Russia has formally charged detained Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich with espionage, an accusation the White House and the newspaper denied again on Saturday.
(Bloomberg) — Russia has formally charged detained Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich with espionage, an accusation the White House and the newspaper denied again on Saturday.
Russia has intensified efforts to evacuate civilians to Crimea from occupied areas of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Ukraine’s general staff said, in what appears to be in anticipation of a counteroffensive by Kyiv’s forces. “The occupiers are spreading information that the forced evacuation of civilians will begin in late April,” Ukraine said.
A Ukrainian missile was shot down near Feodosia in southeastern Crimea on Saturday, according to Russian media reports that cited local officials, in what would be a rare long-range strike by Ukraine’s forces.
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Key Developments
- Russia Formally Charges US Journalist With Spying, Tass Says
- Xi’s Support for Ukraine Peace Falls Short of Macron’s Ambitions
- Russia Shrinks Budget Deficit a Little as Spending Growth Slows
- Estonian PM Vows More Defense Spending in New Ruling Coalition
- Russia Says It Cut Oil Output by 700,000 Barrels a Day in March
(All times CET)
Ukraine Brings Back 31 Children from Russia (4:30 p.m.)
Ukraine is repatriating 31 children who were illegally deported to Russia, Mykola Kuleba, head of the NGO “Save Ukraine,” said during an online briefing. It was the fifth such mission and one of the largest since Russia’s invasion over a year ago. The kids are expected to arrive in Kyiv on Saturday.
Relatives of the children need to endure lengthy interrogations by the Russian security agency FSB before being allowed to pick up their children. Two other kids were unable to return after their grandmother, who traveled to bring them home, died during the trip.
Kuleba estimated 19,500 Ukrainian children are being held in Russia. The total number of Ukrainian children in Russia and in Russia-occupied territories may be as high as 1.5 million, he said.
Ukraine Says Russia Preparing to Evacuate Civilians to Crimea (4 p.m.)
Russia has intensified preparations to evacuate civilians to Crimea from the occupied parts of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Ukraine’s general staff said on Facebook.
Residents of the occupied cities of Melitopol and Skadovsk are being surveyed on personal details, from whether they hold a Russian passport to their level of education. “Buses with those willing to evacuate are reported to periodically depart,” the general staff said, and occupying officials “are spreading information that the forced evacuation of civilians will begin in late April.”
The efforts come ahead of a potential counteroffensive by Kyiv to recapture territory held by Kremlin forces since shortly after the February 2022 invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally annexed the regions in October in defiance of international law.
French Defense Chief Speaks With Ukraine’s Zeluzhnyi (3 p.m.)
General Thierry Burkhard, France’s chief of defense staff, said on Twitter that he spoke by phone with Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. Burkhard said the pair had a “fruitful” change, with the Ukrainian giving an analysis of conditions at the front.
No Damage Reported as Russia Shoots Down Missile Over Crimea (11:30 a.m.)
Russian air-defense forces shot a missile launched from Ukraine over the region of Feodosia in eastern Crimea on Saturday, Interfax reported, citing Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the Russian-occupied peninsula.
Debris fell on a settlement that wasn’t immediately identified, with no casualties or damage reported, the Tass news agency said, citing regional authorities.
Feodosia lies on Crimea’s southern coast, between Sevastopol and Kerch, end-point of the bridge that connects Crimea to the Russian mainland. Ukrainian officials haven’t commented on what would be a long-range hit for Kyiv’s forces.
Russia Lawmakers to Consider Life Sentence for Treason (10 a.m.)
Russia’s lawmakers will consider a bill introducing life sentence for acts of state treason, Tass reported on Saturday, citing Vasily Piskarev, head of the security committee in the lower chamber of parliament. The current maximum sentence is 20 years.
The bill also proposes raising punishment for terrorist attacks to as much as 20 years in prison from 15 years now.
Estonian PM, Big Backer of Ukraine, Clinches New Coalition Deal (9:50 a.m.)
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas secured a deal for a new ruling coalition following her victory in last month’s elections, extending her tenure as one of Europe’s most ardent backers of Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Under her leadership, Estonia has stood out as the biggest contributor of weapons aid to Ukraine on a per-capita basis. Alongside Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, the country has pushed hard for tough sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Uncertainty on Russian Oil Output After It Cites Reduction for March (8 a.m.)
Russia’s energy ministry said the nation reduced its oil output by about 700,000 barrels a day in March, according to a person familiar with the figures. The figure is inconsistent with data on the nation’s March seaborne exports and supplies to domestic refineries, adding to the uncertainty over how much oil Russia is actually pumping at the moment.
The Kremlin pledged to curb crude-only output by 500,000 barrels a day between March and December in retaliation for Western trade restrictions and a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven industrialized nations. The reduction was 40% higher, according to the Energy Ministry data.
Read more: Russia Says It Cut Oil Output by 700,000 Barrels a Day in March
Ukraine Energy Systems Made It Through Russia’s Barrage, UK Says (7:30 a.m.)
Moscow’s efforts to severely degrade Ukraine’s energy systems over the winter “highly likely failed,” and the large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure seen since October have become rare over the past month, the UK defense ministry said.
While Ukraine’s network operating companies continue to source replacement transformers and other parts, “transporting and installing these components is a major logistical challenge, especially high voltage transformers which weigh at least 100 tonnes,” the ministry said in a Twitter thread.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said late Friday that the nation will resume electricity exports to Europe.
Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Working on ‘Potent’ Sanctions List (7:30 a.m.)
Ukraine’s government is working on “a new potent list of sanctions” to block “people who work for aggression,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Friday in his nightly address, without offering details. Several rounds of sanctions have been announced in the past few months.
Zelenskiy repeated his vow for Ukraine to recapture the Crimean peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
On Friday, a Ukrainian foreign ministry official pushed back on a a recent suggestion from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that Kyiv should cede Crimea as a way to end the war.
Xi’s Support for Ukraine Peace Falls Short of Macron’s Ambitions (7 a.m.)
Paris and Beijing agreed to support any effort to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law in a joint statement on Saturday that fell short of French President Emmanuel Macron’s hopes for his three-day China visit.
Macron had hoped, however, to persuade Chinese leader Xi Jinping to use his influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin to help end the war. Yet Xi refrained from mentioning Russia or Putin in public remarks during the visit, and China’s commitment didn’t go beyond its existing 12-point proposal to end the conflict.
As for a much-awaited call between Xi and Ukraine’s president also doesn’t appear to be any closer to happening.
Wall Street Journal, White House Deny Spying Allegations (10:40 p.m.)
The Wall Street Journal and the White House on Saturday again denied accusations by Russia that detained correspondent Evan Gershkovich is a spy. Russian media reported on Saturday the US citizen has been formally charged with espionage.
“We’ve seen media reports indicating Evan has been charged. As we’ve said from the beginning, these charges are categorically false and unjustified, and we continue to demand Evan’s immediate release,” the Journal said in a statement. The White House called the charges “baseless.”
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