13 minutes ago
Heavy mud likely to slow down both sides of Ukraine conflict, says UK MoD
“Heavy” mud emanating from soft ground conditions in most of Ukraine “is most likely to slow down operations on both sides of the conflict,” the UK MoD has signaled in his daily intelligence update on Ukraine for 21.04.
Ukraine’s muddy “rasputitsa” season, which kicks in in late autumn and early spring, has historically played a role in controlling the pace of regional military campaigns and caught several invading armies by surprise.
The UK MoD expects surface conditions to improve in the coming weeks and stressed that Russian online outlets are likely to exaggerate the mud’s impact on Ukraine’s armed forces.
“The mine threat is likely to continue to be a more important factor in constraining fighter maneuvers in terrain,” it said.
— Ruxandra Iordache
Before an hour
The Kremlin says it is following reports of a G-7 ban on exports to Russia
We are monitoring this carefully, we are aware that both the US and the EU are actively considering new sanctions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a comment reported by Portal.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Russia is monitoring reports of a possible ban on exports to Russia from western countries and warning that current and future sanctions will hurt the global economy.
“We are monitoring this carefully, we are aware that both the US and the EU are actively considering new sanctions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a comment reported by Portal, adding that such measures “of course also affect the global economy.” become”. and “may lead to an amplification of the trend towards a global economic crisis”.
Earlier, Japanese news agency Kyodo, citing a Japanese government source, reported that the Group of Seven countries are considering a ban on almost all exports to Russia. CNBC was unable to independently verify the report.
— Ruxandra Iordache
2 hours ago
Canada announces $29 million package for Ukraine
“We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in the short and long term,” Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand promised on Friday, unveiling the additional aid measures.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Canadian government on Friday announced a CA$39 million ($28.9 million) package for Ukraine that will include 40 sniper rifles, radios and a donation to a NATO fund to help Kiev.
The lion’s share of the contribution – 34.6 million Canadian dollars – will go to the Ukraine Comprehensive Assistance Package trust fund.
“We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in the short and long term,” Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand agreed on Friday the unveiling of the additional relief measures.
“All eight Leopard 2 main battle tanks shipped from Canada to Ukraine have been delivered and we have used Leopard Gunnery Skills Trainers to train Ukrainian crews,” she added.
Anand has arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where Ukraine’s western allies will attend a meeting to discuss coordinated action in Ukraine.
3 hours ago
The NATO chief assures that Ukraine will eventually join the military alliance
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) attend a joint news conference after their meeting in Kiev, Ukraine April 20, 2023 amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
STR | Nurphoto | Getty Images
NATO members have agreed that Ukraine will join the military alliance, but the current focus is on Kyiv prevailing in the war against Russia and preventing fresh attacks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a report reported by Portal on Friday Comment.
Stoltenberg paid an unexpected visit to Kiev on April 20 – his first since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pushed for accelerated NATO membership in addition to arms support from military allies. Ukraine’s western allies will meet at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany on Friday to coordinate further aid to Kiev.
— Ruxandra Iordache
3 hours ago
Russia accidentally attacks its own city of Belgorod
A view of the damaged area after a Su-34 aircraft of the Aerospace Forces flew over the city of Belgorod on March 21.
Belgorod Oblast Governorate | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
A Russian warplane accidentally fired a weapon at the Russian city of Belgorod north of the Ukrainian border, damaging buildings and causing explosions, the Russian Defense Ministry told the state news agency TASS.
BELGOROD, RUSSIA – APRIL 21: (—- EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – “BELGOROD REGION / HANDOUT” – NO MARKETING OR PROMOTIONS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CUSTOMERS —-) A view of the damaged cars After After the flight of a Su-34 aircraft of the Aerospace Forces over the city of Belgorod, on April 21, 2023, an unusual descent of an aircraft munition occurred in the center of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that an explosion in the city of Belgorod near Ukraine was the result of an emergency munitions drop. The blast tore down power lines, shattered windows in nearby apartment buildings, damaged several cars and left a 20-meter-high crater in its wake, Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement. (Photo by Belgorod Governorate/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The Russian Defense Ministry did not specify what type of weapon had been fired, but did identify the plane as a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter – a medium-range supersonic bomber.
