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Zhirinovsky, Putin’s ultranationalist ally and clown, has died at the age of 75

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Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a Russian ultranationalist politician, died at the age of 75, after a career marked by fiery remarks and absurd antics.

He ran for president six times and was a member of the official opposition that President Vladimir Putin tolerated. He appeared to predict Russia’s attack on Ukraine in December. He claimed to have received eight doses of Covid-19 vaccine. After being admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, he contracted coronavirus and died a few weeks later.

After two earlier reports had been discounted, parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin finally confirmed his death on Wednesday.

“A man who deeply understood how the world works and foresaw a lot,” he said of Zhirinovsky, who was always in the thick of things. During his more than 30-year political career, Zhirinovsky’s brand of clownish ultranationalism shocked and entertained Russians.

He claimed in the early 1990s that he fantasised about the day “when Russian soldiers will be able to wash their boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.” In one of his final appearances before MPs, he predicted that Russia would invade Ukraine and predicted the date almost to the minute.

From the Baltics and Germany to Japan and the Middle East, he faced similar threats throughout his career. When he threw juice in the face of a political rival, Boris Nemtsov, during a TV debate, he became famous around the world.

He ran a Soviet state-approved Jewish cultural organisation before entering politics. His Liberal Democratic Party of Russia was the country’s first official post-communist political party, and he was widely regarded as a Soviet stooge at the time. When his party won Russia’s first democratic elections in 1993, Russians and the rest of the world were stunned.

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Ukraine War: A family’s attempt to flee the Ukraine war ends in tragedy

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The drone footage shows three cars speeding along an empty main road just outside Kyiv, Ukraine, before turning around and racing back – all but one.

This white car makes a U-turn, but then comes to a complete stop. A man takes a step forward and raises his hands. His body then collapses to the ground. Russian soldiers appear a short time later. A soldier walks an elderly woman and her child away from the car. Maksim Iovenko was the man on the ground. Russian forces stationed along the roadside shot and killed the 31-year-old. His wife, Ksenia, was also killed in the vehicle.

Their six-year-old son and an elderly family friend who was with them managed to flee, though she was injured and remains hospitalised. On March 7, Maksim and his family were part of a convoy of about ten cars of civilians attempting to reach Kyiv from the city’s western outskirts, which had become a conflict zone.

It was filmed and widely shared by a Ukrainian territorial defence group conducting aerial reconnaissance. Sergiy says he knew something was wrong when a friend of Maksim’s who was in the convoy called him to tell him the news. When he picked up the phone, there was silence, until the friend finally said, “Stay strong, your son and daughter-in-law are gone.” Maksim worked for a travel agency in Kyiv, and it was there that he met Ksenia. Sergiy describes his son as a loving family man who enjoys singing karaoke. But, he claims, his most important hobby was spending time with his family. “He adored his son, and this was his life’s work.”

Sergiy and his family, like many other Ukrainians, did not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade. Maksim assumed that once Putin did, Kyiv would be one of the first cities to be shelled.

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Orban faces toughest election challenge in Hungary as a result of Russia’s war

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The headline in the tabloid Metropol, distributed to morning commuters flocking through Budapest’s Western Station, screams, “Peace or War.” In the box next to the “peace” option, there’s a nice blue cross.

That is Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party’s campaign slogan as it seeks a record fourth consecutive term in office in Sunday’s elections. After 12 years in power, they are facing their first serious challenge from a coalition of six opposition parties led by Peter Marki-Zay. The race has been accelerated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Hungary shares a border with Ukraine and has so far taken in more than 500,000 refugees. Mr. Orban insists that the only way to keep Hungary out of the war is for him to help the people while refusing to supply weapons to Ukraine. Although his party’s slogan of “peace or war” is simplistic, it is effective. And it’s broadcast, printed, and illuminated in large letters everywhere in Hungary.

It disrupts any music you’re listening to on YouTube, as well as videos featuring international coverage of the Ukraine conflict. According to a group of critical monitoring organisations, the government has spent eight times more on its campaign than all of the opposition parties combined.

The fact that the ruling party enjoys the support of a largely compliant media also helps. On the other hand, the opposition’s catchphrase is “Orban or Europe.”
Their candidate, Peter Marki-Zay, proposes that Hungary join Poland, the United Kingdom, and others in providing arms to Ukraine. Should consider sending troops if called upon, but only within a Nato framework.

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Ukrainian boy, 4, refused visa to UK over passport,according to his family

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According to his family, a four-year-old Ukrainian refugee was denied entry to the UK because his passport had recently expired.

Inesse Gwynne, Platan’s great-aunt who wants to bring him to Stockport, said his visa application was denied. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the youngster and his mother Ruslana fled to Italy, but only made it that far.

The Home Office stated that it is “moving as quickly as possible” to ensure that Ukrainians can find safe haven in the United Kingdom. Ms Gwynne wanted to bring her relatives to her Greater Manchester home, but they “don’t know what to do” after being told “they can’t come.”

