Zelenskyy speaks at Cannes Film Festival opening

The 75th Cannes Film Festival has kicked off with a video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy appeared Tuesday night live via satellite on video wearing a short-sleeved shirt and flanked by Ukrainian flags. His message played before formally attired attendees at the French Riviera festival that lasts through 28 May.

Zelenskyy spoke at length about the connection between cinema and reality, referencing films like Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” and Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” as not unlike Ukraine’s present circumstances.

“We need a new Chaplin who will demonstrate that the cinema of our time is not silent,” said Zelenskyy, who drew a standing ovation.

Mariupol steel mill still under Russian siege, Ukraine military says

Russian troops kept up their blockade of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said in its evening operational update.

The army’s General Staff said in a post on its official Facebook profile that “in Mariupol, the enemy concentrated its main efforts on blocking our units in the area of the Azovstal plant."

Ukrainian authorities did not disclose the number of fighters who remain in the steel mill -- the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the ruined port city -- after 264 soldiers were extracted Monday and taken to territory held by Russia-backed separatists east of Mariupol.

The military also said that the eastern Donetsk region remained the focus of the fighting on Tuesday, with particularly fierce clashes around the Ukrainian-held cities of Siverodonetsk, Avdiivka, and Bakhmut.

'Above all, it's home': Euronews correspondent visits battle for Kherson frontlines 

The battle for Kherson is the focus of Ukraine’s war efforts in the south of the country, and Euronews’ correspondent Anelise Borges was allowed close to the frontlines of a fight waged village by village. 

The fighting is destroying everything in its path, and the residents told Euronews they are staying behind to protect what is left of their homes and their country.

"What can I tell you, stone by stone, we built these houses with our own hands. To leave this is very hard for us. Very hard. We don’t want this war. We want to be in peace,” Svetlana, a Shevchenkove resident, said.

The southern Ukraine region is outside of the areas claimed by Russia-backed separatists and has been under the control of Russian forces since soon after the invasion began in February.

A Kremlin-installed politician in the Kherson region said last week that officials there planned to appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to incorporate the region into Russia.

The tension is overwhelming and shelling is constant and indiscriminate, according to the Ukrainian troops we spoke to.

“Cluster bombs, artillery, mines, tanks, rifles. All that they have. And they shoot at random. They don’t have a special target you know,” public affairs officer Oleksiy Mishchenko said.

Further down the road, the Euronews team met residents gathering to receive their only means of survival these days.

“Yes we give them [aid] often. We were here yesterday. On the 4th of May, on the 16th…to all families. Yes. Pasta, sandwiches… we will show you right now,” military chaplain Andriy Shevchenko stated.

But despite all difficulties, residents are not giving up on remaining in their homes, like Liubna and her husband Leonid who have been spending every night in their dark, damp basement.

“We are confident and stubborn people and we wait for them to be kicked out. This is my house. I don’t want to give it to them,” Ljubna told Euronews.

It can get cold in their basement, they say, but it’s safe. And — above all — it’s home. 

Zelenskyy talks to Macron further weapons deliveries from France, EU membeship

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he and his French counterpart have discussed issues ranging from the evacuation of Ukrainian fighters from Mariupol to Ukraine’s EU membership prospects.

Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter Tuesday evening that he had finished "a long and meaningful phone conversation with Emmanuel Macron."

Zelenskyy said he told Macron about “the course of hostilities, the operation to rescue the military from Azovstal and the vision of the prospects of the negotiation process.”

Meanwhile, the Elysee said that Macron told his Ukrainian counterpart that French arms deliveries to Ukraine would intensify in coming days and said France was ready to respond to additional demands for help.

Ukraine's EU application would be examined by EU members at a summit in June and he repeated an idea about creating a new "political community" outside the EU to make it easier to integrate Ukraine.

Ukrainian official hopes Azovstal fighters will be exchanged despite objections from Russian Duma

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister expressed hope on Tuesday that the 264 Ukrainian fighters extracted from the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol will be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war, despite remarks by a top Russian official who called them “criminals” who have to be “brought to justice”.

Hanna Maliar said at a briefing Tuesday that the comment by Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin is a political statement, “conceived as internal propaganda, internal political processes in the Russian Federation.”

Maliar said that from Ukraine's perspective both the negotiation process and rescue operation itself is ongoing.

Earlier Tuesday, the Russian news agency Interfax cited Volodin as calling the Azovstal fighters “Nazi criminals” who should be excluded from any future exchanges.

