Mali has announced the severance of diplomatic ties with Ukraine following comments from a Ukrainian military official suggesting Kyiv’s involvement in recent deadly conflicts near the Algerian border.
The clashes resulted in the deaths of numerous Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner group mercenaries during confrontations with Tuareg separatist rebels and al-Qaeda-linked fighters.
Andriy Yusov, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman, stated last week that the rebels had received “necessary information” to carry out the attacks.
Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, a senior Malian official, expressed his government’s shock at the allegation and accused Ukraine of infringing on Mali’s sovereignty.
Yusov’s comments “admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups” that had led to the deaths of Malian soldiers, Col Maiga’s statement said.
Mali has decided to break off relations “with immediate effect”, he said.
Last week, Mali’s army admitted it had suffered “significant” losses during several days of fighting earlier that erupted on 25 July.
Last week, Mali’s military acknowledged experiencing “significant” casualties during several days of intense fighting that began on July 25.
The battles occurred in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a northeastern town bordering Algeria.
According to reports, Malian and Russian forces were ambushed by Tuareg rebels and militants from the al-Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin while they were awaiting reinforcements after retreating from Tinzaouaten.
Though neither the Malian military nor Wagner—now rebranded as the Africa Corps—disclosed precise figures, estimates suggest that Wagner’s losses ranged from 20 to 80 fighters, marking their heaviest toll in Mali since their involvement began two years ago.
Wagner confirmed the death of one of its commanders and the downing of a Russian helicopter amid “fierce fighting,” stating they had faced an assault by approximately 1,000 fighters.
On Thursday, Tuareg-led separatists claimed they had killed 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.
Over a decade ago, a Tuareg rebellion seeking a separate state led to the Malian central government losing control over much of the north. The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of Islamist militants.
Citing the previous government’s failure to manage this unrest, the military took power in coups in 2020 and 2021. The new junta then shifted Mali’s longstanding alliance from former colonial power France to Russia in an effort to quell the ongoing conflict.
Joe Biden took to the stage with his presidency, re-election hopes, and political future hanging in the balance during a high-stakes news conference on Thursday night.
This session, lasting an hour, marked the conclusion of a NATO summit and was his first unscripted public appearance since a challenging debate with his opponent, Donald Trump. Biden’s earlier gaffe, where he mistakenly referred to Ukraine’s President Zelensky as “President Putin,” had already sparked concerns.
Throughout the conference, Biden, 81, faced persistent questions about his age and fitness to serve another term, concerns that were amplified by his debate performance. Despite these challenges and growing calls from several Democratic politicians and donors for him to withdraw from the presidential race, Biden remained composed.
He repeatedly dismissed worries about his campaign, asserting that his focus was not on his legacy but on completing the work he started when he assumed office in 2021.
“If I slow down and can’t get the job done, that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing it,” he said. “But there’s no indication of that yet.”
From different perspectives, President Joe Biden’s Thursday night news conference at the NATO summit was seen either as a display of resolute determination or a sign of denial regarding his precarious political standing.
Despite the high stakes, Biden, 81, appeared unfazed by the pressure to step down, prompted by his earlier missteps, such as confusing Ukraine’s President Zelensky with “President Putin” and referring to Vice-President Kamala Harris as “Vice-President Trump.”
These gaffes added fuel to the calls from several Democratic politicians and donors for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. The president, however, remained defiant, insisting that he is committed to completing his term and pushing his campaign forward.
He reassured the public of his capability to lead, despite continuous scrutiny over his age and cognitive abilities. Biden’s confident demeanor at the news conference, despite these stumbles, aimed to reassure his supporters and dispel doubts about his capacity to win another term and compete against his rival, Donald Trump.
The political landscape remains tense as more Democratic members of Congress join the call for Biden to step down, and his campaign must now grapple with whether this momentum will continue to build. Nonetheless, Biden maintains that the campaign is just beginning and expresses confidence in his ability to secure victory in the upcoming election.
The Democratic delegates who will officially back him as the party’s nominee at next month’s convention were free to change their minds as they pleased, he said, before mock whispering: “It’s not going to happen.”
He indicated that he might step aside if his staff provided data showing he couldn’t win, but current polls still suggest the race is very close. For example, an Ipsos survey released on Thursday showed Mr. Biden just one point behind his opponent, well within the margin of error.
Since the start of the year, support for both candidates has remained remarkably stable, despite the extraordinary controversies surrounding them.
However, polling alone won’t ease the anxiety among many Democratic officials, and the concerns hovering over Biden’s campaign are not easily dismissed. Reports suggest that more Democratic politicians are prepared to publicly break with the president, having waited until after the conclusion of the NATO summit to express their doubts.
A video circulating on social media depicts a group of young men, purportedly Ghanaians, engaged in combat for the Russian Army.
Uploaded by a user identified as @EliasuAlhaji, the footage shows the men donning camouflage attire and wielding AK-47 rifles.
In the video, the men promote Fly Away Travel Agency, claiming it facilitated their recruitment into the Russian Army.
They encourage others to place their trust in the agency for similar opportunities, emphasising their Ghanaian nationality and current involvement in Russia.
Speaking in Twi, the men affirm, “Go to Fly Away Travel Agency, trust them, and they will bring you to Russia. This is not false. We are Ghanaians, brought here through their assistance. These are our weapons.”
Ghanaians fighting for Russia against Ukraine. These cocky young Ghanaians, who left the country probably due to the unemployment crisis, are boasting about the agency that facilitated their journey and advisedly encouraged Ghanaian youth to contact the agency to become … pic.twitter.com/NnPdLKWzpx
However, the accompanying post suggests that these individuals, potentially motivated by Ghana’s unemployment challenges, are now serving in the Russian military against Ukraine.
“Ghanaians are fighting for Russia against Ukraine. These cocky young Ghanaians, who left the country probably due to the unemployment crisis, are boasting about the agency that facilitated their journey and advisedly encouraged Ghanaian youth to contact the agency to become fighters in Russia. They speak Asante Twi,” the caption to the post stated.
Additional investigationsconducted by GhanaWeb reveal that the Fly Away Travel Agency website states that it specialises in developing innovative and efficient travel management programs that have a positive impact on its customers’ financial outcomes.
“For over 20 years, Fly Away Travels has successfully managed corporate travel for companies nationwide by creating innovative and effective travel management programmes that positively impact our customers’ bottom line.
“Privileged to work with some of Bangladesh’s most recognisable corporations, our team of Account Managers will work with corporations to develop a programme that meets corporate organisational objectives and provides extraordinary traveller satisfaction – Guaranteed,” the website stated.
Lecturer at the Kumasi campus of the University of Education Winneba, Aaron Kuma, has emphasised that the origins of Ghana’s present economic crisis can be traced back to a period preceding the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
This university lecturer highlights that the banking sector crisis of 2017 holds substantial responsibility for the current state of Ghana’s finances, exerting a lasting impact on the nation’s economic situation even six years later.
“It is not COVID and the Ukraine war that have gotten us to this point as a nation. The banking crisis is one of the major critical issues because a whooping amount of close to $27 billion was used for bailouts,” he stated on Kumasi-based Hello FM.
He observed that the Bank of Ghana, which was tasked with the crucial responsibility of restructuring the banking sector through a cleanup in 2020, fell short in effectively tackling the issue.
The approach of collapsing multiple banks without a thorough case-by-case examination was, in his view, inadequate.
“If I was the finance minister or the governor of the Bank of Ghana, I am not sure that is how I would have handled it. I would’ve done it on a case-by-case basis,” he noted.
Recent intelligence briefing from the UK’s Ministry of Defence suggests that Russia is aiming to enhance its military capabilities, but it is doubtful that they will be able to recruit sufficient new personnel to form an entirely new army.
The ministry noted that Russia has expanded the age range for conscription and primarily utilized mobilized reservists to fill the ranks of existing military units.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 2 August 2023.
Approximately 40,000 tonnes of grain have been reported as damaged due to Russia’s actions, according to Ukraine’s deputy prime minister. These grains were initially destined for African nations.
Oleksandr Kubrakov communicated on the social media platform Twitter, stating, “The Russians attacked warehouses and grain elevators – almost 40 thousand tons of grain were damaged, which was expected by the countries of Africa, China, and Israel.”
“The world must resist. Attacks on Ukrainian ports are a threat to the world. We can defend ourselves, and our air defence forces can use weapons effectively. We need more of it. Each air defence system saved a life. Speed and determination are the destiny of the strong ones.”
These photos show the lives of hundreds of millions of people. In Ukraine, in Europe, in Africa. The photos show the destroyed infrastructure of the ports of the Danube cluster. Last night, Russia attacked them with Iranian drones. These are the very ports that have become the… pic.twitter.com/DFCI2muwEC
Russia is utilising games like Minecraft to instill pro-Kremlin beliefs in the minds of unknowing players while at war with Ukraine.
Nearly the entire video game industry unequivocally declared support for Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. Russian teams were removed from EA’s sports games, and major publishers like Sony and Nintendo completely shut down their operations there.
President Vladimir Putin is promoting Russia’s own “cyberchampionship” gaming competition as a result of the country’s attempt to develop its own gaming sector.
According to reports, Russia is reportedly using video games, particularly Minecraft and Roblox, to disseminate information on its invasion of Ukraine.
Both games allow players to produce and edit their own content, making them undoubtedly the best options for guaranteeing that pro-Russian messaging can be spread to a large audience.
Not to mention, young kids who are perhaps less conversant with the specifics of the conflict are particularly fond of Minecraft and Roblox.
According to The New York Times, user-made environments like Roblox and Minecraft show Russian parades and have Russian flags flying over Ukrainian territory.
Even a Russian government official whose mother is a close ally of Putin sponsored and streamed one in-game Minecraft performance held to commemorate Russia Day.
Video games can be used to promote education, according to Putin, “within the framework of universal human values and within the framework of patriotism.”
A 2021 report by Wired claims that Roblox in particular has grown immensely popular in Russia in recent years, maybe as a result of the exodus of so many other games, and that it has turned into a haven for racists and anti-Semites.
Both Roblox Corporation and Microsoft, the company that owns Minecraft, have made no comments regarding the propagandistic usage of their products.
Ghanaian politician and businessman, Kojo Bonsu, has revealed that he is considering to shutdown his businesses as a result of the country’s economic woes.
According to him, Ghana’s current economic climate is the most challenging he has witnessed in his lifetime.
“My businesses are struggling. I just had a meeting and I’m even going to close down,” he said.
Kojo Bonsu also urged the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led administration to desist from constantly blaming COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War for Ghana’s impoverished state.
He said that he believes that the country’s economy was already in ruins before the aforementioned misfortunes struck.
“The most challenging? Yes. If you talk about Ukraine and COVID, before COVID, we had a lot of business problems. So, I wouldn’t see why government always talks about COVID and the Russia-Ukraine War.
“It’s the way they’ve handled things. They haven’t put their mouth where it fits. They haven’t cut their coat according to their size. Unnecessary expenditure has brought Ghana into this situation. They waste money, so, definitely, the citizens of this country may have problems,” he added.
In his prison cell, a former FBI agent who had been found guilty of spying on the US for Russia had been discovered dead.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, Robert Hanssen, 79, was discovered unconscious in his supermax federal prison unit on Monday about 6.55am.
According to CBS News, Kristie Breshears, director of communications for the Bureau of Prisons, said that “staff requested emergency medical services and life-saving efforts continued.”
Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested in 2001 (Picture: Reuters)
His cause of death was not immediately released.
Hanssen was serving a life sentence at a federal penitentiary in Florence, Colorado. He was among spies who inflicted the most damage ever to the US.
The Soviets approached Hanssen three years after he started working for the FBI. He began spying for the KGB, the former Soviet secret police, in 1979, as well as the successor SVR.
Hanssen’s employment with the FBI allowed him to access virtually any classified documents. He assumed the alias Ramon Garcia in sending US intelligence to spy agencies via dead drops and encrypted messages.
He stepped back from spying several years after starting, when his wife confronted him, but picked it back up in 1985. He sent information on the US’s secret nuclear war preparations as well as a tunnel used for eavesdropping beneath the Soviet embassy in Washington, DC.
In exchange for feeding US intelligence, Hanssen received more than $1.4million in foreign bank deposits, cash and diamonds. He never met face-to-face with the Russians he sent information to.