“We’d like to have them as part of our family. We want to take care of them “she stated “We’d like to send Platan to nursery, but we won’t be able to.” Ruslana, who graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in art in 2009, still has friends and connections in the city, according to Ms Gwynne.

“Surely, this minor detail in a child’s passport can be overlooked,” she added.

“It had only been a few weeks since it had expired. What difference does it make?” The government launched the Ukraine family scheme earlier this month, allowing Ukrainians to join family members in the UK or extend their stay. The application process is free, and those who are accepted will be able to live, work, and study in the United Kingdom while also having access to government funds.

“We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing horrific persecution in Ukraine can find safety in the UK, setting up both the Ukraine family scheme and now the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which allows those without family connections to come here,” a spokesperson for the Home Office said.

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Ukraine War: Oksana Baulina, a Russian journalist, was killed in shelling in Kyiv

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In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a Russian journalist was killed during shelling by Russian forces.

Oksana Baulina had been reporting for investigative website The Insider from Kyiv and the western city of Lviv, the outlet said in a statement. It added that she died while filming damage in the city’s Podil district. Baulina had previously worked for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation before leaving the country.

The foundation was declared illegal and extremist by the authorities last year, forcing many of its employees to flee to other countries. Another person was killed and two others were injured in the shelling, according to reports. Baulina had previously sent several reports from Kyiv and Lviv in western Ukraine.

To the reporter’s family and friends, the publication expressed its “heartfelt condolences.” In a month of war, Baulina is one of five journalists known to have been killed. During shelling of the TV transmission tower in Kyiv in early March, Yevhenii Sakun, a camera operator for Ukrainian TV channel LIVE who also worked for the Spanish news agency EFE, was killed.

Brent Renaud, a 50-year-old American journalist and filmmaker, was shot and killed while filming in the town of Irpin outside of Kyiv two weeks later. Two days later, on the outskirts of Kyiv, two Fox News journalists, cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and Oleksandra Kuvshinova, 24, were killed when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire.

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Russia Ukraine War: In Kharkiv, a Holocaust survivor was killed by Russian shelling

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During a Russian attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv, a Ukrainian man who survived the Nazi Holocaust during WWII was killed. Boris Romantschenko, 96, died on Friday as a result of Russian shelling of his apartment block, according to relatives.

For more than three weeks, Russian forces have been shelling Kharkiv, which is only 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the Russian border. According to Ukrainian officials, at least 500 civilians have been killed there. One of the victims has been identified as a nine-year-old boy, according to police. Mr Romantschenko’s death has left the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation “deeply disturbed.”

After being informed by his family, the organisation, of which Mr Romantschenko was vice-president, announced the news, saying he had “worked intensely on the memory of Nazi crimes.” “We are saddened by the death of a close friend. We send our heartfelt condolences to his son and granddaughter, who broke the sad news to us “The statement of the foundation has been added. Mr. Romantschenko’s death comes more than three weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to justify his invasion by telling the Russian people that his goal was to “de-Nazify Ukraine.” These claims have been condemned by Western leaders, who have pointed out that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish.

Mr. Romantschenko was born on January 20, 1926, in the north-eastern city of Bondari. Following the invasion of the Soviet Union, he was apprehended by Nazi troops and deported to Germany in 1942, where he was forced to work as a slave, according to the foundation. Following a failed escape attempt in 1943, he was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where 56,545 people were murdered before the allies liberated the camp in 1945.

He was also stationed in the Mittelbau-Dora subcamp, as well as the notorious Bergen Belsen and Peenemünde camps.

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In Ukraine, Russia claims to have fired the first hypersonic Kinzhal missile

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According to Russia’s defence ministry in Moscow, a hypersonic ballistic missile was fired and destroyed a large underground arms depot in western Ukraine. If confirmed, it would be Russia’s first use of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane, in this war.

Russia’s investment in hypersonic missiles, which can travel at more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5, has been emphasised by President Vladimir Putin on several occasions. According to Russian officials, the Kinzhal can hit a target up to 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) away and travel at speeds of over 6,000 kilometres per hour. But does this make them any more dangerous than other missiles or even artillery, both of which can kill and destroy just as many people?

“I don’t think it’s that significant,” says James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nuclear policy expert. “I’m not sure how much of a competitive advantage Russia gets from hypersonic missiles.”

Last December, President Putin boasted that Russia was the world leader in hypersonic missiles, which are difficult to track because they can change direction in mid-flight. Russia released a video of a missile strike on an arms depot in Deliatyn, a village in south-western Ukraine only 100 kilometres from Romania’s border. “It’s a sign of dexterity. Even if it is used, we should regard it as a one-off event because Russia has a limited number of these missiles “Dominika Kunertova of the Zurich-based Center for Security Studies agreed.

The Kinzhal was unveiled four years ago by Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of a series of “invincible” weapons that he claimed could evade enemy defences. The Zirkon and the Avangard are the other hypersonic missiles, with the Avangard being faster and having a much longer range. The Kinzhal can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, and recent reports claim that MiG-31 fighters have been dispatched to Kaliningrad, putting a number of European capitals within striking distance. The attack on the arms depot was launched from an unknown location.

