WASHINGTON: The United States, Britain and France on Sunday jointly dismissed Russian claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb and warned Moscow against using any pretext for escalating the conflict.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegation about a possible dirty bomb attack in a round of telephone conversations with Western defense chiefs earlier Sunday.
“Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory,” the US State Department said in a joint statement with the British and French governments.
“The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation,” the statement went on. “We further reject any pretext for escalation by Russia.”
A so-called dirty bomb is designed to contaminate a wide area with radioactive material, making it dangerous for civilians. It does not involve a nuclear explosion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply denounced Moscow’s claims, calling the allegation a Russian ploy for just such an attack in Moscow’s eight-month-old war against its pro-Western neighbor. “The world should react as harshly as possible,” he said.
“If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this,” Zelensky said in a video address on social media.
“Even the very Russian threat of nuclear weapons — and even more so against our country, which has given up its nuclear arsenal... is a reason for both sanctions and for even greater strengthening of support for Ukraine,” said Zelensky.
Shoigu conducted a round of telephone consultations with counterparts from Britain, France and Turkey, all NATO members, after first speaking Friday with Austin.
In those calls, Shoigu conveyed “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb,’” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Shoigu and Austin spoke Sunday, in what the Pentagon said was a follow-up call requested by Russia to their call Friday.
“Secretary Austin rejected any pretext for Russian escalation and reaffirmed the value of continued communication amid Russia’s unlawful and unjustified war against Ukraine,” said a statement afterward from Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder.
When Shoigu and Austin spoke on Friday, it was only their second call since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Western powers see Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claim against Ukraine as pretext for escalation
https://arab.news/gstyk
Western powers see Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claim against Ukraine as pretext for escalation
- A so-called dirty bomb, which does not involve a nuclear explosion, is designed to contaminate a wide area with radioactive material
- Ukraine sharply denounced Moscow’s claims, calling the allegation a Russian ploy for just such an attack in Moscow’s eight-month-old war
UPDATE 1-South Korea, US, to hold trade talks this week, Seoul says
- South Korea hopes to lower the 25% "reciprocal" tariff that President Donald Trump has announced for the country.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun will meet with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the ministry said in a statement.
South Korea hopes to lower the 25 percent “reciprocal” tariff that President Donald Trump has announced for the country, which he has since paused along with high tariffs slapped on a string of countries.
Ahn will leave on Wednesday, the statement said. It did not specify the agenda or give other details.
China’s US envoy urges end to trade war, but warns Beijing ready to fight
- The trade war has all but frozen the mammoth trade between the world's two largest economies
- Trump said on Friday the U.S. is having good conversations privately with China amid the two countries' trade war.
DUBAI: China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, has urged Washington to seek common ground with Beijing and pursue peaceful coexistence while warning that China stood ready to retaliate in the escalating trade war.
Speaking at a public event in Washington on Saturday, details of which were posted on the Chinese embassy’s web site, Xie said tariffs would devastate the global economy and drew a parallel between the Great Depression and tariffs imposed by the US in 1930.
Referring to concepts in traditional Chinese medicine like the need to balance the opposing forces of yin and yang, Xie said harmony should guide relations between the world’s two largest economies.
“A good traditional Chinese medicine recipe usually combines many different ingredients which reinforce one another and creates the best medical effect,” he said.
“Likewise, the earth is big enough to accommodate both China and the US,” he said. “We should pursue peaceful coexistence rather than collide head-on, and help each other succeed rather than get caught in a lose-lose scenario.”
The trade war has all but frozen the mammoth trade between the world’s two largest economies with tariffs over 100 percent in each direction and a suite of trade, investment and cultural restrictions.
China’s top shipbuilding association on Saturday attacked a US plan to apply port fees on China-linked ships.
While Japan, Taiwan and others are already in talks or preparing to negotiate with Washington over President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, there is currently no high-level dialogue planned with China.
Trump said on Friday the US is having good conversations privately with China amid the two countries’ trade war.
“By the way, we have nice conversations going with China,” he told reporters at the White House. “It’s, like, really very good.” He did not offer additional details.
China has said the US should show respect before any talks can take place.
Xie said China opposed the trade war and would retaliate to any country imposing tariffs on it.
Putin attends Orthodox Easter service after declaring ceasefire in Ukraine
- The traditionally sung service starts late on a Saturday and lasts into the early hours of Sunday
- Zelensky says Russian army ‘trying to create impression’ of Easter ceasefire
President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin joined other worshippers for an Easter service led by the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a faithful backer of the Russian leader and an advocate for the war in Ukraine.
Hours after declaring a unilateral Easter ceasefire that Kyiv said was just words as fighting continued, Putin and Sobyanin stood in Moscow’s main church, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, while Kirill led a procession, video of the service showed.
Holding a lit thin red candle and donning a dark suit, white shirt and a red tie as in years past, the Russian leader crossed himself several times when Kirill announced “Christ is risen.”
The traditionally sung service starts late on a Saturday and lasts into the early hours of Sunday.
For Putin, the Orthodox faith is central to his world view and he always attends services during major church holidays. For Orthodox Russians, Easter is the most important religious holiday.
At the service, Krill called for “lasting and just peace can be established in the vast expanses of historical Rus,” RIA state news agency reported, in what was a reference to a medieval territory that encompassed parts of what is now Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. “How wonderfully it was said, do not do evil to another and do not treat others as you would not want them to treat you,” TASS agency cited Kirill as saying.
