Russia war latest: Zelensky says Putin will once again try to involve Belarus in war

Russian military publishes list of sites in Europe and UK it could attack for helping to manufacture drones for Ukraine
Ukraine believes Russia is making preparations that show that it would once again try to involve its ally Belarus in the four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow , Volodymyr Zelensky ​yesterday said.

The Ukrainian president made ⁠his remarks in response to what he said was an intelligence report issued by Ukraine 's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

"According to intelligence, road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery ⁠positions are going on in the Belarusian ​border ⁠area," Zelensky wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

"We believe that Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in its war."Intelligence showed ‌that Russia was "attempting ...

to carry out a regrouping of forces – most likely to compensate for a shortage of personnel,” said Zelensky.

Elsewhere, the Russian military has published a list of sites in Europe and the UK it could attack for helping to manufacture drones for Ukraine .

Russia ’s former president and head of the country’s security council, Dmitry Medvedev, issued a warning to the UK and Europe on Thursday after the military published a list of 23 sites across several European countries that are “allegedly either subsidiaries of Ukrainian drone producers or sites where components are made”.

Ukraine's Zelensky calls for joint efforts to set up Hormuz mission
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on Friday ​for joint efforts for an effective mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and said Kyiv's wartime experience in the ⁠Black Sea could help.

"Decisions made regarding Hormuz now will determine how other aggressive actors perceive the possibility of creating problems in other straits and on other fronts," Zelensky said in ⁠remarks to a video conference ​attended ⁠by 50 countries and chaired by France and Britain.

"We need to be as specific and ⁠clear as possible so that in six months we ​don't ⁠find ourselves in the ‌same situation as in Gaza, where much still needs to be done."
"In Hormuz, there are security challenges ‌that cannot be addressed by political decisions ‌alone," he added, without elaborating.

Zelensky, whose remarks appeared on the Telegram messaging app, said that in the course of four years of ⁠war with Russia, Ukraine had "already carried out a very similar mission in the Black Sea".

"Russia also attempted to blockade our sea and we have experience in escorting merchant vessels, demining, defending against air attacks and the overall coordination of such operations," he said.

Ukraine, he said, had ‌sent specialists throughout the Middle East to help ​countries benefit from its experience in defending against ‌Russian drones, many designed ⁠in Iran."We can also contribute to maritime security," ⁠he said.

Ukraine has clinched security cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar ‌and the United ​Arab Emirates and says ‌it is In talks with ​Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil company secures another US sanctions waiver
Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil company has secured a 60-day sanctions waiver from the United States, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said late evening, yesterday.

The waiver granted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) will allow NIS, which operates Serbia's only oil refinery, to continue importing crude oil until ⁠the sale of the Russian ​majority ⁠stake to Hungary's MOL.

The previous one-month waiver expired on Friday.OFAC imposed sanctions on NIS ⁠last October as part of wider measures targeting ​Russia's ⁠energy sector over the ‌war in Ukraine, and demanded divestment of Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, its Russian majority owners.

Djedovic Handanovic called it ‌a sign of progress in ‌the negotiations on the change of ownership between the Hungarian MOL and the Russian Gazprom Neft.

On 19 January, MOL signed an ⁠agreement to buy a combined Gazprom Neft and Gazprom 56 per cent stake in NIS.

OFAC gave companies until 22 May to complete the sale.

Serbia also wants to increase its stake in NIS by an additional five per cent.

"The top MOL management will be in Belgrade on ‌Saturday, and the operational teams will be in ​Belgrade from Tuesday to discuss all the ‌details (of the deal)," Djedovic ⁠Handanovic said.

Russia will try to again involve Belarus in the war, says Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky ​yesterday said that Ukraine believed Russia was making preparations that showed that it would once again try to involve its ally Belarus in the four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow.

Mr Zelensky made ⁠his remarks, posted on the Telegram messaging app, in response to what he said was an intelligence report issued by Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

"According to intelligence, road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery ⁠positions are going on in the Belarusian ​border ⁠area," Mr Zelensky wrote.

