The White House paid tribute to AFP journalist Arman Soldin, who was killed yesterday in eastern Ukraine, saying the world owes a debt to the journalists who lost their lives covering the conflict. Britain is ready to formally include the militia group Wagner in the list of terrorist organizations, alongside al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS). The United States continues to train 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers at the Grafenwoehr military camp in Germany.
White House, indebted to journalists killed in Ukraine
The White House paid tribute to AFP journalist Arman Soldin, killed yesterday in eastern Ukraine, saying the world is “indebted” to the journalists who lost their lives covering the conflict. “Journalism is fundamental to a free society,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “The world owes Arman and the 10 other journalists and media workers who lost their lives exposing the horrors of the Russian invasion.”
GB ready to add Wagner to the terrorist list alongside Isis and al-Qaeda
Britain is ready to formally include the militia group Wagner in the list of terrorist organizations, alongside al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS). The Times writes it quoting a British government source and speaking of a measure to exert further pressure on Russia. The decision would be ”imminent” and should be formalized in the coming weeks, adds the source.
Likewise, the 331 French deputies unanimously voted for a resolution asking the European Union to include the Wagner group on its list of terrorist organisations. These measures would make it a criminal offense to belong to the group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, attend its meetings, encourage its support or wear the group’s logo in public.
There are also financial sanctions against the group, which would therefore have difficulty raising funds, continues the Times. Instead, the resolution voted by the French Parliament aims to ”strengthen the legal instruments against the Wagner group.
Adding it to the EU list would affect all the stakeholders, the banks, which make its activity possible”, said Benjamin Haddad, a deputy belonging to President Emmanuel Macron’s party and one of the authors of the text. The resolution is not binding but sends “a political and symbolic message,” Haddad said,
Lula-Rutte summit in Brasilia: now diplomacy
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia to discuss a wide range of topics, such as the war in Ukraine, the EU-Mercosur agreement, climate change, the Amazon and the economic and trade relations between the two countries, as well as the prospects for the recovery of the global economy.
Much of the almost two-hour meeting, it was learned, was dedicated to the difficult situation in Ukraine. In it, the Dutch premier communicated to Lula that for Europeans, war is an existential question in which traditional values are at stake. of the Old Continent.
For his part, the Brazilian head of state, reported the UOL news portal, indicated that “Brazil has its reasons for continuing along the path of a possible compromise”, reiterating that, even with a vote at the UN, Brasilia has firmly condemned “the occupation of Ukraine”, stating however that he was convinced that this “is the time for diplomacy and not for war”.
Lula recalled that he had already spoken about the prospects of reaching peace in Ukraine with various countries, such as China and the United States, and that he will return to speak about it again on the occasion of the G7 in Japan. “The continuation of the war – he then said – will only lead to more deaths, that’s why we need someone to talk about peace, and Brazil is willing to do so. I think it’s possible – he concluded – and if I thought I couldn’t be successful, I wouldn’t have committed myself”. Rutte defended the shipment of arms to Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict: “If we hadn’t done it, Kiev would have fallen already in the first week”, so “we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary”, he said said the Dutch premier.
Use, we will continue training 2,000 Kiev soldiers
The United States continues to train “a couple thousand” Ukrainian soldiers at the Grafenwoehr military camp in Germany. This was stated by Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder. “We will be able to maintain that support in training the Ukrainians as long as demand is there,” Ryder said, adding that US officials continue to discuss combat and tactical needs with Ukrainian partners.
According to the Pentagon spokesman, further training will depend on how many units the Ukrainian armed forces can send abroad to conduct exercises. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in late April that the US would begin training Ukrainian forces on American-made Abrams tanks in the coming weeks.