BERLIN, April 3 (Reuters) - Germany's defence minister said on Sunday that the European Union must discuss banning the import of Russian gas after Ukrainian and European officials accused Russian forces of committing atrocities near Kyiv.
"There has to be a response. Such crimes must not remain unanswered," the defence ministry quoted Christine Lambrecht as saying in an interview with the public broadcaster ARD.
Berlin has so far resisted calls to impose an embargo on energy imports from Russia, saying its economy and that of other European countries are too dependent on them. Russia supplies 40% of Europe's gas needs.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck repeated the government stance on Sunday evening on the broadcaster ZDF, saying Germany was reducing its dependence on Russian energy but could not wean itself off entirely straight away.
Pressure is growing on and within the government to take more radical steps. Lambrecht said EU ministers would now have to discuss a ban, according to a Twitter post from her ministry.
The EU has been working on additional sanctions for some time but Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Saturday that any additional measures would not affect the energy sector.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said late on Sunday that Western allies would agree further sanctions on Russia in the coming days.
Ukraine said on Saturday it had taken complete control of the Kyiv region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. The mayor of Bucha, a liberated town 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital, said 300 residents had been killed by the Russian army.
Lol. We understand your frustration, pain and jealousy. Not even a single important person to visit your own 'living' candidate yet they are queuing to pay homage to BAT.
Save your tears bro. This is only the beginning.
I am living my best life abroad, it is you people that will see shege, not me
Obio4real: A Nigerian woman based in the United Kingdom, Chinyere Magella Ogudoro and her younger brother have been allegedly burnt alive by the former's husband, Benjamin Ogudoro, GRASSROOT REPORTERS reports.
According to a post by a source who preferred anonymity and posted by a Facebook user, Chinenye Azubuike, the sad incident happened on Thursday, March 31st at their residence in Lagos.
GRASSROOT REPORTERS gathered that Chinyere, a mother of four, holds a masters degree from a UK university.
The post read: “This is my sister-in-law who relocated to Scotland less than 4years ago. She returned to Lagos yesterday by 8am. Her younger brother picked her up from the airport and drove her to the house.
"Her husband, Benjamin, from Ngor Okpalla LGA in Imo State, returned and incinerated the mother-of-four and the brother around 3am. The suspect told his sister to inform the family that the house caught fire and he escaped. Before Chinyere’s brother passed on, he explained all that transpired.
"Chinyere and her brother have been taken to the morgue while the suspect has gone into hiding. Prior to this incident, he had a quarrel with the deceased over a property she bought. He had wanted to sell the house but to his surprise, his name wasn’t on the documents. This angered him and he sent her death threats.
"He once fought with Chinyere with a machete which led them to separate for some years before they reconciled only for him to carry out his death threats. Please share this story cause it’s painful what has happened to her. Chinyere left behind her kids in Scotland.. it’s painful we have to bury the Ada and Opara of our family.”
Russia has Ukraine on a chokehold. If the Russians decide this hour to level Kiev and take over the rubbles, it will be over in 24 hours. Go and read up on way they have done to Mariupol when the fascist Nazis there refused to heed to basic instincts.. The whole world knows this. Russia should be praised for showing enermous restraint in the face of endless provocation by the puppet regime in Kiev.
Russia has failed in its phase 1 aims and objectives. Levelling a city is one thing, occupying it another. For over a month Russia troops are yet to gain full control of Mariupol talk less of other major cities. Meanwhile their economy has all but crumbled and her respect is in tatters.
Russia is the loser here. The west will pump billions into Ukraine to rebuild their infrastructure.
AroleOduduwa2: Just as expected, Putin need to justify his attack on Ukraine, he want Russians to see that Ukraine is dangerous and will destroy them if he doesn't take actions. I expect more of this attacks by Russia on themselves.
Think before talking. Ukraine confirmed the attack.
April 1 (Reuters) - Two Ukrainian military helicopters struck a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday, a Russian official said, making the first accusation of a Ukrainian air strike on Russian soil since Moscow invaded its neighbour in late February.
