Latest news with #AndreiMarchenko
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: US to resume shipments of weapons for Ukrainian defence
Donald Trump said on Monday that the US would resume shipments of 'defensive weapons, primarily' to Ukraine in a reversal of an only days-old decision to withhold their supply. Answering a reporter's question at the White House, the US president said: 'We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now.' The Pentagon under Pete Hegseth last week halted already funded and promised arms shipments to Ukraine, with the defence secretary and Trump administration officials giving varying reasons – ranging from a seriously questioned claim by Hegseth of low weapons stocks, to the pause being part of a standard review of defence capabilities. Soon after Trump spoke on Monday, the Pentagon released a statement. 'At President Trump's direction, the department of defence is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops. Our framework for Potus to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defence priorities.' Britain on Monday placed sanctions on two Russian individuals and one Russian entity for the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. It imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops. The Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying the Russian military with RG-Vo riot control grenades whose use in warfare contravenes the international chemical weapons convention. At least one person was killed and 71 were wounded in Russian drone strikes on Ukraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv, officials said on Monday. Apartment buildings, a kindergarten and the regional draft office were damaged in two waves of strikes, local and military officials said. During the second wave, six Shahed drones struck within 10 minutes, aimed 'at residential streets, at cars, at people', said the Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekhov. In south-eastern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia city at least 20 people were wounded and dozens of residential buildings and a university building damaged in a morning drone strike, governor Ivan Fedorov said on Monday. One person was killed in Odesa, regional officials said. Russia struck two military recruitment centres in drone attacks on Monday, Ukraine's military said. The attacks hit densely populated areas, in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, damaging draft offices as well as wounding dozens of civilians, and came a day after a Russian drone struck a recruitment centre in Kremenchuk. Last week, Russian attacks targeted draft offices in Poltava, another regional capital, as well as Kryvyi Rih. Ukraine's national security and defence council said Russia was waging an 'information campaign' on social media about draft office locations 'to destabilise the mobilisation process and sow panic among the population'; however a ground forces spokesperson said recruitment remained on track. Ukraine's military said it struck a chemical plant in Russia's Moscow region that manufactures explosives, ammunition and thermobaric warheads for Shahed attack drones. 'A series of explosions were recorded in the area of the city of Krasnozavodsk and the movement of fire trucks in neighbouring settlements,' the military general staff announced on Monday. Ukraine's drones also hit workshops at the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, causing a fire and disrupting production, according to a Ukrainian security service source cited in national media. The BBC said it confirmed the information with its own security source, and Russian local officials confirmed the Krasnodar attack. The former deputy chief of the Russian army's general staff was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Monday over a scheme involving theft of money from defence ministry contracts, the Tass news agency of Russia reported. Khalil Arslanov, a colonel general, and others were found guilty of stealing 1.6bn roubles (£14.9m/US$20.3m) from state contracts with Voentelecom, which provides telecommunications services and equipment to the Russian military.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
UK sanctions Russian weapons bosses for role in Ukraine war
Britain has imposed new sanctions on two Russian individuals and a Russian entity, citing their involvement in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. The move is part of the UK's latest efforts to punish Moscow for its ongoing war. Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev, head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops, and his deputy, Andrei Marchenko, face asset freezes and travel bans. The British government stated their role in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine prompted these measures. Separately, the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry has been sanctioned for supplying RG-Vo riot control agent grenades to the Russian military. These grenades, the government said, have been deployed as a method of warfare against Ukraine, a direct contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention. In June, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to keep 'tightening the screws' on Russian leader Vladimir Putin as he announced a raft of fresh sanctions on dozens of new Russian finance, military and energy targets. Two UK residents who have funnelled more than $120m of electronics to Russia through a network of companies were also among those targeted as the government vowed to 'starve Putin's war machine'. 'We know that our sanctions are hitting hard, so while Putin shows total disregard for peace, we will not hesitate to keep tightening the screws,' Sir Keir added. Those sanctions were aimed at Russia's finance, military and energy sectors, including Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers, which is illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions, with 20 additional ships targeted. The UK also cracked down on those enabling Putin's illegal oil exports, sanctioning the energy firms Orion Star Group LLC and Valegro LLC-FZ for their role in crewing and managing shadow fleet vessels.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US agrees to send ‘defensive' military aid to Ukraine
