U.S Senator delays over Ksh.4 trillion aid package to Ukraine
U.S. Senator Rand Paul Thursday blocked a
vote on a $40 billion (approx. Ksh.4.6 trillion) aid package for Ukraine,
slowing U.S. efforts to quickly deliver more help to Ukraine as it battles a
Russian invasion.
A unanimous Senate vote would have expedited
the delivery of aid to Ukraine.
"We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the
U.S. economy," Paul said.
Paul’s move, however, has delayed the vote
for another week, when the Senate is expected to pass the bill.
Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations
Ministry employees clear rubble at the side of the damaged Mariupol theater
building during heavy fighting in Mariupol, in territory under the government
of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, May 1
Ukraine says negotiations are underway for
the release of 38 incapacitated soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in
Mariupol in exchange for Russian prisoners.
In a post on Facebook, Deputy Prime Minister
Iryna Vereschuk described the talks as "very difficult."
She said comments by "some politicians,
journalists and public figures," about the talks have hurt the negotiation
process and requested that people refrain "from making public comments on
what you don't know."
Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Prime
Minister Sanna Marin Thursday expressed their approval for joining NATO, a move
that would complete a major policy shift for the country in response to
Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"NATO membership would strengthen
Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire
defense alliance," they said in a joint statement. "Finland must
apply for NATO membership without delay. We hope that the national steps still
needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few
days."
The leaders said they came to their decision
after allowing time for Finland’s parliament and the public to consider the
matter, and to consult with NATO and neighboring Sweden. Officials in Sweden
are expected to consider their own possible NATO application in the coming
days.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said
Thursday if Finland does apply for membership, "they would be warmly
welcomed into NATO and the accession process would be smooth and swift."
"Finland is one of NATO's closest
partners, a mature democracy, a member of the European Union, and an important
contributor to Euro-Atlantic security," Stoltenberg said.
Russia has warned against NATO expansion, and
said Finland and Sweden joining would bring "serious military and
political consequences."
"The expansion of NATO and the approach
of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more
stable and secure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters
Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
tweeted that he praised Finland’s decision in a phone call with Niinisto.
The fight for Ukraine played out beyond the
battlefields Wednesday, with Kyiv shutting one Russian natural gas pipeline
that supplies European homes and industry, while a Moscow-installed official in
southern Ukraine said the Kremlin should annex the city of Kherson after
Russian troops took control.
Ukraine’s natural gas pipeline operator said
it was stopping Russian shipments through a hub in eastern Ukraine controlled
by Moscow-backed separatists because of interference from enemy forces,
including the apparent siphoning of gas.
About one-third of Russian gas headed to
Western Europe passes through Ukraine, although one analyst said the immediate
effect might be limited, since much of it can be redirected through another
pipeline. Russia’s giant state-owned Gazprom said gas flowing to Europe through
Ukraine was down 25% from the day before.
The European Union, as part of its announced
effort to punish Russia for its 11-week invasion of Ukraine, is looking to end
its considerable reliance on Russian energy to heat homes and fuel industries.
It has, however, encountered some opposition
from within its 27-member bloc, especially from Hungary, which says its economy
would sustain a major hit if its supply of Russian energy were cut off.
Meanwhile, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of
the Kherson regional administration installed by Moscow, told Russia’s RIA
Novosti news agency, "The city of Kherson is Russia."
He asked that Putin declare Kherson a
"proper region" of Russia, much as Moscow did in 2014 in seizing
Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula and declaring Luhansk and Donetsk as independent
entities shortly before invading Ukraine on February 24.
Peskov said that it would be "up to the
residents of the Kherson region" to make such a request, and to make sure
there is an "absolutely clear" legal basis for the action.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo
Podolyak derided the notion of its annexation, tweeting: "The invaders may
ask to join even Mars or Jupiter. The Ukrainian army will liberate Kherson, no
matter what games with words they play."
Kherson is a Black Sea port with a population
of about 300,000 and provides access to fresh water for neighboring Crimea.
Russian forces captured it early in the war.
Want to send us a story? SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp 0743570000 or Submit on Citizen Digital or email wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a Comment