“Suspension is not a final measure but a temporary one, leaving channels of communication open,” a statement said.
The Strasbourg-based organization said Russia remained a member and continued to be bound to the relevant human rights conventions. The 47-nation Council of Europe announced Friday that Russia was suspended with “immediate effect” from the Committee of Ministers and the parliamentary assembly “as a result of the Russian Federation’s armed attack on Ukraine.” The intelligence update, delivered via Twitter, also said that armored units were forced to open a new route toward Kyiv after failing to capture Chernihiv, a city northeast of the capital near the Belarusian border.īRUSSELS - Europe’s foremost human rights organization has suspended Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine, though it remains a member.
The ministry said it continues to monitor “sporadic clashes’ between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the northern suburbs of the capital. LONDON - Britain’s Ministry of Defense says the bulk of Russian forces advancing on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the center of the city. The office for Chief Minister Fabian Picardo described Russia Today as a “mouthpiece for the Kremlin” that “will become a dangerous source of disinformation that Gibraltar cannot accept on its networks.” Gibraltar on Friday announced it was suspending the Russian state broadcaster for spreading “disinformation.” It also revoked a visa waiver program for Russian citizens. GIBRALTAR - Punitive measures against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have spread to a tiny speck of territory on Spain’s southern tip, with Gibraltar’s government taking steps against Russia Today television. But the broadcaster said it was resolving the issues and its website appeared to be functioning normally Friday.Īnonymous announced a day earlier on Twitter that it is “officially in cyber war against the Russian government” and noted later that the Russian Ministry of Defense website was down.īut it is difficult to attribute a cyberattack to Anonymous or even confirm that someone is a member of a collective that is open to anyone who claims to use hacking for a particular cause. RT said in a statement that the attacks on its websites came from about 100 million devices, mostly based in the U.S. WASHINGTON - Russian state broadcaster RT says it was subjected to “massive” denial-of-service attacks after the online collective Anonymous pledged to carry out cyberattacks in support of Ukraine, which is being invaded by Russian forces. They were protesting his fraudulent re-election for a sixth term.įrench President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called the Belarus government “an accomplice” in Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and said it will also be targeted with sanctions. The United States, the EU, Britain and Canada last year imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials, businesses and several sectors of the economy and the financial system following a brutal crackdown on Lukashenko’s opponents. She told The Associated Press on Friday that Belarus has become “an aircraft carrier” for the Russian military, carrying troops to Ukraine, re-fueling its war machine and housing soldiers of the invading force. Sviatlana Tiskhanouskaya says Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, has turned her country into “an aggressor” in Ukraine.
PARIS - The leader of the Belarus opposition in exile says the European Union should slap tougher sanctions on Belarus for its role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said another package of sanctions is to be prepared by the EU. Foreign Minister Edgard Rinkevics announced the EU decision Friday in a tweet.