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Evan Gershkovich: US journalist arrested in Russia appears in court

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A US journalist named Evan Gershkovich, who was working for the Wall Street Journal, has had his appeal against pre-trial detention rejected by a court in Russia. Mr. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg and charged with spying.

He appeared in court in Moscow for the first time, standing in a bullet-proof glass enclosure wearing jeans and a blue checked shirt, and gave a brief smile but did not address the reporters present. His lawyer and the US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, were also in attendance. This was the first public sighting of Mr. Gershkovich since his arrest.

The same court in Russia that convicted and sentenced Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza for treason on Monday rejected the appeal of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained on charges of spying while working for the Wall Street Journal.

Media was allowed to attend the hearing before being asked to leave and return later. The US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, who was present at the hearing, said that she had met Mr. Gershkovich for the first time on Monday and that he was in good health and strong despite the circumstances. Ms. Tracy called for Mr. Gershkovich’s immediate release, describing the charges against him as baseless.

More than 40 countries, led by the US, issued a joint statement at the UN on Monday demanding Mr. Gershkovich’s release and condemning Moscow’s treatment of the media. Mr. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of espionage.

According to Russian authorities, Evan Gershkovich was attempting to obtain classified defence information for the US government, a charge that he denies. His arrest is the first time since the Soviet era that Moscow has accused a US journalist of espionage.

Gershkovich was reportedly covering the Russian mercenary group Wagner in Yekaterinburg when he was detained. The Wall Street Journal has been providing legal support to Gershkovich, and US officials, including President Joe Biden and bipartisan senators, have condemned his detention.

His case is now being handled by the US special envoy for hostage affairs. The James Foley Legacy Foundation reported in 2022 that at least 65 Americans were being unfairly detained abroad.

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Ukraine conflict: President Zelensky condemns beheading video

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The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has urged world leaders to respond after a video emerged showing a Ukrainian soldier allegedly being beheaded by a Russian serviceman. The Ukrainian security service is investigating the incident as a “war crime”, while the Kremlin has called the video “awful” but said that its authenticity and the identity of those involved must be verified.

The graphic video, filmed on a mobile phone during the summer months, shows a man wearing a yellow armband, commonly used by Ukrainian soldiers, being beheaded by a man in military uniform wearing a white band, which is used as identification by Russian soldiers. The men can be heard speaking Russian, but it is unclear whether they are Russian soldiers or Ukrainians who speak Russian.

The graphic video shows a man with a yellow armband being beheaded by a man wearing a white band around his leg. The victim’s body armour has a trident mark, which is the state symbol of Ukraine, and also features what appears to be the Punisher symbol, a comic-book character. The location and date of the video remain unclear, as there are few visual clues to identify it.

However, it appears to have been filmed during the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia, where white and yellow armbands have been used as identification by opposing sides. The leaves in the video suggest that it may have been filmed in late spring or summer of last year. The video began circulating on Telegram after a pro-Kremlin blogger shared it with his followers.

After a pro-Kremlin blogger shared the video on Telegram, it spread to Twitter, and the authenticity of the video was called into question by the Kremlin, which said it needed to be verified. The EU foreign affairs spokeswoman emphasized that Russia must comply with international humanitarian law, and perpetrators of war crimes must be held accountable. Another video has also been circulating, showing a destroyed military vehicle and two bodies without heads or hands, which may suggest an alleged beheading. The victims appear to have been fighting on the Ukrainian side, and at least three soldiers can be seen standing over the bodies in the video.

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Darya Trepova: Russia releases video of suspect in cafe killing of Vladlen Tatarsky

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In their search for the perpetrators of the stabbing death of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russian investigators have apprehended a lady.

Darya Trepova is heard admitting she handed over a figurine that later blew up in a video that the authorities published, which was probably filmed under duress. She does not, however, claim in the video that she was aware of the impending explosion. She also denies any additional roles.

Authorities claimed they had proof the assault had been planned out of Ukraine. Officials in Kiev claimed that it was a case of Russian intramural conflict.

Injuries from the blast in Russia’s second-largest city exceeded 30. Late on Sunday, Tatarsky had been a guest speaker at a patriotic gathering with supporters in the cafe.

Images showed the box being placed on a table in the cafe before the woman sat down. Another video showed a statue being handed to Tatarsky.

In a brief excerpt of her interrogation released by the ministry, Darya Trepova, 26, appeared under duress as she sighed repeatedly.

