The Russian government has limited access to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after it reportedly attacked it using naval drones.
The Ministry of Defence claimed that Ukraine had introduced 12 drones into its territory overnight, two of them maritime drones in the direction of Novorossiysk (see article 6. 26).
Mayor Andrei Kravchenko said it would be limited until 9 a. m. local time (6 a. m. UK time).
Novorossiysk is Russia’s largest port on the Black Sea and is a main outlet for exports of crude oil and petroleum products, as well as transit through southern Russia.
Moscow’s ambassador to the UK told Sky News that the sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine had failed to achieve any of their goals.
Speaking to El Mundo with Yalda Hakim, Andrey Kelin said: “The aim of the sanctions is, first and foremost, to spoil [the] general life of Russians so that they say that [Vladimir] Putin is wrong.
“The time for sanctions is to damage the Russian economy as much as possible.
“The third point to replace the political staff.
“None of those goals have been achieved through sanctions. “
You can watch the interview here. . .
Russia claims to have destroyed 10 Ukrainian aerial drones and two maritime drones that were heading for Russian territory.
The Defense Ministry said the maritime drones were headed for the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in southeastern Russia.
Meanwhile, the drones were shot down over the Belgorod border region, four over the Bryansk region and one over the Moscow region, the ministry said.
Kyiv has commented.
Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan early this morning for two days of regional negotiations and security defense.
The Russian premier will also hold a series of bilateral meetings during his visit, as well as with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a forum created through China and Russia in 2001, will meet today at a summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
Putin greeted through Kazakh Prime Minister Oljas Bektenov as he stepped off his presidential plane.
Welcome to our section on the war in Ukraine.
Yesterday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that a ceasefire in Ukraine could speed up peace talks with Russia.
At the same time, Ukraine’s security said they had foiled a plot to overthrow the government.
Here are the key updates from the last 24 hours:
The map below shows the regions of Ukraine recently occupied by Russia. . .
We’ll be back with more updates on the war.
We had previously announced that the United States would soon announce more than $2. 3 billion in new security measures for Ukraine (see 4:16 p. m. message).
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the announcement in a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart at the Pentagon.
We can now give you more information about it.
During the meeting, Austin said the new weapons package for Ukraine will include weapons such as anti-tank guns and air defense interceptors, and increase the procurement of NASAMS and Patriot air defense interceptors.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said, “I am proud that the United States will soon announce more than $2. 3 billion in new security measures for Ukraine.
“This package, the presidential withdrawal authority, will supply more air defense interceptors, anti-tank weapons, and other critical ammunition from U. S. stockpiles. “
During the meeting with Austin, the Ukrainian official also said that Ukraine is looking forward to becoming a member of NATO.
U. N. human rights experts say Russia violated foreign law by jailing Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and releasing him “immediately. “
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, composed of independent experts convened through the UN’s most sensible human rights body, said there is a “shocking lack of factual or legal justification” for espionage fees opposing Mr. Gershkovich.
The five-member organization said Gershkovich had been the subject of an accusation during his detention and that, as a result, the prosecution opposed him in a “discriminatory” manner.
“The organization considers that the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Gershkovich is a violation of foreign law due to discrimination on the basis of his nationality,” the organization said in a resolution adopted in March but not made public until today.
Matthew Gillett, president of the brokerage group, said his view was based on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which he followed in 1966 and was ratified by nearly all U. N. member countries.
Gillett said Mr. Gershkovich, a supplier to Russia, obtained “appropriate reparations” for detaining him for more than a year without valid cause.
The sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine have failed to achieve any of their goals, the country’s ambassador told Sky News.
Andrei Kelin was speaking to Sky News as an investigation led by Sky’s Ed Conway revealed glaring flaws in the regime of restrictions, which has allowed British corporations – legally – to help maintain Russian fuel supplies and generate massive revenues for the Kremlin’s war machine.
He defended the industry’s continuity with Europe despite rising tensions, saying “business is natural business. “
He also claimed that the supply of weapons to Ukraine through the West, adding that Britain is “bad” as it perpetuates the conflict, which he said would be worse for Kyiv in the long run.
Speaking to El Mundo with Yalda Hakim, Kelin said: “The aim of the sanctions is, first and foremost, to spoil [the] general life of the Russians so that they say that [Vladimir] Putin is wrong.
“The time for sanctions is to damage the Russian economy as much as possible.
“The third point to replace the political staff.
“None of those goals have been achieved through sanctions. “
U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak’s chief of staff aim to bring Ukraine closer to the alliance.
Blinken said Ukraine would be a member of NATO and that the summit would “help build a bridge” to that outcome, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said.
“They discussed a number of issues, including the upcoming NATO summit in Washington and the allies’ goal of bringing Ukraine closer to the NATO club and helping Ukraine protect itself against Russian aggression,” Patel told reporters.
Their assembly in Washington comes ahead of the NATO summit in the U. S. capital next week, at which Ukraine hopes to get more pledges from the alliance on its membership application.