Russia is interested in ending the Ukraine conflict ‘as soon as possible,’ Foreign Minister Lavrov says
White House seeking more frequent and routine access to American reporter detained in Russia
From CNN’s Maegan Vazquez
The White House wants for more frequent and routine access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia, following US Ambassador Lynne Tracy’s visit to see him earlier Monday.
Tracy wrote in a tweet that she had visited Gershkovich – designated by the US as wrongfully detained – at Lefortovo Prison, marking “the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago.”
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said the US is “certainly grateful” for consular access to the journalist.
“As I think you saw from the embassy in Moscow, he appears to be in good health. And considering the circumstances, in relatively good spirits,” he said.
Kirby told reporters that the administration wants “to have regular and routine ability” for consular access “to see Evan and to talk to Evan.”
“That’s the goal,” he said. ”It was good to see him today and, again, we want to make sure we can continue to do that.”
UK investigating whether to sanction everyone involved in Kara-Murza’s trial, minister says
From CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite in London
UK officials are investigating the possibility of sanctioning everyone involved in the trial of British-Russian Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell told said Monday.
Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he publicly criticized the Ukraine war.
Mitchell was speaking in the House of Commons after the Conservative chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns asked an urgent question on the sentencing, calling it a “farce.”
British nationals are “not safe anymore to remain in Russia,” Kearns said.
“This trial, Mr. Speaker, was conducted behind closed doors, no diplomats or observers were allowed in, the defense was not allowed proper time to prepare,” Mitchell said, adding that the Russian ambassador has been summoned “and is expected to arrive shortly, “where we will be looking specifically at the issue of healthcare and medicine that it is available.
“In the issue of sanctions, we have already sanctioned for the judge and the jailer under the Magnitsky propositions because they were involved in that case,” the minister said.“And I have instructed officials to investigate the possibility of sanctioning everyone who was involved in this trial. And we expect, within the next week, to come forward with a package of further measures in this respect,” the minister added.
Russian punk band frontman speaks out at concert in support of schoolgirl who drew anti-war picture
From CNN’s Josh Pennington
The frontman of Russian punk band Naiv, Alexander Ivanov, spoke out in support of schoolgirl Masha Moskalyov, who drew an anti-war picture at school, at a concert in Moscow on Saturday.
Masha Moskalyova had been briefly placed in an orphanage after her father, Alexey Moskalyov, who was raising Masha alone, was charged with “discrediting the Russian military” for expressing anti-war sentiments
Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with her name, Ivanov said, “Friends, I’m seizing this opportunity. I can’t let it pass me by.”
“This Masha Moskaleva case somehow won’t let me go. Maybe because my daughter is the same age as her. She is 14, and Masha is 13. Friends, I want to urge you: Google this case, find out what happened there, and feel horrified at what happened to Masha and her family for the drawing she made in her art class,” he said at the concert.
More on the case: In April 2022, Masha drew a picture of Russian missiles being fired at a Ukrainian family and wrote “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine” during her art class, according to the Russian independent news outlet, Mediazona. Her school subsequently called the police.
Russia is interested in ending the Ukraine conflict “as soon as possible,” Foreign Minister Lavrov says
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
Russia is “interested” in ending the conflict in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday during a news conference with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Brasilia.
Lavrov also thanked his Brazilian colleagues for the “excellent understanding” of the situation in Ukraine, and said Russia is grateful for Brazil’s “desire to contribute” to the search for possible solutions.
The Russian foreign minister is also expected to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva today, according to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry’s schedule published online.
Ukraine has repeatedly said that peace in the conflict will only be achieved if Russia restores the country’s borders and Kyiv takes back Crimea.
“Real peace means restoring the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. Real peace means a safe homeland for the targeted people in the Ukrainian Crimea,” Ukrainain Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an address last week to the Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest.
“I reiterated Brazil’s stance in contributing to a peaceful solution to the conflict, reminding President Lula’s manifestations in seeking the formation of a group of friendly countries to mediate the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine,” Vieira said in a televised press conference.
Vieira also highlighted Brazil’s stance against unilateral sanctions.
“Such measures, in addition to having the approval of the security council of the United Nations, also have a negative impact on the economy all over the world, and in particular in underdeveloped countries, most of whom haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic,” Vieira said.
Leaked US documents reveal both Ukraine and Russia hold mix hands for next phase of war
Analysis from CNN’s Tim Lister
There are several significant takeaways from the leaked US documents about the course of the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian ground forces in the country are approaching exhaustion and there are few reinforcements available. Ukrainian air defenses are depleted, making any counteroffensive vulnerable to Russian air superiority.
And the United States does not expect the war to end this year.
The 53 documents reviewed by CNN provide a snapshot of capabilities and vulnerabilities as perceived by the US Defense Department in the first quarter of this year.
Snapshots are inherently risky: Circumstances change, as do resources and intentions. But the documents tend to confirm that Ukrainian forces are preparing for an offensive and that Russia is putting extensive effort into holding what it already has, while looking to aviation to blunt any Ukrainian attacks.
And if the Russians were unaware of the way the Ukrainian military would design its counteroffensive, the documents may have given them some useful indicators.
