RT News - October 17th 2022 18:00

Two Tajik nationals are responsible for Saturday's Belgorod attack, which left 11 people dead on a military shooting range - an exclusive source tells RT.Show more

Washington reportedly drafts a UN resolution to send international troops to Haiti - which has been gripped by riots over a humanitarian crisis. But locals are gearing up to protest against foreign intervention. (Please see previous posts on this archive from the past few weeks to see how this situation has progressed.)

As a global crisis rattles the energy market, India is forced to increase coal production backpedalling on its green agenda commitments.

(NB this news video archive was posted by RT before news of the terrible plane crash in Yeysk, Krasnodar)

Here are some posts I found from the RT website relevant to this archive and immediate info re: the plane crash in Yeysk.

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Via RT 17 Oct, 2022 17:19

Officials reveal death toll from apartment building fire following plane crash in Russia

At least four people died and 25 more were injured in a fire that was caused by a fighter jet crash in the town of Yeysk, emergency services have confirmed

At least four people were killed when a Su-35 multipurpose fighter jet crashed outside of a residential building in the Russian southern city of Yeysk, emergency services have confirmed. Another 25 people have sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital, they added. Three children between the ages of eight and ten were among the injured, officials said earlier.

Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry said that the jet’s pilots had ejected to safety. The crash was caused by a plane engine malfunction, the ministry added, citing the pilots, who said one of the engines had caught fire almost immediately after takeoff. The military added that the Su-35 was scheduled to perform a training flight, meaning that the jet was not equipped with ammunition.

The crash caused a major blaze that damaged at least 17 apartments, according to the governor of Krasnodar Region, where Yeysk is located.

According to emergency services, the blaze at the scene was brought under control and the aircraft debris was extinguished. An evacuation of residents from nearby apartment buildings was also called off, the Krasnodar governor said.

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17 Oct, 2022 11:52 via RT - European Union Money for Ukraine
(3 articles)

EU members told ‘don’t worry about money’ for Ukraine

Josep Borrell said bloc can afford compensation for backing Kiev, despite reports stating otherwise

The EU has enough funds to back member nations that send weapons to Ukraine’s military, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell said on Monday. His statement comes amid reports that the EU cannot fully reimburse states that are supporting Kiev’s forces.

Speaking prior to a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Borrell said “there is enough money, don’t worry about money” before walking away.

Despite the diplomat’s assurances, last week, Politico reported that the European Peace Facility, a €1.5 billion fund meant to assist EU countries in replacing weapons sent to Kiev, was unable to satisfy more than half the requests that it received.

According to the report, this angered Poland, which is one of Ukraine’s main backers in terms of weapons deliveries, with Warsaw presenting a bill for €1.8 billion ($1.75 billion). Poland later backed down, agreeing to 46% compensation, the outlet said.

Meanwhile, the US and Ukraine have both been pressing the EU to do more to support Kiev financially – and in a more expedient manner. Last week, in an apparent reference to Brussels, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged international donors “to keep stepping up” their aid efforts, stressing that assistance should go in direct cash payments rather than in loans.

Speaking to the Washington Post, one former senior Treasury official noted that “I know they’re very frustrated” about the slow progress of aid, adding that “US officials want to see Europe deliver far more quickly.”

Earlier this month Oleg Ustenko, a top economic adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called the delays in EU economic aid “unacceptable,” citing the “extreme high pressure” the finance ministry is under.

Last week Zelensky said that his country needs as much as $38 billion to cover next year's estimated budget deficit and another $17 billion to start to restore critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Washington has committed $8.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine, with another $4.5 billion slated to arrive by the end of the year.

