Security
Putin Lays Out Conditions As Russians Shell Ukrainian City
Putin’s ultimatum came as Moscow and Kyiv held their first talks since the outbreak of war last Thursday, which shocked the world and provoked a massive diplomatic, economic, cultural and sporting backlash.
Shortly before the talks broke up, agreeing merely to hold a second round of negotiations “soon”, Putin laid out his prerequisites for ending the war in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Putin stressed that a settlement is possible only if Russia’s legitimate security interests are unconditionally taken into account, including the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the demilitarisation and denazification of the Ukrainian state and ensuring its neutral status,” the Kremlin said.
Fighting continued to rage during the dialogue, with at least 11 people killed by Russian attacks in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border.
More than 350 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed during the invasion, Ukraine says, while more than a half a million people have fled the country.
Oleg Sinegubov, the governor of the region that includes Kharkiv, said the “Russian enemy is bombing residential areas of Kharkiv, where there is no critical infrastructure, where there are no positions of the armed forces”.
An AFP photographer in the city inspected damage caused by fighting on Sunday, finding a destroyed school, as well as several burned out Russian infantry vehicles.
Russian corpses in army fatigues could also be seen in the streets.
In Kyiv, many were preparing for a fresh assault with makeshift barricades dotting the streets.
The Russian army urged Ukrainians to leave Kyiv “freely” on one highway out ahead of what is an expected Russian offensive to capture the capital.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was “gravely concerned” as Russian forces advanced towards Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant, strongly warning against any military action that could threaten the Zaporizhzhia facility.
Ruble plummets
Long queues for groceries snaked through the streets of Kyiv on Monday after a strict 36-hour military curfew was lifted and volunteer militias learned how to make home-made explosives.
“We will greet them with Molotov cocktails and bullets to the head,” bank employee Viktor Rudnichenko told AFP. “The only flowers they might get from us will be for their grave.”
The Russian ruble crashed to a record low as sanctions imposed by the West over the weekend had an immediate impact in Moscow, forcing the central bank to more than double its key interest rate to 20 percent.
Putin also announced emergency measures intended to prop up the ruble, including banning residents from transferring money abroad.
Many Russians raced to withdraw cash.
Retired soldier Edward Sysoyev, 51, fidgeted impatiently while in line at a bank in Moscow.
“Ninety percent of Russians are going to rush to withdraw their rubles and change them into dollars, property or even gold… it’ll be ordinary people who pay for this military bun-fight,” he said.
The Moscow Stock Market was closed Monday to prevent an expected mass sell-off.
‘Unprovoked armed aggression’
Also on Monday an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly — just the 11th held in the United Nations’ 77-year history — debated a resolution condemning Moscow’s “unprovoked armed aggression”.
“If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive. Have no illusions,” Ukraine’s UN ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said.
A vote on the non-binding resolution is expected on Wednesday.
Moscow’s UN ambassador meanwhile said that 12 members of Russia’s diplomatic mission to the UN have been ordered to leave the US by the end of March.
In further reaction to the Russian invasion, the International Criminal Court announced it was launching an investigation.
“I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine” since 2014,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said.
And Turkey said it would implement an international treaty to limit ships passing through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits, a move requested by Ukraine to block the transit of Russian warships.
In Russia, there were more signs of rare dissent among the usually ultra-loyal oligarchs who surround the Russian leader — in addition to anti-war demonstrations that saw an estimated 2,100 people arrested on Sunday.
Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska said “we need real crisis managers and not fantasists”, while billionaire banker Oleg Tinkov said “innocent people are dying every day, this is unthinkable and unacceptable!”
Western defence officials and the Kyiv government say Ukrainian troops have so far kept the country’s major cities out of Russian hands despite incursions in the capital and Kharkiv over the weekend.
However the small southern city of Berdyansk has been occupied, Ukraine said.
Moscow claimed it had “gained air superiority over the entire territory of Ukraine”, while accusing Ukrainian troops of using civilians as human shields.
However Olivier Kempf, a security analyst at the Foundation for Strategic Research think tank, said that Russian forces were “not bogged down”.
“This is war, so there are difficulties. They may have logistics issues. But regardless of what we’re told, they are making progress,” he told AFP. “Only in video games do you conquer a country in two days.”
Kicked out of World Cup
The weekend featured a momentous series of announcements from Europe, with Germany unveiling a historic change to its defence policies, and the EU saying it would buy and supply arms to Ukraine, the first such move in its history.
On Monday the European Union said it would add Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin’s spokesman to its sanctions blacklist while traditionally neutral Switzerland said it would adopt the bloc’s sanctions.
An aide to French President Emmanuel Macron added that the EU and its allies were preparing new sanctions to “raise the cost of the war” for Putin and “change his calculations”.
However the EU poured cold water on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request for “immediate” membership to the bloc, saying the process to join takes years.
The response from the world of sports also gathered steam, as Russia was expelled from the World Cup and the country’s clubs and national teams were suspended from all international football competitions “until further notice”, FIFA and UEFA said.
Poland has taken in more than half of the 500,000 people who have fled Ukraine, according to the UN.
Katerina Zaporojets, a laboratory worker from the central city of Cherkassy, said it took her 24 hours to arrive at the western Shegyni border post — and she will likely wait another 48 hours before crossing.
“The trip was really hard,” the 31-year-old told AFP. “It’s calmer here, but the drive was really scary.”
