Tim Sigsworth

1 February 2024

The former mayor of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea has been arrested in London.

Dmitry Ovsyannikov, an ally of Vladimir Putin, was arrested by the National Crime Agency at his home last week on suspicion of sanctions breaches and money laundering.

He has since been charged with seven counts of circumventing sanctions and two of money laundering and will appear before Southwark crown court on Feb 20.

Mr Ovsyannikov is Russia’s former deputy minister of industry and trade and governed Sevastopol from 2017 to 2019.

He was sanctioned by Britain in 2020 and the European Union in 2017 for making public statements in support of the invasion of Crimea.

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Scholz: ‘Now is the time’ for aid agreement

Olaf Scholz has said “now is the time” for the European Union to reach agreement on the proposed £43 billion ($54 billion) military aid package for Ukraine.

“I believe now is the time to reach a decision,” the German chancellor told reporters in Brussels. “I will work very hard to come to an agreement of all 27 [EU member states].”

He added: “We need an agreement at 27. We shouldn’t look for workarounds.”

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EU leaders meet today for Ukraine aid vote

The leaders of European Union member states are meeting in Brussels on Thursday to vote on a proposed £43 billion ($54 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, Brussels Correspondent Joe Barnes reports.

The package involves just over £28 billion ($35 billion) in cheap loans and £14 billion ($18 billion) in grants.

Viktor Orban blocked the deal at a previous summit in December but is set to drop his veto after the EU promised an annual debate on the four-year package.

There could be some bad-tempered language at the summit as frustrations grow with Mr Orban, who has repeatedly blocked and delayed EU aid for Ukraine.

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Ukraine spy chief vows to strike all ‘major Russian infrastructure’

Ukraine plans to strike all of Russia’s “major” civilian and military infrastructure, its army spy chief has said.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR military intelligence agency, told CNN: “Hypothetically, there is a plan according to which all this happens.

“And I believe that this plan includes all the major critical infrastructure facilities and military infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation.”

Mr Budanov added that the drone strikes force Russian civilians to “see the real picture” of the war.

“They see burning oil depots, destroyed buildings in factories and plants, and so on. This is all beneficial,” he said.

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Ukraine attacks Russia with 11 drones

Ukraine attacked Russia with 11 drones overnight.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had shot the 11 down over the Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh regions.

“This night, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with aerial drones against sites on Russian territory was foiled,” it said.

It did not comment on casualties or damage.

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EU admits it will miss one million shell supply target by 500k

The European Union has admitted that it will fail to deliver its promise of supplying Ukraine with one million artillery shells by almost 500,000.

The target was set for March but Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, said it could only be met “by the end” of the year.

“Since last March until now, until the beginning of this year, we have already delivered 330,000 ammunition rounds,” he said.

“So one third of the objective, mainly taken from our stockpiles, from existing stocks. 

“By March, today I expect this figure will be increased by 200,000 more, thus reaching 524,000. This is a little bit more than 52 per cent of the objective.”

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Russia injures four in Kharkiv hospital bombing

Russia injured four civilians when it bombed a hospital in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region on Wednesday night.

Windows were blown out and brickwork was damaged at the hospital in the village of Velykyi Burluk after the attack at 9.50pm local time (7.50pm GMT).

Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, said all 38 people inside were evacuated.

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Zelensky to sack Zaluzhny ‘by end of week’

Volodymyr Zelensky will sack Gen Valery Zaluzhny by the end of the week, it has been reported.

CNN said an official announcement is imminent and the sacking was postponed and not cancelled after a meeting between the two men on Monday night.

The Washington Post separately reported that Mr Zelensky and the Ukrainian army’s commander-in-chief had fallen out over Gen Zaluzhny’s demands for 500,000 new soldiers and his discontent with insufficient Western military aid.

Reports have previously claimed that the Ukrainian president asked Gen Zaluzhny to step down as head of the army on Monday night but he refused.

The Kremlin mocked Mr Zelensky on Wednesday and said it proved his government “has a lot of problems”.