LIVE UKRAINE. US Senate also approves military aid package for Ukraine – Russian Deputy Defense Minister arrested | War Ukraine and Russia

Ukraine has hit Russia again with a well-aimed drone attack. A large fuel tank exploded on an industrial estate in the Smolensk region. This was reported by Vasily Anokhin, governor of the Russian region. He said there were no injuries, but local residents have been evacuated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday after approving the US aid package vabout Ukraine worth the equivalent of 57 billion dollars, expressed his gratitude in a response. “I am grateful to the US Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a statement on messaging app Telegram. “This vote reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world.”

Biden promised to sign the relief package immediately after the vote. “I will sign this bill and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so that we… could start sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week.”

The US Senate has approved a long-awaited military aid package for Ukraine. The senators voted by a large majority in favor of the proposal, which was already approved last weekend by the House of Representatives, the other chamber of parliament (Congress). This means that only President Joe Biden still has to sign it.

With the support package for Ukraine an amount of $61 billion, equivalent to 57 billion euros. Due to political disagreements in the US, it was not possible for months to get such a large support package through Congress. Biden had asked the Senate to hurry so that new weapons and equipment can be quickly sent to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion force.

The support package for Ukraine is part of a larger foreign aid package that the Senate approved on Tuesday, worth $95 billion (88.7 billion euros). That also includes help for Israel and Taiwan. The package also contains a provision that could lead to the social medium TikTok being banned in the US.

A Russia’s deputy defense minister has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes, Russian state media report. It concerns Timur Ivanov, who has been in office for eight years. Russia has twelve deputy defense ministers.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin informed of Ivanov’s arrest. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu had already been informed in advance. What Ivanov allegedly accepted bribes for, and the amount, has not been disclosed.

According to Russian news reports, 48-year-old Ivanov, a close confidant of Shoigu, may be a… imprisonment for a maximum of fifteen years looking forward to. He is believed to be the highest-ranking Russian official to face such accusations since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Ivanov, an expert in cybernetics and nuclear energy, worked at energy companies and for the Moscow regional administration before ending up at the Ministry of Defense in 2010. In 2016 he became deputy minister. According to Forbes magazine Ivanov one of the richest people in Russian security and defense circles.

A Russian court ruled on Tuesday American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention until the end of June on espionage charges has been rejected.

The arrest of the American was convicted last month by a court in Moscow extended until June 30.

“The First Court of Appeal has decided to leave unchanged the March 26 decision by the Court of First Instance,” Judge Alexander Pushkin said.

Gershkovich, a journalist at ‘The Wall Street Journal’, was arrested by Russian security services at the end of March 2023 during a report in Yekaterinburg in the Urals. He is accused of espionage. The journalist risks a prison sentence of twenty years.

Gershkovich and his entourage strongly deny the allegations, as do his employer and the US government. Russian authorities have never substantiated the accusations against the man and keep the entire procedure secret.

The European Parliament on Tuesday approved an extension of tariff-free imports of Ukrainian agricultural products after June 5. This time, a number of restrictions are being imposed to protect a number of European markets.

The hemisphere approved a compromise reached with the Member States at the beginning of this month by 428 votes to 131 (44 abstentions). That agreement took a lot of effort. Under pressure from the farmers’ protests, member states such as Poland and France demanded more protection for European farmers, who fear that massive imports could cause prices to plummet.

For example, the final compromise provides for a brake on the import of poultry, eggs, sugar, corn, oats, groats and honey. Once imports of these “particularly sensitive” products exceed the average import volumes of the second half of 2021 and the years 2022 and 2023, duties will be automatically imposed.

During the negotiations there was also a lot of discussion about wheat. Ultimately, it is not on the list of particularly sensitive products, but it has been agreed that the Commission will take safeguard measures very quickly if the European market or the market of one or more Member States is disrupted by Ukrainian imports.

The tariff-free import from Ukraine expires on June 5. The European Union had granted the favorable measure after the Russian invasion in February 2022 to continue to provide the country with an important source of income in times of war. The extension of the favorable regime is valid for one year.

“A stay abroad does not release citizens from their obligations to their homeland.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Koeleba warned about this in a message on X on Wednesday. The government has therefore decided that consulates will no longer provide services to men who could perform military service.

Koeleba underlined that protecting the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad remains of great importance, “but the main priority remains protecting our homeland from destruction.” That is why, according to him, it is not possible for conscripted men to go abroad “and not care about the survival of their state”.

According to the Foreign Minister, citizens who reside abroad also have obligations to fulfill and that is why he has taken a number of measures. For example, consulates will no longer provide services to “able-bodied men who could do military service” and will only help them return to Ukraine.

With the new measures, Koeleba wants to ensure that more people join the Ukrainian army, especially now that there is a shortage of new recruits.