Hanssen was arrested in 2001 after making a dead drop in Virginia. He pleaded guilty to selling highly classified documents to the Soviet Union and Russia.
He was convicted of espionage, conspiracy to commit espionage and attempted espionage, and sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences. Hanssen had served 20 of those years.
No other inmates or staff were injured as Hanssen’s body was discovered and there was no threat to the public.
Former journalist for BBC News Ukraine Oleksandr Bondarenko, was killed while performing his job on the front lines in Ukraine.
He volunteered for Ukraine’s territorial defence at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, working as a communications expert and media trainer and then becoming part of the military.
Details of how he was killed in action are not yet known.
Close friends said only that “death caught up with him in a battle”.
Friends, former BBC colleagues and Ukraine’s wider media community paid tributes to a talented journalist who went on to be a successful communications professional.
Known as Sasha or Sashko, Bondarenko was originally from Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
He worked for the BBC’s Ukrainian Service from 2007 to 2011 as a news reporter, presenter and editor of radio programmes broadcast from Kyiv. He left the BBC to work for other media organisations.
Image caption,At the start of the war Sasha Bondarenko worked as a communications expert and media trainer.
At the start of the war he was in charge of special projects for leading Ukrainian communications agency, RMA, whose staff paid tribute to his intelligence, humour and voice.
He was one of many thousands of Ukrainians who have left their civilian jobs across all walks of life to defend their country from the Russian invasion.
Among well-known Ukrainians who enlisted were members of one of Ukraine’s top rock bands, Antytila, who became army medics, and broadcasters Pavlo Kazarin and Yurii Matsarskyi.
A number of journalists have lost their lives reporting on the war too. A Ukrainian fixer working with an Italian reporter was killed this week as they came under fire near the southern city Kherson.
Vasyl Samokhvalov of RMA paid tribute to Sasha Bondarenko as a man who volunteered on day one: “A human with a will of steel. A human with the clearest motivation. A human with the best music playlist.”
The former head of the BBC’s Ukrainian Service, Maciek Bernatt-Reszczynski, said the corporation was extremely lucky to have him on the Kyiv team: “It was always new challenges with this extraordinary man. Including the last, heroic one, to defend his country from aggression.”
Bondarenko graduated from Luhansk teacher-training college and started his career in journalism at a local radio station in the east of Ukraine, before working for leading Ukrainian TV channels and and then the BBC’s Ukrainian Service.
Image caption,BBC Ukraine’s editor-in-chief Marta Shokalo (R) paid tribute to her former colleague
“I look at our photos together and can’t stop crying even though I can only remember our carefree days in the Kyiv office and how we laughed together,” said Marta Shokalo, BBC Ukraine’s editor-in-chief.
He went on to work as a TV reporter, covering the mass Maidan anti-government protests in Kyiv in 2013-14 and later Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.
A keen athlete, he achieved a long-held ambition of swimming the Bosphorus. His last photo published on Facebook was captioned: “Somewhere in the Kharkiv woods.”
Image caption,Colleagues described an unpretentious but highly knowledgeable journalist who seemed “brilliant at everything”
During the long-anticipated conversation between the two leaders, Xi appealed for Russia and Ukraine to restart peace talks and warned “there is no winner in a nuclear war”, according to state media.
The Chinese government pledged to send a “special representative” to Kyiv for talks about a possible “political settlement”.
Writing on Twitter following the discussion, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I had a long and meaningful phone call with… President Xi Jinping.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
It comes two months after Beijing said it wanted to act as a peace mediator.
China has tried to appear neutral about the conflict, but has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Xi reportedly said China will send special representatives to Ukraine to hold talks with “all parties” on the “political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”.
He said China is willing to continue to provide “humanitarian assistance” to Ukraine.
“The two sides should focus on the future, persist in viewing and planning bilateral relations from a long-term perspective, continue the tradition of mutual respect and sincerity between the two sides,” he said.
‘No winner in a nuclear war’
“Negotiation is the only viable way out,” Chinese state TV also quoted Xi as saying in a report about the call.
He added: “There is no winner in a nuclear war.
“All parties concerned should remain calm and restrained in dealing with the nuclear issue and truly look at the future and destiny of themselves and humanity as a whole and work together to manage the crisis.”
Before the February 2022 invasion, the Chinese president and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement saying their governments had a “no limits friendship”.
But earlier this year, the Chinese government released a peace proposal and called for a ceasefire and talks.
The phone call between the two leaders was for China another step toward deeper involvement in resolving the ongoing war.
It comes after Mr Zelenskyy said in late March that he had not spoken with Xi since the war began before extending an invitation for him to visit Ukraine.
Why China’s stance matters
An official for China’s foreign ministry added that President Xi’s call with President Zelenskyy “shows China’s objective, impartial position on international affairs”.
They said what the country has done to help resolve the crisis has been “above board”.
Sky’s Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith said the phone call between President Zelenskyy and President Xi is “really significant,” adding: “China’s position on this war is really very important, it is presenting itself as a potential peacemaker.”
She added: “It wants to be seen as the power capable of brokering peace because it says it is one of the only mutual parties.
“The West sees that claim with a degree of scepticism. China has never condemned the invasion, but it has providedRussia with finance and technology and significant diplomatic cover.”
The city of Belgorod, which is close to the Ukrainian border, was unintentionally attacked, according to the Moscow defence ministry.
The explosion produced a massive hole in the middle of the city that was roughly 20 metres (60 feet) broad, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
According to him, numerous buildings were damaged, and two people suffered injuries.
According to the ministry, a Su-34 fighter-bomber jet unintentionally released aviation ordnance.
Image caption,Two women were reportedly injured and several buildings were damaged
The incident took place at 22:15 local time (19:15 GMT) on Thursday, Russian news agencies said.An investigation is under way.
Photos and videos on social media show apartments damaged by the blast, while one image appears to a show a car on the roof of a building.
Image caption,A photo shows the aftermath of the blast
Belgorod – a city of 370,000 – is around 25 miles (40 km) from the Ukrainian border. It lies just north of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, and people there have been living in fear of Ukrainian shelling since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
Russian jets also regularly fly over the city on their way to Ukraine.
Other Ukrainian brands have the opportunity to take their place as a result. According to Yuriy Sorochynskiy, he and his partner are “filled with immense satisfaction” that their Ukrainian vodka Nemiroff is still doing well on the international market.
“We are thrilled and excited to see our brand being recognised globally,” adds the company’s chief executive.
“And we are grateful to our customers abroad who are choosing Nemiroff out of solidarity with Ukraine.”
Vodka, the neutral, clear spirit that a great many people would say only tastes of alcohol, doesn’t normally make newspaper headlines.
With annual global sales of $46.6bn (£37.5bn), its a ubiquitous product that drinkers around the world add to soft drinks, use as the base for a cocktail, or down neat as a “shot”.
Yet last year, vodka suddenly found itself in the international media spotlight following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The start of the conflict resulted in Western consumers, retailers and governments boycotting and banning Russian vodkas.
At the same time, Western vodka brands that have Russian sounding names, such as global bestseller Smirnoff, were quick to point out that they aren’t actually from Russia. Smirnoff is instead owned by UK drinks giant Diageo.
The national origin of vodka is both hotly contested and difficult to define due to changing borders and countries over the centuries. But most drinks historians would agree that today’s Poland, Russia and Ukraine are the historic heart of vodka production.
With Russian vodkas still mostly absent from international shelves, previously little-known Ukrainian brands are continuing to take their place. Yet maintaining production in a war-torn country is, unsurprisingly, not without its difficulties.
Immediately following the Russian invasion, Nemiroff had to close its main distillery for a month. This is located in the city of Nemyriv, some 250km (155m) south west of the capital Kyiv.
Image caption,The geographic and national origin of vodka is hotly contested
Like most businesses in Ukraine it has subsequently been affected by power cuts due to Russian attacks on electricity infrastructure. Despite this, the firm says it has seen a big rise in exports, including a two-fold increase in sales in the UK.
“It’s heart warming to see people supporting our country through their purchasing decisions,” says Mr Sorochynskiy.
Fellow Ukrainian vodka boss Dima Deinega says that his distillery, based in the city of Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, “has showcased amazing resilience”.
“We’ve dealt with shelling and no power supplies but are still able to produce and export vodka,” says Mr Deinega, whose brand is called Dima’s.
“[Global] sales were rising consistently before the war, but have increased significantly with people looking for ways to support Ukraine via our charitable initiatives, as well as to support Ukrainian products as a whole,” says Mr Deinega.
Image caption,Dima Deinega says his vodka firm has shown its “resilience”
Katherine Vellinga grew up in Canada, the daughter of Ukrainian emigrees. Back in 2005 she had decided to move to Ukraine, and she became increasingly interested in Ukrainian vodka. So much so, that she and her husband bought a small distillery and brand called Zirkova.
Following Russia’s invasion the distillery had to close. To maintain some production, Ms Vellinga decided to open a second facility, this time more than 7,000km (4,000 miles) away in Ontario.
Supervised by the firm’s master distiller, the company’s Canadian brand is called Zirkova Unity, and all its profits go to Ukrainian charities. Production has continued in Canada despite the firm’s main distillery, in the Ukrainian city of Zolotonosha, south of Kyiv, reopening last September.
Commenting on the move to Canada, Ms Vellinga says that “necessity was the mother of invention”. She adds: “Our people in Ukraine encouraged us to keep fighting, to be resilient, to find a way to survive as that was the only way we could help Ukraine.
“We made a decision to survive and Ukrainians encouraged us to keep going.”
But does all vodka taste the same? “Absolutely not!” says Tony Abou Ganim, a US-based vodka expert.
“All you need to do is line up six vodkas, made from different raw materials, and coming from different parts of the world, to very quickly realise that all vodkas are not the same!”
In Poland, Russia and Ukraine, the heart of the so-called “vodka belt”, the spirit is traditionally drunk neat.
And although the origin of the drink is hotly debated, Poland certainly has the strictest legal rules that govern vodka’s production. Polish vodka can only be made from wheat, rye, oats, potatoes or triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), water and yeast.
This contrasts with vodkas from around the world that can use maize, rice, sugar, grape juice or even milk, plus any number of other ingredients or additives.
Image caption,Zirkova’s Katherine Vellinga says that decent vodka does have flavour
“Vodka is not a flavourless drink,” says Mariusz Dampc of the Polish Vodka Museum in Warsaw. “That is a very Western view,” he adds. “Polish vodka is all about the soil, the water, the climate and the human element: the terroir.”
Ms Vellinga adds that many “new world vodkas” – which she defines as those made outside of the drink’s historic heartland shouldn’t use the name.
“You can taste the difference between true vodka made out of grain or potato, and poor substitutes that use cheap ingredients such as corn, sugar beet, rice and sorghum,” she says. “Newer vodka brands adhere to this modern mistaken notion that vodka should be utterly tasteless and neutral, which is far from the truth.
The Netherlands and Denmark have agreed to buy 14 Leopard 2 tanksfor Ukraine and give them.
“The Netherlands and Denmark today announce our intention to jointly acquire, refurbish and donate 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks for Ukraine,” the Danish Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
It said the German tanks would be supplied from “early 2024” and the estimated cost of 165 million euros ($180m) would be “equally divided”.
“In this way, we will jointly take part in the ‘Leopard 2 coalition’, supported by many partners and allies,” the statement said.
Formerly, Shakhtar Donetsk’s goals were limited to winning awards, but now the illustrious Ukrainian football club has loftier goals, like funding medical care for injured soldiers abroad and helping orphans find new homes.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the club, one of only two Ukrainian teams to win a European club championship after winning the 2009 UEFA Cup, has spent all available funds through its foundation Shakhtar Social.
They paid 100,000 euros ($110,000) each to send five seriously injured soldiers to hospitals in Israel, the US, and Spain for medical care.
“You cannot imagine what injuries they have,” Shakhtar CEO Sergey Palkin told AFP in a phone interview.
“Two of them are paralysed, others suffered catastrophic wounds in a rocket detonation.
“It is very difficult to control one’s emotions when one sees them.
“We want to give them a chance of a normal life. These hospitals have very sophisticated procedures.
“The families cannot sustain those expenses and the government has no capability to provide this financial help so we are taking care of them.”
Children have suffered too amid the death and destruction. Some have been killed, some have been left as orphans and others have been forcibly taken to Russia.
“We have looked after 31 children, who lost their parents due to the war and we have found them 17 families,” said Palkin.
