Vladimir Putin is speaking again, and his latest speech from St. Petersburg is not exactly relaxing towards the West. The Russian president threatens a " lightning-fast response " to those who "from outside intend to interfere in Ukrainian events and pose a threat to Russia".
Yesterday, meeting the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres , the "tsar" made his objectives clear again, leaving little room for peace: "Without Donbass and Crimea it is not possible", he told him bluntly.
Meanwhile, the threat from the Kremlin also extends to gas. Today the blockade of supplies to Poland and Bulgaria has started and Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has made it known that similar measures will also be adopted against other countries if the gas is not paid in rubles. "As the payment terms for gas approach, if any of the consuming countries refuses to pay in rubles, supplies will be suspended," he said.
Meanwhile Mario Draghi , recovered from Covid, heard Zelensky : “I told him about the progress in repelling the Russian aggression. We are grateful for Italy's involvement in the investigation of crimes against humanity committed by Russia. We also appreciate the support to strengthen the sanctions against the aggressor ”, so the Ukrainian president reported the contents of the interview.
Draghi will fly to the United States on 10 May to meet Joe Biden : at the center of the conversation is "coordination with the Allies on measures to support the Ukrainian people and to combat the unjustified aggression of Russia".
Meanwhile , the attacks on Russian territory continue, which in recent days are driving the Kremlin into a rage. An explosion occurred in an ammunition depot near the village of Staraya Nelidovka, in the western Russian region of Belgorod, not far from the border with Ukraine. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed this on his Telegram channel, adding that loud bursts, similar to explosions, were heard in the city of Belgorod around 3.35 am.
And the Russian raids in Donbass also continue, while in the Azovstal steel plant the Ukrainian military and hundreds of civilians have still been besieged for days. Today the commander of the 36th brigade of the Ukrainian marines, Major Serhiy Volyna, in a video appeal on Twitter said that in the steel mills there are "over 600 injured, including civilians and fighters, without drugs and without the possibility of treatment", in addition to "Hundreds of children running out of food and water".
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UPDATES NOW:
Usa: "Russians leave bombs in washing machines and toys"
There are "very credible reports" that the Russians have "hidden explosives in items such as washing machines and toys so that when the Ukrainians can return home and resume their normal life they are killed or injured". This was stated by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a hearing at the Budget Committee of the US Senate.
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Pentagon: "Kiev receives ammunition every day"
"Ukrainian forces receive ammunition every day, even while we are talking." Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, noting that the battle in Donbass requires a steady stream of ammunition.
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Usa: "670 million against the food crisis in the world"
The United States will allocate $ 670 million to combat the global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. The funds will come from the Department of Agriculture and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Of the total, 282 million will go to six countries in the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.
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Kiev: "Extremely difficult weeks await us"
Ukraine has been waiting for "extremely difficult weeks". This was stated by his defense minister, Oleksij Reznikov.
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"Russian hacker attacks to support propaganda"
Hackers linked to the Russian government have carried out numerous cyber attacks against Ukraine with the aim of supporting the actions of the Russian military and online propaganda, Microsoft said in a report.
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Di Mario: "Regular gas supplies"
"To date, all the gas supplies from Russia to Italy continue to go forward regularly". Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said this when speaking with reporters in Strasbourg.
"Weapons in Kiev? For us, the lighthouse is article 51 of the UN which speaks of the right of legitimate defense of peoples and countries. And everything we have done in recent months and which we will continue to do as a government will always be founded on the right to legitimate defense of the Ukrainian people ", adds Di Maio.
From London it is possible to send jets
Not only anti-tank missiles, artillery and tanks, London in the new stage of military escalation with Moscow for the supply of increasingly powerful and sophisticated weapons to Ukraine also speaks of combat aircraft. According to a government spokesman, in fact, Britain does not exclude the possibility of sending its jets to allied countries in Eastern Europe to allow them to 'turn' some of their Soviet-made fighters to the forces of Kiev committed to countering the invasion. Russian.
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EU: "In a few days the sixth package of sanctions"
The European Commission is still working on finalizing the sixth package of sanctions against Russia and its adoption cannot arrive before next week. This is the indication gathered from European sources in Brussels, where today a meeting of the ambassadors of the 27 to the EU took place, the so-called Coreper. Here the Commission was asked to better clarify the guidelines already issued regarding the request for payment in rubles for energy supplies made by Moscow since, according to many, it is not sufficiently clear what is allowed or not allowed to do.
