VLADIMIR Putin's war is pushing up UK energy bills – but Ukrainians are "paying in blood" warned Boris Johnson
Yesterday marked Ukraine's Independence Day, but also the day of the six-month anniversary since Russia launched the bloodthirsty attack on the nation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv, announcing: "What happens in Ukraine matters to us all, which is why I am here today to deliver the message that the United Kingdom is with you and will be with you for the days and months ahead, and you can and will win."
But the PM also warned: "If we're paying in our energy bills for the evils of Vladimir Putin, the people of Ukraine are paying in their blood."
Supply issues linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine are one reason behind rapidly rising power bills.
Recent warnings suggest the average amount UK households pay for their gas and electricity could reach £6,000 next year.
The UK has also pledged a further £54 million worth of aid, including military munitions and weapons.
Read our Ukraine-Russia blog below for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
'Animal-loving' Ukrainian sniper rescues abandoned pets from battlefield
An "animal-loving" Ukrainian sniper and her husband fighting on the frontline have rescued dozens of pets after discovering them abandoned on the battlefield.
Oskana Krasnova, 27, uses her wages to pay for food and supplies to nurse the animals back to health before arranging for them to be transported on military vehicles to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to be rehomed.
Ms Krasnova had previously worked as a lawyer in the capital until Russia invaded the country six months ago and she joined the Ukrainian frontline defence, fighting in the Donetsk region.
In between working as snipers, Ms Krasnova and her husband Stanislav Krasnov, 35, have rescued almost 30 pets they have discovered when passing through abandoned villages.
Speaking to the PA news agency from the frontline, Ms Krasnova said: "I love animals a lot and I used to help rescue animals with my husband even before the Russian invasion.
"I come across a lot of abandoned pets when I am going about my duties and I can't just leave them.
"It's hard to evacuate animals from the frontline but these poor pets have been used to living with humans so they can't survive on their own.
"I have my own pets who are being looked after by my parents in Kyiv and I could never dream of abandoning them."
- Joseph Gamp
The UK has imported zero fuel from Russia for the first time
Russian goods imported to the UK have fallen dramatically since t hebrutal invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Office of National Statistics, Britain's imports from Russia have dropped by £33 million for the first time since 1997.
Since June this year, the Office of National Statistics reported that the UK has imported no fuel from Russia at all.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukraine-Russia war: Everything you need to know
All you need to know about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Everything you need to know about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine…
- Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
- Will the UK go to war?
- How can I join the Ukraine foreign legion?
- What can I do to help Ukraine?
- Who is Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky?
- How much gas does the UK get from Russia?
- Is Russia a part of Nato?
- Does Russia have nuclear weapons?
- Why is Ukraine not in Nato?
- How big is the Russian army?
- What is Article 5 of the Nato treaty?
- What is the Minsk agreement?
- Which countries were in the Soviet Union?
- What does the Z mean on Russian tanks? Meaning behind symbols explained
- When will the Russia-Ukraine war end?
- Joseph Gamp
Ukraine spy chief says Russian offensive slowing due to fatigue
Ukraine’s top military intelligence official said Russia’s military offensive was slowing because of moral and physical fatigue in their ranks and Moscow’s “exhausted” resource base.
The remark on television by Defence Intelligence agency chief Kyrylo Budanov was one of the strongest signals by Kyiv that it believes Russia’s offensive power may be waning.
“Russia has rather seriously slowed down the tempo of its assault. The reason for this is the exhaustion of their resource base, as well as a moral and physical fatigue from the fighting,” he said.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier that Moscow had deliberately slowed down its campaign in Ukraine, something he said had been driven by the need to reduce civilian casualties.
Russia rapidly captured swathes of southern Ukraine in the beginning of the invasion launched by Moscow exactly six months ago, but was repelled from around Kyiv and withdrew to focus on the east.
Moscow claimed the capture of the eastern region of Luhansk in early July after a series of long, bloody battles, but it has not claimed any major territorial gains since.
Separately, Budanov said that the Russian air defence systems in the annexed peninsula of Crimea “don’t really work”.
- Joseph Gamp
Nearly 100 dead in attacks on Ukraine healthcare says WHO
There have been 473 verified attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia invaded six months ago, which have killed nearly 100 people, the WHO said Wednesday.
The World Health Organization’s Europe chief Hans Kluge branded the attacks “unconscionable”.
As well as the 98 people known to have been killed in verified attacks on healthcare, at least 134 others were wounded, the WHO’s figures showed.
