LONDON – Britain announced a further raft of sanctions against Russia, banning the country from doing business with management consultants, accounting and PR firms in the U.K.
The British government also imposed asset freezes and travel bans on journalists working for state-owned media and other broadcast organizations the U.K. accuses of spreading propaganda.
The sanctioned individuals include three journalists embedded with Russian forces in Ukraine: Evgeny Poddubny, Alexander Kots and Dmitry Steshin.
The British government said the new sanctions would mean social media, internet services and app stores must take action to block content from two of Russia’s major sources of alleged disinformation, RT and Sputnik. Both have been pulled from British airwaves.
Tech and Digital Economy Minister Chris Philp said RT and Sputnik “have churned out dangerous nonsense dressed up as serious news to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.” ___
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: – AP evidence points to 600 dead in Mariupol theater airstrike
– Russia storms Mariupol steel plant as some evacuees reach safety
– Pope Francis struggles to make progress in Ukraine peace effort
– Debt drama far from over for Russia even though it dodges default
– Fiji says US can seize Russian superyacht but not right away
Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
BERLIN – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Russian President Vladimir Putin has “completely miscalculated with his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine” because it has led NATO to strengthen its eastern flank, resulted in comprehensive sanctions against Russia, and prompted large-scale military support for the Ukrainian side.
Scholz said Wednesday that Germany is currently considering supplying Ukraine with howitzers, in addition to Gepard anti-aircraft guns and other equipment the government has already agreed to send.
He spoke to reporters in Meseberg, near Berlin, alongside German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who announced plans to require that Russians who are subject to sanctions have to disclose their assets in Germany or risk fines.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the government is also planning to make it easier for Russians fleeing their home country to find work in Germany.
“We can really use them,” he said, but added that there would be security checks to ensure that “we don’t bring a lot of spies over here.” ___
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Bulgaria’s parliament has approved providing additional aid to war-torn Ukraine following a debate that had rattled the governing coalition.
The proposal, introduced by the centrist party of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, was supported by 200 legislators. Sixteen were against, one abstained, while 23 lawmakers were not present.
The vote took place after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a letter to the parliament in Sofia. Instead of weapons deliveries, he reportedly asked for damaged Ukrainian military equipment to be repaired at Bulgarian plants and then sent back.
While three of the parties in the four-party ruling coalition had been in favor of sending weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, the fourth party, the pro-Russian Socialists, threatened to quit the coalition if such aid were approved.
The decision also includes Bulgarian assistance for the export of Ukrainian grain via Bulgaria’s Black Sea ports, and Bulgaria importing electricity from Ukraine.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark – British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reaffirmed his country’s strong support for Finland and Sweden potentially joining NATO.
Finland and Sweden are expected to announce next week whether to seek membership of the 30-nation alliance.
“I cannot conceive that we would not come to support,” Wallace told reporters. “We will do whatever we need to do.”
Wallace said Finland was “in a pole position” to join NATO and the British Parliament would be able to ratify a Finnish membership “quickly.”
Wallace on Wednesday observed a military exercise in western Finland involving troops from the United Kingdom, Latvia, the United States and Estonia.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country could not accept a deal with Moscow that would allow Russian troops to remain in occupied territory.
Speaking to participants in the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had halted the Russian offensive in what he described as the first stage of the conflict.
In the second stage, he said, Ukraine would expel Russian troops from its territory and in the third, would move to fully restore its territorial integrity.
Zelenskyy said he would not accept a cease-fire deal that would allow Russian forces to remain in their current positions. “We will not accept a frozen conflict,” the president said without giving further details.
Zelensky emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin must agree to meet him to negotiate any deal to end the fighting.
He said it was important to continue peace talks but noted that “until the Russian president signs it or makes an official statement, I don’t see the point in such agreements.”
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LVIV, Ukraine – New satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press suggest fighting may be ongoing at a besieged steel plant in Mariupol.
The Kremlin is denying that Russian forces are trying to storm the Azovstal plant, the last remaining holdout of Ukrainian fighters in the port city.
An image shot by Planet Labs PBC at dawn Wednesday showed black smoke rising at one side of the plant near a canal. Buildings at the plant, including one under which hundreds of fighters and civilians are likely hiding, showed large, gaping holes in the roof. Debris littered the grounds.
Meanwhile, another satellite photo showed that a recent Russian missile attack tore a hole in a key bridge near Odesa.
Russia has attacked the bridge on three occasions. Though it is still standing, a chunk of the bridge is missing toward its south end, the image shows.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s Interior Ministry says a road crash in the western Rivne region has killed 26 people and injured 12 more. The collision involved a bus, a van and a fuel truck, the ministry said. The bus had been headed to Poland, which has been a key destination for Ukrainian refugees.
According to a ministry statement, the accident occurred because the van “performed a maneuver to overtake another vehicle, and drove into the oncoming lane, where it collided with a fuel truck.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how a Poland-bound bus with 34 passengers on board became part of the accident.
