Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator said it would stop Russian shipments through its Novopskov hub in a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.
He said the hub handles about a third of the Russian gas that passes through the country to Western Europe, although Russia’s state natural gas giant Gazprom put the figure at about a quarter.
The operator, which also complained about interference along the route last month, said it will stop the flow from Wednesday due to interference from “occupying forces”, including the apparent diversion of gas. He said Russia could divert the affected shipments through Ukraine’s other main hub, Sudzha, in a Ukrainian-controlled part of the north of the country.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Ukraine’s rerouting request would be “technologically impossible” and the company sees no reason for Ukraine’s decision.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— The United States and Western Europe worry about the uncertain end of the war in Ukraine
— Ukrainians make a profit in the east, hang on at the Mariupol factory
— Fighters call for evacuation of wounded from Mariupolmill
— House of Representatives approves $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, bolstering Biden’s request
— Leonid Kravchuk, first president of independent Ukraine, dies
— Ambassador-designate to Ukraine seeks speedy reopening of embassy
— Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war against Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
The British military says Ukraine’s attacks on Russian forces on Snake Island in the Black Sea are helping to disrupt Moscow’s attempts to expand its influence in the Black Sea.
In a daily intelligence briefing posted on Twitter on Wednesday, the British Ministry of Defense said that “Russia (is) trying repeatedly to reinforce its exposed garrison located there.”
He added: “Ukraine has successfully attacked Russian air defenses and resupply ships with Bayraktar drones. Russia’s resupply ships have minimal protection in the western Black Sea, following the Russian Navy’s withdrawal to Crimea after the loss of the Moskva.”
This corresponds to satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press this weekend showing the fighting there.
The British military warned: “If Russia consolidates its position on the (Snake) island with strategic air defense and coastal defense cruise missiles, they could dominate the northwestern Black Sea.”
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives emphatically approved a new $40 billion aid package to Ukraine on Tuesday, as lawmakers bolstered President Joe Biden’s initial request, signaling a magnified bipartisan compromise to thwart the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion three months ago.
The measure passed by a lopsided 368-57 margin, providing $7 billion more than Biden’s request from April and splitting the increase evenly between defense and humanitarian programs.
The bill would give Ukraine military and economic assistance, help regional allies, resupply weapons the Pentagon has shipped abroad, and provide $5 billion to address global food shortages caused by the halt of normally robust production. of many Ukrainian crops.
The new legislation would bring US support for the effort to nearly $54 billion, including the $13.6 billion in support that Congress enacted in March.
That’s about $6 billion more than the United States spent on all its foreign and military aid in 2019, according to a January report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which studies issues for lawmakers.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited some good news Tuesday from the front, where he said the Ukrainian military was gradually driving Russian troops away from Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces expelled Russians from four villages northeast of Kharkiv as it tried to push them toward the Russian border.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials say Russian missiles shelled the vital port of Odessa, apparently as part of efforts to disrupt supply lines and arms shipments critical to kyiv’s defense.
Ukraine’s ability to thwart a larger and better-armed Russian army has surprised many who had anticipated a much quicker conflict.
With the war now in its 11th week and Kyiv bogging down Russian forces in many places and even staging a counteroffensive in others, Ukraine’s foreign minister appeared to express confidence that the country could expand its goals beyond simply pushing to Russia back to areas where he or his allies held the day of the invasion of February 24.
Reference-www.ktsm.com