VIKTOR Yushchenko, who was the president of Ukraine from 2005 to 2010, has revealed exactly how, he believes, the world can crush Vladimir Putin.
Yushchenko has said that Putin has changed since he last ‘dealt’ with him during his Presidential reign.
Writing in the Guardian, he said: “The Putin I dealt with then no longer exists. He has since become a completely isolated and brutal despot who cannot stand any opposition.”
The former Ukrainian President has said that ‘international solidarity’ is now one of the ‘greatest weapons’ we have against Putin.
Yushchenko added: “One of the greatest weapons we now have against Putin is international solidarity and support.
“This is something that really bothers him.”
He also said that they cannot win the war ‘without external support’ and that this is now a battle not just between Russia and Ukraine but against ‘tyranny and imperialism’.
He added: “I strongly believe that victory for Ukraine is inevitable. When ordinary Ukrainians give everything up to fight for their freedom and dignity, victory is the only option.”
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‘Humiliated’ Putin desperate for ‘big victory’
“Humiliated” Vladimir Putin is desperate for a big victory in Ukraine and will not sue for peace, a report claims.
The increasing isolated Russian despot is no longer interested in negotiating with Ukraine and just wants to capture as much territory as possible.
Three insiders close to Putin has told the FT that the “humiliated” autocrat had initially been open to a peace deal after his troops failed to reach their military objectives in the first few weeks of the war.
But that was scuppered when Putin was left red-faced by the sinking of the flagship Moskva in the Black Sea by Ukrainian Neptune missiles.
“There was hope for a deal,” one insider told the FT. “Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner.
“After the Moskva, he doesn’t look like a winner because it was humiliating.”
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UK Defence Secretary has said around 15,000 Russian soldiers killed
The UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has given a new assessment of Russian losses on the battlefield.
He said the Ministry of Defence assessed that about 15,000 Russian military personnel had been killed.
An estimated 2,000 armoured vehicles have also been destroyed or captured.
That includes at least 530 tanks, 530 armoured personnel carriers and 560 infantry fighting vehicles, he said.
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Zelemsky calls for meeting with Putin
President Zelenskyy again called for a meeting with Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, in an effort ‘to end the war’.
“I think that whoever started this war will be able to end it,” he told a news conference at a metro station in the heart of the Ukrainian capital.
He was “not afraid to meet” Putin if it would lead to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, he added.
“From the beginning, I have insisted on talks with the Russian president,” said Zelensky. It’s not that I want (to meet him), it’s that I have to meet him so as to settle this conflict by diplomatic means. We have confidence in our partners, but we have no confidence in Russia,” he added.
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Putin is not interested in peace talks
VLADIMIR Putin is not interested in diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war and wants to gain as much territory as possible, a new report claims.
Three people briefed on conversations with the Russian president told the Financial Times that Putin was seriously considering a peace deal with Ukraine last month.
One person briefed on the talks told the publication: “Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big.”
His approach to the talks became harder after the sinking of Russian warship Moskva.
Another source added: “Putin was against signing anything… after the Moskva he doesn’t look like a winner, because it was humiliating.”
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Leaked pics show Russian submarine in Crimea loaded with nuke-capable Kalibr missiles
Leaked pictures have allegedly shown a Russian submarine in Crimea being loaded with nuke-capable Kalibr missiles to attack Ukraine.
The Veliky Novgorod diesel-electric submarine was in dock in Sevastopol, according to Ukraine Now Telegram channel.
“Russian Kalibr-type cruise missiles were loaded onto the Veliky Novgorod diesel-electric submarine – the very ones bombing the peaceful cities of Ukraine,” said the report.
The loading several days ago came ahead of a mission by the submarine in the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s Yug operation command said: “By blocking shipping, conducting surface situation detection and aerial reconnaissance, [the Russians] continue to carry the threat of a missile attack on almost the entire territory of Ukraine.”
Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu has boasted that deployment in Syria from the Caspian Sea “confirmed a high effectiveness of the missiles at major distances of nearly 1500 km (932 miles).”
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Five dead in transport strikes
According to the regional prosecutor’s office at least five people have been killed after Russian rockets struck two towns in Ukraine’s central Vinnytsia region.
Currently there are 18 wounded following the strikes on transport infrastructure in Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn, officials said.
“The enemy is attempting to hit critical infrastructure,” the regional governor is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
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Mission to examine Chernobyl nuclear power plant
According to reports the International Atomic Energy Authority has said it is launching a mission to Ukraine to examine the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was the scene of fierce fighting earlier in the war and raised fears of a major radiation leak.
The team of safety experts are due to arrive on Tuesday at Chernobyl to deliver equipment, make assessments of radiation levels and help to restore safeguards and monitoring systems.
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Putin’s ‘tank graveyard’
Fresh drone images have shown the true scale of Vladimir Putin’s “tank graveyard” after it found more destroyed armour left behind by Russia’s “failing” troops in Ukraine.
More pictures have emerged of a massive Russian tank graveyard ten miles inside Russia – showing dozens more destroyed tanks, trucks and guns.
Ukrainian spy-drones spotted the graveyard in the village of Golvochino underlining the scale of Putin’s battlefield losses.
Reconnaissance flights carried out by a Ukrainian intelligence unit based in a secret bunker near the border filmed dozens of pieces of damaged military hardware dumped in a field.
A single image of the site showed 57 vehicles including at least 17 tanks.
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Blaze at oil depot
There has been a huge blaze at an oil depot in the Russian city of Bryansk.
There have been no current reports of any side linking the incident to the conflict.
Russia says it is investigating the cause of the fires, while Ukraine is yet to comment.
A video of Bryansk circulating on social media appears to show an oil tank exploding into flames.
The location is significant as it is along the Druzbha pipeline, a key artery bringing Russian oil to Europe.
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Ukraine says there is NO deal with Moscow on Mariupol plant humanitarian corridor
Ukraine on Monday said Moscow had not agreed to its request for a humanitarian corridor to let wounded soldiers and civilians leave the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
“Unfortunately, there are no agreements on humanitarian corridors from Azovstal today,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vershchuk said on Telegram.
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Trump on how he’d deal with Putin in Piers Morgan interview
DONALD Trump has revealed how he would deal with Vladimir Putin and the word he’d NEVER let the Russian leader use if he were still in charge.
The former US President told Piers Morgan in the exclusive TalkTV interview that he’d approach Putin very differently amid his brutal attack on Ukraine.
Trump said he believes Putin has been using nuclear threats during the war in Ukraine to frighten other nations – making the Russian leader think “no one will attack him.”
Read the article in full here.
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UN: almost 5.2 million Ukrainians flee war
The UN refugee agency said on Sunday the number of Ukrainians who have fled the country since Russia’s invasion two months ago is approaching 5.2 million.
The total figure of 5,186,744 is an increase of 23,058 over Saturday’s data, the UNHCR said. More than 1,151,000 Ukrainians have left during April so far, compared with 3.4 million in the month of March alone.
According to UNHCR, here is a breakdown of how many Ukrainian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries:
- Poland: 2,899,713
- Russia: 578,255
- Romania: 774,074
- Hungary: 489,754
- Moldova: 433,214
- Slovakia: 354,329
- Belarus: 24,084
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‘Putin has lost interest in talks to end the war’
According to a report in the Financial Times has stated that Vladimir Putin is no longer interested in diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.
Instead, he wants to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible.
One person briefed on the talks said: “Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big.”
His approach hardened after the sinking of Russian warship Moskva, which Ukraine has claimed responsibility for.
A source said: “Putin was against signing anything… after the Moskva he doesn’t look like a winner, because it was humiliating.”
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Putin fuels Parkinson’s rumours during Easter cathedral service
FRAIL-looking Vladimir Putin stoked rumours of failing health last night as he was seen biting his lips, fidgeting distractedly and appearing unsteady at a church service.
The tyrant – dogged by claims he has Parkinson’s or terminal cancer – gurned while clutching a candle near the altar at a midnight mass for Orthodox Easter.
Brief TV footage showed little obvious sign of the telltale tremors often associated with Parkinson’s.
But viewers saw the ageing autocrat appearing to shift uncomfortably, sticking out his tongue and chewing his lips.
He also looked up to the ceiling and down at the floor during a mass led by crony Patriarch Kirill, who has supported his invasion of Ukraine.
At one point the President was seen crossing himself slowly, appearing to take great care to control the movement.
