Blinken also told Zelenskyy Sunday that US President Joe Biden will announce his nomination of veteran diplomat Bridget Brink to be the next US ambassador to Ukraine -- a decision yet to be confirmed by the Senate. Brink has held various diplomatic positions and was serving as an ambassador to Slovakia since 2019. The Secretary of State also added that American diplomats who left Ukraine before the war would start returning to the country this coming week.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is set to dominate the discussions at the Raisina Dialogue, the flagship conference on geo-politics and geo-economics organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation on April 25-27. At least eight leaders and ministers from Europe are scheduled to be in India over the next couple of days, including Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission.
Brussels prepares to hit Russia with 'smart sanctions' on oil imports
The European Union is preparing "smart sanctions" against Russian oil imports, The Times reported on Monday, citing the European Commission's executive vice president, Valdis Dombrovskis.
"We are working on a sixth sanctions package and one of the issues we are considering is some form of an oil embargo. When we are imposing sanctions, we need to do so in a way that maximises pressure on Russia while minimising collateral damage on ourselves," Dombrovskis told The Times.
He said that precise details of the oil sanctions had not yet been agreed but could include a gradual phasing-out of Russian oil or imposing tariffs on exports beyond a certain price cap, the newspaper reported. -- Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday, said that the talks with Ukraine will continue in the online format he added that he hopes the talks will yield positive results, reported Reuters.
The US and UK officials said they are ready to increase economic pressure on Russia in order to end the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
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The head of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation said on Tuesday that he hoped member states will vote in favour of suspending Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in a special ballot to be held on Wednesday.
It follows a vote by the U.N. General Assembly earlier this month to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council - an inter-governmental body within the assembly - over reports of "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to announce it was quitting it. Zurab Pololikashvili, the World Tourism Organisation's recently re-elected secretary general and a Georgian former ambassador whose home country was invaded by Russia in 2008, said it was the U.N's role to establish world peace.
"In this case, this suspension will be an example that all countries must respect the rules," he said. (Reuters)
The Russian military has warned it could strike Ukrainian “decision-making centers” in the Ukrainian capital and said wouldn't be stopped by the possible presence of Western advisers there.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused the UK of making statements encouraging Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out strikes on the Russian territory, warning that if it happens the Russian military could retaliate by hitting government structures in Kyiv.
It directly pointed at UK Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who told Times Radio that it was “not necessarily a problem” if Ukraine British-donated weapons were used to hit sites on Russian soil.
The ministry said in a statement that “the Russian armed forces are ready to deal retaliatory strikes with long-range precision guided weapons on Kyiv centers that would make such decisions.” It noted that “the presence of citizens of one of Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers won't necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action.” The Russian military so far has avoided striking presidential, government and military headquarters in Kyiv during its campaign in Ukraine that has entered a third month. (AP)
The United States and Ukraine are "largely aligned" on what military equipment Ukraine needs to continue its fight against the Russian invasion and what Washington can provide, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he discussed those needs with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy when the two met on his trip to Ukraine on Sunday with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the first official US visit there since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.
"I think we're largely aligned in what they say they need and what we think we're able to provide," Blinken told a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He also said weapons were being delivered more quickly. In the past, Blinken said it "needed weeks" to get military equipment to the Ukrainians who needed it. Now he said, it often takes only 72 hours between President Joe Biden's decision to send materiel and the time it is in the hands of Ukrainians who need it. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Bliken said that the United States will be sending diplomats back to Ukraine this week, Reuters said.
Russia warned Britain on Tuesday that if it continued to provoke Ukraine to strike targets in Russia then there would be an immediate "proportional response".
Russia's defence ministry cited statements from Britain's armed forces minister James Heappey who told BBC radio that it was entirely legitimate for Ukraine to hunt targets in the depths of Russia to disrupt logistics and supply lines.
"We would like to underline that London's direct provocation of the Kyiv regime into such actions, if such actions are carried out, will immediately lead to our proportional response," Russia's defence ministry said.
