Russian authorities in Lipetsk region announce reinforced security

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 24 June 2023

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MOSCOW - Russian authorities said Saturday that security measures had been tightened in several regions, after the chief of mercenary group Wagner said his forces had crossed the border from Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin vowed to "go to the end" to topple the Russian military leadership, whom he accused of launching strikes on his men, while the country's prosecutor general said he was under investigation for "armed rebellion".

"A decision has been taken to reinforce security measures in the region," said Igor Artamonov, governor of the Lipetsk region south of Moscow. "I ask everyone to remain calm." The region of Lipetsk is around 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Moscow.

In the southern region of Rostov, officials asked residents to stay home.

"Law enforcement agencies are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of residents," Rostov governor Vasily Golubev said on social media. "I ask everyone to stay calm," he said, urging locals to stay home.

Earlier Saturday state news agency TASS reported that Moscow authorities had instituted tighter security measures, and local media published amateur footage showing armoured vehicles deploying throughout the capital, including near the defence ministry.

Prigozhin said earlier his units, which spearheaded an assault in eastern Ukraine, had entered the southern region of Rostov.

The Ukrainian army said Friday it was following infighting in Moscow after the head of the Wagner mercenary group accused Russia's military of attacking one of the private fighting group's bases.

"We are watching," the Ukrainian defence ministry tweeted, while Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said rival Russian factions had begun to "eat each other over power and money."

The White House was following the situation in Russia after the head of the Wagner mercenary group called for an "armed mutiny" against Moscow top brass, a spokesman said Friday, adding that President Joe Biden had been briefed.

"We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments," National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said.

Wagner chief claims his forces downed Russian military helicopter

The chief of mercenary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin said early Saturday that his forces had shot down a Russian military helicopter.

"A helicopter has just now opened fire at a civilian column. It has been shot down by units of PMC Wagner," Prigozhin said in a new audio message. He did not provide any details and AFP could not verify the claim.

The founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force said that his men had crossed border from Ukraine into Russia and were ready to go "all the way" against the Russian military.

Wagner fighters had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov, Prigozhin said in an audio recording posted on Telegram.

He said he and his men would destroy anyone who stood in their way.

Russia earlier on Friday accused Prigozhin of calling for an armed mutiny after he alleged, without providing evidence, that the military leadership had killed a huge number of his fighters in an air strike and vowed to punish them.

President Vladimir Putin has been informed by Russia's prosecutor general of an attempt by the Wagner mercenary group to stage an armed insurrection, the Kremlin announced Saturday.

"The Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation (Igor) Krasnov reported to Putin about the initiation of a criminal case in connection with an attempt to organise an armed rebellion," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

A Russian state news agency on Saturday reported that Moscow authorities had instituted tighter security measures after the head of the Wagner mercenary group called for the ouster of Russia's military leadership.

"Security measures in Moscow have been tightened. All critical facilities, government and transport infrastructure objects have been put under reinforced protection," the TASS state-run news agency reported, citing a law enforcement source.

This came after Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner's founder, accused Moscow of targeting his forces with deadly missile strikes and vowed to retaliate.

The 62-year-old, whose forces have played a central role in key battles in east Ukraine, said he was launching a march to restore "justice," calling for change at the top of the defence ministry.

Russian state television meanwhile broadcast an unscheduled special report, echoing statements from the FSB security service, which accused Prigozhin of fomenting a "civil conflict" and urged Wagner fighters to detain him.

Local media published amateur footage showing armoured vehicles deploying throughout the capital, including near the defence ministry.

Rebuilding Ukraine: why reconstruction can’t wait until after the war

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 21 June 2023

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LONDON - The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to secure a multibillion-pound package of financial support to help rebuild Ukraine at an international conference that got under way in London today, writes Felicity Capon in The Week.

The two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference is focusing mainly on how the private sector can support Ukraine’s recovery, as the country counts the cost of the destruction of homes, hospitals, roads, rails, seaports and energy supplies following 16 months of war.

