Ukraine: HRW claims new evidence of Kyiv using banned mines

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Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, now the leader in exile of the opposition People's Freedom Party, says the mutiny staged by Wagner soldiers has shattered the illusion of President Vladimir Putin's stability.

In an interview with DW, Kasyanov said that for 20 years, Russian propaganda had sought to assure people "that the main basis for Putin's rule is stability and potential prosperity." 

But with the rebellion at the weekend, Wagner boss Yevgeny "Prigozhin managed to destroy this myth, this image of stability."

Kasyanov said that even if Putin's most senior government officials, like Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, might try to argue that the Russian regime would emerge stronger, "the Russian regime, in opposite, just now seems to be more weak — and people started to understand it, especially in the ruling elite." 

"They understand that Putin is not any longer a moderator or protector of their interests. That's why they started reconsidering their attitude to him." 

He added that he believed the mutiny will "of course" have an impact on the battlefield in Ukraine. 

"I think the morale of these officers on the battelfield, Russian officers, just decreased," he said, adding that morale had already been low even prior to the weekend's events.

Kasyanov was prime minister during Putin's first term as president from 2000 to 2004. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered top military commanders to strengthen security at Ukraine's border with Belarus following the arrival there of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, was exiled to Belarus earlier this week after staging a short-lived rebellion in Russia at the weekend.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence and security forces had reported on the situation in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbor, at a meeting of top military and political leaders on Friday.

"The decision...is for Commander-in-Chief (General Valeriy) Zaluzhnyi and 'North' commander (General Serhiy) Naev to implement a set of measures to strengthen this direction," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says Ukrainian forces are progressing in their counteroffensive against Russia.

"If we talk about the entire front line, both east and south, we have seized the strategic initiative and are advancing in all directions," Maliar told Ukrainian broadcasters. 

Maliar said Ukrainian forces are moving "confidently" on the periphery of the eastern city of Bakhmut.

She also detailed Ukrainian efforts in the south.

"In the south, we are moving with varying success, sometimes there are days when it is more than a kilometer (0.62 miles), sometimes less than a kilometer, sometimes up to 2 kilometers," she noted, while adding that "everything is going according to plan."  

Ukrainian troops have attained further "partial successes" in the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian general staff posted on Facebook Friday.

Meanwhile Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhnyi urged for patience among Ukraine's foreign allies as the counteroffensive presses on.

"This is not a show," Zaluzhnyi told the Washington Post in an interview released Friday. "It's not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every meter is given by blood."   

Polish authorities have detained an unidentified professional Russian hockey player on spying charges.

Prosecutors claim he is part of an espionage network that saw 13 other people being arrested beforehand.

The man has been playing for a first division Polish team and was taken into custody in the southern region of Silesia, according to authorities.

"Russian spies are falling in one by one!" Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on Twitter. "A spy who acted under the guise of an athlete was caught."

Prosecutors allege he received payment for activities such as identifying critical infrastructure.

He will remain in pre-trial detention and faces a possible 10 years in prison.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had demanded an explanation from Poland over its arrest of Russian citizens.

"We express our strong protest to Warsaw," Zakharova said, according to Russian news agencies. "We demand that the Russian side be immediately provided with comprehensive explanations."

Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed new evidence on Friday, suggesting that Ukrainian forces have been employing banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022.

In response to these findings, HRW called upon the Ukrainian government to honor its commitment, made earlier this month, to refrain from using prohibited weapons. 

"The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military's apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians," Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch's arms director, said in a statement. 

The latest report is a follow-on to one from January which said that Ukrainian forces had fired rockets which scattered thousands of mines in Russian-controlled areas around the eastern city of Izium, between April and September 2022.

HRW said that fresh evidence comes from photos posted online by a person working in eastern Ukraine, showing warhead sections of Uragan 220mm rockets, which contained antipersonnel mines.

The human rights watchdog pointed out that since Moscow launched the invasion in February 2022, Russian forces had used at least 13 types of antipersonnel mines "in multiple areas across Ukraine, killing and injuring civilian."

To that end HRW has published four reports documenting Russia's use of the banned devices.

In 2005, Ukraine had ratified a 1997 international treaty banning such mines and mandating the destruction of stocks of the weapons. Russia did not join the treaty.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has dismissed the European Commission's proposal to allocate additional funds to Ukraine.

