Kyiv calls for ‘bold’ air defense support – DW – 04/15/2024

A Russian military court has handed down a 14-year sentence to a man it found guilty of collaborating with a foreign state and “justifying terrorism.”

According to Russian media, investigators initially accused Vladlen Menshikov of attempting to sabotage rail lines carrying military equipment near his hometown of Rezh, a small village near the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

He was later charged with the two other counts and the attempted sabotage charge was dropped, the media report said, citing documents from the Yekaterinburg military court.

It said Menshikov was suspected of receiving instructions from the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Ukrainian-based paramilitary group of Russians who oppose President Vladimir Putin and who have claimed responsibility for cross-border attacks into Russian territory.

Russian officials have linked pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups with numerous attacks on railways aimed at disrupting supplies to the war front in Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began more than two years ago.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is visiting China, says he will warn Chinese President Xi Jinping against providing military support for Russia.

He will point out that Russia is waging a war of conquest against Ukraine, “and insist that no one must help this to succeed,” Scholz said in Shanghai.

“That is why we are also calling on everyone not to circumvent sanctions… and that is why we are also calling for no arms deliveries,” he added.

This also applies to goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, Scholz emphasized. China is considered Russia’s most important ally and is suspected of supplying such goods.

The Russian war against Ukraine is not just a European issue, Scholz said. “If this sets a precedent, it is a threat to peace and security everywhere on the planet,” he said.

Scholz is scheduled to meet with Chines leader Xi Jinping  and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Tuesday.

Russian shelling killed four people in the mining town of Siversk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the regional governor has said.

“The city was shelled yesterday evening with multiple rocket launchers. It has now been established that four men aged 36 to 86 died as a result of this shelling,” Vadym Filashkin wrote on social media.

He called on Siversk’s remaining residents to flee the city, which is located about 10 kilometers (just over 6 miles) west of the frontline.

Siversk had a population of over 10,000 before the war. Russia claimed to have annexed the entire Donetsk region in September 2022 despite not fully controlling the region.

Officials have warned that the eastern front line has become increasingly precarious as Ukraine struggles to secure more arms from allies and recruit more troops.

Ukraine once again appealed to its allies to take “extraordinary and bold steps” to provide air defense systems to help defend itself against the waves of Russian air strikes that have targeted its energy system in recent weeks.

“We urgently require additional Patriot and other modern air defense systems, weapons and ammunition,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a Black Sea security conference via video link. “I take this opportunity to once again urge all of our partners to take extraordinary and bold steps.”

Russian missile and drone attacks have pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure since mid-March, prompting Kyiv to issue increasingly desperate calls for help in defending the country’s airspace.

“Ukrainian air defense is now protecting not only Ukrainian skies from Russian air terror, it also shields neighboring Moldova, Romania and Poland from the immediate threat of missiles and drones entering their air space,” Kuleba added.

The German government said Saturday it would send an additional Patriot missile system to help Ukraine’s military fend off increased Russian airstrikes.

Kuleba said Sunday that negotiations for more Patriot systems for Ukraine are ongoing, but decried their slow pace.

dh/rm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)