Canadian senators sanctioned
Russian diplomacy announced Wednesday that 87 Canadian senators will now be banned from entering its territory, in retaliation for sanctions targeting members of the Upper House of the Russian Parliament announced by Ottawa at the end of March.
Russia also announced a similar measure against many members of the United States Congress. These American parliamentarians are now banned from entering the country “permanently”, Moscow said. “In reaction to a new wave of anti-Russian sanctions taken on March 24 by the Biden government against 328 Duma deputies […]“reciprocal” punitive action is being taken against 398 members of the United States House of Representatives,” it said.
The United States takes out the checkbook again
Armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters: Joe Biden gave the green light on Wednesday to massive new military aid to Ukraine, with heavier equipment than that delivered so far.
During a phone call Wednesday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, the American president announced to him that he had released a new tranche of aid worth 800 million dollars, according to a press release from the White House.
These new American deliveries will include some of the “very effective equipment that we have already delivered” to Ukraine, but also “new capacities”, including in particular “artillery systems” and “armored transport means”, specified the US executive.
Will Finland come out of its neutrality?
Finland, officially neutral vis-à-vis Russia since 1947, could change its tune within “a few weeks”.
The government must decide if it wants to apply to join NATO. “I think it will happen quite quickly. In a few weeks, not a few months,” said Social Democrat leader Sanna Marin during a visit to Sweden, a country that also does not rule out joining the Atlantic Alliance because of the Russian threat. .
A “white paper” on the security of the Nordic country must also be published, probably on Thursday.
Local support for Finland’s NATO membership, which had hovered between 20 and 25% for decades, has almost tripled, now standing above 60% or even 70%.
Ceasefire not possible
A “general ceasefire” for humanitarian purposes “does not [semble] not currently possible” in Ukraine, said Wednesday the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, although it was an objective that he had recently entrusted to one of his assistants sent to Moscow. “That’s what we called […]but it does not seem possible, ”he said sorry at a press conference.
He said the United Nations was still awaiting responses from Russia to concrete proposals for the evacuation of civilians.
According to the UN, 107 countries are already suffering from the repercussions of this conflict, including 69 exposed to a triple effect in the areas of food, energy and finance.
A sunken warship
Ukrainian forces on Wednesday sank one of the most important Russian warships deployed in the Black Sea, the Moskvadealing a severe blow to Russia’s naval power.
The news, first announced by the Ukrainian government, was partially confirmed by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, which rather evokes an accident.
“Due to a fire, ammunition exploded on board the guided missile cruiser Moskva. The ship was badly damaged,” said a dispatch quoting the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to Ukrainian sources, two Neptune-type missiles hit the cruiser, which dates from Soviet times. Nearly 500 soldiers were staying on board this flagship during the attack, according to the same source.
With Agence France-Presse