A vote of confidence in Boris Johnson's leadership has taken place - result from 9pm; "clapping and banging" as PM makes last-ditch plea to Tory MPs; John Lamont resigns as Liz Truss's parliamentary private secretary to vote against the prime minister.



Source: https://news sky com/story/boris-johnson-no-confidence-vote-live-vote-at-6pm-today-12593360

Ukraine's president has said the only Russian official he will meet is Vladimir Putin - and the only topic he will discuss is ending the war.

Speaking to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that arranging any sort of talks with Russia was becoming more difficult in the light of what he said was evidence of Russian actions against civilians under occupation.

He also noted that taking back Crimea, a peninsula in eastern Europe, would "cost hundreds of thousands of casualties". The area was annexed by Russia in 2014.

While battles continue in the east of the country, Mr Zelenskky added that Ukrainian forces are being "quite successful" in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

He continued: "We need to create a global structure that can provide sufficient support within 24 hours for any country that has suffered a military attack, natural disaster or pandemic."


https://news sky com/story/ukraine-news-live-public-dissatisfaction-predicted-in-russia-after-claim-they-have-lost-as-many-troops-as-in-nine-year-afghan-war-12541713

Swapping Azov fighters for Ukraine opposition leader Medvedchuk out of the question, Kremlin says

Prisoner exchanges are the purview of the military, so any possible requests to swap Ukrainian captives from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol for Russian POWs would go through the defense ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

And when asked by journalists about jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, he reiterated that Russia had no intention of doing a swap, despite the politician’s request for such action.

“Medvedchuk is a Ukrainian citizen who has nothing to do with Russia and is not military,” Peskov told the media. Ukrainian soldiers and members of the Neo-Nazi Azov National Guard unit “are a different category” he added.

Medvedchuk led the biggest opposition faction in the Ukrainian parliament before the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky launched a crackdown on opposition forces in the country. The man is currently in the custody of the SBU, Ukraine’s domestic security agency.


On Monday, the SBU released footage of Medvedchuk apparently incriminating former President Petro Poroshenko and his government in the partial privatization of a fuel pipeline that goes from Russia and Belarus to Ukraine and westward to the EU. Zelensky ordered the nationalization of the Ukrainian stretch in February.

The politician also accused the former president of asking him to organize illegal supplies of coal from the breakaway eastern regions of Donbass. The politician’s attorney said the video was “a public relations stunt” by the SBU.

Medvedchuk has a reputation of having extensive ties to Russia. Critics claim he was part of a fifth column helping Moscow, while he said he was the victim of political persecution by Zelensky.

After reporting the capture of Medvedchuk, the SBU released a video, in which he asked to be exchanged for “the defenders and residents of Mariupol.”


He was referring to Ukrainian troops that were at the time blockaded in Azovstal, a heavily fortified steelworks in the port city, which was otherwise controlled by Russian troops. Ukrainian forces surrendered last week, with Moscow reportedly capturing almost 2,500 people, including members of the controversial nationalist Azov battalion.

Ukrainian officials described the surrender as an “evacuation” and claimed the fighters would be exchanged for Russian POWs detained by Ukraine. They implied Kiev had agreed an exchange deal with Moscow before Zelensky ordered the troops to lay down arms.

Russia did not confirm the Ukrainian claim, while some Russian officials said the Azov fighters should be prosecuted for alleged war crimes.

Source: Rt news

The leader of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine has said that a tribunal is being prepared for the Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
.
Denis Pushilin said the fighters were now being held in the Russian-backed separatist region and would face an "international tribunal" there.

"The plan is to arrange the international tribunal on the territory of the republic as well," Mr Pushilin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
The DPR leader went on to say that the charter for the tribunal was "being worked out".

Mr Pushilin previously said that 2,439 people from Azovstal were in custody, including some foreign citizens, though he did not provide details.

Last week, Russia claimed that more than 250 Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in the steelworks had surrendered.

