LIVE – War in Ukraine: Chinese defense minister expected in Russia April 16-19, Beijing says

Russia exports large amounts of oil

Despite tough sanctions from the European Union and the G7, Russian oil exports in March reached their highest level since April 2020, but the revenue they bring to Moscow is far below what it was a year ago, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.

Total oil exports rose 0.6 million barrels per day to 8.1 million barrels per day in March, lifting Moscow’s oil windfall to $12.7 billion from $1 billion last month, down 43% from a year ago, according to the latest IEA report.

China

Beijing has announced that China’s defense minister will visit Russia from April 16 to 19.

Pugmouth

According to the Russian military and Wagner, the Ukrainians now hold only a very small part of Bakhmaut, a town in eastern Ukraine that has been fighting for months, about “the width of 20 houses and under constant shelling by Russian artillery,” according to the New York Times. Explanations from our journalist Matthew Garman.

Berlin calls Beijing

German Foreign Minister Annalena Beierbach on Friday urged Beijing to ask “the Russian aggressor to stop the war” in Ukraine, in a press conference with her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. The diplomatic chief assessed that “no country has more influence in Russia than China.”

Jack Teixeira

21-year-old Jack Teixeira was arrested in the United States on Thursday.

He is suspected of being behind the leak of classified documents related to the war in Ukraine.

Situation in Pakmut

Russian troops, in cooperation with Wagner, are “reviving” their attack on the town of Bakhmoud in Donetsk (in eastern Ukraine), British intelligence has learned in its daily situation report published this morning. Ukrainian soldiers are still defending the western part of the strategic city, but have come under intense artillery fire in the past 48 hours, intelligence said.

Wagner’s troops occupied the northern and southern flanks and continued to make major advances into the city center of the region. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces face significant resupply problems, but are pulling back in an orderly manner from the positions they were forced to concede.

Wikipedia is endorsed by Moscow

The Wikipedia Foundation was fined 2 million rubles (about 22 million euros) in Moscow on Thursday for failing to remove “misinformation” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. , according to the Russian news agency Interfax, the online encyclopedia denies. Wikipedia has been fined as Moscow continues its crackdown on independent news sources.

Ukrainian athletes

Ukraine’s national sports teams have been banned from competing with Russian and Belarusian athletes, the Kyiv Independent reported.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has issued an order banning national sports teams from participating in international competitions involving athletes from Russia or Belarus.

“Alternative” private military companies

Even if Russian mobilization has stalled, Russia may remain a threat to Ukraine in the long term, according to a senior Ukrainian official. Daily report, released Thursday evening. Faced with shortages in recruitment, Moscow is actually in the process of creating “alternative” private military companies. The capabilities are not as powerful as those of the Wagner group, but they should not be ignored for long, a senior Ukrainian official warned.

Zaporizhia nuclear power plant “on shutdown”?

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA), Rafael Grosi, assessed on Thursday that we were on “borrowed time” regarding the “safety” of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, near which two mines recently exploded.

“If we don’t act to protect the plant, sooner or later our luck will run out with serious consequences for human health and the environment,” Grassi warned in a statement traced to the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna.

Russian sanctions may have been misused

The G7 informed the Swiss federal government on Thursday evening of the violation of sanctions imposed by Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and made a precise list of measures to be taken. Geneva Grandstand.

The envoys specifically judge that Switzerland has not done enough to freeze Russian assets in the Alpine country. The letter also recommends that the Council seriously investigate suspicious financial structures, better coordinate work between various competent Swiss authorities, and increase resources.

Lula in China

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing today, with whom he hopes to strengthen ties after sharply criticizing the IMF and the US dollar’s omnipresence.

Faced with Xi Jinping, Lula wants to resolve the conflict in Ukraine in particular. It is common that both countries have never imposed financial sanctions on Russia. In his second term (2007-2010), Lula hopes to reprise his role as the mediator who contributed to the nuclear agreements between Iran and the United States. China is mounting international pressure to weigh Moscow down and bring it to the negotiating table.

Secret US documents leaked

Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old suspected of being at the origin of one of the most serious scandals over the leaks of classified documents in the United States in a decade, is due to appear in court on Friday, the day after his arrest.

According to the Pentagon, he is suspected of posing a “very serious” risk to US national security by publishing classified documents online about the war in Ukraine. including Israel and South Korea. A very embarrassing affair for President Joe Biden’s administration.