Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin admits he is facing ‘serious challenges’
Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said, as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions.
The comments came as Russian president Vladimir Putin and defence minister Sergei Shoigu met with China’s defence minister general Li Shangfu less than a month after Xi Jinping held a three-day state visit to Moscow.
In “the weapons recovered from the battlefield we continue to find different electronics,” said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff on sanctions policy.
“The trend is now that there is less Western-made components but more – not hard (to) guess which country – made components. Of course, China,” he said via a video call.
China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, officially remaining neutral in the conflict.
Earlier, Mr Putin admitted on Sunday that he is facing “serious challenges” as he celebrated the second Orthodox Easter of his war with Ukraine.
Key Points
US document leak reveals were already known, Kyiv officials claim
Russia says Belarusian air force now trained for using its nuclear weapons
Vladimir Putin’s Bakhmut offensive ‘re-energised’ as Ukraine ‘loses ground’
‘Pentagon papers’ leak suspect to appear in US court after FBI arrest
Russian oil exports exceed pre-war levels as India and China buy crude
Ukraine says UN Security Council has lost 'meaning’
Ukraine says it is finding more Chinese components in Russian weapons
04:35 , Namita Singh
Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office told Reuters, as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions.
In “the weapons recovered from the battlefield we continue to find different electronics,” said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises the president’s chief of staff on sanctions policy.
“The trend is now that there is less Western-made components but more – not hard (to) guess which country – made components. Of course, China,” he said.
China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The assault triggered Western sanctions, including on sending military and dual-use technology such as microchips that could be used in either ordinary appliances or weapons.
Intelligence gathered by Ukrainian experts from the battlefield and shared with Reuters stated that Chinese-made components were found in a navigation system in Orlan aerial drones that had previously used a Swiss system.
The experts also reported finding Chinese parts in the fire control system in Russian tanks that had earlier used French-made parts.
Reuters could not independently verify the intelligence, including whether the components mentioned may have been intended for non-military use or whether they were moved to Russia by a third party.
“We’re picking (up) a lot of different stuff, China made,” Mr Vlasiuk said.
Ukraine names Chinese manufacturers supplying components to Russia
05:30 , Namita Singh
Ukraine was able to identify some manufacturers or suppliers and share that information with Western allies, said a senior adviser in president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises the president’s chief of staff on sanctions policy, named China North Industries Group (Norinco), a Chinese weapons maker, as one supplier and military supplier Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co as another, without saying what they had supplied.
A member of staff at Norinco, who declined to give their name, said the company was “not providing military equipment components to Russia”.
Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The top US diplomat Antony Blinken last month said China had not “crossed that line” yet of supplying Russia with lethal aid.
However, US officials are watching developments closely and are concerned, in particular, by so-called dual-use products, such as electronics that can be used in, say, a microwave or a missile.
“We and our partner governments are relentlessly focused on restricting Russia’s access to key technologies that fuel its brutality in Ukraine,” said a senior State Department official. “We will continue to take action to degrade Putin’s war machine.”
China enjoys ‘normal trade cooperation’ with all countries, says Beijing
05:00 , Namita Singh
China has responded to claims from Ukraine that more Chinese components are appearing in Russian weapons, without categorically denying the accusation.
Asked whether Chinese companies had provided parts for Russian military hardware, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson’s office told Reuters: “Throughout history, China has launched normal trade cooperation with all countries, including Russia, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
“As for military item exports, China has throughout adopted a prudent and responsible attitude. China’s position and actions have always been this way.”
Putin meets with China’s defense minister in Moscow
04:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with China‘s defense minister on Sunday, underscoring Beijing‘s strengthening engagement with Moscow, with which it has largely aligned its foreign policy in an attempt to diminish the influence of the United States and other Western democracies.
Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with Gen. Li Shangfu less than a month after Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a three-day state visit to Moscow.
China has refused to criticize Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and blames the United States and NATO for provoking Moscow. But China’s foreign minister said last week that China wouldn’t be helping Russia with weapons, as the U.S. and other Western allies have feared.
Officially, China remains neutral in the Ukraine conflict. However, Xi’s trip emphasized how China is increasingly becoming the senior partner in the relationship as it provides Russia with political cover and an economic lifeline during the Ukraine conflict.
In comments opening the meeting, Putin praised the general development of Russia-China relations.
Read more:
Putin meets with China's defense minister in Moscow
Evan Gershkovich pens letter home from Russian prison: ‘I am not losing hope’
02:00 , Eleanor Noyce
In case you missed it...
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has sent his first letter home after being detained and imprisoned by Russian intelligence forces.
Mr Gershkovich, 31, has been accused Russian officials of engaging in espionage. The reporter has categorically denied the allegations.
In his letter home, Mr Gershkovich said he was optimistic, looked forward to seeing his family, and poked fun at Russian prison food, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I want to say that I am not losing hope,” he wrote. “I read. I exercise. And I am trying to write. Maybe, finally, I am going to write something good.”
The letter was addressed to his family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and dated 5 April. His mother told the paper that he tried to comfort them by adding humour to the note, joking about her cooking.
Read more:
Evan Gershkovich pens letter home from Russian prison: ‘I am not losing hope’
Ukraine’s foreign minister to visit Iraq for first time since Russia’s invasion
01:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine’s foreign minister is to visit Iraq for the first time since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Dmytro Kuleba will land in Baghdad on Monday, AFP reports. Here, he is expected to hold talks with Iraq’s foreign minister alongside Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani.
Last week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone call with Mr Sudani.
Notably, Iraq has adopted a neutral stance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, maintaining economic ties with both nations.
Russia attempting to deport Ukrainian children in occupied zone, Ukrainian official claims
Sunday 16 April 2023 23:49 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia is attempting to deport children in the occupied city of Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian military spokesperson has said.
According to CNN, Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi made the claim on Ukrainian national TV. Some children were reportedly taken from their families and transported to Crimea in buses, Sky News reports.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin last month, citing an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia.
14-year-old girl rescued from rubble following Russian rocket attack
Sunday 16 April 2023 19:57 , Eleanor Noyce
A 14-year-old girl has been rescued from the rubble following a Russian rocket attack in eastern Ukraine, Sky News reports.
Russian forces destroyed a five-storey building in Slovyansk, Donetsk on Friday. The bodies of two men were also retrieved from the ruins on Sunday afternoon, bringing the death toll up to 15.
A further 24 people have been injured, with the strike further hitting flats, cars and houses across the city.
Putin hails military cooperation in meeting with Chinese defence minister - Reuters
Sunday 16 April 2023 19:15 , Eleanor Noyce
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu in Moscow, notably hailing the military cooperation between the two nations.
Footage of the meeting posted by the Kremlin showed Putin shaking hands with Li. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was also present.
“Development of relations between our two nations is going well in all areas -- in the economy, social, cultural and educational sectors, and in military departments,” Putin said in opening remarks.
Beijing had previously announced Li’s visit to Moscow last week, but made no mention of a meeting with Mr Putin.
