The FSB detains gang members Shamil Basayev and Khattab

1 Russia

The FSB arrested 6 gang members of Shamil Basayev and Khattab in Tatarstan and St. Petersburg. They participated in the attack on the Pskov paratroopers in Chechnya, in 2000. The FSB and the Investigative Committee of Russia collected the evidence of the participation of residents of Tatarstan, namely, Razzakov Khaidar, Kamaletdinov Airat, Valiakhmetov Eduard, Gumerov Ilgam, Mukhametgaliev Ilgiz and Shaikhutdinov Mukhamedvali, in the crimes of the aforementioned gangs. With the support of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian National Guard, the citizens Mukhametgaliev, Kamaletdinov, Razzakov, Valiakhmetov and Gumerov were detained in Tatarstan. Shaikhutdinov was arrested in St. Petersburg.

2 Russia

Moscow is waiting for the reaction of Kiev to the document that was sent to Ukraine — the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, stated while commenting on the progress of the negotiations. According to him — the document, sent to Ukraine, contains clearly stated demands. Dmitry Peskov noted that «the work with Ukraine leaves much to be desired». On 20th of April, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, stated that the credibility of the members of the Ukrainian delegation, who were negotiating with Russia, had been lost because they were behaving «inconsistently». The Moscow has the following key demands: the neutral and non-nuclear status of Ukraine, the recognition of the Russian ownership of Crimea, and the sovereignty of the DPR and the LPR, within the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

3 The UK

The UK’s Premier, Boris Johnson, asked Russia to be merciful to the British prisoners Sean Pinner and Aiden Eslin, who were captured in Mariupol during the liberation of the city. According to him — Pinner and Eslin were servicemen of Ukraine. Boris Johnson supported the proposal to ban the publication of fragments from the interviews with the British PoWs on the Russian television. He also didn’t talk about the possible exchange of Pinner and Eslin. Sean Pinner and Aiden Eslin were captured in Donbass. They called on the UK prime minister to exchange them for the Ukrainian opposition politician, Viktor Medvedchuk, who was detained in Ukraine.

4 Ukraine

On 20th of April, the Russian missile and artillery forces hit 1053 military targets in Ukraine. 31 command posts, 6 fuel depots, 910 strongholds and manpower concentration areas, and 106 artillery firing positions were destroyed. The Russian air force hit 73 military facilities in Ukraine. Among them there were 4 control points, and 57 places of concentration of enemy armor and manpower — Igor Konashenkov reported. Near the villages of Novovorontsovka and Kiselevka, the Russian precision missiles killed up to 40 Ukrainian servicemen.

5 Russia

Russia has expressed its position on the possible accession of Sweden and Finland to the NATO — the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, stated. According to her, the opinion of Moscow on this issue was sent to Stockholm and Helsinki, both publicly and via diplomatic channels. Finland and Sweden began talking about the possibility of abandoning their long-term neutrality, and joining the NATO due to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that the NATO will be happy to have these countries in its ranks, and the NATO will ensure that they can join quickly. The NATO expects Sweden and Finland to make their own decisions about possible NATO membership in the near future — the US Permanent Representative to the NATO, Julianne Smith, stated. She added that the USA will welcome the decision of these countries to join.

6 Iraq

Ankara announced the launch of a new military operation against the «PKK» in north of Iraq. Turkish Special forces and the Turkish Air Force are participating in the operation. The Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, stated that «the fight will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized». According to him, the strikes are being carried out on the shelters, bunkers, tunnels, caves, and warehouses of the ’PKK’. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS