11:59 PM, Yesterday
This live blog is closed
Read more here in the live blog of Wednesday, May 8.
10:36 PM, Yesterday
Romanian President Iohannis will not withdraw as a candidate for NATO’s top job
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is not withdrawing as a candidate to become NATO’s next secretary general. Since he registered as a candidate in March, Iohannis has been the only competitor of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Almost all NATO member states have now backed Rutte.
Yet Iohannis does not want to budge, he confirms today. “Competition is a good thing because more topics will be discussed,” Iohannis said in Washington, where he met US President Joe Biden. Of the 32 NATO member states, only Slovakia, Hungary and Iohannis’ Romania have not yet expressed their support for Rutte. Turkey did so at the end of last month.
Daan de Vries
10:08 PM, Yesterday
Romanian president says he is ‘open to discussion’ about supplying Patriot system to Ukraine
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis ‘opens to discussion’ about supplying a Romanian Patriot system to Ukraine. Ukraine is in urgent need of strengthening its air defenses and has asked its Western ally for seven Patriot systems. For now, only Germany has promised one.
Iohannis is in Washington, where he spoke today with his American counterpart Joe Biden. The Romanian presented himself in March as a candidate to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of NATO. This makes him the only opponent of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has the support of 29 of the 32 NATO member states.
The United States also supports Rutte. It is not clear whether Biden discussed his candidacy with Iohannis today. White House spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the matter.
Daan de Vries
At the end of last month, Turkey, as the 29th NATO member state, expressed its support for Rutte’s candidacy for the position of Secretary General at NATO. Read more here.
7:26 PM, Yesterday
Italy does not give Ukraine permission to deploy Italian weapons on Russian territory
Italy does not give Ukraine permission to use Italian weapons beyond its own borders. This is what Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Ansa news agency. “All the military equipment we send is intended for use within Ukraine,” Tajani said. Italy has provided Ukraine with around one billion euros in military aid since the start of the Russian invasion.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron put the possible use of Western weapons outside Ukraine on the agenda last week, saying that Ukraine “has the right” to attack Russia with British weapons. Cameron made that statement when announcing a new package of arms support for Ukraine. Previously, Western allies imposed the condition that Ukraine would only use the supplied weapons on its own territory.
The United Kingdom also previously did not give Ukraine permission to attack targets in Russia with British weapons. However, the Ukrainian army has repeatedly used British, French and American long-range missiles in attacks on Russian-occupied Crimea. In addition, Ukraine regularly carries out attacks on Russian military bases, weapons factories and oil refineries, but as far as is known it does not use Western weapons.
Daan de Vries
4:54 PM, Yesterday
Ukraine foils Russian assassination plot on President Zelensky, two soldiers arrested
The Ukrainian security service SBOe has arrested two Ukrainian colonels suspected of involvement in a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two are said to have leaked information to the Russian secret service FSB. The suspects were part of the State Security Department, an organization responsible, among other things, for the protection of the president.
According to the Ukrainians, the FSB tried to recruit people who could get close to Zelensky, who could kidnap and later kill him. The informants could also report where Zelensky or another target would be at a specific time. The Russians would then target that location with missiles and drones.
In addition to Zelensky, the FSB also wanted to kill other high-ranking Ukrainians, the SBOe reports. This would include SBOe chief Vasyl Malyuk and Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the military intelligence service GOeR. One of the arrested colonels had already purchased a drone and explosives, which he possibly wanted to use in an assassination attempt.
It is not the first time that Ukraine has accused Russia of a plot to kill Zelensky. Last month, a man was arrested in Poland for allegedly participating in such a plot. At the end of last year, Zelensky said in an interview with the British tabloid TheSun that Ukrainian security services had already thwarted ‘five or six’ attempts on his life.
Daan de Vries
2:04 PM, Yesterday
OPCW: Use of chemical weapons by Russia or Ukraine unproven
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using chemical weapons in the war in Ukraine, but have not yet provided enough concrete evidence to intervene. This was reported by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is studying the allegations.
The OPCW has published the evidence provided by the two countries so far on its website. The organization says the accusations made by the two countries are “insufficiently substantiated.” However, the situation surrounding the war is unpredictable ‘and extremely worrying’ when it comes to the possible use of chemical weapons.
The United States previously accused Russia of violating the international ban on chemical weapons in the war. For example, the Russian army is said to use the asphyxiating agent chloropicrin and several types of tear gas. With the use of chemical weapons, the Russians would like to drive Ukrainian troops from ‘fortified positions’, according to the US State Department.
In the meantime, the OPCW will assist Ukraine in the field of protection against chemical weapons. For example, the organization helps with training for emergencies and means to detect and recognize substances. Both Russia and Ukraine are members of the OPCW.
ANP/Editorial
10:12, Yesterday
Putin is preparing for his fifth inauguration as president
Vladimir Putin will be inaugurated as president of Russia for the fifth time today. In March, the incumbent president won a large victory in the presidential elections, which were attended by hardly any independent observers. The only serious challenger was also excluded from participation.
At exactly 12 o’clock, Putin walks along a red carpet among thousands of guests into the pompous St. Andrew’s Hall of the Great Kermlin Palace. After the swearing-in ceremony, he speaks a short word, gun salutes are fired outside and Putin traditionally inspects a parade of his Kremlin regiment.
For the Russian president, his umpteenth inauguration is business as usual. Vladimir Putin has been in power for almost 25 years in Russia, which faces an uncertain future under his leadership. Much will depend on the course of the war in Ukraine and the economic sanctions associated with it.
Read the analysis here Russia correspondent Geert Groot Koerkamp about what a new presidential term of Putin means for Russia and the war in Ukraine
00:00, the day before yesterday
Welcome to this live blog
This was the most important news of Monday, May 6:
• Russia says its military unit that can operate tactical nuclear weapons will hold exercises. That would be in response to comments from the UK and France.
• Ukraine calls on other countries not to recognize Putin as president of Russia. Putin will be inaugurated for a fifth time on Tuesday. Many ambassadors will stay away, but France will probably send a representative.
• The German ambassador leaves Moscow for a week in protest against Russian hacks. Last week, Germany announced that Russia was behind a cyber attack against Chancellor Scholz’s Social Democratic party.
Read yesterday’s full live blog here.
