BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary’s foreign minister has said he will not support a European Union proposal to ban oil imports from Russia in a move that could thwart the bloc’s efforts to put united pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
In a social media video, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siarto said on Wednesday that Hungary’s energy supplies would be “completely destroyed” by the EU embargo on Russian oil, which he said would make it “impossible for Hungary to get the oil it needs to function.” the Hungarian economy “.
Siarto’s statement came when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested that EU member states stop importing crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year as part of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia.
The proposals must be approved unanimously for them to take effect, and the reluctance of the governments of Hungary and Slovakia to support sanctions against Russian fossil fuels has hampered a unified EU response.
Siarto said Hungary would support the sixth round of sanctions only if oil imports are released.
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KEY DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: – AP Evidence Shows 600 Killed in Air Strike at Mariupol Theater
– Russia storms Mariupol steel production as some evacuees reach safety
– Pope Francis is struggling to make progress in peace efforts in Ukraine
– The debt drama is far from over for Russia, although it avoids default
– Fiji says that the United States can confiscate the Russian superyacht, but not immediately
Follow all AP stories about Russia’s war against Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
LONDON – Britain has announced a new set of sanctions against Russia, banning the country from doing business with management consultants, accounting and PR companies in the UK
The British government has also imposed an asset freeze and travel bans on journalists working for state media and other television stations, which the UK accuses of spreading propaganda.
The sanctioned include three journalists belonging to Russian forces in Ukraine: Evgeny Poddubny, Alexander Kotz and Dmitry Steshin.
The British government has said the new sanctions will mean that social media, internet services and app stores must take action to block content from two of Russia’s main sources of alleged misinformation, RT and Sputnik. Both have been downloaded from the British airwaves.
Technology and Digital Economy Minister Chris Philip said RT and Sputnik had “released dangerous nonsense dressed as serious news to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”.
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BERLIN – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Russian President Vladimir Putin “was completely wrong about his brutal aggression against Ukraine” because it led NATO to strengthen its eastern flank, led to comprehensive sanctions against Russia and sparked large-scale military support for Ukraine. .
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, along with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who announced plans to demand that Russians subject to sanctions disclose their assets in Germany or risk fines.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the government also plans to make it easier for Russians fleeing their homeland to find work in Germany.
“We can really use them,” he said, but added that there would be security checks to ensure “we don’t bring a lot of spies here.” ___
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Bulgaria’s parliament has approved additional aid for war-torn Ukraine following a debate that rocked the ruling coalition.
The proposal, submitted by the centrist party of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, was supported by 200 deputies. Sixteen were against, one abstained, while 23 deputies were absent.
The vote came after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky sent a letter to parliament in Sofia. It is reported that instead of supplying weapons, he demanded that damaged Ukrainian military equipment be repaired in Bulgarian factories and then sent back.
While three of the parties in the four-party ruling coalition supported sending weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, a fourth party, the pro-Russian Socialists, threatened to leave the coalition if such aid was approved.
The decision also includes Bulgarian aid for the export of Ukrainian grain through Bulgarian Black Sea ports and Bulgaria for the import of electricity from Ukraine.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark – British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reaffirmed his country’s strong support for the potential accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
Finland and Sweden are expected to announce next week whether to apply for membership in the alliance of 30 countries.
“I can’t imagine that we will not come to support,” Wallace told reporters. “We’ll do what we have to do.”
Wallace said Finland was “in a good position” to join NATO and that the British Parliament would be able to ratify Finland’s 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 Vladimir Zelensky has said his country cannot accept a deal with Moscow that would allow Russian troops to remain in occupied territory.
Speaking to participants in the summit of the Wall Street Journal’s chief executive, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had stopped the Russian offensive in what he described as the first stage of the conflict.
In the second stage, he said, Ukraine will expel Russian troops from its territory, and in the third stage it will proceed to the full restoration of its territorial integrity.
Zelensky said he would not accept a ceasefire agreement that would allow Russian forces to remain in their current positions. “We will not accept a frozen conflict,” the president said, without elaborating.
Zelensky stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin must agree to meet with 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 see no point in such agreements.”
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LVIV, Ukraine – New satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press show that battles could be fought at the besieged steel plant in Mariupol.
The Kremlin denies Russian forces attempting to storm the Azovstal plant, the latter remaining a target of Ukrainian fighters in the port city.
An image taken by Planet Labs PBC at dawn on Wednesday shows black smoke rising from one side of the plant near a canal. The buildings at the plant, including one that may have housed hundreds of fighters and civilians, showed large gaping holes in the roof. Debris littered the terrain.
Meanwhile, another satellite image showed that a recent Russian missile attack tore a hole in a key bridge near Odessa.
Russia has attacked the bridge three times. Although still standing, part of the bridge is missing at its southern end, the image shows.
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Kyiv, Ukraine – The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine announced that a road accident in the western region of Rovno killed 26 people and injured 12 others. The collision was with a bus, minibus and fuel truck, the ministry said. The bus was headed to Poland, a key destination for Ukrainian refugees.
According to a ministry statement, the accident happened because the minibus “performed a maneuver to overtake another vehicle and entered the opposite lane, where it collided with a fuel truck.”
It was not immediately clear how a bus to Poland with 34 passengers on board became part of the accident.
___ MOSCOW – The Kremlin has dismissed media reports that President Vladimir Putin could officially declare war on Ukraine on May 9, when Russia celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, and declare widespread mobilization.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports as “false” and “nonsense” during a daily conference call with reporters.
Western media reported earlier this month, citing UK and US officials, that Putin could move from a “special military operation” to a total war with Ukraine, which would allow him to impose martial law and mobilize reservists.
Reports say Putin may announce the changes during Victory Day celebrations on May 9, Russia’s most important holiday. ___
MOSCOW – Russia’s defense minister has warned that Moscow will view all Western weapons vehicles in Ukraine as legitimate targets.
Sergei Shoigu’s statement came Wednesday as the United States and other Western allies increased arms supplies to Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting with senior military officials, Shoigu condemned the West for “trampling Ukraine with weapons.”
“All NATO vehicles carrying weapons or resources for the Ukrainian military arriving in the country will be considered by us as a legitimate target for destruction,” he said.
The Russian military has repeatedly reported strikes on Ukrainian warehouses containing Western weapons. Hitting the Western vehicles that deliver them would mean a significant escalation of the conflict.
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MOSCOW – Belarus has announced early military exercises amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, while insisting it will not threaten its neighbors.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said the exercises, which began on Wednesday, would be used to assess the readiness and capabilities of the country’s armed forces and the military’s ability to operate in “unfamiliar terrain in a rapidly changing situation”.
The ministry did not say how many troops were participating in the exercises, but noted that their numbers would gradually increase.
It says that the maneuvers “do not threaten the European community as a whole and all neighboring …
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