“We provide living expenses, medical treatments, iPads and try to normalise the situation from a psychological point of view.
“These children have been left traumatised by the violent loss of their parents.”
His father-in-law Ivan Petrenko was killed in action in the Donbas in May last year.
“The guys who were with him saw him die,” Petryak told AFP.
“For us as a family it is the worst situation as we cannot find the body and we cannot make the funeral to say goodbye.
“This is the worst for us as we do not know what to do as we have no information about him.”
‘Bit of a circus’
Shakhtar have bitter experience of what it is like to be displaced. The club hosted matches in the 2012 European Championship but two years later they were on the move after the Russians seized Crimea.
They played in Kyiv before the war and are now in Lviv.
Little did they realise they would play host to more refugees from the Donbas region eight years later as the Russian army swept in once again.
“We accepted more than 2,000 refugees from the eastern part of Ukraine,” said Palkin.
“We provide food, medical treatment, including psychological treatment, helping people to concentrate on what they should do regarding their next steps.
“Many lost houses, apartments, their passports and personal documents.”
Petryak says he cannot envisage a scenario where he takes to a pitch in the future against a Russian team — “they are like zombies” he says of the Russian players and their support of President Vladimir Putin.
Equally he is dumbfounded that IOC President Thomas Bach has left the door open for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Olympics in Paris next year.
“The situation is not possible,” he said.
“Bach is very wrong. Every day they kill our children, people, athletes.
“More than 200 athletes have been killed and he wants to say Russia and Belarus are allowed at the Olympic Games. How is it possible?
“It is unbelievable. For me it is a bit of a circus.”
Petryak says he understands why the vast majority of foreign players went out on loan once the conflict took hold.
He is extremely proud though that despite losing a huge amount of Brazilian talent, the club still finished third in their Champions League group and reached the last 16 of the Europa League this season.
“Some athletes have taken up the gun,” he said.
“My team, we support the country with money and we can give more from this side.
“I am not criticising those who took up the gun but we feel the better we play, the more money we can send to the the army and other athletes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a disturbing video that appears to show a Russian soldier beheading a Ukrainian hostage.
In the film, a man wearing the yellow wristband normally worn by Ukrainian military appears to be wearing green fatigues.
Before another man appears to wield a knife to cut off his head, he can be heard screaming.
The footage, which appears to have been recorded by one of the presumed Russian soldiers, cannot be independently verified by Sky News as legitimate.
“There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill,” the Ukrainian president said, his face sombre.
“There will be legal responsibility for everything. The defeat of terror is necessary,” he added in a video message.
The Kremlin described the video as “awful” but said its authenticity needed to be checked.
Moscow has denied in the past that its troops carry out atrocities during the conflict.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Twitter: “A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online.
“It’s absurd that Russia,which is worse than ISIS, is presiding over the UNSC,” he said, referring to the UN Security Council, where Russia took up the rotating presidency this month.
He added: “Russian terrorists must be kicked out of Ukraine and the UN and be held accountable for their crimes.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry called on the International Criminal Court to “immediately investigate yet another atrocity of the Russian military”.
The UN says it is “appalled” by the footage.
“Regrettably this is not an isolated incident,” the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a statement.
It said it recently found “a number of serious violations of international humanitarian law”, including against prisoners of war.
“These latest violations must also be properly investigated and the perpetrators must be held accountable,” it said.
Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said today that he will call on the UN Human Rights Committee to investigate the video apparently showing the Ukrainian prisoner of war’s execution.
Russian parliament gives its approval to the call-up
The legislation allowing for the online serving of call-up papers has been passed by the Russian parliament.
The Kremlin has disputed that the action is intended to hasten the future mobilisation of Russian men or to end rampant draught-dodging.
In order to avoid the draught and avoid the conflict in Ukraine, thousands of Russians have done so.
Critics say the law is further evidence of authorities creating an “electronic Gulag”, referring to the Soviet-era network of prison camps.
Until now, conscription papers in Russia have had to be served in person or via an employer.
In reality, it has meant many avoiding the draft by moving away from where they were registered to live, or simply not opening the door when military officials came calling.
Under the new legislation, call-up papers will be deemed to be served as soon as they appear on a special “State Services” government portal called “Gosuslugi”.
“The summons is considered received from the moment it is placed in the personal account of a person liable for military service,” Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, said on TV.
Citizens who fail to show up will be banned from travelling abroad and could face other restrictions. They will not be able to buy or sell property, their driving licences will be invalidated and they will be unable to register small businesses.
Of the 395 Russian MPs who voted on the legislation, 394 supported it and one abstained. Russia’s lower house or State Duma has 450 MPs.
The new legislation will come into effect when it is signed by President Vladimir Putin, which is likely to happen soon.
Last September, the Kremlin began a chaotic emergency mobilisation campaign to support Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, amid a series of humiliating defeats after its full-scale invasion.
New York Times says, war plans that have been shared on social media allegedly include graphs, information on weapon deliveries, and other sensitive information.
Secret documents that outline US and NATO preparations to assist Ukraine in getting ready for a spring onslaught against Russia have leaked onto social media sites, according to the New York Times.
The alleged leak appeared to be a Russian disinformation campaign to cast doubt on Ukraine’s intended counteroffensive, a Ukrainian presidential official claimed on Friday.
Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters news agency the data contained a “very large amount of fictitious information” and Russia was trying to seize back the initiative in its invasion.
The Pentagon said on Thursday it is assessing the apparent security breach.
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the department is reviewing the matter,” Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said.
The documents were spread on Twitter and Telegram, and reportedly contain charts and details about weapons deliveries, battalion strengths and other sensitive information, the Times said.
There was no explanation as to how the plans were obtained.
Information in the documents is at least five weeks old with the most recent dated March 1, the report said.The plans did not provide specific action such as when Ukraine would launch the offensive.
One of the documents summarised the training schedules of 12 Ukraine combat brigades, and said nine were being trained by US and NATO forces. About 250 tanks and more than 350 mechanised vehicles are required for the operation, the newspaper said.
The classified documents, at least one of which carried a “top secret” label, were circulated on pro-Russian government channels, it said.
Information in the documents also details expenditure rates for munitions under Ukraine military control, including for the HIMARS rockets, the US-made artillery systems that have proven highly effective against Russian forces, it added.
“To the trained eye of a Russian war planner, field general or intelligence analyst … the documents no doubt offer many tantalizing clues and insights,” the Times said.
The report quoted military analysts who warned some documents appear to have been altered in a disinformation campaign by Russia, with one inflating Ukrainian troop deaths and minimising Russian battlefield losses.
The leak comes as fighting continues in the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has been one of the deadliest battles of the war so far.
While Western analysts have played down its strategic significance, Kyiv has framed its dogged defence of the city as a way of wearing down Russian forces ahead of the expected counteroffensive bolstered by advanced Western-supplied weapons.
RussianPresident Vladimir Putin has called the invasion a “special military operation” necessary to eliminate Ukrainian Nazis and defend Russia from a hostile West. Ukraine and its allies call it an unprovoked war of conquest.
The conflict has killed thousands of people, wrecked cities and destabilised the global economy. Millions of Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring nations while others have been internally displaced.
A decade-long period of peace in the country has been shattered by the war in Ukraine, according to Emmanuel Macron’s message to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In an effort to exploit Xi’s influence over Russia to advance a peace agreement, the French president is in Beijing along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Mr Macron said “Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to [international] stability. I know I can count on you … to bring Russia to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table,” Macron told Xi.
“We need to find a lasting peace,” Macron said. “I believe that this is also an important issue for China, as much as it is for France and for Europe.”
The French president would “try to build, and somehow engage China toward a shared responsibility for peace and stability on international issues”, including Ukraine, Iran and North Korea.
Image:Xi Jinping welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron at the Great Hall of the People
The Chinese leader didn’t mention Ukraine or Russia, but welcomed relations with France. He said Beijing and Paris are “staunch promoters of multipolarisation of the world,” a reference to reducing U.S. dominance in economic and political affairs.
Xi and Russian president Vladimir Putin declared a “no-limits friendship” before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and China has refused to directly criticise the Kremlin. Beijing has called for a cease-fire and peace talks.
China has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, helping to prop up the country’s revenue in the face of Western sanctions. This has made China increasingly influential over Putin, though Xi appears reluctant to jeopardise that partnership.
“China has always adhered to an objective and fair position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis,” said a foreign ministry spokesperson. “We have been an advocate of a political solution to the crisis and a promoter of peace talks.”
Mr Macron said during a meeting with Xi’s number two, Premier Li Qiang, that he wanted to talk about “Ukraine, but also about all the major conflicts and the difficult situations around the world.”
“The ability to share a common analysis and build a common path is essential,” he added.
Li said there was likely to be “broad consensus” between Mr Macron and Xi but did not say whether China would lobby Moscow to make peace.
Image:Relations between the two countries have maintained a positive and steady momentum, Xi said
Xi said that China and France had the ability and responsibility to transcend “differences” and “restraints” as the world undergoes profound historical changes, Chinese state media reported.
Relations between the two countries have maintained a positive and steady momentum, Xi told Macron.
National Democratic Congress’ (NDC’s) national communications officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said it is a false claim that Ghana’s economy was thriving prior to theCovid-19 pandemic.
He indicated that the economy was beginning to show signs of weakness before the pandemic.
His remarks follow those of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who noted in his state of the nation address (SONA) on March 8 that Ghana’s economy was doing well before the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to the president, even acknowledged that Ghana’s economy was doing well before the pandemic.
He said, “I have said, and the Managing Director of the IMF has also said, our economy was doing well until covid 19, and Russia Ukraine war.”
But speaking on the Big Issue on TV3 Wednesday, March 22, Sammy Gyamfi said “These are people who are allergic to the truth. Before Covid, the government was already spending recklessly.
“Before Covid what did the government have to show for the borrowing? Before covid, the economy was nothing to wrote home about.”
He further attributed Ghana’s problems to wastage and corruption by the government.
On Friday, Slovakia pledged some MiG-29 aircraft to Kiev, a day after Poland. Slovakia was the second Nato country to do so.
The jets are no longer in use in Slovakia after the fleet was grounded last year.
Although Ukraine has requested modern jets from Western nations, these are only considered as long-term solutions due to the lengthy training requirements.
After a year of the Russian invasion, it views additional aircraft as crucial for its defences and potential counterattacks.
Other Nato countries are considering sending planes such as the MiG-29 – a model which dates from the time of the Soviet Union – which Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the plans, saying that the aircraft would not affect the outcome of Moscow’s “special military operation”, as it calls the war.
He said they would only “bring additional woes for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people”.
“Of course, during the special military operation, all this equipment will be subject to destruction,” the spokesman added.
The Polish and Slovak pledges are a positive move for Ukraine – which has more pilots than planes – but will not make a decisive difference.
Yuri Sak, a senior Ukrainian defence adviser, says the fourth-generation fighters have better capabilities.
It still seems unlikely that Ukraine would get them – at least for now, as it would take time to train Ukrainian pilots on Western jets.
Western military officers remain sceptical about modern fighters. Their focus is on helping Ukraine win the battle on the ground.
The front lines are swamped with air defence systems on both sides. The Russian air force is much bigger than Ukraine’s and it hasn’t been able to gain control of the skies.
At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine was believed to have about 120 combat capable aircraft – mainly ageing MiG-29s and Su-27s.
On Friday, Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger tweeted that his government had approved sending the country’s 13 MiG-29s to Ukraine.
He said “promises must be kept” and that he was glad others were answering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for more weapons.
It is not clear how many of the Slovakian planes are operational.
Mr Heger said Slovakia would also send Ukraine part of its Kub air defence system.
On Thursday, Poland pledged four MiG-29s, to be sent in the coming days, but more are expected to follow.
As with its pledge of Leopard tanks, Poland has broken a barrier. This was a step no-one was prepared to take a year ago.
News of the pledges came amid Russian media reports thatRussian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had decorated pilots involved in an incident earlier this week .
Washington has condemned the Russian actions, in which it says one of the Su-27 jets clipped the drone, as reckless, but Moscow says the drone failed on its own.
President Akufo-Addo has pledged to revive theeconomy before leaving office.
He made this known when speaking at the 66th Independence Dap Parade at Adaklu-Tserefe near Ho on March 6, 2023.
According to him, the country saw significant economic growth prior to COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War, which is why it is currently experiencing difficulties.