"As we have warned, the Russian Armed Forces are in round-the-clock readiness to launch retaliatory strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at decision-making centers in Kyiv." (Reuters)
The United States said the world was galvanized against Russia's two-month-old invasion of Ukraine as it hosted defence talks in Germany involving over 40 countries that sought to speed and synchronize the delivery of arms to Kyiv.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted the event at Ramstein Air Base following a trip to Kyiv where he pledged additional military support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's war effort, which is at a crossroads.
"As we see this morning, nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's imperial aggression," Austin said at the start of talks.
"Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here."
US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cautioned that Ukraine needed more security assistance to help it defend against an unfolding and potentially decisive Russian onslaught in the east. He said the coming weeks were "critical." (Reuters)
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no humanitarian corridors were operating on Tuesday as there had been no break in the fighting in Ukraine. (Reuters)
Sweden's foreign minister has decried as “unjustified and disproportionate” a decision by Russian authorities to expel several Swedish diplomats.
Ann Linde vowed in a social-media post that Sweden would respond “appropriately” to the expulsions announced Tuesday of four Swedish diplomats by Moscow. Separately, Russia's Foreign Ministry said three diplomats “from the Swedish Embassy in Russia" be expelled.
Swedish news agency TT reported that three of the diplomats were based in Moscow, where the embassy is located, and one in St. Petersburg.
Linde wrote on Twitter: “By expelling Western diplomats, Russia is isolating itself internationally.” Russia has generally sought to keep expulsions symmetrical to moves by European countries to kick out Russian diplomats over President Vladimir Putin's military campaign in Ukraine. (Reuters)
Germany announced on Tuesday its first delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks following weeks of pressure at home and abroad to do so amid confusion over its stance.
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said the government had approved the delivery of "Gepard" anti-aircraft tanks from the stocks of company KMW on Monday.
"The real significance of this decision lies not in the difference Gepards may make on the battlefield, but in the signal it sends," said Marcel Dirsus, non-resident fellow at Kiel University's Institute for Security Policy.
"Europe's largest economy is getting serious about supporting Ukraine and more help is coming." (Reuters)
Russia accused NATO of creating a serious risk of nuclear war by arming Ukraine in a proxy battle as Washington and its allies met on Tuesday to pledge the heavy weapons Kyiv needs to achieve victory.
US officials have shifted emphasis this week from speaking mainly about helping Ukraine defend itself to bolder talk of a Ukrainian victory delivering a blow to Russia's ability to threaten its neighbours.
They have approved shipments of hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, including artillery and drones they held back from sending in earlier phases of the war.
"Nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's imperial aggression," Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said, welcoming officials from more than 40 countries to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, headquarters of US air power in Europe. "Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here."
In a marked escalation of Russian rhetoric, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked on state TV about the prospect of World War Three and whether the current situation was comparable to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that nearly caused nuclear war. (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday dismissed Kyiv's proposal to hold peace talks in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and said it was too early to talk about who would mediate any negotiations.
Lavrov, speaking after a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow, said Russia was committed to a diplomatic solution via talks on Ukraine. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart.
The call comes in the wake of Turkish diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis over Russia's war in Ukraine, including by hosting Ukrainian and Russian negotiators for talks in Istanbul late last month.
The Turkish presidency said in a statement on Tuesday that Erdogan proposed taking the “Istanbul process to the level of leaders, a crucial threshold in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations.” It sought to continue the “positive progress of the Istanbul talks” toward peace.
Talks stalled after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian troops of committing war crimes. Putin later said peace efforts were at a dead end.
Ankara, which maintains close ties to both Kyiv and Moscow, has presented itself as a neutral broker in a bid to end the fighting. (AP)
Russia already has a weakened military and is a weakened state after its war on neighboring Ukraine, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said on Tuesday before a meeting of NATO allies and partners.
"They are a weaker military. They are a weaker state right now they are and again further isolating themselves," Kirby said in an interview with CNN. "We want Russia not to be able to threaten their neighbors again in the future."
"Its economy is in tatters. Its military has been depleted in many ways, not completely, but certainly they have suffered casualties and they have suffered losses in this invasion of Ukraine," he said.
Kirby did not give further details on his assessment of the state of Russia's military. (Reuters)
A Moscow court has ordered the seizure of 500 million roubles ($7 million) worth of Google's property and funds in Russia, news agencies said, in a lawsuit concerning restrictions the US tech firm has placed on the YouTube channel of a prominent television firm.