‘America’s latest intel leak is more Jim Carrey than James Bond', writes Borzou Daragahi
Sunday 16 April 2023 18:46 , Eleanor Noyce
It’s like the plot of a John le Carre novel, if spymaster George Smiley’s people were a clique of confused, pimple-faced gamers. Or James Bond, if 007 were a peach-fuzz-faced lad asked by the bartender for proof of age every time he ordered his vesper martini.
“Shaken, not stirred.”
“Er, how about an apple juice instead, son?”
This week came the revelation that America’s latest intelligence breach was not the work of a crafty Russian mole seeking to undermine the US, nor even a wannabe do-gooder hoping to strike a blow against the abuses of America’s deep state. He was Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard IT specialist who leaked documents to impress his buddies – a couple of dozen young video game and gun aficionados on an online message board.
Perhaps the key to uncovering America’s most precious secrets is not to graduate with a journalism degree, but to join a group of teenagers on a messaging board trading tips about guns and video games, writes Borzou Daragahi:
America’s latest intel leak is more Jim Carrey than James Bond | Borzou Daragahi
Easter: church head laments conflict in 'historical' Russia
Sunday 16 April 2023 18:15 , Martha Mchardy
Worshipers including President Vladimir Putin crowded into Moscow‘s vast Christ the Savior Cathedral for Easter services led by Russian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill, a supporter of Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.
The services began late Saturday and were to extend long into Sunday as phalanxes of white-robed clerics circulated through the cathedral swinging smoking censers and a choir sang and chanted.
Most Western churches observed Easter on April 9, but the Russian Orthodox Church follows a different calendar.
In a video message broadcast on state televison before the start of the service, Kirill lamented the “grave events taking place on our Russian historical land, ” echoing the claim of Putin and other Russian officials that an independent Ukraine is essentially a fiction.
Kirill called for prayers “so that peace and a common good life, fraternal relations again unite our peoples, who were once the one people of united Russia.”
Putin was shown among the standing worshipers, holding a thin red candle.
EU says unilateral action on trade unacceptable after grain import bans
Sunday 16 April 2023 17:45 , Martha Mchardy
Unilateral action on trade by European Union member states is unacceptable, a European Commission spokesperson said on Sunday, after Poland and Hungary announced bans on grain and other food imports from Ukraine to protect the local agricultural sector.
After Russia’s invasion blocked some Black Sea ports, large quantities of Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper than that produced in the European Union, ended up staying in Central European states due to logistical bottlenecks, hitting prices and sales for local farmers.
The issue has created a political problem for Poland’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party in an election year as it has angered people in rural areas where support for PiS is usually high.
“We are aware of Poland and Hungary’s announcements regarding the ban on imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “In this context, it is important to underline that trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable.”
“In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU,” the statement added.
The Polish ban, which came into effect on Saturday evening, will also apply to the transit of these products through the country, the development and technology minister said on Sunday.
“The ban is full, including the ban on transit through Poland,” Waldemar Buda wrote on Twitter, adding that talks would be held with the Ukrainian side to create a system that ensures goods only pass through Poland and do not end up on the local market.
Ukraine’s ministry of agrarian policy and food said on Saturday that the Polish ban contradicted existing bilateral agreements on exports, and called for talks to settle the issue.
Ukraine’s state-run Ukrinform news agency said Ukrainian and Polish ministers are due to meet on Monday in Poland and the transit arrangement would be focused on in the talks.
Poland’s Agriculture Minister Robert Telus was quoted as saying on Sunday that the ban was necessary to “open the eyes of the EU to the fact that further decisions are needed that will allow products from Ukraine to go deep into Europe, and not stay in Poland.”
Ukraine exports most of its agricultural goods, especially grain, via its Black Sea ports, unblocked in July in line with an agreement between Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and the United Nations.
Around 3 million tonnes of grain left Ukraine every month via the Black Sea grain corridor while only up to 200,000 tonnes are moving to European ports through Polish territory, according to the Ukrainian ministry.
Ukraine’s farm minister Mykola Solsky said at the weekend that 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes of various agricultural products cross the Polish border every month, including grain, vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, meat and other products.
Dozens of POWs freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
Sunday 16 April 2023 17:15 , Martha Mchardy
More than 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released as part of a major Easter exchange with Russia, a top official said Sunday, as Orthodox Ukrainians marked the holiday for a second time since Moscow unleashed its brutal full-scale war last February.
While celebrations were subdued due to security risks, with a curfew barring the faithful from customary all-night services, Ukrainian authorities and ordinary people shared messages of hope, linking the story of Jesus’ resurrection to their longing for peace and a Ukrainian victory.
Dozens of families had special reasons to rejoice, as presidential adviser Andriy Yermak announced that 130 soldiers, sailors, border guards and others captured by Moscow were on their way back home following a “big Easter prisoner exchange.”
Yermak said in a Telegram post Sunday that those released included troops who fought near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city which has for months been the focus of Russia’s grinding offensive.
“The lives of our people are the highest value for us,” Yermak said, adding that Kyiv’s goal was to bring back all remaining POWs.
There was no immediate information on how many Russian prisoners were released, but the press service of the founder of the Wagner Group, the Kremlin-affiliated paramilitary force whose fighters are prominent in eastern Ukraine, also released a video Sunday showing Ukrainian prisoners of war being readied for an exchange.
The video, published on the Telegram messaging service, features Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin instructing a soldier to prepare the Ukrainian captives to leave Russian-controlled territory “by lunchtime” on Sunday. The POWs are then shown boarding trucks and walking along a road.
Hanna Arhirova reports:
Dozens of POWs freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
Brazil's Lula calls for 'peace group' to broker Ukraine-Russia deal
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:44 , Martha Mchardy
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday again proposed establishing a group of countries not involved with the Russia-Ukraine war to broker peace, saying he had discussed the matter with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping earlier this week.
“I think we need to sit on a table and say, ‘that’s enough, let’s start talking’ because war never brought and will never bring any benefit to humanity,” said president Lula, who has been critical of the United States and the European Union for their role in the conflict.
The Brazilian president told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he finished a trip to Asia, that he was trying to gather a group of leaders that “prefer to talk about peace rather than war.”
He cited Xi and the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both of whom he met this week.
President Lula had previously said the group should gather countries not “encouraging” war, adding that nations that are supplying weapons should be convinced to stop doing so.
The United States and the European Union have been providing Ukraine with weapons and other support since Russia invaded the neighbouring country more than a year ago. Germany earlier this year reportedly asked Brazil to supply arms as well, but president Lula refused.
The Brazilian president repeated that the decision to start war was “made by two countries,” appearing to also place some blame on Ukraine, and added that ending it will be harder as more nations would need to be persuaded.
“We are trying to form a group of countries that have no kind of involvement with the war to talk to Russia and Ukraine, but also the U.S. and EU, to convince people that peace is the best way to establish a process of conversation,” president Lula said.
Mr Lula had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier this year. On Monday, his administration will host Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Brasilia.
Putin admits he is facing ‘serious challenges’
Sunday 16 April 2023 15:40 , Tara Cobham
Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted he is facing “serious challenges” as he celebrates the second Orthodox Easter of his war with Ukraine.
