That’s it for our policy today, but before we go any further, here’s a quick rundown of the key developments.
David Cameron said he was “deeply concerned” by the disappearance of an Anglo-Russian dissident from a Siberian penal colony and called on Moscow to reveal the man’s whereabouts to his lawyers.
Battles of Kharkiv: Ukraine has denied Moscow’s claims that its forces have taken the village of Tabaivka in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine.
Corruption in defence: Employees of a Ukrainian arms company conspired with Ministry of Defence officials to embezzle more than £31 million earmarked for the acquisition of 100,000 mortar shells, Ukrainian security said.
World Court: The International Court of Justice announced Friday that it will decide whether to hear a case brought through Ukraine accusing Russia of violating foreign law.
‘Civilian deaths’: The Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk reported that at least three civilians had been killed in a rocket attack.
By Deborah Haynes, Security & Defense Editor
Ukraine would win the war more temporarily if it allowed British and Western weapons to be fired at targets inside Russia, the head of the Ukrainian military said.
Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa told Sky News that the course of the entire confrontation would have been very different if Ukrainian forces had been allowed to use Western ammunition restrictions from the beginning.
In a lengthy interview, the Ukrainian commander also stated that his army would be happy to take over two British warships, the Royal Navy, which would possibly have to be withdrawn due to a lack of sailors.
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Lord Cameron has called on Moscow to reveal the location of a Russian-British dissident who disappeared from his penal colony to his lawyers.
The British Foreign Secretary promised to meet Vladimir Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia, who said her husband had been taken to a Siberian penal colony and his whereabouts were unknown.
Kara-Murza’s circle of family and friends recommended Lord Cameron to act earlier that day.
Today, the Foreign Minister posted in X: “Russia will have to urgently inform Vladimir Kara-Murza’s lawyers of his whereabouts, following reports that he has been transferred from Omsk to an unknown location.
“I’m deeply concerned for Mr Kara-Murza – a British national imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine. I stand with his wife and plan to meet her soon.”
Kara-Murza, who suffers from nervous disorders after surviving two poison attacks, was sentenced last April to 25 years in prison for treason and spreading “false information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He denied the charges and said he was facing a discovery trial.
Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defence ministry officials to embezzle more than £31m earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells, the Ukrainian security service has said.
The SBU said five other people have been charged and, if convicted, face up to 12 years in prison.
The investigation comes as Kiev tries to crack down on corruption in a bid to speed up its European Union-NATO club.
The investigation dates back to August 2022, when officials signed a contract for 1. 5 billion hryvnias (£31. 1 million) for artillery shells with arms company Lviv Arsenal, security officials said.
After receiving payment, company employees were supposed to transfer the funds to a business registered abroad, which would then deliver the ammunition to Ukraine.
But the goods were never delivered and the cash was sent to other accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators said.
Ukraine’s prosecutor said the budget had since been confiscated and would be returned to the country’s defense budget.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019 and has held up the firing of senior officials as proof of his administration’s efforts to crack down on corruption.
Hungary is the only country of the 31 members of the Atlantic Alliance that has so far ratified Sweden’s candidacy.
Turkey finalized its approval last week, some 20 months after Stockholm implemented its NATO membership following Russia’s invasion.
“Our motion was sent to the president. . . Now the question is whether 135 men will have the courage to run,” said Zita Gurmai, an opposition politician, referring to the question of whether MPs from the ruling parties will vote for the ruling party. movement.
Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, said last week he would urge politicians to approve the Swedish club as soon as possible, but parliament speaker Laszlo Kover said there was no urgency.
The World Court has announced it will decide whether it shall hear a case brought by Ukraine accusing Russia of violating international law on Friday.
Russia justified its invasion by saying it introduced it to end the genocide of Russian-speakers in Ukraine, claims that Kiev says are a violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, given that there is no threat of genocide.
The legal war refers to the war between Russian and Ukrainian-backed forces in the east of the country since 2014.
Moscow’s lawyers suggested the judges dismiss the case, saying Ukraine sees it as a clandestine way to get a ruling on the overall legality of Russia’s invasion.
If the UN court, also known as the International Court of Justice, does decide the Ukraine-Russia case can move forward, it could take many months before hearings on the merits are scheduled.
He added that the two countries agreed to form a commission that would prepare proposals on the rights of the Hungarian ethnic minority living in Ukraine, Evropeiska Pravda reported.
This came after a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto following tensions between Budapest and kyiv over this issue.
This turns out to mean a change in relations between Hungary and Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has maintained cordial ties with Russia despite Moscow’s invasion and has harshly criticized the EU’s monetary and military policy for Kyiv.
But earlier today, Mr Orban’s political director said Hungary was open to using the EU budget for a proposed €50bn aid package to Ukraine that it had once blocked.
Russia has the resources to keep replacing its tanks and fighting cars despite the recent surge in casualties, according to British military intelligence.
It will then be able to continue its offensive moves at the same point it has done since October, the British Ministry of Defence said.
But its recent wave of vehicle losses has resulted in “minor territorial gains,” he said.
Russian forces lost 40% fewer cars in 2023 than in 2022, after spending much of last year on the defensive.
As of 2022, 2,600 of its tanks and 4,900 armored fighting vehicles (ACVs) have been destroyed in Ukraine.
Since October, the resumption of Russian offensives in the east has once again highlighted the casualty rate.
The ground forces probably lost 365 tanks and 700 hits in this period.
The British Ministry of Defence said: “However, Russia will most likely be able to produce at least one hundred major battle tanks each month and maintain the ability to update casualties on the battlefields and continue this offensive point of action for the foreseeable future. “
Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attended a meeting of the Supreme Council of the State of the Union in St. Petersburg, Russia.
During the meeting, the two men will seek to approve integration between the two nations for the next three years, according to the Kremlin.
The state between Belarus and Russia consists of a series of treaties that have deepened economic and defence cooperation since the 1990s.
Some experts have warned that Vladimir Putin is increasingly bragging about his neighbor Russia.