Author: Steven Sahiounie

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a special operation in Ukraine, which he said is aimed at “denazifying and demilitarising” Kiev, as well as protecting the residents of two breakaway regions, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.Since pictures and videos of Russian equipment in the Donbass region appeared online, many netizens have been puzzled about the meaning of letters seen on Russia’s military hardware. The Russian Defence Ministry has since posted a statement on social media explaining what the enigmatic letters mean. Z is “for victory”, V means “strength in truth” and “the task will be completed”. What the…

Germany reversed its long-standing policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones. Germany will increase its weapons deliveries to Ukraine by sending 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles, the German news agency reported on Thursday citing a government source. The government “approved additional support for Ukraine,” including the delivery of Strela-type anti-aircraft missiles, the same source added. Germany’s first arms shipment, consisting of 1,000 anti-tank and 500 anti-aircraft missiles, was delivered to Ukraine on Wednesday, according to the government. Simultaneously, Germany pledged to invest $111 billion in strengthening its own armed forces. Furthermore, the government also ratified the transfer of German-made arms to Ukraine not to mention 400 anti-tank…

Russian and Russia-aligned forces are making advancements in Ukraine. Today, Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it has destroyed 1,612 military facilities in Ukraine so far since the military operations began on February 24. The Ministry of Defense said that Russian forces have been taking safety measures to ensure that civilians evacuate safely, as the ministry noted that civilians in Borodianka can leave the region through safe passages. The Russian forces, furthermore, have taken over 4 new Ukrainian cities while also intensifying operations in Mariupol, while the Donetsk forces took control of Vinogradnoye and Vodyanoy regions. Furthermore, the ministry explained…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Black lives matter, except on the Polish-Ukraine border. In a blatant show of racism, African students fleeing the fighting in Ukraine were refused entry into Poland because of the color of their skin. It would appear that Europe might be western and a liberal democracy, but they also have a serious problem with racism. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Poland to let in all people who are trying to flee Ukraine, saying they “have the same right to safe passage under U.N. convention, and the color of their passport or their skin…

The EU authorities earlier announced they will be cutting several Russian banks that had fallen under sanctions off from the SWIFT system, impeding their ability to transfer funds to other financial institutions around the globe. The sanctions were slapped on Russian banks and other industries over a special operation in Ukraine.The European Union has announced the removal of seven Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging network. The list includes VTB, Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, and VEB. Several other Russian banks, slapped with western sanctions, were not affected by the move.The European Commission stated that it is…

DHL, UPS, FedEx suspend shipments of packages due to war-related sanctions DHL is the latest international logistic giant to stop deliveries to Russia and Belarus, the company confirmed on Wednesday. FedEx and UPS announced suspensions of service earlier this week. “Our inbound services to Russia and Belarus have been suspended, which is why we are also not accepting shipments to those countries until further notice,” Germany’s DHL has said, in an alert published on its website. Another statement says that DHL’s offices and operations in Ukraine have also been closed until further notice. DHL has become the third major parcel…

The Russian foreign minister’s remarks come amidst a new wave of economic sanctions launched by the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that “if unleashed, a Third World War would be waged with the use of nuclear weapons and it would be disastrous.” Late last week, US President Joe Biden argued that the only alternative to sanctioning Russia for its “invasion” of Ukraine would be the outbreak of World War III. Following the claims, Washington and its Western allies imposed new sanctions on Russia, including the closure of their airspace to all Russian flights and the sanctioning of a number of Russian…

Earlier, the Kremlin revealed negotiations would resume later on Wednesday A second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place on Wednesday evening in Belarus, the Office of the President of Ukraine has confirmed. Kiev, however, warned that it would not accept any ultimatums from Moscow. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that Moscow’s “delegation will be ready to continue the conversation this evening.” When asked if President Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, would still be heading the Russian negotiating team, Peskov replied in the affirmative. Peskov refused, however, to disclose the exact location in Belarus where…

On 28 February, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance was increasing supplies of air defence missiles and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine amid the military operation launched by Russia to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” Ukraine.There are no guarantees that there won’t be any incidents with NATO as the alliance continues to supply arms to Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said. “We are extremely concerned about those arms delivery programmes”, he said. “Everything in this situation is very dangerous, there are no guarantees that there will be no incidents [with NATO]”. Commenting on the potential risks of such incidents between…

Over the years, Russia has positioned itself as a fair mediator between Israel and the Palestinians. Although Moscow maintains stable relations with the Jewish state, it has also repeatedly stressed its commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.In Israel, it appears that local authorities have already chosen sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, after Moscow sent its troops into the country last Thursday.Officials in Jerusalem have condemned Moscow’s move and supported a vote against it at the United Nations.Sticking to NeutralityYet, in the Palestinian territories, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,…