US officials question if easing Ukraine weapons restrictions would pay off

As the U.S. and Britain discuss allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike deep within Russia, some U.S. officials are deeply skeptical that doing so would make a significant difference in Kyiv's battle against Russian invaders.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Washington on Friday to discuss with U.S. President Joe Biden whether to give Ukraine approval to use NATO-supplied weapons to hit targets far beyond Ukraine's borders, something the U.S. administration has so far not been willing to allow in the 2-1/2-year-old conflict.

U.S. officials noted that Ukraine already has the capability to hit targets in Russia using drones. U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles would enhance that capability, but they are too costly and limited in number to reshape the dynamic, they said.

Moreover, the Kremlin has largely moved perhaps the most immediate threat -- Russian warplanes launching glide bombs -- beyond the range of the U.S. missiles, the U.S. officials said.

They also believe Kyiv should focus on halting a Russian advance in Ukraine's east.

For Biden, the decision is not just tactical. It raises questions about whether authorizing such strikes might risk a direct war between NATO and Russia.

Russia warned at the United Nations on Friday that authorizing Ukraine to fire missiles far into Russia would turn NATO into "a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power," and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that such a move would alter the scope of the conflict.

White House spokesman John Kirby said on Friday the United States took such threats seriously, even as he acknowledged there was nothing new in Putin's rhetoric.

Democratic U.S. Representative Jason Crow, a member of the House intelligence and foreign affairs committees, downplayed the threat of Putin attacking Poland or other NATO members in retaliation.

"I don't believe there's any indication that Vladimir Putin has an interest in picking a fight with NATO," he told Reuters, pointing to Russia's massive losses of men and armor in Ukraine. "To the contrary, I think he is avoiding a NATO confrontation."

WHAT WOULD UKRAINE STRIKE IN RUSSIA?

Speaking at Ramstein Air Base in Germany a week ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United States and its allies to ignore Russia's red lines and give permission for long-range strikes into Russia as a way to pressure Moscow.

"We need to have this long-range capability not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine, but also on Russian territory ... so that Russia is motivated to seek peace," Zelenskiy said.

Two European diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ukraine has submitted to the U.S. and Britain a list of potential targets inside Russia that could be hit if allowed.

The discussion about whether to ease restrictions on Ukraine echoes prior debates about Kyiv's pleas for other capabilities it hoped would give it an edge against Russian forces, from F-16 fighter jets to Abrams tanks.

"You've heard this (debate) before," said one U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainians initially wanted to use U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles to hit Russian airbases, officials said.

But the Pentagon has said 90% of Russian aircraft launching glide bombs, one of the top threats for Ukraine, are at airfields at least 300 kilometers (186 miles) away from Ukrainian-controlled territory. That puts them out of range of the ATACMS.

Ukraine now wants to use the missiles to strike Russian military command and control hubs, fuel and weapons depots and troop concentrations, officials said.

In addition to U.S. ATACMS, Kyiv wants to carry out long-range strikes into Russia using Storm Shadow missiles provided by Britain and the nearly identical French SCALP missiles.

Although Britain is expected to seek U.S. approval before lifting its restrictions on Storm Shadow missiles, a French diplomatic source said Paris did not need authorization from Washington for Ukraine to use French missiles.

FOCUS ON GROUND WAR

Another U.S. concern is that focusing on long-range strikes downplays what could be a bigger immediate threat: Russia's advances on the ground inside Ukrainian territory toward the strategic city of Pokrovsk. U.S. officials believe the loss of the city would deal a significant blow.

Analysts said Russia has many response options, short of direct war with NATO, if the United States or its allies allow Ukraine to unleash strikes deep into Russia.

In June, Putin spoke of possibly arming the West's enemies with Russian weapons to strike Western targets abroad, and of deploying conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies.

Ulrich Kuehn, an arms expert at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg, said he did not rule out Putin choosing to send some kind of nuclear message - for example testing a nuclear weapon in an effort to cow the West.

Still, Crow, the U.S. lawmaker, argued that Putin was in a weaker position after the Ukraine invasion, and any major response from Moscow created risks for him.