"Over the past 24 hours, 265 militants have laid down their arms and surrendered, including 51 seriously wounded," its defence ministry said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed the Ukrainian fighters would be treated "in accordance with international standards"


https://news sky com/story/ukraine-news-live-public-dissatisfaction-predicted-in-russia-after-claim-they-have-lost-as-many-troops-as-in-nine-year-afghan-war-12541713

Seun mynd44 mukina2 lalasticlala

Russian forces have damaged five high-rise buildings and shopping areas in Severodonetsk as fighting in the eastern region continues.

Luhansk governor, Serhiy Haidai, said in a message on Telegram that an elderly man had also been injured and taken to hospital.

For context: The battle for Severodonetsk is becoming a focal point in the war.

It is one of the few major cities in the eastern Luhansk region that is still controlled by Kyiv.

A high-ranking official says it is becoming "a new Mariupol", with Russia laying siege and the advancing forces managing to destroy a bridge leading into the city.


https://news sky com/story/ukraine-news-live-public-dissatisfaction-predicted-in-russia-after-claim-they-have-lost-as-many-troops-as-in-nine-year-afghan-war-12541713

Vienna’s OMV insists it’s not violating EU sanctions by opening a Gazprombank account

Austria’s oil and gas conglomerate OMV said on Friday that it had opened an account with Gazprombank to pay for Russian gas imports, insisting that the scheme does not violate the current EU embargo against Moscow. Austria imports some 80% of its gas from Russia.

“We have implemented a payment process that does not violate sanctions and ensures timely payments for gas supplies,” an OMV spokesman told Reuters on Friday evening. “We consider our payment obligations fulfilled with the transfer of the amount in euros.”

Facing a ban on trading in euros and dollars, Moscow introduced a new mechanism for gas payments from “unfriendly” countries at the end of March. Countries that imposed sanctions against Russia have to set up accounts with Gazprombank, where the payments in the currency of their choice will be converted to rubles for the final payment. As of May 12, a total of 20 European companies have opened such accounts.

Some, such as Finland, have refused – and will be cut off by Saturday as a result, Moscow has confirmed.


Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Bulgaria, the UK, Slovenia, and the Baltic states are among the countries that have publicly refused the new payment mechanism. Russia will not supply free natural gas to countries that refuse to honor the new payment mechanism, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

“Obviously, no one will supply anything to anyone for free,” Peskov told reporters.

While the US has urged EU countries to switch from Russian imports to the far more scarce – and expensive – American liquefied natural gas (LNG), for many countries this is simply not an option.

“Austria is 80% dependent on Russian gas. As painful as it is, a gas embargo is currently not possible for us, just as it is for some other countries. The essence of sanctions is to let us last longer than [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, and we cannot do that without gas,” energy minister Leonore Gewessler said in an interview last month.

Anti-Russian embargoes have already caused a sharp spike in the cost of living across the EU, with Austria recording the highest inflation in 40 years as of April 2022.


Putin the grand chess master….. Chai!!! I’m proudly Putard!!!’

topcatking:
See ehn....

It's almost like a group of kids trying to outsmart an elder brother....but.. considering how "he's been there, done that" , they keep shooting themselves in the foot.


You know how kids get emotional , throw tantrums and act first before thinking? That's the imagery when I think of current western leaders.

Putin dey like senior bros: Ever tolerant, patient, disciplines you when you step "too much" out of line, "slaps you on the wrist" when you over reach, ignores you when you mind your biz, but will rain on you like the end of days when you eff stuff up.
..........
So... you get the scenario.

Senior bro disciplining his younger siblings because the keep listening and doing the nasty things an older neighbour tells them to.
..........

dem never learn…

Unfriendly” countries must pay in rubles or supplies will stop, Dmitry Peskov warns


Russia will not supply free natural gas to countries that refuse to switch to the new ruble payment scheme, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

“Obviously, no one will supply anything to anyone for free,” Peskov told reporters.

Peskov was asked whether the delivery of gas to Finnish company Gasum will end this week.

“We do not have information about all the companies with which Gazprom has contracts. This is not our prerogative. For details, of course, you need to ask Gazprom,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government, the central bank, and Gazprombank to develop the necessary tools to switch all payments for Russian natural gas from “unfriendly states” to rubles after April 1. The measure applies to countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia and have frozen its foreign reserves.


