EU official: Russia is moving the war to a “different stage”
Moscow has escalated its invasion of Ukraine by launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians and portraying the conflict as one against the West, according to a senior EU official.
Stefano Sannino, secretary general of the European Union’s European External Action Service, said on Friday that Russia had taken the war to a “different stage”, while defending the decision by Germany and the United States to send tanks to Kyiv.
He criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging war on NATO and the West, saying this had led to a move this week to supply heavy battle tanks to Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Sanino said that Putin “has moved from the concept of special operations to the concept now of war against NATO and the West.”
The EU foreign policy chief said the German and American tanks were meant to help the Ukrainians defend themselves rather than attack Moscow.
Sanino said: “I think that this latest development in terms of armed supply is just an evolution of the situation and the way Russia has begun to take the war to a different stage.”
The EU does not take the war to a different stage but “only gives the possibility of saving lives and allowing the Ukrainians to defend themselves.” [themselves] of these barbaric attacks.
Germany and the United States announced on Wednesday that they would send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, providing what one expert called “armored striking power” to help Kyiv break the stalemate on the battlefield.
Washington will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks, while Berlin has agreed to give 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its stocks.
The former commander said that Wagner’s mercenaries shot them to flee
A former commander of the Russian Wagner Group, who fled to Norway, witnessed his comrades being shot as they tried to flee the front line in Ukraine, according to his Norwegian lawyer.
Andrei Medvedev, who fled Russia across the Russian-Norwegian border in January, said he feared for his life after witnessing the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners transferred to fight for Wagner in Ukraine.
Speaking to Euronews in January, experts made similar accusations that Chechen forces had gotten used to it Execution of fleeing Russian soldiers.
Medvedev lives in a secret location in the Oslo region, after he was released on Wednesday after a “disagreement” with the police over the measures taken to ensure his safety.
His lawyer, Brynjolf Resens, said he witnessed some “incredibly horrible” situations during the fight last fall and was “slowly adjusting to what’s happening” in Ukraine.
“His life was very chaotic and dangerous and stressful for a very long time, especially, of course, during the fall when he was in Ukraine with the Wagner Group,” said Resens.
“But of course, his life wasn’t easy before that either.”
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, millions uprooted and cities reduced to rubble since Russian forces invaded Ukraine 11 months ago.
Resens said Krepos, Norway’s national criminal police service, which is responsible for investigating war crimes, has begun questioning him about his experiences and wants to continue.
Krepos is part of a project to investigate war crimes in Ukraine carried out by the International Criminal Court.
Zelensky marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with an emotional tweet
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked Holocaust Remembrance Day in a post on social media, referring to his country’s situation.
He said, “We know and remember that indifference kills with hate.”
“Indifference and hatred are always capable of creating evil only together. That is why it is so important that all who value life show determination when it comes to saving those whom hatred seeks to destroy.”
This year, no Russian official was ever invited to the Auschwitz celebrations of the event due to the military buildup on Ukraine’s border at the time.
US lawmakers are calling for sanctions against China over Ukraine
US lawmakers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to take a tougher line on China, accusing Chinese organizations of providing support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We need to be more forceful” against China, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said, noting “evidence that Chinese companies are providing dual-use technology including semiconductors,” which can be used to guide missiles.
“It seems to me that we should not give up the possibility of sanctions against China if they provide crucial assistance and they should not be able to hide behind companies,” he said.
Fellow Republican James Risch believed that China was acting with “impunity” and that the United States needed to “toughen sanctions” against the country.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to visit China next month.
In parallel, Washington announced, on Thursday, the imposition of more sanctions against the Wagner Company and its supporters, including a Chinese company accused of helping them in Ukraine.
China’s Aerospace Research Institute, Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute is among the organizations the US Treasury believes have provided Wagner with satellite imagery in Ukraine.
Russia’s ally, China, says it is neutral toward the conflict in Ukraine, while boosting relations with Russia, particularly in the field of energy, on its side.
But US officials are increasingly concerned about support for Russia through Chinese companies in the high-tech field in particular.
Grain harvest will decrease in Ukraine – prediction
Ukrainian production of grain and other basic foodstuffs is expected to decline further next year, according to new estimates.
The sown areas of the grain and oilseed crop are expected to drop to “53 million tons” in 2023, half of what they were in 2021, according to estimates by the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA).
“We are at war,” said Nikolai Gorbachev, the head of the UGA, Thursday. “We continue to produce grain but the yields will be lower. For farmers, producing grain is no longer profitable.”
He explained that in 2021, 106 million tons of grain were harvested, which is a historical record, as it decreased to about 65 million tons for 2022, while it is expected to reach “53 million tons” for 2023.
Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine was the fourth largest exporter of corn in the world and the country was well on its way to becoming the third largest exporter of wheat.
Fighting in 2022 has impeded farmers’ ability to grow crops, exacerbated by fuel shortages and the destruction of agricultural machinery and storage infrastructure.
Gorbachev expressed concern about exports in the coming season: “For Ukraine’s national food security, it will be fine. But if Ukraine cannot export these 40 or 50 million. [tonnes of grain]? Prices will go up. Europe can allow it, but not the developing countries,” he said.
Disruptions in food exports from Ukraine have pushed many developing countries to the brink of starvation by sending prices into orbit.
Experts have warned that the food crisis is causing an increase in the number of migrants to the European Union.
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