It came days after dishevelled Putin, 69, was seen gripping a table and tapping his foot in video that Kremlin watchers claimed showed a drastic decline in his physical state.
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Ukraine now ODDS-ON to win Eurovision while UK’s odds are slashed
Ukraine is now odds-on with Ladbrokes to win Eurovision.
A flurry of bets over the weekend have seen the bookies slash odds to just 4/5 on Ukraine going all the way in Italy next month.
Elsewhere, hosts Italy are 7/2 second-favourites as things stand, while Sam Ryder continues to generate interest from punters for the UK – and he’s now just 10/ in the betting behind Sweden (6/1).
Spokesman Alex Apati said: “It’s looking increasingly likely Ukraine will come out of Eurovision on top, while punters are also growing convinced Sam Ryder might buck the nil poi trend for the UK, in favour of a left-hand-side-of-the-table finish.”
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Putin accuses West of trying to murder Russian journalists
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused the West of trying to murder Russian journalists and said the Federal Security Service (FSB) had thwarted one such attempt on a television reporter.
Speaking on state television, Putin did not provide evidence to support his claim.
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Russia set to discuss Mariupol steel works with UN chief in Moscow
Russia intends to discuss issues related to the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and its Azovstal plant in talks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who will visit Moscow this week, RIA cited the foreign ministry as saying on Monday.
Guterres will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and then head to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the U.N. said on Saturday.
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Ukraine proposes talks with Russia near besieged Mariupol plant
Ukraine has invited Russia to talks near the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters and civilians are holding out in a city largely under Moscow’s control, Kyiv said today.
Talks near the sprawling steel works would provide a dramatic and symbolic backdrop because the site is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the strategic port.
“We invited Russians to hold a special round of talks on the spot right next to the walls of Azovstal,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Russia will halt activity to let civilians leave Mariupol steel works
Russia’s defence ministry said its troops would halt hostilities to allow civilians to leave the besieged steel plant Azovstal in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol from 1400 Moscow time (1100 GMT) on Monday.
The ministry said any civilians trapped at the facility could leave in whichever direction they chose.
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Russia strikes Ukrainian oil depot and military installations
Russia’s armed forces have struck Ukrainian military installations and the oil refinery, the Russian defence ministry reported on Monday.
Dmytro Lunin, governor of the Poltava region, said on television on Sunday that the refinery had been completely destroyed.
“The fire at the refinery has been extinguished but the facility has been completely destroyed and can no longer function,” Lunin said.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that sea and air missiles had destroyed an oil refinery and three fuel storages in the Odesa region, Interfax reported.
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US wants Russia ‘weakened’ to stop future invasions
The United States wants Russia’s military capability weakened so that it cannot carry out another invasion, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday after returning from a trip to Kyiv.
“We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” Austin told a group of journalists after he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Five train stations come under fire, says Ukrainian Railways
Five railway stations came under fire in western and central Ukraine today, causing an unspecified number of casualties, Ukrainian television quoted state-run Ukrainian Railways as saying.
Oleksander Kamyshin, the company’s chief, said the attacks took place in the space of an hour and details were being checked.
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Activists block tanker carrying Russian oil to Norway
Greenpeace activists sought to block a tanker on Monday from delivering Russian oil to Norway, chaining themselves to the vessel in a protest against the war in Ukraine, the advocacy group said.
The Ust Luga product tanker is currently anchored outside Exxon Mobil’s Slagen oil terminal some 70 km (43 miles) south of the capital Oslo, according to vessel tracker Marine Traffic.
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Putin congratulates France’s Macron on election victory
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and defeat of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, the Kremlin said Monday, as tensions remain over the Ukraine conflict.
“I sincerely wish you success in your state activities, as well as good health and well-being,” Putin said in a telegram to Macron, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
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Zelenskyy: Our souls are filled with fierce hatred for the invaders
The United States’ top diplomat and defence chief today set to make their first war-time visits to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine two months ago, with fierce fighting casting a long shadow over Orthodox Easter.
The trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cames as the war entered its third month.
Blinken and Lloyd’s arrival in Ukraine coincided with Easter celebrations in the largely Orthodox country.
“Our souls are filled with fierce hatred for the invaders and all that they have done.
“Don’t let rage destroy us from within,” Zelensky said in a statement to mark the holiday.