Ukraine news – live: Russia vows action after RT France shuts down amid EU sanctions

Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius is planning to visit Ukraine, he told a German newspaper, as Berlin is under mounting pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine.

“What is certain is that I will travel to Ukraine quickly. Probably even within the next four weeks,” Mr Pistorius told Bild am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday.

On Friday, Germany and Western allies reached a deadlock on the decision that whether Berlin would agree to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, or permit other countries that have them to do so, despite Ukraine’s pleas for modern tanks to boost its defence efforts.

Regarding the decision, the minister said: “We are in very close dialogue with our international partners, first and foremost with the US, on this issue.”

Russia’s foreign ministry said the European Union’s sanction of RT France would lead to retaliatory measures against French media in Russia.

“Blocking RT France account will lead to retaliatory measures against French media in Russia. They will be very noticeable, if the French authorities do not stop intimidating Russian journalists,” the ministry said.

The bank account of the pro-Kremlin TV channel was blocked by France at the request of the General Directorate of the Treasury under the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, Le Monde reported on Thursday.

The decision was part of the ninth package of EU sanctions.

The French arm of the Russian state-owned RT television network said on Saturday it was shutting down its operations after authorities used European Union sanctions to freeze its bank accounts.

Late last February, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union said it would ban Russia Today on the grounds it had been spreading disinformation about the war. RT (Russia Today) France appealed the ban but lost.

Xenia Fedorova, the head of RT France, tweeted that French authorities had cited a ninth EU package of sanctions agreed last December.

“The funds of RT France are frozen at the request of the general directorate of the Treasury … our channel can no longer continue its activity,” she said.

In a separate statement, RT France said 133 employees’ jobs were at risk and called itself “a breath of fresh air” that had covered the war in a balanced way.

It accused the French authorities of censorship and said RT France had never been condemned or sanctioned for any reason.

Russia has intensified shelling Ukraine‘s eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbas industrial area, officials from the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions said.

The Ukrainian military’s General Staff said Russia continues its offensive in Zaporizhzhia, increasingly using aerial attacks.

At least 25 settlements in the region were affected by Russian artillery fire on Saturday.

Russian forces launched 115 strikes in the Sumy region that borders Russia in Ukraine‘s northeast, regional Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on Telegram.

Russia’s attacks seek to overload Ukraine‘s defences and deter Kyiv from retaking territory, officials and analysts say.

“Attempting to study our defence, the enemy has activated artillery fire,” Oleksandr Starukh, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia fired on the region 166 times through the day, he said, with 113 attacks aimed at populated areas, killing one civilian. Russia says it does not target civilians.

The first Sea King helicopters donated to Ukrainian forces by the UK have arrived in the country, according to the Ukrainian defence minister.

Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the helicopters’ arrival in a tweet, thanking his British counterpart and displaying a video of Ukrainian troops using the helicopter winch system.

The UK’s defence minister Ben Wallace said in November that the UK would supply three Sea King helicopters, as well as assist in training 10 crews in their use.

Ukrainian troops foiled a suspected sabotage attempt on Friday night in the northeastern Sumy Oblast, says spokesperson for the border guard service.

Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said border troops “detected an attempt to infiltrate from [a] sabotage and reconnaissance group from Russia.”

Speaking at a Ukrainian telethon on Saturday, Demchenko said Russia’s troops “retreated behind the state border” after Ukrainian border troops discovered and fired upon the group.

Sumy Oblast lies just under 200 miles to the north east of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Demchenko also reported on the border with Belarus, saying: “So far, intelligence units and other components that monitor the situation in this area have not noticed the formation of a strike group on the territory of Belarus that could carry out an invasion.

“But the enemy should never be underestimated.”

Read more on Belarus here:

The Biden administration has reiterated its support for Finnish and Swedish membership of NATO, following calls with foreign ministers.

Both countries applied to join the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Only two countries in the group, Hungary and Turkey, have yet to approve the membership application.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke with the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden, stating that the US places great importance on “remaining allies quickly ratifying their accession.”

Hungary is expected to ratify the decision in the coming days, with Turkey said to be holding out on the decision after raising significant objections to the Nordic country’s support for Kurdish groups.

Read more here:

Western countries price caps on Russian refined oil products are “complicated”, says US treasury secretary.

Speaking with reporters on a visit to Senegal, secretary Janet Yellen said markets are volatile and there is a chance the upcoming price caps do not go to plan.

The G7 group of nations will be imposing a price cap on Russian oil products in February to reduce its ability to finance its war in Ukraine.

A broader price cap on Russian crude oil has been in place since December.

However, secretary Yellen remained optimistic, saying: “We’ve studied these markets very carefully and we believe that we’re going to come out with a set of caps that will achieve the same things that we’ve achieved with crude so far.”

She continued saying the crude oil cap had proven successful thus far with a drop in the price that Russia was earning.

Pressure on Germany to provide Leopard 2 battle tanks has intensified in recent days.

Despite the announcement of a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks sent from the UK, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Schultz has yet to approve the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks, which Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly requested.

The Leopard 2 tank is used by other European armies such as Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Spain.

Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has also indicated he would be willing to send Leopard 2s without Germany’s consent.

Former British army commander and logistics specialist, Major General Tim Cross, has suggested: “One can to an extent understand German reservations about the Leopards. The sight of German tanks rolling east across Ukraine would bring back some bad historic memories.

“But the Ukrainians will be getting tanks and tanks will play an important part in this conflict.”

Read more here:

The French arm of the Russian state-owned RT television network said on Saturday it was shutting down after authorities used European Union sanctions to freeze its bank accounts.

Late last February, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union said it would ban Russia Today on the grounds it had been spreading disinformation about the war. RT (Russia Today) France appealed the ban but lost.

Xenia Fedorova, the head of RT France, tweeted that French authorities had cited a ninth EU package of sanctions agreed last December.

“The funds of RT France are frozen at the request of the general directorate of the Treasury … our channel can no longer continue its activity,” she said.

In March, the European Union’s Court of Justice on Wednesday rejected a RT France bid for a temporary reprieve.

In a separate statement, RT France said 133 employees’ jobs were at risk and called itself “a breath of fresh air” that had covered the war in a balanced way.

It accused the French authorities of censorship and said RT France had never been condemned or sanctioned for any reason.