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137 ‘heroes’ killed as invading Russian forces press deep into Ukraine
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4 years agoon
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Mega IconInvading Russian forces pressed deep into Ukraine as deadly battles reached the outskirts of Kyiv, with explosions heard in the capital early Friday that the besieged government described as “horrific rocket strikes”.
The blasts in Kyiv set off a second day of violence after Russian President Vladimir Putin defied Western warnings to unleash a full-scale ground invasion and air assault that quickly claimed dozens of lives and displaced at least 100,000 people.
The United States and its allies responded with a barrage of sanctions, but the Russian forces appeared intent Friday on pressing home their advantage after a string of key strategic victories on day one.
“Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv,” Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on Twitter after explosions were heard in the capital before dawn.
“Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one.”
At least 137 “heroes” were killed during the first day of fighting, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday, as he called up conscripts and reservists nationwide to fight in a general mobilisation.
Zelensky said there was now a “new iron curtain” between Russia and the rest of the world, like in the Cold War, adding in a later speech his nation had been “left alone”.
“Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone.”
And while the United States moved to impose sanctions on Russian elites and banks, it stressed that American forces would not head to eastern Europe to fight in Ukraine.
NATO said it had activated “defence plans” for allied countries.
But NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said there was no plan to send alliance forces into Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with his counterparts from Lithuania and Poland following their talks in Kyiv on February 23, 2022. SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP
‘War on Europe’
Among the highest-profile strategic developments on Thursday, Ukraine said Russian forces had seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant — prompting concern from international nuclear watchdogs.
Zelensky called the attack on Chernobyl “a declaration of war on all of Europe” while 18 people were killed at a military base near the Black Sea port of Odessa in the deadliest single strike reported by Kyiv.
Witnesses also told AFP that Russian paratroopers wrested control of the strategic Gostomel airfield, on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv.
“The helicopters came in and then the battles started. They were firing machine guns, grenade launchers,” resident Sergiy Storozhuk said.
Russian ground forces had initially moved into Ukraine from the north, south, and east, forcing many Ukrainians to flee their homes as the sound of bombing reverberated.
Moscow’s defence ministry said Thursday its forces had “successfully completed” their objectives for the day, earlier claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields.
Western intelligence confirmed Moscow had established “complete air superiority” over Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces said they had killed “around 50 Russian occupiers” while repulsing an attack on a town on the frontline with Moscow-backed rebels, which could not immediately be confirmed by AFP.
Ukraine also said a military plane with 14 people on board crashed south of Kyiv with officials still determining how many people died, while a transport plane crashed in Russia killing the crew.
Olena Kurilo was among 20 people wounded by flying shards of glass following a blast in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv.
“Never, under any conditions will I submit to Putin. It is better to die,” the 52-year-old teacher said, her face covered in bandages.
In the Ukrainian village of Starognativka near the frontline where separatists have faced off against Kyiv’s forces, official Vladimir Vesyelkin said missiles had rained down since Friday morning, and power was out.
“They are trying to wipe the village off the face of the earth,” he said.
Sanctions
Weeks of diplomacy failed to deter Putin, who massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders in what the West said was Europe’s biggest military build-up since World War II.
Western allies had initially imposed some sanctions on Russia in an en effort to deter Putin, then followed through on Thursday with vows to try and heavily punish Russia economically.
US President Joe Biden announced export controls against Russia to cut off more than half of the country’s high-tech imports, alongside sanctions on Russian elites he called “corrupt billionaires”, and banks.
He will meet Friday with fellow Nato leaders in an extraordinary virtual summit to discuss the security situation in and around Ukraine later.
The EU moved to impose “massive” sanctions on Russia’s energy and finance sectors, while French President Emmanuel Macron called Putin to “demand immediate halt” to the offensive — but said the door must be kept open for dialogue.
The fighting spooked global financial markets, with stocks plunging and oil prices soaring past $100.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the unrest carried “significant economic risk” for the world, but Putin insisted he did not seek to undermine the global economic system.
Demonstrations across Europe
In a televised address, the Russian president justified the assault as a defence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics in eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin earlier said the leaders of the two separatist territories had asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv after Putin recognised their independence on Monday.
A conflict between the separatists and government forces has dragged on since 2014, killing more than 14,000 people on both sides.
Russia has also long demanded that Ukraine be forbidden from ever joining NATO and that US troops pull out from Eastern Europe.
In the Baltics, Lithuania declared a national emergency. Latvia, Lithuania, and Czech Republic, also stopped issuing visas to Russians.
Demonstrators took to the streets of European capitals to condemn the Kremlin but a small anti-war protest in Moscow was quickly halted by police, with over 1,700 people detained at rallies across Russia.
The first Ukrainian refugees have begun to trickle into Hungary, Romania, and Poland while the UN said 100,000 had been displaced by the fighting.
“Anyone who can is fleeing,” said Krisztian Szavla, one of the first refugees who arrived Thursday in Hungary from Ukraine’s western Transcarpathia region.
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Iran War Disrupts Oil Supply, Global Loss Hits $50bn
Published
4 days agoon
April 18, 2026By
Mega IconThe global oil market has recorded losses exceeding $50bn following massive supply disruptions triggered by the ongoing Iran war, which has now stretched to nearly 50 days.
