Russia-Ukraine updates: Moscow court arrests WSJ reporter

Kharkiv’s Governor Oleh Sinegubov says at least six Russian missiles have hit the eastern Ukrainian city, and officials are gathering details about damage and casualties.

“The enemy is attacking Kharkiv again. At least 6 ‘arrivals’ have been recorded,” Sinegubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Preliminary information suggested that S-300 anti-aircraft missiles were responsible, he said, adding that the missiles had been launched from the southern Russian region of Belgorod.

Belgorod lies just across the border to the north of Kharkiv.

The US supports the constitution of a special tribunal to investigate crimes of aggression against Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

Blinken’s comments came two days after US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack announced the country’s support for such a tribunal.

“We are committed to working with Ukraine to support an internationalized tribunal and maximize the chances of achieving meaningful accountability for the perpetrators of this war,” Blinken said in a tweet responding to Van Schaack’s announcement.

The United States supports a Special Tribunal to investigate crimes of aggression against Ukraine. We are committed to working with Ukraine to support an internationalized tribunal and maximize the chances of achieving meaningful accountability for the perpetrators of this war. https://t.co/RpAeHXQrtz

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 30, 2023

The White House has rejected Russia’s claims that detained journalist Evan Gershkovich was involved in spying.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the arrest and said espionage charges against Gershkovich were “ridiculous”.

“We condemn the detention of Mr Gershkovich in the strongest terms,” Jean-Pierre said.

Scuffles broke out outside a monastery in Kyiv, after a Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church that the government says has ties with Russia defied an eviction order.

Tensions over the presence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) at the 980-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Kyiv accuses the UOC of maintaining ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which has supported Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The UOC says it broke all links with the Russian Church in May 2022.

Hours after a deadline to leave the monastery passed at midnight on Wednesday, members of the UOC refused entry to representatives of a government commission who wanted to inspect buildings in the gold-domed monastery’s sprawling complex. Shortly afterwards, scuffles broke out in which a Reuters reporter was hit and shoved by an unidentified man and another reporter was pushed away by a cleric as she tried to approach him. No one was hurt.

Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko later condemned the “brutal” treatment of the commission members. He said in a statement that the government had filed a complaint with police and that efforts to inspect the buildings would continue on Friday.

The White House says it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons to fuel the war in Ukraine, this time in a deal that would provide Pyongyang with needed food and other commodities in return.

It’s the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and restricted by sanctions and export controls, is turning to “rogue” nations to help it continue to prosecute the 13-month-old war.

“As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.”

Ukrainian troops have defeated several simultaneous Russian attacks on different sections of the eastern front, the Ukrainian military has reported.

The sections near Kupiansk, Limansk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsk were subjected to attacks, the General Staff in Kyiv announced in its situation report. “A total of 47 attacks by the enemy were repelled.”

Once again, the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, which has been heavily contested for months, was at the centre of the action.

“However, our defenders are bravely holding the city and repulsing numerous enemy attacks,” the General Staff’s statement on Facebook reads.

The White House has expressed concerns about Americans still in Russia.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said he understood that journalists must take risks and do so knowingly.

“We respect that, but it doesn’t change our deep concern about the presence of Americans” still in Russia, he said.

Last month, the US government advised Americans living or travelling in Russia to leave immediately. It cited the risk of “wrongful detentions”.

The White House accuses Russia of continuing to seek arms from North Korea for the Ukraine war after Pyongyang already shipped artillery munitions to the Wagner Group fighting on the front lines.

“We have new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from North Korea,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said after the US Treasury blacklisted a Slovakian man for acting as a broker in such deals.

Russia says it will grant the US consular access to Gershkovich.

“Through diplomatic channels, the US side has requested consular access to US citizen Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Reuters.

“Consular access to him will be granted in due course.”

The White House says it has contacted Russia seeking consular access.

