The UK is to ban Russian diamond imports as part of its latest sanctions targeting Russia in response to their invasion of Ukraine. The new legislation will also block imports of Russian-origin nickel, copper, and aluminium. President Putin and 86 more people and companies connected to him are also set to be targeted by the sanctions, including those who are "actively undermining the impact of existing sanctions". The Russian diamond industry is worth $4bn in UK exports and the sanctions follow similar moves by the US and EU. The UK has targeted over 1,500 entities and individuals and frozen more than £18bn of assets since Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Britain will announce a ban on Russian diamond sales and block import of “industrially significant metals” later today, alongside specific sanctions on another 86 senior figures and companies in Vladimir Putin's military industrial complex. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began last year, countries such as Belgium have opposed plans to ban the country’s diamonds. The UK has previously taken the lead on action against Russian diamonds, sanctioning Alrosa, the state-owned company, and increasing tariffs by an additional 35%. The ban will disrupt an industry worth $4bn in exports in 2021.
Ukraine's spring counteroffensive against Russian-backed separatist rebels in the eastern Donbass region has yet to start due to weather and training, as well as a shortage of Western-supplied weapons, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While the delay has given Ukraine time to stockpile weapons and train more troops, White House officials say the offensive is imminent. Russia has more than 200,000 troops along the 1,000 km battle line, with Ukraine targeting their forward lines with artillery fire in anticipation of a counteroffensive.
Experts say that it will take up to 20 years to mentally rehabilitate Ukraine's population after the Russian conflict, still ongoing since 2014, including losses of life, property, and forced displacement. The growing mental health crisis is showing up in a variety of ways, such as anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A nationwide mental health program has been launched, but there is a dearth of therapists in the country. Ukraine is emphasizing a process of self-care to help its citizens cope, with body therapy and sharing sessions seeing participants share their feelings and move together to relieve some of the fear and stress from the war.
The battle of Bakhmut has been one of the bloodiest episodes of the war between Ukraine and Russian forces spearheaded by Wagner mercenaries in the country. It is in Bakhmut that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s armed forces planned to outdo the regular Russian armed forces and disgrace the Kremlin's defence minister, Sergei Shoigu. However, Shoigu may have spotted an opportunity in Bakhmut to cripple Prigozhin’s influence, for example by cutting off the Wagner group from munitions and leaving their flanks supported by only poorly trained units with low morale. Ukrainian forces have pushed back units north and south of the town, leaving Wagner dangerously exposed in the centre.
The UK's Home Office has reportedly projected an influx of over a million foreign workers and students by 2024, according to an official document sent to Downing Street last year. The revelation comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned that an "unchecked drive towards multiculturalism" without successful integration was a "recipe for disaster". Readers criticised the Conservative Party for failing to curb unchecked immigration levels, while the decline in the UK's birth rate also sparked debate over the cost of raising a family and the world's population.
The UK is facing a strategic threat from actions by Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, warns former Royal Navy officer Tom Sharpe. Russia's modern submarines pose as great a danger through sabotage as with their nuclear capabilities. The majority of international data and energy connections lie along fibre-optic cables on the ocean floor. Russia's submarines survey the area to locate potential action. In 2012, Captain Sharpe was credited with disrupting this activity for a time, but highlights that the sustained ability to detect, deter or disrupt their efforts is critical given the importance of the seafloor connections. He adds that influence is key to a successful navy operation.
Zelensky to travel to G7 summit in Japan - reports
BBC
23-05-19 12:10
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly planning to attend the G7 summit in Japan in order to gain strengthened support ahead of a planned counter-offensive in the ongoing conflict with Russia. Zelensky is expected to arrive in Hiroshima on Sunday, although his office has not yet confirmed the visit. The leaders of the G7 nations have renewed their condemnation of Russia and announced further sanctions. Zelensky has recently visited several European countries and made an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia, where he urged Arab leaders to help facilitate the return of political prisoners in Russian-occupied territories.
Chinese ambitions to dominate the world put all nations who challenge its rule at risk, according to The Telegraph. The Chinese Communist Party’s support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine distracts leaders from subversive efforts to actively undermine global democracies, free trade, and liberal order. Xi Jinping is reportedly preparing his military to forcibly annex Taiwan if necessary, although there is no credible model to achieve this without violence. The CCP’s actions during the pandemic have damaged trust at home, while parties such as Germany remain reliant on China’s market. The West must forge new alliances, strengthen supply chains, and impose sanctions to achieve credible economic deterrence and resist global tyranny.
Reports suggest that US President Joe Biden has lifted his initial opposition to the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine; the US was previously unwilling to allow its European allies to export the planes to Ukraine. However, White House officials have not commented on the speculation. The UK is expected to provide training for Ukrainian pilots, but has ruled out providing Typhoon jets. These developments are seen as a victory for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has long pushed for Western allies to supply his country with the fighter jets.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, has suggested that the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is unlikely to be captured by government forces any time soon. Prigozhin has been leading fighting in the city for months. He suggested that Ukrainian troops were currently holed up in a makeshift fortress in the southern part of the city while fighting continued around them. Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister of Ukraine, confirmed Russian attacks on the city while insisting that her country’s forces were repelling the assaults.
