Russian President Vladimir Putin with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, September 16, 2022
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: The World Faces Trump 2.0
Tuesday’s Coverage: Trump — “Russia Is In Big Trouble”
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1519 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says the Kremlin wanted to replace him with pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk in the first days of Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion.
The ultimatum also demanded Ukraine recognize Russian occupation authorities in the east of the country, change its constitution to commit to “neutrality,” shrink its army to 50,000 troops, give up much of its weapon arsenal, and recognize Russian as an official language of Ukraine.
“This was not a negotiation; it’s an ultimatum,” Zelensky said. He noted that the points were similar to those presented by Russian during unsuccessful peace talks in 2022 in Turkey.
Medvedchuk was detained by Ukrainian authorities in 2022 and went to Russia in a prisoner swap later the same year. Putin is the godfather of his daughter.
UPDATE 1502 GMT:
UK warships have responded to a Russian spy ship in the North Sea.
Defence Secretary John Healey said of the Yantar, now in the North Sea having passed through British waters: “Let me be clear, this is a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.”
The Yantar entered the UK exclusive economic zone about 45 miles off the British coast on Monday. The Royal Navy deployed HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne to monitor the vessel.
Healey said the Yantar was also watched in November, when it was “detected loitering over UK critical undersea infrastructure”. He authorized a Royal Navy submarine to surface close to the Russian ship to make clear that it was being monitored. The ship then left UK waters and sailed to the Mediterranean.
Healey told the House of Commons on Wednesday, “I also wanted President Putin to hear this message: we see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”
UPDATE 0846 GMT:
Vladimir Kiriyenko, CEO of the Russian social media site Vkontakte and son of Vladimir Putin’s Deputy Chief of Staff Sergey Kiriyenko, has continued making investments in the West despite international sanctions.
The younger Kiriyenko holds shares in at least one venture capital fund and maintains ownership in offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and Barbados.
He went to court in the British Virgin Islands to claim $500,000 in shares of his Titanium VC fund, transferring them from the offshore company Yalecrest.
Titanium VC Limited, launched with $50 million in 2013, focuses on Israeli startups that were later acquired by tech companies from the US.
Vladimir Kiriyneko was sanctioned by the US, the UK, and the European Union in 2022.
UPDATE 0838 GMT:
At least two civilians have been killed and at least 29 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
The fatalities were in the Donetsk region in the east and the Kherson region in the south. Casualties were also reported in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine, the Kharkiv region in the northeast, and the Mykolaiv region in the south.
UPDATE 0823 GMT:
A 90-day freeze on US foreign aid by the Trump Administration could affect Ukraine’s rebuilding of energy facilities damaged by Russian attacks.
Donald Trump issued an executive order for the freeze on Monday, as he returned to the White House.
The edict affects programs under the US Agency for International Development, which provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. It could also hinder aid for demining operations and civil society programs.
“The question is how exactly this decree will be implemented and whether the previous Biden administration was preparing for such a development and did not transfer funds in advance,” says Maksym Samoiliuk, an economist at the Kyiv-based Center for Economic Strategy.
Democrat Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware questioned, “Does that mean that we will abandon Ukraine in the middle of winter? Because USAID has been providing critical funding for thc rebuilding of their electric grid every time Russia attacks it.”
Trump’s freeze does not affect military aid or $20 million in loans, backed by frozen Russian asset revenues, allocated by the outgoing Biden Administration.
UPDATE 0621 GMT:
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said “at least 200,000” troops are needed to oversee any deal ending Russia’s invasion.
Zelensky said European states must take collective steps for defense amid the Russian threat: “Europe must establish itself as a strong, global player, as an indispensable player.”
Let’s not forget there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia. European leaders should remember these battles involving North Korean soldiers are now happening in places geographically closer to Davos than Pyongyang.
We must ensure that America also sees us as essential. For that to happen, America’s focus must shift to Europe. So that one day, in Washington, they’ll say – all eyes on Europe. Not because of war. But because of the opportunities in Europe. Europe needs to know how to defend…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 21, 2025
UPDATE 0616 GMT:
Ukraine’s military says its latest drone attacks inside Russia have set a fire at an oil depot and caused explosions at a plant producing military aircraft.
The oil depot in the Voronezh region in western Ukraine was struck for the second time in less than a week. “Tanks with fuel and lubricants used by the occupiers to supply Russian troops caught fire,” the Ukrainian army said.
The plant for warplanes was targeted in the city of Smolensk in western Russia. The governor of the region said falling debris from downed drones had sparked “roof fires”, but video and pictures displayed the explosions.
UPDATE 0604 GMT:
Donald Trump has again shifted his rhetoric on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, complaining that Vladimir Putin is not accepting negotiations to end his assault.
Trump told reporters that it “sounds like” the US might impose fresh sanctions on Russia if Putin maintains the refusal.
“We’re talking to [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelensky. We’re going to be talking with President Putin very soon,” Trump said. “We’re going to look at it.”
Trump had long threatened to cut US aid for Ukraine’s resistance. But on Monday, just after his inauguration, he declared:
I think Russia’s going to be in big trouble….[Putin] can’t be thrilled, he’s not doing so well. I mean, he’s grinding it out, but most people thought that war would have been over in about one week, and now you’re into three years, right?
Trump said on Tuesday that he asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to stop the invasion:
He’s not done very much on that. He’s got a lot of … power, like we have a lot of power. I said, “You ought to get it settled.’ We did discuss it.”
Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Xi, in a call on Tuesday, discussed talks with Trump and the outlook for a deal to end the invasion.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Banks in India have begun blocking payments for Russian oil imports amid toughened US sanctions against Moscow’s energy industry over Vladimir Putin’s 35-month invasion of Ukraine.
Financial institutions, notably the State-owned State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, are limiting transactions, reports Energy Intelligence.
Private banks have adopted a less rigid approach.
On January 10, the outgoing Biden Administration blacklisted major Russian oil companies and almost 200 vessels of Moscow’s “shadow fleet” transporting the oil in circumvention of international sanctions.
Indian authorities say sanctioned tankers will not be able to enter the country’s ports after March 12, when an American “grace period” for ships to unload expires.
India is the world’s largest importer of Russian oil, taking almost half of all seaborne crude exports in 2024, with around 450,000 barrels per day. Approximately 20% of those exports originated from Surgutneftegas and Gazprom Neft.
Refineries in India have already entered agreements to buy crude from Oman and the UAE.
Meanwhile, dozens of Russian tankers around the world have dropped anchor and suspended operations over the past week.
Some port authorities in China, notably in Shandong Province in the east of the country, have also said that they will not allow any unloading of Russian oil after March 12.
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