When her interrogator asked if she knew why she was detained, she replied: “I would say for being at the scene of Vladlen Tatarsky’s murder… I brought the statuette there which blew up.”

Asked who gave it to her she responded: “Can I tell you later please?”

The “terror strike” was allegedly planned by Ukrainian special forces “with people cooperating with” Alexei Navalny, according to Russia’s anti-terrorism commission.

Later on, the investigation committee said that it had proof that it was “planned and organised from Ukrainian territory.” It stated that it was attempting to identify the “entire chain” of parties involved.

It was “extremely handy,” according to Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, for the Kremlin to point the finger at its critics since Navalny was about to face an extremist trial. The foundation has published a number of exposés on corruption involving the Putin entourage.

After his arrival back in Russia from Germany in January 2021, Navalny has been imprisoned. He survived a nerve toxin attack in Russia in August 2020 that the Russian FSB security was accused of carrying out.

Ivan Zhdanov, the head of the Foundation, claimed that all evidence pointed to FSB agents. Certainly, we have nothing to do with this, he continued, adding that Moscow needed both a local adversary in Navalny’s group and an external opponent in the form of Ukraine.

According to Russian media, Ms Trepova was detained in a St. Petersburg flat belonging by her husband’s acquaintance. She reportedly spent a couple of days in detention on the day of Russia’s complete invasion last year for taking part in a pro-war demonstration.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads Russia’s infamous Wagner mercenary force and has participated in much of the fighting in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, once operated the café, Street Food Bar No 1 along the River Neva.

Cyber Front Z, a group that describes itself as “Russia’s information troops,” claimed to have rented out the cafe for the evening, according to Prigozhin, who claimed to have given it to them.

Tatarsky, whose true name was Maxim Fomin, was honoured by Prigozhin in a late-night video that he claimed was shot at Bakhmut’s town hall.

He waved a flag that read, “in good memory of Vladlen Tatarsky,” and he did so.

Tatarsky was neither a Russian official nor a military officer, despite being a vociferous advocate of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. He had a criminal record like Prigozhin and was a well-known blogger with more than 500,000 subscribers.

Born in the eastern Ukrainian province of Donetsk, he claimed to have joined separatists who were supported by Russia when they released him from jail, where he was serving time for armed robbery.

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Russia assumes UN Security Council presidency despite Ukrainian anger

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Despite Ukraine pleading with other council members to oppose the action, Russia has assumed the leadership of the UN Security Council. On a rotating basis, each of the 15 council members has the presidency for one month.

In February 2022, when Russia last held the president, it started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It denotes that a nation whose president is wanted internationally for alleged war crimes is in charge of the Security Council.

The arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin was issued last month by the International Criminal Court, a non-UN body.

Notwithstanding Ukraine’s complaints, the US claimed it was powerless to prevent Russia, a permanent council member, from taking the helm. The United Kingdom, United States, France, and China are the council’s other permanent members.

Vasily Nebenzia, Moscow’s ambassador to the UN, informed the Russian Tass news agency that he intended to preside over numerous discussions, including one on arms control. The position is primarily procedural. He promised to talk about the “new world order” that will “replace the unipolar one.”

The Russian presidency has been dubbed “the worst April Fool’s joke ever” and a “stark warning that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning,” according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, criticised the decision as “another rape of international law… an entity that wages an aggressive war, violates standards of humanitarian and criminal law, tramples on the UN Charter, disregards nuclear safety, and can’t lead the world’s foremost security organisation.”

Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that the Security Council be reformed or “dissolved entirely,” accusing it of not doing enough to stop Russia’s invasion.

He has also demanded that Russia lose its membership. Yet, the US has claimed that because the UN charter forbids the removal of a permanent member, it is unable to act.

Russia blocked a resolution meant to put a stop to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of last year (China, India and the United Arab Emirates all abstained).

It rejected a resolution in September that demanded that its unlawful annexation of four Ukrainian territories be undone. India, China, Gabon, and Brazil did not vote.

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Poland to send four fighter jets to Ukraine ‘in coming days’

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Poland has announced that it will send four F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “in the coming days” to provide support to the country in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The move comes as tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to escalate, with Ukrainian officials reporting a significant buildup of Russian troops along the border.

According to Poland’s Defense Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, the jets will be sent to Ukraine as part of a joint military exercise between the two countries. He also stated that the exercise was intended to “increase the security of Poland and Ukraine” and “demonstrate our readiness to respond to any threat.”