Russian brigades mauled: Several of the documents, which appear to date largely from February and March, tend to confirm that Russia has committed the vast majority of its army battalions to its war on in Ukraine. Despite the mobilization last autumn, which potentially added 300,000 soldiers to the Russian ranks, a significant minority of these battalions are described as “combat ineffective” — short of men and equipment.
One document says that 527 out of 544 available Russian battalions are committed to the operation, and 474 are already inside Ukraine. A substantial number are deployed in the south of the country — with an estimated 23,000 personnel in Zaporizhzhia and another 15,000 in Kherson. That suggests the Russians expect any Ukrainian offensive to target that region.
But in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, for example, 19 out of 91 battalions were adjudged as “combat ineffective.”
Russia still has vast inventories of hardware, but the documents suggest that some of the best has already been lost, and older, less reliable armor is being dusted off. One says that Russia continued to fall behind stated goals for replenishing equipment and personnel, and was incorporating “older, less accurate munitions systems.”
Open skies: While Ukraine’s ground forces may be in better shape than the enemy’s, especially once 12 new brigades mentioned in one leak are fully trained and equipped, its reliance on Soviet-era air defenses points to a growing vulnerability, according to the documents obtained by CNN. This in turn may give the Russian air force freedom of the skies to blunt any Ukrainian ground offensive.
One of the leaked documents detailed how Ukrainian stocks of Soviet-era medium-range air defense missiles were severely depleted. Ominously, it suggested that Ukraine had run out of munitions for the highly capable German-made Iris-T air defense system by February.
Ukrainian officials are constantly asking Western partners for more air defense weaponry and one document talks of a three- to six-month window in which to solicit further Western contributions.
Read more of the analysis.
Jailed Kremlin critic Kara-Murza’s health is deteriorating, lawyer says
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
A lawyer for jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza has warned of his deteriorating health, in comments outside court following his sentencing on Monday.
“The problem is that we are concerned about his state of health. As you know, Vladimir survived two poisonings in 2015 and 2017, from which he was recovering for a very long and difficult time,” lawyer Maria Eismont said on the steps of the Moscow City Court.
“Now, while he was already in custody, a number of symptoms associated with numbness of limbs and nerve failure have worsened,” she said.
Eismont said Kara-Murza was first diagnosed with polyneuropathy – a condition that develops when nerves in the body’s extremities are damaged – when he was taken for an examination to a civilian hospital in Moscow at the end of March.
According to Eismont, the results of the examination showed serious problems with the nerves in both his legs and one arm.
“The diagnosis of polyneuropathy is on the list of diseases that prevent serving a sentence,” she said.
Last month, Kara-Murza could not be taken to the courthouse from the pre-trial detention center due to his deteriorating health, according to a Facebook post from another lawyer in his legal team, Vadim Prokhorov. Prokhorov said that the opposition politician’s health has significantly deteriorated.
Some context: The Moscow City Court on Monday sentenced Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison in the case of treason, discrediting the army and participating in the activities of an undesirable organization.
In addition to the jail time, he was sentenced to restriction of movement for six months after his release, banned from working in journalism for seven years after release and ordered to pay a fine of 400,000 roubles (roughly $5,000).
Russia’s oil exports rebound to pre-war levels
From CNN’s Anna Cooban
Russia’s oil exports have bounced back to levels last seen before it invaded Ukraine, despite a barrage of Western sanctions.
Moscow’s exports of crude oil and oil products rose in March to their highest level since April 2020, jumping by 600,000 barrels a day, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil report Friday. The rise lifted Russia’s estimated revenue from oil exports to $12.7 billion last month.
The revenue is still down 43% from a year ago, the IEA said, as Russia is forced to sell its barrels to a more limited pool of customers who can negotiate greater discounts.
Some background: Western countries have imposed a raft of sanctions on Moscow’s energy exports since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in February last year. The most significant is a ban on Russian seaborne crude imports into the European Union and a ban on refined oil products such as diesel into the bloc.
But Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of crude, has found willing buyers in China and India to replace European customers.
Read more about this here.
Jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny condemns Kara-Murza’s verdict as “shameless and simply fascist”
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has strongly condemned the 25-year prison sentence handed Monday to fellow Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, describing it as “shameless” and “simply fascist.”
In an audio statement shared by his team, Navalny referred to Kara-Murza’s conviction as “illegal, shameless, and simply fascist.”
Navalny said he believed the verdict was politically motivated and expressed support for Kara-Murza and his family.
He also expressed deep concern about Kara-Murza’s health.
“The term that he [Vladimir Kara-Murza] received is revenge for the fact that he did not die at one time, having survived 2 poisonings, which were apparently committed, and this has already been proven, by the FSB of Russia,” he added.
Russian authorities have disputed Russia’s involvement in those incidents.
US ambassador to Moscow visits detained Wall Street Journal reporter in prison
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
US Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, on Monday visited detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the US embassy said on Twitter.
“I visited WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich today at Lefortovo Prison – the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago,” Tracy said in the tweet.
“He is in good health and remains strong. We reiterate our call for his immediate release,” the post said.
The US designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained earlier this month, which gives further backing to the assertions by the US government and the Wall Street Journal that the espionage charges against the reporter are baseless. It will also empower the Biden administration to explore avenues such as a prisoner swap to try to secure Gershkovich’s release.
See the embassy’s tweet:
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-04-17-23/index.html
