Heading towards World War III?

Vitaly Kim, who serves as the governor of Ukraine’s Nikolaev Region, has warned that citizens cooperating with Russian forces will face extrajudicial execution. He revealed the chilling fate awaiting “traitors” during a live TV broadcast last Thursday.

Kim made the comment, on the Ukraine 24 TV channel, after the presenter brought up claims made earlier by officials in Kherson, according to which, information about pro-Ukrainian activists, veterans who had fought in the Donbass, as well as journalists living in the city had been leaked to Russian forces.

Kim, in turn, cited the recent killing of a pro-Russian blogger in the city, who was shot dead on April 20, as proof that “Kherson is Ukraine,” and that “there are guerrilla fighters there.”

Moreover, Kim warned that “traitors will be executed,” adding that he is “not afraid of this word.”

The Ukrainian official expressed absolute certainty that “it will be like that.”

In response, the presenter cited a top Ukrainian official who had previously warned that a special force had been established which would eliminating traitors.

Kim interjected, assuring the anchor that the secret unit was in fact already operating. The presenter, in turn, urged everyone listening to the broadcast to keep this fact in mind.

www.rt.com/russia/554475-ukraine-governor-traitors-extrajudicial-executions

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed on Monday that it had detained a group of “neo-Nazis” instructed by Kiev to kill prominent Russian TV host and journalist Vladimir Solovyov.

According to the FSB, the hit was ordered by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). “The members of the criminal group have confessed to preparing to kill Solovyov and flee abroad afterwards.”

The FSB said that during searches, it seized an explosive device, eight Molotov cocktails, six handguns, a sawed-off hunting rifle, and a grenade. It added that more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were seized as well, along with fake Ukrainian passports.

The statement followed shortly after President Vladimir Putin said that “a terrorist group was planning to attack and kill a well-known Russian journalist.”

www.rt.com/russia/554472-russia-ukraine-plot-journalist

A neo-Nazi group that was allegedly instructed by Kiev to kill TV anchor Vladimir Solovyov had several other targets, including RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, according to video footage released by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Amid the ongoing Russian military offensive in Ukraine aimed at the “denazification” of the country, the FSB claimed that it had detained a group of neo-Nazis. According to the service, the group had been instructed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to kill popular Russian TV host and journalist Vladimir Solovyov. The FSB later released a video of what they said was the detention, search, and questioning of the suspects.

One of the detainees said that the group had been discussing the potential assassinations of the director general of the Sputnik news agency, Dmitry Kiselyov, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik and RT, Margarita Simonyan, and her husband, the prominent film director and TV presenter Tigran Keosayan, as well as TV hosts Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov.

www.rt.com/russia/554498-jornalists-target-group-murder

Ankara is striving to maintain “balance” in the Black Sea, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said, warning its NATO allies against ramping up tension in the region. The minister made the remarks in an interview published by the Hurriyet newspaper on Monday.

“We want the balance not to be broken here [in the Black Sea], within the scope of the principle of regional ownership and the domination of the situation by the littoral countries,” Akar stated.

Akar reiterated Ankara’s stance on the passage of warships through the Black Sea straits, insisting it will stick to the Montreux Convention, which allows Turkey to regulate maritime traffic through the straits during times of war. Ankara closed the routes for Russian and Ukrainian military vessels shortly after the conflict between the two countries broke out late in February.

As the US-led NATO supports Ukraine in the ongoing conflict, Ankara has urged the military bloc's vessels to also steer clear of the Black Sea until the hostilities are over, Akar noted, urging the country’s allies not to try Turkey’s resolve to enforce the Convention.

“We recommend not to come as long as the war continues, we graciously suggest... We say this without the need for the Montreux Convention,” Akar said.

The official also voiced his opposition towards the idea of establishing a NATO taskforce in the region, proposed by Washington last year. While the idea of a maritime force is supported by Romania and Bulgaria, two other Black Sea countries that are NATO members, Ankara opposes the initiative, he said.

“We tell Bulgaria and Romania to act with restraint,” Akar stated, adding that “stability” in the Black Sea can be maintained only if all parties in the region avoid provoking one another.

www.rt.com/news/554476-turkey-nato-black-sea

Starting Monday, a series of terrorist attacks has hit the breakaway region of Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), which borders Ukraine, its leader said on Tuesday. Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnoselsky placed the region on terrorist alert, RIA Novosti reported, citing the president's website.

Two back-to-back explosions rocked a broadcasting center in the village of Mayak on Tuesday morning, the region’s interior ministry said. It added that no one was hurt, but the two biggest antennas, which were transmitting Russian radio stations, have been disabled.

www.rt.com/russia/554528-string-terrorist-attacks-transnistria-breakaway-region

The president of the self-proclaimed Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, has traced the latest spate of what he described as “terrorist attacks” in the republic back to Ukraine. Speaking on Tuesday, he cited the results of a probe conducted by local authorities, urging Kiev to investigate the Ukrainian armed groups that had allegedly infiltrated Transnistria and hit several targets there.

Krasnoselsky surmised that “those who arranged this assault aim to drag Transnistria into the conflict.”

Krasnoselsky also called on Moldova, which Transnistria seceded from after a war in 1992, to engage in talks to “preserve peace.”

www.rt.com/russia/554556-transnistria-president-terror-attacks-ukraine

Ukraine’s finance minister, Sergey Marchenko, has solicited at least $2 billion per month in emergency economic aid from the Biden administration. The official also revealed that Kiev hopes to raise an additional $3 billion per month from other sources.

www.rt.com/news/554520-ukraine-wants-2bn-dollars-month-from-us

US President Joe Biden has asked Congress for an additional $33 billion in funding to prop up Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia. A vast part of the massive package is destined for additional military and security aid, while the rest will be used for economic and humanitarian assistance.

www.rt.com/russia/554685-biden-ukraine-aid

The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that would remove several constraints on sending weapons to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian offensive. Adopted by the Senate earlier this month, the “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act” revives the program Washington used to send military equipment to belligerents in WWII while officially staying neutral.

The final vote on Thursday afternoon was 417-10, with three members not voting. All of the Democrats voted in favor, while all of the ten members opposed were Republicans.

www.rt.com/russia/554628-congress-lend-lease-ukraine

Swiss bank UBS is holding roughly $22 billion in invested assets for Russian clients. The figure was unveiled in the bank’s latest quarterly report on Tuesday.

The money belongs to Russian residents potentially affected by sanctions placed on Moscow by the EU and Switzerland in connection with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

This is the first time UBS, Switzerland’s largest financial institution and the largest private bank in the world, disclosed the proportion of assets it manages for Russians.

According to the quarterly report, around 0.7% of the total $3.145 trillion in invested assets in UBS’ wealth management division belongs to “Russian persons not entitled to residency in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland,” potentially subject to sanctions-related restrictions.

Many international financial organizations have frozen the assets of Russian clients they hold due to sanctions, and UBS Chief Executive Ralph Hamers said his bank is no exception.

www.rt.com/business/554536-swiss-bank-russian-money