Alphabet Inc.'s Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russian news agencies reported that the case concerns Gazprom Media Holding's GPM Entertainment Television, which filed a suit demanding that Google restore access to its YouTube account.
YouTube, which has blocked Russian state-funded media globally, is under heavy pressure from Russia's communications regulator and politicians. (Reuters)
Ukraine's state-run atomic energy company said Russian missiles flew at low altitude over Europe's largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, and reiterated warnings that Russia's invasion could lead to a "nuclear catastrophe".
Energoatom issued its latest warning about the risks caused by the war with Russia on the 36th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident at the now defunct Chornobyl plant, in what was then Soviet Ukraine.
The company said cruise missiles had flown over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during an air strike which local authorities said hit a commercial building in the city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one person.
"Missiles lying at a low altitude directly over the site of the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant), where there are 7 nuclear facilities with a huge amount of nuclear material, poses huge risks," Petro Kotin, Energoatom's acting chief, said. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Moscow on Tuesday that conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine should be created as soon as possible.
"We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialogue, create the conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, create the conditions for a peaceful solution", Guterres said at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
He was later due to meet President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)
Two people were killed and six wounded in Russian shelling of Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk on Tuesday, the regional governor said.
Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that one person had been killed in the town of Nyu-York, and another in Travneve. Russian shooting was continuing along the entire front line, he said. (Reuters)
BMW and Volkswagen's premium Audi brand have suspended shipments of cars by rail from Germany to China following the war in Ukraine, the German carmakers said on Tuesday.
While both carmakers produce most of their vehicles in China, the world's largest car market, a certain share is imported from Europe by rail or ship.
Last year, BMW delivered 846,237 BMW and MINI vehicles to Chinese customers, while it was 701,289 for Audi.
"BMW has stopped all train transport through Russia immediately after the beginning of the war. Exports to China routinely are handled by ship," a spokesperson for BMW said, confirming an earlier Nikkei report.
Audi also proactively suspended rail transports to and from China via Russia with the Trans-Siberian Railway immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for parent Volkswagen said. (Reuters)
Moldova's president convened an urgent security meeting on Tuesday after two blasts damaged Soviet-era radio masts in the breakaway region of Transdniestria, where authorities said a military unit was also targeted.
The Moldovan authorities are sensitive to any sign of growing tensions in Transdniestria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russia has had troops permanently based in Transdniestria since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kyiv fears the region could be used as a launch pad for new attacks on Ukraine.
"In the early morning of April 26, two explosions occurred in the village of Maiac, Grigoriopol district: the first at 6:40 and the second at 7:05," Transdniestria's interior ministry said.
No residents were hurt, but two radio antennae that broadcast Russian radio were knocked out, it said.
Separately, Transdniestria's Security Council reported a "terrorist attack" on a military unit near the city of Tiraspol, Russia's TASS news agency reported. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan discussed Ukraine in a phone call, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, without giving further details.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that a more detailed report on the call would follow later. (Reuters)
Russia pummelled Ukraine with missiles, aircraft and artillery overnight, killing at least 560 Ukrainian fighters and destroying dozens of armoured vehicles, rocket systems and other military equipment, the defence ministry said.
Russian aircraft struck 87 different military installations while rockets and artillery rained down on Ukrainian positions, destroying S-300 missile systems, a Tochka U short-range ballistic missile system, BUK-M1 and Osa-AKM missile systems.
"About 500 enemy personnel, 59 armoured vehicles, artillery guns and cars were destroyed, as well as more than 60 militants of the nationalist 'Donbas' group in the Donetsk People's Republic," the defence ministry said. (Reuters)
Police in the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria say two explosions on Tuesday morning in a radio facility close to Ukrainian border knocked two powerful antennas out of service. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said.
The incident occurred in a small town of Maiac roughly 12 km west of the border with Ukraine, according to the region's Interior Ministry.
It comes just a day after several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. (AP)
Russia and Belarus will hold joint drills of their air forces and air defence forces in Belarus, Minsk's defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The drills will take place from April 26 to 29, the ministry said. (Reuters)
British armed forces minister James Heappey said on Tuesday he did not think there was an imminent threat of escalation in the war in Ukraine, dismissing comments by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov as bravado.