“The wonderful, beloved Easter holiday gives believers hope, inspires good thoughts and deeds, and serves to affirm high moral ideals and values in society,” said Putin, who is waging a war on Ukraine that is feared to have already killed more than 200,000 people.
“The Church has always been together with the people, sharing joys and hardships with them. And today, in the face of serious challenges, it is actively involved in the affairs of mercy and charity, helping people find a strong spiritual support.”
Putin attended an Easter service conducted by the Russian Orthodox Church, which has strongly backed the Kremlin leader’s decision to invade Ukraine, on Sunday.
Putin, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and dark purple tie, stood to one side in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral, holding a lit red candle, live images of the midnight service showed. He also attended last year.
The Russian leader crossed himself several times during the ceremony, known as the Divine Liturgy. When Patriarch Kirill announced “Christ has risen”, Putin joined the other members of the congregation with the reply “Truly he is risen”. He otherwise did not speak.
Kirill’s statements backing Russia’s invasion, which Kyiv and Western nations condemn as an act of aggression, have splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church.
In January, Putin praised the church for supporting Moscow’s forces fighting in Ukraine in an Orthodox Christmas message designed to rally people behind his vision of modern Russia.
Polish ban on Ukrainian grain imports to apply to transit
Sunday 16 April 2023 12:28 , Tara Cobham
A Polish ban on imports of Ukrainian grain and other food will also apply to the transit of these products through the country, the development and technology minister said on Sunday.
Poland and Hungary said on Saturday that they had decided to ban imports from neighbouring Ukraine to protect the local agricultural sector after a flood of supply depressed prices across the region. The Polish ban came into effect on Saturday evening.
"The ban is full, including the ban on transit through Poland," Waldemar Buda wrote on Twitter, adding that talks would be held with the Ukrainian side to create a system that ensures goods only pass through Poland and do not end up on the local market.
Ukraine's ministry of agrarian policy and food said on Saturday that the Polish ban contradicted existing bilateral agreements on exports, and called for talks to settle the issue.
After Russia's invasion blocked some Black Sea ports, large quantities of Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper than that produced in the European Union, ended up staying in Central European states due to logistical bottlenecks, hitting prices and sales for local farmers.
The issue has created a political problem for Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in an election year as it has angered people in rural areas where support for the party is usually high.
Wagner releases 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war for Easter
Sunday 16 April 2023 10:48 , Tara Cobham
Wagner, Russia’s most powerful mercenary group, sent at least 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war back to Ukrainian forces to mark Orthodox Easter, according to a video posted by the group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Sunday.
"Prepare all of them, feed and water them, check the wounded," Prigozhin was shown saying in a video posted on Telegram by his press service.
A group of Ukrainian prisoners was then shown being told that they would be passed back to Ukrainian forces to mark Orthodox Easter.
"I hope you don't fall back into our hands," an armed Wagner soldier was told telling the men before they were ordered into a truck, some loading packs of water bottles.
More than 100 men, some limping and some being carried on stretchers by their comrades, were shown making their way in line along a muddy road as a man standing on a tank held a white flag.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said 130 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released and returned home in a "great Easter exchange". It was not clear how many Russians were sent back the other way.
Russia's Wagner Group has been gradually pushing out Ukrainian forces from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Wagner now claims control of most of the city, though Ukraine has repeatedly disputed claims its forces have almost been pushed out.
Prigozhin was shown greeting refugees in the city, including a boy named Vladimir, before they were evacuated. The people appeared to be sleeping in a cramped underground cellar of some kind. Prigozhin handed out chocolate bars to the children.
YouTube ‘hosting videos glorifying and fundraising for Wagner'
Sunday 16 April 2023 08:42 , Tara Cobham
YouTube is hosting videos glamorising and raising funds for the Wagner Group, it has been reported, leading to claims the platform could have breached sanctions law.
Multiple propaganda clips feature on the video and social media platform glorifying the Russian private military company accused of war crimes, reported The Sunday Times. The videos also raise money for ammunition for the mercenaries, who have been accused of rape, torture and murder in Ukraine and elsewhere. The clips, which include rap songs, even encourage viewers to join the paramilitary organisation, which include tens of thousands of convicts from jails in Russia and Africa.
The group, which is leading the bloodiest battle of the war in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, has been sanctioned by many western governments, with the US designating it a “transnational criminal organisation” and the UK sanctioning its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Experts said YouTube, which is owned by Google, could be breaching sanctions law. Jonathan Winer, a former deputy assistant US secretary of state for international law enforcement, told The Sunday Times: “Tech platforms like YouTube do not get a free pass in providing services to sanctioned entities like the Wagner Group.”
The algorithm of YouTube, which is owned by Google, also appears to be fuelling pro-Russian disinformation, evidenced by the platform directing viewers to more violent Wagner videos after the previous one ends.
The clips also seem to break the platform’s community guidelines, which ban “content praising or justifying violent acts carried out by violent extremist, criminal, or terrorist organisations”.
One recruitment promotional video is of dancing balaclava-clad mercenaries chanting the lyrics: “War is our element / Come on, Russia, get up / Come on Russia / Come on, Wagner play / It’s the breath of Armageddon / This is the birth of a new country / Russia, rise under the holy banners / Holy banners of holy war.”
A YouTube spokeswoman told The Sunday Times: “Content intended to praise, promote, or aid violent extremist or criminal organisations is not allowed on YouTube. Google is committed to compliance with US sanctions laws and enforces related policies unader its terms of service.”
‘Unprecedented bloody battles’ in Bakhmut, says Ukraine
Sunday 16 April 2023 07:27 , Tara Cobham
“Bloody battles unprecedented in recent decades” are taking place between Ukrainian and Russian armed forces in the eastern city of Bakhmut, but pro-Kyiv forces are still holding on, Ukraine’s military reported on Saturday.
Fighters of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group also captured two more areas of Bakhmut, Russia’s Defence Ministry said earlier on Saturday, but the report could not be independently confirmed.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern military command, told the 1+1 television channel: “Bloody battles unprecedented in recent decades are taking place in the middle of the city’s urban area.
“Our soldiers are doing everything in bloody and fierce battles to grind down [the enemy’s] combat capability and break its morale. Every day, in every corner of this city, they are successfully doing so.”
As Russia launched a renewed assault in Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops had been forced to cede some territory there, the UK said in an intelligence update on Friday.
The extraordinarily bloody fighting comes as the death toll from a Russian attack on residential buildings in nearby Sloviansk rose to 11. Russian missiles hit residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian on Friday, killing 11 people, wounding 21 and reducing parts of apartment blocks to a tangled mess of metal and concrete.
Russia should pay for damage caused in Ukraine, US treasury secretary says
Sunday 16 April 2023 06:40 , Vishwam Sankaran
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Russia should pay for the damage caused in Ukraine during Moscow’s invasion.
Ms Yellen said talks are ongoing on the potential mechanisms to make that happen.