"One thing is clear, we Hungarians ... will not give more money to Ukraine until they say where the previous around €70 billion worth of funds had gone," Orban said in an interview with state radio.

"And we find it utterly ridiculous and absurd, that we should contribute more money to finance debt service costs of a loan, from which we have still not received the funds we are entitled to get," he added.

He was referring to the fact that Hungary, along with Poland, has yet to receive funds from the EU's Recovery Fund due to an ongoing rule-of-law dispute.

The EU recently announced its decision to provide Ukraine with €50 billion ($54.30 billion) in aid for the period of 2024-2027. This allocation comes after a reassessment of the EU's shared budget for 2021-2027. The bloc's funds have been stretched thin due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, and an energy crisis. 

Drone strikes reportedly targeted an air base used by Russian mercenary group Wagner in eastern Libya on early Friday. According to a military official who spoke to AFP news agency, there were no casualties reported.

The official said the Al-Kharruba airbase, located approximately 150 kilometers southwest of Benghazi, was the target of the overnight strikes.

Despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Wagner mercenaries are still active in eastern and southern Libya.

Libya has been engulfed in a series of conflicts for over a decade since the 2011 uprising. The country remains divided between a provisional government in Tripoli, located in the western region, and another administration in the east, supported by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

The Kremlin is keeping silent about the notable absence of the deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine.

General Sergei Surovikin fell out of public view after the aborted weekend revolt by Wagner Group fighters, and speculation has been growing since.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday told the Russian news agency Interfax that Surovikin's whereabouts were a matter for the Defence Ministry.

That followed reports that the general had been detained.

Peskov dismissed a New York Times report that Surovikin knew in advance about the uprising plan of Wagner mercenary force founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, calling it "speculation."

Several Russian media outlets had already reported on Wednesday that Surovikin had been taken into custody, although there was no confirmation of this.

Surovikin is considered an ally of Prigozhin. However, he sided with the powers that be during the march by Wagner forces and called on Prigozhin to end his struggle.

DW spoke with retired US Brigadier General John Teichert about what the situation might say about Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power.

"I think the biggest surprise in this is that we haven't seen more harsh measures by Putin," said Teichert.

"What Putin needs to do to re-establish his authority is something that is far more grandiose than just a couple of interrogations and arrests. If you're going to be an authoritarian, you need to have authority."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the start of accession talks with the EU this year to ensure that his country joins the bloc in the near future. 

"Ukraine influences the strength of Europe. That's a fact," said Zelenskyy on Thursday, in his evening video address. "This year it's time to use these and other facts to promote unity in Europe — starting with the start of negotiations on the EU membership of Ukraine."

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has officially made Ukraine a candidate for accession. So far, Kyiv has fulfilled only two of the seven prerequisites for the start of accession negotiations, with progress in the fight against corruption still being sought. 

The International Monetary Fund's executive board has completed its first review of Ukraine's $15.6 billion loan program, allowing Kyiv to immediately withdraw $890 million for budget support.

It comes as the country mounts a major counteroffensive against Russia's invasion.

The board's approval brings Ukraine's withdrawals under the program launched on March 31 to around $3.6 billion so far.

The IMF said Kyiv had made "strong progress" toward meeting reform commitments under "challenging conditions."

"The Ukrainian people have been resilient, and the authorities' skillful policymaking and continued external support have helped support macroeconomic and financial stability," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

European Union leaders have agreed to make long-term commitments to boost Ukraine's security as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges them to draft new sanctions against Russia.

The leaders at a summit in Brussels restated their condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine saying member countries "stand ready" to contribute to commitments that would help Ukraine defend itself.

Josep Borrell, the bloc's foreign policy chief, suggested they could build on an existing fund that has financed billions of euros in arms for Ukraine and a training mission for Ukrainian troops.

"The military support to Ukraine has to [be for the] long haul," Borrell said, suggesting the EU should start a Ukrainian Defense Fund.

"The training has to continue, the modernization of the army has to continue. Ukraine needs our commitment to continue ensuring their security during the war and after the war," he added.

France, which champions a greater security and defense role for the European Union, is understood to have proposed the text.

But it was amended to accommodate concerns from neutral countries and from strong supporters of trans-Atlantic cooperation such as the Baltic states, who see NATO as the key guarantor of European security.