Earlier Lavrov told the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear conflict, and said Nato's supply of weapons to Ukraine "in essence" meant that the Western alliance was engaged in a proxy war with Russia.
"Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation," Heappey told BBC Television. "What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated ... Everything we do is calibrated to avoid direct confrontation with Russia."
Heappey told Sky News that while Nato had been reinforcing its eastern flank, it was not, as an organisation, providing military aid."The donor community is not Nato," Heappey said. "The donor effort is something that has been brought together by countries that are yes, many of them are from Nato, but others are from beyond ... it is not Nato that is doing the military aid." (Reuters)
Global cooking oil prices have been rising since the Covid-19 pandemic began for multiple reasons, from poor harvests in South America to virus-related labour shortages and steadily increasing demand from the biofuel industry. The war in Ukraine — which supplies nearly half of the world's sunflower oil, on top of the 25% from Russia — has interrupted shipments and sent cooking oil prices spiralling.
It is the latest fallout to the global food supply from Russia's war, and another rising cost pinching households and businesses as inflation soars. The conflict has further fueled already high food and energy costs, hitting the poorest people hardest.
Vegetable oil prices hit a record high in February, then increased another 23% in March, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Soybean oil, which sold for $765 per metric ton in 2019, was averaging $1,957 per metric ton in March, the World Bank said. Palm oil prices were up 200% and are set to go even higher after Indonesia, one of the world's top producers, bans cooking oil exports starting Thursday to protect domestic supply. (AP)
The British Defense Ministry says Russian forces have taken the Ukrainian city of Kreminna.
In a tweet early Tuesday, the British military said: "The city of Kreminna has reportedly fallen and heavy fighting is reported south of Izium as Russian forces attempt to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east."
There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian government. Russia claimed days earlier to have taken the city. (AP)
Russia is probably attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the country's east, the British military said in an update on Tuesday.
Reports say the city of Kreminna has fallen, with heavy fighting in the south of the city of Izium, as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Britain's defence ministry said on Twitter.
"Ukrainian forces have been preparing defences in Zaporizhzhia in preparation for a potential Russian attack from the south," it added in the regular bulletin. (Reuters)
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi listening, visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday described the killings in Bucha as “severe violations of international law” and said what is happening in Ukraine will impact the Indo-Pacific region.
She said the outcome of the war will not only determine the future of Europe, but also “deeply affect the Indo-Pacific region and the rest of the world”.
“For the Indo-Pacific region, it is as important as for Europe, that borders are respected, and that spheres of influence are rejected,” she said, while addressing the Raisina Dialogue. The core principles that underpin peace and security across the world, she said, are at stake in Asia as well as in Europe. (Read more)
Russia unleashed a string of attacks Monday against rail and fuel installations deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines of Moscow's new eastern offensive, in a bid to thwart Ukrainian efforts to marshal supplies for the fight.
Fires were reported at two oil facilities in western Russia, not far from the Ukrainian border. Their cause was not immediately known. (AP)
Several buildings were damaged in the Golovchino village in Russia's Belgorod province which came under fire from Ukraine on Tuesday morning, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on messaging app Telegram without citing evidence.
Hours earlier, Gladkov said at least two people had been hurt in an attack on another village, Zhuravlyovka.
He did not specify whether the two attacks were cases of artillery or mortar shelling or missile strikes. (Reuters)
"In Europe, we see Russia's aggression as direct threat to our security. We'll make sure that unprovoked-unjustified aggression against Ukraine will be a strategic failure. Doing all we can to help Ukraine fight for its freedom. We imposed effective sanctions," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said the core principles that unerline peace and security across the world are at stake. 'We all see rising challenges to our open & free societies. This is true for the technological&the economic domain. But it's also true for security. The reality is that the core principles that underpin peace & security across the world are at stake,' ANI quoted her as saying.
Russia on Monday struck Ukraine’s Kremenchuk oil refinery with long-range missiles and also hit military installations there, the Russian defence ministry reported. “The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine,” Reuters quoted the ministry as saying.
Russia has warned the United States against sending more arms to Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Washington was quoted as saying by Reuters. "We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the United States of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice," Anatoly Antonov told a state-media TV channel, Rossiya 24.