Volodin was cited calling the fighters “war criminals” and that Russia “must do everything to bring them to justice”.

Concerns that Russia could cut off gas supplies to Finland 

Finland is concerned that Russia might cut gas supplies, because of its refusal to pay Russia's Gazprom in rubles, the Nordic country's gas operator announced on Tuesday.

Gasum, the company in charge of gas imports to Finland, "does not accept Gazprom Export's demand to switch to ruble payments and will therefore not make any ruble payments," the group announced in a statement.

The announcement, which coincides with Finland's bid to join NATO, comes a few days after Russian electricity exports to Finland were suspended due to payment problems.

Although gas accounts for only 8% of the energy consumed in Finland, a majority of the gas used in the Nordic country comes from Russia.

Gasum, which says it has taken the dispute to an arbitration court, considers that there is an "increased risk" that the contracted supply will be interrupted "and as a result the import of natural gas from Russia to Finland will stop".

Finland has already announced plans to go without Russian gas next winter, with a dedicated import vessel to be shared with neighbouring Estonia.

Several countries that refused to pay in roubles to avoid supporting the Russian economy during the war in Ukraine, such as Poland and Bulgaria, have had their gas cut off by Gazprom.

(AFP) 

Russians say they'll disclose Ukrainian war crimes evidence next week

The Russian Embassy in The Hague says it will disclose "videos of witnesses' evidence of crimes" at a presentation next week. 

The diplomatic outpost claims they'll show "human rights violations and killings of civilians by Ukraine's troops and nationalist organisations, as well as shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine of peaceful objects in Donbas." 

The event will be hosted by Russia's ambassador to The Hague -- home of the International Criminal Court -- and the featured speaker is Maxim Grigoriev, described as the "Chairman of the International Public Tribunal for Ukraine."

If it not clear why Russian authorities are waiting until next week to reveal their evidence of war crimes. 

(Euronews) 

Sweden and Finland to send joint NATO candidacy letters on Wednesday

Sweden and Finland will jointly submit their candidacies to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced on Wednesday.

"I am happy that we have taken the same path and that we can do it together," she said during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

Sweden's foreign minister signed her country's letter on Tuesday morning, while the Finnish parliament voted overwhelmingly to join NATO on Tuesday by 188-8 and will likely sign their own letter on Tuesday evening. 

President Niinistö is currently on a State Visit to Sweden, and he and Andersson will go to Washington DC on Thursday for talks with US President Joe Biden. 

"Thanks for the close cooperation in recent months" Niinistö wrote to Andersson on Twitter. 

"We are taking historic steps." 

(Euronews / AFP)

Italian energy company will pay bills in Russian roubles

Italian energy giant Eni announced on Tuesday that it's opening up a new account in Russian roubles at Gazprom Bank to honour its payments for supplies of Russian gas which are due "in the coming days."

The company insists that paying in roubles won't be breaking any sanctions laws, and said "the decision has been shared with the Italian institutions. It was taken in compliance with the current international sanctions framework."

"The new procedure should be neutral in terms of both cost and risk, and not incompatible with the existing sanctions." 

After the imposition of sanctions on Russia by Western nations, the Kremlin demanded that payment for gas supplies, and other commodities, should be in roubles, not euros. 

(Euronews / AFP)

War crimes investigation team sent to Ukraine

The International Criminal Court prosecutor says he’s sent a team of 42 investigators, forensic experts and support personnel to Ukraine as part of a probe into suspected war crimes during Russia’s invasion.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said Tuesday that the team “will significantly enhance the impact of our forensic and investigative actions on the ground.”

Khan says the team will improve the gathering of witness testimony, the identification of forensic materials and help ensure that “evidence is collected in a manner that strengthens its admissibility in future proceedings” at the Netherlands-based court.

Several thousand civilians are believed to have died since the Russian invasion began on 24 February. Exact figures are impossible to verify. Incidents of summary executions and the use of cluster bombs by Russian forces have regularly been reported.

To be classed as crimes against humanity, attacks have to be part of what the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, calls “a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.”

Khan says that “now more than ever we need to show the law in action” in Ukraine.

(AP)

Russian strike 'kills eight' in a village north of Kyiv

Eight people died and 12 were wounded Tuesday in a Russian strike on Desna, a Ukrainian village about sixty kilometres north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, known to house a large military training camp, local rescuers said.