President Zelensky of Ukraine is trying to lobby support from countries outside of the West, including Saudi Arabia, India, and Japan, to protect itself from further Russian aggression, as beyond NATO, many countries maintain neutrality despite Russia invading Ukraine more than seven years ago. The stance of many of these neutral nations has become more challenging for the US and NATO as Russia, China and other hostile powers have been successful in pulling these wavering countries into their sphere of influence. Increasingly, the importance of creating “a more coherent and robust strategy for uniting the democracies of the world behind a common mission, particularly in light of the rise of China” is being recognised.
A report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has suggested that Russian forces are using battlefield computers, known as Strelets, to greatly improve the accuracy of their artillery fire, whilst quickly moving out of the way of missiles. The systems allow information from sensors on the battlefield to be fed back to artillery units, and information from drone fleets to report Ukrainian positions. The amount of time Ukrainian soldiers have to get out of the way of incoming fire, once it has been spotted, is between three and five minutes. Smaller, more effective units have been created since the beginning of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine in order to strengthen the Russian defence, and disposable troops have been used to gain tactical advantages in an attempt to capture vast areas of the Ukraine. Thermal camouflage is used to hide armoured vehicles, and Russia's Air Force uses glide bombs. Russia has also reacted to US gifted Himars rocket launcher by moving command and control centres out of the rocket launcher’s range. Russian forces have used time to build defences in the south of the Ukraine.
Russian-British historian, journalist, film-maker and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza has been sent to prison for 25 years. Putin is said to hate him above all his critics. Kara-Murza has relentlessly spoken out against Putin's law-breaking for a long time, and along with Bill Browder, traveled the world together for a decade advocating for the Magnitsky Act. The act, named after lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, is now enacted in over 30 countries, and half the reason Putin has it in for Kara-Murza. The other half is his speaking up against Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The US government is set to support Ukraine in providing advanced fighter jets, including US-made F-16s to aid in the country's fight against Russia. The US has also backed training pilots on these planes. President Biden informed G7 leaders of the decision ahead of meetings in Japan. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky requested these fighter jets several months ago, and the decision by the US will allow other nations to export their own F-16s, as the US must legally approve the re-export of equipment purchased by its allies.
Many private jets that were owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs and escaped seizure under “Operation Kleptocapture” have fallen off tracking services like FlightRadar, possibly because they have been re-registered under new tail numbers; data also reveals that there was a surge in private jet re-registrations last year. These aircraft have been connected to oligarchs who have been sanctioned for protecting the Kremlin, or for enriching themselves from the state. Earlier investigations identified planes associated with oligarchs and movement could be tracked via their original tail numbers. There is no law against jet owners re-registering them in different countries after they have been registered with a national authority, with processes not dissimilar to car registration. However, a consequence of re-registration is that it provides owners with a new level of anonymity. Analysts have said that some oligarchs appear to be enjoying frequent beach holidays, but flights to China, India and Iran are likely to be business-related as Russia considers these its largest markets for oil exports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has gone to meeting leaders of the G7 countries in Japan where they have tightened sanctions on Russia and pledged to increase the pressure. International support is a priority for Ukraine, as it prepares to counterattack against Russia and take back seized territory. Mr Zelensky has arrived in Japan on a French government jet and will meet US President Joe Biden who is expected to announce a new $375m military aid package for Ukraine, including warplanes and more artillery shells, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
Ukraine's military has developed the Toloka TLK-150, a drone submarine reportedly capable of so-called "loitering torpedo" attacks. The drone can travel just below the surface, where it is harder to detect and intercept. Its explosive payload targets the point below the waterline, potentially increasing the odds that any struck ship could be sunk, said naval expert HI Sutton. The Toloka TLK-150 is the first underwater drone completely designed and built in the Ukraine. If it proves successful, the manufacturer Brave1 will develop two more Toloka-class submarine drones.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed that his forces have captured the whole of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. His troops will leave the destroyed city on Thursday. This is the latest claim in a confusing dispute between the Ukrainian military and Mr Prigozhin over the city. Ukrainian officials immediately denied that the mercenary group had taken the city, insisting that they were still fighting for it. There has been fighting in only a few roads inside Bakhmut’s northwest region. Analysts have said that Wagner mercenary forces have lost tens of thousands of men fighting in Bakhmut, with most of the troops being convicted criminals recruited from Russian prisons. Prigozhin is known for being one of Vladimir Putin’s most loyal allies, and has many times before accused Russia’s military leadership of causing unnecessary deaths.
Russian mercenary group Wagner is said to be in control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a claim which has been rejected by Ukrainian officials. Wagner has been leading efforts to take the eastern city for months, and has made similar claims of having seized it before, always denied by Ukraine. The latest claim by Wagner was immediately followed by explosions heard nearby, suggesting fighting continues. While Bakhmut is of little strategic value to Russia, Ukraine sees it as a bellwether of its national morale, and hopes that Russia’s subsequent heavy losses and army exhaustion will blunt the ability to conduct further attacks.