"We believe that Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in its war."Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had issued ⁠instructions to warn the Belarusian leadership of "Ukraine's readiness to defend its ​land and ⁠independence".

He also said intelligence showed ‌that Russia was "attempting ...

to carry out a regrouping of forces – most likely to compensate for a shortage of personnel."
"In this regard, it becomes ‌more evident why the armed forces increased their activity ‌on the territory of Belarus." He did not provide further evidence.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, one of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's closest allies, allowed his territory to be used for ⁠part of Russia's February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour.

Fire breaks out at oil terminal in southern Russia's Krasnodar region, officials say
A fire broke out at an oil terminal in southern Russia's Krasnodar ⁠region, prompting a large firefighting operation, the region's emergency operational headquarters said earlier this morning.

No casualties ⁠were reported ​and ⁠there was no indication as to what may ⁠have caused the fire.

The ​emergency ⁠headquarters, writing on ‌Telegram, said 224 firefighters and 56 vehicles were battling the ‌blaze at the terminal ‌in Tikhoretsk, northeast of the region's main town, Krasnodar.

Crews from ⁠Russia's emergencies ministry were also taking part.

Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syskyi, said this week that Ukrainian forces were seeking to reduce Russia's offensive capabilities by ‌keeping up a high ​pace of strikes ‌on military, defence-industrial and ⁠other facilities
.In March, Ukraine ⁠struck 76 such targets including ‌15 facilities ​in the oil-refining ‌industry, he said.

US renews Russian oil waiver after pressure from countries dealing with Iran war price shocks
The Trump administration on Friday renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a ⁠month, even as lawmakers accused the government of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on.

The Treasury Department's waiver lets countries purchase Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of Friday through 16 May.

It replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on 11 April and excludes transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea.

The move is part of the administration's effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the US-Israeli war ⁠on Iran.

It came after countries in Asia, suffering from the global ​energy ⁠shock, pressed Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach markets.

In pictures: Kyiv reels from Russian missile attacks
Russian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft for protection
Soldiers fighting in Ukraine are increasingly turning to the supernatural, seeking solace and solutions from figures like self-described witch Natalia Malinovskaya.

Operating from her darkened Moscow apartment, Malinovskaya, who claims to have inherited her powers from her grandmother and frequently appears on Russian television, offers a range of services from love spells to protection from evil.

Demonstrating her method of detecting negative energy by wafting a lit match over a glass, she notes that most clients seek help for relationship problems, including soldiers worried about their partners' faithfulness.

Amidst the ongoing conflict and economic uncertainty, a growing number of Russians are being drawn to the dark arts .

Recap: Russian troops surrender after Ukrainian operation with only drones and robots
Read the full story of how Ukraine retook occupied land with only machines here .

Ukraine believes Russia will try again to involve Belarus in the war
Ukraine’s Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine believes Russia is making preparations to involve its ally Belarus in the war.

"According to intelligence, road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery positions are going on in the Belarusian border area," Zelensky wrote on Telegram, referring to a report from Ukraine's top commander.

Zelensky said Ukraine had issued instructions to warn the Belarusian leadership of "Ukraine's readiness to defend its land and independence".

Zelensky offers Ukraine's support in joint mission to Strait of Hormuz
Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called for joint efforts to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz - and said Kyiv's wartime experience in the Black Sea could help.

The Ukrainian president told a video conference attended by 50 countries and chaired by France and Britain that in the course of four years of war with Russia, Ukraine had "already carried out a very similar mission in the Black Sea".

"In Hormuz, there are security challenges that cannot be addressed by political decisions alone," he added, without elaborating.

Positioning Ukraine to assist in a maritime security mission, he also made the case that Kyiv had also sent specialists throughout the Middle East to help countries benefit from its experience in defending against Russian drones, many designed in Iran.

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