International

Austrian chancellor confronts Putin over Ukraine war crimes

Published

4 years ago

April 12, 2022

Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer

Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer, has said he told Vladimir Putin that “all those responsible” for war crimes must be brought to justice and warned that western sanctions would intensify as long as people kept dying in Ukraine.

After becoming the first western leader to hold face-to-face talks with the Russian president since the invasion of Ukraine, Nehammer said his trip to Moscow was not “a visit of friendship” and that the two had had a “direct, open and hard” conversation.

“I mentioned the serious war crimes in Bucha and other locations and stressed that all those responsible have to be brought to justice,” Nehammer said in a statement, after a 75-minute meeting that Vienna described as “tough and direct”.

In the meeting, Nehammer raised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s readiness for in-person talks with the Russian president, but Putin gave “no reply whatsoever”, ignoring the offer, an Austrian official told the Guardian.

Instead, Putin talked about the “Istanbul track” negotiations, which have failed to produce any progress so far.

“Putin seems to be massively caught up in the ‘logic of war’ and acts accordingly,” the Austrian official said.

Russian media reported that the meeting, which took place at Putin’s official Novo-Ogaryovo residence just outside Moscow, was behind closed doors at Austria’s request.

Speaking before the meeting began, Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the two would discuss “the situation around Ukraine” but declined to give further details. Peskov said he could not exclude that gas would be discussed, as this was “very, very relevant for the Austrian side”, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

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The meeting came as EU foreign ministers discussed targeting Russian oil in the next round of sanctions, while Joe Biden held talks with Narendra Modi, in which the US president was expected to press India’s leader not to increase imports of Russian crude.

Related: Putin’s war shows autocracies and fossil fuels go hand in hand. Here’s how to tackle both

Hours earlier, Austria’s foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, said someone needed to tell Putin the truth.

“It makes a difference to be face to face and tell him what the reality is: that this president has de facto lost the war morally,” Schallenberg said.

“It should be in his own interest that someone tells him the truth. I think it is important and we owe it to ourselves if we want to save human lives.”

Nehammer said Zelenskiy, whom he met on Saturday, had been informed of his Moscow trip, as had the EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Austria, which is not a member of Nato, is calling for humanitarian corridors, a ceasefire and the full investigation of war crimes.

Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, sounded sceptical about further talks with Putin, after a series of high-profile visits, in the lead-up to the invasion, by EU leaders failed to deter the Russian leader from launching his attack.

He said: “I have seen a lot of effort by many leaders, by Emmanuel Macron, to try to see whether they can talk to the guy. I personally have no reason to believe that he is ‘talkable’.”

Speaking to South Korean lawmakers via video link on Monday, Zelenskiy said “tens of thousands” of people had probably been killed in Mariupol. No independent verification of the death toll in the besieged south-eastern city is possible, but if a figure of this magnitude is confirmed it would be by far the highest death toll in any Ukrainian town or city since the war began.

Forces defending the besieged port city said their ammunition was running out. “Today will probably be the last battle,” the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces wrote on social media. “It’s death for some of us and captivity for the rest.”

In a speech on Sunday, Zelenskiy said he had discussed with Scholz how to strengthen sanctions against Russia, adding: “I am glad to note that the German position has recently changed in favour of Ukraine. I consider it absolutely logical.”

Russia said on Monday that it had destroyed air defence systems in Ukraine over the weekend, in what appeared to be a renewed push to gain air superiority and take out weapons Kyiv has described as crucial, before a broad new offensive in the east.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said there would be no pause in military action before the next round of peace talks with Ukraine.

In an interview on state TV, Lavrov accused Kyiv of presenting Moscow with an “unacceptable” draft deal that deviated from points they had agreed in the talks.

Lavrov also described recent moves by the EU to boost military support for Ukraine as a “very serious U-turn”, while claiming the bloc was under the control of the US.

Kyiv said Lavrov’s comments were a tactic to divert attention away from war crimes accusations.

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In Luxembourg, Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said there were “massive indications of war crimes”, adding that while “the courts will have to decide”, it was “central to secure all evidence”.

EU ministers met Karim Khan, chief prosector of the international criminal court in The Hague, and Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s chief prosector, who is tasked with overseeing nearly 2,000 cases of war crimes committed by Russian occupying forces.

The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters later on Monday that “nothing is off the table, including sanctions on oil and gas”, while stressing that crude was worth much more to the Russian state.