"Vladimir Putin is not 10-feet tall. We have seen that repeatedly over the last couple of years. He's very vulnerable, and frankly, he's in a position of significant weakness,” said Crow.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

No weapon can become game changer for Kiev — Pentagon

The US Department of Defense believes that no type of weapon will become a game changer allowing the Kiev government to emerge victorious in the current conflict, Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder told reporters at a regular briefing.

"I would point you to [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin's comments at Ramstein [US air base] last week, where he highlighted there is no capability, <…> no silver bullet that is going to enable Ukraine to succeed," he said.

Ryder added that, in Washington’s opinion, Ukraine should focus on employing capabilities currently at its disposal in a way that that gets them a stronger hand at the negotiating table

Reuters/Tass

Researchers have discovered ancient wall carvings depicting what appeared to be handbags designed with a square case and short, half circle handle.

Some date back 12,000 years, which predates makeup, perfume and hairbrushes. 

The earliest imagery was discovered in Turkey among the ruins of Göbekli Tepe, an ancient megalithic temple, which featured large stone pillars etched with bags.

Researchers have uncovered the same design in Mexico, Iraq and parts of South America, raising even more questions about the meaning of the motif - specifically how distant civilizations imagined the same object.

While the images are nearly identical to modern-day purses, experts have suggested that many of the images are of baskets.

But some have also argued that the idea of a handbag could have been created by ancient civilizations.  

The first modern handbag was designed in 1841 England by Samuel Parkinson, who needed a traveling case for his wife that could carry her belongings which were too big for a purse. 

Since then, the accessory has become a must have fashion item among both women and men. 

The most expensive handbag ever is the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse that costs $3.8 million 

The Göbekli Tepe was built in 9,000 BC, featuring large, T-shaped stone pillars arranged in circles that were likely used for social events and rituals,

Some of its structures feature of what appeared to be clothing, belts, loincloths and handbags.

While experts do not know exactly what the motifs mean, they have theorized that ancient humans saw the design in relation to the cosmos,Live Mint reported.

The square 'bag' may stand for the Earth and the connected circle was a symbol of spirituality. 

Ancient text has shown that past civilizations believed the Earth was flat, which may be why they showed it as a square in their art. 

However, some researchers have argued that the design was the connection between our planet and the sky.

Another early example of a clutch has been found in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, made about 5,000 years ago, which show gods carrying a small, square purse that symbolized prosperity.

And while archaeologists have found evidence of baskets and tool bags used by the civilization, they have yet to uncover what has been found etched in walls. 

Archaeologists have made similar discoveries in Iraq.

Giant rock slabs found among the ruins of a Assyrian palace built between 883 and 859 BC depicted Genie's with wings who carried a handbag.

The structure features a genie with large, feathered wings holding what some have claimed is a handbag - while others are sure it is a small bucket.

Many experts have agreed that it was made to carry magic potions that the genie would sprinkle throughout the halls, but other translations have suggested the art shows a purse filled with intoxicants.

Historian Dr David Miano said in a recent YouTube video: 'These figures on the Assyrian palaces often have human bodies and animal heads, they're called the Apkalu.' 

He continued to explain that they are minor deities with the power of protect, which has been determined in ancient writings.

'They're carrying these things that people call handbags, but in reality they're buckets these are buckets to carry water sacred date palms,' said Dr Miano, noting archaeologists have found ancient buckets in Iraq that look similar to the etchings.

He noted that archaeologists have uncovered the actually buckets in the region. 

The same motif has also been found in Tula, Mexico among ruins created by the Toltecs, which shows a human-like figure holding a bag while surrounded by a snake.

Giant stone statues in Tula also  show figures clutching a handbag to their side - the structures were created in 750AD. 

'[A handbag] is a very simple device, anyone could come up with that,' said Dr Miano.

'You don't need to learn it from another culture, you can invent it yourself.' 

Daily Mail

A Spanish man has come up with an ingenious way of making money – crashing weddings and pretending to be the bride’s or the groom’s lover and asking them to run away together.

Ernesto, the middle-aged man behind the bizarre service, has become the talk of the town in Spain after appearing in a now-viral video posted on Antena 3’s Y Ahora Son SolesTikTok.