“That’s a responsibility that I think the global community expects Russia to bear. This is something we’re discussing with our partners, but there are legal constraints on what we can do with frozen Russian assets,” she said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
Finland unveils first section of fence under construction along border with Russia
Sunday 16 April 2023 06:20 , Vishwam Sankaran
Finland has unveiled the first section of its barbed-wired fence under construction along its long border with Russia, mainly meant to curb illegal migration.
The Finnish Border Guard showcased the building of the initial 3km (1.8 mile) stretch of the fence on Friday less than two weeks after the Nordic country joined NATO as the 31st member of the military alliance.
The border’s construction was approved last year amid wide political support mainly to prevent illegal immigration from Russia.
In 2015-2016, as a show of its strength Moscow organise large numbers of asylum-seekers, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries, to northern Finnish crossing points.
Putin signs bill allowing electronic conscription notices
Sunday 16 April 2023 06:00 , Eleanor Noyce
In case you missed it...
Russian President Putin has signed a bill allowing authorities to issue electronic notices to draftees and reservists amid the fighting in Ukraine. The bill signed into law by Putin was published Friday on the official register of government documents.
Russia’s military service rules previously required the in-person delivery of notices to conscripts and reservists who are called up for duty. Under the new law, the notices issued by local military conscription offices will continue to be sent by mail but they would be considered valid from the moment they are put on a state portal for electronic services.
In the past, many Russians avoided the draft by staying away from their address of record. The new law closes that loophole in an apparent effort to create a tool for quickly beefing up the military ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive in the coming weeks.
Recipients who fail to show up for service would be prohibited from leaving Russia, would have their drivers’ licenses suspended and would be barred from selling their apartments and other assets.
Read more:
Putin signs bill allowing electronic conscription notices
Brazil's president says US should stop 'encouraging war'
Sunday 16 April 2023 05:40 , Vishwam Sankaran
After his China visit and meeting his counterpart in Beijing, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the US should stop “encouraging war” in Ukraine.
“The US needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace. The European Union needs to start talking about peace,” Mr Lula said, according to AFP.
With that, he said, the international community could “convince” the Russian and Ukrainian presidents that “peace is in the interest of the whole world.”
Zelensky discusses China over phone call with Macron
Sunday 16 April 2023 05:20 , Vishwam Sankaran
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he had an “hour and a half” phone call yesterday with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, discussing the latter’s recent visit to China.
Mr Macron made a three-day visit to China earlier this month along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hoping to talk the Chinese president out of supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
“The time is not for negotiations, even if we prepare them, we have to set milestones,” the French president said after his China visit.
Over the phone call, Mr Zelensky said he also discussed “the need for Ukraine to obtain effective security guarantees even before our country joins (NATO)” with Mr Macron.
From Putin’s health to spying on allies: Five key takeaways from leaked Pentagon documents
Sunday 16 April 2023 05:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Highly classified military documents shedding light on American intelligence gathered about other countries were released online this week, sending the Pentagon into full-speed damage control to assure allies and assess the scope of the leak.
On Thursday, armed FBI officers arrested a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Authorities raided the home of 21-year-old Jack Teixeira — who worked in cyber security for the Guard — and took him into custody.
The information has apparently highlighted potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s air defence capabilities and exposed private assessments by allies on an array of intelligence matters, raising questions about whether the leak will erode allies’ trust in sharing information with the US or affect Ukraine’s strategic combat plans.
My colleague Tara Cobham reports:
What was in the Pentagon leak?
Ukraine pushes back on Poland's food grain import ban
Sunday 16 April 2023 04:40 , Vishwam Sankaran
Following Poland’s move to temporarily ban grain and other food imports from Ukraine to soothe its own farmers, Ukrainian agriculture minister has said the decision violates an agreement reached earlier this month.
The Ukrainian minister Mykola Solskyi said during a briefing that he hopes the issue would be resolved in a week.
“We understand this tough competition, which resulted from the blockade of Ukrainian ports. But, it is obvious – for the whole world and for any person in this world – that the Ukrainian farmer is in the most difficult situation. And we ask the Polish side to take this into account,” Mr Solskyi said, according to local news.
“Considering our strong firm and ongoing cooperation with the Polish side...I hope that we will reach an agreement early next week,” he added.
Russia trained Belarusian pilots in nuclear weapons use
Sunday 16 April 2023 04:00 , Martha Mchardy
Belarusian air force crews have completed their training for using tactical nuclear weapons as part of Russia‘s plan to deploy the weapons to its ally Belarus amid the fighting in neighboring Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
The ministry released a video in which a Belarusian pilot said that the training course in Russia had given the crews of the Belarusian air force’s Su-25 ground attack jets the necessary skills for using the weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared last month that Moscow planned to put some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. It was another attempt by the Kremlin leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine.
Read the full story:
Russia trained Belarusian pilots in nuclear weapons use
Hungary temporarily bans food imports from Ukraine
Sunday 16 April 2023 03:38 , Vishwam Sankaran
Following Poland, Hungary has also banned the import of food grains and agricultural products from Ukraine to soothe its own farmers.
“The government is committed to representing the interests of the Hungarian farming community, which is why, in the absence of meaningful European Union measures, it is temporarily prohibiting the import of grain and oilseeds originating from or coming from Ukraine,” Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cheap Ukrainian grain has been flooding the market in Europe, helped by the EU waiving customs duties and import quotas to help keep Ukraine’s agricultural sector running.
The import restrictions are to last until 30 June, which the minister said should be enough time for the EU to introduce measures.
Poland prohibits food imports from Ukraine to soothe farmers
Sunday 16 April 2023 03:00 , Martha Mchardy
Poland’s government said Saturday that it has decided to temporarily prohibit grain and other food imports from Ukraine as it seeks to soothe the rising anger of Polish farmers, who say they are losing huge amounts of money to a glut of Ukrainian grain on the market.
Ruling party leader JarosÅaw KaczyÅski said at a party convention in eastern Poland that the Polish countryside is facing a “moment of crisis,” and that while Poland supports Ukraine, it was forced to act to protect its farmers.
“Today, the government has decided on a regulation that prohibits the importation of grain, but also dozens of other types of food, to Poland,” KaczyÅski said.
Read the full story:
Poland prohibits food imports from Ukraine to soothe farmers
Watch: Clean-up efforts underway after volcanic eruption buries Russian villages in ash - ICYMI
Sunday 16 April 2023 02:00 , Martha Mchardy
James Cleverly to discuss support for Ukraine at G7 ministers' meeting
Sunday 16 April 2023 01:30 , Eleanor Noyce
James Cleverly will use a trip to the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, and then to the Pacific Islands and New Zealand, to promote a “free and open” Indo-Pacific.
The Foreign Secretary and his counterparts from the Group of Seven of the world’s advanced economies begin their three-day gathering in Karuizawa on Sunday, ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima in May.
Discussions are expected to focus on support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia‘s invasion, and closer security and defence ties in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the Pacific.
Ahead of his travels, Mr Cleverly said: “With increasing competition in the region, it is more important than ever that we promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“It is critical to the UK, to our economy, our security and our values.
