Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #4

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Putin will not dictate Ukraine peace terms - Scholz​

Russia will not win its war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin must not dictate the terms of any peace agreement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.

After failing to seize Ukraine's capital Kyiv or its second city Kharkiv in its three-month-old war, Russian forces are trying to wrest full control of the eastern Donbas region and have also advanced in the south, despite stiff Ukrainian resistance and tough Western sanctions on Moscow.

"Putin must not win his war, and I am convinced he will not win," Mr Scholz said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

"A capture of the whole of Ukraine seems further away now than at the beginning of the war."

Although some have suggested that Ukraine should negotiate with Mr Putin and consider ceding territory, Mr Scholz rejected the idea of letting Putin dictate the terms of an agreement.

"There will be no dictated peace," Mr Scholz added. "Ukraine will not accept this, and neither will we."

Mr Putin is only likely to seriously negotiate once he accepts that the war cannot be won, making continued Western support for Ukraine essential, he said.

Mr Scholz, however, did not address Ukrainian demands for the delivery of more heavy weapons to Kyiv, despite concrete requests by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Davos yesterday.

(...)

As Russia seeks to solidify its grip on the territory it has seized, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of newly captured districts to acquire Russian citizenship and passports.

The Russian parliament yesterday scrapped the upper age limit for contractual service in the military, highlighting the need to replace lost troops.

In a late-night video address, Mr Zelensky, commenting on the new Russian enlistment rules, said: "(They) no longer have enough young men, but they still have the will to fight. It will still take time to crush this will."

Mr Zelensky said this week the conflict could only be ended with direct talks between him and Putin.

(...)

Moscow has blockaded ships from southern Ukraine that would normally export Ukrainian grain and sunflower oil through the Black Sea, pushing up prices globally.

The African Union yesterday urged the two countries to unblock exports of grains and fertiliser to avoid widespread famine.

Russia has blamed Western sanctions for the food crisis. It said it was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine but wanted sanctions to be lifted in return.

Western nations have imposed severe sanctions on Russia.

The United States pushed Russia closer to the brink of a historic debt default by not extending its licence to pay bondholders. That waiver has allowed Moscow to keep up government debt payments till now.

The European Commission proposed to make breaking EU sanctions against Russia a crime.

The EU also said it hoped to agree sanctions on Russian oil before the next meeting of EU leaders.

But Russia, for now at least, is not short of money. Oil and gas revenues stood at $28 billion in April alone, thanks to high energy prices.

www.rte.ie

Putin will not dictate Ukraine peace terms - Scholz​

Russia will not win its war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin must not dictate the terms of any peace agreement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.
www.rte.ie
www.rte.ie
 
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/may/27/russia-ukraine-war-latest-russian-attack-kills-9-civilians-in-kharkiv-zelenskiy-accuses-moscow-of-genocide-in-donbas-live

4h ago06.05

Today so far …​

  • Officials in Ukraine have admitted that Russia has the “upper hand” in fighting in the country’s east, as Ukrainian forces fell back from some of their positions in the Donbas region.
  • The governor of Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said just 5% of the region remained in Ukrainian hands – down from about 10% little more than a week ago – and that Ukrainian forces were retreating in some areas.
  • Pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic have said they have established full control over the strategic town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine. The claims have not been independently verified.
  • Russian ground forces are continuing their attempt to surround Sievierodonetsk and Lyschansk, having recently captured several villages north-west of Popasna, the UK ministry of defence has said in its latest report.
  • Artillery pounded the north eastern city of Kharkiv yesterday for the first time in two weeks, just as life in Ukraine’s second city was starting to return to normal. Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Synehubov, said at least nine people had been killed and 17 injured in the attacks on the northern part of the city. He said “doctors are providing all necessary assistance” and there were no further casualties overnight.
  • Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine was not eager to talk to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, but that it has to face the reality that this will likely be necessary to end the war.
  • Russia’s ministry of defence has claimed to have killed more than 250 fighters overnight, shot down one MiG-29 aircraft, and destroyed two ammunition dumps, including one within the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
  • The Kremlin has rejected claims that Russia has blocked grain exports from Ukraine, blaming the west for creating such a situation by imposing sanctions on Russia. The UK’s foreign minister, Liz Truss, accused Vladimir Putin of “weaponising” hunger through Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports. A senior Turkish official said Ankara was in “ongoing” talks with Russia and Ukraine to open a corridor via the Bosphorus.
  • Two captured Russian soldiers have pleaded guilty to shelling a town in eastern Ukraine, in the second war crimes trial since Russian troops invaded the country. Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov acknowledged being part of an artillery unit that fired at targets in the Kharkiv region from Russia’s Belgorod region.
  • Russia has deployed mobile propaganda vans with large-screen televisions to humanitarian aid points in the captured city of Mariupol. The Orwellian turn comes as the Kremlin continued to push forward with efforts to integrate newly occupied territories across the south of Ukraine.
  • Sweden and Finland’s push to join Nato won’t require adding more US ground forces into either country, the US general nominated to take over European Command told senators.
  • The US is reportedly preparing to send advanced, long-range rocket systems to Ukraine after an urgent request from Ukrainian officials.
  • Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said that “weapons, weapons and weapons again” are what the country needs. “We need more heavy weapons delivered as soon as possible, especially MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems) to repel Russian attacks,” Kuleba said.
 