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In the Azovstal steel plant "over 600 injured"
In the Azovstal steelworks there are over 600 wounded, including civilians and fighters, without drugs and without any possibility of being treated: this was reported by the commander of the 36th Ukrainian Marine Brigade, Major Serhiy Volyna, in a video appeal relaunched on Twitter by a Politico reporter, quoted by The Guardian. "There are also hundreds of children living in unsanitary conditions and running out of food and water", continues the major, calling for the "Dunkirk-style" evacuation of troops and civilians from Mariupol.
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Draghi-Zelensky phone call
The Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, had a new conversation this afternoon
telephone with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. At the center of the talks were the latest developments in the situation on the ground in Ukraine and assistance to the country.
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Putin: "Lightning-fast response if someone threatens us"
"If anyone from outside intends to interfere in Ukrainian events, pose a threat to Russia, our response will be swift." This was stated by President Vladimir Putin speaking in St. Petersburg .
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USA: "Moscow does not want to negotiate"
"There is no sincere sign from Russia that it wants to dialogue for a solution to the conflict in Ukraine". The spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price, told CNN.
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Raid in Lugansk, one victim
Lugansk regional authorities reported that a Russian raid hit the hospital today
Severdonetsk, where there were several patients, and a woman died. Ukrinform reports it.
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Gas block, Von der Leyen: "Immediate answers"
"Gazprom's announcement to unilaterally block gas deliveries to some member states is another provocation from the Kremlin" but "our response will be immediate, united and coordinated". This was stated by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a press point.
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The escape of Gazprombank No. 2
Igor Volobuev, vice president of state-owned Gazprombank, announced that he fled Russia to fight alongside Ukrainian forces, making him the fourth senior executive or official known to have made an abrupt exit from the country. The Moscow Times writes it.
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Mattarella: "Moscow has violated the rules, in solidarity with Kiev"
"Détente: to stop hostilities. Repudiation of war: to return to the status quo ante. Peaceful coexistence, between peoples and between states. Democracy as a condition for respecting everyone's dignity. Finally, Helsinki and not Yalta: dialogue, not tests of strength between great powers that must understand that they are less and less such ". This was stated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Council of Europe , underlining how Moscow has chosen to violate the rules and the need to give "firm solidarity" to Kiev.
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Great Britain: "Moscow's threat of retaliation is illegitimate"
Moscow's threat of a proportional military response against NATO countries after the United Kingdom gave its support to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with weapons supplied by London is "illegitimate". British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said this, returning to yesterday's heated exchange between Downing Street and the Kremlin. For Rahab, what Western countries are doing is entirely legitimate. "We have the right to provide military support to any state exercising its right of defense against an aggressive invasion," he added, referring to support for Ukraine against the Russian attack.
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Poland confirms Gazprom has blocked gas supplies
PGNiG, the Polish state oil company, confirms in a statement that Gazprom has suspended all Russian gas supplies under the Yamal contract. The stop has no impact on deliveries to end customers. The company reiterates that it has duly fulfilled its obligations under the contract and that it "considers the suspension of natural gas supplies a violation of the Yamal contract".
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Moscow: "Destroyed hangar with weapons sent by the US-EU to Kiev"
The Russian military said today that it destroyed a "large amount" of weapons delivered to Kiev by the United States and European countries in a missile strike in southeastern Ukraine. "Hangars with large quantities of foreign weapons and ammunition, delivered to Ukrainian forces by the United States and European countries, were destroyed with Kalibr high-precision missiles fired from the sea at the Zaporizhia aluminum plant in southeastern Europe. 'Ukraine, said the Russian defense ministry.
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Gazprombank vice president fled Russia
Igor Volobuev, vice president of state-owned Gazprombank, announced that he fled Russia to fight alongside Ukrainian forces, making him the fourth senior executive or official known to have made an abrupt exit from the country. The Moscow Times writes it. Volobuev specified that he left Russia on March 2 and joined the Ukrainian territorial defense forces. "I couldn't watch what Russia was doing to my homeland," said Volobuev, born in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka.
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Ukraine: no humanitarian corridor from Mariupol today
Today there will be no humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from Mariupol: the mayor's adviser, Petro Andryushchenko said, according to the Guardian. Andryushchenko also confirmed that Russian forces are again attacking the Azovstal steel mill.
(Unioneonline)