“Throughout my visit, I will build on commitments to our friends across the Pacific nations in their bid to promote peace and prosperity in the region.”
In pictures: Eleven killed in Russian rocket attack in eastern Ukraine - ICYMI
Sunday 16 April 2023 01:00 , Martha Mchardy
Putin signs bill allowing electronic conscription notices
Sunday 16 April 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy
Russian President Putin has signed a bill allowing authorities to issue electronic notices to draftees and reservists amid the fighting in Ukraine. The bill signed into law by Putin was published Friday on the official register of government documents.
Russia’s military service rules previously required the in-person delivery of notices to conscripts and reservists who are called up for duty. Under the new law, the notices issued by local military conscription offices will continue to be sent by mail but they would be considered valid from the moment they are put on a state portal for electronic services.
In the past, many Russians avoided the draft by staying away from their address of record. The new law closes that loophole in an apparent effort to create a tool for quickly beefing up the military ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive in the coming weeks.
Read the full story:
Putin signs bill allowing electronic conscription notices
NATO member Finland breaks ground on Russia border fence
Saturday 15 April 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy
The construction of barbed-wired fence along Finland’s long border with Russia - primarily meant to curb illegal migration - has broken ground near the southeastern town of Imatra less than two weeks after the Nordic country joined NATO as the 31st member of the military alliance.
The Finnish Border Guard on Friday showcased the building of the initial three kilometer (1.8 mile) stretch of the fence to be erected in Pelkola near a crossing point off Imatra, a quiet lakeside town of some 25,000 people.
Finland’s 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia is the longest of any European Union member.
Read the full story:
NATO member Finland breaks ground on Russia border fence
Spring call-up is running as planned, Russia confirms
Saturday 15 April 2023 22:45 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s regular spring military draft campaign is going ahead as scheduled, with no new plans to send out mass electronic notices under a system recently signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
The announcement was made by Colonel Andrei Biryukov, an official in an armed forces department responsible for the draft. The statement appeared to be aimed at quelling speculation that Russia may quickly use the new system to launch another mass call-up for the war in Ukraine.
Russia is currently in the process of calling up 147,000 men aged 18 to 27 between 1 April and 15 July to perform compulsory military service as part of its longstanding twice-yearly conscription cycle.
Biryukov said the first conscripts would be dispatched to “permanent deployment points on the territory of the Russian Federation” from 20 April.
He emphasised that some people were still entitled to defer their military service, and said there would be no mass mailings of new electronic summonses to people of conscript age.
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal discusses country’s future in Washington DC
Saturday 15 April 2023 02:30 , Sam Rkaina
Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal made an address in Washington DC today (14 April), ahead of the country’s risky decision to launch a counteroffensive in the ongoing war with Russia.
The timing also closely aligns with a classified documents leak, sharing the plans for both Ukraine and Russia as the invasion moves forward.
Yesterday (13 April), Shmyhal welcomed the “continuous, ironclad and unprecedented support” of the United States, insisting that Ukraine had accounted for every dollar it had received in help.
The prime minister now plans to focus on Ukraine’s reconstruction, and restoring it to its pre-war state.
Energy, humanitarian demining, housing, critical and social infrastructure, and private sector development were all seated firmly at the top of his list of priorities.
Five people and 17 wounded in Russian missile strike on Sloviansk
Friday 14 April 2023 18:42 , Sam Rkaina
A Russian missile has struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing at least five people and wounding 17, officials said.
Ukraine’s National Police, in a post on Telegram, put the death toll at five after S-300 missiles damaged 10 apartment buildings and other sites.
A senior official in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Daria Zarivna, said a child pulled alive from the site of the attack had died on the way to a hospital.
Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said seven people were believed to have been trapped under rubble.
“The evil state once again demonstrates its essence,” Zelenskiy wrote in a separate post accompanied by footage of a damaged building. “Just killing people in broad daylight. Ruining, destroying all life.”
The police said the two top floors of a five-storey building had collapsed after the strike and a fire had broken out opposite the site.
Rescue teams were combing through the affected area. Sloviansk is one of two eastern cities coveted by Russian forces, currently bogged down in nearby Bakhmut, as they push ahead with their invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus says its pilots have completed training with Russia
Friday 14 April 2023 13:29 , Andy Gregory
Belarusian pilots have finished training in Russia, where they were learning how to operate Su-25 fighter planes, according to Minsk’s defence ministry.
“The acquired knowledge and skills will serve to ensure the military security of the Union State,” the ministry said, referring to Belarus’s political union with Russia.
Finland’s embassy in Moscow ‘receives letter containing powder’
Friday 14 April 2023 10:21 , Andy Gregory
Finland’s embassy in Moscow has contacted the Russian foreign ministry after it received three letters, one of which contained powder, the RIA news agency said on Friday.
Relations between Moscow and Helsinki have sharply deteriorated since Finland formally joined Nato 10 days ago – doubling the length of the military alliance’s border with Russia.
Russia puts Pacific naval fleet on high alert
Friday 14 April 2023 09:45 , Andy Gregory
Russia has put its Pacific naval fleet on high alert as part of a surprise inspection aimed at building its defensive capabilities, state media reported, citing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
“The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea,” Shoigu said, according to the RIA news agency.
Ukraine bans athletes from competing alongside competitors from Russia or Belarus
Friday 14 April 2023 08:59 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine has banned its national sports team from competing in Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic events which include competitors from Russia and Belarus.
The sports ministry’s decree comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) angered Kyiv by paving the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But it was criticised by some Ukrainian athletes, including Olympian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, criticised the ban saying it would lead to the destruction of Ukrainian sports.
“If Ukrainian representatives are not present at competitions, then we completely vacate the international sports grounds and give the Russian/Belarusian representatives the opportunity to promote their narratives and propaganda,” he wrote on Twitter.
Russia ‘re-energises’ assault on Bakhmut as Ukraine makes ‘orderly withdrawals’, says UK
Friday 14 April 2023 08:43 , Andy Gregory
Russia has “re-energised” its assault on Bakhmut and has subjected Ukraine’s troops in the frontline Donetsk city to “particularly intense” artillery fire over the past 48 hours, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
Amid “improved co-operation” between the Wagner mercenary group and Russian ministry of defence’s forces, the private army continues to conduct the main advance through the centre of Bakhmut, while Russian airborne forces have relieved some Wagner units securing the northern and southern flanks, the ministry said.
Ukrainian forces, who still hold the city’s western districts, “face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede”, it added.
Marjorie Taylor Greene defends alleged Pentagon leaker as ‘white, male, christian, and antiwar’
Friday 14 April 2023 08:18 , Andy Gregory
US politician Marjorie Taylor Greene has defended the Air National Guardsman arrested by the FBI for allegedly leaking national security documents, my colleague Graeme Massie reports.
The far-right Republican took to Twitter to show her support for Jack Teixeira who she lauded for being “white, male, christian and antiwar” – although she referred to him as “Jake Teixeira”.
Authorities raided the Massachusetts home of the 21-year-old who worked in cyber security for the Guard and took him into custody on Thursday.
