Zelensky slams Olympics chief’s ‘neutrality’ amid war – live

Volodymyr Zelensky has fiercely criticized Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, for allowing Russia to participate in the Games.

“The Olympic principle and war are fundamentally opposed to each other,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly speech, criticizing the Olympic Committee’s apparently neutral stance.

“One cannot but be discouraged by the statements of Thomas Bach, the current President of the International Olympic Committee. I spoke with him many times. And I’ve never heard how he’s going to protect sports from war propaganda if he returns Russian athletes to international competitions.

Mr. Zelensky also said that his administration “will do everything to protect the world sports from any other influence of political or terrorist state, which is simply inevitable when Russian athletes take part in competitions. And in particular – the Paris Olympics.” in.”

Zelensky said, “I don’t want to get into what exactly motivated Mr. Bach to promote such an initiative.”

Ukrainian athletes have been forced to protect their loved ones from Russian aggression, he continued. “The Russian attacks took the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian men and women who could have brought their talents to the world Games,” he said.

Ukraine is in early talks with its allies to acquire long-range missiles to prevent Russia from bombing its cities, according to adviser to the president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said, “To significantly reduce the main weapons of the Russian military – the artillery they use on the front lines today – we need missiles that destroy their depots.”

He said that there are more than 100 warehouses of cannons in the Crimean peninsula occupied by Russia.

“So, first of all, talks are already underway. Secondly, the talks are progressing at a fast pace.

Ukraine has slapped sanctions against 182 Russian and Belarusian companies and three individuals, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday.

“Their assets in Ukraine have been blocked, their assets will be used to defend us,” Mr Zelensky said in a video address as he blocked Ukraine’s connections to Moscow and Minsk.

According to the list published by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the approved firms are mainly related to transportation of goods, vehicle leasing and chemical production.

This includes Russian potash fertilizer producer and exporter Uralkali, Belarus’ state-owned potash producer Belaruskali, Belarusian Railways, as well as Russia’s VTB-Leasing and Gazprombank Leasing, both of which operate in transport leasing.

The latest sanctions take the total list of leaders and firms sanctioned to hundreds since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

Russia is planning to move its occupied territories in Ukraine to Moscow Time (MSK), according to a statement by its industry ministry.

In a statement on Telegram, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said it had submitted amendments to the Federal Law on Russian Time Zones.

It lists four regions under its possession: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, which will enter Moscow time (one hour ahead) if the law is ratified.

Russia held a referendum on four regions on 23–27 September last year to join Russia, in a voting process that was declared illegal and invalid by international bodies.

The UN General Assembly adopted a new resolution condemning the vote held in October and called for a reverse course on the “illegal annexation” of the territories by Russia.

A Ukrainian official has said that Russia currently has three Kalibr cruise missile carriers in the Black Sea, each with 20 missiles.

Serhiy Brachuk, a spokesman for the Odessa Regional Military Administration, said in a post on Telegram that the risk of missile attacks was high.

Brachuk said that 16 Russian warships are currently active in the Black Sea.

Odessa is the third largest city in Ukraine, located in the south of the country on the Black Sea. Russian cruise missiles previously attacked the city last year.

The Kalibras cruise missiles are one of the main ordnance used by the Russian military to attack civilian infrastructure and settlements of Ukraine.

The major missile attack against Ukrainian critical infrastructure on January 14 this year was carried out using Kalibr missiles fired from ships in the Black Sea.

US auditors will visit Ukraine next week to ensure that aid and weapons are not diverted, according to Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland.

Representatives will be joined by officials from the World Bank and Deloitte consultants, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues his crackdown on corruption in politics.

Nuland told a congressional committee that the US would continue to “support the reform and anti-corruption measures needed by the Ukrainian government throughout the country”.

However, recent corruption scandals in Ukraine do not appear to involve humanitarian aid given to Ukraine, a State Department spokesman has said.

A food procurement scandal within the Ukrainian Defense Ministry resulted in the resignation of Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov earlier this week.

President Zelensky has reshuffled his top team in the biggest change of leadership since Russia’s invasion in February last year.

Justice ministers from EU member states have agreed a swift accountability for “horrific” crimes in Ukraine at a meeting in Stockholm on Friday.

Ministers differed in their methods in debates about how to secure the lawsuits, evidence or fund repairs for war damage.

The 27 EU justice ministers met in Stockholm ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ireland’s Justice Minister, Simon Harris, said, “There must certainly be accountability for the horrific international crimes and brutality of what we are seeing in Ukraine … clear and obvious war crimes.”

Sweden’s Justice Minister Gunnar Stromer told Reuters: “Nobody who commits war crimes like this will go scot-free. It is very, very important that we find a way to hold those responsible accountable.”

“The question is how do we deal with it in a practical and efficient way.”

Belgian minister Vincent van Quickenborn suggested that condemnation was needed from the wider global community.

He added: “These acts of aggression should be condemned not only by European countries or the United States, but also by most countries in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere.”

The Ukrainian military said on Friday it would set up “drone assault companies” equipped with Starlink satellite communications.

With the aim of conducting surveillance and attacking Russian positions using small explosives, Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzny signed off on the units’ creation in a multi-agency project involving several ministries.

The General Staff said in a post on Facebook that “the most professional soldiers” have already been selected to lead the new companies.

Each company that will receive drones and ammunition, Starlink terminals and other equipment.

“We are doing everything to provide the troops with modern technology,” continued the General Staff.

Starlink is a system for satellite communications operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, and widely in use by civilians and the Ukrainian military.

Ukraine’s defense minister said last month that he sees drones as the future of modern warfare.

Moscow has used hundreds of Iranian-made “suicide drones” during the conflict to attack cities in Ukraine.

Read more about Russia’s use of drones here:

Military sources have said that Ukrainian forces are now struggling to capture the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.

According to Guardian journalists, the continuous fighting has intensified since the Ukrainian army withdrew from the nearby town of Soledar last week.

Russia on Saturday shelled 40 settlements near Bakhmut with its artillery.

A source told the Guardian: “The Russians are destroying anything that can be used for cover.

“The Ukrainian army does not have enough artillery.”

There is growing concern over the besieged Bakhmut’s lack of artillery in the Ukrainian army’s ability to hold back the Russian army.

The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russia was launching new military offensives to mark the anniversary of the invasion on 24 February 2022.

He also suggested that Russian troops were aiming to move “beyond the borders” of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Friday tightened its economic sanctions against Russia in response to its latest wave of missile attacks in Ukraine.

The ministry also added the goods to the export sanctions list and froze assets of Russian officials and entities.

The new missile strikes came in response to reports of greater coordination between Ukraine’s allies supplying armored vehicles to Ukraine’s forces.

In a statement, the Ministry of Economy said: “In light of the situation surrounding Ukraine and to contribute to international efforts to secure peace, Japan will introduce export sanctions along with other major countries.”

Among the new sanctions, Japan will from the beginning of February block exports to 49 Russian organizations that could be used to boost its military capability.

The banned exports include water cannons, gas exploration equipment, X-ray inspection equipment, explosives and robots, the ministry said.