He claimed that, while most people see their wedding day as the happiest of their lives, for some it’s a nightmare waiting to happen. And those few happen to be his clientele. For a base fee of 500 euros ($550), Ernesto promises to crash the client’s wedding and pose as the love of their life, begging them to run away together just to get the event canceled.

“If you have doubts, you don’t want to get married or you don’t know how to say no, don’t worry anymore, I will cancel the wedding for you,” Ernesto says in the video. “You only have to tell me the time, place, and date and I will appear at the ceremony. I will say that I am the love of your life and we will run away together hand in hand.”

Apparently, the service started out as a joke, but after being inundated with requests from interested parties, Ernesto realized he was on to something. He currently charges 500 euros for crashing an event, which doesn’t include travel expenses, but he gets paid extra in case of unexpected incidents. For example, if he gets slapped, punched, or kicked, he gets paid more. Every slap earns him 50 euros ($55).

“Each slap is worth 50 euros. I try to run, but I am aware that every time I get hit, I get paid more. So, if I can go slower, I go slower. That’s how I earn my money,” Ernesto explained.

Believe it or not, Ernesto’s wedding crashing service has proven pretty popular, and he now allegedly has his schedule fully booked until November 2nd.

Oddity Central

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery says only 3 percent of local oil marketers are purchasing refined petroleum products.

Devakumar Edwin, vice-president of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), spoke during an X space organised by Nairametrics.

He said due to the low patronage, the refinery is forced to export 97 percent of its refined products.

“The conglomerate of all the importers are refusing to buy from us. It is very strange that after putting up the refinery to supply the products locally, I have to export every diesel and jet fuel because they do not want to buy from us,” Edwin said.

“We started selling the diesel, we fixed the price, and it was lower than the prevailing market price. Then, we brought the price further down and they (marketers) wrote to the president complaining.”

‘WHY OIL MARKETERS WROTE TO TINUBU’

Edwin said the marketers complained that the refinery reduced the price of diesel and so “they said they do not want to buy from us”.

Specifically, he said the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) wrote to President Bola Tinubu that the price cut affected their business “due to the large inventory of imported AGO”.

“I’m selling 2 percent to 3 percent to small traders who are willing to buy, while the rest 95 to 97% I’m forced to export,” he said.

The vice-president said the refinery may also be forced to export its petrol “if they are not willing to buy”.

“But to be very frank and straightforward, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has come forward,” Edwin said.

“They have been discussing. Athough the discussion has been going on for almost three weeks and it is not yet concluded, they are working to agree with us on the quantity of crude they can sell and they said they will monitor the products.

“They are going to have a team of 10 people sitting in the refinery. They will see the crude which we are going to receive, ensuring that everything is coming into the refinery, and they would watch whether we are producing and processing everything and then, they would watch whether we are giving back all the products.”

Dangote refinery commenced petrol production on September 3.

On the same day, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said the Dangote refinery is expected to supply 25 million litres of petrol daily in September and will subsequently increase this amount to 30 million litres daily from October.

On September 7, the NNPC denied reports that it intends to become Dangote refinery’s sole distributor following speculations that the national oil firm had planned to do so.

The company also said there is no guarantee that domestic refining would lead to lower prices compared to global parity pricing.

NNPC said Dangote refinery and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products.

The Cable

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a new directive to Payment Service Providers (PSPs), requiring them to comply with enhanced routing guidelines for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.

This move is aimed at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria.

The directive, issued on September 11, 2024, follows CBN’s initiative to diversify the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) structure, which previously operated through a single aggregator.

In a circular, signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN’s Payments System Management Department, the apex bank mandates that all PoS transactions from merchant and agent locations—whether physical or electronic—must now be routed through any CBN-licensed PTSA.

The directive is part of efforts to decentralize PoS transaction routing and address concerns over the centralization of such transactions under a single entity.

Background on the PTSA License System 

In August 2011, the CBN initially granted a PTSA license to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) to serve as the sole aggregator of PoS transactions.

However, to promote competition and enhance service delivery, the CBN awarded a second PTSA license to Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) on April 19, 2024.

This development aims to reduce the dependence on a single aggregator for the management of PoS transactions, promoting transparency and operational efficiency in Nigeria’s growing electronic payments landscape.