Nearly 400 of the attacks hit health facilities. Dozens of attacks struck transport, including ambulances, while warehouses, supplies, personnel and patients were also damaged.
Jarno Habicht, the WHO’s representative in Ukraine, said the number of attacks on health care was unprecedented.
“These attacks are not only a violation of international law, they are also a barrier for many who need health care during the war,” he told reporters in Geneva, via video-link from a bunker in Dnipro.
Although the war had had a devastating impact on the health and lives of Ukraine’s people, the health system had not collapsed, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“But no system can deliver optimum health to its people under the stress of war, which is why we continue to call on the Russian Federation to end this war,” Tedros added.
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Boris meets Zelensky in Kyiv on Independence Day
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in Kyiv on Wednesday, hailing Ukraine’s six-month long resistance to the Russian invasion as his counterpart President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed the fight would continue “until the end”.
Yesterday marked half a year since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as the day the nation annually celebrates its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union.
During a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital – hounded by air raid sirens throughout the day – Johnson said Putin had failed to account for the “strong will of Ukrainians to resist”.
“You defend your right to live in peace, in freedom, and that’s why Ukraine will win,” he said in front of reporters during the afternoon.
- Joseph Gamp
French energy giant accused of fuelling Russian bombers
A Russian gas field partly owned by France’s TotalEnergies is being used to produce fuel for bombers striking targets in Ukraine, Le Monde daily reported Wednesday, a claim contested by the company.
Hydrocarbons from the Termokarstovoye gas field in Siberia are transformed into jet fuel, which can ultimately be tracked to two military airbases near the Ukrainian border, the journalists wrote.
Squadrons based there have been accused by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of attacks on civilians, including the March 16 bombing of a Mariupol theatre where hundreds of people are believed to have died in what Amnesty described as a “war crime”.
TotalEnergies — formerly Total — owns 49 percent of Terneftegaz, the company that extracts gas from the Termokarstovoye field, according to its 2021 annual report.
The other 51 percent is held by Russian company Novatek, in which the French firm also holds a 19.4 percent stake.
Le Monde wrote that natural gas condensates — a liquid hydrocarbon recovered when extracting the gas itself — are sent by pipeline for processing at a Novatek plant in Purovsky.
- Joseph Gamp
Germany vows to support Ukraine as long as necessary
Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday assured Kyiv of Germany’s support for as long as necessary, as Ukraine marked both its independence day and six months since the start of the Russian invasion.
“Germany… stands firmly by the side of the threatened Ukraine today and for as long as Ukraine needs our support,” Scholz said in a video posted on Twitter.
“We will continue to supply weapons” and “train Ukrainian soldiers on the latest European military equipment”, Scholz said after announcing fresh deliveries worth more than 500 million euros ($500 million) on Tuesday.
The new tranche of weapons — including three IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems as well as armed recovery vehicles and rocket-launchers — is mostly earmarked for delivery in 2023.
“We will continue our sanctions. We will support Ukraine financially and help rebuild the destroyed cities and villages,” Scholz said.
The chancellor also said Berlin would be hosting an international reconstruction conference in October to help set “the course for the future of Ukraine”.
- Joseph Gamp
Belarus congratulates Ukraine on Independence Day
The authoritarian leader of ex-Soviet Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday congratulated Ukraine on its Independence Day, saying that “today’s contradictions” should not destroy long-term neighbourly ties with the pro-Western country.
Wednesday also marked six months since the start of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, which Russia launched from several directions, including from Belarusian territory.
“I am convinced that today’s contradictions will not be able to destroy the centuries-old foundation of sincere good neighbourly ties between the peoples of our two countries,” Lukashenko said in a statement released by his press service.
“Belarus will continue to stand for the preservation of harmony, the development of friendly, mutually respectful contacts at all levels,” it added.
Belarus relies financially and politically on its close ally Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin backed Lukashenko when he faced an international backlash and Western sanctions for his crackdown on 2020 protests against his re-election for a sixth term.
Western countries have slapped Belarus with new sanctions this year for its role in Russia’s Ukraine offensive launched on February 24.
Lukashenko allowed Russian troops into the country under the pretext of military exercises in the months before Moscow launched its military operation.
- Joseph Gamp
Pope warns of potential ‘nuclear disaster’ at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant
Pope Francis yesterday called for “concrete steps” to end the war in Ukraine and avert the risk of a “nuclear disaster” at the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Speaking at his weekly general audience, Francis went off script to condemn wars as “madness” and, referring to Darya Dugina, said the woman killed by a car bomb near Moscow was among “innocents” killed because of war.
