US doubts Ukraine poisoning claim – media

American officials don’t believe symptoms of Ukrainian negotiators and Russian businessman Roman Abramovich look like poisoning, Reuters claims

Within hours of Bellingcat’s claim on Monday that Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian negotiators may have been poisoned by Moscow to stall peace talks in Ukraine, the US government has reportedly voiced doubt.

Intelligence indicates that the symptoms allegedly suffered by Abramovich and two Ukrainian officials involved in peace talks with Russia may be due to environmental factors instead, Reuters reported, citing a US government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The intelligence highly suggests this was environmental, not poisoning,” said the official, without elaborating.

Earlier in the day, the Wall Street Journal reported that the three men had “suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning” that included “red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands,” citing people familiar with the matter.

“Bellingcat can confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of 3 to 4 March 2022 experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons,” the UK-based outfit then said. Bellingcat’s Christo Grozev was behind the investigation, but could not get German experts to analyze the samples in time to show any traces of chemicals, according to the WSJ.

Russia-Ukraine negotiators could have been 'poisoned' – media READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine negotiators could have been 'poisoned' – media

Others have been skeptical of the claim as well. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak, who is involved in the talks, told Reuters “there is a lot of speculation, various conspiracy theories,” while Rustem Umerov, allegedly one of the people affected, said people should not trust “unverified information” and that he was fine. Abramovich has yet to officially address the report.

The Russian oil magnate who moved to the UK and bought the football club Chelsea is rumored to be involved in a “back channel” between the Kremlin and Kiev to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but was placed on the Western sanctions list anyway.

Bellingcat has blamed Russia for the alleged poisonings of Sergey and Yulia Skripal in 2018 and blogger Alexey Navalny in 2020, both supposedly using the deadly “novichok” nerve toxin but not killing their targets. The UK-based “open-source intelligence” collective has ties to US, UK, and other NATO governments and was designated a “foreign agent” by Russia in 2020.

https://www.rt.com/russia/552865-abramovich-poisoning-ukraine-doubt/

28 Mar, 2022 16:20

HomeRussia & FSU

Moscow to hit most Western states with visa restrictions

“Retaliation” measure follows sanctions placed on Russia

Moscow to hit most Western states with visa restrictions

© Sputnik/Sergey Guneev

Russia will introduce new visa restrictions for citizens of “unfriendly states” as part of its response to the international sanctions imposed on Moscow amid its ongoing military assault on Ukraine.

Addressing members of the ruling United Russia party, on Monday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a presidential decree “on retaliatory visa measures in connection with the ‘unfriendly’ actions of a number of foreign states” was being drafted.

“This act will introduce a number of restrictions on entry into the territory of Russia,” Lavrov said.

Meanwhile, the procedure for entry and stay in Russia for people without citizenship and those who ended up on the territory of Ukraine has been simplified. This was done “in order to prevent a threat to the life and health” of these people so that they could safely return to their home countries, the minister explained.

Last week, the Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki urged to stop issuing visas for Russian citizens as part of new sanctions against Russia.

“Another suggestion is to freeze visas for all Russians,” he said, explaining that, in his opinion, this was necessary to make Russians aware of what was happening in Ukraine. Belgium previously voiced a similar proposal.

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Japan earlier froze the issuance of visas to certain categories of Russians, while Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, and the Czech Republic have stopped issuing visas to all of the country's citizens. Prague and Oslo have also suspended the acceptance of documents for a residence permit.

The Russian list of “unfriendly states,” which initially featured just two countries – the US and Czech Republic – was significantly expanded in March in the wake of the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West. Now it includes all the EU members, Ukraine, the UK, Canada, Japan, and others.

All these countries are subject to various retaliation measures, restrictions and specific requirements from Russia. Recently, President Vladimir Putin ordered all payments for the natural gas from the “unfriendly states” to be switched to rubles – a measure which was collectively rejected on Monday by the G7.

Another “retaliation” initiative saw the Finance Ministry requesting Russian companies wishing to work with firms from countries on the list to receive government permission first.

https://www.rt.com/russia/552855-russia-visas-unfriendly-states/

28 Mar, 2022 07:50

New Zealand to help with Ukrainian military intelligence

The island nation is sending nine officers to assist colleagues in the UK and Belgium

New Zealand to help with Ukrainian military intelligence

Destroyed military hardware of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. © Sputnik / Mihail Andronik

New Zealand is going to assist its European allies in gathering intelligence on the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday.

The New Zealand Defense Force will use its capabilities for the next three months to support the UK and other European partners, “taking advantage of the time zone difference to help with key tasks during their night time and our day time,” Ardern told the media after a cabinet meeting.

The island nation’s ministers have decided to immediately deploy nine officers to the UK and Belgium “to assist with the heightened demand for intelligence assessments” amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, she said.

Five of those experts will monitor satellite imagery, while the rest will be tasked with enhancing Wellington’s understanding of the activities of its allies and NATO relating to the crisis, the PM added.

New Zealand had previously contributed $5 million to the NATO Trust Fund, which provides fuel, military rations, communications and first-aid kits to Kiev, as well as another $6 million to support Ukrainian civilians affected by the conflict.

New Zealand sanctions Putin

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New Zealand sanctions Putin

Wellington has also joined the international sanctions against Moscow, targeting more than 460 Russian individuals and entities. “We know that sanctions globally have been making it harder for the Russian regime to fund its war… New Zealand is playing its part,” Ardern said.

Russia sent its troops into Ukraine over a month ago, following a seven-year standoff over Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, and Russia’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state.

https://www.rt.com/news/552815-new-zealand-uk-ukraine/