A court in Moscow has sentenced the opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years prison, in one of the most high-profile cases to date of a Russian dissident being jailed for opposing the invasion of Ukraine. Kara-Murza, a father of three, was detained in April 2022 and charged with spreading false information about the Russian army in Ukraine. He was later also charged with “high treason” over a series of public speeches he made that criticised Kremlin policies and the war in Ukraine. Kara-Murza’s ruling is the longest sentence yet given to a political opponent of Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin further steps up its relentless crackdown on dissent.
The British government on Monday summoned the Russian ambassador to make clear its condemnation of what it described as the “politically motivated” conviction of Kara-Murza, a British dual national. “Russia’s lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming,” British foreign secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. “We continue to urge Russia to adhere to its international obligations including Vladimir Kara-Murza’s entitlement to proper healthcare.”
The United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk has called on Moscow to free Kara-Murza, saying “No one should be deprived of their liberty for exercising their human rights, and I call on the Russian authorities to release him without delay. As long as he continues to be detained, he must be treated with humanity and respect for his dignity”. He added that the sentence was “another blow to the rule of law and civic space” in Russia.
The wife of Vladimir Kara-Murza has told the UK broadcaster LBC that the UK government’s response to her husband’s jailing has been “weak”. Evgenia Kara-Murza told Andrew Marr that she would like to see the UK government introduce sanctions against her husband’s perpetrators and described herself as “baffled” by the UK’s response.
Latvia has imposed sanctions on 10 Russian officials involved in the sentencing of Kara-Murza. Foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said he would also lobby the EU to impose sanctions.
Almost 500 children have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, according to a report by the Ukrainian prosecutor general. It said that as of Monday, a total of 1,418 children had been affected. They had counted 470 children killed and 948 who had been injured – although the department believes that the number of injured children is higher.
The Kremlin has said prospects for a renewal of the Black Sea grain initiative, in which Russia allows Ukraine to ship agricultural exports from its Black Sea ports via Turkey, were “not so bright”. Russia has repeatedly complained that western economic sanctions are preventing it from exporting agricultural products, and that these need to be lifted in order for it to agree to any extension.
Slovakia will temporarily halt imports of grains and other selected products from Ukraine, a government spokesperson said on Monday. Talks between Ukraine and Poland over grain exports were due to start in Warsaw around noon local time (11am BST), Polish agriculture minister Robert Telus has said. EU member countries’ envoys in Brussels will discuss the weekend move by Poland and Hungary to ban grain imports from Ukraine to protect their own agricultural sectors.
China’s defence minister Gen Li Shangfu has toured a top Russian military academy on a visit to the Russian capital. It was announced that 20 senior military officers from China will attend a training course there in Moscow in the autumn. On Sunday Li met Vladimir Putin. The Russian president said the two countries were “working actively through our military departments” and regularly exchanging “useful information” while Li said ties between the two countries had “already entered a new era” and surpassed “the military-political alliances of the cold war era”.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday read a report to President Vladimir Putin about drills conducted by the country’s Pacific Fleet. In footage broadcast on state television, Putin responded by saying that snap checks had shown the Pacific Fleet at a high level of readiness, and that Russia’s priority was Ukraine. Shoigu said that more than 25,000 military personnel, 167 ships and vessels, 12 submarines, 89 aircraft and helicopters are participating in the exercises.
The US ambassador to Russia has been able to visit the imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for the first time. Posting on Twitter, the embassy’s official account said the ambassador Lynne Tracey visited him in Lefortovo prison. It is the first time the US has had consular access since Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges.
The US and more than 40 other countries said in a joint statement on Monday that they were deeply concerned over Russia’s detainment of Gershkovich and protested against Moscow’s “efforts to limit and intimidate the media”.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday that Tokyo had lodged a protest with Russia over its military exercises around disputed islands near Japan’s Hokkaido.
Slovakia has handed over all 13 MiG-29 fighter jets it had pledged to Ukraine, the Slovak defence ministry said on Monday
The village of Krasnoe, which is in Belgorod in Russia, close to the border with Ukraine, came under fire from Ukrainian forces, according to regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov
Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office told Reuters. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia.
One hundred and thirty Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released and returned home in a “great Easter exchange”, a senior Ukrainian presidential official has said. It was not clear how many Russians were sent back the other way.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, visited Baghdad on Monday, his first trip to Iraq since Russia invaded Ukraine. Kuleba held talks with the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and the foreign minister, Fuad Hussein. Baghdad government officials said afterwards that they would help negotiate a ceasefire if asked.
Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira has hosted his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Brasília, where they discussed the conflict in Ukraine. Reuters reports that Vieira told reporters after the meeting he reiterated Brazil’s intention to form a group of countries to negotiate peace , reaffirming Brazil’s position as pro-ceasefire and against unilateral sanctions.
The Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who has been subjected to sanctions, bemoaned a “primitive” Russian finance system dominated by state banks, saying it was sliding into the past while other countries took advantage of a realignment in global finance.
