The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said regional leaders, security officials and members of the powerful Presidential Administration have been banned from resigning while the ‘Special Military Operation’ continues.
In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the ministry said: “In private, many officials are likely highly sceptical about the war, as well as often experiencing work stress within the dysfunctional wartime apparatus. The ban is likely enforced with strong hints that resignees will face trumped up criminal charges.”
“As well as being concerned about capability gaps resignees would leave, the authorities are likely also attempting to prevent any impression of defeatism, and to bolster a sense of collective responsibility for the war,” the ministry claimed.
It comes as explosions rocked cities across Ukraine overnight as millions were subject to air raid alerts ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive.
Air strikes hit Kviv in the ninth Russian air raid to target the capital this month, and one person was killed in the Odesa region after a Russian missile attack.
Russia's Lavrov says Moscow, despite grain deal renewal, does not see progress
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow had agreed to renew the Black Sea grain deal for two months even though it did not see results when it came to implementing the parts of it which apply to Russia.
Speaking at a press conference with his Ugandan counterpart, Lavrov said the deal was aimed at bolstering the food security of the world’s poorest people.
Lavrov denied that Russia’s renewal of the part Turkish-brokered deal was related to presidential elections in Turkey.
G7 will tighten Russia sanctions to prevent bypassing of restrictions, Germany’s Scholz says
The Group of Seven (G7) nations will further tighten sanctions against Russia in order to prevent circumvention of such restrictions, German chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters as he arrived for a three-day G7 leaders’ summit in Japan.
Tightening of sanctions would be done in a good and pragmatic way, Scholz said
More than 1,000 Russians fled conscription to Finland
A total of 1,109 Russian citizens have fled to Finald to avoid military conscription in Russia, the Finnish Immigration Service has said.
Finland now awaits a decision from the EU about their stance on the fate of Russians who have fled conscription, before the country decides whether to grant over 1,000 Russian asylum.
it is not known when such a decision will be made by the EU.
“We haven’t been able to issue decisions regarding asylum,” Sanna Sutter, the interior ministry’s immigration director, told Finnish news agency STT.
Russia to export up to 55 million tonnes of grain in 2023-24, Russian agricultural minister says
Russian agricultural minister Dmitry Patrushev on Thursday said that Russia’s grain exports would be between 50 million and 55 million tonnes in the 2023-2024 season.
Speaking at a televised government meeting, Patrushev said that Russia’s 2023 wheat crop was seen at 78 million tonnes, and that 93% of winter grains had made it through the winter in normal condition.