The EU paid four times more for Russian oil than gas in 2021, Borrell said, so it is “very much important to start [sanctions] with the oil, which is a heavy bill and easier [for the EU] to replace”.

The former Spanish foreign minister also accused Russia of “provoking hunger in the world” by “sowing bombs on Ukraine’s fields”, blockading Ukrainian ships laden with wheat and destroying grain stores.

While EU ministers again condemned atrocities in Ukraine, it remains unclear how quickly the bloc will move in cutting imports of Russian crude. The EU is banning Russian coal from August, but Germany, joined by Austria, opposes an immediate oil embargo. Hungary’s newly re-elected prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said last week that extending sanctions to oil and gas was “a red line”.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, confirmed that the European Commission, which is responsible for the sanctions proposals, was “now working on ensuring that oil is part of the next sanctions package”.

“The European Union is spending hundreds of millions of euros on importing oil from Russia, that is certainly contributing to financing this war. We need to cut off that financing,” Coveney said. “The sooner that can happen the better.”

The Swedish foreign minister, Ann Linde, said: “I think we might make progress when it comes to oil. We are constantly developing our positions and more countries are understanding how important this is.”

The bloc, which imports 27% of its oil from Russia, is likely to argue over the phaseout period. Germany has pledged to phase out Russian coal and oil by the end of the year, but said ending dependence on Russian gas would take until at least 2024.

Referring to these plans, Baerbock said: “We need a joint, coordinated plan to completely phase out fossil fuels, to be able to withdraw as a European Union.”

The US, which has been pressing Berlin to sever Russian energy ties, is expected to make the same argument to India later on Monday. India has not imposed sanctions on Russia.

Taking advantage of low prices, India has bought 13m barrels of Russian crude oil since the invasion of Ukraine began, compared with 16m barrels in all of 2021, according to Reuters.

Biden has accused India of being the only “somewhat shaky” country on Ukraine in the Quad group of nations, which includes Japan and Australia.

“President Biden will continue our close consultations on the consequences of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating its destabilizing impact on global food supply and commodity markets,” the White House said in a statement.

As western sanctions continue to bite, a Kremlin spokesperson said there were no objective grounds for a Russian debt default and that such an outcome would occur only if engineered by others.

THE GUARDIAN

Related Topics:Austrian chancellor Putin Ukraine war crimes

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International

Earthquake in Afghanistan Kills 8 Members of Same Family

Published

9 hours ago

April 4, 2026

Trends Admin

Earthquake in Afghanistan Kills 8 Members of Same Family

An earthquake in Afghanistan has killed at least eight members of the same family and injured others after striking late on Friday, officials said, deepening the humanitarian toll in a region prone to powerful temblors.

The 5.8‑magnitude earthquake struck at 8:42 p.m. local time (1612 GMT) on Friday, with its epicentre located in Badakhshan Province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The quake occurred at a depth of 186 kilometres (115 miles) beneath the surface, a depth that allowed the shaking to be felt over a wide area, including in the capital Kabul and other surrounding provinces.

Shaking was reported across multiple regions of Afghanistan, with residents describing rooms swaying and items falling from shelves, according to international news agency reports.

In Kabul Province, the Gosfand Dara area was among the most severely affected. Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman confirmed to AFP that eight members of a single household lost their lives when their home collapsed during the quake. A two‑year‑old child was the lone survivor from the family; the country’s disaster management agency said the boy sustained injuries and was receiving medical care.

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Afghan authorities have not yet detailed whether other deaths or injuries occurred beyond this household in Kabul Province, but tremors were widely felt from the northeast to the national capital and beyond.

Afghanistan sits in a seismically active zone along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates interact. This makes the region particularly susceptible to strong earthquakes that can cause widespread damage, especially in areas with fragile infrastructure.

In August, a much stronger magnitude‑6.1 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, flattening mountainside villages and killing more than 2,200 people, making it one of the country’s deadliest in recent memory. That disaster displaced tens of thousands, destroyed homes, schools and roads, and underscored Afghanistan’s vulnerability to seismic calamities.

The latest tremor serves as a stark reminder of that risk, particularly as communities still recover from past earthquakes amid ongoing economic hardship and limited emergency response capacity.

Humanitarian agencies and local officials are assessing the broader impact of Friday’s quake, and calls are mounting for more resources to support affected families, improve response capabilities, and enhance early warning systems.

