The Kremlin threatened Tuesday to break off diplomatic relations with Washington if the U.S. declares Russia a sponsor of terrorism.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova known as the proposed designation “naive” and a violation of worldwide legislation.
“The logical result of such a step becomes a break in diplomatic relations,” she stated. “Washington risks finally crossing the point of no return – with all the ensuing consequences. This should be well understood in Washington.”
Last week, the Senate handed a nonbinding decision urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the U.S. to undertake the designation.
Blinken, nevertheless, has balked on the plan, saying that present sanctions are comparable to what can be imposed with the designation.
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Latest developments
►Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles reneged on a plan to ship 10 tanks to Ukraine, saying the gear was in poor situation.
►The first cargo ship to go away Ukraine in additional than 5 months has run into unhealthy climate within the Black Sea and can arrive late to Istanbul. The Razoni, which left Odesa on Monday, is now anticipated to attain Istanbul early Wednesday, stated Turkish Rear Admiral Ozcan Altunbulak.
►The dying toll from a Russian missile assault on Vinnytsia grew to 27. Local officers stated a person died from extreme burns after 20 days within the hospital. Ninety folks had been hospitalized after the missile struck downtown of the town in west-central Ukraine on July 14.
U.S. sanctions Putin’s reputed girlfriend
U.S. sanctions on associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin are getting extra private.
After beforehand declining to sanction Putin’s reputed girlfriend, reportedly out of concern about escalating tensions, the Biden administration took that step Tuesday when it froze Alina Kabaeva’s visa.
The Treasury Department stated it additionally imposed property restrictions on Kabaeva, an ex-Olympic gymnast and former member of the state Duma whom the division stated has “a close relationship to Putin.” Treasury added that Kabaeva, 39, is the pinnacle of a Russian nationwide media firm that promotes the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.Okay. sanctioned Kabaeva in May and the European Union imposed journey and asset restrictions on her in June. In April, the U.S. sanctioned Putin’s grownup daughters, Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova.
“Together with our allies, the United States will also continue to choke off revenue and equipment underpinning Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated in a press release.
Russia backs China, calls Pelosi go to to Taiwan ‘extraordinarily provocative’
At a time when Russia finds itself more and more remoted due to its warfare in Ukraine, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s extremely debated go to to Taiwan is presenting Moscow a chance to strengthen ties with a key ally.
The Kremlin didn’t go on that probability Tuesday, as spokesman Dmitry Peskov known as the potential for Pelosi’s journey “extremely provocative,” including that it could “exacerbate the situation in the region and fuel tensions.” He made the remarks earlier than Pelosi’s flight landed in Taiwan Tuesday evening.
In a name with reporters, Peskov reaffirmed Russia’s “absolute solidarity” with China, which considers self-ruled Taiwan a part of its territory and has expressed the intention to finally search reunification.
The U.S. has lengthy stored a coverage of strategic ambiguity towards the China-Taiwan challenge, recognizing the mainland’s one-China precept however sustaining what the State Department calls “a robust unofficial relationship” with the democratic island of 23 million.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Pelosi’s visit as “a serious violation” of the one-China principle.
Griner sentencing expected ‘very soon’
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who was arrested in Russia for cannabis possession, returned to a Moscow-area courtroom Tuesday amid heightened diplomatic talks between the White House and Kremlin.
Defense lawyer Maria Blagovolina told Reuters that closing arguments would take place Thursday and that Griner’s sentencing was expected “very quickly.”
Griner, 31, has been detained in Russia since February after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called for “discreet” talks, accusing the U.S. of “megaphone diplomacy” that won’t move the negotiations forward.
Russia declares Azov militia a ‘terrorist organization’
The Russian Supreme Court designated the Ukrainian Azov regiment a terrorist organization Tuesday and said members can be held criminally liable. The regiment shrugged off the designation in social media posts, saying Russia was looking for excuses for its war crimes. The designation could strip hundreds of fighters who surrendered at the Azovstal steel plant in May of their POW rights. The fighters had made a weekslong last stand in the southern port city of Mariupol.
Dozens of the Azov fighters and other POWs were killed or wounded last week in an explosion at a prison controlled by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukraine city of Olenivka. Russia blamed Ukraine for a strike; Ukraine authorities said Russia set off the blast to cover up abuse of prisoners.
Azov’s early leadership openly espoused white supremacist views. Since the group was integrated into Ukraine’s National Guard in 2014, however, leadership has repeatedly rejected Nazism, fascism and racism.
BP may stand for bountiful profits
BP became the latest energy giant to report massive profits Tuesday, heightening pressure on governments to intervene as energy companies benefit from high oil and natural gas prices that are fueling inflation and hitting customers in the pocketbook.
London-based BP said its second-quarter earnings nearly tripled to $9.26 billion from $3.12 billion in April-June last year. The company added that supply disruptions caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine figure to keep prices high.
BP’s glowing earnings report follows the same trend as its competitors’. Last week, British rival Shell posted a record $18 billion quarterly profit. Exxon Mobil reported net income of $17.85 billion, while fellow American corporation Chevron earned $11.62 billion.
The sound of US rocket systems in Ukraine a ‘top hit of summer’
Four more U.S. HIMARS mobile missile systems have arrived in Ukraine, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said. The weapons arrived as the White House announced another $550 million aid package for artillery and HIMARS ammunition. Reznikov said the funds are “another investment in the security of NATO’s eastern flank” and a show of support for democracy. Ukraine artillerymen are ready to “turn night into day” to expel Russian troops, he said.
The Pentagon said the rocket systems have a range of 50 miles, enabling Ukrainians to hit positions from beyond the reach of most Russian artillery.
“I’m grateful to @POTUS @SecDef Lloyd Austin III and people for strengthening of #UAarmy,” Renikov said on Twitter. “We have proven to be smart operators of this weapon. The sound of the #HIMARS volley has become a top hit of this summer at the front lines!”
World one step from ‘nuclear annihilation,’ UN chief warns
United N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm over the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats in Asia and the Middle East and other tensions, warning that “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” The warning came Monday as a pandemic-delayed conference opened to review the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually achieving a nuclear-free world.
The threat of nuclear catastrophe was also raised by the United States, Japan, Germany, the U.N. nuclear chief and many other opening speakers.
Russia, which came under criticism from some speakers, didn’t give an address in its scheduled slot Monday but was expected to speak Tuesday. China’s representative was also scheduled to speak Tuesday.
Contributing: The Associated Press
