Live blog: 'Not too late for Ukraine' to beat Russia — NATO chief

Thursday, April 25, 2024

1728 GMT — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that it was "not too late for Ukraine to prevail" against Russia as long as its allies fulfilled promises to deliver more weapons.

"In recent months, NATO allies have not provided the support we have promised," he said in a speech on a visit to Berlin.

"But it is not too late for Ukraine to prevail, because more support is on the way."

"It is now our responsibility to turn these commitments into real deliveries of weapons and ammunition — and to do so quickly," he said.

Stoltenberg also took a swipe at China, accusing Beijing of "propping up Russia's war economy" by sharing high-end technology that can be used to produce missiles, tanks, and aircraft.

"China says it wants good relations with the West. At the same time, Beijing continues to fuel the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War Two," he said, warning that "they cannot have it both ways".

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1654 GMT — Ukraine, Russia exchange fire, at least seven dead

Ukraine and Russia exchanged drone and artillery fire, leaving at least seven dead and more than a dozen wounded, regional officials on both sides of the front line announced.

A Ukrainian attack drone left two dead in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and two more were killed by Ukrainian artillery fire in the southern Kherson region, officials said.

"A man and a woman were killed as a result of a strike on a civilian car. Their four young children were orphaned," the Russian-installed head of Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, wrote on social media.

The Russian head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said separately that two more people were killed by Ukrainian fire in the village of Dnipryany.

The Ukrainian head of the Donetsk region, Vadim Filashkin, said three people had been killed in separate bouts of shelling in the villages of Udachne, where two people were killed, and in Kurakhivka, where one person was killed.

1625 GMT — Some US aid to get to Ukraine within days: White House

Certain military aid for Ukraine will arrive in a matter of days, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters, adding that air defence remained a high priority.

1429 GMT — Putin urges restraint in state seizure of assets

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reminded prosecutors that seizing assets and turning them over to state ownership is only justified in cases where failing to act might jeopardise Russia's national security.

Many assets in Russia have changed hands in the last two years. Hundreds of foreign companies left Russia after Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in February 2022, in some cases selling cheaply to local management.

Moscow has taken temporary control of assets owned by several Western companies.

More than $10.9 billion worth of strategic enterprises and assets were transferred to state ownership by Russian courts last year, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said in March.

"Recently, law enforcement agencies have initiated a number of cases to return some assets to state ownership," Putin told a Moscow business forum.

"I would like to stress: we are not talking about a privatisation review, but about cases when the actions or inaction by the owners of enterprises and property complexes cause direct harm to the country's security and national interests.

"The seizure of business is justified only in the situation I have just described."

1320 GMT — Russia may downgrade ties with US if its assets are confiscated: official

Russia is considering downgrading the level of its diplomatic relations with the United States if Western governments go ahead with proposals to confiscate its frozen assets, state news agency RIA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

The G7 group of nations are looking to use nearly $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets frozen by sanctions since 2022 to help support Ukraine, which is now in its third year of fighting a Russian offensive.

Ryabkov said Moscow would retaliate economically and politically if the assets were seized.

"Lowering the level of diplomatic relations is one of the options, of course. Many high-ranking representatives in our government have already spoken about the issues of our financial, economic and material response to this step (confiscation), which we are warning our opponents, as before, not to take," RIA quoted him as saying.

"We are now studying the optimal form of reaction, where countermeasures include actions against the assets of our Western opponents as well as diplomatic response measures."

The Kremlin has characterised the current state of ties with the United States as "below zero", although no formal downgrade of relations has occurred since the Ukraine war began.

1245 GMT — Russia says transfer of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine increases security risks for its territories

The Russian ambassador to the US said that the transfer of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine "increases the threat to the security of Crimea, including Sevastopol, new Russian regions and other Russian cities."

"Local officials retroactively' confirmed the fact that extremely dangerous weapons had been sent to Kyiv. It is impossible to justify such underhand act," Anatoly Antonov said on Telegram.

The White House has confirmed it is carrying out secretive deliveries of long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine, where Moscow launched a "special military operation" in February 2022.