___ MOSCOW – The Kremlin has rejected media reports that President Vladimir Putin might formally declare war on Ukraine on May 9, when Russia celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, and announce a broad mobilization.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports as “untrue” and “nonsense” at a daily conference call with reporters.
Western media reported earlier this month, citing U.K. and U.S. officials, that Putin might pivot from a “special military operation” to an all-out war with Ukraine, which would allow him to introduce martial law and mobilize reservists.
The reports said Putin could announce the changes during Victory Day celebrations on May 9, Russia’s most important holiday. ___
MOSCOW – The Russian defense minister has warned that Moscow will see any Western transports carrying weapons into Ukraine as legitimate targets.
Sergei Shoigu’s statement Wednesday comes as the U.S. and other Western allies have increased shipments of weapons to Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting with top military officials, Shoigu denounced the West for “stuffing Ukraine with weapons.”
“Any NATO transports carrying weapons or resources for the Ukrainian military that arrives in the country’s territory will be seen by us as a legitimate target to be destroyed,” he said.
The Russian military has repeatedly reported strikes on Ukrainian depots containing Western weapons. Striking Western transports delivering them would mark a significant escalation in the conflict.
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MOSCOW – Belarus has announced snap military exercises amid the Russian war in Ukraine, while insisting it would not threaten any neighbors.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said the exercises that began Wednesday would be used to assess the readiness and capability of the country’s armed forces, and the military’s ability to operate on “unknown terrain in a rapidly changing situation.”
The ministry did not say how many troops are involved in the exercises but noted that their number would be gradually increased.
It said the maneuvers “do not threaten the European community in general and any neighboring countries in particular.”
Belarus allowed its ally Russia to use its territory as a staging ground before Moscow launched its military action in Ukraine on Feb. 24.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian officials say evacuations from the besieged port of Mariupol will continue on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said evacuations from Mariupol and three other locations to Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeast Ukraine, would take place “if the security situation permits.”
The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, confirmed that evacuation buses had already left Mariupol and would stop at three other locations to pick up more passengers.
Kyrylenko said the effort is supported by the United Nations and the International Red Cross.
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BRUSSELS – The European Union plans to sanction the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, in its next round of measures against Russia, according to several EU diplomats.
The three people with direct knowledge of the discussions were not authorized to speak publicly as negotiations on the sixth EU package of sanctions between the 27-nation bloc’s ambassadors were ongoing Wednesday.
Kirill is a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has justified his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kirill has also echoed Putin’s unfounded claims that Ukraine was engaged in the “extermination” of Russian loyalists in Donbas, the breakaway eastern region of Ukraine held since 2014 by Russian-backed separatist groups.
If the sanctions proposed by the EU’s executive arm are approved by EU member countries, Kirill would be added to the EU’s updated list of individuals facing travel bans and a freeze of assets.
A total of 1,093 individuals, including Putin and oligarchs, as well as 80 entities, are already subject to the punishing measures.
– Reported by Samuel Petrequin
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BRUSSELS – The European Union’s chief executive is proposing that the bloc ban oil imports from Russia over its war on Ukraine, and target the country’s biggest bank and major broadcasters in a new round of sanctions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers Wednesday that the sanctions should involve “a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.”
She says the aim is to “make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets.”
The sanctions proposals are to be debated by the 27 EU member countries. Hungary and Slovakia have already said they would not take part. The two are landlocked and heavily dependent on Russia for their energy supplies.
Banks are also in the EU executive arm’s sights, notably the giant Sberbank. Von der Leyen says the aim is to “de-SWIFT Sberbank,” as well as two other banks. SWIFT is the major global system for financial transfers.
Von der Leyen says those alleged to be spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine should be targeted, notably three big Russian state-owned broadcasters. She did not identify any of the outlets.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian authorities say that scores of civilians have been killed and wounded in the latest attacks in the country’s east.
Donetsk regional Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that 21 civilians were killed and another 27 were wounded in Russian attacks Tuesday.
He said in a statement on a messaging app early Wednesday that it marked the highest number of civilian victims in the region since April 8 when a Russian missile attack on a railway station in the city of Kramatorsk killed at least 59 people.
In the neighboring Luhansk region, Gov. Serhiy Haidai said at least two civilians were killed in Russian shelling during the last 24 hours and two others were wounded.
The Russian military has intensified attacks in eastern Ukraine as part of its offensive in the region.
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LVIV, Ukraine – The British military believes Russia will make a push to try to seize the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
The British made the comment Wednesday in a daily briefing it posts on Twitter about the war.
The Defense Ministry said Russia had some 22 battalion tactical groups near Izium in its attempt to advance in the area. Russia uses so-called battalion tactical groups – units of infantry typically reinforced with tanks, air defenses and artillery – in its operations. Each group typically has around 800 troops.
The British said: “Despite struggling to break through Ukrainian defenses and build momentum, Russia highly likely intends to proceed beyond Izium to capture the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk.”
Analysts have been watching eastern Ukraine, now the site of the country’s heaviest fighting, expecting Russia to try to encircle Ukrainian forces. However, the going has been slow as Ukrainian fighters dig in and use long-range weapons, like howitzers, to target the Russians.