Key Directives in the Circular 

The CBN has outlined several steps PSPs must adhere to under the new directive: 

Mandatory Routing of PoS Transactions: Acquirers are now required to route all transactions from PoS terminals through any of the CBN-licensed PTSAs. This applies to both physical and electronic PoS terminals, ensuring that all transaction data is captured and monitored by the appropriate authorities.

Certification of Processors: PTSAs must only send PoS transactions to processors certified by relevant payment schemes, which must also be nominated by the acquirer and licensed by the CBN. This measure is designed to maintain the integrity and security of payment processes.

Processor Flexibility for Acquirers: Acquirers are given the flexibility to choose which processors and PTSA they want to work with, providing greater autonomy in transaction processing and management.

Device Configuration: All Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs) are instructed to ensure that their PoS devices and applications are correctly configured to comply with the new directive, routing transactions through any of the licensed PTSAs as directed by the acquirers.

Monthly Reporting Requirements: Both PTSPs and PTSAs are required to submit detailed monthly reports to the CBN. PTSPs must report on the number of merchants and agents they manage, as well as the services used to route transactions, while PTSAs must submit reports detailing all transactions processed through their platforms. These are expected “to be submitted to the Director, Payments System Management Department, not later than seven (7) days after the end of each month.” 

The CBN has given PSPs a 30-day window to regularize their operations in line with the new requirements. Both PTSPs and PTSAs must notify the CBN in writing of their compliance within this period.

The circular noted: “Consequently, you are hereby directed to commence regularization with the PTSAs and notify the CBN in writing to confirm compliance, within 30 days from the date of this Circular.” 

What you should know 

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) recently said it has commenced the process of taking drastic actions including shutting down Point of Sales (PoS) businesses that have failed to register their businesses as its September 5 deadline lapsed.

• While noting there was inadequate compliance with its directive, the Commission said those who decided not to register may be engaging in “unwholesome activities.” 
• This development comes as the fintech business owners under the aegis of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) have challenged the CAC’s registration directive in court even as they insist the mandatory registration was illegal.
• The directive on registration of PoS business came against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving POS terminals and plans to stop trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to a report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc, POS terminals accounted for 26.37% of fraud incidents in 2023.

Nairametrics

Bandits have attacked Kurfi General Hospital in Kurfi local government area of Katsina state, shooting a watchman and abducting four women, including the wife of one of the health officials on duty.

A reliable source from the area told our reporter that three of the bandits who entered the hospital around 10:45am unarmed, later engaged the guardsman who intercepted them to inquire about their mission at the hospital.

“Whey they started arguing, the watchman quickly went and locked the hospital gate, unknown to him that other armed members of the attackers were outside.

“They jumped over the wall fence and shot the watch man in the stomach. It was thought that he had died but was later given first aid and rushed to a hospital in Katsina” the source said.

It was gathered that the attackers had wanted to abduct one Mustapha Hamza who is a casual staff of the hospital on duty at the time, but he luckily escaped but unfortunately his wife, who accompanied him to the hospital, was abducted in the process.

“Mustapha is an anastasia nurse and he was on call at the time to attend to a woman who would undergo a surgery.

“Usually, his wife would follow him whenever he is called because she would not be comfortable staying back home alone. And that was how she fell victim in the attack,” a source who craved anonymity said.

Kurfi was hitherto more or less a fortified town as bandits hardly gained access due to activities of local vigilante group supported by some well-to-do members of the community.

However, that fortification was broken with the collapse of the vigilante group, with some residents blaming it on political differences of some highly-placed individuals in the area.

Not long ago, a nursing mother was abducted with her twin children and the third one who is not more than four years old.

A resident of Kurfi said that the mother and twin children were released by their captors after the payment of N3.5m.

However, the young boy, fondly called AK, is still in captivity as the bandits have asked for an additional N1.5m for his release.

Another resident of Kurfi blamed some of the recent attacks on informants who migrated to the town when it was safer.

Though there is no official statement from security agencies, the Kurfi council chairman, Mannir Shehu Wurma, confirmed the attack, assuring that the council is on top of the situation.

Daily Trust

The Swedish government announced it will greatly increase financial incentives for immigrants who choose to return to their home countries.

