Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported that rockets and rockets were fired at the city from the direction of Ukrainian forces to the northwest. Kherson has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war. Ukrayinska Pravda, an online newspaper, reported that the raids sparked a fire and blew up Russian television channels. RIA Novosti said the broadcast was resumed later. He said Russian channels started broadcasting from Hersonissos last week. Russia is determined to tighten its grip on the city, but residents continue to take to the streets to protest the occupation.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: – Russia is reducing gas in 2 NATO countries in escalation – European nations accuse Russia of “blackmailing” gas – AP interview: UN nuclear chief wants access to Ukraine plant – EXPLANATION: What is behind the gas cut in Russia? Follow all the AP stories about the Russian war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: BERLIN – An independent research team says Germany was the largest buyer of Russian energy in the first two months since the start of the war in Ukraine. A study published by the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research estimates that Russia has earned $ 66.5 billion in fossil fuel exports since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. Using data on ship movements, real-time monitoring of gas flows through pipelines and estimates of historical monthly trade, the researchers estimate that Germany paid Russia about 9.1 billion euros for fossil fuel deliveries in the first two months of war. The German government says it can not comment on the estimates and refuses to give its own details. __ LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s top diplomat says Western allies should send tanks, planes and other heavy weapons to Ukraine, saying “inaction would be the biggest challenge”. NATO countries have supplied Ukraine with military supplies, including missiles and armored vehicles. But so far they have been reluctant to send fighter jets for fear of escalating the conflict. “This is a time for courage, not for attention,” said Liz Trass, the UK’s foreign secretary. Despite Troy’s call for jets, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said there were no “plans” for the UK to send planes to Ukraine. Trash also said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine should be a wake-up call for international institutions. He called for a renewed focus on “military power, financial security and deeper global alliances.” __ BOSTON – Cyber-attacks by state-backed Russian hackers have destroyed data on dozens of organizations in Ukraine and created a “chaotic information environment,” Microsoft said in a report released Wednesday. Nearly half of the catastrophic attacks took place against critical infrastructure, often simultaneously with physical attacks, the report notes. A top Ukrainian cybersecurity official, Viktor Zora, told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday that cyber-attacks on telecommunications had sometimes coincided with artillery and other physical attacks. Microsoft estimated that Russia-linked threat groups were “preparing for the conflict as early as March 2021” by invading networks to gain support that they could later use to gather “strategic information and battlefield information or facilitating future catastrophic attacks “. During the war, Russian cyberattacks “at times not only degraded the functions of targeted organizations, but also sought to cut off citizens’ access to reliable information and critical life services and to undermine confidence in the country’s leadership,” she said. Digital Security Unit of the company. in the 20-page report. Businesses in the Kremlin cyberspace “have an impact on technical disruptions and the creation of a chaotic information environment, but Microsoft is unable to assess their wider strategic impact,” the report said.
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday that Russia’s war in Ukraine “shouts” that people should stop importing oil and gas from Russia and move to other forms of energy instead. . Speaking at an international offshore wind forum in Atlantic City, Granholm said the United States and its energy industries were “at war” and called for a rapid acceleration of renewable energy, including offshore wind energy. Her comments were echoed by Kadri Simson, the European Commissioner for Energy, who noted that Europe had recently committed itself to a large-scale move away from Russian imports of fossil fuels and that wind energy was an important part of that transition. The comments came as Russia cut off gas to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday and threatened to do the same in other countries, dramatically escalating its confrontation with the West over the war in Ukraine. European leaders denounced the move as “blackmail”. Germany and Italy are among the largest consumers of Russian gas in Europe, but have already taken steps to reduce their dependence on Moscow. “Russia is waging war on Ukraine and the urgent need to move away from Russian oil and gas, to keep people from screaming that there is an urgent need to electrify,” said Granholm, a former Michigan governor. “Offshore wind is just a huge component of that.”
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says its humanitarian office is mobilizing an experienced team from around the world to coordinate the evacuation of civilians from the besieged steel plant in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol with the International Committee of the Red Cross. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle on the participation of the UN and the ICRC in the evacuation of the plant for almost two hours, in a private meeting on Tuesday. The extensive Azovstal complex, which has been almost completely destroyed by Russian attacks, is the last enclave of organized Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. An estimated 2,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilians are said to be hiding in warehouses under the damaged structure. UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Wednesday that the United Nations was trying to translate the Guterres-Putin agreement into “in principle a detailed agreement and an agreement on the ground”. “And ultimately what we want is to ensure that there is a ceasefire that allows us to move people safely,” he said. Huck said UN officials were holding follow-up talks Wednesday with authorities in Moscow and Kyiv “to develop an operational framework for the timely evacuation of civilians.” He said the exact time depends on the outcome of talks between the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow, as well as between the UN crisis coordinator for Ukraine, Amin Awad, and the authorities in Kyiv, where Guterres will meet with the President of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.
OTAWA, Ontario – The Canadian government on Wednesday said it had imposed sanctions on more than 200 people loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region. Russian forces have been supporting separatist rebels in the Donbas region for eight years since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Canadian sanctions focus on Russia’s renewed bid to annex areas of Donbass targeting people trying to support the next phase of Russia’s two-month war in Ukraine. “Canada will not stand idly by and will watch President Putin and his associates try to redraw Ukraine’s borders with impunity,” said Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie in a statement. “International law must be respected.” Global Affairs Canada, the government department that handles the country’s diplomatic relations, said the new measures target 11 senior officials and 192 other members of the People’s Councils of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in support of Putin’s attack in the region.
WASHINGTON – The White House says President Joe Biden will tour Lockheed Martin facilities that manufacture weapons systems, such as the Javelin anti-tank missiles provided by the government to Ukraine to defend against a two-month Russian invasion. Biden plans to visit the facility in Alabama on May 3. The Javelin is a long-range manned portable anti-tank missile. The United States says it has provided several thousand of the systems to Ukraine.
MADRID – Russia announced on Wednesday that it was withdrawing from the United Nations World Tourism Organization just hours before the UN General Assembly voted to suspend the country’s membership due to the invasion of Ukraine, officials said. UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili made the announcement on his official Twitter account. He said it was the first UN body to deal with Russia’s accession. The organization went ahead and approved the suspension at a special meeting in Madrid on Wednesday, where the organization is based. “(Russian President Vladimir Putin)’s military attack is an attack on the founding principles of the United Nations and the values represented by tourism, such as peace, prosperity and global respect and respect for human rights”, Spanish Industry and Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said in a statement after the ruling. The assembly resolution included a clause stating that the suspension could be reversed if there was a change in the policy of the Russian Federation. Spain was one of the 22 European nations that had …
