A summary of today's developments
A top Ukrainian official has criticised the “symbolic blow” of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations security council. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “It’s not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.” The Kremlin has said it planned to “exercise all its rights” in the role.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting when Russia assumes the council presidency. “As of 1 April, they’re taking the level of absurdity to a new level,” said Sergiy Kyslytsya, Kyiv’s permanent representative. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said it was a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the performance of the Russian chief of the general staff, General Valery Gerasimov, is “pushing the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure”. It adds: “Gerasimov’s tenure has been characterised by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region. Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed.”
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has promised to increase the supply of munitions to the country’s forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow’s troops fighting in Ukraine, according to footage published by the defence ministry on Saturday.
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved a four-year $15.6bn loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115bn package of economic support. The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7bn to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious reforms, especially in the energy sector, the fund said.
The top US general, Mark Milley, has said Ukraine is unlikely to expel all Russian troops from its territory this year, the Kyiv Independent reports, citing an interview with Defense One. He said: “I don’t think it’s likely to be done in the near-term for this year.”
At least five people, including a baby, have been killed in Ukraine in the past 24 hours – according to the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Twitter he had talks with France’s president Emmanuel Macron to discuss “defense interaction” and “further steps to implement #PeaceFormula.”
Russia has lost at least six Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar and will struggle to regenerate them because of sanctions, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The MoD added: “Regenerating counter-battery radar fleets is likely a key priority for both sides, but Russia will likely struggle because the systems rely on supplies of high-tech electronics which have been disrupted by sanctions.”
Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new Russian foreign policy strategy aimed at curtailing western “dominance” and identifying China and India as key partners for the future. The new document cements the deep cold war-style rupture between Russia and the west over Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
Prosecutors have asked a court to put the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, Metropolitan Pavel, under house arrest. He is accused of supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and inciting religious hatred. Pavel denies wrongdoing.
North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong-un, has accused Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions, basing her assertion on an online petition that has drawn fewer than 1,000 signatures so far, state media KCNA has reported.
Finland will formally be welcomed into Nato “within days” after Turkey’s ratification of its accession to the western defence alliance, the Nato secretary general has announced. The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week. Sweden’s Nato bid faces objections from Turkey which accuses it of harbouring members of terrorist groups.
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, said he had intensified talks with Russia about deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, alleging there were plans for neighbouring Poland to invade. Belarus had deployed a special forces contingent to its southern border with Ukraine “to prevent provocations”, he added.
Updated
Ukraine’s ministry of defence has tweeted this footage in the past few minutes:
L119 howitzers are easily identified by their distinctive British accent and accuracy. pic.twitter.com/akMXOQKyGN
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 1, 2023