Rebuilding Ukraine is a “Herculanean task”, said Suzanne Lynch in Politico. The project is expected to last a decade or more, and is already on track to cost around $411 billion, according to some estimates. That figure “will only increase as the war grinds on”, and is already several times more than the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild 16 European nations after the Second World War.

“It’s a huge ask,” Lynch continued, but Europe has much to gain from preventing “a humanitarian and economic disaster on its continent”.

What are the aims of the conference?

In the short term, Ukraine needs $14 billion from international donors just to “get through this year”, said BBC business reporter Jonathan Josephs. The money is urgently needed for social expenditures such as salaries for healthcare workers, as well as for vital infrastructure such as mending roads and the power system. Unless damaged infrastructure is fixed, Ukraine will struggle to export crops including wheat, sunflower and corn, which are a vital source of income, and vital exports for much of the world.

Another key issue at the conference is whether a war insurance scheme can be put into place to encourage private sector investment by protecting such funding from destruction or damage. Some insurance schemes already exist, but “the aim is to offer broader and longer-term insurance arrangements”, according to the London Evening Standard.

In the longer term, Ukraine is seeking up to $40 billion to fund the first part of a “Green Marshall Plan” to rebuild its economy, including developing a coal-free steel industry. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be hoping to send a message to Russia that the West is firmly on his country’s side in the conflict.

Ukraine’s economic recovery “should demonstrate to the world that freedom is invincible”, Zelenskyy said ahead of the conference.

Who is attending?

The promise of so much money being handed out is “inspiring altruistic impulses and entrepreneurial vision, savvy business strategising and rank opportunism”, said The New York Times. As the Ukrainian chamber of commerce has said, the country is now “the world’s largest construction site”.

With private investment seen as vital in rebuilding Ukraine, companies worldwide appear to be eyeing up a “possible multibillion-dollar gold rush”, the paper reported.

More than 400 companies from 38 countries with combined annual revenue of $1.6 trillion are attending the conference, including Virgin, Rolls Royce and BT, alongside more than 100 Ukrainian businesses.

Heads of state, foreign ministers, heads of international organisations, chief executives and civil society representatives are also attending. And other major organisations have already pledged their support.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that the EU would provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros for 2024-27. Ukraine is on track to join the EU following the European Council’s decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova membership status last year, so it is in the EU’s interests for Ukraine to be a healthy, stable democracy.

Ukraine also has critical raw materials and could act as the EU’s “energy storage hub”, noted Lynch in Politico.

Opening the conference, Sunak announced that the UK was backing $3 billion of World Bank loan guarantees. The prime minister also committed up to £250 million of new capital for British International Investment, the government’s development finance institution.

What are the complexities involved?

“First things first: the war must stop,” said David Dodwell in the South China Morning Post. Until it does, the bill will keep on rising. The recent blowing up of the giant Nova Kakhovka dam is estimated to have added around $1 billion to the total bill.

Many would like to see seized Russian assets being used to cover some of the costs, but that could take years and is legally complex. “And the aftermath of the First World War is a reminder that punitive reparation costs could pave the way to hostilities down the road,” said Dodwell, executive director of the Hong Kong-APEC Trade Policy Study Group.

In a further compliation, Ukraine’s “patchy record with corruption” has “made the task of convincing businesses to invest more difficult”, said The Times. Last year Ukraine was ranked as more corrupt than India, South Africa and Kazakhstan, finishing in 116th place in the Transparency International corruption perception index.

Without tackling corruption within the country, rebuilding Ukraine is “very likely doomed”, said The Washington Post, “because friendly governments, international lenders and private companies alike will shrink from the task”.

Greek boat ‘had up to 100 children’ in its hold as it sank

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 16 June 2023

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ATHENS - Survivors from a fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Greece say that up to 100 children may have been on board.

Hundreds are people are missing following the shipwreck, with suggestions that between 400 and 750 people may have been aboard. At least 78 bodies have been recovered so far. Citing initial testimonies from survivors, the Save the Children charity said they believed around 100 children were in the boat’s hold.

When asked by a reporter from Greece’s ANT1 channel if there were 100 children onboard, one survivor replied: “Yes.”

