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War In Ukraine: Latest Developments

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Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Putin ready for ‘prolonged conflict’

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not end the Ukraine war with the campaign in the eastern Donbas region, says United States Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, warning he could make a play for the breakaway region of Transnistria in Ukraine’s neighbour to the west, Moldova.

We assess President Putin is preparing for prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas,” Haines tells a Senate hearing.

READ ALSO: War: Seven Journalists Killed In Ukraine

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She also says Putin could order martial law in Russia to support his ambitions in Ukraine but will use nuclear weapons only if he considers Russia faces an “existential threat.”

‘Over 1,000’ fighters holding out in Mariupol

Ukraine says that “more than 1,000” fighters are still holding out at the Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern city of Mariupol, the last pocket of resistance to Russian control in the ruined port.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk denies reports that around 100 civilians are still in the steel mill, but says “hundreds” of fighters are wounded and require “urgent evacuation.”

Russian forces have besieged the plant but the fighters have refused to surrender.

At the weekend, Ukraine said all the women, children and elderly people that had been sheltering at the plant had been evacuated.

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EU oil embargo possible ‘this week’

France, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, says Hungary could agree to an EU-wide embargo on Russian oil as early as “this week.”

Landlocked Hungary, a Moscow ally that relies on Russian oil, has been holding up the embargo, saying it needs more time to find new energy sources.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she made “progress” during talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday in Budapest.

“I think we could have a deal this week, we’re working hard to achieve that,” France’s European affairs minister Clement Beaune told France’s LCI broadcaster.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba says that his country’s EU membership bid is a question of “war and peace” for Europe.

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He is speaking a day after French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to rule out Ukraine joining the European Union in the near future.

Macron says joining the bloc would take “decades” and suggests instead that Ukraine and other EU hopefuls like Moldova and Georgia be integrated into a new, yet-to-be-created “European political community.” The EU says it will give an opinion on Ukraine’s accession bid next month.

German foreign minister in Bucha

German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, makes a surprise visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where Russian forces are accused of massacring civilians before withdrawing from the region in late March.

READ ALSO: We’ll Use Nuclear Weapons Against Ukraine If… – Russia

Baerbock is the highest-ranking German official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

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Ukraine’s foreign minister says Kyiv is grateful to Berlin for reviewing its policy of appeasement towards Moscow, and for backing a Russian oil embargo and agreeing to send heavy weapons to Ukraine.

Baerbock’s Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, meanwhile visits the nearby town of Irpin.

Kyiv residents return en masse

Kyiv Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, says nearly two-thirds of the capital’s residents have returned to the city two-and-a-half months after the start of the war, which sparked a mass exodus.

“Before the war, 3.5 million people lived in Kyiv. Almost two-thirds of the capital’s residents have returned,” Klitschko says.

PUNCH.

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8-year-old Survives As Bus Carrying 46 Pilgrims Crashes In South Africa

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A bus crash led to the death of 45 passengers in South Africa on Thursday.

The bus, which crashed through a barrier of a bridge, caught fire after it fell off a bridge approximately 300km north of Johannesburg in the Northeastern Limpopo province.

BBC reports that only an eight-year-old child survived the accident with multiple injuries.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Ranks 109 In World Hungry Nations – Peter Obi Laments

The passengers were said to be pilgrims travelling from Botswana’s capital Gaborone to an Easter service in the town of Moria.

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The vehicle lost control and went off a bridge on the Mmamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken, around 300km (190 miles) north of Johannesburg, according to South African public broadcaster SABC.

Speaking with reporters after visiting the scene, Sindisiwe Chikunga, South Africa’s Minister of Transportation, said the government will carry out an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

READ ALSO: FG To Review Oil Firms’ Plans On Gas Flaring

Chikunga said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

“We continue to urge responsible driving at all times with heightened alertness as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend.”

In his Easter message to South Africans, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on citizens to “do our best to make this a safe Easter.”

