April 14, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has signaled a possible reduction in the number of American journalists working in Russia.

Talking about US-Russia relations on state TV Thursday, Antonov said Russia feels the growing pressure on its embassy and bilateral relations overall after its arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Antonov said he had a “very harsh” conversation with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, during which the State Department accused Moscow of unlawfully detaining Gershkovich.

“The Americans threatened us with retaliatory measures if we did not release Gershkovich in the near future. Let's see how they will act,” Antonov said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One. He added that this meeting had “no practical outcome.”

Antonov also noted that Russian journalists have faced unfavorable treatment in the US and pointed out that the number of American reporters working in Russia far exceeds the number of Russian reporters working in the US.

Some background: Gershkovich was last month detained by Russian authorities who accused him of spying, ratcheting up tensions between Russia and the US.

Gershkovich’s arrest marks the first time an American journalist has been detained on accusations by Moscow of spying since the Cold War, and the US State Department on Monday officially designated the Wall Street Journal reporter as wrongfully detained by Russia.

During a joint press conference in Beijing, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang that China should exert influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, and said that unilateral change of the status quo over the Taiwan Strait by means of force is unacceptable. 

Baerbock said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, clearly indicates that no country has bigger influence over Russia than China.    

Baerbock is on her maiden visit to China from Thursday to Saturday. 

On Taiwan: Baerbock also stated that destabilization of the Taiwan Strait would have terrible consequences for the global economy, and that Germany is concerned about the rising tensions over the Taiwan Strait.   

In response, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated Beijing’s position of promoting peace talks and not providing lethal and dual-use weapons to all relevant parties in the Ukraine war. 

Qin said, “Taiwan independence and peace cannot coexist together,” and added that “if a country says it respects the one China principle, it should resolutely oppose Taiwan independence.”    

Qin also called for cooperation and not competition between China and Germany. 

Some context: Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there's worry that China may one day treat Taiwan in the same way. China’s ruling Communist Party has never controlled Taiwan but claims the self-ruled island democracy as its own and has repeatedly refused to rule out taking it by force. Since the war in Ukraine, the European Union has taken a harsh stance against Russia and its close ally, China, as their military and trade relations run deep.

It will be “extremely difficult” for the European Union (EU) to “maintain a relationship of trust with China” if Beijing does not help search for a political solution to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Friday. 

The EU's top diplomat had to postpone a trip to China this week after he tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a tweet he posted.

Borrell also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and “provide more substantial humanitarian aid to the battered Ukrainian people.” 

EU-China relationship: Borrell said relations between the EU and China “have deteriorated in recent years due to a growing number of irritants,” in particular China’s position on the war in Ukraine and EU sanctions against Chinese officials over the reported mass detention and persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. 

The ongoing trade “imbalance” between the EU and China was also addressed at length. The statement said the bloc's total amount of our trade reached nearly 850 billion euros ($941 billion) in 2022, but Borrell noted that these exchanges were "increasingly unbalanced" at a disadvantage to the EU.

"Our trade deficit has reached a record of 400 billion euros ($443 billion), or 2.3% of our GDP… If imbalances are not corrected, we have to react,” the statement said. 

Thursday saw the arrest of a 21-year-old man in the high-profile case surrounding leaked US intelligence documents, including ones containing classified information on the war in Ukraine.

Here are some of the other major storylines out of Ukraine you need to know:

Ukrainian farmers trying to sow crops this season have faced “more difficult conditions than in 2022,” according to a policy official.

Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council Public Union, laid out the numerous challenges facing the country’s crop sowing campaign — which launched late last month — in a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

Short on money: Marchuk highlighted a lack of funding as a key reason why farmers are struggling to produce. Farmers have run out of supplies like mineral fertilizers, plant protection products and seed, and did not receive additional funding for 2023.

Russia left large areas unusable: Some 7 million hectares (more than 27,000 square miles) of farmland in Ukraine can’t be used during the sowing campaign, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Apart from Russian-occupied territories, which are temporarily off the table, there are still mines that have not been removed across a lot of liberated land in Ukraine.

As CNN has previously reported, the country’s farmers face a stark choice: clear the fields of explosives to prepare for planting season or contemplate another year without income.

Making the most of available land: Despite all the challenges, Ukraine plans to sow crops on more than 19 million hectares of land (more than 73,000 square miles), according to the agrarian ministry.

Why a successful season is so important: Ukraine is regarded as a key breadbasket for much of the world, and the country relies on agriculture to generate more than 40% of total export revenues.

The country’s economy shrank by more than 30% in 2022 after Russia’s invasion destroyed infrastructure, hurt businesses and disrupted daily life, Kyiv’s Economic Ministry said in March.

The deputy chairman said farmers sold the grain group “mostly either at a loss or at their cost price,” saying this was a reason for the lack of free funds that could be used during this sowing campaign.

The European Union added Russia’s Wagner private military group and Russian news agency RIA FAN to a list of organizations it is sanctioning, a statement from the European Council said Thursday.

The EU sanctioned the two organizations for “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the statement read. 

Some background: RIA FAN is part of the Patriot Media Group, a Russian organization whose Board of Trustees is headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the EU.

Prigozhin is also the head of the Wagner Group, which has been previously sanctioned for what the EU describes as serious human rights violations.

The EU has now sanctioned a total of 1,473 individuals and 207 entities in connection with their actions in Ukraine, the statement read. Those designated are subject to an asset freeze, and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them, the statement read.

Authorities will bolster security measures across the country as Ukrainians prepare to celebrate another Orthodox Easter while fighting Russia’s war. 

Residents are discouraged from attending church services late at night this weekend, and many cemeteries will remain closed due to the danger of unexploded mines and Russian shelling.

Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter one week after many Christians in the US and other Western countries observe the holiday.

Ukrainian officials have warned in the past that Russian attacks may increase around specific dates, holidays or events. Oleksiy Biloshytskyi, a national law enforcement official, said police will use special monitoring centers to look out for any signs of attacks.

In the capital Kyiv, residents will be able to attend late evening church services despite a curfew, but they must arrive at church before the curfew takes effect, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhii Popko, said Thursday in a Telegram post.

Popko said churchgoers and clergy should research the nearest shelter to their congregation and be prepared to flee to safety if an air raid alarm sounds.

The curfew hours in Kyiv last from midnight to 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET), as is the case for most of the country.

In the broader Kyiv region, residents will only be able to attend church services when the curfew is not in effect, and only a limited number of people will be allowed on the grounds of churches and cemeteries due to security reasons, the Kyiv region’s military administration said Monday. 

Many churches will broadcast services online, it added.

In northeastern Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials will close a number of cemeteries.

Authorities warned that one of the cemeteries, the Slobozhanskyi memorial complex, has not been fully cleared of explosive mines.

Other city cemeteries will be closed on Easter “to avoid provocations by the enemy and to protect citizens from unpredictable missile attacks,” the city council said.

In the southern city of Kherson, residents won’t be able to visit cemeteries or attend church services during curfew hours, the city council said Tuesday.

It said the ban on cemeteries was due to mine danger.

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office said Thursday it has launched an investigation into a video that purports to show the beheading of a captured Ukrainian solider.

The statement specifies the probe is related to video of "an unknown person in camouflage in the summer season" that "uses violence with a knife against an unknown serviceman, as a result of which he causes his death".

The prosecution has submitted the materials to investigating authorities for probing in order to “assess the authenticity of these materials and make an appropriate decision.”