Despite this, he reaffirmed his commitment to making reforms throughout his short time in office.
“The next 22 months of my mandate will be focused on restoring the economy we had beforeCOVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the period of rapid growth. It is a solemn pledge I am making to you my fellow Ghanaians, and one which I am determined to fulfil,” he stated.
Speaking on the theme for this years celebration, “Our Unity, Our purpose, Our Purpose” the president said that the nation had not fully realised the potential, dreams, and aspirations of its forebears, who fought for its independence.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had an impact on Africa as well, where, according to German Minister for Development Svenja Schulze, Moscow is “trying to destabilise entire regions.”
The minister who is currently on a 5-day tour in West Africa said, the impact of the war was not only to be suffered by Ukraine but also by the ‘world’s poorest’.
In an interview with dpa in Abidjan, he mentioned that “this wasn’t only an attack on Ukraine but also an attack on the world’s poorest.”
“The shock waves of the war and the high prices for food, fertiliser, and energy have also reached West Africa and many other countries in the Global South,” the minister said ahead of the anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday.
“Germany needed friends and allies everywhere,” Schulze said, adding that “Russia is also active in Africa and attempting to destabilise entire regions.”
Berlin, minister Svenja Schulze said they hadn’t forgotten the poorest nations, even though Ukraine has the most of their attention now, but they are doing all they can to expand their aid to Africa.
“We seek to strengthen and stabilise societies with our development programmes,” she added.
During their five-day trip to West Africa, Schulze and Hubertus Heil, the German Labor Minister, hope to promote more favourable working conditions and less environmental harm.
They will be in Ivory Coast, where they intend to visit a cocoa plantation, until Friday after spending two days in Ghana, where they among other things visited one of the biggest markets for secondhand clothing in the world.
On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, theUnited States announced a new $2 billion package of long-term security assistance for Ukraine.
More ammunition and a variety of small, sophisticated drones will be part of the assistance, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
The F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has repeatedly asked for will not be part of the package.
Additionally, Washington unveiled new export restrictions, tariffs, and sanctions against Russia and its allies in an effort to limit Moscow’s capacity to wage war.
The sanctions are aimed at targets in Russia and “third-country actors” across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that are supporting Russia’s war effort, the White House said in a fact sheet.
King Charles III has praised Ukrainians for their resilience in fight againstRussia.
The Monarch in a tweet expressed his support for Ukraine and encourage global unity and solidarity.
“It has now been a year that the people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack on their nation,” the British monarch said in a statement.
“They have shown truly remarkable courage and resilience in the face of such human tragedy,” he added.
“The world has watched in horror at all the unnecessary suffering inflicted upon Ukrainians … I can only hope the outpouring of solidarity from across the globe may bring not only practical aid, but also strength from the knowledge that, together,we stand united.”
"I can only hope the outpouring of solidarity from across the globe may bring not only practical aid, but also strength from the knowledge that, together, we stand united."
A message from His Majesty The King marking one year of conflict in Ukraine:
President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly discussed his country’s peace initiatives at the UN, according to a tweet.
He claimed that they also talked about the potential for expanding their mutual relations.
Zelensky stated that he anticipated close collaboration, particularly in enhancing food security.
It happened as the 193-member UN General Assembly was debating a motion supported by Ukraine that called for a vote on a resolution to bring about peace in that country.
The assembly has voted on three resolutions opposing the Russian invasion in the past year, receiving between 140 and 143 votes in favour.
The latest vote comes just ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has taken a swipe at African leaders, especially the Akufo-Addo-led government for their persistent attribution of the ongoing economic hardships to the Russia/Ukraine war.
The leaders have been talking about how the war between the two countries has negatively impacted Ghana’s economy in various sectors including the agricultural sector.
Government communicators try on daily basis to make Ghanaians understand why the Russia/Ukraine conflict is a major contributory cause of their woes.
But to Mr. Pratt, it is shameful to blame Ukraine.
Settling on the challenges in the agriculture sector, Mr. Pratt disclosed that there are some leaders who till date keep blaming Ukraine saying there is food crises in Ghana because of the war.
This, to him, is preposterous as he explained that Ghana has arable lands to produce food.
” . . If you have 40 percent of the arable lands of the world and you have to go to Ukraine for food, are you not ashamed? . . . Why are our leaders crying that we can’t find food because of Ukraine war? What a shame? What an admission of failure; crass incompetence?”, he wondered how the nation is expected to develop.
Kwesi Pratt spoke on Peace FM’s flagship programme “Kokrokoo.
President Putin attributes the war he started a year ago to theWest and Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, gave a speech on the state of the nation in the nation’s capital, Moscow, in which he discussed the invasion of Ukraine that he had authorised a year earlier.
The following are key points from his speech to members of both houses of parliament, military leaders, and soldiers on Tuesday:
‘Russia is suspending its participation’ in the New START treaty
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty.”
The New START treaty was signed in Prague in 2010. It came into force the following year and was extended in 2021 for five more years after United States President Joe Biden took office.
It caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.
Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, with close to 6,000 warheads, according to experts. Together, Russia and the United States hold about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads – enough to destroy the planet many times over.
‘A watershed moment for our country’
“I am making this address at a time which we all know is a difficult, watershed moment for our country, a time of cardinal, irreversible changes around the world, the most important historic events that will shape the future of our country and our people, when each of us bears a colossal responsibility.”
Western nations trying to ‘distract people’s attention’
“They just tried to use these principles of democracy and freedom to defend their totalitarian values and they tried to distract people’s attention from corruption scandals … from economic-social problems.”
‘Responsibility is on West and Ukrainian elite’
“The responsibility is on the West and the Ukrainian elite and government, which does not serve the national interest, but [rather serves the interest] of third countries [which] use Ukraine as a military base to fight Russia.
“The more they send weapons to Ukraine, the more we will have the responsibility of the security situation at the Russian border. This is a natural response.”
‘We don’t fight the Ukrainian people’
“We don’t fight with the Ukrainian people. They became hostages of the Kyiv regime that occupied Ukraine both economically and politically. Over years, they were doing everything to bring this degradation … They are using their people, it’s sad but true.”
Donbas subjected to ‘undisguised hatred’
“Step by step, carefully and consistently, we will resolve the tasks facing us. Since 2014, the (people of the) Donbas had been fighting, defending their right to live on their own land, to speak their native language.
“They fought and did not give up in the conditions of blockade and constant shelling, undisguised hatred on the part of the Kyiv regime. They believed and expected that Russia would come to their rescue.
“Meanwhile, we did our best to solve this problem by peaceful means. We patiently tried to negotiate a peaceful way out of this most difficult conflict, but a completely different scenario was being prepared behind our backs.”
‘Reviving enterprises and jobs’ in occupied Ukrainian lands
“We have already begun and will continue to build up a large-scale programme for the socioeconomic recovery and development of these new subjects of the federation (territory annexed from Ukraine). We are talking about reviving enterprises and jobs in the ports of the Sea of Azov, which has again become an inland sea of Russia, and building new modern roads, as we did in Crimea.”
‘I understand how unbearably hard it is’ for families of killed soldiers
“We all understand, I understand how unbearably hard it is now for the wives, sons, daughters of fallen soldiers, their parents, who raised worthy defenders of the Fatherland.”
‘Child abuse all the way up to paedophilia … advertised as the norm’ in the West
“They distort historical facts and constantly attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country,” Putin said of Western nations supporting Ukraine.
“Look at what they do with their own peoples: the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion and the abuse of children are declared the norm. And priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages.
“As it became known, the Anglican Church plans to consider the idea of a gender-neutral God … Millions of people in the West understand they are being led to a real spiritual catastrophe.”
“Look at what they do to their own people: the destruction of families, of cultural and national identities and the perversion that is child abuse all the way up to paedophilia, are advertised as the norm … and priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages.”
According to Ernest Owusu Bempah, the NPP’s deputy communications officer, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has handled the economy successfully despite the difficulties.
He said the party will win the 2024 general elections after assuring that the Akufo-Addoadministration will tackle the economic challenges that have arisen as a result of external factors including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Wednesday, February 15, he said “During the Mahama administration, Ghana’s economy was running at a 3 percent growth rate. Under the NPP before Covid it was doing 8 percent, that tells you how we managed the economy better than the NDC.”
He added “NPP has been able to captain the country through the storm even though there are challenges. One can imagine if Mahama and his NDC were leading this country Ghanaians by now will be wallowing in abject poverty, people wouldn’t be able to afford three square meals a day.
“There will be total darkness because of dumsor, joblessness will be the order of the day, the youth will be perplexed if Mahama had been the leader of this country at this time.
“Despite all the challenges now, school children are going to school for free, and road networks are being built across the country.
“If it happened during the Mahama era you wouldn’t see all of these, they will blame it on the challenge. But we believe that as a political party before the 2024 elections, these challenges shall pass and NPP will come out united with leadership to win the elections and break the 8.
“The NDC, John Mahama as an alternative is empty, they have been therefore when there were no crisis, we saw what they did and they have nothing.”
A mercenary force of thousands, including ex-convicts, is led by Putin ally Prigozhinin the conflict in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader and originator of the Wagner mercenary group from Russia, is the target of a criminal investigation by the general prosecutor of Ukraine.
According to a statement on Telegram, Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is accused of the “encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine” and “waging an aggressive war”.
The statement said fighters who fled the group “will not avoid responsibility”.
“Prosecutors have already interrogated two such fighters who are in the EU. An investigation into the involvement in war crimes of another PMK member, who is in Norway under way,” the statement said.
Norwegian police are currently interrogating former Wagner group commander Andrey Medvedev, who fled from Russia to Norway last month after fighting in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Medvedev told the Reuters news agency that he was speaking out against the Wagner group to ensure perpetrators were brought to justice.
“Medvedev gives the impression that he wants to continue to say more” about his time with Wagner, the police have said.
Security arrangements have also been made for Medvedev’s safety, “both visible and non-visible” measures, they added, without giving specifics.
Another former Wagner fighter, Marat Gabidullin, is understood to be seeking asylum in France.
Medvedev crossed into Norway from neighbouring Russia on January 13, looking for shelter in the Nordic nation [Gulagu.Net/Handout via Reuters]
The previously shadowy group has taken centre stage during the invasion of Ukraine and is associated with the bloody battle for Bakhmut in the east of the country.
In light of the conflict in Ukraine, the Belgian government is considering whether to extend the lives of three nuclear reactors that were scheduled to shut down in 2025.
The government has requested an evaluation to determine whether the nation’s three oldest nuclear reactors could be kept operational for an additional two years.
The government is set to inquire with the plant’s operator, Engie, as to whether it would be possible to postpone the closure of the 1975-opened plants Tihange 1 and Doel 1 and 2 until 2027 instead of 2025 as originally planned.
“The war in Ukraine and the problems in the French nuclear energy sector have made us look at ways to create more certainty and reduce risks in the energy supply,” Energy ministry spokesman Jonas Dutordoir said. “This could be part of the solution.”
Operational since 1975, the three reactors were initially set to be decommissioned in 2015 but had their lifetime extended until 2025 after Belgium held a review of its phase-out plan.
Belgium first decided on its nuclear phase-out in 2003 and it was scheduled to be completed by 2025. However, it decided last year to keep the newest plants open until 2035.
Belgium took one nuclear reactor, Tihange 2, off its power grid after 40 years on Tuesday evening as part of the country’s planned nuclear phase-out. The winding down of nuclear power began with the closure of a reactor at Doel, near the Belgian port city of Antwerp in September.
Those two reactors were known for repeated safety issues, having been shut down on previous occasions after the discovery of cracks in reactor pressure vessels. The Belgian government had considered keeping those two reactors online because of energy concerns.
Can nuclear fusion solve the energy crisis?
The German government and the German city of Aachen, which lies near the Belgian border have repeatedly called for the reactors to be decommissioned in the past.
In 2019, the European Court of Justice found that Belgium infringed European Union law by failing to carry out the required environmental assessments before prolonging the life of Doel 1 and 2 nuclear reactors.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has used a famous World War II victory over the Nazis to inspire his countrymen and declare victory in the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin placed a wreath at the eternal flame of the complex, honouring the fallen members of the Red Army in Volgograd, the city’s current name, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi German forces in the battle of Stalingrad.
“Unfortunately, we see that the ideology of Nazism in its modern form and manifestation again directly threatens the security of our country,” he said in a speech on Thursday. “Again and again we have to repel the aggression of the collective West.”
