Updates: UN chief slams Russia at meeting chaired by Lavrov
Ukraine news from April 24: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused ‘massive suffering and devastation’.
This live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. Here are the updates for April 24:
This live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. Here are the updates for April 24:
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “causing massive suffering and devastation” at a meeting chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
- Beijing attempts to appease furious European officials after China’s ambassador to France questioned the sovereignty of ex-Soviet states.
- A Moscow court has rejected an appeal from the suspect accused of killing a pro-Kremlin war blogger in a St Petersburg cafe.
- Russia’s Black Sea Fleet repelled a drone attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol in the early hours of Monday, the Moscow-installed governor of the city says.
Letter with unknown substance sent to French embassy in Moscow: TASS
A letter containing an unknown substance has been sent to the French embassy in Moscow, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS has said, citing law enforcement.
“Employees of the French Embassy received a letter with an unknown substance inside on Monday evening. Law enforcers are currently working at the scene,” TASS quoted a source as saying.
The French foreign ministry had no immediate comment on the report.
Lavrov, UN chief to discuss ‘lots of details’ on Ukraine, Russia grain exports
A pact between Moscow and the United Nations for Russia’s grain and fertiliser exports is not being fulfilled and there are “lots of details” to be discussed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said.
“It’s a deal which includes two parts and both parts should be realised and fulfilled equally,” Maria Zakharova told reporters at the United Nations.
Russia has signalled that it will not allow a deal on the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain, agreed in July last year, to continue beyond May 18 because a list of demands to facilitate its own grain and fertiliser exports has not been met.
“We stress this problem and underlined our position many times and we’ll do it again and again,” Zakharova said. “There are lots of details and they will be discussed.”
Lithuania to decide on withdrawal from Russia-Baltic power treaty by August 6
Lithuania will make a decision on whether to withdraw from a treaty governing the common power grid of Russia, Belarus and the three Baltic States by August 6, based on a review of studies into the potential effect, its energy minister has said.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all members of NATO and the European Union, remain a part of the Soviet-era BRELL circuit with Russia and Belarus, relying on Russian operators to control frequencies and balance the grid.
The three countries signed a deal in 2018 to decouple from the BRELL circuit and join the continental power grid by 2025, but Lithuania wants to leave in the first part of 2024. Neither Latvia nor Estonia has yet agreed to an earlier decoupling.
Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys told reporters Lithuania will make its decision to withdraw after reviewing the results of three studies into the preparedness of the Baltic power grids to decouple from BRELL by the earlier date.
Estonia PM urges Ukraine EU membership talks this year
Estonia’s prime minister has voiced hope that European Union membership talks with Kyiv could begin this year, during a visit to the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr.
Kaja Kallas, speaking alongside Zelenskyy, said Ukraine must strive to meet standards for EU membership.
“It will be a hard process and the requirements need to be fulfilled 100 percent,” she said. “We hope that Ukraine can launch accession negotiations with the EU this year.”
EU and Ukraine to mutually recognise and enforce court decisions
The European Union and Ukraine will, in the future, mutually recognise and enforce each other’s court decisions in civil and commercial matters.
EU member states have voted to establish relations under the relevant international treaty with Ukraine, the EU Council announced.
The Council established that there were no fundamental obstacles to this in Ukraine — for example, with regard to the independence of the judiciary, respect for fundamental rights and the fight against corruption.
EU’s Borrell: ‘Good news’ that China distanced itself from envoy’s comments
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says it is “good news” that China has distanced itself from comments by its ambassador to France that called into question the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet states.
US envoy tells Lavrov at UN to release US journalist
Washington’s United Nations ambassador has made a direct plea to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to release a detained US journalist and a former US Marine.
“I am calling on you, right now, to release Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich immediately, to let Paul and Evan come home,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told Lavrov as he chaired a UN Security Council meeting in New York City.
Estonian PM supports Kyiv’s NATO goals
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has supported Kyiv’s calls to join NATO “as soon as conditions allow” during a visit to Ukraine.