Marjorie Taylor Greene defends alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira
Cannot trust China if it does not seek peace, says EU
Friday 14 April 2023 07:45 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The European Union (EU) has said that China cannot be trusted if it does not try to seek peace in the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
The remarks by foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell were published on the EU’s website which were due to be delivered at a think tank in Beijing on Friday.
Mr Borrell said in his remarks that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for Europe to trust China if it did not try to seek a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.
The foreign policy chief had to cancel his trip to China after contracting Covid.
Leaked documents suspect to appear in court
Friday 14 April 2023 07:25 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Jack Teixeira, a junior member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who was arrested on Thursday over the leak of classified US military intelligence, is set to appear in court today.
The 21-year-old suspect was arrested by armed FBI officers outside his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts yesterday.
The authorities raided his Massachusetts home as footage taken from a helicopter showed the suspect in handcuffs as he was marched to a car by heavily-armed federal agents.
The so-called “Pentagon Papers” include hundreds of pages of classified military intelligence that were shared with an online gaming group before becoming public in a string of disclosures last week.
Ukraine bans national sports teams from competing with Russia
Friday 14 April 2023 07:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Ukraine has banned its national sports teams from competing with athletes from Russia and Belarus.
The decision came through a decree issued by Ukraine’s ministry of youth and sports on Thursday.
It comes as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sporting events.
Pentagon to review intelligence access after major leak
Friday 14 April 2023 06:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The Pentagon will review its intelligence access procedures after classified military information was leaked online.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the Pentagon would conduct a review of its “intelligence access, accountability and control procedures” to prevent such a leak from happening again.
Mr Austin’s statement came after armed FBI officers arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a relatively junior member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, on suspicion of leaking documents.
The 21-year-old National Guardsman suspected of leaking secret Pentagon documents
Friday 14 April 2023 06:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Armed FBI officers have arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard over the alleged leak of classified military intelligence online.
Video showed the suspect in handcuffs as he was marched by heavily-armed federal agents from a home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
Joe Sommerlad and Graeme Massie report on what we know about the suspect:
What we know about suspect in leak of secret Pentagon documents
Ukraine says UN Security Council has lost 'meaning'
Friday 14 April 2023 05:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta
As Russia continues to preside over the UN Security Council, Ukraine has said that the body has lost any “meaning”.
Ukraine’s national security and defence secretary Oleksii Danilov said in a Telegram post on Thursday that Russia’s presidency is “incompatible with any logic.”
“This institution (UN Security Council), currently chaired by Russia, with the norms and rules that were fixed after the Second World War, has already lost its meaning,” he said.
“It is no longer the influential institution whose decisions are binding for all countries. When an aggressor country, a terrorist country that killed and continues to kill children, is the chairman of the UN Security Council , then these things are generally incompatible with any logic, not to mention justice. Where is this justice then?”
Russia became the chair of the UN Security Council on 1 April and will hold the presidency for one month.
US thinks UN chief too accommodating to Russia, leaked files suggest
Friday 14 April 2023 04:41 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The US believes that UN secretary general Antonio Guterres is too willing to accommodate Russian interests, according to fresh revelations in leaked classified documents.
The documents suggest that the US has been closely monitoring the secretary general, reported BBC.
They also describe private communications involving Mr Guterres and his deputy as well as candid observations about the war in Ukraine and a number of African leaders.
“Guterres emphasised his efforts to improve Russia’s ability to export,” the document says of the Black Sea Grain deal brokered by the UN and Turkey that was brokered in July amid fears of a global food crisis.
“Even if that involves sanctioned Russian entities or individuals,” the document adds.
Mr Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that the secretary general is not surprised that he was being spied on.
“The Secretary-General has been at this job, and in the public eye, for a long time,” he was quoted as saying.“He’s not surprised by the fact that people are spying on him and listening in on his private conversations. What is surprising is the malfeasance or incompetence that allows for such private conversations to be distorted and become public.”
US, EU, UK brief finance chiefs on sanctions evasion
Friday 14 April 2023 03:00 , Liam James
Senior officials from the United States, Europe and Britain met representatives of financial institutions to brief them on efforts by Russia to evade Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US Treasury official told reporters.
The firms indicated they were working hard to prevent Russian efforts to evade sanctions and export controls, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Western countries are ratcheting up their efforts to crack down on sanctions evasion efforts, the official said, noting Moscow was in a critical period where it needed not only weapons and electronics, but also smaller components to make ammunition.
Friday 14 April 2023 02:00 , Liam James
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday welcomed the “continuous, ironclad and unprecedented support” of the United States as his country fights Russia‘s invasion, and underscored Ukraine’s commitment to battling corruption.
Shmyhal, speaking alongside US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, said it was critically important for Ukraine to begin reconstruction this year, and said Kyiv had identified a priority funding gap of $14bn needed this year.
Ms Yellen, who paid a surprise visit to Kyiv in February, told Shmyhal she had seen “firsthand the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian military and people,” recounting a visit to a school damaged by Russian attacks where community members were making trench candles to send to the front lines.
She said the United States had stood with Ukraine since the first day of the war, and would continue to back it “for as long as it takes.”
The United States had disbursed significant economic support since the start of the war and would provide more in coming months, on top of security and humanitarian aid, she said.
Jack Teixeira arrest: In pictures
Friday 14 April 2023 00:30 , Liam James
FBI agents descended on the small town of Dighton, Massachussetts this afternoon to arrest a suspect in the investigation into a massive leak of sensitive government documents.
Jack Teixeira, the suspect, was detained.
Pentagon leaks: Armed FBI agents arrest Air National Guardsmen over ‘deliberate criminal’ leaks
Thursday 13 April 2023 23:35 , Liam James
Graeme Massie brings full coverage of Jack Teixeira’s arrest:
Armed FBI officers arrested a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard over the alleged leak of classified military intelligence online.
Authorities raided the Massachusetts home of 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, who worked in cyber security for the Guard and took him into custody without incident on Thursday.
Armed FBI agents arrest Air National Guardsmen over ‘deliberate criminal’ leaks
All we know about the 21-year-old National Guardsman suspected of leaking secret Pentagon documents
Thursday 13 April 2023 22:23 , Sam Rkaina
A Facebook post last July from the 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is based at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, congratulated someone by the name of Jack Teixeira for promotion to airman first class, reported The Washington Post.
The US intelligence community has been racing to track down the person who leaked scores of highly-classified documents online about the Ukraine war, and much else, a week after their existence was first revealed.
The so-called “Pentagon Papers”, widely shared and leaving many in Washington ashen-faced with embarrassment, have yet to be officially authenticated but appear to contain details on deeply sensitive matters pertaining to national security and foreign affairs.
The slides of photographed files that were made public include detailed battlefield maps from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the alarming suggestion that the US believes Kyiv will soon run out of missiles for its air defence systems, in addition to awkward revelations about America’s attitude towards many of its allies around the world, including the UK, South Korea, Egypt, Israel and the UAE.
Precisely how many documents were leaked is not known, with estimates varying from 50 into the hundreds.
Click here for all we know so far.