Putin and other Russian officials frequently characterise Ukraine as a hotbed of neo-Nazi beliefs, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is of Jewish descent.
Putin also lambasted Germany for helping to arm Kyiv and said he was ready to draw on Russia’s entire arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons.
“It’s incredible, but it’s a fact: They are threatening us again with German Leopard tanks with crosses painted on their armour,” Putin said.
“And they are again going to fight Russia on the territory of Ukraine with the hands of Hitler’s followers, the Banderites,” he said, referring to WWII-era Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, who was widely considered to be a Nazi collaborator.
Germany, which for months mulled over its decision to send tanks to Ukraine, aims to deliver them in late March or early April as part of an alliance of countries willing to supply the units to Kyiv.
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad has deep resonance in Russia.
The five months of fighting between August 1942 and February 1943 is regarded as the bloodiest battle in history, with the death toll for soldiers and civilians reaching as high as two million. Most of the city was reduced to rubble before Nazi forces surrendered on February 2, 1943.
It was a major turning point in WWII and the battle remains an immense source of pride in modern Russia, lauded as a demonstration of military might and moral seriousness.
The city was renamed in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union’s rejection of dictator Joseph Stalin’s personality cult. Calls for the restoration of its old name have not received the Kremlin’s blessing.
The Western policies towardRussia and the Balkans have received repeated criticism from President Zoran Milanovic.
On Monday, the president of Croatia criticised the West for arming Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons for its defence against invading Russian forces, saying that such deliveries would only serve to prolong the conflict.
Zoran Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital that it is “mad” to believe that Russia can be defeated in a conventional war.
“I am against sending any lethal arms there,” Milanovic said. “It prolongs the war.”
“What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of the government? There is also talk of tearing Russia apart. This is mad,” he added.
Milanovic won the presidential election in Croatia in 2019 as a left-leaning liberal candidate, a counterpoint to the conservative government currently in power in the European Union and NATO-member state.
But he has since made a turn to populist nationalism and criticised Western policies toward Russia as well as the Balkans.
Milanovic has built a reputation of being pro-Russia, which he has repeatedly denied.
Yet in recent months, he has openly opposed the admission of Finland and Sweden into NATO as well as the training of Ukrainian troops in Croatia as part of EU aid to the embattled country.
After months of hesitation, the US said last week that it would send 31 of the 70-ton Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, and Germany announced it will dispatch 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries to do the same.
Milanovic said that “from 2014 to 2022, we are watching how someone provokes Russia with the intention of starting this war.”
“What is the goal of this war? A war against a nuclear power that is at war in another country? Is there a conventional way to defeat such a country?” Milanovic asked on Monday.
“Who pays the price? Europe. America pays the least,” he said. “A year has passed and we are only now talking about tanks,” Milanovic said.
“Not a single American tank will go to Ukraine in a year. Only German tanks will be sent there.”
Although the presidential post is mostly ceremonial in Croatia, Milanovic is formally the supreme commander of the armed forces.
According to a statement from their families, two British volunteers who had been reported missing in eastern Ukraine were killed while attempting to evacuate aid workers from Soledar.
Early this month, 48-year-old Andrew Bagshaw and 28-year-old Christopher Parry vanished while travelling to Soledar, a salt mining town where Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in a fierce battle for control.
Both men’s deaths were confirmed by Parry’s family in a statement issued by the British Foreign Office.
“It is with great sadness we have to announce that our beloved Chrissy has been killed along with his colleague Andrew Bagshaw whilst attempting a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar, eastern Ukraine,” said the statement, which was released on Tuesday.
Ukrainian police said on January 9 that they had lost contact with Bagshaw and Perry after the two men left Kramatorsk for Soledar on January 6.
Sky News reported Bagshaw’s family as saying the two men were killed while trying to rescue an elderly woman.
The statement gave no details on the circumstances of the men’s deaths, adding that Parry “found himself drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour at the start of the Russian invasion and helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals”.
The Serbian-language videos were produced by the Russian Wagner mercenary group to promote recruitment for the conflict.
Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Serbia, responded angrily on public television.
“Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our rules?” he said.
Critics frequently accuse Serbia of prioritising its long-standing friendship with Russia over its ambition to join the EU. But what has emerged in recent days in Belgrade shows that the picture is not so black and white.
Hinting at less-than-rosy relations with Moscow, President Vucic said that not only was Serbia “neutral” regarding the war in Ukraine, but that he had not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin for “many months”.
It is illegal for Serbians to take part in conflicts abroad.
The number of Serbian recruits involved does not appear be significant. Some did fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine in 2014, but not with any sort of official endorsement.
In fact, Serbian courts convicted more than two dozen people for taking part in “fighting on foreign battlefronts”.
On Thursday, a Belgrade-based lawyer and anti-war groups filed criminal complaints against the Russian ambassador as well as the head of Serbia’s state security and information agency (BIA) for allegedly recruiting Serbians for the Wagner group.
In Belgrade, where provocative murals are numbingly common, the Wagner death’s head emblem appeared on a city-centre wall last week. It was signed by the People’s Patrols, an extreme right-wing organisation which has previously staged sparsely attended pro-Russia rallies.
Image caption,Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic made clear this week that his country’s trajectory was towards the West
None of the mainstream political parties have even hinted at support for the invasion of Ukraine.
Indeed, Serbia has consistently voted in favour of resolutions at the United Nations condemning Russia’s aggression.
President Vucic this week made Belgrade’s position crystal clear: “For us, Crimea is Ukraine, Donbas is Ukraine, and it will remain so.”
But Mr Vucic’s stance has not been enough to impress the European Parliament, because Serbia has repeatedly refused to impose sanctions on Russia.
For the second time, MEPs have passed a resolution calling for the suspension of membership negotiations until Serbia agrees to sanctions.
For as long as the EU showed little enthusiasm for expanding the bloc to include the countries of the Western Balkans, it made sense for Serbia to maintain friendly ties with Moscow.
It reminded Brussels that Belgrade had other options. Cheap gas supplies, Gazprom’s majority ownership of Serbia’s oil company NIS and Russia’s refusal to recognise Kosovo’s independence were practical reasons to stay on good terms.
But the invasion of Ukraine has shifted perceptions. Belgrade was not impressed when President Putin referred to Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence as justification for recognising the independence of areas of occupied eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Brussels belatedly realised that its reticence towards the Western Balkans was leaving room for Moscow to meddle. Accession talks for Albania and North Macedonia were swiftly unblocked – and Bosnia received candidate status.
So if Serbia’s president has been waiting for a moment to pivot decisively to the west, it might just have arrived.
He has been warning of “very difficult” conversations with EU and US special envoys – and says he will address Serbians over the weekend to tell them “what is required and expected from Serbia regarding Kosovo and sanctions against Russia”.
Mr Vucic has made similar remarks before – without ever committing to a major policy change. But this week he once again reiterated that Serbia’s trajectory was towards the West.
“I know that the EU is our path,” he told Bloomberg News. “There are no other paths.”
More weapons have already been promised by the US and Europe.
At the Ramstein airbase, Mr. Zelensky remarked to the defence ministers, “Hundreds of thank yous are not hundreds of tanks.”
Particularly Germany is coming under increasing pressure to send its Leopard 2 tanks and to allow other nations to provide their own Leopards to Ukraine.
Before nations like Poland or Finland agree to commit to re-exporting them, the nation of manufacture must first give its consent.
Defence colleagues from more than 50 countries gathered at the airbase on Friday, a day after several nations pledged more equipment to help Ukraine fend off further Russia campaigns. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told them it was time to “dig deeper”.
Almost 11 months into Russia’s war in Ukraine, Nato military figures believe Moscow is planning a renewed spring offensive with troop numbers bolstered by a partial mobilisation since the end of September.
Western officials believe there’s a “window of opportunity” in the coming weeks for Ukraine to push Russia forces back. They say Moscow is running short of ammunition and trained troops – despite efforts to replenish stocks and mobilise additional forces.
For its part, Russia has warned Western countries that providing tanks to its enemy would mark an “extremely dangerous” escalation in the conflict.
The UK has already announced it will send 14 Challenger 2 battle tanks. But Kyiv wants more tanks and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he hoped that the 50 allies would “all hear the message that unlocking the tank is part of 2023”.
Germany’s Leopard tanks are key to that equation. They’re in more plentiful supply than the British tank, and are operated by more than a dozen other nations.
Ahead of the Ramstein meeting Mr Zelensky criticised Germany’s hesitant attitude to sending tanks, assuring Berlin that the Leopards would only be used in self-defence and not go through Russia. “If you have Leopard [tanks], then give them to us,” he told German public TV.
Polish deputy foreign minister Pawel Jablonski indicated on Friday that Warsaw might be prepared to provide Ukraine with Leopards regardless of Berlin’s views. “We’ll see. I think if there is strong resistance, we’ll be ready to take even such non-standard action. But let’s not anticipate the facts,” he told Polish radio.
“Tanks for Ukraine are tanks for freedom,” Ukrainians defence ministry adviser Yuriy Sak told the BBC. If they were not sent, other countries might one day “have to use them themselves” against Moscow, he warned.
Image caption,German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under pressure to allow Kyiv a supply of the Leopard 2 tank – pictured here last year
Berlin said this week that a decision on the Leopard was conditional on the US agreeing to send Abrams tanks, which it is not intending to do. But the new German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said he was not aware of “such stipulation”.
There are fears of escalation in Berlin and of going it alone. Until recently Germany refused requests to send a Patriot air defence battery, but it relented as soon as the US did the same. On tanks too, Berlin would like to see the US take the lead.
Ben Wallace has rejected talk of escalation. Germany along with the US and UK, he argued, had already supplied artillery systems, like Himars, with a much longer range.
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly taken aim at Berlin’s perceived hesitancy and on Thursday criticised suggestions that the US and Germany were only planning to commit vehicles if the other nation did the same.
Retired US Army general David Petraeus said there was “legitimate reluctance” in Washington on the issue of sending Abrams tanks because it was difficult to maintain and had a jet turbine.
He told the BBC it was “imperative” that any Western tank donations were made “early enough, so [Ukrainian soldiers] can actually train on them”.
On Thursday, Western nations pledged to send more vehicles, artillery and munitions to bolster the Ukrainian war effort.
The US committed a new package worth $2.5bn (£2bn), saying this took its spend on Ukrainian support to $26.7bn since last February’s full-scale invasion by Russia.
Tanks were not included in the offer, but the Pentagon did promise an extra 59 Bradley armoured vehicles, 90 Stryker personnel carriers and Avenger air defence systems, among other provisions.
The announcement came after nine European nations promised more support of their own following a meeting in Estonia. This included:
UK – 600 Brimstone missiles
Denmark – 19 French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzers
Estonia – howitzers, ammunition, support vehicles and anti-tank grenade launchers
Latvia – Stinger air-defence systems, two helicopters, and drones
Lithuania – anti-aircraft guns and two helicopters
Poland – S-60 anti-aircraft guns with 70,000 pieces of ammunition
Czech Republic – produce further large calibre ammunition, howitzers and APCs
Netherlands – support expected to be detailed on Friday
On Saturday, Russia launched a new wave of missile attacks across Ukraine, killing at least 20 people in a strike on an apartment building in the eastern city of Dnipro.
A number of other cities were also hit, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
After missiles struck power infrastructure in several cities, much of Ukraine is now in emergency mode.
Earlier, the UK announced that it would send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to assist with defence.
The Challengers, the British army’s main battle tank, will help Kyiv’s forces “push Russian troops back,” according toUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Russia responded by saying that providing more weapons to Ukraine would lead to intensified Russian operations and more civilian casualties.
Later on Saturday – a day when Ukrainians celebrate the Old (or Orthodox) New Year – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian attacks on civilian targets could be stopped only if Ukraine’s Western partners supplied necessary weapons.
“What is needed for this? Those weapons which are in the depots of our partners and which our soldiers are waiting for so much,” he said in his nightly video address, adding that his forces shot down more than 20 out of 30 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine.
Image caption,Rescue teams work in the rubble of the damaged residential building hit by shelling in Dnipro
The devastating strike in Dnipro hit the entrance of a nine-storey building, turning several floors into smouldering rubble, and leaving 73 injured, including 14 children, Ukrainian officials said, in what is likely to be the worst attack in months.