Kallas had talks with Zelenskyy in the northwestern city of Zhytomyr and signed a joint declaration with him condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We agree that a strong, independent and prosperous Ukraine, as part of the Euro-Atlantic family and as a member of the EU and NATO, is essential for the future of European security,” the joint declaration said.
“In the context of the NATO Vilnius Summit (in July), we agree to work together to establish a path that will help bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership and pave the way for Ukraine to join NATO as soon as conditions allow.”
Estonia is a member of NATO and the European Union.
World more ‘dangerous’ than during Cold War: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the United Nations Security Council that the world had become a more dangerous place than during the Cold War.
“As was case in Cold War, we have reached the dangerous, possibly even more dangerous, threshold,” he said.
Lavrov led a meeting on multilateralism and the founding UN Charter because Russia holds the monthly rotating presidency of the Security Council.
UN chief slams Ukraine war at meeting chaired by Lavrov
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a meeting chaired by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the war in Ukraine is “causing massive suffering and devastation to the country and its people” and fueling “global economic dislocation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic”.
“Tensions between major powers are at an historic high. So are the risks of conflict, through misadventure or miscalculation,” Guterres warned at the UN Security Council meeting.
Ukraine establishing positions by Dnieper River, says think-tank
According to a new analysis, Ukrainian military forces have established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, raising speculations of a counterattack.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank, reported that geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian troops had established a foothold near the town of Oleshky, along with “stable supply lines” to their positions.
But Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Operational Command South, called for patience.
While neither confirming nor denying the report, she said only that details of military operations in the Dnieper Delta could not be disclosed for operational and security reasons.
Ukrainian drone found outside Moscow, says Russia
Moscow says a Ukrainian drone has been found outside Moscow.
Igor Sukhin, head of the Bogorodsky city district outside Moscow, said a local resident had found a Ukrainian drone in a forest.
“This is not the first drone that appeared in the Moscow region,” Sukhin said on Telegram.
A similar drone was found in February in the town of Kolomna, about 100km (60 miles) southeast of Moscow, he added.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 425
Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 425 of the war.
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Comments were personal point of view, says Chinese embassy
The Chinese ambassador to Paris’s comment was an expression of a personal point of view, should not be over-interpreted, and is not a Chinese policy statement, the Chinese embassy in France said.
Ambassador Lu Shaye said in an interview aired on French TV on Friday that historically Crimea was part of Russia and had been offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive will start if Bakhmut falls: Prigozhin
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy would start a counteroffensive if and when Bakhmut falls.
“As soon as we finish taking Bakhmut, as soon as we drive out the last soldier from him or destroy him on the territory of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian counteroffensive will begin on that day … the Ukrainians will put up a huge number of troops,” Prigozhin said on Telegram.
“As soon as Bakhmut is taken, Zelenskyy will need the greatest victory. And for this, he will launch that very counteroffensive. Why hasn’t it started yet? First, because it rains, and absolutely everything gets stuck in the fields, you can only use roads. Even ‘pickup trucks’ will get stuck, not to mention tanks. The second factor is May 9,” he added.
May 9, or Victory Day, celebrates the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany.
Moscow court rejects St Petersburg cafe bombing suspect’s appeal
An appeal for a suspect in a cafe bombing that killed a well-known Russian military blogger has been rejected by a Moscow court.
The Moscow City Court rejected Darya Trepova‘s appeal against her arrest on charges of involvement in the April 2 bombing and upheld a lower court ruling that ordered Trepova in custody for two months pending investigation.
In a video, Trepova was seen presenting Vladlen Tatarsky with a statuette moments before the blast. She told investigators she was asked to deliver the statuette, unaware of what was inside it.
Russian authorities described the bombing as an act of terrorism and blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating it.
Russian troops grinding down Kyiv’s forces: Wagner
Wagner chief says Russian forces are “successfully” grinding down Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, Tass news agency reported.
“Our task is to grind the Ukrainian army down, not to give them the opportunity to gather in a counteroffensive. We are doing this more than successfully. Those groups of Ukrainian troops that are now inside Bakhmut and are being attacked by us occupy an area that is actually two kilometers away,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said on the Telegram channel of his press service.