The deployment of the jets has been met with criticism from Russia, with officials calling the move “provocative” and warning that it could lead to a further escalation of the conflict. However, Ukraine has welcomed the move, with President Volodymyr Zelensky thanking Poland for its support.

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia began in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Since then, fighting has erupted in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 13,000 people and has displaced millions.

The deployment of the fighter jets is seen as a show of support for Ukraine by Poland, which has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. It is also seen as a signal to Russia that Poland is prepared to defend its allies in the region.

In conclusion, Poland’s decision to send fighter jets to Ukraine is a significant development in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. While it has been met with criticism from Russia, it is a clear demonstration of Poland’s support for Ukraine and its willingness to defend its allies in the region.

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Ukraine war: Heavy losses reported as battle for Bakhmut rages

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As the conflict for Bakhmut continues, reports indicate that Russia and Ukraine have suffered significant losses. Moscow has been waging a gruelling war of attrition on eastern Ukraine for months.

Russian forces have lost more than 1,100 lives in the last several days, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and many more have been gravely injured. Over the previous 24 hours, more than 220 Ukrainian service members, according to Russia, have died.

Despite having minimal strategic worth, according to analysts, Bakhmut has become a focus for Russian commanders who have found it difficult to bring any good news to the Kremlin.

By taking the city, Russia would be a little bit closer to its objective of dominating the entire Donetsk region, one of the four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine that it annexed last September after holding fraudulent referendums that were roundly denounced outside of Russia.

Russian forces are being constrained, according to Ukrainian commanders who have committed major resources to the city’s defence, and their plan is to stop Moscow from launching any more offensives in the near future.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have reportedly been killed or injured in and around Bakhmut, according to Western officials.

A proposed proposal that was presented to the Russian parliament on Monday proposes to raise the age range for conscription from the existing 18–27 years to 21–30 years.

According to Reuters, the conscription age would be extended to 10 or 11 years in 2024 or 2025 rather than the customary nine years. This would increase the number of men who are eligible to serve in the military.

Russia’s previous attempt to draft thousands of new recruits into the Ukraine war met with some resistance. In September the announcement of a partial military mobilisation saw long queues form at border crossings as men of draft age sought to flee the call-up.

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Moscow Helsinki Group: Russia’s oldest human rights organisation told to close

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The oldest human rights organisation in Russia has been told by a court to shut down. The Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), which was established in 1976, publishes a yearly report on the state of human rights in Russia.

The authorities have recently stated that it does not possess the proper registration. It is the most recent in a string of closures aimed at opposition and human rights organisations across Russia.

The justice ministry sued to dissolve the organisation in December, claiming that it was only registered to protect human rights in Moscow and not elsewhere in the nation. The decision follows the filing of that complaint. Despite the MHG always working with a wider scope, this is the case.

At the time, the group referred to the action as “disproportionate” and asserted that it would go on operating “regardless of the preferences of the authorities.” According to a statement released by MHG on Wednesday, the organization’s co-chair warned the judge and justice ministry representatives that by shutting it down, they were “committing a major sin.”

Valery Borshov remarked, “You are ruining the human rights movement, you are destroying it. “The group’s dissolution is a significant blow to the human rights movement everywhere, not only in Russia,” The group claimed that the ad hoc inspections of the MHG by the justice ministry were unlawful, which was the basis for the case. It has stated that it will challenge the ruling.

It was founded by a group of well-known Soviet dissidents and named for the Helsinki Accords, a comprehensive international pact that the USSR signed and supported fundamental freedoms and human rights. After the Soviet Union’s fall, the group was reactivated in the early 1990s.

MHG has compared the treatment it has received from the Russian government to that of Memorial, a well-known human rights organisation that was shut down in 2021. The Journalists and Media Workers’ Union was among the numerous rights organisations that Moscow courts disbanded last year.

International human rights groups have sharply criticised the Russian government for what they see as a widespread crackdown on independent journalism and dissenting voices that has gotten worse since its invasion of Ukraine.

That includes top opposition figures, the majority of whom are now either in prison or exiled.

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Ukraine war: Chances of more survivors from Dnipro strike minimal – mayor

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After a Russian missile struck an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, the mayor of that city issued a dire warning that there might be no more survivors.

