#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013415

An anti-war protester interrupted a live news bulletin on Russia’s state TV Channel One on March 14, holding up a sign behind the studio presenter and shouting slogans denouncing the war in Ukraine.

The sign, in English and Russian, read: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They are lying to you here.” Another phrase, which looked like “Russians against war”, was partly obscured.

The extraordinary act of dissent took place on day 19 of the war which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what it calls a special military operation.

“Stop the war. No to war,” the woman protester could be heard shouting, as the news anchor continued to read from her teleprompter.

The protester could be seen and heard for several seconds before the channel switched to a different report to remove her from the screen.

State TV is the main source of news for many millions of Russians, and closely follows the Kremlin line that Russia was forced to act in Ukraine to demilitarise and “denazify” the country, and to defend Russian-speakers there against “genocide”. Ukraine and most of the world have condemned that as a false pretext for an invasion of a democratic country.

The woman was named by OVD-Info, an independent protest-monitoring group, and by the head of the Agora human rights group, as Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee of the channel.

Pavel Chikov, head of Agora, said she had been arrested and taken to a Moscow police station. Tass news agency said she may face charges under a law against discrediting the armed forces, citing a law enforcement source.

The law, passed on March 4, makes public actions aimed at discrediting Russia’s army illegal and bans the spread of fake news or the “public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”. The offence carries a jail term of up to 15 years.

In a video recorded before the incident and posted online, a woman who appeared to be Ovsyannikova described herself as a Channel One employee and said she was ashamed to have worked for years spreading Kremlin propaganda. She said her father was Ukrainian, and her mother was Russian.

Published : March 15, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013407

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday, elaborated on China’s position on the situation in Ukraine during his meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Rome, capital of Italy.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that the Chinese side does not want to see that the situation in Ukraine has come to this point.

China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, he said, adding that China is committed to promoting peace talks.

He called on the international community to jointly support the Russia-Ukraine peace talks so that substantive results can be achieved as soon as possible and to help de-escalate the situation as early as possible.

All parties should exercise maximum restraint, protect civilians and prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis, Yang said, adding that China has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and will carry on its efforts to this end.

Yang also said that it is important to straighten out the historical context of the Ukraine issue, get to the bottom of the problem’s origin, and respond to the legitimate concerns of all parties.

He called for taking a long-term view, actively advocating a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, encouraging relevant parties to conduct equal-footed dialogue, and setting up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework based on the principle of indivisible security in a bid to preserve peace in Europe and around the world.

Yang stressed that the Chinese side resolutely opposes any words and deeds that spread false information or distort and discredit China’s position.

Published : March 15, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013404

French President Emmanuel Macron defended on March 14 sanctions imposed on Russia by EU countries, during a special programme for which French channel TF1 invited all the major presidential election candidates.

“What we are trying to do as Europeans is to try to put an end to this war, without going to war,” said Macron, who is running for re-election.

“So, sanctioning Russia so that it stops this offensive, helping Ukraine and specifically the Ukrainian people to live or survive, to defend itself, and isolating Russia internationally.”

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen condemned the Russian invasion of its neighbour but warned of the effects of sanctions on the French.

“I do not want the French to commit suicide over sanctions decided by our leaders which do not take into account the daily lives of our countrymen,” said Le Pen, who currently polls second behind Macron.

“I do not want them to lose their jobs, I do not want their businesses to go bankrupt, I do not want them to be unable to heat their houses, to feed themselves or to take their car to go to work,” she added, in a reference to climbing energy prices that have had an increasingly damaging effect on the finances of French families.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon defended the use of some sanctions but insisted that ‘price freezes’ would be necessary to relieve the French and that, ultimately, fossil fuels had to be abandoned.

Speaking on refugees, Macron said France had to “take our part” in the flow of Ukrainians arriving in Western Europe, citing the figure of welcoming at least 100,000.

The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24 climbed to more than 2.8 million, United Nations data showed on Monday, in what has become Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War Two.

Though all major presidential candidates were invited for the programme dubbed ‘France in the face of war,’ it was not a debate as the current president has refused to part in debates until the first round of the election, on April 10.

Published : March 15, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013401

“The negotiations with Ukraine are being held every day, seven days a week, in a format of video conferences,” said Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are being held daily, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, also the head of the Russian delegation, said on Monday.

“The negotiations with Ukraine are being held every day, seven days a week, in a format of video conferences,” Medinsky posted on his Telegram account. Medinsky said video meetings save time and are more efficient.

“We are striving to do everything that is possible to fulfill the tasks set by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin for Russia’s peaceful future,” he wrote.

The fourth round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine occurred earlier on Monday via video link. According to Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the delegation, a technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until Tuesday.

Published : March 15, 2022

By : Xinhua

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013382

External electricity supplies have been restored at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, four days after its disconnection from the power grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Sunday.

Ukraine’s regulatory authorities told the IAEA that Ukrainian specialist teams repaired one of the two damaged power lines at Chernobyl on Sunday, enabling all required off-site power to be delivered to the plant, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a daily statement.

The plant will be connected to the Ukrainian electricity grid on Monday morning, according to Ukraine’s regulator.

The Chernobyl plant was disconnected from the power grid on Wednesday and has been operating on backup diesel generators. The plant is currently controlled by Russian armed forces.

“This is a positive development as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has had to rely on emergency diesel generators for several days now,” the IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said. “However, I remain gravely concerned about safety and security at Chernobyl and Ukraine’s other nuclear facilities.”