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Man Stabs Four To Death In US

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Four people, including a teenage girl, were killed and at least five injured after a man went on a stabbing spree at multiple addresses in the US state of Illinois, police have said.

The stabbings took place on Wednesday afternoon, Rockford City Police said in a statement, adding that a 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

The statement did not say anything about a possible motive.

Rockford is located about 90 miles northwest of Chicago.

READ ALSO: Gender Balancing: Tellthatstory Empowers Women In African Storytelling

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Those killed included a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, and two men aged 49 and 22, according to the police.

The police statement said that five people had been wounded, but US media later cited the police saying seven were wounded.

Details later

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[JUST IN] Okuama Killings: Army Declares Eight Persons Wanted [FULL LIST]

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The Nigerian Army has declared Eight persons wanted in connection with the killing of 17 soldiers in the Okuama community in Delta state.

The Nigerian Army disclosed this on its official X account on Thursday.

The persons declared wanted include seven men and one woman.

Full list:

They are Akevwru Daniel Omotegbono, Prof Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Dennis Bakriki, Igoli Ebi (female), Akata Malawa David, Sinclear Oliki, Clement Ikolo Oghenerukevwe and Reuben Baru.

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Okuama killings: Background
The suspected mastermind of the bloodbath, a militant leader, and his gang members, who are currently on the run, seem to have their operational stamping ground at Igbomotoru, a riverside community in the Southern-Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

However, the Nigerian Army, which has spread its dragnet for the fleeing suspects, went as far as Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, to pick up three persons, last Tuesday, in connection with the killing of the soldiers.

READ ALSO: Delta Killings: Military Sets To Build Barracks On Okuama As Demolition Of Houses Continues

So far, the demanding search for the killers of the soldiers in the quiet Okuama has spread to the creeks, hideouts, and communities in Delta State, Bayelsa, and Rivers states, and is likely to extend to other states in the Niger-Delta, and outside the region if need be, according to sources.

According to VANGUARD, many believe the killing of the soldiers was beyond the land dispute between Okuama and Okoloba in the Bomadi local government area, as insiders point to divergences on oil bunkering.

Lt. Col Ali was reportedly bent on stopping oil thieves in his operational area and had made appreciable inroads. There was suspicion that his killing with other military personnel could be a setup.

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We know who did it – General Musa, CDS

The Chief of the Defense Staff, CDS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, who had given his troops marching orders to track down the killers, alluded to this notion.

Musa said: “I know him, the C.O himself, Lt. Col. Ali. Because of recent, we emphasized that we want oil production in Nigeria to increase so that we will be able to have enough foreign exchange for things to go down. Because we all know the challenges we are facing.

READ ALSO: Okuoma Ambush: Troops Recover Decomposing Hearts Of Killed Soldiers

“And so, he insisted that all illegal activities within his general area must stop. He directed all the troops and they were stopping illegal bunkering, and then these are the people benefiting from it. And so when this issue came up, it became an opportunity for them to do away with him, which is exactly what happened.

“We know who did it, we are following up on him, and it is just a matter of time, we are sure we are going to get him. They took away our arms, we must get those arms back, and we must get these guys so that they would be prosecuted accordingly.”

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From our findings, the countryside people of Okuama are not sophisticated enough to carry out this kind of attack on military officers.

And from the CDS declaration that “we know who did it..,” he confirmed that the premeditated killing was connected to oil bunkering, so why did the troops go after helpless Okuama women and children, and even razed the community?

However, the Army, on Friday, admitted knowledge of the viral video by a militant leader who confessed to participating in killing the 16 soldiers.

It noted: “The video among other things helps to narrow investigation to persons of interest and their cohorts.

“Accordingly, the state governments and host communities of these personalities are required to assist investigation in flushing out these culprits.

“There can be no hiding place for perpetrators of such dastardly act against the nation. This is a clarion call to duty by members of those communities and the state governments”.

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