Video images of the purported attack posted online showed what looked like several missiles being fired from low altitude, followed by an explosion. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the images.
The helicopters struck the facility in Belgorod, some 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the border with Ukraine, after entering Russia at low altitude, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on messaging app Telegram.
The resulting blaze injured two workers, Gladkov added, while some areas of the city were being evacuated.
However, Russian oil firm Rosneft (ROSN.MM), which owns the fuel depot, said in a separate statement that no one was hurt in the fire, though it gave no information on its cause.
Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said the incident would not affect the region's fuel supplies or prices for consumers.
The governor of the neighbouring Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said its fuel supplies were sufficient to last several weeks and called on the population not to stockpile fuel.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the general staff and the foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
An ammunition depot near Belgorod caught fire on Wednesday, causing a series of blasts. At the time, Gladkov said authorities were waiting for the Russian defence ministry to establish its cause.
Moscow calls its intervention in Ukraine "a special military operation".
Conscript - enlist (someone) compulsorily, typically into the armed services. ( Oxford Dictionary )
LONDON (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia's annual spring draft, but the defence ministry said the call-up had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
The order came five weeks into Russia's invasion, which has run into fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that none of those called up would be sent to any "hot spots".
The issue of conscripts' involvement in the war is highly sensitive. On March 9, the defence ministry acknowledged that some had been sent to Ukraine after Putin had denied this on various occasions, saying only professional soldiers and officers had been sent in.
Putin's spokesman said at the time that the president had ordered military prosecutors to investigate and punish the officials responsible for disobeying his instructions to exclude conscripts.
The annual spring military draft, which runs from April 1 to July 15, will affect Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27, Putin's decree said.
Shoigu said on Tuesday that those called up would begin to be dispatched to their assigned bases in late May.
"Most military personnel will undergo professional training in training centres for three to five months. Let me emphasize that recruits will not be sent to any hot spots," he said in remarks published on his ministry's website.
However, Mikhail Benyash, a lawyer representing several members of Russia's National Guard who refused an order to go to Ukraine, said that under Russian law conscripts could be sent to fight after several months of training.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special military operation to demilitarise and "denazify" the country. The war has killed thousands of people and uprooted millions.
In recent days Russia has reframed its objectives, saying it never intended to take the capital Kyiv and other major cities but is focused on "liberating" eastern areas where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.
Its statements have been greeted sceptically by Ukraine and Western governments. Military analysts have suggested the declared focus on the eastern Donbas region may be an attempt to make it easier for Putin to seek a face-saving exit.
A mayor in Ukraine was saved from being in a building destroyed by a Russian missile strike as he had overslept.
An administration building in Mykolaiv, a city in the south of the country near the Black Sea, was partly destroyed in the attack, leaving a large gaping hole in its centre.
Rescue workers are currently searching the rubble and debris for several people feared to have been inside at the time of the bombing.
Not among them was exhausted Head of Administration Vitaliy Kim, who had overslept and missed possibly a tragic fate.
Ukraine ’s Strategic Communications and Information Team tweeted: “Russian military shelled the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration building, head of the administration Vitaliy Kim says.
“According to Kim, several dozen people managed to leave the building.
“The rescue team is searching the rubble for 8 civilians and 3 servicemen. #StopRussia .”
A local news outlet added the building was destroyed in the missile strike but that head of administration was unhurt.
It added: “Vitaliy Kim says he was not in office, cause overslept.”
Mr Kim shared a still from CCTV showing the cruise missile, seconds before the explosion.
It comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russian troops are murdering officials in cities throughout the country
Speaking from Kyiv, he accused Moscow’s forces of kidnapping Mayors and then leaving them dead or missing.
Early in the war Ivan Federov, mayor of Melitopol, was abducted by Russian troops, sparking mass protests by Ukrainians.
Ten masked soldiers are said to have entered the town’s crisis centre, put a bag over his head and marched him away to an unknown location.