If this condition is not met, deliveries will be terminated, the Kremlin warned. Poland and Bulgaria have already been cut off from Russian gas due to their refusal to accept the new payment system. Finland could be cut off this weekend if payment in rubles is not made

The nations are discussing setting up a cartel to force Moscow to sell crude below the market price


The Group of Seven (G7) countries, represented by their respective finance ministers and central bank governors, on Thursday discussed the creation of a cartel of buyers in order to control the price of Russian oil. This was announced by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in comments to reporters between G7 meetings.

“You need a significant cartel in order to accomplish that, maybe the EU alone wouldn’t be sufficient... The idea of using sanctions, secondary sanctions has come up. The idea of tariffs instead of price caps could be an alternative sort of approach,” Yellen said, referring to EU plans to place an embargo on Russian oil imports in the face of the crisis in Ukraine. Earlier this week, she stressed that “it is critically important that [EU countries] reduce their dependence on Russian oil.”

According to Yellen, the goal of the cartel would be to “keep some Russian oil flowing to the market to hold down global prices so we don’t have undue negative impacts,” otherwise the move could trigger “stagflationary type of shocks.” The cartel would be tasked with putting a cap on the price of the Russian commodity.


So it’s a good objective and I think everybody endorses it,” she stated, noting, however, that “nothing is really crystallized” and that conversations on the various possibilities of reigning in Russian oil exports are in their early stages.

“It’s not even clear that we’re going to go this route. I think a lot of people including me find it appealing from a general economic point of view. Actually making it operational is challenging and all those issues have not yet been worked through,” Yellen concluded.

The sixth package of Ukraine-related anti-Russian sanctions proposed by the European Commission (EC) includes a project of a delayed oil embargo, which would ban the import of Russian crude six months after the entry into force of the package, while also banning the import of petroleum products from 2023. The EC also proposed to allow Hungary and Slovakia, who are more dependent on the Russian commodity than other European states, to delay the ban until the end of 2024.

According to sources, however, the EC has already been forced to soften some proposals on the timing of the ban and consider possible exceptions to the oil embargo, as a number of European countries believe that banning Russian oil would be catastrophic for Europe.

Snake Island’s attempts loss alone …. Wahala be like British intelligence o

Liberal fvcking cunts… liberalism worse pass cancer. Nah now dem remember say Musk na African

The news that Elon Musk would reinstate former President Trump’s Twitter account sent shock waves through Twitter, especially in leftist corners of the social media platform.

Leftists including Keith Olbermann, Dean Obeidallah and others reacted viciously to the thought that the brash 45th president could be allowed back on Twitter.

During an interview with The Financial Times on Tuesday, Elon Musk, the potential new owner of Twitter, claimed Twitter was wrong to ban Trump and that once his ownership of the company is finalized, he would reverse the ban.

Speaking to the outlet at its "Future of the Car" conference, the Tesla CEO stated, "Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots, or scam, spam accounts… I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump."


MSNBC contributor Dean Obeidallah made multiple tweets about the news. In the first he wrote, "BREAKING: Elon Musk Says he Would Reverse Twitter's 'Morally Wrong' Ban of Donald Trump - in other words South African Musk is okay with terrorist attacks on the US Capitol to overturn American elections. That is why Trump was banned."

In another, he wrote, "Of course Elon Musk would allow Donald Trump back on Twitter despite Trump using Twitter to plot his Jan 6 terrorist attack. Musk does not care about the USA. He is South African. He then moved to Canada. The US is just a place for him to use to make $ until he returns home."

Lefty firebrand Keith Olbermann tweeted, "At #FTCar conference @elonmusk says the Twitter ban on Trump was a ‘morally bad decision and foolish in the extreme’ which he'll rescind. This again proves whatever intelligence, cunning or skill is required to get really rich, it is NOT transferable to the rest of your life."


https://www foxnews com/media/liberals-wail-musk-reinstate-trump-twitter

In pictures: The scene in north-east Ukraine
Shelling has continued in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv today.

The photographs below capture destroyed cars and debris lining the streets of the Ukrainian region, while a woman is seen feeding a group of cats inside the shell of a building.

