Meanwhile, an aide to jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny today suggested Putin had massively miscalculated, predicting the ‘unpopular’ war and its economic consequences would lead to the ‘demise’ of his regime within five years.
VATICAN CITY, April 9 (Reuters) – Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country’s invasion of Ukraine in his Easter message to the world on Sunday and appealed for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians following recent violence.
It comes after Russia used its latest hypersonic missile – known as the Kinzhal – for the first time during its attack on Ukraine, a military spokesman said today, reportedly wiping out an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region.
In 1974, there were still a quarter of a million miners employed in Britain. A decade later, it was down to 130,000, when Arthur Scargill made his fateful decision to take on a much better prepared Conservative government led by Mrs Thatcher.
Video posted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty shows military ambulances driving through the Belarusian city of Homel, with employees at the region’s clinical hospital alleging more than 2,500 bodies have been shipped back to Russia
The theme is one Putin has frequently discussed, not least when he suggested in speeches before the invasion that Ukraine was an artificial construct and an ‘inalienable part’ of Russian history and culture.
Boris Johnson suggested the growingly desperate leader – who has yet to make any significant inroads in Ukraine – is being ‘irrational’, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described him as ‘totally paranoid’.
On Sunday he asked God to “comfort the wounded and all those who have lost loved ones because of the war, and grant that prisoners may return safe and sound to their families. Open the hearts of the entire international community to strive to end this war and all conflict and bloodshed in our world.”
But the traditional pomp and sacred singing then gave way to modern realities. Francis later went up to the central balcony of St.
Peter’s Basilica to deliver his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing, addressing a crowd the Vatican estimated at about 100,000.
“On this day, Lord, we entrust to you the city of Jerusalem, the first witness of your resurrection. I express deep worry over the attacks of these last few days that threaten the hoped-for climate of trust and reciprocal respect, needed to resume the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, so that peace may reign in the Holy City and in the entire region,” he said.
Financial records appear to show shipments of laptops, mobile phones and microchips have been repeatedly sent from a business registered at the unassuming property in Enfield, North London, since Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine began last year.
Between the Mass and his reading of the message, Francis, appearing in fine form, was driven in a popemobile around the square and down the main boulevard leading to the River Tiber so more people could see him.
They show that a large volume of high-end microchips, telecoms equipment and servers, which have the potential to support Russian infrastructure, have been shipped through other countries, largely China, avoiding sanctions.
As he has done every Easter, Francis called for peace in the Middle East, his appeal made more urgent by recent violence in Jerusalem and cross-border exchanges of fire involving Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
Video posted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty shows military ambulances driving through the Belarusian city of Homel in early March, with employees at the region’s clinical hospital claiming more than 2,500 bodies have already been shipped back to Russia as of March 13.
Merlion is owned by three Russian oligarchs who appear in Forbes’ list of 200 wealthiest Russians with a combined net worth of £1.6 billion. Two of them have been sanctioned by Ukraine for ‘material or financial support’ for the war.
The newspaper said that South Korea had agreed to sell artillery shells to help the United States replenish its stockpiles, insisting that the “end user” should be the U.S.
military. But internally, top South Korean officials were worried that the United States would divert them to Ukraine.
Asked if South Korea planned to lodge a protest or demand an explanation from the United States, the official, who declined to be identified, said the government would review precedents and cases involving other countries.
SEOUL, April 9 (Reuters) – South Korea is aware of news reports about a leak of several classified U.S.
military documents and it plans to discuss “issues raised” as a result of the leak with the United States, a South Korean presidential official said on Sunday.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, Francis has at least twice a week referred to Ukraine and its people as being “martyred” and get math help online has used words such as aggression and atrocities to describe Russia’s actions.