Russia cuts gas exports to Finland after dispute over payments
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Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Saturday it had halted gas exports to neighboring Finland because it had not received payment in roubles. After Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, Moscow asked customers from ‘hostile countries’ – including EU member states – to pay for gas in roubles, a way to circumvent financial sanctions Western. Follow the FRANCE 24 live blog for all the latest news. All times are in Paris time (GMT+2).
11:20 a.m .: Britain wants to arm Moldova to protect it from the Russian threat, reports The British Telegraph
Britain wants to send modern weapons to Moldova to protect it from the threat of invasion by Russia, The Telegraph reported, citing Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
She told the newspaper that Russian President Vladimir Putin was determined to create a “Greater Russia” even though his invasion of Ukraine did not succeed quickly.
Truss said talks were underway to ensure Moldova’s defenses could deter any future attacks.
“I would like to see Moldova equipped to NATO standards. This is a discussion we are having with our allies,” she told the Telegraph.
“Putin has been absolutely clear about his ambitions to create a greater Russia. And just because his attempts to take kyiv failed doesn’t mean he’s given up on those ambitions,” she said.
If Truss’s plans are adopted, NATO members will supply Moldova with modern weapons, replacing its Soviet-era equipment, and train soldiers in its use.
11:09 a.m .: Russia claims to have destroyed Western weapons sent to Ukraine
Moscow forces destroyed a large shipment of Western-supplied weapons in northwestern Ukraine with long-range missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
“Sea-based, long-range high-precision Kalibr missiles destroyed a large batch of weapons and military equipment near Malin railway station in Zhytomyr region, delivered from the United States and European countries” , did he declare.
The ministry said the weapons were intended for Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbass region, a Russian-speaking area partially controlled by pro-Moscow separatists since 2014 and now the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine.
10:55 am: In kyiv, “people are just trying to have a normal life”
In the Ukrainian capital, nearly eighty days after the start of the Russian military invasion, people continue to show resilience with a “business as usual” approach as kyiv begins to show more signs of life. Report by FRANCE 24 reporter Cyril Payen.
“The scars of war are everywhere in kyiv”
10:06 am: Zelensky says only ‘diplomacy’ can end the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine can only be resolved through “diplomacy”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday amid a stalemate in talks between kyiv and Moscow.
“The end will come through diplomacy,” he told a Ukrainian television channel. The war “will be bloody, there will be fighting but will only end definitively with diplomacy”.
7:20 a.m.: Russia cuts gas supply to Finland
Russia on Saturday stopped supplying natural gas to neighboring Finland, which angered Moscow by asking for NATO membership, after the Nordic country refused to pay supplier Gazprom in roubles.
Natural gas accounts for about eight percent of Finland’s energy consumption, and most of it comes from Russia.
Following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow asked customers from ‘hostile countries’ – including EU member states – to pay for gas in roubles, a way to circumvent sanctions Western financial institutions against its central bank.
Finland’s state-owned energy company Gasum said it would make up the shortfall from other sources via the Balticconnector gas pipeline, which links Finland to Estonia, and assured petrol stations would operate as normal.
“Finland’s natural gas supply under Gasum’s supply contract has been interrupted,” the company said in a statement.
Gasum said on Friday he was informed by Gazprom Export, the export arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, that the supply would stop on Saturday morning.
10:00 p.m.: Wimbledon stripped of ranking points by ATP, WTA on Russia, Belarus ban
Wimbledon had its ranking points stripped by the ATP and WTA Tours on Friday following its decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s championships due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tennis governing bodies banned Russia and Belarus from international team competitions following the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special operation”, but allowed players from both countries to continue to compete as than neutral.
The decision by the men’s and women’s tours to strip Wimbledon of its ranking points will effectively reduce the world’s most famous tennis tournament to an exhibition event.
“The ability for players of any nationality to participate in tournaments based on merit and without discrimination is fundamental to our Tour,” the ATP said in a statement.
“Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the UK this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP ranking system. It is also inconsistent with our ranking agreement.
8:34 p.m .: Russia claims full control of Mariupol
Russia’s defense chief said the country’s forces had taken full control of the massive Mariupol steel plant, which was the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the city.
It would mark the end of a nearly three-month-long siege that has reduced much of Ukraine’s vital Black Sea port of Mariupol to rubble and left more than 20,000 people dead.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol had been “completely liberated” from Ukrainian fighters.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)