Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of an armoured vehicle during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 21, 2022. (Reuters)Russia Ukraine War Crisis: Ukrainian fighters were clinging to their last redoubt in Mariupol on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the biggest battle of the war, declaring the port city “liberated” following weeks of relentless bombardment. The United States on Thursday, however, disputed Putin’s claim and said it believed Ukrainian forces still held ground in the city.
Meanwhile, satellite images released Thursday showed what appeared to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there in an effort to conceal the slaughter taking place in the siege of the port city.
In other news, the Biden Administration said that it is the United States, and not Russia, which is and will be India’s “reliable” partner post the war in Ukraine. Britain, meanwhile, is set to offer India know-how to build its own fighter jets and a licence for faster deliveries of defence equipment when the prime ministers of the two countries meet on Friday, as the West tries to wean India away from Russia.
Satellite images released Thursday showed what appeared to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there in an effort to conceal the slaughter taking place in the siege of the port city.
The images emerged hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the battle for the Mariupol, despite the presence of an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters who were still holed up at a giant steel mill. Putin ordered his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off "so that not even a fly comes through."
Satellite image provider Maxar Technologies released the photos, which it said showed more than 200 mass graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting. The imagery showed long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. (AP)
Britain is set to offer India know-how to build its own fighter jets and a licence for faster deliveries of defence equipment when the prime ministers of the two countries meet on Friday, as the West tries to wean India away from Russia.
In his first visit to New Delhi as prime minister, Boris Johnson will discuss with Narendra Modi boosting trade and security ties with the South Asian country that buys more than half of its military hardware from Russia. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday his war-ravaged country needed more heavy weapons to defend itself from Russia's invasion that threatened its very survival, and asked Western nations to impose further sanctions.
Speaking in a video address to the Portuguese parliament, he accused the Russian army of committing many atrocities in Ukraine, including in the port city of Mariupol, and asked Portugal to support a global embargo on Russian oil.
He did not provide concrete evidence of the atrocities during the speech. Russia says it was forced to launch its "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine, and protect Russian-speakers there from "genocide" - arguments denounced by Kyiv and the West as baseless pretexts for war. (Reuters)
Britain on Thursday further banned imports of caviar and other products from Russia in the latest round of sanctions. The UK department for international trade informed about the development.
The UK’s international trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, in a statement, said, "Today we announce further tariff sanctions against Russia."
"Import bans on more products inc silver and caviar, increased tariffs on a range of Russian goods and Cutting off vital funding for Putin's war machine," Trevelyan added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could still win in Ukraine despite failing in his pre-war objectives, Western officials said on Thursday, adding that Russia had addressed some of the issues that had hindered it earlier on in the invasion. Russia invaded Ukraine two months ago, and in recent weeks has refocused on the east of the country after failing to capture the capital Kyiv.
"Putin has clearly failed in meeting his initial pre-war objectives, but is still in a position to win," one official said, on condition of anonymity. The official said that success for Russia might be the consolidation of Russian control over the Donbas and the creation a land bridge with Crimea, and in what he termed a worst-case scenario, there could be a renewed attack on Kyiv.
The official added that despite these possible outcomes, the invasion of Ukraine would remain a strategic mistake for Russia, given the substantial losses its army has suffered, the stubborn resistance of Ukraine and the way the war has changed Europe's security architecture to Russia's detriment. (Reuters)
Russia on Thursday expanded an entry ban on U.S. officials to include U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and 28 other American officials, businesspeople and journalists.
The sanctions list, published by the Russian foreign ministry, included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, among others.
"These individuals are denied entry into the Russian Federation indefinitely," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky thanked his US counterpart Joe Biden for the military and economic support extended to his country in fighting the Russian aggression. In a tweet, Zelenskky said, "I’m grateful to President Biden and the US people for the leadership in supporting the people of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. This help is needed today more than ever! It saves the lives of our defenders of democracy and freedom and brings us closer to restoring peace in Ukraine."
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the country is sending weapons "directly to front lines of freedom", news agency Reuters reported. Biden also extended $800 million to Ukraine as military aid. Biden in a speech also said that the US will provide $500 million economic assistance to Ukrainian government.
"In order to sustain Ukrain for duration of fights, will ask Congress for more money next week," the President added. Biden also asserted that the new package will ensure steady flow of weapons into Ukraine over the next few weeks.Highlighting that the Battle of Kyiv was a historic victory for Ukrainians, he said that assistance needs to be accelerated. (Reuters)
Spain has sent a new batch of 200 tons of ammunition and military supplies to Ukraine, more than doubling the quantity of military aid it has sent so far, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in Kyiv on Thursday. Sanchez and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen have jointly met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.
Sanchez also said his country will also ask the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine and that it plans to send war crimes investigators there. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said his country has already raised the Ukraine war issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a diplomatic level, and added that everybody understands that India and Russia shared "very different relationships historically".
Johnson's visit to India comes at a time when India has taken a neutral stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and amid the criticism by western countries, especially the US, that India was not taking a clear stance against Russia.
