Live blog: Russia obliged to respond to Ukraine energy sites — Putin

Thursday, April 11, 2024

1841 GMT — President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying that Russia had been obliged to launch strikes on Ukrainian energy sites in response to Kiev's attacks on Russian targets.

"Unfortunately, we observed a series of strikes on our energy sites recently and were obliged to respond," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin said the attacks were part of Russia's aim of "demilitarising" Ukraine as the attacks affected Kiev's military industry. And Russia, he said, had refrained from carrying out such attacks in winter "out of humanitarian considerations".

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1634 GMT — Stop targeting Zaporizhzhia nuclear region: IAEA

Drone attacks on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine must stop as they pose "a new and gravely dangerous" stage in the war, the UN nuclear watchdog chief has told his agency's 35-nation Board of Governors.

Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused one another of targeting the plant since Russia seized it weeks after it attacked Ukraine. Both countries requested an emergency meeting of the IAEA's Board soon after a recent attack on Sunday.

"The most recent attacks ... have shifted us into an acutely consequential juncture in this war," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement to the Board gathering.

He called on the Board "unanimously to support the role of the IAEA in monitoring" principles aimed at preventing an accident at the plant, including that it not be attacked.

1555 GMT — US support vital for Ukraine survival: Japan PM tells US Congress

Ukraine risks collapsing under Russia's onslaught without US support, a disaster that could embolden China and spark a new crisis in East Asia, Japan's prime minister has told US lawmakers.

In the first speech to a joint meeting of the US Congress by a Japanese leader in nine years, Fumio Kishida urged Americans not to doubt its "indispensable" role in world affairs and said Tokyo was undertaking historic military upgrades to support its ally.

"The leadership of the United States is indispensable. Without US support, how long before the hopes of Ukraine would collapse under the onslaught from Moscow? Without the presence of the United States, how long before the Indo-Pacific would face even harsher realities?"

1552 GMT — UN migration chief warns donor fatigue could compound problems

Fatigue among donors could compound the issues created by the mass displacement of Ukrainians, making the problem more expensive to deal with in the long run, the UN migration agency chief said in Kiev.

Russia's war in Ukraine has triggered the biggest refugee crisis in Europe this century, with 6.5 million Ukrainian refugees having been recorded globally and 3.7 million displaced within Ukraine, according to UN data.

"If the donor community walks away right now, it's not going to fix the problem - actually the problem could become compounded, and become more expensive," International Organization for Migration Director General Amy Pope told Reuters in a joint interview with local media in Kiev.

1523 GMT — UN 'appalled' over increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine war

The UN has strongly denounced Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine, citing increased civilian casualties.

"We are appalled by the increase in civilian casualties as a result of these relentless attacks," Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said at a UN Security Council meeting

Noting Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine as a "blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law," Jenca said "Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns have become a daily destructive pattern.

1512 GMT — Poland may give Ukraine Soviet-era missiles: Duda

Poland is in talks with Ukraine about supplying it with Soviet-era missiles, Polish President Andrzej Duda has told a news conference in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

1504 GMT — Slovakia’s pro-Russia PM deepens energy and transport ties to Ukraine

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose pro-Russian views have put him at odds with allies, has sought to deepen cooperation in energy, railway links and grain transport with war-hit neighbour Ukraine.

After a joint meeting of the Slovak and Ukrainian governments, Fico said Slovakia wanted to be a "good, friendly" neighbour to Ukraine.

"Ukraine needs help, and Ukraine needs to be shown solidarity," Fico said in broadcast remarks alongside Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal after meeting in eastern Slovakia.

"There can of course be different opinions or views on that help or solidarity."

1235 GMT — Russia's FSB says British special forces operating in Ukraine

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that Britain's Special Boat Service had been operating in Ukraine and helping Ukrainian forces carry out attempted operations against Russian forces.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled a plan by British special forces to land Ukrainian sabotage soldiers on the Tendrov Split, a sandbar in the Black Sea.

It said it had captured a senior Ukrainian naval special forces soldier, and gave his name and date of birth.

The FSB said the Ukrainian special forces unit was "supervised by a unit of the Special Boat Service (SBS) which indicates the direct involvement of Britain in the conflict".

1226 GMT — Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying thermal power plant in Kiev

Ukraine has accused Russia of destroying the Trypilska thermal power plant, the most powerful energy facility in the region, located near the capital Kiev.

Centrenergo, a company managing the plant, said in a statement the facility was completely disabled by a Russian missile strike.

It said that there was no loss of lives in the strike.

1224 GMT — EU Parliament approves legal option to block Russian LNG imports

The European Parliament has voted to pass rules allowing European governments to ban Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, by preventing Russian firms from booking gas infrastructure capacity.