“Last night, White House and State Department Officials spoke with Mr. Gershkovich’s employer, the Wall Street Journal. The Administration has also been in contact with his family,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“Furthermore, the State Department has been in direct touch with the Russian government on this matter, including actively working to secure consular access to Mr. Gershkovich.

“The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest terms. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists and freedom of the press.

“I want to strongly reiterate that Americans should heed the US government’s warning to not travel to Russia. US citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as the State Department continues to advise.”

The US is “deeply concerned” about Russia’s reported detention of a US journalist, saying officials have been in touch with the Wall Street Journal and condemning Moscow’s actions towards the media, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

Sweden’s foreign minister said he was no longer sure his country would be able to join NATO by July after signs of objections from Hungary.

Last week, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that “it goes without saying” Sweden would become a member by the time of a NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

However, he told TT news agency on Thursday, “I have noted the things that have been said in recent days, especially from Hungary’s side, and that means you always have reason to alter your words.”

“I think ‘hopeful’ in this context is better,” he added.

On Wednesday, a Hungarian government spokesperson said it held up Sweden’s admission because of “grievances” over Stockholm’s past criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policies.

The public will have an opportunity to verify Moscow’s claim that the arrested Wall Street Journal reporter had been engaged in activities unrelated to journalism, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says.

“Relevant statements have been made through our security services. … I think [they] will also provide it publicly, and you will have an opportunity to verify it,” Zakharova said at a news briefing.

Earlier, a Moscow court had ruled that US national Gershkovich would be detained for nearly two months on suspicion of spying for Washington.

Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 400 of the war.

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• Despite sanctions, EU keeps on doing business with Russia

The British monarch King Charles highlighted the historic ties between the UK and Germany while praising their unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Since I last spoke in this building the scourge of war is back in Europe,” he told a packed Bundestag.

“The world has watched in horror – but we have not stood by. Even as we abhor the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity – in defence of Ukraine, of peace and freedom.”

Both the UK and Germany had shown “vital leadership”, Charles said, praising Berlin’s decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as “remarkably courageous, important and appreciated”.

“I can hardly begin to express the pride I feel in the strength of the partnership between our two countries,” he said.

The Russian foreign minister will chair a UN Security Council meeting in April when Moscow holds the rotating presidency of the international body.

“Another key event of the Russian presidency (of the Security Council) will be a high-level open debate on the ‘effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN Charter’. This meeting will be chaired by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, says a response from the White House is still being crafted over the arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter.

“What we know is that right now, this is of grave concern to US officials, and it comes at a time of really bitter relations between the two nations,” Halkett said.

She explained that not only do the two nations have “grave differences” over the war in Ukraine but also on Russia’s growing crackdown on dissenting voices.

“We should also point out the timing of the arrest of the Wall Street Journal journalist is also of interest to US officials given the fact that it comes just days after the justice department revealed an indictment against a Russian national who attended graduate school here in the United States,” she said.

“So obviously, there are some very strong tensions between the United States and Russia, and this latest arrest now of a US citizen is only going to exacerbate those tensions.”

Here are four maps, updated daily, charting the latest war developments.

Evan Gershkovich, the detained The Wall Street Journal reporter, told a Moscow court that he was not guilty of espionage which the FSB security service accused him of, the state TASS news agency reported.

The same court ruled that Gershkovich should be held in pre-trial custody for nearly two months until May 29, according to a court document.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendation to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals is not binding for the Paris 2024 Olympics, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said.

IOC recommendations were “a step which does not pre-judge what we will do” for Paris 2024, Oudea-Castera told reporters on a visit near Paris.

“If the international federations decide that there will be participation by individual athletes, it will be under a strict neutrality regime, without a Russian flag or the national anthem,” she added.

On Tuesday, the IOC recommended allowing athletes from both countries to compete as neutrals in upcoming international competitions.

However, the organisation has not decided whether the same will go for the Paris Olympics, promising a ruling “at the appropriate time” without setting a date.