AFP
Residents of Otukpo in Benue south district have staged a protest against the incessant cases of kidnappings and killings by suspected herdsmen.
The Tuesday demonstration saw protesters, mostly youths, occupy the Otukpo-Enugu federal highway, calling on the government to address the growing insecurity in the state.
There has been a surge in cases of killings and kidnappings allegedly carried out by suspected herdsmen in several LGAs in Benue state.
When contacted, Catherine Anene, the police spokesperson in the state, told TheCable that the protest was brought under control by security operatives.
“The protest is under control at the moment; we would let you know as soon as there is further information,” Anene said.
On March 10, 13 people, including women and children, were reportedly killed in an attack by suspected herdsmen on Katsina Ala LGA of the state.
The gunmen were said to have attacked several communities, including Utange council, Kpav, Dikpo, and the Imande Gberihwa area of the state.
The Takum Renaissance Forum(TRF)has condemned a press release issue by STYCOP headed by Rikwensi Muri associating’s increasing surge in insecurity and unrest in Southern Taraba to former Takum local government chairman Shiban Tikari.
In a statement issue by the group secretary Emmanuel Joro, it says for the avoidance of doubt, they wouldn’t have dabbled into the issue, but for the sake of records, they’ve chosen to react.
In Muri’s press release which states that “We must also remember the actions of Hon. Shiban Tikari, former chairman of Takum Local Government Council, who similarly exploited the “Tiv Militias,” “Kuteb Militias,” and “Fulani Militias” narrative to destabilize the region”.
The Group responded by saying “It is on records that Hon. Shiban stabilized the atmosphere of Takum and environs during his tenure. His administration was not marred by state-sponsored kidnappings, murders and sacking of more than 100 communities by mercenary bandits brought against the Kuteb communities as claimed by Rikwensi Muri, in his usual false accusations. Muri and his co-travellers are the same ones who were bent on throwing Takum and Ussa communities into the pool of crisis. Everybody knew it. Fulani herdsmen were said to have paid millions to their kuteb Chiefs before being given permission to bring their cows to graze in ussa LGA. Muri is quiet about it.”
The group further stated that the former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku agreed to compensate the herders on the lost of their cows to stop attacking Kuteb communities, but instead after the money had come to their possession for compensation to be paid to the Fulani, it was diverted. They instead opted for the money to be used for arms procurement to fight the Fulani herdsmen.
“Why are the likes of Muri and their cohorts, who wanted war with Fulani and called for it, still turning around to blame Gov DDI led administration alongside the then chairmen of Takum and Wukari for their woes”?
“It’s good to note that we are above media trials and other sensational lies to curry public sympathy. Muri has been attacking the image of the Governor of Taraba state, Dr Agbu Kefas and other notable personalities in the state like our fathers, Gen TY Danjuma and the Aku Uka, The Chief of Takum and other notable personalities, but we are not beginning to take this as an exception. Muri’s height of media rascality is a charade taken far”.
“Of all these, none of us or even the authority have chosen to arrest him for defamation. Why? Because of his lunatic approaches and the cheap relevance he is looking for, we can’t give him. The public is always aware of his sponsors and where he is driving. But we repeat, with exception, if he decides to take this further because at hand, we are beginning to gather his incisive and inflammatory posts for litigation against him in court” the statement reads.
The group further highlights that Muri press Release is to incite the gullible public against Hon. Shiban over lies and fabrication of falsehood and also maliciously attacking the present chairman of Wukari local government, Hon Agbu Samaila “having known that the attackers of those innocent KYK members of CRCN in Jootar were Tiv militia, those he has been calling for coalition with”.
The group defend that Hon. Shiban Tikari has never been on the run, but in his hometown in Takum. And the media trial being stage-managed by Muri to demean his image has long fallen.
“We are therefore calling on the general public to be wary with the activities of the so-called STYCOP being handled by Muri. It is not a peace building organization as being peddled but an organization aimed at stirring chaos in the southern part of Taraba state. It is a potential terrorist breeding camp”.
President Bola Tinubu has given marching orders to security agencies to fish out those behind the killing of some travellers in Edo State.
The victims, who were said to be travelling from Port Harcourt to the northern part of Nigeria, were allegedly killed by a mob in Uromi, Edo State, on Thursday.
While reacting to the incident, President Bola Tinubu described it as dastardly.
“The President, who expressed shock at the dastardly act on Thursday, directed Police and other security agencies to conduct swift and thorough investigations and punish the suspected culprits,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement on Friday.
The President noted that jungle justice has no place in Nigeria, and all Nigerians have the freedom to move freely in any part of the country.
Tinubu condoled with the families of the affected people and assured them “that criminals would not be allowed to shed the blood of innocent Nigerians in vain”.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has visited the community, condemning the killing of the travellers.
The governor described the incident as barbaric, according to a statement from his spokesman Fred Itua, and ordered a full-scale investigation into the killing.
“The Governor directed the State Police Command and other security agencies to conduct thorough and speedy investigations into the matter and bring those found culpable to book. He also charged the community to work with the security agencies to fish out the culprits,” Itua said in a statement on Friday
“Governor Okpebholo also commended community leaders, especially the leadership of Arewa community in the area, for deescalating tensions and handling the situation with restrain.”
The governor promised justice for the victims and maintained that there is “no excuse for the vigilante members to take the law into their hands without recourse to statutory law enforcement agencies”.