Russia-Ukraine war top developments: Russian gas supply to Poland resumes; blasts heard in three Russian provinces near Ukraine border

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed accusations that Moscow has used natural gas supplies as a tool of blackmail after Russian energy giant Gazprom halted gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria, news agency Reuters reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Gazprom’s announcement was yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail. Peskov said Russia was a reliable energy supplier and was not engaging in blackmail. He declined to say how many countries had agreed to switch to paying for gas in roubles in line with a decree issued last month by President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday after meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow yesterday. Guterres in a tweet said, “We will continue our work to expand humanitarian support & secure the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. The sooner this war ends, the better – for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world.”

I have arrived in Ukraine after visiting Moscow.

We will continue our work to expand humanitarian support & secure the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones.

The sooner this war ends, the better – for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 27, 2022

Meanwhile, a series of blasts were heard in the Russian city Belgorod near the country’s border with Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told Reuters, and an ammunition depot in the province was on fire. No casualties were reported. Earlier this month, Russia had accused Ukraine of attacking a fuel depot in Belgorod with helicopters and opening fire on several villages in the province.

In other news, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said that Russian troops risked causing an accident with their “very, very dangerous” seizure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Stating that the situation is still “not stable”, he added that nuclear authorities have to keep on alert.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that the best way to deal with the conflict in Ukraine would be to focus on “stopping the fighting and getting the talking” to move forward, and India’s position on the crisis is best placed to advance such an approach. His comments came in response to a question at an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier foreign policy and geo-economics conference.

Russia on Wednesday imposed personal restrictions on 287 British members of parliament and banned them from entering the country, accusing them of fuelling “unwarranted Russophobic hysteria”, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the sanctions on members of the House of Commons were in response to Britain imposing similar restrictions on 386 members of its own lower house of parliament on March 11.

In other political developments from the war, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday informed on Twitter that his Indonesian counterpart had invited him to attend the summit of Group of 20 (G20) major economies to be held in the Southeast Asian country later this year.

“Had talks with President @jokowi… Appreciate inviting me to the @g20org summit,” he said in a tweet, referring to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the current G20 chair, by his nickname. Zelenskiy did not confirm whether he would accept the invitation to the summit on the island of Bali in November. Russia has said its President Vladimir Putin plans to attend. Indonesia’s presidential palace and state secretary’s office did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation. Ukraine is not a member of the G20, but chairs of the grouping have previously invited guest countries. Ukraine’s finance minister attended a meeting of G20 finance officials in Washington last week.

(With agency inputs)