Belgorod City Mayor Valentin Demidov talks to a local resident inside a damaged apartment as he visits the scene of an accident after a large explosion on a street in Belgorod, Russia, April 20, 2023.
Mayor of Belgorod | Via Portal
Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram late Thursday that three people were injured after local blasts, with no fatalities reported. He announced a state of emergency in Belgorod, where a crater with a radius of 20 meters has formed over a main road.
Belgorod City Mayor Valentin Demidov visits the accident site after a large explosion on a street in Belgorod, Russia, April 20, 2023.
Mayor of Belgorod | Portal
3 hours ago
Russian party proposes additional tax on Russia’s wealthiest to bolster war effort
Members of a Russian political party have put forward a proposal to increase the income tax rate of Russia’s wealthier citizens with personal incomes in excess of 12 million rubles (US$147,000) by 2% and channel these additional funds to support Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. This was reported by the Russian state news agency Tass.
The money generated by additional taxes will be used to support both the mobilized soldiers and their families, the measure proposes.
Russia’s hydrocarbon-dependent revenues have been increasingly stifled by Western sanctions on its seaborne exports and crude oil and oil products, in force since December and February respectively.
Based on data from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Council says Russia’s GDP fell by 2.1% in 2022.
— Ruxandra Iordache
17 hours ago
Biden speaks with EU’s von der Leyen about imposing additional costs on Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden holds a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron from the Oval Office of the White House in this official White House Handout photo released after the call in Washington, U.S., September 22, 2021.
Adam Schultz | White House | Portal
US President Joe Biden spoke to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about other ways allies can support Ukraine.
Biden and von der Leyen reiterated their commitment to ensuring Ukraine gets the economic and security aid it needs while continuing to impose costs on the Kremlin.
“The leaders also discussed ongoing joint efforts to accelerate the transition to clean energy economies” to reduce dependence on Russian fuel, the White House said in a statement.
The two also discussed regional security issues related to China and Taiwan.
– Amanda Macias
22 hours ago
Secretary of State Austin travels to Germany to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (2nd R), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov (R) attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO Headquarters during the first of two days of defense ministers meeting on February 14, 2023 in Brussels, Belgium.
Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is en route to Germany to host the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Earlier in the week, Austin met with his colleagues in Sweden to discuss Ukraine’s security assistance and Stockholm’s bid to join the NATO military alliance.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group is a coalition of nearly 50 countries supporting Ukraine’s military needs. The upcoming meeting at Ramstein Air Base will be the group’s eleventh meeting since its inception last April.
– Amanda Macias
Thu, Apr 20, 2023 8:12 am EDT
Zelenskyy says it’s time for NATO to invite Ukraine into the alliance
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg (L) shakes hands with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a joint news conference April 20, 2023 in Kiev.
Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday it was time NATO invited Ukraine to join the western military alliance, echoing a well-heard request from Kiev for accelerated membership.
At a joint press conference in Kyiv with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday, Zelenskyy said he had been invited to the next NATO summit in July, but that Kyiv wanted more.
“I am grateful for the invitation to attend the summit, but it is also important that Ukraine receives the appropriate invitation,” he told reporters in comments reported by Portal.
“There is not a single objective obstacle to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance, and now that most of the people in NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians support NATO membership, the time has come for the relevant decisions .”
Stoltenberg said that Ukraine’s application for NATO membership – which it submitted last September – and security guarantees would be high on the agenda of the alliance’s July summit, adding that Ukraine’s rightful place in NATO may be.
Despite Stoltenberg’s words of support and encouragement, analysts believe Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership faces significant hurdles and could take years to be approved, if ever.
Aside from the active war going on in Ukraine, NATO members like Hungary and Turkey would probably be very reluctant to further anger Russia by admitting Ukraine into the alliance. One of Moscow’s main specters before the war was a potential further eastward expansion of NATO to include Ukraine, although even then that prospect seemed a distant possibility.
— Holly Ellyatt
3 hours ago