The thing be say if we talk say make we start to Dey post things like this, the ratio go be 3:10… cos there are thousands of pictures and videos of Ukrainian cities destructions here on my phone and laptop and e Dey everywhere on the west media too, like dis one below I got it from Skynews just now.

It doesn’t make any difference, na war Russian and Ukrainian soldiers go die but the number go vary. I have gory pictures of both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers here, I don’t see any fun in posting such things, I just wanna burst fake news and post about the economic side of the war, the effects of sanctions, division in the eu and so on….

To be honest, this isn’t our war, whatever the outcome we no go feel anything as long as you Dey Africa, so Putin no sabi my black assss, Zelenski no send una papa too.

If you wanna have a sane conversation, I’m down. Using words like “putard” “loonatic “ ain’t necessary cos you don’t expect me to see such and reply you nicely, it’s not possible.

This is suppose to be learning process cos if you like support west from now till eternity, if you no meet requirements for visa dem no go give you.

I don’t even live in Nigeria and I don visit several Western countries wella, I was in Kyiv about 3 years ago, I have pictures here on my laptop and on my social media, my friends here can attest to these.

I’m not a Muslim either, I was never denied a USA visa, I don visit USA like two times, I even took some beautiful pictures infront of the White House. I have visited St Petersburg, Russia, it’s a beautiful port city. No be buga oooo ppl Dey travel here on NL, traveling from where I live and work isn’t a big deal, it’s not millions like Nigeria but it’s well.

This isn’t my main moniker as well.

You and I ain’t getting paid, this supposed to be educational and fun but now na hostility, don’t get me wrong, anyhow wey you bring am I’m always ready oh cos i don Dey use Nairaland since 2009, so I’ve deal with people wey get craze pass una

Ashley86400:


And he continues embarrassing himself. . .

goto bed kiddo

uchennaq:


Look at this one, people that are stuck, can't even advance again. Mark my words, you will hear next week or this week ending about Ukraine counter offensive attacks.

Have you seen what’s going in Odessa right now ? Tune to Skynews, BBC, AJ, Euronews, …
How about Snake island yesterday?
in war casualties go dey on both sides, I don’t understand why you’re exaggerating about Russian losses, or were you surprised dey are suffering too. They are humans not robots, if anyone tell you say Russia no go suffer loss too, that person get brain tumor cos no be handicap dem Dey follow fight. Soldiers are meant to die, in fact na everybody go die, so death of some colonels or military personnels don’t mean shit. I won’t make reference to any previous wars make we stick to this one. You see that I replied you calmly, I’ll be looking forward to the same response, make we have a sane conversation if you’re down.

Demolakay:

USA military spending is far more Dan Russia,because d military hardware companies in America pays deir workers high salary,to get d job done! ND also America has been buliding military bases in different countries,ND of d 20th to 21st century, America has been involved in wars more Dan d rest,dat is why deir military spending is high.dey are d country day poke nose into wat does nt concerns Dem.In Russia ND china u get wat we call cheap labour,wat d USA will spend 200million dollars to build,will take china or Russia 50million dollars to build ND it will b of d same quality.Av u ever wondered why Russia is d second highest producer ND exporter of weapons in d world! ND u can get dose weapons cheaper Dan day of America? it's because of wat we call 'factors of production'.If getting d materials for u products does nt come cheap,u will nva sell cheap, unless u want to run at a loss.but if factors of production are vry cheap,u sell cheap.its simple economics

bro no Dey waste your time on those kids, make dem Dey wallow in their ignorance

Ashley86400:


And he continues embarrassing himself. . .

may Sango strike you dead
Oya go report to Mod

Weyreh

texazzpete:


There are no artillery units in range of Odessa, so how are they ‘shelling’ it?

Is it the handful of missiles you’re hyping up like this?

shey you no get TV at home ni Abi your gotv subscription don expire wey you Dey ask me stvpid questions, those pictures are from Skynews if you ain’t using nairaland free mode , if you 50mb never finish do you findings online. Don’t mention this moniker if you no wan make ogun kill you

Scottish Power CEO warned that rising gas prices could drive energy bills to nearly £3,000 in October


Scottish Power CEO Keith Anderson told the Daily Mail on Monday that with gas prices skyrocketing in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Russia, household energy bills could rise to £2,900 ($3,576) by October. With some 10 million UK homes potentially unable to afford heating, Anderson called on the government to set up a support scheme.