He also said arms merchants who profit from war are “delinquents who kill humanity”.
- Joseph Gamp
Ben Wallace REJECTS blanket ban on visas for Russians
The Defence Secretary today rejected the idea of a blanket ban on visas for Russians but insisted “we can toughen up the conditions”.
Ben Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I certainly think we can toughen up the conditions of our visas. I am not sure whether an outright ban is the right way.
“I think that’s a matter for the Home Secretary to look at. But I don’t like, and I’m sure none of your listeners like watching oligarchs’ wives or indeed Russian senior officials’ wives enjoying themselves in Greece or south of France, or super yachts around the world while their army is committing war crimes in Ukraine.
“I think that is very wrong. I think the problem has been all the way back to 2014, that Russia invaded Crimea, illegally annexed it, and then it was allowed in some countries to carry on as if nothing had really changed.”
- Joseph Gamp
Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow is committed to Ukraine grain deal
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Russia is committed to a Turkish-brokered deal to unblock grain exports from Ukraine struck in Istanbul last month.
Writing on Telegram, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia is “entirely committed” to the deal.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow is committed to Ukraine grain deal
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Russia is committed to a Turkish-brokered deal to unblock grain exports from Ukraine struck in Istanbul last month.
Writing on Telegram, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia is “entirely committed” to the deal.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
Flesh-melting ‘thermite bombs’ that burn to the bone rain down on Ukrainian town
Terrifying footage shows the night sky in Marinka lit up by a chilling rain of sparkling, burning thermite – a killer chemical mixture.
By Imogen Braddick.
The video, taken through a smashed window by someone sheltering inside a building, shows a huge area of the town in the Donetsk region being showered with the horror bombs.
Ukrainian journalists shared the video on Twitter – describing it as the "scariest footage of thermite shelling" they had ever seen.
Marinka is on the frontline of Putin's war in Ukraine as Moscow tries to gain control of the Donbas region – made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.
Thermite, a mixture of metal powder and metal oxide, is used in the making of incendiary bombs.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
UK pledges £54 million of aid for Ukraine on Independence Day
As Ukraine celebrates Independence Day, Boris Johnson announced further military aid for the nation.
It is also six months to the day since Russia waged its blood thirsty war on Ukrainians.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 850 hand-launched Black Hornet micro-drones and munitions will be given to the Ukrainian military.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
Boris Johnson blames Russia for Brit's high energy bills
The PM, who is set to be replaced this September, spoke during his surprise visit to Kyiv earlier today.
He said Putin and Russia's war on Ukraine is to blame for Europe's energy crisis, and that it is the cause of rising bills.
"What happens in Ukraine matters to us all, which is why I am here today to deliver the message that the United Kingdom is with you and will be with you for the days and months ahead, and you can and will win," Boris Johnson said earlier today.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
Belarusian tennis player ditches Ukrainian aid event
Victoria Azarenka, Belarus' top tennis pro, has pulled out of the event.
The tennis player was set to attend Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition, but has now announced she will not be participating.
According to the United States Tennis Association, it would cause sensitivities for the Ukrainian tennis players.
It was set to kick off today, on Ukrainian Independence Day, at the Louis Armstrong venue.
Belarusian and Russian players were also banned from playing at Wimbledon this year.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
The UK has imported zero fuel from Russia for the first time
Reportedly Russian goods imported to the UK have fell dramatically sine it's brutal invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Office of National Statistics, Britain's imports from Russia have dropped by £33 million for the first time since 1997.
Since June this year, the Office of National Statistics reported that the UK has imported no fuel from Russia at all.
- Lauren Cole-Lomas
Boris Johnson's surprise visit to Ukraine on Independence Day
The British Prime Minister visited Kyiv and President Zelensky today.
PM Boris made his third visit to Ukraine in the six months since the war was waged by Russia.
Boris gave encouraging words, saying Ukraine "can and will win this war," calling Putin a "barbaric and illegal invader."
He spoke of how the west will need to weather the storm of inflation, due to the invasion of Ukraine.
"We know the coming winter will be tough and Putin will manipulate Russian energy supplies to try to torment households across Europe.
"Our first test as friends of Ukraine will be to face down and endure that pressure," he said during his visit.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukraine spy chief says Russian offensive slowing due to fatigue
Ukraine's top military intelligence official said on Wednesday that Russia's military offensive was slowing because of moral and physical fatigue in their ranks and Moscow's "exhausted" resource base.