Starting in 2026, immigrants who voluntarily leave Sweden will be able to receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor (about $34,000) in grants, according to Channels News.

This is intended to encourage more immigrants to go back to their countries of origin.

New Policy Details 

During a press conference, Migration Minister Johan Forssell revealed the new policy, stating, “We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy.”

The substantial increase in grants,  as reported, is designed to encourage more immigrants to choose voluntary repatriation. Previously, the grant was limited to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a maximum of 40,000 kronor per family.

Ludvig Aspling from the Sweden Democrats commented on the change, saying, “The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown. It is small and relatively few people use it.”

Aspling suggested that the increased visibility and value of the grant could lead to a higher number of immigrants taking up the offer.

Opposition to the Increase 

Reports show that the announcement comes after a government-appointed inquiry last month, advised against raising the grant significantly.

The inquiry found that the benefits of the increase did not justify the cost. Despite this advice, the government has moved forward with the policy change.

What To Know: 

Further reports inform Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who came to power in 2022 with a minority coalition supported by the Sweden Democrats, has made immigration and crime reduction central to his agenda.

The Sweden Democrats, now Sweden’s second-largest party with 20.5 percent of the vote, have influenced the government’s stance on immigration.

We are also enlightened by the fact that Sweden has welcomed a large number of migrants since the 1990s from countries including the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, and Iraq.

The country is said to face consistent challenges in integrating immigrants into its society. This new grant policy is part of a broader effort to address these integration difficulties and manage migration more effectively.

By significantly increasing financial support for voluntary repatriation, the policy aims to encourage more immigrants to return to their home countries.

Despite advice against the increase from a recent inquiry, the government has proceeded with the change, indicating a strong commitment to its migration agenda. This development is expected to impact the future approach to immigration and integration in Sweden.

Nairametrics

Israel names Hamas gunmen it says were targeted in strike that killed UNRWA staff

The Israeli military on Thursday named nine men it said were Hamas militants killed in Gaza airstrikes that the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said had left six of its staffers dead.

The military said three of the Hamas men had doubled as UNRWA workers. Reuters was unable to independently verify their identities. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

UNRWA said six staffers were killed in two airstrikes that hit a school in central Gaza on Wednesday, the highest death toll among its staff in a single incident.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the attack, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, adding that the attack had killed at least 18 people, including the UNRWA staff, women and children. He said it took the total number of UNRWA staff killed in the conflict to 220.

"This incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability," Dujarric said. "The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable."

UNRWA said the school compound in central Gaza had been serving as a shelter for displaced people. The Israeli military said it was also being used by Hamas militants.

Guterres calls upon all parties to refrain from using schools, shelters, or the areas around them for military purposes, Dujarric said.

UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said on Thursday that Israeli authorities had not asked the agency for a list of the staff killed in the attack on the school. The Israeli military said it did submit such a request.

"The names that appear on today's statement from the Israeli Army have not been flagged to us before by the Israeli authorities in previous occasions prior to today," Touma said.

The Israeli military says it takes steps to reduce the risk of harm to non-combatants in Gaza while it battles militants who use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas denies this.

The Gaza war was triggered on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin issues new warning to NATO

Removing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons would directly involve the US and its allies in the conflict with Russia and would be met with an appropriate response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.

The West has sent Ukraine long-range missiles such as Storm Shadows and ATACMS, which Kiev has so far used against Crimea and Donbass. In the past several days, however, the US and UK have suggested they might allow these weapons to be used to strike targets deeper into internationally recognized Russian territory.

“We are not talking about allowing or prohibiting the Kiev regime from striking Russian territory,” Putin said on Thursday. “It is doing so already, with unmanned aerial vehicles and other means.”

Ukraine lacks the capability to use Western long-range systems, Putin added, noting that targeting for such strikes requires intelligence from NATO satellites, while firing solutions can “only be entered by NATO military personnel.”

This will mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries are fighting against Russia. 

“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the US and European countries, in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian president said. “Their direct participation, of course, significantly changes the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.”

With that in mind, Putin added, Russia will “make the appropriate decisions based on the threats facing us.”