Leaked Pentagon documents include rumour Putin is undergoing chemotherapy
Thursday 13 April 2023 21:20 , Liam James
Recently leaked documents from the Pentagon include a rumour that Russian President Vladimir Putin is undergoing chemotherapy (Ariana Baio writes).
The papers, labelled as “Top Secret”, also indicate that Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev “devised” a plan to “sabotage” Mr Putin while he undergoes medical treatment.
The papers do not specify what alleged medical condition Mr Putin has that requires chemotherapy but there have been longstanding rumours that the Russian president has cancer.
The source’s name is redacted in the report and claims they received their information from an unidentified Russian source who has access to Kremlin officials.
Click here for the full story:
Leaked Pentagon documents include rumour Putin is undergoing chemotherapy
Full story so far: Armed FBI agents arrest Air National Guardsmen over ‘deliberate criminal’ leaks
Thursday 13 April 2023 20:22 , Sam Rkaina
Armed FBI officers have arrested a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard over the alleged leak of classified military intelligence online.
Authorities raided the Massachusetts home of 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Guard’s intelligence wing, on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
Hundreds of pages of classified military intelligence have been shared with an online gaming group before becoming public in a string of disclosures last week.
Click here for the full story so far.
Attorney General confirms suspect’s identity
Thursday 13 April 2023 20:01 , Sam Rkaina
The US attorney general has confirmed that Jack Texeria has been arrested in connection with the Pentagon documents leak.
Footage from the scene shows the 21 year-old being taken away by armed FBI agents.
The Massachusetts Guardsman is to be charged with unauthorized removal of classified national defence information.
FBI at scene of national guardsman’s home
Thursday 13 April 2023 19:49 , Sam Rkaina
FBI agents converged at the Massachusetts home of a member of that state’s Air National Guard, who has emerged as a main person of interest in the disclosure of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war.
Investigators believe that the guardsman, who specializes in intelligence, led the chat group where the documents were posted, according to the two people, who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
They identified the guardsman as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira.
Law enforcement officials roped off the street near the home. The New York Times, which first identified Teixeira on Thursday, said that a man who had been standing outside the Teixeira home earlier said that “he needs to get an attorney if things are flowing the way they are going right now. The Feds will be around soon, I’m sure.”
The emergence of Teixeira as the apparent primary suspect is bound to raise questions about how the highest-profile intelligence leak in years, one that continues to unfold with almost daily revelations of highly classified documents, could have been caused by such a young, low-ranking service member.
The Biden administration has scrambled for days to contain the fallout from the leaked information, which has publicized potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and exposed private assessments by allies on an array of intelligence matters.
The National Guard did not confirm his identity but said in a statement that, “We are aware of the investigation into the alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly-classified documents.”
Pentagon leak “a deliberate criminal act” as suspect arrested
Thursday 13 April 2023 19:35 , Sam Rkaina
The FBI confirmed it has “made an arrest and is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts,” amid a media report a suspect in the leak of classified has been identified.
The leak of classified information was a “deliberate, criminal act,” the Pentagon said at a press briefing tonight.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder referred questions about the investigation to the Department of Justice.
Ryder added the Pentagon had taken steps to review distribution lists and ensure that people receiving information had a need to know.
Ukraine, Romania, Moldova sign Black Sea treaty
Thursday 13 April 2023 19:15 , Liam James
Romania, Ukraine and Moldova signed cooperation agreements in Romania’s capital today after a trilateral meeting on ways to strengthen security in their Black Sea region to counter threats posed by Russian aggression.
The Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest brought together the three neighbouring countries’ foreign and defence ministers, government officials and international partners.
The aim was to address the wide-ranging impact that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is having on the region.
Nato member Romania’s foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu called Russia “the most direct and serious threat” to the Black Sea region and the Western alliance, and said war-torn Ukraine and embattled Moldova are “essential to our future European security”.
Main suspect in Pentagon intelligence leak identified
Thursday 13 April 2023 18:55 , Sam Rkaina
A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard has been identified by investigators as the main suspect in the leak of classified military intelligence online, according to reports.
Authorities are focussing on 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Guard’s intelligence wing, senior law enforcement sources told The New York Times and Washington Post.
Hundreds of pages of classified military intelligence have been shared with an online gaming group before becoming public in a string of disclosures last week.
No arrests or charges have been made in the case and investigators continue to collect evidence and are preparing for a prosecution, according to CNN.
Earlier, Joe Biden told reporters in Dublin, Ireland, that the US government was closing in on the leaker.
Click here for the full story.
Pentagon leaks reveal it’s increasingly hard to keep a secret
Thursday 13 April 2023 18:45 , Liam James
The scale of the leak was enormous – thousands of secret documents, some of the most sensitive and important held by United States intelligence, downloaded and put into the public domain in a huge blow to Western security (Kim Sengupta writes).
Classified information was downloaded from the computers of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) by a civilian private contractor who had been vetted and provided with one of the highest forms of security clearance.
That was Edward Snowden, whose devastating disclosures were made almost exactly 10 years ago.
Now there is another huge security leak, from the Pentagon, almost certainly carried out by another civilian contractor.
Click here for the full story:
Pentagon leaks reveal it’s increasingly hard to keep a secret
Russia may consider prisoner swap with US for jailed journalist, says minister
Thursday 13 April 2023 18:15 , Liam James
Russia may be willing to discuss a potential prisoner swap involving jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with the US after a court delivers its verdict, a top Russian diplomat said today.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency Tass that talks about a possible exchange could take place through a dedicated channel that Russian and US security agencies established for such purposes.
“We have a working channel that was used in the past to achieve concrete agreements, and these agreements were fulfilled,” Mr Ryabkov said, adding that there was no need for the involvement of any third country.
However, he emphasised that Moscow would only negotiate a possible prisoner exchange after a court delivers its verdict in the espionage case against Mr Gershkovich, 31.
The journalist’s detention was widely expected to be used for leverage in prisoner swap discussions with the US.
Russian opposition leader may be ailed with ‘slow poison’
Thursday 13 April 2023 17:45 , Liam James
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition politician, is grappling with severe stomach pain in jail that could be some sort of slow acting poison, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.
An ambulance was called for Navalny overnight on Friday to Saturday to the maximum security IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, about 115 miles east of Moscow, where he is being held. Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, told Reuters.
Mr Navalny was suffering from severe stomach pain, she said, and could not eat the prison food provided to him because it was making his pain worse and since Monday has has been banned from buying alternative food.
Germany approves Polish planes for Ukraine
Thursday 13 April 2023 17:15 , Liam James
Germany has approved Poland’s request to export five old MiG-29 fighter jets to bolster Ukraine’s air power against the Russian invasion, the German defence ministry said just now.
Poland’s defence ministry did not immediately comment.
Get ready ‘for real combat’ President Xi tells Chinese forces
Thursday 13 April 2023 16:45 , Liam James
China’s President Xi Jinping has urged his military to strengthen its readiness for “real combat” following the country’s recent display of force around Taiwan (Maryam Zakir-Hussain writes).