Rescue ships fanned out across the area the vessel went down about 45 miles southwest of Pylos off the Peloponnese coast, as it made its way to Italy from the Libyan port of Tobruk. “The chances of finding [more survivors] are minimal,” retired Greek coast guard Nikos Spanos told state-run ERT television.

“We can assume that many of these children will have lost their lives, as reports of survivors are so far limited. Our deepest sympathies are with the children’s families, and all those affected by this horrendous event,” Unicef said in a statement.

Rescuers saved 104 passengers – including individuals from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Palestine. The search operation will continue for as long as needed, the coast guard said.

Kassem Abu Zeed caught the first flight from Germany to Greece after realising that his wife and brother-in-law were aboard the ship. Relatives of other people onboard also gathered in the southern port city of Kalamata to look for their loved ones.

“The last time we spoke was eight days ago, and she told me that she was getting ready to get on the boat,” Abu Zeed told The Associated Press. “She had paid £5,000 to smugglers. And then we all know what happened.”

The Greek coast guard said nine survivors from the ship were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the smuggling ring that arranged the voyage.

The chances of retrieving the sunken vessel, which had set off from the Libyan port of Tobruk, are remote because the area of international waters where the incident occurred is one of the Mediterranean’s deepest.

Greek prime minister Ioannis Sarmas, who is leading a caretaker government ahead of elections later this month, who had declared three days of national mourning on Wedesnday, said thoughts were with “all the victims of the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness”. Campaigning has been suspended ahead of the parliamentary election on 25 June and a TV debate due to happen on Thursday was cancelled.

Several marches in protest at the tragedy took place on Thursday evening, including in the capital Athens and the second city Thessaloniki.

Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of Kalamata, where survivors were taken, said there were “more than 500 people” on board.

Independent refugee activist Nawal Soufi said in a Facebook post that she was contacted by people aboard the vessel in the early hours of Tuesday, and that she had been in contact with them until 11pm

“The whole time they asked me what they should do and I kept telling them that Greek help would come. In this last call, the man I was talking to expressly told me: ‘I feel that this will be our last night alive,’” she wrote.

The Greek coastguard said initial contact was made with the fishing boat at 2pm local time on Tuesday, and that no request for help had been made.

Alarm Phone, which operates a trans-European network supporting rescue operations, said it received alerts from people on board a ship in distress off Greece late on Tuesday. It said it had alerted Greek authorities and spoke to people on the vessel who estimated there were up to 750 people on board and appealed for help, and that the captain had fled on a small boat.

Government officials said that before capsizing and sinking around 2am on Wednesday, the vessel’s engine stopped and it began veering from side to side.

Coastguard officers tried to approach the vessel after receiving a request for help, it then “saw the boat take a right turn, then a sharp left, and then another right so big that it caused the vessel to capsize”.

The coastguard has been criticised for not intervening earlier but it said repeated calls to the vessel offering help were declined.

“In the afternoon a merchant vessel approached the ship and provided it with food and supplies, while the [passengers] refused any further assistance,” it said.

A second merchant ship that approached it later was said to have offered further supplies and assistance which were turned down.

On Thursday morning, Greek coastguard spokesman Mr Alexiou said it appeared the vessel capsized after people abruptly moved to one side – shifting the centre of gravity of the 25-30m vessel.

“The outer deck was full of people, and we presume the interior [of the vessel] would also have been full. It looks as if there was a shift among the people who were crammed on board, and it capsized.”

About 72,000 refugees and migrants have arrived so far this year in Europe’s frontline countries Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus, according to UN data, with the majority landing in Italy.

Under a conservative government in power until last month, Greece had taken a harder stance on migration, building walled camps and boosting border controls.

Asked whether Italy was involved in the incident, its interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Thursday that the shipwreck occurred in Greece’s search and rescue area. “But that does not mean that Greece is to blame, it is just circumscribing specific areas of responsibility,” he told Italy’s SkyTG24 TV channel.

Greece’s government spokesperson told Reuters that “on illegal migration, EU border states face similar humanitarian disasters and share the same challenges. The biggest of them all is forging a comprehensive EU solution on migration and asylum that respects international law and inclusive humanism.”

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.