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Ukraine pushes east, Moscow vows to win back lost ground

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Kyiv on Wednesday claimed further victories over Russian troops in eastern Ukraine as the Kremlin vowed to recapture territory lost in a lightning Ukrainian counteroffensive.

In recent weeks, Ukraine’s forces, bolstered by Western weapons, have wrested Russian troops out of a string of towns and villages in the east and in the south.

Kyiv this week claimed gains in the southern Kherson region and control of almost the entire eastern Kharkiv region, paving the way for its forces to enter the separatist stronghold of Lugansk.

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“The de-occupation of the Lugansk region has already officially started,” regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a video posted on social media, dressed in camouflage and adding that several settlements had been liberated.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into legislation his annexation of four Ukrainian territories — including Lugansk — as the EU agreed a new round of sanctions against Moscow in response.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would take back land it lost to Kyiv within the annexed regions, vowing they would be “Russian forever and will not be returned.”

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Putin last Friday signed agreements with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions to become subjects of the Russian Federation, despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West.

The four territories — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia — create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Together, the five regions make up around 20 percent of Ukraine.

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– ‘Strike back’ –
The Kremlin annexed the territories after hastily conducting referendums, denounced as void by Kyiv and its Western allies, but has yet to confirm what areas exactly of those regions are being annexed.

Russian forces do not have full control over Kherson or Zaporizhzhia and recently lost control of several settlements in Donetsk.

“The way we are regrouping (our forces) along the front means that we can gather strength and strike back,” Kirill Stremousov, the Moscow-appointed deputy head of Kherson region, told the RIA Novosti news agency.

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Ukraine’s forces “won’t enter Kherson. Its impossible,” he said referring to the region’s eponymous main city.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces were making “rapid and powerful” gains and had retaken “dozens” of villages in the east and south.

The latest battlefield maps from Moscow showed that Russian troops had left many areas in Kherson, including along the west bank of the Dnipro River.

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In Kharkiv, the maps indicated that Russian forces had almost entirely abandoned the east bank of the Oskil River, potentially giving the Ukrainians space to shell key Russian troop transportation and supply corridors.

While Russian authorities remain largely silent about the extent of the setbacks, war correspondents of pro-Kremlin media admitted that troops were in trouble.

“There won’t be any good news in the near future. Not from the Kherson front nor from Lugansk,” newspaper journalist Alexander Kots wrote on his Telegram channel with over 640,000 followers.

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– ‘Chase them’ –
Near Lyman, a strategic transport hub in Donetsk that Kyiv recaptured over the weekend, a Ukrainian paratrooper told AFP that forces were “exhausted”.

“We’ll rest for a bit and then we will go further,” said the young, bearded soldier. “We will chase them,” he added.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden told Zelensky that another $625 million in military assistance was on the way.

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The new batch includes more HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, which have allowed Ukraine to strike Russian command depots and arms stockpiles far behind the front line.

From the EU, there were no details about the nature of fresh sanctions agreed against Russia.

The latest package — the eighth since Russia’s invasion in February — is now going through a final approval procedure which, if no objections emerge, will be published and come into effect on Thursday, the Czech Republic’s EU ambassador said on Twitter.

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Otherwise, Russia insisted that it should be part of an international probe into leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline that carries gas from Russia to Europe. Sweden has blocked off the area pending an investigation.

Moscow has accused the West of being behind blasts that lead to four leaks on the Baltic Sea pipelines.

Both Moscow and Washington have denied involvement.

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Crime

Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

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Court discharges man accused of burning father’s house in Abuja

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.

Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.

The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.

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Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.

The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.

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She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.

“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.

Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.

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He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.

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Crime

Man jailed 3 months for stealing mobile phone

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An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.

The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.

The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.

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Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec.  1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.

He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.

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The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.

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Crime

Army apprehends 15 over suspected oil theft in Niger Delta

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Troops of the Nigerian army have apprehended no fewer than 15 persons over suspected oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.

Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the Spokesman, Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, said in a statement on Monday that the operations were carried out in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers recently.

Danjuma said that the army apprehended 15 persons, dismantled 32 artisanal refineries and seized 14 boats during operations.

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He further said that during the operations, conducted between Jan. 6 and 12, the troops confiscated no fewer than 60,000 litres of various petroleum products

The spokesman said that the operations were part of a broader collaborative effort with other security agencies to combat oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

Danjuma said that the raid commenced in Bille, Degema Local Government Area, and Rivers, where soldiers dismantled seven illegal refining sites, confiscated 20,000 litres of crude oil, and destroyed two boats.

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“We also deactivated ten illegal refineries, several crude oil cooking pots, and receivers, and recovered about 19,000 litres of stolen petroleum products along the Imo River.

“In Odagwa, Etche, our troops intercepted three boats carrying about 12,000 litres of stolen crude oil and arrested three suspects in the process.

“Similar operations were carried out in Abiama, Asa, Obuzor, Okoloma, Ozaa, Ukwa, and Oyigbo” he added.

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He stated that the soldiers advanced to Nkisa in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where they confiscated 1,600 litres of crude oil and 1,200 litres adulterated diesel.

Danjuma said that along Ndoni Road, the troops intercepted a Toyota van transporting an estimated 1,200 litres of stolen condensate.

The spokesman said that in Buguma, Asari-Toru, Rivers, the troops dismantled two illegal refineries, seized 1,500 litres of stolen crude oil, and apprehended five suspects.

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“In Baberegbene, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa, our soldiers dismantled an illegal artisanal refinery and intercepted a wooden boat carrying no fewer than 1,500 litres of stolen

“Similarly, an illegal refining site containing an unquantified quantity of stolen petroleum products was deactivated in Emago-Kugbo and Oluasiri communities in Nembe, Bayelsa.

“The operations continued in Akwa Ibom and Delta, where troops maintained a strong presence and effectively denied economic saboteurs the liberty to operate,” he said.

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