Inspecting his country’s Southern Theatre Command navy he stressed the need to deepen military training and preparation, state media reported.
During his visit, Xi said it was necessary to speed up the transformation and construction of the armed forces and comprehensively raise their level of modernization, CCTV news reported.
Get ready ‘for real combat’ President Xi tells Chinese forces
Nato membership the ‘only option’ for Ukraine, says Kyiv
Thursday 13 April 2023 16:15 , Liam James
Ukraine‘s membership in the Nato military alliance is the only option for the country’s future security, defence minister Oleksi Reznikov said today.
“We need a system of guarantees that would make aggression from Russia impossible,” he told a Black Sea security conference in Bucharest. “There is no alternative to Ukraine‘s accession to Nato.”
Nato says it has an “open-door” policy and expects to admit Ukraine in the future.
Last month Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general, said: “Nato allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective.
“What is at issue now is that Ukraine can prevail as a sovereign independent nation.”
Pentagon leak linked to young gun enthusiast who worked at military base
Thursday 13 April 2023 15:45 , Liam James
The high-profile Pentagon leak which has exposed hundreds of classified documents, including intel about Russia’s war with Ukraine, has been linked to a gun enthusiast in his early 20s.
The man, who is referred to by the initials OG, is understood to have worked on a military base and shared the cryptic information on an online chat group Discord for fellow gamers and weapon fanatics.
The group was most often known as Thug Shaker Central – a nod to the unsubtle racism in the platform.
The invitation-only chat group made up of roughly two dozen people, mostly men and boys, formed in 2020. It is believed that around half of the members were from countries outside of the US.
Pentagon leak linked to young gun enthusiast who worked at military base
Two killed in Kherson strikes – governor
Thursday 13 April 2023 15:20 , Liam James
Russian artillery and aerial attacks killed two civilians and wounded two more in Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson today, the local governor said.
“The army of the Russian Federation hit Zmiivka in Kherson region with guided aerial bombs, they hit a school and ... one person was killed and another was wounded,” Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor, said in a television broadcast.
Another man was killed in the shelling of a park inside the city of Kherson early in the morning and another person was wounded in a village elsewhere in the region, he said.
Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson last November after nearly eight months of occupation by Russian forces who seized it soon after the start of the invasion.
Biden breaks silence on leaked Pentagon documents
Thursday 13 April 2023 14:41 , Liam James
President Joe Biden said while he was concerned that sensitive government documents had been leaked, “there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of great consequence” (Darlene Superville writes).
It was the first time Mr Biden has commented publicly about the release of Pentagon documents that were posted on several social media sites. They appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine and US intelligence assessments regarding US allies that could strain ties with those nations. The Justice Department has opened an investigation.
Mr Biden noted there was a “full-blown” investigation going on with the intelligence community and the Justice Department. “We’re getting close,” he said on answers. “But I don’t have an answer.”
Biden breaks silence on leaked Pentagon documents
Poland asks for approval to send fighter jets to Ukraine
Thursday 13 April 2023 14:14 , Liam James
Poland has requested the German government’s approval to export old German MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for the defence ministry in Berlin said on Thursday.
Germany will take a decision as soon as Thursday, the DPA news agency quoted the defence minister Boris Pistorius as saying.
The defence ministry in Warsaw did not immediately comment.
Poland’s request comes after documents purportedly leaked from the Pentagon said Russia could achieve air superiority in Ukraine as early as next month due to dwindling Ukrainian anti-aircraft supplies.
Slovakia last month said it had sent four MiG jets to Ukraine, following Poland’s announcement that it intended to send planes.
MSF charity met Russian diplomats to plead for aid access
Thursday 13 April 2023 13:46 , Liam James
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) held talks last month with Russian diplomats in Geneva on providing aid to areas of Ukraine under Russian military control but has yet to be granted access, the medical charity said today.
International aid organisations have been unable to reach large swathes of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces despite calls for Moscow to grant safe passage for aid to be delivered to civilians.
“Our discussion ... concerned the areas of Ukraine under Russian military occupation, where we are aware of substantial medical humanitarian needs, including the lack of doctors, nurses and essential medicines,” MSF said in a statement.
“However, our teams have not yet been granted access to these areas. We continue to discuss this, and other points related to impartial medical humanitarian care in Ukraine.”
The Russian diplomatic outpost confirmed that talks had taken place but would not disclose the issues that were raised.
Norway expels 15 Russian 'intelligence officers' from embassy
Thursday 13 April 2023 12:39 , Matt Mathers
Norway is expelling 15 Russian embassy officials that the foreign ministry said on Thursday were intelligence officers operating under the cover of diplomatic positions, a move which Moscow said it would respond to.
The expulsions amount to a quarter of Russian diplomats currently accredited in Oslo, the Norwegian government said.
It is the latest instance of a Western nation expelling Russian diplomats since the beginning of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. So far this year, Estonia, the Netherlands and Austria have also expelled Russian diplomats.
Norway also expelled three Russians in April 2022.
"Their activities pose a threat to Norway," Norwegian foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt told a news conference.
"We have followed their activities over time. They have increased since the invasion of Ukraine."
The officers concerned must leave Norway shortly, she added.
The Russian foreign ministry said Moscow would respond to the expulsions, state-owned news agency TASS reported, without elaborating.
Kremlin names Ukrainian suspect over killing of war blogger
Thursday 13 April 2023 12:11 , Matt Mathers
Russia’s top security agency on Thursday accused a Ukrainian man of involvement in a bombing that killed a well-known Russian military blogger at a St Petersburg cafe.
Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, an ardent supporter of the war in Ukraine who filed regular reports on the fighting from the front lines, was killed on April 2 as he led a discussion at a riverside cafe in the historic heart of St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city.
More than 50 people were injured.
A St Petersburg resident, Darya Trepova, 26, who was seen on video moments before the blast presenting Tatarsky with a statuette that contained explosives, was quickly arrested.
According to Russian media reports, she told investigators she was asked to deliver the statuette but did not know what was inside it.
Russian authorities described the bombing as an act of terrorism and blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating it.
Ukrainian authorities have not directly responded to the accusation, but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the bombing as part of Russia’s internal turmoil.
On Thursday, the Federal Security Service, known under its Russian acronym FSB, said a Ukrainian citizen whom it identified as Yuriy Denysov, had gathered information about the blogger and provided Ms Trepova with explosives delivered via courier service.
Kyiv calls for NATO to secure Black Sea and integrate Ukrainian defences
Thursday 13 April 2023 11:32 , Matt Mathers
NATO should play a bigger role in security in the Black Sea, and integrate Ukrainian air and missile defences with those of its allies, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Thursday.
"The Black Sea is instrumental for making the whole of Europe peaceful and future-oriented," Mr Kuleba, speaking via video link, told a Black Sea security conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest.
"Sadly, it is also a showcase of how rapidly things can deteriorate if one neglects threats. It’s time to turn Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become, a sea of NATO."
The Black Sea and its Ukrainian coast have been crucial theatres of war since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Both Moscow and Kyiv rely on the sea for exports including supplying world grain markets.