Data from energy analytics firm Kpler showed that more than 500 million barrels of crude oil and condensate have been wiped off the global market since the crisis began in late February, making it the largest energy supply disruption in modern history.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, on Friday said the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened after a ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon.
However, tensions escalated again on Saturday as Tehran warned it could shut the strategic waterway if the United States sustains its blockade of Iranian ports.
Also, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism that a deal to end the conflict could be reached “soon,” although he did not provide a definite timeline.
Analysts warned that the scale of disruption could have prolonged effects on global energy stability, with shocks expected to linger for months or even years.
Providing context, Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, Iain Mowat, said the 500 million barrels lost is equivalent to grounding global aviation demand for 10 weeks, halting all road transport worldwide for 11 days, or shutting down the entire global oil supply for five days.
Further estimates showed that the lost volume is nearly equal to one month of oil demand in the United States or more than a month’s supply for Europe. It also represents about six years of fuel consumption by the U.S. military and could power global shipping activities for approximately four months.
The crisis has significantly affected oil-producing nations in the Gulf, with output losses reaching about eight million barrels per day in March—roughly equivalent to the combined production of two of the world’s largest oil companies.
Jet fuel exports from major producers, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, dropped sharply from 19.6 million barrels in February to just 4.1 million barrels recorded across March and April combined. Analysts said the shortfall could have powered about 20,000 round-trip international flights.
With crude prices averaging around $100 per barrel since the onset of the conflict, the lost volumes translate to an estimated $50bn in revenue. Experts noted that this figure is equivalent to about one per cent of Germany’s annual Gross Domestic Product, or roughly the size of the economies of smaller European countries.
Meanwhile, global onshore crude inventories have declined by about 45 million barrels in April alone, while total production outages have risen to approximately 12 million barrels per day since late March.
Industry experts cautioned that unless a lasting resolution is reached, the disruption could intensify volatility in global oil markets, worsen inflationary pressures, and further strain fragile economies worldwide.
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Oseni Secures Prestigious City People Political Award Nomination
Published
6 days agoon
April 16, 2026By
Mega IconA member of the House of Representatives representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency and Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Aderemi Oseni, has been nominated for a Special Award in Politics at the 2026 City People Political Awards.
The nomination was conveyed in a letter dated April 13, 2026, signed by the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of City People Magazine, Seye Kehinde.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by Oseni’s media aide, Idowu Ayodele, and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Thursday.
According to the statement, the lawmaker earned the nomination in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to politics in Oyo State, particularly in Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency.”
The organisers noted that Oseni emerged as a nominee following a comprehensive review of performances across sectors by the award’s selection committee.
Part of the letter read, “Having performed creditably well in your sector last year, the Organising Committee presented you as a nominee in your sector.”
The award ceremony is scheduled to hold on Sunday, May 3, 2026, at Etal Hall, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, at 4pm.
The City People Awards is an annual event that recognises individuals who have distinguished themselves in governance, public service and other sectors of national development.
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Kaduna Electric to prosecute, expose attackers of staff
Published
6 days agoon
April 16, 2026By
Mega IconThe Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company has announced a crackdown on individuals who assault its staff, warning that offenders will face prosecution and public exposure.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the company expressed concern over what it described as a “disturbing surge” in attacks on its field workers and third-party partners.
It noted that the affected personnel were mainly engaged in meter installation, revenue collection and maintenance of electricity infrastructure.
According to the firm, the increasing cases of harassment, physical assault and unlawful detention of its workers pose a serious threat to employee safety and the stability of electricity service delivery across its franchise areas.
The Deputy Managing Director, Abubakar Mohammed, said the company would no longer tolerate any form of aggression against its workforce.
“Let this serve as a clear warning to anyone who engages in the assault of our staff. Kaduna Electric will pursue every case to its logical conclusion,” he said.
“We will work closely with security agencies to ensure offenders are brought to justice and face the full weight of the law,” Mohammed added.
He further disclosed that the company would publicly reveal the identities of individuals found culpable.
According to him, names, photographs and other details of offenders would be published on the company’s official platforms as well as in national and local media.
“This measure is intended to ensure accountability and serve as a strong deterrent. Anyone who chooses to attack our personnel should be prepared not only to face prosecution but also public exposure,” he added.
The company stressed that assaults on utility workers attract serious legal and financial consequences, noting that offenders risk criminal charges that may lead to fines or imprisonment.
It added that perpetrators could also face civil liabilities, including compensation for medical treatment, psychological trauma and loss of work hours.
While condemning the attacks, Kaduna Electric urged customers to adopt peaceful and lawful means of resolving disputes.
It advised aggrieved customers to channel complaints through its customer service units or appropriate regulatory bodies.
The management reaffirmed its commitment to protecting its workforce and partners, stressing that a safe working environment is essential for delivering reliable and efficient electricity services.
Although disputes between electricity providers and consumers are often linked to billing issues, metering challenges and service delivery concerns, the company maintained that such matters must be resolved through dialogue, insisting that violence against its staff will no longer be tolerated.
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