U.K. adds 206 new listings to Russia sanctions
The British government has added 206 new listings to its sanctions against Russia.
The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced the development in an update to its sanctions list on Wednesday.
It did not immediately outline which individuals or entities were specifically targeted in the new listings.
Over 100,000 waiting to be evacuated from Mariupol, mayor says
Over 100,000 people are still awaiting to be evacuated to safety from the besieged city of Mariupol, its mayor said in a televised interview on Wednesday.
In the same interview, Vadym Boychenko said Russian forces had deployed an unconfirmed “substance” on the city on Tuesday.
“Yesterday they flew unmanned aircraft into our territory… and dropped a small amount of this substance, which struck our boys,” the mayor said. “Unfortunately, we cannot take samples to prove what it was,” he said.
NBC News was unable to independently verify the claim.
Boychenko said residents in two settlements on the outskirts of the city had complained of “bad taste and deteriorating health” and were forced to leave their homes.
Fake BBC News video pushes anti-Ukraine disinformation
Anti-Ukraine disinformation in the form of a fake BBC News video spread across social media on Wednesday.
The video, mocked up with a BBC News logo and using a similar graphics style to the U.K.’s national broadcaster, pushes baseless claims that Ukraine was behind the recent attack on the Kramatorsk railway station.
BBC journalists warned that the video was not from their outlet.
Similar claims seeking to pin violence on Ukraine have circulated on social media from profiles that have routinely trafficked in Russian talking points, though the fake BBC video appears to be among the most advanced disinformation released in relation to the war.
BBC News said it is trying to have the fake videos removed from social media.
An aerial view captured on Tuesday shows the besieged city of Mariupol during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Estonia’s PM says it’s ‘becoming clear’ Russia’s actions in Ukraine amount to ‘genocide’
Estonia’s prime minister has said it is “becoming clear” that atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine amount to “genocide.”
“Looking at the Kremlin’s words and deeds, it’s becoming clear that Russia’s crimes committed in Ukraine can amount to genocide,” Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in a tweet Wednesday.
Her comments came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address before Estonia’s Parliament, during which he accused Russia of using phosphorus bombs in its attacks on Ukraine, a claim for which he did not provide evidence and which NBC News has been unable to independently verify.
Kallas said that “all those guilty must face justice and be punished accordingly,” adding that “Estonia will support investigations every way we can.” In a separate post, she thanked Zelenskyy for his appearance and appeared to address his calls for tougher sanctions, saying “tough energy sanctions” against Russia were essential to stop “funding Russia’s aggression.”
Lebanese bakeries on their last 10 days of wheat supply, union leader says
Both Egypt and Lebanon are facing severe wheat shortages as the conflict in Ukraine disrupts its wheat exports.
Bakeries in Lebanon have begun to shutter while others have seen long queues as the country’s national trade union warned businesses may only have wheat supplies to last for the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, Egypt said earlier this month that local wheat supplies were expected to last for around two and a half more months as it awaits supply from local harvests.
Both Egypt and Lebanon are highly dependent on Ukraine for their wheat and fertilizer imports, which have been disrupted by the ongoing conflict. Prices for wheat have also skyrocketed since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.
Russian users sue Netflix for leaving market
Russian Netflix users have sued the streaming giant for exiting the market, demanding $726,000 in compensation, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.
“Today, a law firm representing the interests of Netflix users filed a class action lawsuit against the American Netflix service with the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow,” RIA Novosti said, citing the law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov & Partners.
“The reason for the lawsuit was a violation of Russian users’ rights due to Netflix’s unilateral refusal to provide services in Russia,” it said.
Netflix had suspended all its services and future projects in March following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Scores of foreign companies, from streaming to retail, have either suspended their services or barred sales in Russia.
A woman walks as firefighters try to extinguish a fire after a missile hit a building on the outskirts of Kharkiv on Tuesday.
Russia claims over 1,000 Ukrainian marines surrendered in Mariupol
Russia claimed Wednesday that more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Major Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian defense ministry, said 1,026 marines from the 36th Marine Brigade had surrendered to Russian forces at a metal plant in the city.
Russia’s claim came hours after Ukrainian local media reported troops holding out against Russian attacks. NBC was not able to independently verify Russia’s claims.
In his latest update on the situation in Mariupol, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych did not mention any mass surrender, instead saying the brigade had managed to link up with other Ukrainian troops in the city.
“In Mariupol, units of the 36th Marine Brigade, as a result of a complex and very risky maneuver, broke through to join the Azov regiment,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook. “In general, the city’s defense system has grown and strengthened,” he wrote.
Ukraine’s defense ministry has not commented on Russia’s claims.
Mariupol has been under siege for weeks since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, which has caused severe shortages of food, water, heat and electricity within the city.
