeting of Turkey’s National Security Council reiterated its desire to end the war in Ukraine. “The negative consequences of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year, and its impact on the stability of other countries in the region and on security in the Black Sea have been assessed,” he explains. The Council added that ” Efforts will continue to build lasting peace, support regional stability and resolve the consequences of humanitarian crises”. Vladimir Putin could visit Turkey next month.
06:47
Visit of the Japanese Foreign Minister to Beijing
This is the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister to China since December 2019.
During his two-day trip starting Saturday, Yoshimasa Hayashi has to meet with his counterpart Qin Gang, according to a press release from Japan’s foreign ministry.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have been strained in recent years, with Japan wary of China’s growing military power in the region. Last November, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of a summit in Bangkok and vowed to continue high-level contacts.
Wary of China’s growing military power and spurred on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Japan has changed its defense and security strategy.
Last year it announced plans to increase its defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027.
06:42
The reconstruction of Mariupol will take twenty years
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko estimated that it would take about 20 years to fully restore the city. “The question of recovery, the rebirth of the city with half a million people that we saw and imagined, a modern, European, Ukrainian city that we spent seven years building, or two months of full-fledged Russian aggression, the 50th destroyed % of the city need 20 years restoration”. The mayor added that a plan is being drawn up to consider rebuilding the city after the conflict.
06:32
The end of the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the Patriot anti-aircraft system in the United States
The few dozen Ukrainian soldiers who have been trained in the US to operate and maintain the Patriot air defense system since early January have completed their training and returned to Europe, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The US executive announced delivery of this advanced surface-to-air missile system for late 2022 to Kiev, which had long requested it to repel attacks from Russia.
“This week, 65 Ukrainian Air Defense Forces soldiers completed their training at Patriot at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and are now back in Europe,” said US Defense Department spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder.
They would benefit from Patriot systems donated to Ukraine by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, he added.
06:25
A year later, Ukraine commemorates the Boutcha massacre
Ukraine is commemorating the anniversary of Russia’s withdrawal from the martyr town of Boutcha, where the occupiers left the bodies of civilians coldly shot, making this site near Kiev the most glaring symbol of the atrocities attributed to Moscow’s troops.
On March 31, 2022, the Russian army withdrew from this city and all of northern Kiev, a month after it began invading the country on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. The massacre became known two days after the withdrawal. AFP journalists discovered charred car bodies, destroyed houses and, most importantly, the bodies of twenty men in civilian clothes, one of whom had his hands tied behind his back, scattered several hundred meters away in Boutcha on April 2. These scenes shocked the whole world, Kiev and Westerners who denounced mass executions of civilians and war crimes. The Kremlin denies him any involvement and conjures up a staging.
06:20
Washington accuses Moscow of arming itself with Pyongyang
The White House announced Thursday that it had “new information showing Russia is actively trying to obtain more ammunition from North Korea” and would impose sanctions on a man accused of participating in trade between the two countries have. John Kirby of the National Security Council recalled that according to US intelligence information, North Korea had recently provided Russia with military aid.
The US Treasury Department has sanctioned Ashot Mkrtychev, a Slovak, for “working with North Korean officials between late 2022 and early 2023 (…) to procure more than two dozen types of weapons and ammunition for Russia in exchange for materials that.” ranging from airliners and raw materials to products to be sent to North Korea,” the statement said.
06:15
The head of Russia’s diplomacy will chair a UN meeting in New York in April
The head of Russia’s diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN Security Council meeting in New York in April, the month that Russia will hold the rotating chairmanship of the United Nations executive body. “Another key event of the Russian Presidency will be the high-level open debate of the (Security) Council on “Effective Multilateralism by Defending the Principles of the United Nations Charter”.
Ukraine had previously described Russia’s future chairmanship of the UN Security Council as a “bad joke”.
06:15
EU criticizes Moscow’s “systematic disregard” for press freedom
The European Union “condemns Russia’s detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich on charges of espionage,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted on Thursday, condemning Moscow’s “systematic disregard” for press freedom.
“Journalists must be free to practice their profession and deserve protection. The Russian authorities are once again demonstrating their systematic disregard for media freedom,” the diplomat added.
06:15
American journalist arrested for espionage in Russia: an unprecedented case in recent history
“We are extremely concerned by the high-profile arrest of an American journalist,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, referring to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation, said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, during a press conference.
Russian security services announced Thursday that Evan Gershkovich had been arrested in Yekaterinburg in the Urals on suspicion of “espionage,” an unprecedented case in the country’s recent history.
06:14
American journalist arrested: London denounces Russia’s ‘contempt’ for press freedom
“Russia’s decision to arrest an American journalist shows its total disregard for press freedom,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted on Thursday. “We stand side by side with the United States to defend these fundamental democratic principles,” he added.
06:14
Hello everyone!
Welcome to this direct message dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its aftermath.