British households have already seen their energy costs – including electricity and heating – rise by £700 between October and April, and that increase is expected to accelerate, Anderson warned.

“It will hit incredibly hard and immediately,” said Anderson, whose company supplies electricity to parts of Scotland, England, and Wales. “If nothing else happens by October, I think we will see a huge increase in pre-payment customers in effect self disconnecting – not reloading their pre-payment meter because they can’t afford to do it.”

“We will also see a massive increase in debt levels for direct debit customers, and a massive increase in people being pushed from direct debits to prepayment meters so that companies can recover the debt,” he continued. “We are heading to a really horrible place where none of us want to be.”

While Scottish Power owns and operates two wind farms, the majority of the UK’s power comes from oil, gas, and coal. Just a fifth of the country’s energy is obtained from low-carbon sources, including wind, solar, and nuclear.

Anderson blamed the spike in household costs on a worldwide spike in wholesale gas prices, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine. The UK has also voluntarily cut itself off from Russian oil and gas imports, and leaders in Europe are working toward a phased cutoff from Russian energy too.

The energy boss called on lawmakers to set up a support scheme for struggling households. Consumers have already received a £150 ($185) council tax rebate this month and will be offered a £200 ($246) loan in October. However, ”consumer groups and industry leaders” cited by the Daily Mail say that this will not be enough to “protect millions from facing a choice between heating and eating.”

Some have already sought out alternate sources of heat, with catastrophic results. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said on Monday that its officers responded to 100 house fires involving open fireplaces, log burners and heaters in recent months. “The Brigade fears that costly energy bills could result in a surge of fires as people resort to alternative means to heat their homes,” the LFB warned in a statement.

Aside from energy, the cost of food, clothing and transportation has risen across the UK, and the Bank of England warned last week that inflation would soon hit 10%. Andy Haldane, the Bank’s former chief economist, told LBC Radio on Monday that this number would likely increase, and that soaring inflation would “last the duration of the year, and into next or even the year beyond.”

They can freeze to death, no fvck zone -OP

Dvdpity:
Ukraine and EU will suffer more..now industries in EU will collapse, inflation will increase. Russia will keep selling it's oils and gas to Asian countries who will inturn resell the excess gas and oils to Europe at higher prices. Who is losing here? Europe.

EU dying loading 10%…..

No more 6th package sanctions I guess

RichMelanin:


Do you know how elongated the LNG process is, then shipment, rather than pipeline flow in gaseous form which is way faster, at their backyard, I question the way some of you think every time, probably that’s why NIGERIA IS LIKE THIS

dont waste your time on
That mor0n … pls ignore him, he’s clueless

Chai Ukraine don do eu strong thing

I can’t stop laughing

No propaganda zone.
Person wey Dey feel pain, sabi where e Dey hurt . Ukraine was never underestimated, Ukraine is being handle like a baby, if Putin unleash horror una go Dey scream war crimes, shey friendly games dey during the war ni, kill or be killed, everything is fair in war. If you can’t relate stick to Tinubu and Jonathan, international scene ain’t for mediocres…

This is 2022, some of us still have a functional brain we can fact-check any information, propaganda no Dey last long, y’all just Dey look stupid daily… ghost of Kyiv, 40 colonel death, na just gibberish, tales by moonlight

They should continue to Dey spread video games and myth while Ukraine is getting decimated by the hour….

Fvcktards

Chelsea will fvck una this weekend

MangekyoAlt:

No. God should punish Britain and those useless countries in Europe for looting and milking us dry.

i say a big amen

God bless Mother Russia

Death to all nazis and their apologists here on nairaland

Dvdpity:
Turkey is really making a fortune with this Ukrainian war. Since the beginning of this war almost 200 tbt3 drones has been shot down. These drones cost a lot still no impact on battle Fields.

Erdogan na smart politician….