nationalpost.com

We are ready to attack Poland next for its support of Ukraine, Putin's Chechen ally warns​

'Once Ukraine is done, we can show you what we're capable of in six seconds if there is an order,' said Kadyrov in a video message on social media
nationalpost.com
nationalpost.com

We are ready to attack Poland next for its support of Ukraine, Putin's Chechen ally warns''​

May 26, 2022 • Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov at a military parade in the Chechen capital Grozny, Russia May 9, 2022. PHOTO BY CHINGIS KONDAROV/REUTERS/FILE

''Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, has threatened to attack Poland unless it agrees to withdraw its support for Ukraine.''

''Ukraine is a done deal. What I’m interested in is Poland,” said Kadyrov in a video message on social media on Wednesday night''

''Oleg Morozov, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker, said earlier this month that Poland’s support for Ukraine “is pushing Russia to put it first in line for de-Nazification,” a term the Kremlin used to describe one of its goals in Ukraine.''
 

Biden says US won’t send Ukraine rocket systems that can reach Russia​

President Biden on Monday said the United States will not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could potentially reach into Russia, after reports that the administration was preparing to send long-range systems to the besieged European ally.
www.foxnews.com
www.foxnews.com

The U.S. will not be sending these rocket systems to Ukraine, as it could potentially escalate a U.S. and Russia war.


The Washington Post reported that the State Department had said the White House had concerns that providing Ukraine with the MLRS could result in a situation in which Ukrainians fire rockets into Russian territory -- which would spark a major escalation in the conflict. Officials had reportedly mulled managing the risk by withholding some of the longest-range rockets available.

Russia has objected loudly to moves by the West to provide Ukraine with weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken to leaders of France and Germany on Saturday and warned against continued transfers of weapons to Ukraine.
 
The European Union has agreed to an embargo on most Russian oil imports after late-night talks at a summit in Brussels.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, hailed the deal as a “remarkable achievement”, after tweeting on Monday night that sanctions will immediately impact 75% of Russian oil imports, “cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine”.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the ban “will effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year” because Germany and Poland had committed to renounce deliveries via a pipeline to their territory.

Michel added that the package also included removing access to Swift payments for Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank; banning three more Russian state-owned broadcasters; and further sanctions against “individuals responsible for war crimes in Ukraine”.

Von der Leyen called the agreement on a sixth sanctions package was “an important step forward” and said the bloc had agreed a “massive investment in renewable energy” in order to compensate for the diversifying away from Russian oil.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, later tweeted: “A landmark decision to cripple Putin’s war machine. Our unity is our strength.”

(...)

EU leaders agree to partial embargo of Russian oil imports​

Some 75% of imports will be banned and Sberbank ejected from Swift but Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia to keep supplies
www.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com
 
Last edited:
MAY 31, 2022

apnews.com

Sievierodonetsk mayor says Russian forces seize half of city​

Russian forces in a “frenzied push” have seized half of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk that is key to Moscow’s efforts to quickly complete the capture of the industrial Donbas region, the mayor told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

“The city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block,” Oleksandr Striuk said. He said heavy street fighting continues and artillery bombardments threaten the lives of the estimated 13,000 civilians still sheltering in the ruined city that once was home to more than 100,000.

[...]

apnews.com

War crimes meeting held at Hague over Russia-Ukraine war​

Representatives of a group of nations working together to investigate war crimes in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are meeting in The Hague amid ongoing calls for those responsible for atrocities to be brought to justice.

Tuesday’s coordination meeting at the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, of members of a Joint Investigation Team and International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan comes as Russian forces continue to pound Ukrainian towns.