Days later Yevheniy Matvieyev, head of the southern town of Dniprorudne, was also abducted by Russian troops, leading to accusations made against Moscow of “systematic war crimes” by Ukraine’s military.
Zelensky said: “They are kidnapping the mayors of our cities. They killed some of them. We can’t find some of them.
“We have already found some of them and they are dead.”
The shocking claim comes amid fears Russian troops are compensating for their disastrous invasion by resorting to deliberately targeting civilians and executing officials.
Ahead of peace talks the Ukrainian leader said his country could declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia to secure peace “without delay”.
Some 17,000 Russian troops have been killed in the invasion and 586 tanks blown up in ferocious fighting.
Moscow has also lost 123 warplanes and 127 helicopters to Ukraine’s ground defence systems.
jesmond3945: russia defeated hitler. I know you love the west so much but the truth must be told. Hitler invaded soviet with 4 million men. He conquered Ukraine, belarus and the Armenia. Even the baltic states. It was the battle of Stalingrad that defeated him. They even liberated the baltic states before allies stormed normandy Napoleon invaded Russia and lost. Then russia's capital was st Petersburg. He entered Moscow. The governor burned it down. He had to retreat and the russian winter finished off his troops. It was when the allied forces russia, austria and prussia invades france that napoleon abdicated. Read history
Russia defeated hitler in alliance with the UK, USA and other western countries. If Hitler had concentrated on Russia only, he would have won the war. I mean Russia lost 28milllion people, thats the entire population of some countries. What type of win is that.
Mind you Russia has lost many wars, go and read history.
At least seven soldiers of the Nigerian Army and more than 20 terrorists were killed during an attack by gunmen on Kabo Village in the Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday.
The terrorists, who earlier attacked the village on Monday and killed three persons, returned to the community on Tuesday where they were engaged in a gunfight with Nigerian Army personnel.
SaharaReporters reliably gathered that apart from the soldiers and terrorists killed during Tuesday's incident, the number of civilian deaths rose from three on Monday to about 12.
The development has forced more residents of the community to abandon their homes for other parts of the state considered to be relatively safe.
Terrorists suspected to be Fulani herders arrived in Kabo village in large numbers on Monday afternoon, shooting sporadically in different directions.
Most residents of the village were said to have been hit by bullets while fleeing into nearby bushes for safety.
When contacted by SaharaReporters over the development, the spokesperson for the police in Niger State, Mr Wasiu Abiodun, promised to get back with details and updates on the situation but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
On March 17, 2022, armed men killed a police officer during an attack on Bangi Divisional Headquarters in the Mariga Local Government Area of the state.
A day before that incident, bandits killed four police officers including a divisional police officer, Muhammad Umar, and four vigilantes in the Magama council area of the state.
SarkinYarki: Mariupol that's has already been 80 percent leveled with just one unit of Azov Battalions preparing to surrender before the end of today ?
Levelling is one thing, occupying territory is another.
This British ex soldier has confirmed that Ukraine still controls the city of Mariupol.
- Russia army stalled in Mariupol as US and allies rush in more lethal defensive weapons - Russia army fighting to retain previously captured Kershon as Ukrainian forces push them back - USA and allies sending more aid for humanitarian and defensive purposes - Russia army withdrawing from the capital - Russia now focusing on the Donbas region.
