Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin opponent vanishes – and UK ‘deeply concerned’ for him

By admin On Jan 30, 2024

Key points

20:48:11 EU ambassadors agree first step in plan to use frozen Russian money to rebuild Ukraine

European Union envoys have agreed unanimously to set aside billions of euros of windfall profits from Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe.

Ambassadors of the 27 EU countries agreed in principle the first step of a plan to help fund Ukraine reconstruction after Russia’s invasion, according to a source from Belgium.

The text will undergo legal and language checks before the ambassadors will have the chance formally to adopt it.

The European Commission would then be expected to propose transferring the money set aside to the EU budget and subsequently to Kyiv, though it is unclear when it would arrive in Ukraine.

France and Germany have already voiced reservations about the plan, while the European Central Bank has warned it could undermine confidence in the euro and unsettle global markets.

The EU, United States, Japan and Canada froze some $300bn of Russian central bank assets in 2022. About $200 billion of that is held in Europe, mainly in the Belgian clearing house Euroclear.

19:57:25 Ukraine would win faster with permission to fire Western weapons into Russia, navy chief says

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

Ukraine would win the war faster if it had permission to fire British and other Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia, the head of the Ukrainian navy has indicated.

Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa told Sky News the course of the entire conflict would have been very different had Ukrainian forces been allowed to use Western munitions without restrictions from the very beginning.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Ukrainian commander also said his navy would gladly take charge of two British warships the Royal Navy may reportedly have to retire early because of a shortage of sailors.

Read on here…

18:56:08 Cameron ‘deeply concerned’ over missing British-Russian dissident

Lord Cameron has called on Moscow to reveal the location of a Russian-British dissident who disappeared from his penal colony to his lawyers.

The UK foreign secretary pledged to meet with Vladimir Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia, who said her husband was taken from a Siberian penal colony and his whereabouts were unknown.

Family and friends of Mr Kara-Murza urged Lord Cameron to act earlier today.

Now the foreign minister has posted on X: “Russia must urgently provide Vladimir Kara-Murza’s lawyers with his whereabouts, following reports that he has been moved from Omsk to an unknown location.

“I’m deeply concerned for Mr Kara-Murza – a British national imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine. I stand with his wife and plan to meet her soon.”

Mr 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.

18:40:01 Corrupt officials stole millions meant for mortars, Ukraine says

Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defence ministry officials to embezzle more than £31m earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells, the Ukrainian security service has said.

The SBU said five people have been charged and if found guilty, they could face up to 12 years in prison.

The investigation comes as Kyiv attempts to clamp down on corruption in a bid to speed up its membership in the European Union and NATO.

The investigation dates back to August 2022, when officials signed a contract for artillery shells worth 1.5bn hryvnias £31.1m with arms firm Lviv Arsenal, security officials said.

After receiving payment, company employees were supposed to transfer the funds to a business registered abroad, which would then deliver the ammunition to Ukraine.

But the goods were never delivered and the money was instead sent to various accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators said.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general said the funds have since been seized and will be returned to the country’s defence budget.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019 and has portrayed sacking top officials as proof of his administration’s efforts to crack down on corruption.

17:40:01 Hungarian opposition calls for vote to ratify Swedish NATO membership

Hungarian opposition parties have submitted a motion calling for an extraordinary session of parliament to ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO on 5 February.

Hungary is the only country in the 31-member Atlantic alliance yet to ratify Sweden’s application.

Turkey completed its approval last week, some 20 months after Stockholm applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion.

“Our motion has been sent to the speaker… Now the question is whether 135 men will be brave enough to show up,” said Zita Gurmai, an opposition politician, referring to whether members of parliament from the governing parties will vote for the motion.

Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, said last week he would urge politicians to approve Sweden’s accession at the first possible opportunity, but parliamentary speaker Laszlo Kover said there was no urgency.

