Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine – MASHAHER

Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev on Friday said the Kremlin isn’t bluffing over its threats to use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, warning that its conflict with the West could escalate into what he described as “the worst possible scenario.”

In a Google-translated post published on his official Telegram channel, Russia’s former president said the use of tactical nuclear weapons can be “miscalculated” but that the Kremlin’s position on the potential deployment of these weapons was not “not intimidation or nuclear bluff.”

Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s influential Security Council, was president of Russia between 2008 and 2012.

His comments come shortly after reports said that U.S. President Joe Biden had quietly given permission to Ukraine to allow its forces use U.S. weapons inside Russia. The decision only applies to counter-fire purposes in the area around Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv.

— Sam Meredith

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Friday said Ukrainian forces had retreated as much as 9 km (5.6 miles) in key areas of the northeastern Kharkiv region, Reuters reported, citing the Interfax news agency.

Belousov reportedly claimed that Russian forces had captured more than 28 settlements in Ukraine this month and taken control of a total area of 880 square kilometers (equivalent to an area slightly larger than New York City) so far this year.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was not immediately available to comment.

— Sam Meredith

The European Union’s upcoming 14th sanctions package against Russia must do more to choke off energy exports and clamp down on circumvention by third parties, an advisor to the office of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNBC.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk said it was also vital to tighten export controls on critical technologies used within Moscow’s military equipment. However, he noted that EU states would need to work more cohesively for sanctions to stand a chance of crossing the line by the end of next month as planned.

“The most critical aspect of the 14th sanctions package is its adoption by the end of June, but some member states currently pose a challenge to this,” Vlasiuk said via email Thursday.

The EU’s special envoy for the implementation of sanctions, David O’Sullivan, was in Kyiv Thursday to discuss the latest sanctions package amid ongoing pushback from member states such as Hungary. Among the proposed measures is a ban on Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) exports and a crackdown on sanctions circumvention via countries including Kremlin ally Belarus.

Nataliia Shapoval, a member of the Yermak-McFaul International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, a think tank which advises on EU sanctions, said the LNG proposals were an attempt to restrict both Russia’s current and future energy revenues.

“LNG is the leverage that Russia still maintains,” Shapoval said over the phone.

Russia said Wednesday that such a ban would hurt the EU more than it would Russia, and that some LNG supplies were already being redirected to China and India. Shapoval noted, however, that gas supplies were much more difficult to direct without European infrastructure than, for example, oil.

She added that the EU was currently playing a “cat and mouse game” to determine which critical components were propping up Moscow’s military might and should therefore be banned.

— Karen Gilchrist

Russian missiles hit several locations in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, killing five people, according to the head of the Kharkiv region.

Oleh Syniehubov said via Telegram that Russian rocket attacks took place at several locations, hitting residential and administrative buildings and damaging emergency vehicles.

Syniehubov said five people died in what he described as a “difficult night for Kharkiv.”

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

— Sam Meredith

A Ukrainian air strike on Friday hit an oil depot in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, setting the facility on fire and inuring two employees, Russian officials said.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said via the Telegram messaging app that three of the depot’s petroleum tanks caught fire after the attack.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

Fedor Babenkov, the head of the Temryuk district in the Krasnodar region, said in a Google-translated post via Telegram that the fire had since been extinguished.

“As a result of the emergency, two oil depot employees were injured. Doctors recorded minor injuries on the men; their health was not in danger,” Babenkov said.

— Sam Meredith

China has declined an invitation to attend a Ukraine peace conference due to be held in Switzerland next month, Reuters reported Friday, citing four unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Beijing turned down the offer to attend because the conditions necessary for them to participate were not met, Reuters said, citing three of the sources.

The Chinese Embassy in London did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

At the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Switzerland is set to hold peace talks on June 15 and 16. The aim of the conference is to bring heads of state together to chart a course for lasting peace in Ukraine, although the Kremlin has not been invited to attend.

— Sam Meredith

A Russian missile attack early Friday sparked a fire at a non-residential building in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, according to the head of the city’s military administration.

In a post published via the Telegram messaging app, Serhiy Popko said a fire broke out in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district as a result of falling debris. There were no injuries reported, according to preliminary information.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

— Sam Meredith

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said it was time for members of the military alliance to re-consider restrictions placed on weapons they send to Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Allies were sending various types of limitary support to Ukraine, and any restrictions on the support are national decisions, he said ahead of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting.

“But I think that in light of how this war has evolved … the time has come to consider some of these restrictions, to enable the Ukrainians to really to defend themselves.”

Opinions on restrictions on weapons and military supplies are split among Ukraine’s allies. Some including the U.K. have said Ukraine could use weapons it supplied for strikes on Russian soil, while Italy has said weapons it supplied should only be used within Ukraine.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to stop its men being lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine with often false promises of salaries and benefits, a minister said on Thursday.

Colombo will also send a delegation to Moscow in June to bring back dozens of Sri Lankans already fighting in the front line who want to come home, some of them wounded, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.

Countries across the region, including India and Nepal, have raised the alarm about their men being persuaded to travel to fight for Russia in Ukraine with offers of salaries, visas and sometimes university places.

Russia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan S. Dzhagaryan, told the press conference on Thursday his embassy would cooperate with the efforts to stop Sri Lankans travelling illegally to Russia. He said his government was not involved in the recruitment offers.

Under the new controls, men will have to produce a “no-objection” document from the Sri Lankan defence ministry when they apply for a tourist visa to Russia, Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.

— Reuters