Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin opponent disappears from penal colony; Hungary signals ‘major shift’ in Ukraine funding stance
Key points
- Russian dissident disappears from penal colonyHungary signals it could compromise on aid for Ukraine
Russia claims it has taken control of Kharkiv villageKremlin continues efforts to destabilise MoldovaUS plans to keep nuclear weapons at RAF base, says reportPutin ‘is not going to stop with Ukraine’, ex-NATO chief warns
13:24:42 Russian dissident disappears from penal colony
The wife of Russian-British dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza has said he has been taken from the Siberian penal colony where he had been imprisoned since September and his whereabouts are now unknown.
Writing on X, Evgenia Kara-Murza said her husband had been in solitary confinement for the four months he spent in the IK-6 colony in Omsk.
In the past, convicted prisoners have disappeared for long periods while they are transferred by rail and prison car between far-flung points of Russia’s penal system.
This is what happened in December to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who lost contact with his family and lawyers for nearly three weeks while he was moved to a penal colony in the Arctic.
Kara-Murza, who suffers from a nerve disorder after surviving two poison attacks, was jailed for 25 years last April for treason and spreading “false information” about the Russian war in Ukraine.
He denied the charges and said he was facing a show trial.
13:06:31 At least three people killed in strike on Russian-controlled city, mayor says
The Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk has reported at least three civilians have been killed in a rocket strike.
Alexei Kulemzin said Ukraine was behind the strike on the eastern Ukrainian city, which is currently under Russian occupation.
Unverified images on social media showed a car on fire and what appeared to be two bodies lying in a street.
Sky News cannot immediately verify Mr Kulemzin’s claim.
12:43:20 In pictures: Ukrainian soldiers near Kyiv
Ukrainian servicemen from an air defence unit stand next to a Turkish-made Browning machine gun near Kyiv…
12:28:44 EU official says they did not coerce Hungary to agree on finance package
A senior European Union official has denied member states are discussing financial coercion to force Hungary to agree on financing for Ukraine.
An earlier report in the Financial Times said the EU was planning to sabotage Hungary’s economy if it blocked a further aid package to Ukraine at a summit this week.
“The document referred to in the Financial Times article is a background note written by the secretariat of the council under its own responsibility which describes the current status of the Hungarian economy,” the statement by the senior EU official said.
“This is a factual paper which does not reflect the status of the ongoing negotiations. The note does not outline any specific plan relating to the [long-term EU budget] and Ukraine Facility, nor does it outline any plan relating to Hungary,” it said.
The official added that budget talks are “ongoing” and have “always been based on finding a compromise” acceptable to all member states.
12:07:50 Could US pull out of NATO – and what would that mean for Europe?
A prominent war expert says the US is on the verge of lessening its support for, or even withdrawing from, NATO – with potentially catastrophic consequences for Europe.
Phillips P OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, wrote in an analysis piece that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could see the US “neuter” the Western military alliance.
It’s something that would begin a “spiral of events” in Europe, he says.
European countries have largely outsourced much of their military capacity and thinking on strategy and security to the States through NATO.
If the US abandons the military alliance, it will fall to European countries to ensure a Ukrainian victory, Mr OBrien says.
He says Europe is rich enough to do so if it has the political will, pointing to a recent report from the Estonian Ministry of Defence suggesting that committing 0.25% of GDP annually towards Ukraine would provide “more than sufficient resources”.
“With the United States out of the picture, that figure would be higher, but still not fiscally unbearable,” Mr OBrien says.
However, he warned of “chaos” if European states do not show enough unity and determination.
“The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin’s terms. Then Europe itself could fracture,” he says.
This could see states like Poland and the Baltics decide to aid Ukraine on their own, which “might leave NATO’s eastern front vulnerable and cause a crisis within the EU and European NATO”.
Potentially, it could even see Poland or Ukraine set up their own nuclear programmes.
“The United States maintains by far the world’s most powerful nuclear stockpile, but with the US out of the mix, the French and British, with their much smaller arsenals, would be Europe’s only nuclear deterrent,” Mr OBrien says.
“But if Central/Eastern Europe felt abandoned by those powers, it’s not hard to imagine a Polish or even a Ukrainian nuclear programme.”
11:42:19 Hungarian foreign minister in Ukraine for talks
Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials today.
The trip comes days before an EU summit where it is hoped member states can agree on a financial aid package for Ukraine.
Hungary previously said it would block further financial aid to Ukraine, but this morning suggested it was ready to compromise after the EU reportedly drew up plans to hit Budapest’s economy.
Mr Szijarto will be in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak.
“A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states,” the Ukrainian president’s office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Mr Szijjarto, Mr Kuleba and Mr Yermak.
11:06:26 India wants to distance itself from Russia, sources say
Unnamed Indian government sources have suggested India wants to distance itself from Russia, according to Reuters news agency.
Russia is India’s largest arms supplier, but the war in Ukraine has limited Moscow’s ability to provide munitions.
The sources said India would act carefully in order to avoid pushing Russia closer to China.
Meanwhile, Indian thinktank Observer Research Foundation’s Russia expert, Nandan Unnikrishnan, said India was unlikely to sign “any major military deal” with Russia because it would cross a red line with the US.
US-based thinktank the Institute for the Study of War said it had seen continued reports that Russia had not been able to produce missiles and artillery ammunition at pre-war levels for its own forces to use – making it unlikely to be able to export arms at pre-war levels.
10:48:52 Russia claims it has taken control of Kharkiv village
Moscow has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Tabaivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
Ukraine has denied this.
Volodymyr Fityo, head of communications for Ukraine’s ground forces, said on national TV: “This does not correspond to reality. There are battles taking place near this locality.”
We’ll bring you more on this as we get it.
10:31:11 Russian ministry proposes no-fly zone over energy facilities
A spate of Ukraine-linked attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure have reportedly led Moscow’s energy ministry to propose restricting flights over energy facilities.
Only aircraft deployed to protect energy facilities, or those carrying top Russian or foreign officials, will be allowed to fly with special permission in the designated zones, according to the Vedomosti daily newspaper.
Russia’s energy ministry has not immediately commented on the report.
Earlier today, a Russian official said air defences had thwarted a drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl.
10:10:39 Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes his income public
The Ukrainian president has published his income over a two-year period as part of a drive to promote transparency.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his family earned 3.7 million hryvnias in 2022 – the equivalent of £76,775.
It was markedly down on the 10.8 million hryvnias (£224,083) he and his family earned in 2021, the year before the Russian invasion.
The 2021 figure included income from the sale of £111,772 of government bonds.
His incomings fell in 2022 as he earned less rental income from real estate he owned because of the outbreak of the war.
Mr Zelenskyy has called for public officials to disclose their incomes to increase transparency and eliminate corruption as Ukraine tries to meet the stringent requirements for its bid to join the European Union.
This content is provided by , which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow cookies for this session only. Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
Source