princeeze1: Sense will always be far from people. Were they expecting the war to go on forever? Before you decide on the victor of the war, you must first realize the reason for the invasion. 1) Do not join NATO, Ukraine insisted on joining claiming sovereignty. NATO insisted it had an open door policy to accept anyone and Russia can do nothing about it. 2) Implementation of Minsk 2, this gives back control of the Donbass to Ukraine while granting special status to the republics there, just like you have in chenchen or Hongkong. Zelensky refused saying he no longer wants that agreement. Now war broke out, Ukraine has agreed to drop NATO ascension and be a neutral country. The Russians are now even demanding a recognition of the Donbass republics as not just a special administrative regions but as independent states. They effectively demilitarized Ukraine, Ukraine today has no navy, and all military/air bases has been destroyed, all command/control/communications are either destroyed or rendered inoperable. Somehow some people in other to massage their bruised ego believes Russia lost; how? These people so believed NATO would intervene, but after the threat, even NATO nations took a cautious stand. Lastly, western nations in a bid to extract economic costs played all its cards in quick succession, now Russia has begun to checkmate them with counter sanctions, you will see the loud mouthed Lizz Truss talking about sanctions roll back in the event of a ceasefire, a scenario they never would have entertained. This was a beautiful conflict, it showed the collective west could be confronted and checkmated. It has also exposed all western hypocrisy, a lot of wealthy people now know better not to invest in the west. Expect investors to rather stuff cash in heavens like the UAE. Ukraine has lost. It only won in the western media. It ended up accepting thesame demands it vehemently refused, after having its cities destroyed and innocent civilian lives lost. Did you hear a single bomb land in Moscow? Don’t be surprised the Americans are pressuring Ankara to help broker peace because petrodollar may likely be switched off on April 1.
Russia has been severely weakened by this war. Their military inferiority has also been exposed. They have been hit by sanctions that have turned the rouble into rubble. Putin will never be accepted in western circles again.
Russia lost thousands of troops and equipment just because of the ego of one man.
NATO is a defence alliance; they have never posed a threat to Russia. Putin is paranoid.
Ukraine may have lost a lot, but they fought a good fight defending their country from a belligerent neighbour. The west will provide them with the loans & funds required to rebuild their country.
By the way, Ukraine is not giving away any additional territory in the Donbas, stop lying.
RUSSIA has said it is to “drastically reduce” forces near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as its invasion continues to falter.
The announcement was made by the Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin and comes as a fresh round of peace negotiations get under way.
Fomin said Russian forces will also be reduced in Chernigiv region.
Fomin said Moscow had decided to fund "cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations".
Vladimir Putin expected a quick victory when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine but his forces have met stiff resistance.
The death Russian death toll has reached as high as 15,000 with several generals and other top commanders among those killed.
In recent days Ukraine said its troops had pushed Russian forces back from near Kyiv.
The Ukrainians managed to reoccupy towns and defensive positions up to 21 miles east of the capital.
Fighting is also raging in Kherson as Ukrainian forces try to retake first major city to fall into Russian hands.
Ukraine is now littered with the burnt out wrecks of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles, charred remains of downed aircraft, and the dead bodies of soldiers - many of whom were teenage conscripts.
As the fighting takes its toll on Russian troops, stories are beginning to emerge of anger and plummeting morale.
One soldier allegedly drove his tank into his commanding officer as he protested horrific losses among his comrades.
Colonel Yuri Medvedev later died of his injuries.
Russia accidentally revealed it has lost 10,000 troops, when the figure was disclosed by a pro-Kremlin newspaper.
But Nato has said that figure could be as high as 15,000 with the total losses including wounded, captured or missing up to 40,000.
If the estimate is correct, then Russian losses in just under a month in Ukraine are now the same as they suffered during their ten year war in Afghanistan, which ended in 1989.
The Pentagon announced on Monday that six naval aircraft, equipped for electronic warfare, were on their way to Germany to bolster N.A.T.O.'s eastern flank as Russia continues its war in Ukraine.
But the six EA-18G 'Growlers' will not be used against Russian forces, said a spokesman.
Washington has made clear that it will not send planes or personnel into direct combat against Russia.
The six aircraft are due to arrive at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, from Whidbey Island, Washington, later on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
'These Growlers ... are equipped for a variety of missions, but they do specialize in flying electronic warfare missions, using a suite of jamming sensors to confuse enemy radars, greatly aiding in the ability to conduct suppression of enemy air defence operations, he told reporters.
They will be accompanied by 240 personnel, including air crew and technicians, he added.
Boeing advertises its Growler as the world's most advanced airborne electronic attack.
Its twin engines give it a maximum cruising speed of more than 1000 knots.
But it is its ability to knock out enemy communications with its tactical jamming capability that makes it so valuable.
