Zelensky calls for a minute’s silence following the beheading
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a minute’s silence at an event in Washington after a video emerged showing a Russian soldier beheading a Ukrainian prisoner with a knife, the news agency reports. Belgium.
“I ask you now to honor with a minute of silence the memory of the Ukrainian soldier whose death the world saw yesterday, and the memory of all our people whose lives were taken by the Russian invaders,” the president said. Ukraine during a round table on Ukraine organized within the framework of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Decapitation: a former Wagner man says he recognized ex-companions
Andrei Medvedev, a former member of the Wagner militia who deserted to join Norway, recognized former colleagues in the video of the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier which has been circulating on the Internet since Tuesday, indicates the Belgian media Free.
“He has watched the video several times and recognizes his former colleagues, Wagner mercenary army fighters,” human rights activist and whistleblower Vladimir Ossechkine said in a video posted on the YouTube channel. by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Kremlin critic.
Relatives of oligarchs sanctioned by London and Washington
The United Kingdom and the United States have announced sanctions against relatives of Russian oligarchs, including members of the entourage of Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov, accused of helping them hide their assets. Cypriot nationals Demetris Ioannides, Christodoulos Vassiliades and Demetrios Serghides are targeted.
The British and American sanctions also target several structures of Alisher Ousmanov’s network, as well as members of the family circle of other oligarchs.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, London claims to have frozen more than 18 billion pounds sterling (20.4 billion euros) of Russian assets.
$200 million for the power grid
The World Bank (WB) announced Wednesday that it would grant 200 million dollars to Ukraine to enable the country at war to restore its electricity network, particularly targeted by Russian strikes during the winter.
This new influx of money could be accompanied by another donation, of 300 million dollars, from “partners and other contributors, as the project is expanded”, added the bank in its press release.
The sum should enable Ukraine to carry out emergency work to restore the most critical infrastructures and install heating equipment when necessary.
Absolut vodka, “Absolut Poutine”
Exports of Swedish vodka brand Absolut to Russia resumed at the end of 2022, a spokesperson for its owner, the spirits group Pernod Ricard, confirmed on Wednesday. Exports to Russia from Pernod Ricard, which only has a distribution business in that country, were suspended shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, a spokesman for the group said. But the world’s number two spirits company maintained its activities there for several months, relying on its stocks, he added. Then exports picked up in the last quarter of 2022 as stocks ran out, he said.
In Sweden, several politicians, including the right-wing majority, were moved by the decision of the French group, owner of the flagship of Swedish alcohol. MPs from all sides denounced a “moral collapse” or were ironic about an “Absolutely Putin” choice.