[...]

apnews.com

Hungary's Orban wins exemption in EU Russian oil embargo​

Hungary’s divisive leader has once again got his own way with the European Union — this time in tough negotiations on Russian oil at a summit in Brussels.

And nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban wasn’t shy about trumpeting his success in leveraging the bloc to win significant concessions, allowing his country to continue purchasing Russian crude even as war rages on in neighboring Ukraine.

The European Commission’s “proposal to ban the use of Russian oil in Hungary was defeated,” Orban said in a video statement on Facebook. “Families can sleep well tonight as the most outrageous idea has been averted.”

[...]
 

''Russian oligarch puts million-dollar bounty on Vladimir Putin's head | 60 Minutes Australia''​

 

Russian forces now control more than two-thirds of Sievierodonetsk – as it happened​


37m ago20.57

Summary​

  • The US will send Ukraine four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition to help try to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. The rocket systems are part of a new $700m tranche of security assistance that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said.
  • Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the supply of US advanced rocket systems to Ukraine increases the risk of a “third country” being dragged into the conflict. Lavrov’s deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, said that Moscow viewed US military aid to Ukraine “extremely negatively” and that it would increase the risk of a direct confrontation. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added: “We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire.”
  • The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Ukraine has given “assurances” that it will not use long-range weapons systems provided by Washington against targets on Russian territory.
  • Following Biden’s announcement, the UK has reportedly asked the US to sign off on a plan to send advanced, medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine within a few weeks. Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, spoke with Biden about the transfer of US-made M270 multiple launch rocket systems, which will be followed by a discussion between his foreign secretary, Liz Truss, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on Thursday, Politico cited a source as saying.
  • Russian forces now control more than two-thirds of the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, according to the regional governor of Luhansk. “Unfortunately, today, Russian troops control most of the city,” Serhiy Gaidai said, adding that a number of civilians are sheltering from Russian shelling under a chemical plant. The expected loss of Sievierodonetsk, the largest still held by Kyiv in the Luhansk region, “is unlikely to be the crux” of Russia’s Donbas campaign, a western official said.
  • Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, conceded that Kyiv’s forces are currently suffering up to 100 fatalities and 500 wounded every day. The most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk, Zelenskiy said in an interview with the US Newsmax television channel. Western officials said Ukraine’s estimate that it is losing 60 to 100 troops a day killed is “pretty credible”.
  • A Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskiy said five people were wounded in the strike. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the country’s interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel.
  • Russia said it has completed testing of its hypersonic Zircon cruise missile and will deploy it before the end of the year on a new frigate of its Northern Fleet. President Vladimir Putin has described the Zircon as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems, travelling at nine times the speed of sound.
  • Russian troops have been accused of committing acts of torture against residents in the Russian-controlled Kherson region in southern Ukraine. The BBC has gathered multiple first-hand testimonies from Kherson residents who say they were tortured while in the hands of Russian forces.
  • Denmark has voted overwhelmingly to join the EU’s common defence policy, becoming the last of the bloc’s members to sign up. The referendum on Wednesday, in which voters backed the government’s proposal by 66.9% to 33.1%, followed historic applications by Denmark’s previously non-aligned Nordic neighbours, Finland and Sweden, to join Nato last month.
  • Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said he will convene a meeting in Brussels in the coming days with senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey to discuss Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance. Blinken said there was a “strong consensus within Nato, broadly, to support the rapid accession of Sweden and Finland” to Nato and he was confident it would happen.
 
June 2, 2022

Arms sent to Ukraine will end up in criminal hands, says Interpol chief​

''Weapons sent to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February will end up on the global hidden economy and in the hands of criminals, the head of Interpol has said.

Jürgen Stock says once the conflict ends, a wave of guns and heavy arms will flood the international market and he urged Interpol’s member states, especially those supplying weapons, to cooperate on arms tracing.

“Once the guns fall silent [in Ukraine], the illegal weapons will come. We know this from many other theatres of conflict. The criminals are even now, as we speak, focusing on them,” Stock said.

“Criminal groups try to exploit these chaotic situations and the availability of weapons, even those used by the military and including heavy weapons. These will be available on the criminal market and will create a challenge. No country or region can deal with it in isolation because these groups operate at a global level.”

He added: “We can expect an influx of weapons in Europe and beyond. We should be alarmed and we have to expect these weapons to be trafficked not only to neighbouring countries but to other continents.”
 
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