“If people adhered to this holiday commandment, then life would be completely different: family and social life and — let me say this — inter-governmental.”
Kirill has strongly backed the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Thousands have been killed, the vast majority of them Ukrainians, and millions driven from their homes since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelensky says Russian army ‘trying to create impression’ of Easter ceasefire
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the Russian army is making a pretense of an Easter ceasefire declared by President Vladimir Putin, continuing overnight attempts to inflict front-line losses on Ukraine.
“In general, as of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a post on social media.
Early on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported 59 instances of shelling and five assault attempts along the front line, he said.
“Russia must fully comply with the conditions of silence,” Zelensky said.
He reiterated that Kyiv was willing to extend the ceasefire for 30 days but said that if Russia kept fighting on Sunday, so would Ukraine.
“Ukraine will continue to act in a mirror manner,” he said.
Zelensky says Ukraine will observe Putin’s Easter truce but claims violations
- The order to halt all combat over the Easter weekend came after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get Moscow and Kyiv to agree a ceasefire
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine: Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday his forces would observe a surprise Easter truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin set to last until midnight on Sunday, even as air-raid sirens sounded in Kyiv.
The 30-hour truce would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict.
But just hours after the order was meant to have come into effect, air-raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital and Zelensky accused Russia of having maintained its artillery fire and assaults on the frontline.
Also on Saturday, Russia and Ukraine held a large exchange of prisoners, each side saying they had handed back more than 240 captured fighters.
The order to halt all combat over the Easter weekend came after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get Moscow and Kyiv to agree a ceasefire. On Friday, Washington even threatened to withdraw from talks if no progress was made.
“Today from 1800 (1500 GMT Saturday) to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday), the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin said in televised comments during a meeting with the Russian chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov.
Zelensky responded by saying Ukraine would follow suit, and proposed extending the truce beyond Sunday. But the Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of having already broken its promises.
Air-raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and several other regions on Saturday evening.
“Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,” Zelensky said.
Putin had said the truce for the Easter holiday celebrated on Sunday was motivated by “humanitarian reasons.”
While he expected Ukraine to comply, he said that Russian troops “must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy.”
Zelensky in a social media post wrote: “If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia’s actions.”
He added: “If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20.”
He proposed that “30 days could give peace a chance,” while pointing out that Putin had earlier rejected a proposed 30-day full and unconditional ceasefire.
“The fighting is ongoing, and Russian attacks continue,” Ukraine’s military command, the Chief of Staff, reported Saturday evening.
“In some areas on the frontline, Russian artillery continues to be heard, despite the promise of silence from the Russian leader. Russian drones are being used. It is quieter in some areas.”
Soldiers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk close to the front line earlier greeted the truce announcement with skepticism.
Putin “might do it to give some hope or to show his humanity,” said Dmitry, a 40-year-old soldier. “But either way, of course, we don’t trust (Russia).”
Putin said the latest truce proposal would show “how sincere is the Kyiv’s regime’s readiness, its desire and ability to observe agreements and participate in a process of peace talks.”
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.
“For millions of Ukrainians, Easter is one of the most important holidays. And millions of Ukrainians will go to church,” said Zelensky in his evening address.
“Over the years of this full-scale war, Russian attacks have destroyed or damaged more than 600 churches, prayer houses and places of worship.”
In Kramatorsk, one soldier, Vladislav, 22, said: “I feel like it’s going to start again after a while, and it’s going to go on and on.”
On the streets of Moscow, Yevgeny Pavlov, 58, said he did not think Russia should give Ukraine a breather.
“There is no need to give them respite. If we press, it means we should press to the end,” he told AFP.
Earlier Saturday, Ukraine and Russia said they had each returned 246 soldiers being held as prisoners of war in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Zelensky said the total number of returned POWs now stood at 4,552.
The UAE’s foreign ministry said 31 wounded Ukrainians and 15 wounded Russians were also exchanged.
The UAE said it was committed to “finding a peaceful solution” to the conflict and “mitigating the humanitarian impacts.”
Russia said it had retaken the penultimate village still under Ukrainian control in its Kursk frontier region.
Kyiv had hoped to use its hold on the region as a bargaining chip in the talks.
Three Hegseth aides ousted in leak investigation decry ‘baseless attacks’
- Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also announced he was resigning this week
WASHINGTON: Three former senior advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decried on Saturday what they called “baseless attacks” after each was escorted from the Pentagon in an expanding probe on information leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff were among four officials in Hegseth’s inner circle who were ousted this past week.
While the three initially had been placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X said the three were “incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.”
“At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with,” the post said.
Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also announced he was resigning this week. The Pentagon said, however, that Ullyot was asked to resign.
The upheaval comes less than 100 days into the Trump administration where the Pentagon has found itself frequently in the epicenter of controversial moves — from firings of senior military and civilian staff to broad edicts to purge content that promoted diversity, equity or inclusion. That led to images or other online content of heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen and Jackie Robinson being temporarily removed from the military’s websites, causing public uproar.
Last month, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon’s intelligence and law enforcement arms were investigating what it says are leaks of national security information following reports that Elon Musk was set to receive a classified briefing on potential war plans with China.
In the announcement by Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, the office warned that Defense Department personnel could face polygraphs in the probe.
The departures also follow the firings of senior military officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown; Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti; National Security Agency and US Cyber Command director Gen. Tim Haugh; and Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the US military representative to the NATO Military Committee.