The European Union has avoided imposing sanctions on Russian gas, which some members rely heavily on.

As a workaround, the new gas policy aims to establish a legal route for governments to block Russian gas deliveries to their country though so far no major importer has indicated they will use it.

The new EU gas market rules allow governments to temporarily stop Russian and Belarusian gas exporters from bidding for capacity on the infrastructure needed to deliver piped gas and LNG into Europe.

1101 GMT — Zelenskyy in Lithuania pleads for new air defence aid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his appeals for fresh air defence systems on a visit to Lithuania, as his war-torn country faced ramped-up Russian bombardments of major cities.

Zelenskyy told reporters that securing more air defences was "the priority number one" for Kiev.

1045 GMT — Ukraine signs 10-year security deal with Latvia — Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy also has said that he and his Latvian counterpart had signed a bilateral security deal, as he held talks in Lithuania with leaders on support for his war-torn country.

Latvia's president "and I just signed a bilateral security agreement... It envisages Latvia's annual military support for Ukraine at 0.25 percent of GDP," Zelenskyy posted on X.

"Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyberdefence, demining and unmanned technologies."

1037 GMT — Kremlin says Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland have 'no sense' without Russia

The Kremlin has said that Ukraine peace talks due to be held in Switzerland made "no sense" unless Russian took part.

"We said many times that the process of (peace) talks without Russia makes no sense," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

0951 GMT — EU court partially annuls sanctions on two Russian oligarchs

An EU court has partially annulled sanctions over the war in Ukraine on two Russian tycoons, Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, in a ruling slammed by a key Kremlin foe.

The European Union has imposed successive waves of sanctions on Russian nationals and businesses for profiting from or financially supporting Moscow's attacks on Ukraine.

But the Luxembourg-based EU General Court came down in favour of a challenge mounted by Aven and Fridman, major shareholders in Russia's Alfa Bank, by saying the reasons given by the European Council for targeting them "cannot be taken into account".

As a result, the court said in a statement that it "annuls the inclusion of Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman on the lists of persons subject to restrictive measures between February 2022 and March 2023".

0947 GMT — Strike on southern Ukraine city kills two, wounds four

A strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has killed two people and wounded four, the Ukrainian governor of the region said.

"As a result of a hit in the city, according to preliminary information, two people died, four were injured," Mykolaiv Governor Vitaly Kim said in a post on Telegram.

0835 GMT — Russia attacks Ukraine energy sites, Kharkiv overnight

Russia has launched a "massive" aerial attack on Ukraine, Kiev said, hitting the northeastern city of Kharkiv again and targeting energy facilities across the country.

Russia has launched some of the biggest air campaigns on Ukraine in recent weeks, more than two years into its aggression.

0832 GMT — Ukraine’s parliament passes controversial law to fill army ranks

Ukraine’s parliament has passed a controversial law to swell its military ranks with fresh recruits, following months of delay and after thousands of amendments were submitted to water down the initial draft.

Passed on Thursday, the law will help govern how the country recruits new conscripts, lowering the draft age to 25 from 27. Many Ukrainians feel that the conflict is dragging young people into the war and jeopardising their and the country's future.

Earlier, lawmakers dragged their feet for months over the law, which is expected to be unpopular. The law was spurred by a request from the military command under former army Commander Valerii Zaluzhny, who said Ukraine needs up to 500,000 new recruits to boost army ranks.

2301 GMT — UK's Cameron accuses Kremlin of mistreating jailed critic Kara-Murza

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has accused the Kremlin of subjecting one of its biggest critics, Russian-British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza, to "degrading and inhumane conditions" since his arrest two years ago.

Kara-Murza was charged with "treason" after using a speech in the United States to claim Russia had committed "war crimes" against Ukraine.

In a statement on the second anniversary of Kara-Murza's detention, Cameron called the charges against him "fabricated" and urged Moscow to release him immediately on humanitarian grounds.

"A committed human rights activist striving for a democratic Russia, and an outspoken critic of the war in Ukraine, Mr Kara-Murza was considered a threat by the Kremlin," Britain's top diplomat said.

2030 GMT — Trump thinks it's not appropriate to visit Ukraine as presidential candidate

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump thinks it is not appropriate for him to visit Ukraine right now since he does not hold office, his campaign said after Zelenskyy urged him to come.

Zelenskyy, in an interview with Axel Springer media outlets published on Tuesday, asked Trump to visit the country so he could hear the former US president's ideas for ending Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Trump's campaign said there had yet to be formal outreach from Zelenskyy to the former president.

"There's been no outreach from Zelenskyy, and President Trump has said publicly it wouldn't be appropriate for him to go to Ukraine right now since he's not Commander in Chief," the Trump campaign said in an email.

For our live updates from Wednesday, April 10, click here.