“I can rate the actions of my guys ‘five points’. And for myself, ‘three points with a minus’, because it was necessary to grind more so that not a single living Ukrainian soldier was left,” he added.
EU to discuss China relations in June summit
European Union leaders will discuss the bloc’s stance towards China and its future relations with the country during their next summit in June, EU Council President Charles Michel has said.
“EU-China policy will be on the agenda of our European council in June,” Michel said on Twitter.
EU-China policy will be on the agenda of our European council in June.
Foreign affairs ministers will prepare this discussion under the leadership of the High representative @JosepBorrellF
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) April 24, 2023
China respects status of independent states: Ministry
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning says China respects the status of the independent sovereign nations after Beijing’s envoy to Paris sparked a diplomatic storm.
“The Chinese side respects the status of the member states as sovereign states after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Mao said, adding that China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with those countries.
China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, Mao said.
“The Soviet Union was a federal state, and externally as a whole, it had the status of being a subject of international law, so conversely, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the various republics have the status of sovereign states,” she said.
‘Take no more prisoners of war’: Wagner chief to mercenaries
Head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says his mercenary forces fighting in Bakhmut would kill Ukrainian soldiers and take no more prisoners.
Prigozhin was reacting to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel posting a recording of what it said were two Ukrainians deciding to shoot a Russian prisoner of war.
“We will kill everyone on the battlefield. Take no more prisoners of war!” Prigozhin said in an audio recording on Sunday.
He admitted that under international law, his group was obliged to “take care, treat, not hurt,” any prisoners of war.
Baltic countries summon Chinese envoys
EU members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have summoned Chinese envoys over remarks by Beijing’s ambassador in Paris, who questioned the sovereignty of ex-Soviet nations.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the diplomats would be asked to explain if the “Chinese position has changed on independence and to remind them that we’re not post-Soviet countries, but we’re the countries that were illegally occupied by Soviet Union.”
Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye said in an interview aired on French television on Friday that “these ex-USSR countries don’t have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialise their sovereign status”.
EU’s top diplomat expresses confidence in ammunition deal
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has expressed confidence that the bloc will finalise a plan soon to buy ammunition for Ukraine.
“Yes, still there is some disagreement, but I am sure everybody will understand that we are in a situation of extreme urgency,” Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
“I am sure that in the following days we will reach [an agreement],” he said.
Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed frustration at the slow pace and said on Twitter, “For Ukraine, the cost of inaction is measured in human lives.”
The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating. This is a test of whether the EU has strategic autonomy in making new crucial security decisions. For Ukraine, the cost of inaction is measured in human lives.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 20, 2023
‘Unacceptable’: EU-China row brews after envoy’s comments
Several EU foreign ministers have condemned China’s ambassador to France, after he questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet states such as Ukraine.
“It is totally unacceptable,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said before an EU meeting in Luxembourg.
“I hope the bosses of this ambassador will make these things straight.”
Asked about his position on whether Crimea was part of Ukraine, Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye said in an interview on Friday that historically it was part of Russia and had been offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
“These ex-USSR countries don’t have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialise their sovereign status,” Lu added.
Russian Black Sea fleet repelled Sevastopol drone attack: Governor
A Moscow-installed governor says Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has repelled a drone attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
According to the latest information: one surface drone was destroyed … the second one exploded on its own,” governor Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on Telegram.
“Now the city is quiet.”
No damage was reported, Razvozhaev added.
Russia claims progress in Bahkmut as Ukraine continues defending
Russia says its forces have advanced in Bakhmut, while a top Ukrainian commander says his troops are holding the front line.
On Sunday, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had secured two blocks in western districts, and airborne units provided reinforcements to the north and south.
However, Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi shared images on Telegram of him looking over a map with three other men, with the caption “Bakhmut frontline. Our defence continues.”
“We hit the enemy, often unexpectedly for him, and continue to hold strategic lines,” he wrote.