Russia-Ukraine war latest: Putin ally boasts sanctions have ‘failed miserably’

A close ally of Vladimir Putin boasted that the sanctions imposed on Moscow by Kyiv’s allies “failed miserably.”

In a message on Telegram on Tuesday morning, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and prime minister, said “enemy countries lack the courage to admit that their hellish sanctions” have not worked.

He continued: “The vast majority of industrial and consumer goods have been replaced by our Russian brands, and the missing ones by Asian brands. Parallel imports also work, from which we receive the same Western brands, but their owners do not receive anything.

“So everything is as always: the Americans are cashing in on a humiliated Europe. Crushed Europe endures and loses money. At the same time, even the IMF predicts economic growth in Russia this year.”

This week, Boris Johnson will meet with Republican lawmakers to pressure the US to keep helping Ukraine, which is fighting off a Russian attack.

The former prime minister is due to speak at a private Republican club in Washington on Tuesday night, Congressman Joe Wilson, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.

He is also scheduled to meet with a group of Republican senators, Sen. Todd Young said Monday, although he said he did not know the exact timing of the talks.

On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson will discuss at the Atlantic Council think tank the need for “Western unity and support for Ukraine and what else can be done against the threat posed by Russia.”

Russia will begin checking vehicles for weapons and explosives in regions of the country with a high level of terrorist threat, according to a presidential decree issued on Tuesday.

Calls by the Lithuanian president to supply fighter jets to Ukraine highlight the “extremely aggressive stance” of the Baltic states and Poland, Moscow claims.

As a result, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “major European countries” should make an effort to balance their position.

This came after Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that NATO should stop drawing “red lines” and supply Ukraine with all the necessary weapons, including fighter jets and long-range missiles.

Asked about these comments, Peskov told reporters: “In general, we see an extremely aggressive position on the part of representatives of the Baltic countries and Poland. They seem ready to do anything to provoke a further escalation of confrontation, with little concern for the consequences.

He added: “Of course, it is very sad that in these conditions the leaders of the major European countries, who drive all European processes, unfortunately do not play a balancing role.”

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow’s Deputy Foreign Minister met with the US Ambassador.

According to the ministry, Sergei Ryabkov met with newly arrived US Ambassador Lynn Tracy and they discussed arms control issues.

Mr Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s former Brexit coordinator, suggested that Vladimir Putin miscalculated that the continent had not come together on the defensive after Britain left the bloc.

“This war, this brutal invasion, started with Putin and Russia,” he told LBC. “This is really Putin’s attempt to restore the old Soviet Union. The only difference is that the Communist Party is being replaced by his own henchmen.”

political correspondent Adam Forrest more about this story here:

The UK Ministry of Defense has warned that Russia has launched a major new offensive against the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar, which may bring local gains but is unlikely to lead to an operational breakthrough (read more in our publication at 7:40 am).

A Russian court has fined streaming service Twitch 4 million rubles (£46,265) for failing to remove what it called “fakes” about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms distributing content that does not comply with its restrictions, and Russian courts routinely impose fines.

Ukrainian servicemen carry the body of a soldier of the Azov Battalion, who died during the fighting in Bakhmut, to the cemetery in Slavyansk.

Alexey Storozh, 28, (right) carries a cross to be laid on the grave of his late best friend, 28-year-old orphan Alexander Korovny. Other friends of Mr. Korovny carry his coffin.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called for closer ties between Japan and the military alliance amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in Japan during a visit as part of his tour of East Asia, the NATO Secretary General said that a Russian victory in Kyiv would be “a tragedy for the Ukrainians.”

Mr. Stoltenberg continued: “But it will also send a very dangerous signal to authoritarian leaders around the world, because then there will be a message that by using military force they can achieve their goals. So the war in Ukraine matters to all of us.”

He said his visit “is a way to further strengthen the partnership between NATO and our highly valued partner Japan.”

Mr. Stoltenberg is due to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and hold a joint press conference later today.