Antonov rejected the "particularly cynical" statements by US officials claiming Kiev "promised not to use missiles against targets on Russian territory."

"Who should be reassured by such lies? How can we ignore the numerous terrorist attacks by Kiev's criminals? Deadly strikes on hospitals, schools, kindergartens, bridges and even their own servicemen?" he questioned.

The ambassador said the Russian army has already shot down several ATACMS missiles and "will continue to do so."

"Aren’t local politicians afraid of drowning in the quagmire of conflict? Washington will not be able to get out of the horrible swamp that has absorbed the blood of ordinary soldiers," he said.

0730 GMT — Deadly drone attack hits vehicle in Zaporizhzhia

A Russia-backed official in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region said that two people had been killed in a Ukrainian drone attack.

Yevgeny Balitsky, the top Moscow-supported official in the region, said on the Telegram messaging app that drones hit a civilian vehicle and a man and a woman were killed, leaving four children orphaned.

0724 GMT — Ukraine's Zelenskyy meets Britain's Jeremy Hunt in Kiev

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met British finance minister Jeremy Hunt in Kiev and called for sanctions against Russia to be tightened to stop Moscow bypassing them.

The Ukrainian leader said in a statement on the Telegram app that he was grateful to close ally Britain for unveiling this week a new 500 million pound ($625 million) uplift in a defence support package for Ukraine.

"Particular attention was paid to sanctions policy. It is important to expand restrictive measures against Russia and exclude the possibility of circumventing sanctions," Zelenskyy said.

He said Hunt would meet Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other ministers later on Thursday.

0400 GMT — Uncertainties hang over Ukraine aid: tracker

The new US package of $61 billion in aid for Ukraine will not bring the war-battered country out of the woods, according to the Kiel Institute, which has been tracking the help provided by Kiev's allies.

"This is sorely needed support, but in the grand scheme of things it is not a game changer and will only provide temporary relief," said Christoph Trebesch, head of the Ukraine Support Tracker at the German think tank, which published its latest update Thursday.

"Should the US pass no further support packages in late 2024 or 2025, Ukraine is very likely to face the same gap in support in 2025," he said.

During months of blockage of the package in the US Congress, Ukrainian forces have run short of ammunition and have suffered battlefield setbacks.

0011 GMT — Ukraine aid is 'no silver bullet' in war with Russia — US

The United States is the first to acknowledge that its long-awaited $61 billion aid package for Ukraine is not a "silver bullet."

As weapons and ammunition are rushed to the country, other issues, such as manpower shortages in Kiev's struggling military, have come to the fore.

Meanwhile, the monthslong delay in passing the aid package — caused by wrangling among US lawmakers — has further weakened Ukraine's position on the battleground, according to analysts.

President Joe Biden, who quickly signed the law Wednesday after it passed Congress, said the bill "should have gotten there sooner."

Jake Sullivan, his National Security Advisor, said the aid package "will make a difference," but warned "there is no silver bullet in this conflict."

"One capability is not going to be the ultimate solution," Sullivan told a White House briefing, though he added, "Ukraine's position in this conflict will improve, and we believe that Ukraine can and will win."

2147 GMT — Ukraine issues restrictions on passports for military-age men

The Ukrainian government, further tightening regulations as it seeks to address a shortage of troops, has approved rules temporarily barring military-age men from applying for passports abroad.

The provisions, and a subsequent clarification from Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, were announced on Wednesday, a day after Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba suspended consular services for males aged 18 to 60 until May 18. He criticised those abroad for failing to serve in the 26-month-old war against Russia.

The Foreign Ministry said applicants seeking a special certificate declaring they wished to return to Ukraine would be able to get help at embassies and consulates.

Regular services, it said, would resume on May 18, and applications received after April 23 would be handled then.

The Foreign Ministry said private agencies would no longer be able to handle passport applications, only government missions.

It said the new restrictions did not apply to nationals who are now permitted to cross state borders while martial law is in force, including those with disabilities.

For our live updates from Wednesday, April 24, click here.