Some limitations on the use of Western-supplied weapons were originally put in place to allow the US and its allies to claim they were not directly involved in the conflict with Russia, while arming Ukraine to the tune of $200 billion. Kiev has been clamoring for the restrictions to be lifted since May. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy have hinted that the restrictions might be lifted this week, citing the alleged delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia as the pretext. Iran has denied sending any missiles to Russia, calling the accusations “psychological warfare” by countries heavily involved in arming Ukraine.

Putin has previously warned NATO members to be aware of “what they are playing with” when discussing plans to allow Kiev to strike deep inside Russian territory using weapons provided by the West. Speaking with major news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June, the Russian president said Russia would respond by shooting down the weapons in question and then retaliating against those responsible.

One of the possible responses Putin mentioned at the time was arming Western enemies with long-range precision weapons. 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia has started a counteroffensive in its Kursk border region

Russia has launched a counteroffensive in its Kursk region to dislodge Ukraine’s forces who stormed across the border five weeks ago and put Russian territory under foreign occupation for the first time since World War II, Ukraine’s president said Thursday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Moscow’s forces had recaptured 10 settlements in Kursk and listed their names but didn’t describe the fighting as a counteroffensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was taking “counteroffensive actions” but that Ukrainian forces had anticipated the moves and were ready to fight.

Ukraine launched its daring incursion into Kursk on Aug. 6, partly in the hope that Russia would divert its troops there from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine where a push by the Russian army is threatening to overrun a belt of key defensive strongholds.

The cross-border operation also raised Ukrainian morale after months of gloomy news from the front by exposing Russian vulnerabilities and seizing some initiative on the battlefield. It also sought to establish a buffer zone to prevent Russian attacks.

Moscow’s muddled response suggested Russia hadn’t planned for such a development and was caught by surprise. Assembling forces for a counterattack, given the long distances involved and other demands along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, was expected to take some time.

The Russian army has been hacking its way deeper into eastern Ukraine, especially Donetsk, and has battered Ukrainian territory with relentless missile and drone attacks.

A Russian missile attack Thursday killed three people and injured two others, all of them Ukrainian workers with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets said.

The toll was the largest among staffers at the Geneva-based humanitarian organization since a bomb blast killed three at the Aden airport in Yemen in 2020.

The key eastern Ukraine city of Pokrovsk is without a drinking water supply or natural gas for cooking and heating, authorities said, as the Russian army’s attritional slog across the Donetsk region lays waste to public infrastructure and forces civilians to flee their homes.

A water filtration station in Pokrovsk was damaged in recent fighting, and more than 300 hastily drilled water wells are the city’s last source of drinking water, Donetsk regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said.

The previous day, Russians destroyed a natural gas distribution station near Pokrovsk, Filashkin said. Some 18,000 people remain in the city, including 522 children, he said. More than 20,000 people have left in the past six weeks as Russian forces creep closer to residential areas, Filashkin said.

“Evacuation is the only … choice for civilians,” he added.

Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defensive abilities and supply routes and would bring Russia closer to its stated goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region, which it partially occupies.

Russian troops backed by artillery and powerful glide bombs have turned Donetsk cities and towns such as Bakhmut and Avdiivka into bombed-out shells, though the push has cost Russia heavily in troops and armor.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday ended a Ukraine-focused European tour after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia.

President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense, but has largely limited the distance they can be fired. Extending the limit could bring Russian retaliation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in turn warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia ... if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us.”

Ukrainian forces have held out as long as possible in Donetsk, even when strongholds such as Chasiv Yarappeared to be in danger of imminent collapse.

Russia has fired missiles especially at the power grid, potentially dooming Ukrainians to a bitterly cold winter this year.

The United States and Britain pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine on Wednesday during a visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats. Much of that will go to restoring the electricity supply.

“We’re again seeing Putin dust off his winter playbook, targeting Ukrainian energy and electricity systems to weaponize the cold against the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said. An overnight drone attack on Konotop, a town in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, largely knocked out the electricity supply, regional officials said.

The blasts also blew out an “incredibly high number” of windows in the city and damaged many of the town’s tram tracks, Mayor Artem Semenikhin said.

Russia launched a total of 64 Shahed drones and five missiles over eastern, central, and northern regions of Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said in its Thursday morning report.

