WAR IN UKRAINE: April 28, 2022
President Putin addressed lawmakers in St Petersburg yesterday; there appeared to be many empty seats and some lawmakers appeared to be dozing-off.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 63
President Biden is expected to ask Congress for additional Ukraine aid and for new Russia sanctions enforcement measures in remarks from the White House on Thursday morning. The White House seeks to send proceeds from Russian oligarchs’ confiscated assets to Ukraine
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warns Russia's invasion of Ukraine could 'turn into a slow-moving, frozen occupation, like a cancerous growth' amid reports the conflict could last five years. “That’s why it’s very important we assist the Ukrainians, get the limpid off the rock effectively. Make sure they (the Russians) don’t put down roots and try to dig in,” he told LBC’s Nick Ferrari. Wallace and other UK cabinet colleagues are now suggestion that Russia should be pushed out of the whole of Ukraine, including the areas previously occupied or annexed. Meanwhile, Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on Ukrainians to prepare for several difficult weeks of hostilities with a large-scale offensive by Russian troops in the Donbas. “The enemy is already aware of its strategic defeat, but will still try to inflict as much pain on us as possible,” Reznikov said.
UK's Ministry of Defence says that Russia's Black Sea fleet still has the capacity to strike Ukrainian targets. Russia's naval strength in the Black Sea includes around 20 vessels, with submarines also as part of the fleet.
President Vladimir Putin warned that any country interfering in Ukraine would be met with a “lightning-fast” response from Russia. Curiously, there were many empty seats at the Council of Legislator’s chamber in St. Petersburg and some lawmakers appeared to be dozing-off while Putin was speaking. He said: “If someone intends to intervene into the ongoing events (in Ukraine) from the outside and creates unacceptable strategic threats for us, then they should know that our response to those strikes will be swift, lightning fast…We have all the tools for this — ones that no one can brag about. And we won't brag. We will use them if needed. And I want everyone to know this.'“
Kherson city in southern Ukraine, which Russia claims to have captured, will transition to using the rouble from 1 May, Russian state-run media Ria Novosti reported. An official of the military-civilian administration of the region told Ria Novosti that the transition would take place over a period of four months, during which the Russian rouble and the Ukrainian hryvnia will be in circulation. After this period, the region will fully transition to using Russian currency, he added - BBC. Separately, Russian forces violently dispersed crowds, injured protesters at pro-Ukrainian rally in Kherson. Ukrainska Pravda reported that they used tear gas and stun grenades against demonstrators protesting against Russia’s occupation of Kherson on April 27. Four people were reportedly injured.
Due to damage to the high-voltage line, the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant has been switched to a lower power level and provides power only for its own needs. This was reported by Energoatom in its Telegram channel. The plant is one of the largest in Europe and earlier this week Russian rockets reportedly flew over the plant.
The Austrian embassy has resumed work in Kyiv. The Austrian Foreign Ministry said in a Tweet on April 27 that the embassy staff returned to Kyiv last week, as “an important sign of our unwavering solidarity with Ukraine.” Around 20 embassies have resumed work in Kyiv, with the Canadian and American embassies still preferring to work out of Poland or in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for the time being. Read my OpEd here on why I think diplomats should return to their desks in Kyiv immediately.
A BBC investigation reveals that Ukrainians forcibly deported to Russia have been beaten, mistreated and given Russian military identity documents. Yogita Limaye’s report here
