EU leaders agree ban on Russian oil
The 27 EU member states agreed to a new sanctions package overnight into Tuesday morning covering more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports to the bloc, European Council President Charles Michel announced. Michel said on Twitter the arrangement will cut “a huge source of financing” for Russia’s war machine and put “maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.”
The embargo contains a temporary exemption for Russian crude oil delivered via pipeline. The EU imports two-thirds of Russian oil via tanker and one third through the Druzhba pipeline.
Landlocked European countries, including Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, are dependent on the southern leg of the Druzhba pipeline for Russian oil imports.
Kiev does not believe in Moscow’s guarantees
The United Nations says a senior UN official had “constructive discussions” in Moscow on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports to global markets after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of “playing hunger games” with the world by blocking Ukrainian food exports.
Kuleba said earlier that Russia was simultaneously “trying to shift the blame on Ukraine” as Western countries express concern about food shortages.
“Ukraine is working on an international UN-led operation with navies of partners ensuring a safe trade route with no security risks,” he said.
Ukraine to get GMLRS from U.S.
The Biden administration plans to provide Ukraine with a guided rocket system capable of striking targets as far away as 48 miles, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday. The launcher will be used to fire the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, as The Wall Street Journal reported early Tuesday.
As an additional precaution, the U.S. has secured an assurance from Kyiv that the system won’t be used to strike targets on Russian soil, the officials added in a background briefing on the Biden administration’s new $700 million arms package for Ukraine.
That rocket, which is highly accurate, has roughly twice the range of the M777 howitzers that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine.
But the GMLRS also has a much shorter range than the Army’s tactical-missile system, which can travel more than 185 miles and which the administration isn’t providing in its next arms package for Ukraine.
Dissolution is the ending of any empire
After the departure of Vladimir Putin from power and the collapse of Russia, it is necessary to deprive this territory of weapons, including nuclear ones. This was stated by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexei Danilova in an interview for Channel 24, published on Saturday. As Danilov noted, “Putin will be removed by life itself.”
“It will be 100%. I have already said more than once that it will be in our memory. Also, Russia will fall apart in our memory,” he said. In his opinion, Russia will not be able to survive, “because it is an artificial formation.”
“If Europe and the free world loses this battle, loses this war, we are not going to be safe any longer because we'll always be under Putin’s threat and blackmail,” Morawiecki said in an interview with the broadcaster Sky News on Tuesday, referring to Russia's war against Ukraine.
He added that Putin “represents a brutal power” and should be “totally removed” as Russian president.
“Denazification” starts with Russification and Mankurtization
Russian invaders have taken 267 orphans from Mariupol and Volnovakha to Rostov Oblast, Russia. The children are being kept at the Romashka sports and recreation complex, which is located in the village of Zolotaya Kosa in the Neklinovsky district,” said Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol.
According to Andriushchenko, the Russians have deported a total of 540 orphaned children from Donetsk Oblast. The transported children are being prepared to become citizens of the Russian Federation under a simplified procedure which was recently signed into law by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Three more nations on Tuesday joined an international investigation team probing war crimes in Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he plans to open an office in Kyiv, amid ongoing calls for those responsible for atrocities since Russia's invasion to be brought to justice.
Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia signed an agreement during a two-day coordination meeting in The Hague to join Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine in the Joint Investigation Team that will help coordinate the sharing of evidence of atrocities through European Union judicial cooperation agency Eurojust.
Treason can have many facets…
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov commented on the situation with the demining of the isthmus in the Kherson region. “Why the region was captured so quickly Russian invaders. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are currently investigating”, he stated in an interview with Ukrinform.
“Even I have no final answer to what happened there today, unfortunately. But we must get an answer with you. This is done by those bodies that have the authority to deal with these issues,” Danilov said.
The Verkhovna Rada asked the National Security and Defense Council to apply personal sanctions against Russian Patriarch Kirill and other church figures of the Russian Orthodox Church who support the war against Ukraine.
