Ukraine war latest updates: Russia ‘carried out 37 major cyber attacks,’ Microsoft says

The Canadian foreign ministry has announced it will change its sanctions law to allow for seized and sanctioned foreign assets to be redistributed as compensation to victims or to help in rebuilding a foreign state from war.

“Today, we are seeking the capacity to not only seize but to allow for the forfeiture of the assets of sanctioned individuals and entities and to allow us to compensate victims with the proceeds,” foreign minister Melanie Joly said.

“These changes would make Canada’s sanctions regime the first in the G7 to allow these actions.”

“We will continue to apply maximum pressure on the Putin regime and impose severe costs for this war of choice,” Joly added.

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told CNN on Tuesday it was “completely irresponsible” for any senior Government official of a nuclear power to threaten to use atomic weapons.

His comments came a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the danger of nuclear war as “serious, real, and we must not underestimate it,” in an interview on state television.

The Danish power company Orsted has not been in dialogue with Gazprom – with whom it has a long-term gas contract – since Russia demanded that foreign buyers pay for gas in roubles, it said.

It comes after Russia threatened to cut off supply to countries who refuse to pay for gas in roubles, but Orsted repeated that it has “no intention” of doing this.

“We have not been in dialogue with Gazprom Export since they demanded on 1 April that we pay in roubles,” it said in a statement.

Gazprom has asked Orsted to answer before the end of May if it intends to comply with the requirement.

Berlin had faced backlash for its previous policy of supplying only ‘non-lethal’ weapons. writes Thomas Kingsley.

Moldova has raised its terrorist threat level and the Kremlin voiced serious concerns after two blasts damaged Soviet-era radio masts in the breakaway region of Transnistria where authorities said a military unit was also targeted.

The Moldovan authorities are sensitive to any sign of growing tensions in Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia has had troops permanently based in Transnistria since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kyiv fears the region could be used as a launchpad for new attacks on Ukraine, while there are concerns of the situation leading to a wider conflict across Europe.

Members of the US mission in Ukraine have traveled to Lviv after relocating to Poland, the US state department said on Tuesday.

US diplomats departed the Kyiv embassy nearly two weeks before Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, moving some functions to Lviv before eventually relocating to Poland.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has agreed with Ukraine to help repair the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant after it was occupied by Russian troops.

“It is visible that there is damage and we are assessing that,” IAEA director general Rafael Grossi told a news conference in Kyiv.

Washington has criticised Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments about the potential of a nuclear war, saying loose talk about nuclear escalation was the “height of irresponsibility.”

Lavrov warned the West on Monday not to underestimate the elevated risks of nuclear conflict over Ukraine and said he viewed Nato as being “in essence” engaged in a proxy war with Russia by supplying Kyiv with weaponry.

Prime minister Boris Johnson has said he does not expect president Vladimir Putin to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine if he faced more military failures in the country.

Mr Johnson told Talk TV today he thought his Russian counterpart had enough political space, and support in Russia, to be able to back down and withdraw from Ukraine.

Asked if he expected Putin to consider using tactical nuclear weapons if he suffered more military failures in Ukraine, he said he did not think that would happen.

Poland’s climate ministry has said that the country’s energy supplies are secure after Gazprom informed Poland‘s PGNiG that it would cut off supplies through the Yamal pipeline on Wednesday morning.

Climate minister Anna Moskwa said there was no need to draw gas from reserves and that gas to Polish customers won’t be cut.

Flows from other directions will replace Gazprom’s supplies, energy security minister Piotr Naimski said, adding that the Yamal contract was meant to end in December anyway.