Ukraine war - The African Mirror

Apr

23

2024

Russian man gets 5 years labour for street interview about Ukraine war

A Russian man was sentenced to five years' forced labour for spreading "deliberately false information" about the army in a street interview with U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in which he talked about the war in Ukraine. The sentence against Yuri Kokhovets, 39, was announced by the Moscow city courts service. RFE/RL journalists had approached him in July 2022 and asked him in a "vox pop" interview if he thought a detente between Russia and NATO countries was needed. "Of course we need (a de-escalation), but it all depends on our government. It is our government that started it all...…

Apr

03

2024

By IRSHAD HUSSAIN and MUBASHIR NAIK

Russia jobs scam traps Indians on Ukraine war frontlines

WORLD

WHEN Raja Begum heard an Indian had died in Ukraine, she collapsed to the ground, convinced it was her missing son - one of dozens of young men lured to Russia on the promise of jobs, then sent to fight in the Ukraine war. "I can't stop thinking about the last message my son sent," said Begum, 60, who has not heard from the 31-year-old tech graduate since January - just weeks after he left the family's village in Indian-administered Kashmir to head to Moscow. Indian federal investigators say a major human trafficking network duped at least 35 men, who…

Mar

19

2024

By GUY FAULCONBRIDGE

Putin warns the West a Russia-NATO conflict is just one step from World War Three

WORLD

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin warned the West that a direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario. The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Putin has often warned of the risks of nuclear war but says he has never felt the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron last month said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine…

Feb

26

2024

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis urges diplomatic solution to Ukraine war on anniversary of invasion

WORLD

POPE Francis called for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine that would lead to a just and lasting peace, as the second anniversary of Russia's invasion was marked a day earlier. "So many victims, wounded, destruction, anguish, and tears in a period that is becoming terribly long and whose end is not in sight. It is a war that not only devastates that region but also unleashes global waves of hate and fear", Pope Francis said during his weekly Angelus message. "I plead for that little bit of humanity to be found to create the conditions for a diplomatic solution…

May

26

2023

By The African Mirror

From Russia with gold: UAE cashes in as sanctions bite

WORLD

PETER HOBSON THE United Arab Emirates has become a key trade hub for Russian gold since Western sanctions over Ukraine cut Russia's more traditional export routes, Russian customs records show. The records, which contain details of nearly a thousand gold shipments in the year since the Ukraine war started, show the Gulf state imported 75.7 tonnes of Russian gold worth $4.3 billion - up from just 1.3 tonnes in 2021. China and Turkey were the next biggest destinations, importing about 20 tonnes each between February 24, 2022 and March 3, 2023. With the UAE, the three countries accounted for 99.8%…

May

15

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa is ‘actively non-aligned’ on Ukraine war

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's presidential security advisor said the country was "actively non-aligned" in Russia's war against Ukraine after U.S. allegations it had supplied weapons to Moscow led to a diplomatic crisis this week. The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on Thursday he was confident a Russian ship under U.S. sanctions had collected weapons from a base near Cape Town in December. Senior U.S. officials had "profound concerns" about South Africa not respecting its professed policy of non-alignment, he added. Speaking after leading a delegation on a U.S. visit last month, Sydney Mufamadi, security advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, emphasised the…

May

15

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa is ‘actively non-aligned’ on Ukraine war, says government

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's presidential security advisor said the country was "actively non-aligned" in Russia's war against Ukraine after U.S. allegations it had supplied weapons to Moscow led to a diplomatic crisis this week. The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on Thursday he was confident a Russian ship under U.S. sanctions had collected weapons from a base near Cape Town in December. Senior U.S. officials had "profound concerns" about South Africa not respecting its professed policy of non-alignment, he added. Speaking after leading a delegation on a U.S. visit last month, Sydney Mufamadi, security advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, emphasised the…

Jan

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Soldiers’ widows group calls on Putin to order major mobilisation for Ukraine war

WORLD

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE A little-known patriotic group which supports the widows of Russian soldiers has called on President Vladimir Putin to order a large-scale mobilisation of millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in Ukraine. Putin, Russia's 70-year-old paramount leader, is under intense pressure to deliver victory in Ukraine more than 10 months since he sent troops as part of an operation he says was intended to defend Russians in eastern Ukraine. "We ask our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to allow the Russian Army to carry out a large-scale mobilisation," the Soldiers' Widows of Russia group said…

Dec

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Who stands to gain in shelling Zaporozhye nuclear power plant?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ZAPOROZHYE Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) – the largest nuclear power plant in Europe – is proving to be a major sticking point in the back-door diplomacy aimed at brokering peace to end the Ukraine war. The ZNPP was one of the first key facilities that the Russians took control of days after launching their “special military operation” in Ukraine in February. ABBEY MAKOE And now, amid the growing devastation of the war and heightened engagements in back-door diplomacy, the nuclear plant appears to be a key sticking point in efforts to reach a truce. Moscow regards Zaporozhye province – home…

Dec

04

2022

By The African Mirror

Biden not planning to speak to Putin for now

WORLD

PAVEL POLITYUK U.S. President Joe Biden does not intend to speak to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about ending the Ukraine war as conditions for such discussions currently do not exist, the White House said. "We're just not at a point now where talks seem to be a fruitful avenue to approach right now," national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. His comment underscored the chasm between Ukraine and its main backer and Russia on negotiations more than nine months into the war ignited by Putin's invasion that has killed tens of thousands, uprooted millions and destroyed cities and towns.…