Russia Ukraine conflict newest: US accuses Putin of utilizing chemical weapons as missile causes giant fireplace in Odesa | EUROtoday

WNBA star Brittney Griner stated she thought of killing herself throughout her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related expenses.

Griner spoke for the primary time about her monthslong detention in Russia throughout an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday evening on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,” is about to be launched on May 7.

Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities stated a search of her baggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from hashish.

Russian vitality producer Gazprom stated it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of pure fuel to Europe by way of Ukraine on Thursday, consistent with the quantity despatched on Wednesday.

Ukrainian drones tried to assault vitality infrastructure in Russia‘s Smolensk region, governor Vasily Anokhin said on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday.

He did not say what particular facilities had been targeted, but said emergency workers have been deployed. Many drone attacks in recent months have targeted oil refineries and depots.

The US has sanctioned practically 300 firms and people from China, Russia, and a number of other different international locations for allegedly supporting Russia’s defence trade and serving to it evade American sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.

The US Department of the Treasury stated on Wednesday that it had imposed sanctions on practically 200 entities and the State Department on greater than 80 to “degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine” in Ukraine.

The sanctioned entities, situated in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the UAE and Slovakia, have allegedly enabled Russia to “acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad”.

A Russian ballistic missile struck a postal depot within the Ukrainian port of Odesa late on Wednesday, injuring 14 folks and triggering a big fireplace, regional governor Oleh Kiper stated.

It was the third missile assault on town in as many days.

Pictures and a video posted on-line confirmed flames and billowing clouds of smoke engulfing buildings and firefighters coaching their hoses on areas nonetheless ablaze. Most of the loading space appeared to have been lowered to a shell.

The United States accused Russia of violating the worldwide ban on chemical weapons by deploying the choking agent chloropicrin in opposition to Ukrainian troops.

Chloropicrin causes extreme irritation to the eyes, pores and skin and lungs, and was utilized in giant portions throughout World War I, in response to the US’s National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the State Department stated: “The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield.”