Western countries and powers gather in Switzerland to pursue consensus on condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Five men who took hostages at a detention centre in Russia’s southern region of Rostov claim they are supporters of ISIS, Reuters reports, citing the Baza Telegram channel, which has sources in Russian law enforcement.
Prisoners at a pre-trial detention centre took two employees hostage, the Federal Penitentiary Service said on Sunday.
Shortly before leaving for the summit yesterday, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz said that G7 leaders did not discuss Vladimir Putin’s proposals for peace in Ukraine since everyone knew they were not serious. Scholz said the Russian president’s proposals – for Ukraine to abandon four provinces Russia claims, stop fighting and drop its ambition of Nato membership – were aimed only at distracting from the conference. The Kremlin said on Saturday that the west had reacted unconstructively to Putin’s proposals for a new security architecture and peace talks with Ukraine.
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, who attended the summit in place of the US president, Joe Biden, announced more than $1.5bn (£1.2bn) in aid for Ukraine. The $1.5bn includes $500m (£395m) in new funding for energy assistance and the redirecting of $324m (£256m) in previously announced funds toward emergency energy infrastructure repair and other needs in Ukraine, the vice-president’s office said. She also announced more than $379m (£300m) in humanitarian assistance from the state department and the US agency for international development to help refugees and other people affected by the war.
Prisoners at a pre-trial detention centre in Russia’s southern region of Rostov took two employees hostage, the Federal Penitentiary Service said on Sunday. The five men who took hostages claim they are supporters of Islamic State, the Baza Telegram channel, which has sources in Russian law enforcement, reported on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Swedish fighter jets intercepted a Russian military aircraft after it briefly violated Sweden’s airspace on Friday east of the Baltic island of Gotland, the Nordic country’s armed forces said. Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, called the airspace violation “unacceptable” and said officials from the Russian embassy in Stockholm would be summoned to his ministry over the incident.
Peter Pellegrini, an ally of Ukraine-sceptic prime minister Robert Fico, was sworn in as Slovakia’s new president.