Antonov said an official diplomatic note had been sent to Washington expressing Russia's concerns. This came a day after the visit of top US officials to Kyiv, where they announced enhanced military aid to Ukraine.
Russia fired rockets at two towns in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region on Monday, causing an unspecified number of deaths and injuries, regional Governor Serhiy Borzov reported.
"Today, Vinnytsia region is once again under rocket fire (in) the towns of Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn. The enemy is attempting to hit critical infrastructure," Borzov said in a video released on the Telegram messaging app. Russia did not immediately comment on his remarks. (Reuters)
Military spending in Europe and Russia surged in the run-up to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine despite the subduing effects of the pandemic on economic growth, data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) showed on Monday.
Russia saw an increase in its military expenditure for the third consecutive year. Despite a decline in military expenditure between 2016 and 2019 due to sanctions imposed by the West in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, high oil and gas revenues helped Moscow to boost its spending in 2021, the report noted. In Ukraine, though military spending fell in 2021 to $5.9 billion, it still accounted for 3.2 per cent of its GDP. Read the report here
Russia's armed forces have struck Ukrainian military installations and the Kremenchug oil refinery, the Russian defence ministry reported on Monday. (Reuters)
A large fire broke out early on Monday at an oil storage facility in the Russian city of Bryansk, the emergencies ministry said, adding that no one was injured.
There was no immediate indication the fire was related to the war in Ukraine, although Russian officials said last week that Ukrainian helicopters hit residential buildings and injured seven people in the area. Read more
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Monday told reporters that he had spoken to the United Nations chief António Guterres on Friday. He stated that Guterres will deliver a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, and the need for a ceasefire and corridors for aid and evacuation of people.
Guterres is set to visit Moscow on Tuesday to meet Putin. He will later visit Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday said that on their way to Kyiv, it looked like things were beginning to get back to normal, Reuters reported.
He added that the nature of the fight in Ukraine has evolved and the Ukrainians are now in need of long-range fires. The country has also expressed a need for tanks, he said. Austin also stated that they have asked Ukrainian authorities to track weapons as best as possible, as the US doesn't have forces on the ground to track on its own.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Monday stated that Russia was failing in its war aims, Reuters reported. He added that while Russia was continuing to brutalise parts of Ukraine, the country was standing strong.
Speaking to reporters, Blinken said that a sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Russia's Putin.
This came after top US officials, including Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisors Sunday in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Sunday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that US President Joe Biden will announce his nomination of veteran diplomat Bridget Brink to be the next US ambassador to Ukraine — a decision yet to be confirmed by the Senate. Brink has held various diplomatic positions and was serving as an ambassador to Slovakia since 2019.
The Secretary of State also added that American diplomats who left Ukraine before the war would start returning to the country this coming week.
In a meeting shrouded in secrecy, top officials of the United States visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisors Sunday, news agency AP reported. The US will proved a total of $713 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine and 15 other partner countries, of which some $322 million is earmarked for Kyiv, the officials announced.
Russia has made minor advances in some areas since shifting its focus to fully occupying the Donbas, the UK's Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin on Monday.
"Without sufficient logistical and combat support enablers in place, Russia has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough," it said.
Ukraine's defence of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness, British military intelligence
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said that the war in Ukraine has been a “stark reminder for Europe” that “dependency on Russian fuel is not sustainable”, emphasising on the transition toward home-grown renewable energy.
In her speech at the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi on Sunday, the EU chief said, “I am thinking about the war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine. For us, Europeans, it is a stark reminder that our dependency on Russian fossil fuels is not sustainable… So, our transition to homegrown renewable energy is not only good for the environment but also becomes a strategic investment in security. Energy policy is also security policy…”
“This is why the European Commission will present next month a new solar strategy of the European Union, as part of REPowerEU,’’ she said. Read more
A large fire was reported early on Monday at an oil storage facility in the Russian city of Bryansk, Reuters quoted Russian news agencies as saying. While the cause is yet to be determined, Russian authorities have previously blamed Ukraine for attacking residential buildings in the city.
Bryansk is located about 380 km southwest of Moscow. The city is the administrative centre of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.
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