The Chernobyl nuclear plant, some 110 km north of Kyiv, witnessed one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history on April 26, 1986.

On Feb. 24, advisor to the Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak said Russian forces have seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : Xinhua

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013373

Russia is showing signs that it might be willing to have substantive negotiations over Ukraine, even as Moscow is currently intent on “destroying” its neighbour, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on March 13.

Sherman, in an interview with Fox News Sunday, said the United States is putting “enormous pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease-fire in its weeks-old invasion of Ukraine and to allow the creation of humanitarian corridors so that civilians can escape.

“That pressure is beginning to have some effect. We are seeing some signs of a willingness to have real, serious negotiations. But I have to say … so far it appears Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying Ukraine,” Sherman said.

Sherman did not elaborate on hints Moscow may have provided about talks.

Sherman was asked about the Biden administration’s decision to not facilitate the transfer of Polish jets to Ukraine, saying Kyiv needed other military hardware.

“What Ukrainians needed was anti-aircraft, anti-tank and anti-armour weapons, which is what we are supplying them in great measure and coordinating with other countries to do the same,” Sherman said.

Sherman’s comments came as Russia said on Sunday it had attacked the Yavoriv training facility in western Ukraine, adding the strike had killed “up to 180 foreign mercenaries” and destroyed a large number of weapons supplied by outside nations.

Defence ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that Russia would continue its attacks against what he called foreign mercenaries.

While a Russian delegate to talks with Ukraine said “there has been considerable progress since the Russia-Ukraine talks began,” TASS reported on Sunday.

The report cited Russian negotiator Leonid Slutsky, who said talks with Ukraine may soon produce draft agreements. “It may be possible to reach a joint position between the two delegations soon,” said the official.

Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Sunday said he thought progress could be made at talks with Russia in the coming days as the Russian side had become more constructive, according to Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday and urged them to influence the Kyiv authorities to stop “criminal acts” of Ukrainian “nationalist battalions,” according to the Kremlin.

Macron and Scholz urged an immediate ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine, the German government said in a statement, noting the 75-minute talk as part of the ongoing international efforts to end the conflict.

Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Putin, said on Sunday that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could not be ruled out, but first they need to know what will be discussed at the meeting and what the results will be.

He also said it was too early to talk about the outcome of the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Zelensky said on Saturday that NATO members are lacking courage and consensus on whether to accept Ukraine.

A member of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation says Ukraine and Russia are close to reaching a compromise on signing relevant agreements.

The Kremlin says talks between Moscow and Kyiv have continued via video link.

The two sides have held three rounds of talks so far and agreed on establishing humanitarian corridors.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013369

Russia said on Sunday (March 13) it had attacked the Yavoriv training facility in western Ukraine, adding the strike had killed “up to 180 foreign mercenaries” and destroyed a large number of weapons supplied by outside nations.

Several buildings collapsed after Russian missiles hit a Ukrainian base in Yavoriv, 25km from the border with Poland on March 13.

Russia said on Sunday it had attacked the Yavoriv training facility in western Ukraine, adding the strike had killed “up to 180 foreign mercenaries” and destroyed a large number of weapons supplied by outside nations.

Defense ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that Russia would continue its attacks against what he called foreign mercenaries.

Reuters could not independently verify the statements.

Ukrainian regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said 35 people were killed and 134 wounded in the attack.

Konashenkov said Russia had used high precision long-range weapons to strike Yavoriv and a separate facility in the village of Starichi. He said both bases were being used to train foreign mercenaries and store weapons.

The attack came one day after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow considered convoys of Western arms shipments to Ukraine to be legitimate targets.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013329

Ukraine is facing a humanitarian crisis and urgently needs supplies of food and medicine to be brought into the country, the country’s economy minister said on March 12.

“We don’t have weeks or months,” Yulia Svyrydenko said at Poland’s Przemysl train station, one of the main ports of entry for people fleeing Russia’s invasion. “We need this assistance right now.”

Ukrainian officials said on Saturday heavy shelling and threats of Russian air attacks were endangering attempted evacuations of desperate civilians from encircled towns and cities elsewhere.

Svyrydenko called for tougher sanctions on Russia, which says it is conducting a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbour and dislodge its “neo-Nazi” leaders.

Kyiv and its Western allies say this is a baseless pretext to invade a country of 44 million people.

Nearly 2.6 million people, mostly women, and children have fled to neighbouring countries since the fighting began.

Svyrydenko said she and her delegation wanted to assure Ukrainians who had fled to Poland that the government was doing everything to make sure they could return home as soon as possible.

Published : March 13, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013327

Around 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on March 11

Speaking at a news briefing, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams had started discussing concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums.

He said the West should be more involved in fighting Russia to prevent Russia from invading other countries.

“What is happening in Ukraine today will happen in Europe tomorrow. In order to prevent it everyone should fight, for themselves, fight here, in whatever way they can,” he said.

Published : March 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40013326

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday (March 12) the West should be more involved in negotiations to end the war but welcomed efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, and said he had suggested to Bennett holding talks in Jerusalem.

Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams had started discussing concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums.

Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams had started discussing concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums.

He said he discussed the war with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron, and the German and French leaders then spoke to Putin by phone and urged the Russian leader to order an immediate ceasefire.

Published : March 13, 2022

By : Reuters