It is day 799 of the war in Ukraine. Follow the recent developments here in this live blog.
The US is targeting Russia’s weapons production with new sanctions
The US government is targeting Russian arms production with new sanctions. The US Treasury reported this on Wednesday. About two hundred companies and eighty individuals in countries that the Americans say support Russia in purchasing materials for its weapons production are affected by the sanctions, the ministry said. The statement mentions, among others, Belgium, China and Slovakia.
The sanctions also target Russian production of chemical and biological weapons. Earlier Wednesday, the US State Department accused Moscow of using several irritant gases in its war against Ukraine. Three people linked to the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny are also being punished. The Kremlin critic died in Russian custody in February. According to his supporters, he was murdered.
As a result of the new sanctions, all assets of those affected in the United States will be frozen. US citizens or people located in the US are prohibited from doing business with the sanctioned companies and individuals. The sanctions also make it more difficult for those affected to do international business.
US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine
The United States accuses Russia of using “the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian forces” in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
In addition, Russia is said to have used tear gas as a method of war in Ukraine, “also in violation of the CWC,” according to a statement from the US State Department.
Zelensky fires senior security official for corruption
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired Ilya Vityuk, a senior official at the SBU security service, after allegations of corruption. Vityuk was the SBU’s cyber security counterintelligence chief.
The decree on Vityuk’s dismissal was published on the president’s website on Wednesday. No reason was given for the dismissal. Ukrainian media previously published an investigation showing that Vityuk’s wife had bought a luxury apartment in the center of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Before his dismissal, Vityuk had already been placed on leave.
This live blog is based on reporting by BNR’s own correspondents and editors, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC, Sky News and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online messages from the news agencies Tass, RIA Novosti and Interfax (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Because reporting from these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases it is explicitly stated where the reporting comes from.