A sizeable crowd gathered to watch the rescue effort at the site of the strike, while others joined rescue workers in a desperate search for survivors. There were urgent calls, human chains of volunteers clearing rubble and torch beams piercing thick clouds of dust and smoke.
In his address, Mr Zelensky said debris clearance in Dnipro would continue all night: “We are fighting for every person, every life.” So far, 38 people have been rescued from the building, including six children, officials say.
There is no information yet on why the apartment block was the object of such devastation, as it is some distance from the nearest power facility.
On a day when Russia seemed intent, once again, on targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, this could have been one of the less accurate missiles in Russia’s arsenal, or something brought down by Ukraine’s air defences – although on the face of it, this seems a less likely explanation.
It has been two weeks since the last wave ofRussian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid. Mr Zelensky said that of the energy infrastructure facilities hit on Saturday that the most difficult situation was in the Kharkiv and Kyiv regions.
Ukrainian state energy company Ukrenergo earlier said round-the-clock consumption limits had been set for all regions until midnight local time.
Officials, in the West and in Ukraine, had begun to wonder if Russia’s “energy war” might be coming to an end, due to a possible shortage of suitable missiles and the evident fact the strategy has yet to break Ukraine’s spirit.
Saturday’s attacks suggest Moscow still thinks it is a tactic worth pursuing.
Marsel Kandarov was sentenced to five years in prison by a Russian court for refusing to participate in the “special military operation.”
According to officials, a Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine.
The soldier did not report for duty in May 2022 because he “did not want to take part in a special military operation,” according to the press service for courts in the Bashkortostan region of the southern Urals on Thursday.
Law enforcement located the man, Marsel Kandarov, in September, the statement added.
Separately, a military tribunal said it sentenced Kandarov to five years behind bars for evading military service during mobilisation for more than a month.
Russia announced the mobilisation of 300,000 men in late September after suffering battlefield defeats at the hands of Ukrainian forces.
The announcement triggered an exodus of men from Russia, with many fleeing to neighbouring countries including Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
Russians across the country rallied against the order but police have attempted to disperse anti-war protests as they detained hundreds, including some children.
Critics have said many mobilised men hardly had any battlefield experience and have received little training before being sent to the front.
Separately, a military tribunal in Moscow sentenced a soldier to five years and six months in a penal colony for “beating” an officer during an argument, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.
TASS said the soldier expressed “his dissatisfaction” with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow.
While speaking, he blew cigarette smoke into an officer’s face, who responded by pushing him away. The private then pushed the officer in the chest.
The Foreign Office said it was helping the two men’s families, though it has not confirmed the claim.
Intense fighting has been going on recently in the town of Soledar, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, and Chris Parry, 28, were last seen leaving on Friday.
Without identifying him, the Wagner group reported on Wednesday that a body had been discovered.
The BBC has not independently verified the assertion.
The group shared images of allegedly missing men’s-related documents on social media.
The statement posted on messaging platform Telegram from the press office of the head of the pro-Kremlin Wagner group claimed the body was found in eastern Ukraine.
The Foreign Office said it was aware of recent reports and was in touch with the Ukrainian authorities.
Mr Parry and Mr Bagshaw had been in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine doing voluntary work, helping to evacuate people from the front line.
Earlier this week, the family of Mr Parry, originally from Truro in Cornwall but now living in Cheltenham, said they were “very worried” about his health and whereabouts.
He “would not be dissuaded from his work in Ukraine liberating elderly and disabled people, which we are very proud of”, they said.
The parents of Mr. Bagshaw, who lives inNew Zealand, said they “love him dearly” and were immensely proud of all his work helping Ukrainians.
They said he had been delivering food and medicines and helping the elderly.
The Foreign Office is warning against all travel to Ukraine, saying there is “a real risk to life.”
It adds that British nationals still in Ukraine should leave immediately if it is safe to do so.
National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi says the country’s debt crisis is a result of government’s refusal to heed sound advice.
According to him, government officials were throwing parties and drinking Hennessey when the NDC was sounding cautions about Ghana’s increasing debt stock.
This he said, is the reason for the country’s current economic woes which have become a burden for both the state and citizens at large.
The NDC spokesperson made these remarks while bemoaning Ghana’s current debt stock and the attendant challenges on Adom TV’s Badwam programme on Monday.
Since Ghana gained independence in 1957 till date, the current debt figures by the NPP transcends all debts accrued within this period. Meanwhile, they can’t also account for any rewarding projects they’ve used the monies for.
When we were advising them, they did not listen. Rather, they were feasting on kenkey, cooking waakye and throwing kenkey and waakye parties with Hennessey at the Finance Ministry, amidst innuendoes at us
This is the end results, Sammy Gyamfi said.
He added that, the excessive borrowing by the government was because of its ‘selfishness’ and ‘greed’.
Venting his spleen, Mr Sammy Gyamfi further dismissed the defence by government communicators that the current economic crisis is due to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The sentiments by the NDC Communications Officer adds to the barrage of criticisms from the party as well as other citizens, given the current state of the economy.
At the moment, the country’s economic situation is at an all-time low, amidst a deprecation of the local currency against other major trading currencies including the US dollar.
Inflation is also at an all-time high, with the country’s end of year inflation for 2022 hitting at 54.1%
An infograph of Ghana’s inflation rate for December 2022, gleaned from the Ghana Statistical Service
Meanwhile, Ghana has reiterated its assurance on working to make the economy better.
Speaking at thanksgiving service at the Jubilee House earlier this week, President Akufo-Addo noted that he is positive about brighter days for Ghana, despite the present state of affairs.
In response to criticism of military failures, top Russian generals promise to strengthen the Russian army.
After a string of defeats on the battlefield in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin’s defence minister promised to expand Russia’s arsenal of weapons, advance aviation technology to better evade air defences, and increase drone production.
The smaller Ukrainian army, which is backed by the United States and its European allies, has repeatedly outwitted and outmanoeuvred the once-mighty army of a former superpower since Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
The conflict has turned into a grinding war of attrition that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, as well as Ukrainian civilians, though there is no end in sight, and both sides are re-arming as fast as they can.
Defence minister Sergei Shoigu told top generals that to renew the army, they would have to take account of the experience of fighting in the Syrian civil war – where Russia intervened on the side of President Bashar al-Assad – and in Ukraine.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu speaks during a meeting with Russian high-level officers in Moscow, Russia [Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP]
“We need to constantly analyse and systematise the experience of our groups’ actions in Ukraine and Syria, and on that basis to draw up training programmes for personnel and plans for the supply of military equipment,” Shoigu said.
Putin, after meeting the mothers of dead soldiers, ordered Shoigu on January 2 to prepare a report on how military units are supplied, with details about weapons and equipment as well as proposals on how to improve the defence ministry’s work.
Russian troops take part in drills at an unspecified location in Belarus, December 28, 2022 [File: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP]
Nuclear guarantee
Shoigu said Russia would continue to develop its nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers because such weapons were “the main guarantee of its sovereignty”.
On conventional weapons, Shoigu gave a remarkably frank analysis of where Russia needed to improve.
Nationalist critics of Shoigu have repeatedly asked why Russia failed to establish air superiority in Ukraine, why top generals made such grave tactical mistakes and why Russian soldiers were sent into battle without the right equipment, intelligence or even medical kits.
Shoigu said Russia would pay particular attention to the air force, build up its overall attack capabilities and improve command, communication and training.
Russia will “increase the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces – both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defence systems are in operation, and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles”.
“Our immediate plans are to expand the arsenals of modern strike weapons,” he said. “We need to improve the management and communication system.”
Shoigu also said the military commissariats, which are responsible for drafting soldiers, needed to be modernised.
After Putin ordered on September 21 what he cast as a “partial mobilisation”, Russia’s first since World War II, about 300,000 additional men were drafted, though several hundred thousand more Russian men fled abroad to avoid being called up.
“It is necessary to digitalise databases, establish interaction with local and regional authorities, as well as industry,” Shoigu said of the commissariats.
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky ,has paid an unannounced visit to Bakhmut, a city on the front lines where Ukrainian and Russian forceshave been engaged in a bloody, months-long battle.
According to the presidency, he met with soldiers and presented awards to soldiers.
Bakhmut, which has sustained severe damage, has been a major target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region for months.
The advance has been halted by Ukrainian forces, though.
Presidential spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov said Mr Zelensky had already left the city.
Bakhmut has been a focus of the Russian campaign for monthsand Moscow has thrown huge resources into capturing it.
It would open the way to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the most important cities in the Donbas region still under Ukrainian control.
IMAGE SOURCE,UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY Image caption, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar also visited Bakhmut
Few civilians are now left in the city, which had a population of 70,000 before the war.
Today is the 300th day since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar, who also visited Bakhmut, wrote on Facebook: “What are 300 days in our more than 300-year struggle for liberation from Russia!
“We’re standing. We’re fighting. We’re going to win!”
Analysts believe, Ukraine’s Patriot air defence capability would be “significant” in defending civilians and critical infrastructure from attacks.
Following an urgent request from Kiev for more powerful weapons to shoot down Russian missiles and drones that have severely damaged the nation’s electric grid and left millions without heat in the bitterly cold winter, the United States is finalising plans to send its sophisticated Patriot air defence system to Ukraine.
According to US government officials quoted by the news agencies Reuters and Associated Press, Washington could make a decision regarding the Patriot as soon as Thursday.
Wednesday morning’s early testing of Ukraine’s air defence systems came after Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that emergency services had been sent to the Shevchenkivskyi district following explosions.
“Details later,” he added on his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed Western leaders as recently as Monday to provide more advanced weapons to his country. The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the West has provided to Ukraine.
Gaining Patriot air defence capability would be “very, very significant” for Kyiv, said Alexander Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and onetime leader of Ukraine policy at the White House.
“These are going to be quite capable of dealing with a lot of different challenges the Ukrainians have, especially if the Russians bring in short-range ballistic missiles.”
Russia has continued with air raids on Ukraine, which have destroyed vital infrastructure necessary to provide power, heating and water [Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP]
The Pentagon declined to comment and there was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned NATO against equipping Kyiv with Patriot missile defences, and it is likely the Kremlin will view the move as an escalation.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and is now embroiled in a grinding war in the industrialised Donbas region in Ukraine’s east.
Getting through winter
The US has given Ukraine $19.3bn in military assistance since the invasion, which is Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two.
As a result of Russia’s relentless barrage, the US and its allies have been delivering more air defences to Kyiv, everything from Soviet-era systems to more modern, Western ones.
Millions of civilians are living with cuts to electricity, heating and water as temperatures plummet.
In Paris, about 70 countries and institutions pledged just over 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) to help maintain Ukraine’s water, food, energy, health and transport in the face of Russia’s attacks, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy hailed the pledges as good news.
“Every day, we are gaining new strength for Ukraine to get us through this winter,” he said.
In an address to New Zealand’s parliament on Wednesday, he also called for more assistance to deal with the mines and unexploded ordnance created by the conflict.
“As of now, 174,000 square kilometres (67,000 square miles) of Ukrainian territory are contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance,” Zelenskyy told legislators.
That is an area roughly the size of Cambodia, Syria or Uruguay.
Zelenskyy urged New Zealand, whose military has extensive experience in mine clearing, to help lead the clean-up effort.
“There is no real peace for any child who can die from a hidden Russian antipersonnel mine,” he said.
Training needed
White House and Pentagon leaders have argued consistently that providing Ukraine with additional air defences is a priority, and Patriot missiles have been under consideration for some time. Officials said that as the winter closed in and the Russian bombardment of civilian infrastructure escalated, that consideration took on increased priority.
One of the US officials told the Reuters news agency that Ukrainian forces would probably be trained in Germany before the Patriot equipment was delivered. Vindman said the training could take several months.
The administration’s potential approval of a Patriot battery was first reported by CNN.
According to officials, the US plan would be to send one Patriot battery. A truck-mounted Patriot battery includes up to eight launchers, each of which can hold four missiles.
The entire system, which includes a phased array radar, a control station, computers and generators, typically requires about 90 soldiers to operate and maintain. However, only three soldiers are needed to actually fire it, according to the US Army.
Operations have resumed at the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesaafter Russia attacked energy facilities in the city with Iranian-made drones.
The port in the country’s south was shut after strikes on Saturday knocked out power to 1.5 million people and all non-critical infrastructure.
With sub-zero temperatures expected this week, Ukraine’s president said it could take days to restore power.
