The essentials in brief:
- Russia is again threatening to end grain deals
- Kremlin: No doubles of Vladimir Putin in use
- Tichanovskaya: Belarusians are fighting with Ukrainians
- Ukraine continues to play in European Football Championship qualifiers
A good three weeks before the international agreement on grain exports from Ukraine expired, Russia again threatened not to extend it again. “Terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime threaten a renewed extension of the grain deal after May 18,” the Defense Ministry said in Moscow. Specifically, Russia accused Ukraine of using drones to attack the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the annexed Crimean Peninsula in March and April .
Russia repeatedly warns against letting the grain agreement, which was last extended by 60 days in mid-March, fall through – albeit with changing arguments. Recently, for example, the government in Moscow repeatedly criticized that the agreed sanctions relief for its own fertilizer exports were not being sufficiently implemented.
After the start of its war of aggression against Ukraine 14 months ago, Russia had blocked the neighboring country’s Black Sea ports for months. Since Ukraine is one of the world‘s largest agricultural exporters, international fears of a hunger crisis in poor countries increased. Last summer, the United Nations and Turkey brokered an end to the blockade.
Kremlin: No doubles of Vladimir Putin in use
The Kremlin has once again denied allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being represented by doubles at public appearances. “You’ve probably heard that Putin has many doppelgangers who work for him while he’s in a bunker. That’s another lie,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured during an appearance in front of young people in Moscow. “You see what kind of president we have. He was and is mega active. We who work with him can hardly keep up with him,” said Peskow. speculation about a Putin double (or even multiple doubles). recurred in recent times.
Some are sure: the alleged Putin at the wheel of a car in Mariupol was not the head of the Kremlin (March 2023)
May 9th parade again without international guests
In the second year of the Ukraine war, Russia again failed to send out invitations to foreign heads of state and government for its traditional May 9 military parade. “There were no special invitations this year,” the Kremlin confirmed. Only the President of the Central Asian ex-Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Schaparov, will take part in the celebrations marking the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II – because he will be in Moscow on a working visit anyway.
Officially, the Kremlin justified the absence of foreign heads of state by saying that this year is not a milestone. In the past, however, there had been years when heads of state were also present at simple anniversaries on Red Square in Moscow, where more than 10,000 soldiers are traditionally deployed and military technology is shown.
May 9, 2022: Last year, no international guests showed up for the big parade in Moscow
Tichanovskaya: Belarusians are fighting with Ukrainians
For Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, Ukraine’s fate is intertwined with that of her country. “There will be no free Belarus without a free Ukraine, and there will be no safe Ukraine without a free Belarus,” said Tichanovskaya at an event organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Berlin. She is proud that hundreds of Belarusian volunteers fought alongside Ukraine. At least 18 of them lost their lives defending Ukraine, reported Tichanovskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania.
“It is important to distinguish between (Alexander) Lukashenko’s regime, which supports Russia’s genocidal war, and the Belarusian people, who together with the Ukrainians are fighting back against the warmongering empire,” Tikhanovskaya stressed. She knows that there are discussions in Germany about how to help Ukraine. She herself believes that Ukraine must get everything it needs to win this war.
Visiting Berlin: Svetlana Tichanovskaya, leader of the Belarusian opposition
Ukraine continues to play in European Football Championship qualifiers
Despite the admission of Belarus, the Ukrainian national football team will continue to participate in the qualification for the 2024 European Championship in Germany. This is possible because the two teams played in different groups, the head of the Ukrainian Football Association, Andriy Pawelko, clarified. Almost two weeks ago, the Ministry of Sports in Kiev banned Ukrainian athletes from competing not only with Russian but also with Belarusian athletes.
wa/ack (dpa, afp, rtr)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from the combat zones cannot be independently verified.