"Well, we have already raised the issue of Ukraine with Prime Minister Narendra Modi diplomatically. Actually, they (India) were very strong in condemnation of atrocities in Bucha (city in Ukraine)," Johnson told reporters in Halol in Panchmahals district of Gujarat, where he opened a new JCB factory as part his two-day visit to India.
"I think everybody understands that India and Russia have historically had very different relationships, like Russia and the UK had in the last couple of decades," Johnson further said while replying to a question whether he will raise the issue of India's stand on Ukraine with PM Modi. (PTI)
Russia handed over to Ukraine 10 soldiers, including two officers, and nine civilians in an exchange of prisoners of war, Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister said on Thursday.
"This time there were wounded among those released and ... now they will be able to receive full treatment and undergo rehabilitation," she said in Telegram messaging app. (Reuters)
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Moscow was still waiting for Ukraine's response to Russia's latest written proposal in peace talks between the two sides, and questioned why Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskky was unaware of the document.
Zelenskky said on Wednesday he had not seen or heard about the text the Kremlin said it had sent. "I repeat once again, as I said yesterday, our formulations, in fact the latest version, were handed to our opponents, to the Ukrainian negotiating delegation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said the Kremlin was aware of Zelenskiy's comment, "which also raises certain questions about why no one is reporting to President Zelenskiy about our versions of the text". The comments from the two sides appeared to highlight both the gulf in their positions and the poor state of communication between them, eight weeks after Russia sent its troops and tanks into Ukraine and more than three weeks after they last held face-to-face talks on March 29. (Reuters)
Philip Morris International Inc cut its full-year earnings forecast on Thursday, hurt by the pullback of its Russian operations, higher costs and a sluggish recovery in its Asian duty-free business.
The tobacco giant took a charge of 3 cents per share related to the war in Ukraine in the first quarter, after discontinuing sales of a number of Marlboro and Parliament cigarette products in Russia. The company, which is working on options to exit Russia, has also canceled product launches for the year and suspended its planned investments there following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Philip Morris' first-quarter earnings fell 3.6% to $2.32 billion, or $1.50 per share, including the 3-cent charge. Russia generated revenue of more than $1.8 billion last year for Philip Morris, around 6% of the New York-based company's global sales. Philip Morris also slashed its forecast for 2022 adjusted earnings per share to between $5.45 and $5.56 from between $6.12 and $6.30 estimated earlier, as soaring costs wreak havoc on corporate earnings across sectors. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia's military operation in Ukraine “continues according to plan” although President Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces not to storm the Azovstal steel plant, the last holdout of Ukrainian forces in the port city of Mariupol.
Peskov told reporters on Thursday that “there was and still is an opportunity for Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms and come out via established corridors.” He said that “the operation continues according to plan" and that Mariupol “has been liberated.” Asked whether the order not to storm the steel plant represented a change of plans, he said that "this is a separate facility where the remaining group of Ukrainian nationalists is completely blocked.” (AP)
News agency AFP on Thursday released a map, showing destruction in Mariupol. The map is based on satellite image analysis by Masae Analytics.
President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the biggest battle of the Ukraine war on Thursday, declaring the port of Mariupol "liberated" after nearly two months of siege, despite hundreds of defenders still holding out inside a giant steel works.
In a televised meeting with his defence minister inside the Kremlin, Putin said there was no need for a final confrontation with the last defenders who were boxed in after surviving nearly two months of Russia's siege.
"I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary," he told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in a televised meeting at the Kremlin. "I order you to cancel it."
"There's no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities," he said. "Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can get through." (Reuters)
UK on Thursday announced that the latest sanction under the Russia regime adds 26 new desigantions, news agency Reuters reported. The lastest inclusion in the sanction includes names of Russian military figues and business executives. This comes after the Russian foreign ministry imposed a travel ban on top leaders of the UK, including PM Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. (Reuters)
Hungary wants to see the details of an European Union proposal for sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports before it decides whether to block those or not, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday. Hungary has been firmly opposed to a gas and oil embargo, which Budapest has said would wreck the Hungarian economy.
The country imports about 80% of its gas and 65% of the oil it needs from Russia, with MOL's refineries at Szazhalombatta and in Bratislava, Slovakia, predominantly processing Russian oil at the moment. Germany will stop importing oil from Russia by the end of the year, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday.
When asked about Baerbock's comments, and whether Hungary would veto EU sanctions on Russian oil and gas, Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said: "We would like to see what kinds of proposals are on the table and whether there is an alternative to replace resources arriving from Russia." (Reuters)
Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that British fighters who had been captured in Ukraine were being fed, watered and given necessary help.
"Don't worry, the Russian side is taking care of them. They are fed, watered, and given the necessary assistance. Just like other foreigners who have surrendered or been detained", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces appeared on Russian state TV on Monday and asked to be exchanged for a Ukrainian ally of President Vladimir Putin who is being held by the Ukrainian authorities. It was unclear how freely the two men - Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin - were able to talk. (Reuters)
Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv was under intense bombardment on Thursday, its mayor Ihor Terekhov said. "Huge blasts, the Russian Federation is furiously bombing the city," Terekhov said in a televised address.
He said that around 1 million people remain in the northeastern city, while about 30% of the population have evacuated, mainly women, children and the elderly. (Reuters)