West condemns sentencing of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison; US ambassador makes first visit to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
The UK has condemned the sentencing of Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years for opposing the war in Ukraine. UK foreign secretary James Cleverly summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrei Kelin, for an explanation. Kara-Murza holds dual Russian-British citizenship.
Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, told British broadcaster LBC that she was “baffled” by the UK government’s “weak” response. “Introducing sanctions against his perpetrators would actually be a very practical step that I would very much like to see,” she said.
The UN’s human rights head, Volker Türk, urged Russia to release him, while Baltic neighbour Latvia sanctioned 10 Russian officials and lawyers involved in the case.
US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she had made her first visit to jailed Wall Street reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia two weeks ago on charges of spying. “He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release,” Tracy said.
The United States and more than 40 other countries said in a joint statement that they were deeply concerned over Russia’s detainment of a Wall Street Journal reporter and protested Moscow’s “efforts to limit and intimidate the media.” The statement read further: “We urge Russian Federation authorities to release those they hold on political grounds, and to end the draconian crackdown on freedom of expression, including against members of the media.”
Two Russian fighter jets and a spy plane flying close to Nato airspace have been intercepted by the UK and German air forces. Eurofighter typhoons from the RAF and the German air force’s 71 Richtofen Wing were scrambled to intercept the jets as they flew over the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland.
The US has blasted Brazil’s approach to the war in Ukraine and accused it of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda after president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on a trip to China that the US “needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace”. The US’s national security council spokesperson John Kirby said: “In this case, Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts.”
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked “our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation (in Ukraine)“ after meeting his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in Brasília at the start of a Latin American tour. He was later due to meet Lula.
The Pentagon said it expected findings within 45 days from a review into how the US military handles classified information after last week’s arrest of an airman over the leak a trove of highly classified documents online.
Russia said it had repelled an “illegal” Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate Russian territory in the southern border region of Bryansk, 11 days after reporting a similar incident. “The intruder stepped on a mined protection line,” said regional governor Alexander Bogomaz on Telegram.
The Kremlin has said prospects for a renewal of the Black Sea grain initiative, in which Russia allows Ukraine to ship agricultural exports from its Black Sea ports via Turkey, were “not so bright”. Russia has repeatedly complained that western economic sanctions are preventing it from exporting agricultural products, and that these need to be lifted in order for it to agree to any extension.
Slovakia will temporarily halt imports of grains and other selected products from Ukraine to protect its farmers, joining Poland and Hungary in the move, a government spokesperson said on Monday. Ukraine and Poland meanwhile began talks aimed at reaching an agreement on imports.
Slovakia has handed over all 13 MiG-29 fighter jets it had pledged to Ukraine, the Slovak defence ministry.
Almost 500 children have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, according to a report by the Ukrainian prosecutor general. As of Monday, 470 children had been killed and 948 injured, it said, adding that the department believes that the number of injured children is higher.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