"Eight killed, 12 wounded," Oleksandr Ivchenko, spokesman for the regional branch of the State Emergency Service, told AFP.

Nordic leaders set to visit White House on Thursday

President Joe Biden Biden will host Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House for a meeting Thursday amid their push to join NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The White House said they would discuss the two countries’ applications to join the mutual defence alliance, as well as European security broadly. The requests by the long-neutral nations to join NATO have been widely lauded within the alliance as a rebuke of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, though Turkey has expressed reservations.

The meeting is set to take place before Biden departs Washington for a four-day trip to South Korea and Japan.

(AP)

Finland's parliament approves NATO application: 188-8 

Members of the Finnish Parliament approved a decision to apply for NATO member by 188 in favour to 8 against. 

Three MPs were absent for the vote. There are 200 MPs in total in the parliament, but only 199 voted, as the Speaker of Parliament does not cast a ballot. 

The approval comes after a marathon debate session on Monday when 212 speeches were made over a 14-hour session that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday morning. 

On Sunday, President Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced that the Nordic nation would apply to join NATO, and today's vote means that the president and government can now finally put an official application process in motion, perhaps later today. 

(Euronews) 

IAEA to send follow up team to Chernobyl

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says that it plans to send another team of experts to the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine in “the coming weeks.”

Tuesday’s announcement by the UN nuclear watchdog’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, came after he led a first mission to the site in northern Ukraine late last month. Russian forces took control of Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, at the beginning of the invasion and withdrew at the end of March.

Grossi said in a video message that, after that trip and a previous visit to the active South Ukraine nuclear plant, “we now have a clear picture of what needs to be done.” He said he has drawn up a “comprehensive program of assistance” to Ukraine.

(AP)

Finnish President: "We will solve the situation" with Turkey, over NATO membership

Finland and Sweden should be able to reach an agreement with Turkey over Ankara's objections to the two Nordic countries joining the 30-nation NATO alliance, Finland's president said on Tuesday.

Turkey surprised many NATO allies on Monday by saying it would not support membership for Sweden and Finland after the two countries took the widely anticipated step of agreeing to apply to join the military alliance this week.

"Statements from Turkey have very quickly changed and become harder during the last few days," President Sauli Niinistö said during an address to Sweden's parliament, on the first day of a state visit to Finland's Nordic neighbour.

"But I am sure that, with the help of constructive discussions, we will solve the situation."

Niinistö said he talked by telephone with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan a month ago and that the message then had been supportive of Finnish and Swedish membership in NATO.

"But in the last week he has said 'not favourable'," Niinistö told Swedish members of parliament. "That means we have to continue our discussions. I am optimistic."

Turkey says Sweden and Finland harbor individuals it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt. 

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Saturday, ahead of talks with her Turkish counterpart at a NATO meeting in Berlin, that Sweden just like the rest of the European Union considered PKK a terrorist organisation.

(Euronews / Reuters)

Engie to pay Gazprom bill in euros this month, not roubles

French power company Engie said on Tuesday it would make the next payment to Russian gas producer Gazprom in euros before the end of the month, as both companies have agreed on a solution in line with current European sanctions on Russia.

Engie CEO Catherine MacGregor told a call with analysts that Engie will be paying Gazprom in euros and although she did not give any specific timing for the payments, she said they were imminent, according to Reuters.

'Surrendering Azovstal fighters will be treated in line with international norms'

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Ukrainian fighters who surrendered at the Azovstal steel plant would be treated "in accordance with international standards", and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed this.

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that more than 250 Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant had surrendered after many weeks under siege.

(Reuters)

Russia claims to have hit US and European arms shipments in Ukraine

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that its missiles have destroyed US and European arms shipments in Ukraine's western Lviv region, according to Reuters.

The ministry also confirmed an earlier report from Russian-backed separatists that more than 250 Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant had laid down their arms and surrendered, of whom 51 were wounded.

Meanwhile, eight people were killed and 12 wounded in a Russian air strike on the village of Desna in the northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv on Tuesday, said Chernihiv's regional emergency service.

The Chernihiv regional governor, Viacheslav Chaus, said that while there are "no more occupiers in Chernihiv region but it is easy for them to reach us. Don't ignore air raid warnings!"

Brussels releases updated guidance on how companies can buy Russian gas

The European Commission said on Tuesday opening accounts in roubles at a Russian bank to pay for gas would breach the bloc's sanctions against Moscow, after Brussels released updated guidance on how companies can legally keep buying Russian fuel.