Its nine weapons stations can carry 'jamming pods' - filled with electronic weapons - or missiles, such as the AGM-88 HARM missiles designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems.
That allows them to protect U.S. or allied attack jets evade enemy radar and surface-to-air missiles.
The Ukrainian government of Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for foreign warplanes to set up a no-fly zone over his country.
But Kirby said that was not the role of the Growlers.
'They are not being deployed to be used against Russian forces in Ukraine,' he said.
'They are being deployed completely in keeping with our efforts to bolster N.A.T.O's deterrence and defence capabilities along that Eastern flank.
'They are not being sent because of some sort of acute threat that was perceived or some specific incident that happened.'
The U.S. and partners have been flooding Ukraine with weapons to help resistance fighters repel the Russian invasion.
Javelin anti-tank weapons have been particularly effective in halting Russian tanks and keeping Moscow's advance from reaching the capital Kyiv.
Stingers and other anti-aircraft systems are also credited with helping Russia gain air superiority over the country.
On Monday, Vladimir Putin's faltering invasion suffered further setbacks after battling Ukrainian troops recaptured the war-ravaged town of Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv.
The mayor said forces had seized back full control of the town which had become one of the main hotspots of fighting after Kremlin soldiers hoped to march on to the capital.
Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said: 'We have good news today - Irpin has been liberated. We understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously.'
Markushyn vowed that the army will now liberate Bucha, Hostomel and Vorzel to further enrage Putin as his force's death toll rises to 17,000 without seizing any new territories.
The UK's Ministry of Defence said earlier there had been 'no significant change to Russian forces' dispositions in the country' and Russia is still yet to capture any major city after a month of fighting.
And the United States assesses that Ukrainian forces have retaken the town of Trostyanets, south of Sumy, from Russian forces, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday.
'The Ukrainians are continuing to try to take back ground,' the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Actually she is right. I am not into psychics. I am not a fan of Putin or any president of the world however Elohim, the Ancient of Days, the I AM has said that America is Mystery Babylon as revealed in the book of Revelations and Isaiah. God's judgement is currently upon America because of her sins and disobedience says Elohim.
As a result, God is raising up Russia. Russia and China along with their allies will invade America and completely destroy her in the future. The attack on America will be sudden and America will be taken unawares and will be too weak to fight back because there will be so much infighting and division among Americans that when they get invaded by their foreign enemies, America will fall.
God showed me a prophetic dream. In it, I saw New York City getting bombed by missiles. It turns out, Elohim has been giving the same or similar vision to several other people, both Americans and non-Americans alike. If most people only knew what is coming to America, they will not be in a hurry to migrate there.
Elohim also revealed that when America gets conquered by Russia and China, the Americans - both indiginous and naturalized citizens - will become enslaved. They will be taken to China as slaves and America will be pillaged and the land left bare never to be inhabited again except by raccoons and other wild animals.
Many people will run away from America but those who don't possess non-American passports will not be allowed to leave the country. The Russians and Chinese will stop them. Let me not talk too much. Just watch the events unfold. And by the way, Biden will not complete his term. Kamala Harris will take over. Elohim revealed that too. All praise be to the Most High!
Sell your candidates now. Let's us sell ours too. Later Una go dey complain of marginalization when be say na politics of hatred and calumny u sabi do. Every tribe dey support their candidates now,but all wat u easterners know is to condemn,abuse and hate. E go shock una
Tinunbu is not a candidate, he is a dead man walking !!
OriOko88: Odensin. See his name like apola igi . who even know yhis one in the scheme of things. Osinbajo and Tinubu are still better than any northern candidates either of d parties has to offer,maybe except Saraki. Farooq kpokpkogri must be a cousin to that Tonto Ex dickk. They like spewing trash just like their name.
Shataap.
Tinunbu is living on borrowed time, Osibanjo is a bigot. Amen.
Foreign Affairs / Germany’s Defence Minister Proposes A Total Ban On All Russian Oil And Gas by GodHatesBigots(m): 10:28pm On Apr 03, 2022 
