Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank thrown out of SWIFT while EU moves to ban 90 per cent of Russian oil May 31, 2022 Most Russian oil imports into the EU will be blocked by year-end as part of new sanctions on Moscow, European leaders agreed late last night. The compromise was made at a two-day summit focused on helping Ukraine with a long-delayed package of new financial support. The embargo covers Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing [...]
Russian Army is ‘chewing through ground’ in Donbas as Kremlin makes ‘palpable progress’ in Ukraine this week May 28, 2022 Vladimir Putin’s Russian Army is making “palpable progress” in the Donbas region after abandoning the attempt to encircle Kyiv, Boris Johnson said this morning. Johnson argued, in an interview with Bloomberg, that more offensive weapons including long-range multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRSs) are needed. He stressed the “vital” need to provide Ukraine with fresh military support [...]
Grab ’em by the Porsche: EU plans to confiscate and sell Russian oligarchs’ cars, villas and other assets May 25, 2022 The EU’s executive body, the European Commision, is planning to roll out proposals to allow EU countries to confiscate assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, and then to sell them off. Assets that are currently frozen by authorities across EU member states should be sold, rather than merely frozen, two EU officials told the publication Politico. [...]
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says he is prepared to meet Putin, but no other Russian official May 24, 2022 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that President Vladimir Putin was the only Russian official he was willing to meet with to discuss how to end the war. Watch the full report.
Watch: Russians forced to rethink summer travel plans as sanctions and anti-Russian sentiment bite May 24, 2022 Russians are rethinking their summer travel plans abroad amid rising prices and fears of growing anti-Russian sentiment. Watch the full report.
Food as a weapon: Russia accused of withholding grain for millions to ‘break the spirit of Ukraine’ May 20, 2022 Russia has been accused of ‘weaponising’ food and holding grain for millions of people around the world hostage to “break the spirit of the Ukrainian people”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a UN Security Council meeting called by the United States that the war has halted maritime trade in large areas of the [...]
Hope and excitement in Kyiv as Ukrainian troops reach Russian border: Retreat is embarrassment for Putin May 16, 2022 Ukraine is hit by a wave of hope and excitement this morning as its troops have reached the border with Russia. Troops defending the city of Kharkov claim to have pushed back Russian troops to the Ukraine-Russia border. Ukrainian authorities released a video in which a military unit poses in front of a boundary marker. [...]
Fresh losses for Putin as Russian Army loses most of Kharkiv and Ukraine holds ground at Mariupol mill May 11, 2022 Kyiv’s military has made gains near the eastern city of Kharkiv overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed this morning. Zelensky that the military was gradually pushing Russian troops away from the city. The Ukrainian military’s general staff said its forces drove the Russians out of four villages to the northeast of Kharkiv as it tries [...]
Eat that, Putin: US lawmakers give green light for historic £32bn lifeline for Ukraine in fresh push to ‘weaken’ Russia May 11, 2022 Sigh of relief in Kyiv this morning as the US House of Representatives has emphatically approved a fresh $40bn, or £32.4bn, aid package for Ukraine. The measure sailed to passage by a lopsided 368-57 margin, providing $7bn more than President Joe Biden’s request from April and dividing the increase evenly between defence and humanitarian programs. [...]
Inside the Kremlin: Putin living in an alternate reality with Russia in Ukraine ‘for the long haul’ May 10, 2022 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has created an alternative reality to convince the population that the country is under siege from its enemies, according to a leading security expert. Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, the international affairs think tank, said Putin’s speech at the Victory Day parade in Moscow was “the same [...]