Countries and companies have for weeks been demanding clarity on how they can proceed, after Moscow at the end of March demanded foreign buyers start to pay for gas in roubles or risk losing their supply.

In updated guidance, shared with EU countries on Friday, the Commission confirmed its previous advice that EU sanctions do not prevent companies from opening an account at a designated bank.

It said companies can pay for Russian gas – so long as they do so in the currency agreed in their existing contracts and declare the transaction completed when that currency is paid.

Nearly all of the supply contracts EU companies have with Russian gas giant Gazprom are in euros or dollars.

But a European Commission spokesman said on Tuesday that opening an account in roubles at Gazprombank would breach the EU's sanctions regime.

Russia cut gas supply to Bulgaria and Poland last month after they refused to comply with its rouble payment demand.

Several EU governments and large importers have sought more clarity from Brussels on whether they can keep buying gas, which heats homes, produces electricity and powers factories across Europe.

Companies should make a "clear statement" saying that when they pay euros or dollars, they consider their obligations under existing contracts to be fulfilled, the Commission's guidance said.

By ending its obligations once it deposits euros or dollars, a company could avoid being involved in dealing with the Russian central bank, which is under sanctions, and which could have been involved in converting the euros to roubles.

(Reuters)

Using Russia's frozen reserves to fund Ukraine rebuild would be 'outright theft', says Kremlin spokesman

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it would be "outright theft" for the Group of Seven economic powers and European Union to seize Russia's frozen reserves and spend them on behalf of Ukraine.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told four European newspapers earlier in the day that he was open to the idea of seizing Russian state assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine and that proposals to that effect were already being discussed among the G7 and in the EU. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that no one had informed Russia of such an initiative, which he said would be "illegal, blatant and of course requiring an appropriate response... It would be, in fact, outright theft."

The Group of Seven major Western powers banned transactions with Russia's central bank and froze its assets held in their jurisdictions, worth around $300 billion, after Russia launched what it called its special military operation in Ukraine in February.

(Reuters)

Alexei Navalny appeal trial postponed in Moscow

The appeal trial of Russia's leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, who has already been jailed and sentenced again in March to nine years' imprisonment on charges of "fraud", has been adjourned to 24 May.

About an hour into the hearing, the Moscow City Court announced that the trial had been extended for a week, following a request from Navalny, who was appearing via video conference from the Pokrov prison colony number 2, about 100km east of Moscow.

Answering questions from the judge, the opponent, who has been imprisoned since January 2021, said he wanted to see the audio recording of his trial to compare it with his written version.

He also said that his family had been granted visiting rights for Friday and that he did not want to miss this visit.

"They are going to send me to a strict regime colony and this appointment is urgent," he observed. "On 24 (May), you will be able to convict me and I will be sent to a strict regime," he quipped.

Navalny is currently being held in a so-called "normal" regime colony. But if the first instance verdict is confirmed on appeal, he should be transferred to a "severe" penitentiary where conditions of detention are harsher. 

He appeared on Tuesday locked in a cage, wearing a prison uniform, according to images broadcast in the courtroom.

Navalny was accused of embezzling millions of rubles in donations to his anti-corruption organisations, and was sentenced to nine years in prison for "fraud" and "contempt of court" on 22 March.

This sentence includes one handed down in March 2021 for "fraud" in a case dating back to 2014 involving the French company Yves Rocher. 

Alexei Navalny was arrested in January 2021 on his return from Berlin, where he had spent several months recovering from poisoning by a nerve agent, for which he holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible. Putin categorically denies this and no investigation has been opened. 

(AFP)

Russia expels Finnish diplomats

Russia is expelling two Finnish diplomats in retaliation for a similar measure taken by Helsinki, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Finnish ambassador was summoned to the ministry on Tuesday, the statement said. During the meeting, Russian diplomacy "strongly protested" against the expulsion of two employees of the Russian embassy in Finland.

"The ambassador was informed that in response to the actions of the Finnish authorities, the Russian side has decided on a ban on the stay of two staff members of the Finnish embassy," the ministry added.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February has led to a wave of international condemnation and a barrage of sanctions, with hundreds of Russian diplomats expelled by Western countries.

The announcement of this latest round of expulsions comes as Finland said it will make an application to join NATO as a direct result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sweden has also signed its letter of application to join NATO on Monday. 

