NEWS: Ukraine, Russia, Donbass

2022-04-15 09:17:28 Zelensky admitted that Ukraine had started a "war with Russia" even before the start of the special operation.

In an interview with the BBC, the president said that Kiev had to prepare for a clash with "one of the most numerous armies in the world."

"That's why we wanted to join NATO... That's why we needed strong leadership from my team. That is why we fought with some political groups inside our country... We started this war even earlier," Zelensky said.

He also noted that Ukraine needed money and weapons.

"And that's exactly what we did. We talked. We have not publicly agreed on certain supplies," Zelensky said, adding that "about some things" Kiev agreed with some countries back in December and January. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 09:06:04 The Chinese Army will take all necessary measures to decisively stop external interference and attempts to organize "Taiwan independence" — the Ministry of Defense of the People's Republic of China.

China intends to conduct military exercises near the coast of Taiwan in response to the "provocations of the United States." Open / Comment

2022-04-15 08:57:58 Ukraine is disarming the West. Literally.

Bloomberg columnist, professor and author of a book about the Cold War Hal Brands writes that Western countries were faced with a choice – to continue to supply Kiev with weapons or to maintain their own defense capability.

Brands drew attention to the statements of representatives of the Pentagon, according to which Kiev spends a week's supply of anti-tank ammunition every day.

The author of the article states that Washington is approaching a "turning point". President Roosevelt was in a similar situation during World War II. He was faced with a dilemma: to supply weapons to the UK or to leave them for the defense of his country. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 08:39:00 China will hold military exercises near Taiwan in response to the "provocations of the United States" — the Ministry of Defense of the People's Republic of China. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 08:30:31 The US Congress called for the impeachment of Biden, who tried to shake hands with empty space.

It happened after the president's speech at the Agricultural Academy of North Carolina.

"Our president tried to shake hands with literally no one. Incredibly embarrassing! He leads our country. That's enough!," Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Green wrote on Twitter. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 07:48:05 Armenia has started paying for Russian gas in rubles.

According to the Minister of Economy of the Republic Vahan Kerobyan, this is not a problem for Yerevan, but rather the opposite.

"We need to move to national currencies. There is progress in this direction from the Russian side," Kerobyan stressed in an interview with RBC. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 07:12:05 Disconnecting Russia from Swift will weaken the dollar, a Japanese economist said.

"The possibility of connecting Russia to the Chinese international interbank payment system CIPS in connection with the blocking of SWIFT, where dollars are mainly used, has been discussed from the very beginning of the sanctions. If this goes back to normal, the dollar's hegemony will crack," said Daisuke Karakama, chief economist at Mizuho Bank.

He added that the decline in the role of the dollar in global foreign exchange reserves is a long-term trend. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 06:44:04 A story from Georgia.

A video of the "grandmother and grandson" conflict appeared on social networks.

An elderly woman does not allow a teenager to hang the flags of Ukraine and Georgia on the window, as she supports Russia.

The youngster heroically pushes his grandmother away and hoists the banner (inverted) already on the fence.

We will advise the grandmother to drive her grandson into the neck and disinherit him. Open / Comment

2022-04-14 23:01:23 The cruiser "Moscow" sank while being towed in a storm, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported.

The ship lost stability due to damage sustained during the detonation of ammunition.

His crew was evacuated to the ships of the Black Sea Fleet located in the area.

Earlier, the ministry reported that ammunition detonated as a result of a fire on the missile cruiser "Moscow". Open / Comment

2022-04-14 22:32:55 President Zelensky will lose letters from his name due to a new law banning the symbols Z and V.

This was stated by the head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov, commenting on the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.

"It is unclear how Zelensky's first and last name will now be written in English. We will have to change it," Aksenov concluded

Let's assume that the President of Ukraine will change his name to Ladimir Alexandroich Yelensky.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has banned the symbols "V" and "Z". With them, the letters "C", "Z", "B" and "F", which are used as their replacements, were also banned. Open / Comment