Ukraine updates: WSJ reporter Gershkovich denied bail

Egypt was planning to manufacture rockets for Russia but then suspended that effort and decided to supply ammunition to Ukraine after talks with US officials, the Washington Post has reported.

The Post had reported earlier that Egypt secretly planned to produce 40,000 rockets for Russia, but in a new report – based on leaked Pentagon files –  the newspaper said Cairo suspended that push in March.

The Post said Egypt also approved the sale of artillery ammunition to the US “for transfer to Ukraine”, calling the shift an “apparent diplomatic win” for Biden.

Egypt previously denied plans to produce rockets for Russian forces, stressing that it is pursuing a policy of “noninvolvement” in the Ukraine war.

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom said it would be very difficult for Europe to refill its gas storage to last year’s levels.

In a message on Telegram social media, Gazprom said Europe had been helped by relatively mild weather, which may not be the case next year.

Repeating storage filling could become “a non-trivial task” for European companies, Gazprom said.

“This will be very difficult to do, given the politically motivated decisions aimed at refusing to import Russian pipeline gas. The volume of gas available on the European market will be greatly affected by competition for LNG,” Gazprom said.

The Swedish alcohol brand, Absolut Vodka, will cease exports to Russia after calls to boycott the brand in Sweden and on social media.

The Absolut Company said it “has decided to stop the export of its brand to Russia”.

Stephanie Durroux, chief executive of The Absolut Company, said in a statement that the company is exercising its “duty of care towards our employees and partners, we cannot expose them to massive criticism in all forms”.

Absolut’s owner Pernod Ricard confirmed to AFP earlier in April that it had resumed some exports to Russia after previously halting them in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The reaction over the recent days is clearly reflective of the role Absolut plays for its extended community in Sweden,” Durroux said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to discuss the Black Sea grain deal with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a visit to New York next week, the Russia’s state-run TASS news agency said

The Black Sea grain export deal was renewed for 60 days last month, but Russia has signalled it may not agree to extend it further unless the West removes what it says are obstacles to the export of fertiliser.

China’s defence minister Li Shangfu and Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu agreed to continue close high-level communications and improve the mechanism between both militaries.

During the meeting in Moscow, the two sides reaffirmed their support for each other in safeguarding core interests and opposed interference in internal affairs by external forces, according to a statement posted on China’s defence ministry website.

Russian lawmakers vote to introduce life sentences for those convicted of treason as the war in Ukraine ramps up a crackdown on dissidents.

The previous maximum sentence for treason was 20 years.

On Monday, a Moscow court sentenced opposition politician activist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on treason and other charges.

Human Rights Watch has said the Kremlin uses such cases “to instil fear in the Russian people and eradicate any opportunity for civil society to mobilize and oppose the Kremlin and its war”.

According to a document seen by the Reuters news agency, Poland is proposing a new sanction package on Russia which includes a ban on pipeline oil and diamond imports.

The written proposal, which a diplomatic source said was sent to the EU executive European Commission, marks what is expected to be complex negotiations among the bloc.

Warsaw’s proposal would stop Russian oil imports via the northern leg of the Druzhba pipeline going to Germany.

It would end imports of Russian diamonds and natural gas, including LNG, and curb nuclear energy cooperation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, his office said.

Zelenskyy spoke to military commanders about the battlefield and handed out awards to soldiers, it said.

“I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families,” Zelenskyy said.

Romania’s governing Social Democrat Party (PSD) said it would ask the coalition government to temporarily ban Ukrainian grain imports, following other European countries.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have already enforced import bans on food and grain.

One of the world’s largest grain exporters, Ukraine had its Black Sea ports blocked by Russia’s invasion and has been forced to find alternative shipping routes through Poland and Romania.

However, due to logistical issues and shorter transport distances, millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain remain in central European states, hurting the sales of local farmers.

The Romanian governing party said in a statement that the PSD would ask the governing coalition to make a political decision to enable a temporary decree, as the compensation provided by the European Commission “cannot cover the overall damage they sustained”.

Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 419 of the war.

Keep reading:

• G7 ministers pledge to intensify Russia sanctions, slam China
• Putin visits occupied Ukraine: ‘Important to hear your opinion’
• Brazil’s Lula meets Lavrov amid US barbs on Ukraine stance
• Slovakia joins countries banning Ukrainian agriculture imports

Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the US, British and Canadian ambassadors after they condemned the conviction of an opposition politician.

A Moscow court imprisoned Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza for 25 years on Monday after convicting him of treason in a trial he and the West said was politically motivated.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the three ambassadors of “crude interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activity incompatible with their diplomatic status”, the Interfax news agency reported.

A Russian artillery attack has killed one person and injured nine in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional officials say.

“The terrorist state launched an attack on peaceful Kherson residents,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram. “One person died. Nine people from Kherson are injured. Our heroic doctors are fighting for their lives and health.”

Officials said a market in the city centre had been hit.

Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson in November, but the area still comes under frequent fire from Russian forces.

Switzerland condemns the war in Ukraine in the strongest terms and is committed to providing humanitarian aid and implementing sanctions against Russia, President Alain Berset says.

“We adopted the [EU] sanctions and, of course, we take this completely seriously, and we are simply doing everything that can be done in order to enforce them seriously,” Alain Berset said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

A Russian court rejects US journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against his pre-trial detention in a Moscow prison.

Gershkovich has been ordered to be held at least until May 29 on espionage charges.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin’s visit to the occupied regions of Ukraine was a “special tour” to “enjoy the crimes of his minions”.

On Twitter, Mikhail Podolyak said, “Putin’s degradation is impressive. The world waited for his statement a year ago. Now they don’t. There’s no such political actor. There’s only a “special tour” of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.”

Putin's degradation is impressive. The world waited for his statement a year ago. Now they don't. There's no such political actor. There's only a "special tour" of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) April 18, 2023

The Kremlin says Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov did not accompany President Vladimir Putin on a trip to Kherson and Luhansk as a security precaution.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a “big risk” for Russia’s top commanders to gather together so close to the front lines.

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow, says Wall Street Journal correspondent Gershkovich has been in communication with his family.

“We understand that he sent a letter to his parents back in the US where he said he’s not losing hope and he’s in good health,” she said.

Jabbari added that a court decision is awaited about whether Gershkovich will remain in detention or be released on bail.

The US ambassador to Moscow has also been in contact with the American journalist and called for his “immediate release”.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has told his Chinese counterpart that their countries’ military cooperation was a “stabilising” force in the world, Russian news agencies reported.

“The coordination of our efforts in the international arena has a stabilising effect on the global situation and helps to reduce the potential for conflict,” the Interfax news agency quoted Shoigu as telling Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who is currently in Moscow.

Shoigu said it was important that the two countries coordinated their efforts on the global stage, and expressed confidence that a programme of joint military exercises would be expanded.

Li met President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited Moscow last month.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Russian court at the start of an appeal hearing to determine whether he will still be held in pre-trial detention at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison until at least May 29.

Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, said nothing while standing in a glass and metal enclosure inside the courtroom.

Russia’s FSB security service arrested Gershkovich last month on espionage charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence.

The United States has deemed him “wrongfully detained”.

Russian forces are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and air attacks in Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said.

“Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.

He said Russia remained committed to taking Bakhmut “at any cost” but suffered significant losses in the battle for the city.

Taking Bakhmut could provide a stepping stone for Russia to advance on two bigger cities in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine: Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.