However, according to the Washington Post’s sources, the EU has pledged €11 billion ($10.7 billion) but has so far only handed over roughly one third of that, which was in the form of loans.

https://www.rt.com/news/564819-borrell-ukraine-eu-reimburse/

From 4 Oct, 2022 03:21 via RT

Ukraine scolds EU over aid delays

The criticism from Kiev comes as European countries debate how to disburse billions in financial assistance

Delays in economic aid from the European Union to Ukraine are “unacceptable” and must be resolved to avert disaster, a senior Ukranian official warned, pointing to massive budget shortfalls as the EU approved another $4.9 billion (€5 billion) assistance package.

Speaking to Politico on Monday, a top economic adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Oleg Ustenko, slammed the European bloc after it agreed to send another tranche of aid between mid-October and the end of the year, insisting his country’s needs must be met sooner.

Our minister of finance is under extreme high pressure, when he sends these checks to the military, to pension funds … we have to have this money in his hands. So something like one week or several weeks' delay is just not acceptable,” Ustenko told the outlet.

While the EU initially approved $8.8 billion (€9 billion) in assistance last May, only a small fraction of that has been sent so far. The latest move would break up a $4.9 billion (€5 billion) payment into three installments to be transferred before the end of 2022, though the rest of the original package likely won’t be sent until next year.

Monday’s agreement followed months of debate between EU member states over the exact form the aid should take, with Germany arguing in favor of grants instead of loans. Berlin has accepted a plan to provide the latest $4.9 billion as a loan, but the body has yet to reach a consensus on the remaining funds.

Ukraine has heavily relied on foreign aid since Russia’s attack commenced in February, with the country’s economic output taking a hit of up to 40% this year and the government facing a budget gap of some $5 billion per month.

While the United States has raced to inject cash into Ukraine, approving some $20 billion in economic and humanitarian assistance alone, the EU has been more hesitant, instead sending a little over $13 billion between all of its members, according to an aid tracking tool created by the Kiel Institute. American weapons transfers to Kiev have also dwarfed those of Europe, nearly ten-fold. Washington has reportedly noticed the disparity, with US officials recently telling Bloomberg that the Joe Biden administration “has pressed Europe to do more” to support Ukraine and take on “more burden sharing.”

Talks on future aid from the EU will be held at an upcoming meeting in the German capital later this month, where Ustenko voiced hopes that member states will be convinced to speed up the process, saying “Berlin is going to be just the next step of these discussions.”

https://www.rt.com/news/564007-ukraine-scold-eu-aid/

From 2 Oct, 2022 15:45 via RT

US pressuring EU to ‘do more’ for Ukraine – Bloomberg

Washington is subsidizing Kiev on a monthly basis and expects the Europeans to do the same, sources say

The US is urging EU states to collectively match the $1.5 billion it's plowing into Ukraine every month, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

According to unnamed officials, the Biden administration “has pressed Europe to do more” in its efforts to back Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

One Bloomberg source said that the US and its allies, which have supplied Kiev with many standalone aid packages, have been mulling a more regular mechanism that would prevent Ukraine’s battered economy from collapsing.

According to another source, EU officials were warned that the US Congress would be increasingly speaking in favor of “more burden sharing” among allies. Another official noted that the US expects the EU to provide Ukraine with funding roughly equal to the monthly $1.5 billion Washington is ready to put on the table.

The funds are said to be critical for covering Kiev’s essential needs, such as basic public expenditures, as well as schools, hospitals and the electrical grid.

In late April, the chief of the International Monetary Fund said that Ukraine needs $5 billion every month to keep its economy running. Meanwhile, the same month Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky named an even larger figure – $7 billion per month – adding that “hundreds of billions of dollars” would be required for the country’s reconstruction.

On Thursday, the US Senate approved another massive Ukraine aid package, which included $12 billion in additional economic and military aid, thus bringing the total amount of US assistance to Ukraine to about $54 billion since late February, when Russia launched its military operations.

Meanwhile, the EU has paid out to Ukraine only €1 billion ($980 million) of the €9 billion it promised in May. In mid-September, Brussels also approved the release of another €5 billion, but these funds have not been disbursed yet.

https://www.rt.com/news/563919-us-eu-more-aid-ukraine/