Under a UN-brokered agreement, Odesa is one of three ports used to ship grain.
The agreement, mediated by Turkey and the UN, allows Ukrainian products to be transported safely to the rest of the world. The deal has helped bring down soaring global food prices.
Although operations at Odesa port were briefly stopped on Sunday, Ukraine’s agriculture minister said grain exports would not be suspended.
In total, Russia launched 15 Iranian-made drones at the regions of Odesa andneighbouring Mykolaiv, 10 of which were shot down, Ukraine’s armed forces said.
“The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Unfortunately the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore electricity. It doesn’t take hours, but a few days.”
Thousands of people have made use of the region’s “points of invincibility” – facilities which supply electricity and warmth to residents during blackouts.
Images posted on social media showed dozens of people crowding round power points charging their phones.
The strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which intensified in mid-October, have left millions of people in nearly all regions of the country without power, as temperatures drop below zero.
A complete blackout across the entire country is a now realistic scenario, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told German television on Sunday.
Russia’s frequent attacks on Ukraine’s power grid have led to calls for the West to supply Kyiv with better air defence weapons.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden told President Zelensky that Ukraine’s air defence was a priority for Washington.
The two spoke in a phone call before a meeting of G7 leaders on Monday, where further sanctions against Russia and Iran will be discussed.
The proposed measures would target Iran over its supply of drones to Russia, while EU foreign ministers are set to discuss a ninth package of sanctions which would place almost 200 more individuals and entities on its sanctions list.
East of Odesa, Ukrainian strikes killed two people in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol over the weekend, according to Moscow-installed local authorities.
The city has been under occupation since early March and is a major logistics hub for Russian forces in the south-east.
It is strategically located between Mariupol to the east, Kherson and the Dnipro River to the west, and Crimea to the south
Despite the fact that millions of people in Ukraine are still without water or electricity, Vladimir Putin has vowed to keep attacking its energy infrastructure.
“Yes we do that.B who started it? “At a Kremlin awards ceremony, the Russian president said.
Criticizing Russian strikes, he declared, “would not interfere with our combat missions.”
Since 10 October, after a string of significant military setbacks, Moscow has been hammering Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure.
Some Western leaders have called the strategy a war crime, because of the huge amount of damage caused to civilian infrastructure.
But President Putin said that growing global criticism would not stop the strikes.
“There’s a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. Yes, we do that. But who started it?” he said to recipients of state awards, including the “Hero of Russia” medal.
He said the strikes were in response to a blast on the Russian bridge to annexed Crimea on 8 October. He also accused Ukraine blowing up power lines from the Kursk nuclear power plant and of cutting water supply to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
“Not supplying water to a city of more than a million people is an act of genocide,” Mr Putin said, accusing the West of “complete silence” on these claims and of bias against Russia.
Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin said last month that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure amount to genocide.
The Russian president said that when Moscow responds to Ukrainian aggression “there is uproar and clamour spreading through the whole universe”.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Ukraine is now seeing snow and sub-zero temperatures in many regions, including Kyiv
Ukraine is now seeing snow and sub-zero temperatures in many regions, and millions are without electricity and running water, raising fears people may die of hypothermia.
The country switched to emergency shutdowns to stabilise its power grid after a fresh wave of Russian missile attacks on Monday.
Experts have told the BBC that Russia’s tactic of hitting energy infrastructure is most likely designed to demoralise and terrorise the population, rather than gain any concrete military advantage – a move that would violate international law.
The Russia-Ukraine war began with the deployment of Russian troops to a shared Russian-Ukrainian border towards the end of 2021. On February 24, 2022, Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, ordered military operations in Ukraine, arguing that the invasion was to “de-militarize” and “de-Nazify” the Republic of Ukraine.
Nine months have passed since the conflict began and in this period, excessive havoc has been wreaked on Ukraine. Despite widespread condemnation by the international community, there appears to be no end in sight.
While it may seem as though this war only concerns these two nations, it has had an immense impact on the global economic climate. Since the inception of the war, worldwide prices of essential commodities such as oil, wheat, agricultural inputs, etc, have skyrocketed. This is because Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s leading breadbaskets. Approximately 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley, a fifth of the world’s maize supply, and over a half of the world’s sunflower oil are exported by these two states alone. Russia is the leading exporter of nitrogen fertilizer and the second-highest exporter of both potassium and phosphorous fertilizers. Russia is also the world’s largest exporter of natural gas and the second-largest producer of the commodity. Furthermore, Russia is the world’s third leading producer of crude oil; producing roughly 13 per cent of the world’s crude oil. Ukraine, on the other hand, is a hub for the production of vehicle parts mostly used by automakers.
With the two warring states being key producers of some of the world’s primary commodities, the destruction occasioned by the war and the sanctions that have consequently been imposed on Russia, have limited the availability of these commodities on the world market, accounting for the global price hikes. In July 2022, the two states reached an agreement to free up Ukrainian grain exports which have been held up since the inception of the war. Russia, however, refused to uphold her part of the deal until recently, blaming a drone attack in Crimea’s Bay of Sevastopol by Ukraine.
In view of the fact that most African economies are import-driven; depending largely on the importation of the essential commodities mentioned above, the war has had colossal socio-economic impacts on the continent. Countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Kenya which are heavily reliant on chemical fertilizers imported from Russia, have been faced with fertilizer shortages which have adversely affected their ability to produce food crops in high volumes. The cost of producing food crops, has increased, thereby escalating the price of food items on the market. In Kenya for instance, corn and cabbage farmers have had to cut down on production due to their inability to afford chemical fertilizers. Farmers across the continent may be pushed to dispense with fertilizing their crops altogether, which will ultimately lower the quality and quantity of food crops. In addition, the energy sector in Cameroon, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea has also been affected. Russian oil companies, which were very active in these countries, have curtailed their operations. Lukoil, a Russian oil company, has ceased its operations in Equatorial Guinea, while Libya, Congo and Egypt have had to limit oil and gas production due to delays at the loading terminals in their respective ports.
Despite the immense socio-economic ramifications, the Russia-Ukraine war has had on the African continent, the conflict presents Africa with a silver lining.
Food security
Africa is endowed with approximately 60 percent of the world’s arable land, yet Africa continues to rely heavily on produce from overseas farms. In 2020, Africa imported $4 billion worth of agricultural produce from Russia and $2.9 billion worth of same from Ukraine. The current economic crisis however makes it imprudent for African countries to continue to rely on imports of agricultural and related products. Zimbabwe has set a good example by boosting the production of wheat in excess of 250 000 tonnes to cater for her domestic demand, saving over a $100 million, which would have otherwise been lost through importation. Other African countries must follow suit. Ethiopia is currently the leading producer of wheat in Africa, producing about 5.1 million tonnes of wheat annually. Ethiopia can take practical steps to supplement its production efforts, to establish its place as a principal supplier of wheat on the global market. African countries must also look to biotechnology to help combat the effects of climate change and to develop drought-resistant strains of crops such as maize, wheat, cocoa and cashew to increase crop production and in effect, promote food security.
Oil and gas exploration and production
The existence of oil and gas reserves on the continent provides vast opportunities for sustained economic growth. Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania have approximately 206 trillion cubic feet, 40 trillion cubic feet and 57 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, respectively, in their reserves. African countries must invest in new refineries and petrochemical complexes, adopt the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and hands-on specialized training to better equip themselves to present alternative sources of energy to meet the world’s demand. By doing so, not only will they strengthen their economies through large-scale exports, but cost of living stands to be reduced considerably due to a decrease in regional fuel prices.
Agricultural inputs
Oil-refining has the added effect of generating secondary products; ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate which are needed in the production of nitrogen fertilizers. African countries can, therefore, look to locally produced chemical fertilizers to boost food production. Increased production will reduce prices of food supplies such that they are accessible to even the most vulnerable groups among the populace.
Geopolitics
While African countries have largely trodden the path of neutrality with regards to their support or condemnation of the war, the impact their economies have suffered as a result are grave. Donor countries are channeling significant amounts of their resources into de-escalation efforts such that there is little support available to combat the threats of political instability in Africa. The response of the international community to the war has also revealed to Africa, the contrast in the readiness of international co-operations to go to the aid of Western states that have come under fire and ultimately threaten their national interests, against the readiness with which they respond to calls for support in fighting security threats on the African continent. This ought to push African countries to be more strategic in their international alliances and prioritize their national interest in their international relations.
Conclusion
For a developing continent, the least hike in prices of basic commodities escalates the cost of living, thus posing threats of popular uprisings that imperil the relative political stability enjoyed across parts of the continent. African leaders must embrace the shifts that the Russia-Ukraine war have brought to the global economy, by restructuring their economies to be more dependent on homegrown products and judiciously manage state resources. Once they have adopted this strategy, the likelihood of experiencing uprisings similar to those experienced in the 2010 Arab Spring and the 2022 Sri Lankan protests can be diminished. While the Russia-Ukraine war is unjustified and unfortunate, the varied avenues for growth that it presents to Africa must not be underestimated.
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The author, Maame Ekua Otenewa Oduro is a Democracy and Governance (D&G) intern at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), and a law student at the University of Ghana.
Pressure group, OccupyGhana, has outlined some ten measures which can potentially put the country’s economy on track should they be implemented by government.
According to the group, government cannot continue to blame the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war for its current situation since the country’s “debt was unsustainable even before these external factors kicked in and compounded an already precarious situation.”
In a statement sighted by JoyNews, OccupyGhana argued that the recent debt restructuring programme announced by government through the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is not in the best interest of Ghanaians or investors, hence the ten recommendations listed.
First, the pressure group is reiterating earlier calls for the President to cut down on the size of his government.
This, they claim, will send “a powerful message in these tough and painful times that the Government is serious about its commitment to do better while requesting sacrifices from the general public.”
Again, OccupyGhana is urging the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to start paying his income tax. They believe the President paying his income taxes will compel other citizens to do same.
“We should remove the tax exemption granted to the President under article 68(5) of the Constitution. While the actual savings from this might not be much, it is hugely significant and relevantly symbolic. The President must lead by example,” the group stressed.
While asking the President to revise all tax exemptions given out, OccupyGhana is also calling for the scrapping of ex-gratia payments to all Article 71 Officeholders.
Find the rest of the recommendations below:
GHANA’S CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION – OUR FURTHER THOUGHTS AND PROPOSALS
OccupyGhana has noted, with considerable concern, the Finance Minister’s announcements on restructuring portfolio investments. While IMF support depends on the proposed ‘haircuts,’ they are extremely painful to the many Ghanaians who have participated in these investments. Simply, under this Government’s watch, Ghana has become broke under circumstances that were avoidable and are inexcusable and unpardonable.
As we stated in our Press Release dated 28 October 2022 (Our ref: OG/2022/050) and titled GHANA’S CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION – OUR THOUGHTS AND PROPOSALS, the nation would not be in this situation but for the Government’s failed, risky economic strategy that borrowed heavily from the international market to fund expenditure, pay maturing debt, support the cedi and possibly control the effect of the depreciation on inflation. This risky strategy effectively relied on good fortune and extremely astute economic management, both of which failed. Thus, although the Government would seek to blame the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war for this disaster, it cannot evade or avoid the fact that our debt was unsustainable even before these external factors kicked in and compounded an already precarious situation.
TWO BROAD COMMENTS
We have two broad comments on the announcements that request Ghanaians to forego legitimately earned funds to help the Government out of the disaster it has created.
First, we consider the Finance Minister’s announcements as nothing more than an offer from the Government to institutional portfolio investors to accept new terms that vary the terms under which the latter acquired the Government’s securities. We think that the Government has no power under the law and the Constitution to unilaterally impose fresh terms on portfolio investors; negotiation and the mutual consent of all parties will be required.
Second, notwithstanding the claims that individual investors are insulated from the proposed ‘haircuts,’ the millions of Ghanaians whose funds (pension or otherwise) have been invested by institutional fund managers in Government securities, will be the ultimate losers in this new offer. That is because those fund managers will simply pass the cuts on to their clients and customers.
There is simply no way to understate the terrible consequences that this state of affairs has caused and will cause to Ghanaians. That is why we believe that any offer to the citizens, who are already hit with the multiple effects of inflation and cedi depreciation, to essentially bail the Government out of its self-afflicted disaster, must come with an acceptance of failures and a firm commitment to do better.
TEN RECOMMENDATIONS
We therefore recommend 10 things that the government may act upon.
