Russia ‘took Belarus as a nuclear hostage’

Ukraine says Russia is holding Belarus as a “nuclear hostage” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to ally Belarus.
The US Pentagon says there are no indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons after Moscow’s announcement of stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
New Russian campaign tries to entice men to fight in Ukraine
A new campaign is under way across Russia that seeks volunteers to replenish its troops for the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the Associated Press news agency.

Advertisements promise cash bonuses and other benefits as recruiters make cold calls to eligible men, the report said, adding that enlistment offices are working with universities and social service agencies to lure students and the unemployed.

The Kremlin denies that another call-up is planned for what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, now more than a year old.Inside Ukraine’s underground wartime music scene
Since the outbreak of war, the underground music scenes in Ukraine’s major cities, such as Lviv and Kyiv, have seen a surge in creativity and popularity as musicians and music lovers seek an escape from wartime realities.Escalation to nuclear war ‘remains extremely low’: Think tank
Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said that the risk of escalation to nuclear war “remains extremely low”.

“ISW continues to assess that Putin is a risk-averse actor who repeatedly threatens to use nuclear weapons without any intention of following through in order to break Western resolve,” it wrote.

However, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin’s announcement an extremely dangerous escalation.

“In the context of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” it said on Twitter.

2h ago (08:08 GMT)
Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance
Russia and China are not creating a military alliance, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in an televised interview broadcast on Sunday, stating that the two countries’ military cooperation was transparent, according to news agencies.

Putin also said Western powers were building a new “axis”, bearing some resemblance to Germany and Japan’s World War Two alliance.

Gazprom to ship 37.3 mcm of gas to Europe via Ukraine
Russian natural gas company Gazprom has said that it will ship 37.3 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Sunday.Pentagon: No indication Russia plans to use nuclear weapons
The US Department of Defense has said that there are no indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons after Moscow’s announcement to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“We have seen reports of Russia’s announcement and will continue to monitor this situation,” the Department of Defense’s press office said in a written statement.

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance.”No more ‘dangerous’ money printing to fund war: Ukraine bank chief
Ukraine will no longer resort to “dangerous” monetary financing to fund the war against Russia, its central bank governor, Andriy Pyshnyi, has told the Financial Times in an interview.

The head of the National Bank of Ukraine said in the interview published on Sunday that it had “created huge risks for macro-financial stability” when the bank was last year forced to print billions of hryvnia to plug a budget shortfall, adding that an “open conflict” with the government over the issue had been resolved.

“It was a quick remedy, but very dangerous,” Pyshnyi told the newspaper.