Earthquake in Afghanistan Kills 8 Members of Same Family

International

Iran Crisis Escalates as Second US Warplane Crashes in Persian Gulf

Published

11 hours ago

April 4, 2026

Trends Admin

Iran Crisis Escalates as Second US Warplane Crashes in Persian Gulf

The already fragile security situation in the Middle East has taken a dramatic turn following reports that a second U.S. military aircraft has crashed in the Persian Gulf, intensifying tensions between the United States and Iran.

According to U.S. officials cited by The New York Times, a U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II, widely known as the Warthog, went down near the Strait of Hormuz. The pilot was successfully rescued, but the exact cause of the crash remains unclear, with early indications suggesting a combination of operational risk and possible hostile engagement.

The incident occurred almost simultaneously with reports that an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down over Iranian territory. Iranian state media claimed responsibility, stating that its air defence systems intercepted the aircraft. U.S. officials have confirmed the loss of the jet, though investigations into the precise circumstances are ongoing.

Rescue operations for the downed F-15E crew are still underway. One crew member has been recovered alive and is receiving medical care, while search efforts continue for the second. The operation has drawn significant military resources, including air and naval support, amid concerns over the safety of personnel operating in hostile territory.

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Iranian state television further escalated tensions by urging civilians to report the whereabouts of the missing U.S. crew member or members, offering a reward for information. Analysts warn that such actions could complicate rescue missions and heighten the risk of further confrontation.

The A-10 aircraft is believed to have been operating in support of these rescue efforts when it crashed, underscoring the опасность of ongoing operations in the region. Reports indicate that U.S. rescue teams have encountered hostile conditions, including potential ground fire, making recovery efforts increasingly challenging.

U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified rhetoric amid the crisis, confirming earlier strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including a highway bridge near Tehran. He warned that Washington is prepared to escalate military action if necessary, while claiming that U.S. operations have significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities.

The developments have placed renewed focus on the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil transit route through which a significant portion of the world’s energy supply passes. Any disruption to this corridor could trigger major economic последствия, including spikes in global oil prices.

At the same time, the crisis unfolds against the backdrop of a proposed $1.5 trillion U.S. defence budget for fiscal year 2027, fueling debate over increased military spending and its implications for domestic priorities.

Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions appear to have stalled. Iranian officials have dismissed the possibility of negotiations under current conditions, denying reports that Tehran is seeking a ceasefire and maintaining a hardline stance against Washington.

The near-simultaneous loss of two U.S. military aircraft marks a significant escalation in the conflict, raising concerns about a potential broader regional confrontation if tensions continue to rise.

Iran Crisis Escalates as Second US Warplane Crashes in Persian Gulf

International

Iran’s IRGC Threatens Google, Microsoft, Apple as ‘Legitimate Military Targets’

Published

1 day ago

April 3, 2026

Trends Admin

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

Iran’s IRGC Threatens Google, Microsoft, Apple as ‘Legitimate Military Targets’

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a stark warning to major US technology companies, declaring them legitimate military targets amid intensifying conflict in the Middle East.

The warning, carried by the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency, named around 20 American and Western tech firms allegedly involved in intelligence, surveillance, and targeting operations. Companies highlighted include Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Boeing, HP, and Tesla. The IRGC claimed these firms play a central role in identifying and tracking targets through artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and ICT systems, making their facilities subject to attack.

The statement warned that attacks could begin from 8 p.m. local time on Wednesday if Iran continues to experience what Tehran describes as “targeted assassinations” of its leaders and military personnel. Employees and civilians near company offices and data centres were urged to evacuate immediately.

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The threats follow a dramatic escalation in hostilities between Iran and Israel, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reporting more than 230 airstrikes in 24 hours, targeting Iranian military infrastructure. Tehran has accused Israel and the US of also hitting civilian and academic institutions, including Isfahan University of Technology and the Iran University of Science and Technology.

Analysts warn the IRGC’s threats signal a widening battlefield beyond traditional military targets, potentially including commercial tech infrastructure, cloud systems, and communications networks. Such attacks could disrupt internet connectivity, cloud services, financial systems, and regional communications across the Middle East and beyond.

While no confirmed large-scale attacks on these firms have occurred, the announcement raises concerns over the global implications of targeting technology infrastructure in modern conflicts. Experts say such threats highlight how digital and commercial assets are increasingly considered strategic military targets.

Tech companies named in the warning have largely refrained from commenting publicly but are reportedly reviewing security measures and contingency plans to protect staff and critical infrastructure in the region.

The IRGC’s declaration marks a new phase of geopolitical escalation, demonstrating the growing intersection of technology, military operations, and regional instability in the Middle East.