The UK has been accused of helping Moscow “pay for its war” in Ukraine by importing record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Russian fossil fuels.
British imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey – which Russia exports crude oil to – amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, up from £434.2m in 2021, according to environmental news website Desmog.
Lela Stanley, a senior investigator at Global Witness, said: “Millions of barrels of fuel made from Russian oil continue to pour into the UK. Make no mistake: until the government closes this loophole, Britain is helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine.”
It comes as US president Joe Biden said he would sign the bill into law immediately and America would start sending weapons to Kyiv this week.
“I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week,” he said.
The bill included £49bn in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can start being delivered to the war-torn nation within days. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.
Key Points
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UK accused of funding Russian war effort through oil imports
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Ukraine aid to be delivered ‘this week’, Biden says
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US Senate passes £76bn aid package
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Ukraine has six months left, former British army officer warns
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Nato drills in Finland ‘increase risk of military incidents’, Kremlin warns
US Senate passes £76bn aid package
Wednesday 24 April 2024 08:40 , Alexander Butler
On Wednesday, the US Senate approved a £76bn foreign aid packaged that included military support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
It included £49bn in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can start being delivered to the war-torn nation within days. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the UK also pledged £500m in new military supplies for Ukraine, including long-range missiles and four million rounds of ammunition.
Ukraine gets a big boost of US aid. It still faces a long slog to repel Russia
Wednesday 24 April 2024 16:17 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine gets a big boost of US aid. It still faces a long slog to repel Russia
Ukraine’s forces prepare for offensive from Putin’s troops in east
Wednesday 24 April 2024 15:47 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine prepares for offensive from Putin’s troops in east – as Russia gains ground
Seven Russian officers killed in strike near Mariupol
Wednesday 24 April 2024 14:55 , Alexander Butler
At least seven Russian officers have been killed in a missile strike near occupied Mariupol, a Ukrainian official has claimed.
Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to Mariupol’s exiled Ukrainian mayor, said at least six missiles struck a camp being used by the Russian military in Babakh-Tarama, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
The attack caused at least seven fatalities, while more than ten other people were injured.
UK and Germany deepen defence ties
Wednesday 24 April 2024 14:48 , Alexander Butler
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to closer defence cooperation on Wednesday, with both leaders saying Europe must unite to support Ukraine against Russia for as long as it takes.
The British leader hailed closer ties with Germany a day after announcing he would raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP a year by 2030 in what he said was a challenge to other European countries to follow suit.
The two announced plans to develop Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm Wheeled Artillery Systems (RCH 155) and discuss collaboration on energy projects, including German energy investment, according to the British government.
UK accused of funding Russian war effort through oil imports
Wednesday 24 April 2024 14:36 , Alexander Butler
The UK has been accused of helping Moscow “pay for its war” in Ukraine by importing record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Russian fossil fuels.
British imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey – which Russia exports crude oil to – amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, up from £434.2m in 2021, according to environmental news website Desmog.
Lela Stanley, a senior investigator at Global Witness, said: “Millions of barrels of fuel made from Russian oil continue to pour into the UK. Make no mistake: until the government closes this loophole, Britain is helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine.”
Locked up for opposing Putin: Inside Vladimir Kara-Murza’s brutal prison ordeal
Wednesday 24 April 2024 13:30 , Alexander Butler
Locked up for opposing Putin: Inside Vladimir Kara-Murza’s brutal prison ordeal
Ukrainian drones struck two Rosneft oil depots in attack, Kyiv source says
Wednesday 24 April 2024 13:05 , Alexander Butler
Drones sent by Ukraine’s SBU security service struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots in Russia’s Smolensk region in an overnight attack on Wednesday, a Ukrainian intelligence source said.
The source said the depots contained 26,000 cubic metres of fuel and that the attack caused major fires and evacuation of personnel.
“The SBU continues to effectively destroy military infrastructure and logistics that provide fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine,” the source said. “These facilities are and will remain our absolutely legitimate targets.”
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Wednesday 24 April 2024 13:00 , Alexander Butler
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Ukraine’s forces prepare for offensive from Putin’s troops in east
Wednesday 24 April 2024 12:45 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine prepares for offensive from Putin’s troops in east – as Russia gains ground
Russian priest presiding over Navalny’s memorial suspended from duties
Wednesday 24 April 2024 12:32 , Alexander Butler
The Russian Orthodox Church has imposed a three-year suspension on a priest who presided over the memorial service for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, according to a church statement.
The Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church did not give a reason for the discipline, which has forbidden Dmitry Safronov from giving blessings, wearing the frock or bearing the church’s priestly cross until 2027.
“At the end of the period of penance, based on feedback from the place of obedience, a decision will be made on the possibility of his further priestly service,” said the diocese in a statement on Tuesday.
Russia will expand Ukraine ‘buffer zone’ if longer range missiles are delivered
Wednesday 24 April 2024 11:38 , Alexander Butler
Russia will further increase its “buffer zone” inside Ukraine if Ukraine receives longer-range missiles from the US, the Kremlin warned on Wednesday.
The US is preparing a $1bn military aid package for Ukraine, two US officials told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.
When asked about the possibility the package would include longer-range Atacm missiles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s stance on the subject – that it will be forced to expand what it calls a buffer zone in Ukraine if longer-range missiles are delivered – had not changed.
Ukraine aid to be delivered ‘this week’, Biden says
Wednesday 24 April 2024 11:16 , Alexander Butler
The United States is set to send military aid to Ukraine this week after Washington approved £49bn in military support for the country.
US president Joe Biden said he would sign the bill into law immediately and America would start sending weapons to Kyiv this week.
“I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week,” he said.
A look at what’s in the £76bn foreign aid package passed by the House
Wednesday 24 April 2024 10:21 , Alexander Butler
A look at what’s in the $95 billion foreign aid package passed by the House
Nato drills in Finland ‘increase risk of military incidents’, Kremlin warns
Wednesday 24 April 2024 10:00 , Alexander Butler
Upcoming Nato exercises near its border with Finland increase the risk of “military incidents”, the Kremlin warned.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told local RIA state news the drills are “provocative.”
Finland officially joined NATO earlier this month, ditching decades of non-alignment to join the military alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The country shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia, so its entry, nearly two years after applying, will more than double the size of NATO’s border with the nation.
Zelensky thanks US Senate for approving ‘vital aid to Ukraine’
Wednesday 24 April 2024 09:29 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskyy said he was “grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine today”.
In a social media post on X, he wrote: “I am grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine today. I thank Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for their strong leadership in advancing this bipartisan legislation, as well as all US Senators on both sides of the aisle who voted in favor of it.
“This vote reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and the leader of the free world. I am also grateful to all Americans who continue to support Ukraine and recognize that the historical significance of this bill extends beyond politics.”
I am grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine today.
I thank Majority Leader Chuck Schumer @SenSchumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell @LeaderMcConnell for their strong leadership in advancing this bipartisan legislation, as well as all US…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 24, 2024
Top Russian military official linked to rebuilding of Mariupol arrested for bribery
Wednesday 24 April 2024 08:55 , Alexander Butler
Top Russian military official involved in rebuilding of Mariupol arrested for bribery
Russian attack injures six people in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, governor says
Wednesday 24 April 2024 08:55 , Alexander Butler
Russian missiles damaged residential buildings and injured six people in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, early on Wednesday, Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.
The attack damaged three residential buildings, two offices, three non-residential buildings and a gas pipeline in the central district of the city, according to the governor’s statement.
The city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, told Ukranian TV that two S-300 missiles were used in the attack but did not cause significant damage to the residential areas of the city.
Ukraine’s forces prepare for offensive from Putin’s troops in east
Wednesday 24 April 2024 08:43 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine prepares for offensive from Putin’s troops in east – as Russia gains ground
Ukraine has six months left, former British army officer warns
Wednesday 24 April 2024 08:42 , Alexander Butler
Western aid will not allow Ukraine to seize the initiative and go back onto the offensive against Russia, a former British army officer warned.
Richard Kemp, who served from 1977 to 2006, said US and UK munitions would let Kyiv stabilise the front line but would not allow them to take back land seized by Moscow.
He warned if Moscow was able to achieve “significant success” by summer, there would be no more appetite for Western spending on Ukraine by the winter.
“While the new aid packages might allow that to be blunted, they will not enable Ukraine to seize the initiative and go back onto the offensive,” Mr Kemp wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