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would react to NATO's "deployment of military infrastructure" in these two countries, but did not specify what that response would be. 

(Euronews / AFP)

Turkish politician says Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO will lengthen war in Ukraine

The leader of a Turkish nationalist party that is allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expressing concern that NATO’s expansion to include Sweden and Finland will provoke Russia and cause an expansion of the war in Ukraine.

Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Action Party, on Tuesday told his party’s lawmakers that the most “logical” option would be for the two countries to be kept in “NATO’s waiting room.”

Bahceli says that “Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO will mean the lengthening of the war in Ukraine and even its geographical expansion.”

Bahceli’s speech comes a day after Erdogan said Sweden and Finland should not be allowed in. Erdogan has cited the two countries’ perceived support for groups Turkey considers to be terrorists, refusal to extradite “terrorists” wanted by Turkey and arms export restrictions on Turkey.

Bahceli in his speech also accused the two countries of “aiding and abetting” Kurdish militants.

All 30 current NATO countries must agree to open the door to new members.

(AP)

Sweden formally signs its application to join NATO

Russian-backed separatists claim 256 Ukrainian troops 'have surrendered' in Mariupol

Russian-backed separatists said on Tuesday that 256 Ukrainian servicemen who had been holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant "have surrendered" and that 51 were wounded.

This marked a very different tone to Ukraine's announcements of the evacuation, in which officials stressed that the defenders of Mariupol had 'fulfilled all their tasks' and were being evacuated to Russian-held areas, and that an exchange would be worked out for their return home.

Ukraine's military also said on Tuesday that it was working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol, ceding control of the city to Russia after months of bombardment.

Finland's minister for European affairs Tytti Tuppurainen tells Euronews why her country is applying for NATO membership following decades of neutrality.

Turkey won't prevent Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, says Luxembourg’s foreign minister

Luxembourg’s foreign minister says he doesn’t believe Turkey will prevent Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, despite the Turkish president’s stated objections.

All 30 current NATO members, among them Turkey, must agree to let the Nordic neighbours join. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said they failed to take a “clear” stance against Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara considers terrorists, and imposed military sanctions on Turkey.

However, Luxembourg’s long-serving Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio on Tuesday that he suspects Erdogan is merely “pushing up the price” for the two countries’ membership. He said: “At the end of the day, I am convinced that Turkey can’t slam the brakes on this.”

Asselborn added that “this will take some time, I hope not too long.”

He pointed to Turkey’s removal in 2019 from the US-led F35 stealth fighter jet program and the possibility of Ankara getting F-16 fighter jets from the US.

(AP)

Vatican envoy heading to Kyiv

The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, is heading to Kyiv this week as the Holy See seeks to balance its concern for Ukrainians with its efforts to keep open a channel of dialogue with Russia.

Gallagher is due to arrive Wednesday and meet Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, a visit that was originally scheduled for before Easter but was postponed after Gallagher came down with COVID-19.

The trip comes as the Holy See toes a delicate line in trying to keep alive newly improved ties with the Russian Orthodox Church while offering support to the “martyred” Ukrainian faithful. At the same time, the Holy See is reconciling Pope Francis’ frequent denunciation of the weapons industry and “crazy” recourse to re-arming Ukraine with Catholic teaching that says states have a right and duty to repel an “unjust aggressor.”

“It has to be proportional,” Gallagher told RAI state television in announcing his trip. “Yes, Ukraine has the right to defend itself and it needs weapons to do it, but it has to be prudent in the way it’s done.”

Gallagher, a 68-year-old career Vatican diplomat from Liverpool, becomes the third papal envoy dispatched to the region by Francis, after two trusted cardinals went to Ukraine and bordering countries to assess the humanitarian needs of Ukrainian refugees and bring them the pope’s solidarity.

Francis has drawn criticism from some for refusing to condemn Russia or President Vladimir Putin by name, though he has stepped up his criticism of the “barbaric” war and recently met with the wives of two Ukrainian soldiers holding out at the besieged steel mill in Mariupol, a gesture of “our concern and participation in the suffering of these families,” Gallagher said.

(AP)

Reuters captured images of the evacuation of Mariupol last night.

Frictions grow between Russian occupation administrations and pro-Russian collaborators, says report

In its latest assessment on the war in Ukraine, Washington DC-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War's (ISW) said that frictions between Russian occupation administrations and pro-Russian collaborators are growing in occupied areas of Ukraine. 

The Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration reported that Russian forces are having serious conflicts with collaborators due to interpersonal power conflicts, it said, adding:

"A well-known collaborator in Zaporizhia accused the Russian-installed governor of the area of stealing his 10,000 ruble compensation. Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryshchenko additionally claimed that relatives of those mobilised into the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) are holding a mass protest against mobilisation in Donetsk City.

While ISW cannot independently verify these claims, such discontent amongst occupation elements suggests a general lack of planning by Russian authorities in occupied areas, now compounded by increasingly evident Russian losses."

German FinMin says he's open to seizing Russian state assets to rebuild Ukraine

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is open to the idea of seizing Russian state assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, he said in an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt and three other European newspapers.

"I am politically open to the idea of seizing foreign assets of the Russian Central Bank," Lindner said, adding that proposals to this effect were already being discussed among the Group of Seven economic powers and in the European Union.

"In the case of private assets, we have to see what is legally possible," Lindner added. "We have to respect the rule of law, even if we are dealing with Russian oligarchs."

On European Union fiscal policy, Lindner indicated he could be open to compromise on the future handling of EU debt rules.

Although he could not support a reform with a softening of the Maastricht criteria -- the backbone of EU fiscal rules -- he said "the fiscal rules should be more realistic and effective."

"The goal is for all economies to grow and have sustainable public finances. I suggest combining a more credible long-term path to debt reduction with flexible medium-term targets," he added.

(Reuters)

Kremlin-critic Navalny set to appeal nine-year prison sentence later today

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is due today to appeal a nine-year prison sentence he was handed in March on charges that he and his allies say are politically motivated.

His hearing comes as Russian authorities seek to silence remaining government critics and Moscow pushes on with its military campaign in neighbouring Ukraine, with thousands killed and some 10 million displaced.

A vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Navalny in late March had his jail time extended to nine years after he was found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court.

He is already serving two-and-a-half years in a prison some 100 kilometres east of Moscow for violating parole on old fraud charges.

On Tuesday, he will appeal the extension of his jail term, joining the hearing at a Moscow court via video link from his prison colony.

If his new sentence comes into force, the 45-year-old opposition politician will be transferred to a strict-regime penal colony, which will place him in much harsher conditions.

(AFP)

Fears grow in Moldova

Yana stands in her pink flip-flops about 15 kilometres from the Moldova border. She is scared. 

Like others in the towns and villages in this region, she is worried the focus of Russia's war in Ukraine will spread toward Transnistria. 

Transnistria is a small pro-Russia breakaway region sandwiched between Ukraine and Moldova, both formerly part of the Soviet Union. It unilaterally declared itself independent in the early 1990s but is not recognised by any other country worldwide. Russia has a small contingent of 1,500 troops in the region it says are peacekeepers. 

“We see more and more Ukrainian military here," said Lana, 30, who lives with her husband and two children in Serby. "They are here to protect us, and while they say that all will be okay, I know they are here for a reason. I am scared that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin might eventually come.”

What is life near Transnistria amid fears war will spread to Moldova?

Russian border village under fire

A village in Russia's western province of Kursk bordering Ukraine came under Ukrainian fire on Tuesday, regional Governor Roman Starovoit said. Three houses and a school were hit but there were no injuries, he said.

Russian border guards returned fire to quell the shooting from large-calibre weapons on the border village of Alekseyevka, Starovoit wrote on messaging app Telegram.

(Reuters)

Russia relying on indiscriminate artillery bombardments, says British Ministry of Defence

In its latest intelligence update, the UK's Ministry of Defence highlights the damage left behind by Russian forces north of Kyiv, and points to its increasing reliance on indiscriminate artillery bombardments: 

"In the Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, approximately 3,500 buildings are estimated to have been destroyed or damaged during Russia’s abandoned advance towards the Ukrainian capital. 80% of the damage has been caused to residential buildings.

The scale of this damage indicates Russia’s preparedness to use artillery against inhabited areas, with minimal regard to discrimination or proportionality. Russia has likely resorted to an increasing reliance on indiscriminate artillery bombardment due to a limited target acquisition capability, and an unwillingness to risk flying combat aircraft routinely beyond its own frontlines.

In the coming weeks, Russia is likely to continue to rely heavily on massed artillery strikes as it attempts to regain momentum in its advance in the Donbas."

