Foreign News
Putin Escalates Ukraine War, issues Nuclear Threat to West
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President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War II and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, warning the West he was not bluffing when he said he’d be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.
In the biggest escalation of the Ukraine war since Moscow’s Feb.
24 invasion, Putin explicitly raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict, approved a plan to annex a chunk of Ukraine the size of Hungary, and called up 300,000 reservists.“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people – this is not a bluff,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation.
Citing NATO expansion towards Russia’s borders, Putin said the West was plotting to destroy his country, engaging in “nuclear blackmail” by allegedly discussing the potential use of nuclear weapons against Moscow, and accused the United States, the European Union and Britain of encouraging Ukraine to push military operations into Russia itself.
“In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed every line,” Putin said.
“This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them,” he added.
The address, which followed a critical Russian battlefield defeat in northeastern Ukraine, fuelled speculation about the course of the war, the 69-year-old Kremlin chief’s own future, and showed Putin was doubling down on what he calls his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
In essence, Putin is betting that by increasing the risk of a direct confrontation between the U.S.-led NATO military alliance and Russia — a step towards World War Three – the West will blink over its support for Ukraine, something it has shown no sign of doing so far.
Putin’s war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands, unleashed an inflationary wave through the global economy and triggered the worst confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when many feared nuclear war imminent.
Putin signed a decree on partially mobilising Russia’s reserves, arguing that Russian soldiers were effectively facing the full force of the “collective West” which has been supplying Kyiv’s forces with advanced weapons, training and intelligence.
Speaking shortly after Putin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia would draft some 300,000 additional personnel out of some 25 million potential fighters at Moscow’s disposal.
The mobilisation, the first since the Soviet Union battled Nazi Germany in World War Two, begins immediately.
Such a move is risky for Putin, who has so far tried to preserve a semblance of peace in the capital and other major cities where support for the war is lower than in the provinces.
Ever since Putin was handed the nuclear briefcase by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, his overriding priority has been to restore at least some of the great power status which Moscow lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Putin has repeatedly railed against the United States for driving NATO’s eastward expansion, especially its courting of ex-Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Georgia which Russia regards as part of its own sphere of influence, an idea both nations reject.
Putin said that top government officials in several unnamed “leading” NATO countries had spoken of potentially using nuclear weapons against Russia.
He also accused the West of risking “nuclear catastrophe,” by allowing Ukraine to shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is under Russian control, something Kyiv has denied.
Putin gave his explicit support to referendums that will be held in coming days in swathes of Ukraine controlled by Russian troops – the first step to formal annexation of a chunk of Ukraine the size of Hungary.
The self-styled Donetsk (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republics (LPR), which Putin recognised as independent just before the invasion, and Russian-installed officials in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have asked for votes.
“We will support the decision on their future, which will be made by the majority of residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson,” Putin said.
“We cannot, have no moral right to hand over people close to us to the executioners, we cannot but respond to their sincere desire to determine their own fate.”
That paves the way for the formal annexation of about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory.
The West and Ukraine have condemned the referendum plan as an illegal sham and vowed never to accept its results.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the plans were “a parody.” Kyiv has denied persecuting ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers.
But by formally annexing Ukrainian territories, Putin is giving himself the potential pretext to use nuclear weapons from Russia’s arsenal, the largest in the world.
Russia’s nuclear doctrine allows the use of such weapons if weapons of mass destruction are used against it or if the Russian state faces an existential threat from conventional weapons.
“It is in our historical tradition, in the fate of our people, to stop those striving for world domination, who threaten the dismemberment and enslavement of our Motherland, our Fatherland,” Putin said.
“We will do it now, and it will be so,” said Putin. “I believe in your support.” (NAN)
Foreign News
At Least 5 Dead in Fresh Russian Attacks on Ukraine
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Russia has attacked Ukraine for the second consecutive night with heavy airstrikes involving various weapon types, initial reports from Ukrainian authorities said on Monday morning.At least five people were killed, two due to a rocket strike on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih and three others due to drone attacks on Zaporizhzhya, they said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian army once again used long-range bombers, launching cruise missiles. Hypersonic missiles of the Kinzhal (Dagger) type were also fired.The attacks were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy system, analysts observed.On Monday, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine involving 127 missiles and cruise missiles, along with over 100 combat drones.This was the highest number reported by the Ukrainian military in two and a half years of conflict. (dpa/NAN)Foreign News
Electricity Consumers Laud Jos Disco for Exceptional Service in Benue
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From Attah Ede, Makurdi
A broad spectrum of electricity customers in Benue State yesterday, commended Jos Electricity Distribution Plc for delivering consistent, stable and reliable services in the region.They gave the commendation during a radio interactive program on Brothers FM and monitored by our correspondent, heralding the launch of a customer consultative forum in Gboko, the traditional capital of the Tiv nation.
His Royal Highness, Ikpa Ahua, representing the paramount ruler of Gboko, led the commendations. He praised the company’s significant improvement in electricity supply over the past few months, noting its positive impact on local businesses.Ahua also appreciated the company’s metering policy, which has increased access to prepaid meters for customers.He however lamented the frequent cases of vandalism of electricity installations and pledged to intensify efforts to safeguard these facilities.Other dignitaries, including Prince Makir Zakpe, Kindred head of Gboko South, Zaki Amachi Terkimbi and Zaki Linus, also commended the company’s efficient service.In his opening remarks, Pastor Emma Ameh who represented the Managing Director, Engr Abdu Bello Mohammed, urged customers to settle their energy bills promptly, given the improvements in service delivery.He emphasized the need for customers to fulfill their obligations to enable the company to continue meeting its energy delivery mandate.Presentations by Lucky Akpobi, Head of Customer Complaints and Relationship Management, and Comrade Ojochide Matthew Agbata, Regional Manager of Makurdi, highlighted the benefits of prepaid meters in resolving billing disputes.Head, Corporate Communications, Dr. Friday Adakole Elijah, emphasized the importance of vigilance in combating energy theft and vandalism, urging customers to report suspicious activities to the company or law enforcement agencies.Foreign News
2 Pilots Killed in France as Military Jets Crash Mid-flight
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Two French pilots died when their military jets collided mid-flight in eastern France, the nation’s Air Force said in a post on X.
The two Rafale fighter jets were returning from a mission in Germany when they collided near Colombey-les-Belles, close to the city of Nancy, Wednesday’s post said.
A third pilot ejected safely and was quickly found, unharmed, the post said.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, expressed the country’s condolences to the families of the two pilots.
The aircraft were stationed in Saint-Dizier, in eastern France.
No details were initially provided regarding the cause of the accident. (dpa/NAN)