The remark on television by Defence Intelligence agency chief Kyrylo Budanov was one of the strongest signals by Kyiv that it believes Russia's offensive power may be waning.
"Russia has rather seriously slowed down the tempo of its assault. The reason for this is the exhaustion of their resource base, as well as a moral and physical fatigue from the fighting," he said.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier that Moscow had deliberately slowed down its campaign in Ukraine, something he said had been driven by the need to reduce civilian casualties.
Russia rapidly captured swathes of southern Ukraine in the beginning of the invasion launched by Moscow exactly six months ago, but was repelled from around Kyiv and withdrew to focus on the east.
Moscow claimed the capture of the eastern region of Luhansk in early July after a series of long, bloody battles, but it has not claimed any major territorial gains since.
Separately, Budanov said that the Russian air defence systems in the annexed peninsula of Crimea "don't really work".
- Joseph Gamp
Nearly 100 dead in attacks on Ukraine healthcare says WHO
There have been 473 verified attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia invaded six months ago, which have killed nearly 100 people, the WHO said Wednesday.
The World Health Organization's Europe chief Hans Kluge branded the attacks "unconscionable".
As well as the 98 people known to have been killed in verified attacks on healthcare, at least 134 others were wounded, the WHO's figures showed.
Nearly 400 of the attacks hit health facilities. Dozens of attacks struck transport, including ambulances, while warehouses, supplies, personnel and patients were also damaged.
Jarno Habicht, the WHO's representative in Ukraine, said the number of attacks on health care was unprecedented.
"These attacks are not only a violation of international law, they are also a barrier for many who need health care during the war," he told reporters in Geneva, via video-link from a bunker in Dnipro.
Although the war had had a devastating impact on the health and lives of Ukraine's people, the health system had not collapsed, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"But no system can deliver optimum health to its people under the stress of war, which is why we continue to call on the Russian Federation to end this war," Tedros added.
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Boris meets Zelensky in Kyiv on Independence Day
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in Kyiv on Wednesday, hailing Ukraine's six-month long resistance to the Russian invasion as his counterpart President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed the fight would continue "until the end".
Wednesday marks half a year since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as the day the nation annually celebrates its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union.
During a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital – hounded by air raid sirens throughout the day – Johnson said Putin had failed to account for the "strong will of Ukrainians to resist".
"You defend your right to live in peace, in freedom, and that's why Ukraine will win," he said in front of reporters during the afternoon.
Boris Johnson and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky walk together in central Kyiv - Joseph Gamp
French energy giant accused of fuelling Russian bombers
A Russian gas field partly owned by France's TotalEnergies is being used to produce fuel for bombers striking targets in Ukraine, Le Monde daily reported Wednesday, a claim contested by the company.
Hydrocarbons from the Termokarstovoye gas field in Siberia are transformed into jet fuel, which can ultimately be tracked to two military airbases near the Ukrainian border, the journalists wrote.
Squadrons based there have been accused by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of attacks on civilians, including the March 16 bombing of a Mariupol theatre where hundreds of people are believed to have died in what Amnesty described as a "war crime".
TotalEnergies — formerly Total — owns 49 percent of Terneftegaz, the company that extracts gas from the Termokarstovoye field, according to its 2021 annual report.
The other 51 percent is held by Russian company Novatek, in which the French firm also holds a 19.4 percent stake.
Le Monde wrote that natural gas condensates — a liquid hydrocarbon recovered when extracting the gas itself — are sent by pipeline for processing at a Novatek plant in Purovsky.
- Joseph Gamp
Ben Wallace REJECTS blanket ban on visas for Russians
The Defence Secretary has rejected the idea of a blanket ban on visas for Russians but insisted “we can toughen up the conditions”.
Ben Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I certainly think we can toughen up the conditions of our visas. I am not sure whether an outright ban is the right way.
“I think that’s a matter for the Home Secretary to look at. But I don’t like, and I’m sure none of your listeners like watching oligarchs’ wives or indeed Russian senior officials’ wives enjoying themselves in Greece or south of France, or super yachts around the world while their army is committing war crimes in Ukraine.
“I think that is very wrong. I think the problem has been all the way back to 2014, that Russia invaded Crimea, illegally annexed it, and then it was allowed in some countries to carry on as if nothing had really changed.”
- Joseph Gamp
Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow is committed to Ukraine grain deal
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Russia is committed to a Turkish-brokered deal to unblock grain exports from Ukraine struck in Istanbul last month.
Writing on Telegram, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia is “entirely committed” to the deal.
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