25 people died in the attack, while another 43 are still missing, according to local officials. Borys Filatov, the mayor of Dnipro, said there was a “limited” prospect of discovering any survivors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that military operations were going according to schedule while speaking to state television in Moscow. On Saturday, assaults that Moscow said were directed at Ukraine’s military and energy infrastructure also affected Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.

The nine-story building’s entryway was struck by the devastating attack in Dnipro, which reduced many levels to smouldering ruins.

The number of casualties, according to Mr. Filatov, is anticipated to be in the dozens. Ten of the about 70 people who needed medical attention were, according to him, “in a bad state.”

Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, referred to the missile strikes as “inhuman” and said that “Russia deliberately keeps on committing war crimes against civilians.”

In an effort to “push Russian troops back,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that his country will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv’s military forces on the same day that Russia launched its missile attack.

Moscow’s argument was that giving Ukraine more weaponry will result in increased Russian military activity and civilian losses.

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Soledar: Russia claims victory in battle for Ukraine salt mine town

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After a protracted fight, the Russian military claims to have taken control of the Ukrainian salt-mine town of Soledar, describing it as a “significant” milestone in its offensive.  According to an spokeswoman, the win would enable Russian troops to advance to the adjacent city of Bakhmut and cut off the Ukrainian forces there.

Moscow made a statement that was both incredibly confident and ambitious. Officials from Ukraine, however, claimed that the battle for Soledar was still ongoing and blamed Russia for “information noise.”

The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war. The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of just 10,000, and its strategic significance is debatable. But if it is confirmed that Russian forces have seized control of it, then there will likely be a big sigh of relief in the Kremlin.

Throughout the conflict, differences between the infamous Russian Wagner paramilitary group and the regular Russian forces have appeared, and a bitter turf war has developed about who should claim credit for the advance.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated this week that hardly any walls in Soledar are still standing. He spoke of the neighbouring countryside as being scarred by missile attacks and covered in Russian bodies, painting pictures that were nearly post-apocalyptic.

Andriy Yermak, his chief of staff, compared the conflict between Soledar and Bakhmut to one of the bloodiest battles of World War One, at Verdun. As of Thursday, 559 residents, including 15 children, were still residing in Soledar and could not be relocated, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

In his nighttime address late on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky cited Soledar, Bakhmut, and the broader defence of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine as the most important issues.

According to Western and Ukrainian officials, the notoriously violent Wagner mercenary squad is responsible for a large portion of the combat near Soledar and Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, its 61-year-old leader, has asserted numerous times over the last few days that his soldiers are the only ones present in Soledar. He claimed on Tuesday night that his mercenaries had taken the town, but the next morning, the Russian defence ministry refuted him.

Daily updates from the Russian defence ministry have made no mention whatsoever of Wagner, and Friday’s briefing was no exception. The military said that paratroopers had played a key part in the capture of the town.

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Ukraine war: Russia controls most of destroyed salt mine town, Soledar, says UK

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After a protracted conflict with Ukrainian forces, the majority of the salt-mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine is “possibly” now under Russian control, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

In the last four days, Russian troops and the mercenary Wagner Group, according to the UK, have advanced. Soledar is close to Bakhmut, the scene of another violent conflict with Ukraine.

According to President Zelensky, Soledar had “no full walls left” and “virtually no life.” He added, “The entire terrain around Soledar is littered with the occupiers’ corpses.”

Oledar, which prior to the conflict had a population of about 10,000, may be considered primarily as a stepping stone to seizing Bakhmut, and its strategic worth is debatable.

The creator of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, seeks ownership of the region’s significant salt and gypsum mines, a US official claimed last week.

The 200 km long abandoned tunnels were the subject of some fighting, according to the UK, and both Russia and Ukraine “are likely concerned that they could be exploited for infiltration behind their lines.”

Mr. Prigozhin has acknowledged his interest in the mines, referring to them as “the icing on the cake” for the Bakhmut region’s strategic importance.

He described them as a “network of underground cities” that can hold “a big group of people at a depth of 80-100 metres”, and can also allow tanks and other military vehicles to move freely.

Due to Ukraine’s “solid defence lines,” Russia is “unlikely” to soon seize Bakhmut, according to Britain.

Soledar is currently in Russian hands, according to a senior military officer from the US Department of Defense, who stated this on Monday.

Since Bakhmut has been the scene of fighting for months, the US source referred to the most recent skirmishes as “savage.” Two British nationals who were last spotted travelling to Soledar have vanished in the area.

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