Despite the fact that the Iskander-M has a much shorter range than the air-launched missile, Ukraine’s defence ministry claimed this week that Russia had fired nearly all of its Iskander missiles in the first 20 days of the conflict. Russian forces have fired over 1,080 missiles since February 24, according to a US defence official quoted on Friday.

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Putin praises the annexation of Crimea and the war as lessons in heroism

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Eight years after Russian troops seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the event is being commemorated in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium with flag-waving crowds and special lessons in schools. In front of the crowd, President Vladimir Putin made a special appearance.

Workers for the state claimed they had been ordered to participate. Teachers held lessons in schools to commemorate the “Crimean spring.” The Russian army has seized towns and cities along Ukraine’s south coast from its bases in Crimea. Mr. Putin has used the anniversary to emphasize his love for the motherland on several occasions.

Officials claimed that over 200,000 people had gathered at the stadium, but the figures could not be confirmed. The stadium holds an official capacity of 81,000 people, but there were large crowds outside as well. President Putin praised the military for demonstrating Russian unity, saying: “When necessary, they act as brothers, shielding each other from bullets with their bodies. We haven’t seen such unity in a long time.” He also repeated the lie that Russian troops were preventing genocide in eastern Ukraine.

In what the Kremlin later described as a technical glitch, his address on almost every major state TV channel abruptly cut to singer Oleg Gazmanov belting out the words “Forward, Russia” as he spoke on stage. Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, spoke at the event, as did Margarita Simonyan, a top state television journalist, and Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.

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Burger King’s Russian partner “refuses” to close locations

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Despite demands to close the 800 Burger King locations in Russia, the company’s owner said the operator “refused” to do so. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Restaurant Brands said it had contacted its local partner, Alexander Kolobov, to close the stores.

However, it stated that “complicated” contracts with overseas partners prevent it from “walking away” from these agreements. Many Western companies have shut down or suspended operations in Russia. However, a small number of companies, including Burger King and UK retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S), have been unable to do so due to “complex” legal arrangements involving franchise partners. “We contacted the main operator of the business and demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia,” Restaurant Brands International president David Shear wrote in a letter to employees. “He has steadfastly refused to do so.” Mr. Shear went on to say that any changes to the local Burger King would “ultimately require the support of Russian authorities on the ground, which we know will not happen anytime soon.”

Burger King first arrived in Russia ten years ago. It trades there through a joint venture with Mr Kolobov, who is the business’s main day-to-day operator, as well as VTB Capital of Russia and a Ukrainian investment firm. VTB Capital is a subsidiary of VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest bank, which has been sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. Restaurant Brands owns a minority 15 percent stake in the Russian joint venture, which is currently being wound down, according to Mr. Shear. “While we would like to do this right away, the terms of our existing joint venture agreement make it clear that it will take some time,” he said. Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands has ceased to support Russia’s supply chain, operations, and marketing. It will also turn down new investment and expansion proposals in Russia.

Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Western companies are still under pressure to leave the country. A group of four Ukrainian MPs told UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday that M&S is still open in Russia. Meanwhile, German automaker Audi has warned that the conflict in Ukraine will disrupt supply chains “significantly.”

“We will see tremendous interference with all supply chains, not just the chip business, but any international supply chains,” said Hildegard Wortmann, an Audi executive.

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Russia Ukraine War: Fourth Russian general killed in Ukraine conflict

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Another Russian general has been killed in the fighting, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Although he did not name the officer, a Ukrainian interior ministry adviser said Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev was killed by the far-right Azov Battalion.

Ukrainian media reported that Gen Mityaev was killed near Mariupol. He is the fourth Russian general to be reported killed, prompting some to wonder why such senior military figures are stationed so close to the front lines. Analysts estimate that around 20 generals are leading Russian operations in Ukraine, implying that one-fifth of Russia’s generals have been killed in action if all reported deaths are confirmed.

Because of the high number of casualties, some experts believe that the generals were not simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that Ukraine is likely targeting top-ranking Russian officers. “This is not an accident, in my opinion. One is an accident, but the rest are planned “, Georgetown University’s Rita Konaev said.

A source close to President Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine had a military intelligence team dedicated to targeting Russia’s officer class. “They’re looking for high-profile generals, pilots, and artillery commanders,” the source said. With Ukraine’s military outmanned, Ms Konaev believes that targeting high-ranking officials could be an important part of the information war.

Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev is said to have died near Mariupol, a city in southeast Ukraine that has seen some of the most intense fighting so far. The far-right Azov Battalion claims responsibility for his death. He was the commander of the Russian army’s 150th motorised rifle division, which was formed in 2016 and is based near the Ukrainian border in the Rostov region. Although Russia denies that its military was involved in fighting in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, Ukraine claims that the unit was created to participate in the conflict there.

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