Those who have been watching coverage of the war from Russia have been getting a very different view of the conflict and the military situation on the ground in Ukraine to those of us in the West.

Even so, the BBC’s Francis Scarr has posted a clip from Russian state television yesterday that shows defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok giving a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. 

It's worth watching in full:

Ukrainian conflict demonstrates European “double standard” in dealing with refugees, says Red Cross chief

The head of the world’s largest humanitarian network said Monday that Europe’s speedy acceptance of millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s aggression demonstrates its “double standard” in dealing with people fleeing violence in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere who cross the Mediterranean Sea and are not welcomed, reports the Associated Press.

Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told a news conference Monday he doesn’t think there is any difference between someone fleeing eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region and someone escaping from the Boko Haram extremist group in Nigeria.

“Those who are fleeing violence, those who are seeking protection, should be treated equally,” Rocca said, adding that “we hoped that the Ukrainian crisis would have been a turning point in the European migration policies. But unfortunately, this was not the case.”

Since Russia invaded on 24th February, more than 6 million people have fled Ukraine and been welcomed with “open arms” by European neighbours.

Rocca said by contrast, at least 19,000 people have died trying to cross the central Mediterranean to get to Europe since 2014, and those who arrive often face abuse and struggle to get access to essential services.

“Ethnicity and nationality should not be a deciding factor to saving life,” Rocca added.

Heavy shelling continues across Donbas

Elsewhere in the Donbas, the eastern city of Sievierdonetsk came under heavy shelling that killed at least 10 people, said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region. In the Donetsk region, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook that nine civilians were killed in shelling.

The western Ukrainian city of Lviv was rocked by loud explosions early Tuesday. Witnesses counted at least eight blasts accompanied by distant booms. An Associated Press team in Lviv, which was under an overnight curfew, said the sky west of the city was lit up by an orange glow.

The chairman of the Lviv Regional Military Administration said the Russians fired on military infrastructure in the Yavoriv district. The city of Yavoriv is less than 15 kilometres from the Polish border.

Ukrainian troops also advanced as Russian forces pulled back from around the northeastern city of Kharkiv in recent days. Zelenskyy thanked the soldiers who reportedly pushed them all the way to the Russian border in the Kharkiv region, saying in a video message: “I’m very grateful to all the fighters like you.”

Video showed Ukrainian soldiers carrying a post that resembled a Ukrainian blue-and-yellow-striped border marker. Then they placed it on the ground while a dozen soldiers posed next to it, including one with belts of bullets draped over a shoulder.

The Ukrainian border service said the video showing the soldiers was from the border “in the Kharkiv region,” but would not elaborate, citing security reasons. It was not immediately possible to verify the exact location.

(AP)

Fighters, included wounded, evacuated from Mariupol

The Ukrainian fighters who doggedly defended a steel mill in the devastated port city of Mariupol have completed their mission, Ukrainian officials said, and efforts were underway to rescue the last of the defenders who remained inside.

Ukraine's deputy defence minister said more than 260 fighters, including some badly wounded, were evacuated from the hulking Azovstal plant Monday and taken to areas under Russia’s control. Officials planned to keep trying to save an unknown number of fighters who stayed behind.

“The work to bring the guys home continues, and it requires delicacy and time,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 seriously wounded fighters were taken from the Azovstal plant to a hospital in Novoazovsk, east of Mariupol. An additional 211 fighters were evacuated to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor. She said an exchange would be worked out for their return home.

Zelenskyy said the evacuation to separatist-controlled territory was done to save the lives of the fighters who endured weeks of Russian assaults in the maze of underground passages below the plant. He said the “heavily wounded” were getting medical help.

“Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes to be alive. It’s our principle,” he said.

Before the evacuations began, the Russian Defence Ministry announced an agreement for the wounded to leave the mill for treatment in a town held by pro-Moscow separatists. There was no immediate word on whether the wounded would be considered prisoners of war.

After nightfall Monday, several buses pulled away from the steel mill accompanied by Russian military vehicles. Maliar later confirmed that the evacuation had taken place.

Maliar said the “defenders of Mariupol” had fulfilled all their tasks, and it was impossible to “unblock Azovstal by military means.”

The Ukrainian General Staff also said on Facebook that the Mariupol garrison has completed its mission. The commander of the Azov Regiment, which led the defence of the plant, said in a prerecorded video message released Monday that the regiment’s mission had concluded, with as many lives saved as possible.

(AP)