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Relations between Russia and Nato have slid to the level of direct confrontation, the Kremlin’s spokesman has claimed.
Dmitry Peskov said the US-led military bloc was already involved in the conflict in Ukraine and continued to expand towards Russia’s borders.
Meanwhile, at least four people were killed when Russia launched a deadly double drone strike on the northeast Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, officials said.
Russia fired 15 drones across the entire region, according to governor Oleh Synehubov, but most of the damage was to the region’s namesake city. Images showed a large hole torn into the side of a 14-storey building in the city.
At least three of those killed were employees of Ukraine’s state emergency service who had rushed to the site of the first attack at the tower block, only to become victims of a second strike. At least a dozen people were injured.
Power supply limitations were introduced in six Ukrainian regions due to the latest attacks on grid infrastructure and higher electricity consumption.
Key Points
- Russian drone attack kills at least four in Ukraine's Kharkiv
- Moscow-Nato relations at direct confrontation level, Kremlin says
- Russian defence minister warns French counterpart in rare call
- Nato weighs plan to provide long-term military help to Ukraine
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches double drone attack on Kharkiv
In recent weeks, Kharkiv has faced relentless Russian attacks, which appear to be driven by revenge rather than military strategy, writes Askold Krushelnycky:
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Resistance by Kharkiv’s vastly-outnumbered defenders has infuriated Vladimir Putin, as Askold Krushelnycky discovers at the scene of a cruel attack on brave Ukrainian rescue workers
Jane Dalton5 April 2024 00:05 1712267729‘It’s as though it happened yesterday’: The suburb where the war’s worst atrocities took place
Two years on from the massacre in the suburbs, Bucha is evolving - but for those who suffered the worst of Russian atrocities, time has not dulled the pain of loss:
Life has returned to Ukraine's Bucha. But 2 years after the killings, some families can't move on
Two years have passed since Russian forces withdrew from the Ukrainian suburb of Bucha and left exposed one of the worst atrocities of the war
Jane Dalton4 April 2024 22:55 1712264115Ukraine strikes may have hit 15% of Russian refinery capacity, says Nato official
Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries may have disrupted more than 15% of Russian capacity, a Nato official has said.
They added that the alliance believed Moscow still lacked sufficient munitions and manpower to launch a successful offensive.
Some Ukrainian strikes have gone as far as 1,000km into Russian territory.
“In terms of damage, the strikes have probably disrupted more than 10% of Russia’s refinery capacity, maybe more than 15%. Depending on the extent of the damage, repairs could take considerable time,” the official said.
“I think what we see here are fewer and fewer of these types of Russian energy, critical infrastructure that are safe from potential strikes and a greater and greater impact, I think, on the Russian economy.”
According to Reuters calculations, around 14% of Russia’s refining capacity has been shut down by drone attacks.
Damaged Russian refineries will get back to normal operations by early June, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Russian energy minister Nikolai Shulginov.
Finland keeps Russian border closed
Finland will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline “until further notice” due to a high risk of organized migration orchestrated by Moscow, the Finnish government says:
Finland to keep border with Russia closed until further notice
Finland says it will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline
Jane Dalton4 April 2024 20:55 1712256942Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in 'blood diamonds'
In case you missed it: The United States and its allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they have joined forces to crack down on the trade in “blood diamonds” that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa:
Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in 'blood diamonds' despite feud over Moscow's diamonds
The United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in “blood diamonds” that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa
Jane Dalton4 April 2024 19:55 1712253642Russia likely to have been behind GPS disruption, says Germany
Russia is “very likely” to have been behind a series of disturbances affecting GPS navigation in the Baltic region, the German defence ministry has said, pointing to the Russian Kaliningrad exclave as a source of the problem.
“The persistent disruptions to the global navigation satellite system are very likely of Russian origin and are based on disruptions in the electromagnetic spectrum, including those originating in the Kaliningrad Oblast,” a spokesperson for the ministry told Reuters, confirming a report by news website t-online.
The spokesperson declined to give details on how Berlin made its assessment or the exact nature of the disruptions, citing military security.
Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland on the coast of the Baltic Sea, was cut off from Moscow when Lithuania became independent during the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 but still houses the Russian Baltic Fleet.
Russian minister dismisses peace talks as Western plot
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow’s interests in the account
Jane Dalton4 April 2024 18:00 1712245842Six civilians killed in Ukrainian attacks, Russia claims
Officials in Russian-controlled parts of southern and eastern Ukraine say six civilians have been killed in Ukrainian attacks.
A Russian official in Kherson region, Andrey Alekseenko, said two people died in a village where one drone struck a car and a second drone was fired at a passenger who had managed to crawl away.
He said a separate attack killed two members of a repair crew working to restore mobile communications. Another person was in hospital in critical condition.
Russian-installed officials in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine said two people had been killed there by Ukrainian shelling, and nine others were wounded.
Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said in February that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine and nearly 20,000 wounded.
Nato to send us extra air defences, says Ukrainian foreign minister
Nato allies have agreed to identify and find air defence systems in their arsenals to send to Ukraine to defend itself, foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“Allies will undertake an exercise of allocating or finding this - identifying these additional air defence systems in order to bring them to Ukraine, to provide them to Ukraine and help defend our skies,” he said in Brussels where he attended a Nato summit.
United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Ukraine would eventually join Nato as support for the country remained “rock solid” among member states.
“Ukraine will become a member of Nato. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership,” Mr Blinken said.
Attack despicable and cynical, says Zelensky
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called the strikes that killed first responders in Kharkiv a “despicable and cynical attack” and renewed his plea for more air defence systems from the West.
“Strengthening Ukraine’s air defence capabilities directly translates into saving lives,” he posted.
Other first responders have also been victims of the fighting. The World Health Organisation said ambulance workers and other health transport staff face a high risk of injury or death.
“Many emergency teams come under fire either on the way to a call or at their bases,” WHO said in a report.
“This is a horrifying pattern,” Dr Emanuele Bruni, WHO’s incident manager in Ukraine, said.
“These attacks threaten their safety and further devastate communities that have been living under constant shelling for more than two years.”
Jane Dalton4 April 2024 14:58 Newer1 / 7OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