16:40:01 World Court to rule on jurisdiction in Russia-Ukraine genocide case

The World Court has announced it will decide whether it shall hear a case brought by Ukraine accusing Russia of violating international law on Friday.

Russia has justified its invasion by claiming it was launched to stop a genocide of Russian speakers in Ukraine – claims that Kyiv argues is a breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention given there was no risk of genocide.

The legal battle refers to fighting between Russian-backed forces and Ukraine in the country’s east since 2014.

Lawyers for Moscow have urged judges to throw out the case, saying Ukraine is using it as a roundabout way to get a ruling on the overall legality of Russia’s invasion.

If the UN court, also known as the International Court of Justice, does decide the Ukraine-Russia case can move forward, it could take many months before hearings on the merits are scheduled.

16:00:01 Optimism leaders of Hungary and Ukraine could meet

Ukraine and Hungary are interested in holding a meeting between their leaders as soon as possible, top Ukrainian presidential official Andriy Yermak says.

He added the two countries had agreed to form a commission that would prepare proposals on the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority living in Ukraine, reported Evropeiska Pravda.

His comments come after a meeting with Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, following tensions between Budapest and Kyiv over the issue.

It appears to indicate a shift in relations between Hungary and Ukraine

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has retained cordial ties with Russia despite Moscow’s invasion, and has been a vocal critic of the EU’s financial and military support for Kyiv.

But earlier today, Mr Orban’s political director said Hungary was open to using the EU budget for a proposed €50bn aid package to Ukraine that it had once blocked.

15:20:01 Russia losing hundreds of tanks for minor gains – but keeps replacing them

Russia has the resources to keep replacing tanks and combat vehicles despite a recent spike in losses, according to British military intelligence.

This means it can continue to pursue offensive action at the same level that it has done since October, said the UK Ministry of Defence.

But its recent spate of vehicle losses has only resulted in “minor territorial gains”, it said.

Russian ground forces lost 40% fewer vehicles in 2023 than in 2022 after spending much of last year on the defensive.

In 2022, 2,600 of its tanks and 4,900 armoured combat vehicles (ACVs) were destroyed in Ukraine.

Since October, renewed Russian offensives in the east have seen the rate of losses increase again.

Ground forces have likely lost 365 tanks and 700 AVCs in that time period.

The UK MoD said: “However, Russia can probably generate at least 100 main battle tanks a month and therefore retains the capacity to replace battlefield losses and continue this level of offensive action for the foreseeable future.”

14:41:53 In pictures: Putin and Lukashenko hold talks on stepping up integration

Vladimir Putin and the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, have been attending a meeting of the Union State Supreme Council in St Petersburg, Russia.

During the meeting, the pair will seek to approve guidelines for the next three years of integration between the two nations, according to the Kremlin.

The Union State of Belarus and Russia is composed of a series of treaties deepening cooperation on economic and defence policies since the 1990s.

Some experts have suggested it has seen Vladimir Putin assert more and more control over Russia’s neighbour.

14:00:42 Cameron urged to act over disappearance of British-Russian dissident

Family and friends of jailed British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza have urged Lord Cameron to act after he disappeared from a prison colony in Siberia (see previous post)..

Bill Browder, a friend of Mr Kara-Murza and head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, said: “As he’s a UK citizen, our Foreign Secretary David Cameron should be using all tools to get Vladimir released. The government must act decisively before he dies in prison, which will likely happen if he’s not released.”

MPs also called on the government to act, including Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.

Ms Kearns said: “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s toying with Vladimir Kara-Murza is a sign of weakness and of how much Putin fears those who represent freedom of thought and will challenge his kleptocracy.

“Kara-Murza is a political prisoner and British citizen; my thoughts go out to his incredible wife, family and friends.

“This is yet another example of Putin’s Russia’s disregard for the rule of law and use of arbitrary detention to deter dissent. The UK must appoint a dedicated national hostage lead to better protect and advocate for British nationals wrongly held abroad.”

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