7 dead in Kharkiv after a day of shelling, governor says
Seven people have died in the past 24 hours from heavy shelling in Kharkiv, leaving 22 civilians injured, including three children, Gov. Oleh Sinegubov announced Wednesday.
“Russians continue to terrorize civilians. Over the past 24 hours, the occupying forces have struck approximately 53 artillery and MLRS strikes,” he said in a Telegram post, referring to multiple launch rocket system missiles. NBC News was not able to independently verify the attacks or the reported death toll.
Sinegubov said a 2-year-old boy who had been injured in shelling a few days ago had also died in a hospital.
He said Ukrainian armed forces were “constantly fighting” in the southeast direction of Izyum in the Kharkiv region to “prevent the enemy from passing to Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”
China’s trade with Russia slows but outpaces overall growth
China’s overall trade with Russia grew more than 12 percent from a year before, outpacing overall growth in China’s exports and imports even as it slowed down from February since the invasion.
Chinese customs data Wednesday showed that the growth in shipments to and from Russia dipped to 12.76 percent in March, worth $11.67 billion, compared to 25.7 percent in February, according to Reuters. It still beat China’s total growth in March of 7.75 percent in its trade with all countries and regions, the news agency said.
Beijing, a major importer of Russian oil, gas, coal and agricultural commodities, has refused to call Russia’s attack on Ukraine an invasion and has rebuked the West for imposing sanctions on Moscow.
U.S. climate envoy calls for renewable energy push amid Russian aggression
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has urged countries to boost renewable energy production amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Now is the time to accelerate the transition to an independent and a clean energy future. President Putin cannot control the power of the wind or the sun,” Kerry said in his opening speech at a climate conference in Palau on Wednesday.
Russian provides 40 per cent of Europe’s gas supply.
Ukraine warns risk of Russia using chemical weapons remains ‘high’
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar has warned that the risk of Russia using chemical weapons in the war remains “high.”
“It is too early to return, including to the capital,” she said in an interview with Ukraine’s Parliamentary TV channel on Wednesday. “And we must not forget that today in the country, there is a high risk of the use of chemical weapons by Russia, because they are considering such scenarios.”
U.S. and U.K. officials have said they’re investigating unconfirmed reports of chemical weapons being used in an attack on the port city of Mariupol. NBC News has not been able to verify the reports.
A priest and the relative of a civilian man, whose body was exhumed from his yard, react in Gostomel village in Kyiv region Tuesday.
Presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia go to Kyiv in support of Ukraine
The presidents of Poland and the Baltic states are headed to Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine, the latest leaders to visit the Ukrainian capital amid Russia’s attack and invasion of the country.
Estonian President Alar Karis tweeted Wednesday that they will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The visit comes days after European Union officials and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv in separate trips.
Russian forces had occupied areas around Kyiv and attacked the city after launching an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, but after facing setbacks have since withdrawn from around the city.
Pentagon officials have said they expect those forces to be resupplied, and possibly used elsewhere in the country. Zelenskyy has warned of a ramped-up Russian offensive in Ukraine’s east.
Russia’s appointment of a new war commander represents new bid to centralize control, U.K. says
Russia’s recent appointment of Army Gen. Alexander Dvornikov as the commander of the war in Ukraine represents a bid to centralize “command and control” after a lack of coordination hampered Moscow’s invasion, the British defense ministry has said.
In an intelligence update published Wednesday, it said that “ineffective pre-war planning” and Ukrainian resistance have forced Russia to reassess its operations, refocusing its offensive in the eastern region of Donbas.
Dvornikov, who has previous led operations in Syria, has commanded Russia’s southern district which borders Ukraine’s Donbas region since 2016, it said.
No humanitarian corridors to open after Ukraine says Russia violated cease-fire
Humanitarian corridors will not open Wednesday in Ukraine after Russia violated a cease-fire and blocked evacuation efforts, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Wednesday.
In a post on Telegram, she said that the Russian military had blocked evacuation buses in Zaphorizhzhia and violated a cease-fire in the eastern region of Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of hampering humanitarian efforts, especially out of the besieged port city of Mariupol, where thousands of residents remain without access to food, water, electricity and other essentials.
“All this creates such a level of danger on the routes that we have to refrain from opening humanitarian corridors today,” she said.
New satellite images show Russian troops advancing on Ukraine’s east
New satellite images appear to show Russian troops advancing on Ukraine’s east this week, as British and European officials warn Moscow is preparing to mount a fresh offensive in the region.
The images, captured by Maxar Technologies, a U.S. defense contractor, show Russian forces continuing to move into eastern Ukraine on Monday.
Military deployments were observed along the 14K-34 highway and a corridor leading from Soloti and Valuyki in western Russia toward the border with Ukraine, the company said.
Reference-www.nbcnews.com