Update: Date: 2025-07-08T07:40:08.000Z Title: UK imposes sanctions on head, deputy of Russia's principal chemical weapons unit Content: Defence and security editor The UK has sanctioned the head and a deputy of Russia's principal chemical weapons unit over the illegal use of CS teargas in Ukraine ahed of a meeting of the executive council of the Organisation of Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Aleksey Rtishchev, the chief of Russia's Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence unit (known as RKhBZ) and Andrei Marchenko, a deputy will now both be subject to sanctions following OPCW reports that gas was used on the battlefield. Though CS gas is used as a crowd control agent in several countries, its use in war is prohibited by the chemical weapons convention. Last November the OPCW confirmed there was evidence of the use of teargas on the frontline, at Ilinka, near the town of Nikopol. The UK has already sanctioned the RKHBZ unit as well as its former chief Igor Kirillov, though he was assassinated by Ukraine last December by a bomb hidden in a scooter, after Kyiv accused Russia of deploying chemical weapons hundreds of times. Britain also sanctioned The Joint Stock Company Federal Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry for transferring gas grenades to the Russian military. Stephen Doughty, the sanctions minister, said 'Barbaric chemical weapons are supposed to be consigned to history, and yet Russia continues to deploy them on the battlefield in Ukraine.' Update: Date: 2025-07-08T07:39:05.000Z Title: Morning opening: US agrees to send 'defensive' military aid to Ukraine Content: The big news overnight is that US president Donald Trump said the US will send additional weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself against ongoing attacks by Russia. Talking to journalists at the White House, Trump said 'they are getting hit very, very hard,' adding he was 'not happy' with Russian president Vladimir Putin. They have to be able to defend themselves. A Pentagon statement shortly afterwards confirmed that 'at president Trump's direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.' The move comes a week after a confusing halt in military deliveries for Ukraine despite continuing attacks by Russia, which prompted Kyiv and several European capitals to urge the US to rethink its position. The issue was also discussed during last week's direct call between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Despite the announcement overnight, Russia continued attacks on Ukraine, with explosions reported in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, among others. Elsewhere, we will be looking at the latest in the EU-US trade talks, the beginning of French president Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Britain, key votes in the European parliament, and the beginning of the trial of a man who shot and wounded Slovak prime minister Robert Fico last year. It's Tuesday, 8 July 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Sanctions over Russian chemical weapons on battlefield
Britain on Monday placed sanctions on two Russian individuals and one Russian entity for the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. It imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops. The Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying the Russian military with RG-Vo riot control grenades whose use in warfare contravenes the international chemical weapons convention. At least one person was killed and 71 were wounded in Russian drone strikes on Ukraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv, officials said on Monday. Apartment buildings, a kindergarten and the regional draft office were damaged in two waves of strikes, local and military officials said. During the second wave, six Shahed drones struck within 10 minutes, aimed 'at residential streets, at cars, at people', said the Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekhov. In south-eastern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia city at least 20 people were wounded and dozens of residential buildings and a university building damaged in a morning drone strike, governor Ivan Fedorov said on Monday. One person was killed in Odesa, regional officials said. Russia struck two military recruitment centres in drone attacks on Monday, Ukraine's military said. The attacks hit densely populated areas, in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, damaging draft offices as well as wounding dozens of civilians, and came a day after a Russian drone struck a recruitment centre in Kremenchuk. Last week, Russian attacks targeted draft offices in Poltava, another regional capital, as well as Kryvyi Rih. Ukraine's national security and defence council said Russia was waging an 'information campaign' on social media about draft office locations 'to destabilise the mobilisation process and sow panic among the population'; however a ground forces spokesperson said recruitment remained on track. Ukraine's military said it struck a chemical plant in Russia's Moscow region that manufactures explosives, ammunition and thermobaric warheads for Shahed attack drones. 'A series of explosions were recorded in the area of the city of Krasnozavodsk and the movement of fire trucks in neighbouring settlements,' the military general staff announced on Monday. Ukraine's drones also hit workshops at the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, causing a fire and disrupting production, according to a Ukrainian security service source cited in national media. The BBC said it confirmed the information with its own security source, and Russian local officials confirmed the Krasnodar attack. The former deputy chief of the Russian army's general staff was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Monday over a scheme involving theft of money from defence ministry contracts, the Tass news agency of Russia reported. Khalil Arslanov, a colonel general, and others were found guilty of stealing 1.6bn roubles (£14.9m/US$20.3m) from state contracts with Voentelecom, which provides telecommunications services and equipment to the Russian military.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK sanctions Russians over chemical weapons in Ukraine
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Monday targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. It imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops, for their role in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, the British government said. It said the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying RG-Vo riot control agent grenades to the Russian military. The grenades have been used as a method of warfare against Ukraine in contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the British government said. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment. Moscow has previously called Western sanctions illegal.