First, reduce number of Government appointees by at least fifty percent. This may be achieved by consolidating several ministries and slashing the number of political appointees (ministerial and otherwise), such as all deputies and the like, and entrusting public servant-technocrats with the responsibility of supporting substantive heads. This will send a powerful message in these tough and painful times that the Government is serious about its commitment to do better while requesting sacrifices from the general public.
Second, let the President pay income taxes too. We should remove the tax exemption granted to the President under article 68(5) of the Constitution. While the actual savings from this might not be much, it is hugely significant and relevantly symbolic. The President must lead by example. When he pays his taxes, then he can demand that the rest of us pay taxes too.
Third, it is time to rationalise the so-called ‘article 71 benefits.’ Ghana needs to end the three-decade-old grand conspiracy among the political class that milks Ghana under the false argument that article 71 authorises so-called ‘ex-gratia payments.’ We must eradicate the multiple claims of ex-gratia; the multiple claims over different administrative/government terms do not make sense and are difficult to sustain. We must also immediately end the false scheme by which successive governments deliberately delay the setting up of the emoluments committee till the end of their terms, so that salaries and emoluments are agreed upon and calculated literally at the ‘midnight’ of the outgoing government, considered and adopted in secrecy to precious little debate, and then applied retrospectively. Ghanaians only get to find out the huge pay-outs to the executive and legislators after-the-fact. We demand that the committees are established at the start of each government so that we know what and how much the political actors are entitled to when they assume office. The current government must establish the committees NOW.
Fourth, revise all tax exemptions, especially those granted to incomes and gains from portfolio investments. The Government must as a matter of urgency, amend section 7(1)(p) to (v) of the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) to remove all or some of the exemptions on incomes and gains from portfolio investments. These are not normal times, and we propose imposing a specific, time-bound withholding income tax regime on such earnings. Ghana may consider re-granting the exemptions when we have recovered.
Fifth, intensify and institutionalise GRA’s invigilation activities. In addition, the legal sanctions for under-reporting and tax evasion must be drastically applied.
Sixth, explain the source of funding of the proposed Financial Stability Fund (FSF). Extreme transparency of the proposed programme and its implementation is required. If the Government is broke and requires an IMF bailout, where will the monies for the FSF come from?
Seventh, pursue the Auditor-General’s Disallowances and Surcharges. The Government must show some seriousness in pursuing those the Auditor-General has found to have caused loss to Ghana. To the best of our knowledge, the Government is doing nothing to enforce the Auditor-General’s disallowances and surcharges. The President issued a terribly belated instruction to heads of institutions to provide to him the names of all persons identified to have caused losses to the state in the Auditor-General’s Reports. The President’s deadline has come and gone with no communication or indication on whether the names were indeed supplied to the President, and what the President is going to do with them.
Eighth, end Galamsey. The Government has to address the Galamsey menace as a matter of urgency, as our natural resources are plundered and ecosystem destroyed. The much-publicised Kumasi meetings do not appear to have borne fruit. We have written to the President at least 9 times in the past six weeks, in addition to several other previous statements on this, challenging the Government to properly regulate artisanal mining in a way that benefits the nation. They have all been ignored. Our current efforts will come to nothing if this canker is allowed to overcome any future economic recovery.
Ninth, slash all non-critical government expenditure. Implement a ruthless focus on prioritising government projects and expenditure, and ensure a strict relationship to GDP growth going forward. And, the Government must provide monthly reports on the how much money all announced cost-saving measures have delivered. We specifically recommend the suspension of all fees and allowances paid to persons appointed by the Government to serve on various boards. We also recommend suspending all expenditure on the proposed National Cathedral. Whatever arguments there might have been to support spending now non-existent money on the proposed National Cathedral, have been eroded by the dire straits that the nation faces. Our current situation makes the continued commitment in the budget to spend GHS80M on the cathedral, look like a vanity project. We lose nothing by suspending expenditure on that project until the economy recovers.
Tenth, rationalise the President’s Flagship programmes. This includes the Free SHS scheme. Every Ghanaian who can pay fees should pay. Limit the scheme to only those who can prove that they are not capable of paying fees.
In conclusion, a Government that is pleading with Ghanaians to bail it out of a self-afflicted disaster, must ‘bear fruits worthy of repentance.’
Despite Westernsanctions and an expected drop in oil and gas revenues, Russia has enough money to continue its aggression Ukraine.
The Russian army launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nine months ago. What was supposed to be a quick military operation to destabilise the Ukrainian government has turned into a protracted war that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel.
Although the war is being fought on Ukrainian territory, which is suffering the greatest human and material losses, Russia has also faced severe economic challenges.
The European Union, the United States and their allies have imposed a series of sanctions on Moscow, targeting government officials, imports and exports, heavy industry and oil and gas revenues.
Many experts believe the sanctions will significantly affect the Russian economy and thus force the Kremlin to halt its war of aggression. However, my analysis of the Russian state budget shows that such assumptions do not reflect reality. Moscow will not experience significant economic constraints in the short term that could force it to change its policy.
Sanctions and windfall profits
Economic sanctions imposed by Western countries have led to an economic decline in Russia, but perhaps not as big as many expected. According to the Russian government, in 2022, the GDP will fall by about 2.9 percent and the Central Bank says it will fall by 3 to 3.5 percent, or half of what some experts calculated back in March.
Shortly after the sanctions were imposed, Russia faced a surge in inflation. Consumer prices rose by 10 percent in the eight weeks after the invasion, but by May, they levelled off.
The Russian rouble also dipped significantly in February and March from 75 roubles for a dollar to 135, pushing up inflationary expectations and increasing panic among the general population. Realising the danger of continued devaluation, the Russian authorities imposed severe financial and currency restrictions on current and capital transactions. The rouble eventually fell to 50 for a dollar and stabilised at 60.
The Western sanctions, alongside falling demand, also led to a significant reduction in imports to Russia; they fell by 23 percent and 14 percent in the second and third quarters of 2022, respectively. This, in turn, has resulted in a 20 percent fall in budget revenues related to imports – including taxes and customs duties – in the first 10 months of the year.
The confrontation with the West over the war in Ukraine also affected Russia’s hydrocarbon exports, which in 2021 accounted for nearly 50 percent of total exports and 45 percent of federal budget revenues. Even before the Russian invasion, Gazprom had started reducing its gas supply to Europe in 2021, which resulted in a price spike.
In April, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring payments for Russian gas by European companies to be made in roubles only. A number of European countries refused to comply and gas supplies to them were halted. In April and May, the flow of Russian gas through the Ukrainian pipeline system and the Yamal-Europe pipeline via Poland was also disrupted. Then sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline cut off gas to Germany in September.
Thus, by mid-November, Gazprom’s exports to Europe (including Turkey) decreased by 43 percent. The company – Russia’s biggest gas exporter – cut production by nearly 20 percent.
But this did not lead to a fall in revenue; on the contrary, Gazprom and the federal budget have seen a windfall in profit due to the sharp rise in gas prices. In August, at the peak of this trend, gas prices were up 460 percent year on year.
Gazprom’s profits increased so much that the government introduced a temporary tax on its revenues from September to November, bringing 1.248 trillion roubles ($20bn) into the state coffers.
The situation in the oil sector has been similar. The EU’s plan to introduce restrictions on imports of Russian oil and petroleum products forced Russian companies to look for new consumers and agree to a significant discount on the price – as high as 25 percent.
However, due to high oil prices, reaching $120 in the spring and summer, the price of Russian oil was still higher than in 2021, even with the discount.
Overall, in the first 10 months of 2022, Russia saw a 34 percent increase in budget revenues from hydrocarbon production and exports compared with 2021.
The cost of war
While high prices of hydrocarbons have resulted in high revenues, the Russian budget has also seen a sharp increase in military expenditures this year.
In mid-September, the Ministry of Finance reported that by the end of the year, defence spending would increase by 31 percent from 3.573 trillion to 4.679 trillion roubles ($57bn to $74bn). This includes the additional 600 to 700 billion roubles ($10 to 11bn) that the defence ministry is spending on purchases and repair of weapons this year.
Another item on the federal budget that saw an extraordinary increase in 2022 is “General National Issues”; it jumped by 50 percent to 2.629 trillion roubles ($42bn). Expenses under this title normally come from administrative activities of all branches of the government. If one supposes that the excess funds in this item are related to the war, then that’s an additional 869 billion roubles ($13.8bn) of defence spending.
Federal spending for the security apparatus has also increased by more than 19 percent compared with 2021 to 2.788 trillion roubles ($44.5bn). Some of these extra funds are allocated to the Russian National Guardwhose forces are actively involved in supporting the Russian occupation regime in Ukraine.
Shortly after the planned budget was released, the Kremlin announced “partial mobilisation”. As a result, some 318,000 persons were drafted into the army, which will require an additional increase in defence spending, by at least 372 billion roubles ($6bn) to pay for their salaries and other expenses till the end of the year.
The 2023 budget was drafted by the government and submitted to the parliament before the presidential decree on mobilisation thus it would not be a surprise if the actual military expenditures for both 2022 and 2023 are higher than what was officially announced. In any case, even with these numbers, Russia’s military spending in 2022 will exceed 5 percent of GDP, which is unprecedented.
Still, the windfall earnings from oil and gas are compensating to a certain extent war-related spending. Thus, Russia will end this year with a deficit of 0.9 percent of GDP or about $15bn.
Because the external debt financing markets are closed for Russia after the introduction of the Western sanctions and the potential for domestic borrowing is limited, the deficit will be financed, mainly, from accumulated reserves, as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has announced.
In October, the fund held some 10.7 trillion roubles ($171bn); the liquid part of it, which can be used for such payments, amounted to 7.5 trillion roubles ($120bn) – more than enough to pay for the 2022 deficit.
A challenging 2023
In the 2023 budget, the government has put in a 6.5 percent increase in defence spending, which amounts to compensating for inflation. This assumes that war expenditure will not grow next year.
I have some doubts regarding this assumption. The expenses for the additional mobilised troops were not included in the 2022 budget, which, along with the possible delay in payments of compensation to the families of war casualties, will likely force the government to revise this number.
Moreover, defence minister Sergey Shoigu announced a 50 percent increase in military procurement for next year and he did so after the State Duma passed the 2023 budget. I do not see space for this in the budgetary figures.
Revenues, like spending, also cannot be easily foreseen for 2023. The windfall profits from hydrocarbons inspired some optimism in the Kremlin, which was reflected in the estimates the government put forward of economic growth resuming in the first quarter of next year.
Many experts do not share the government’s optimism. Even the official forecast of the Bank of Russia suggests that Russian economic growth will resume in the second half of 2023.
A key unknown in next year’s budget is also the revenue from hydrocarbons, specifically oil. The EU stopped imports of Russian crude oil on December 5 and will halt the purchase of Russian oil products on February 5. The Union, along with G7 and Australia, is also imposing a price cap of $60 on Russian oil.
As a result, it is unlikely that Russia will be able to increase oil exports next year to match pre-war levels. The average price of Russian export oil in 2021 was $69 per barrel. The current rouble-dollar exchange rate is 15 percent higher than the 2021 average, which is likely to continue into the new year. These factors may reduce 2023 budget revenues from hydrocarbon production and exports by 15 to 20 percent ($22bn to $29bn) of 2021 levels.
In response to the expected drop in revenues, the government has announced an increase in taxes on oil and gas companies as well as on metal and coal producers. These could bring in enough revenue to compensate for up to 75 percent of the revenue reduction.
Thus, the risk of not reaching the planned revenues in 2023 remains, but it will be limited to 5-6 percent of total budget revenues, according to my estimates.
Enough money for the war, unfortunately
Although the budget is planned under high uncertainty, it cannot be called unstable. Under different circumstances, its revenues may turn out above or below the planned level. Still, the scale of this deviation, according to my assessment, does not exceed 1 percent of GDP ($17.2bn) in either direction.
Consequently, even if revenues are lower, the budget deficit would not exceed 3 percent of GDP ($52bn), which can be entirely financed from reserves (currently at $120bn).
At the same time, there seems to be no opportunity or desire on the part of Western countries to intensify sanctions pressure on Russia. This means the Russian budget would not face any sanctions-related shocks in 2023.
With all of this in mind, I do not foresee any major financial constraintsthat could force the Kremlin to radically change its aggressive policy towards Ukraine.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
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