Ukraine has expressed frustration that its Western partners won’t let it use sophisticated modern weapons they supply to hit places inside Russia where the missiles and drones are launched from. Some Western leaders fear that would trigger an escalation of the war.

But after Iran recently supplied ballistic missiles to Russia, according to the U.S., those rules of engagement could be set to change in coming days as heavier Russian bombardments could swamp Ukraine’s meager air defenses.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz said Thursday that U.S. long-range guided missiles, such as ATACMS, wouldn’t be able to reach all the locations from where Russia launches some of its assets. He added that “the supply of ATACMS is finite, and we need to be judicious about where and when they are deployed.”

In other developments, Ukrainian Military Intelligence claimed to have shot down a Russian Su-30SM jet over the Black Sea.

A post on the agency’s social media Thursday said the warplane was hit with a portable surface-to-air missile.

Also, Zelenkskyy posted photos of a ship loaded with grain that he said was struck by a Russian missile Thursday shortly after leaving Ukrainian territorial waters.

The merchant ship was taking wheat to Egypt, Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram page, adding that nobody was injured in the strike.

Ukraine last year managed to break through Russia’s Black Sea blockade and ship millions of tons of grain using a route that hugs Ukraine’s southern coast.

RT/AP

I don’t get involved with what the security services do or how. Their ways are so complex and their motives so unsearchable that sometimes you’ll be forgiven for thinking that working from the answer to the question is the standard operating procedure. Of course, you are told that whatever happens in between is in the public interest.

As far as fiction imitates life, there is a striking resemblance between the recent hyperactivity in Nigeria’s security services and what happened in a novel set in mid-17th century England. 

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (famously called “Double Trouble” by the English press) is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the coming of the End Times.

The part that reminds me of what is obviously a hectic season for the security services – from the arraignment of the #EndBadGovernance protesters on charges of felony to the police raid on Labour House and run-ins with the NLC president and civil society activists – is the time in England when, according to Pratchett and Gaiman, witch-finding was a respectable profession. 

General Hopkins

At that time, there was a certain General named Matthew Hopkins. You would think that in pre-industrial England, when poverty, disease and unemployment were rampant, the last thing the state would be interested in would be a witch-hunt. But no. Witch-hunting was good business.

Hopkins charged each town and village nine pence for every witch he found. But that wasn’t enough. Since he wasn’t paid by the hour, and the reward for not finding any witches was a thank you and a bowl of soup, he invented a way to earn more. He went out of his way to find witches, which made him unpopular in the towns and villages. 

When Hopkins’ madness became insufferable, the villagers framed him as a witch, much to the pleasure of the local authorities, who were also tired of paying him. They hanged him. Hopkins, by many accounts, became the last Witchfinder General in England.

The world may have substantially passed the time when people were hunted, hanged and burned at the stake on suspicion of witchcraft. But I’m concerned that there is a growing similarity between witchcraft and how Nigeria’s security services look for enemies. 

A British suspect

Listening to the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, explain why the force raided Labour House, the siege on the Labour leadership, and the charge of treason against protesters and their alleged British sponsor, Andrew Martin Wynne, I can almost see the ghost of 17th century England. By his looks – and one must respect his decision to keep his shaggy hair and matted beard – Wynne might have been lumped together with those in the “pointy hat” in those days.

Not in Nigeria

But Nigeria is not Hopkins’ England. This is not 1961 when Joseph Tarka was detained for three weeks and charged with treason by the Crown for “inciting” the protests in Tiv land, only to be acquitted later for lack of evidence. 

It is not the Nigeria of 1962 when Obafemi Awolowo was prosecuted for treasonable felony for purportedly working with Ghana to overthrow the government of Nigeria, a scandalous charge borne out of politics rather than law. 

Anthony Enahoro, a journalist’s journalist and scourge of the British government, was also jailed twice for sedition, once for an article mocking a former governor and then for another article “inciting Nigerian troops against the British army.” 

Then, he was deported from England as a “fugitive offender” and jailed a third time along with Awolowo for treasonable felony.

This is not the Nigeria of military president General Ibrahim Babangida, where human rights activists Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Baba Omojola were hounded and imprisoned on the spurious charge of treason by a military government that had lost its way. It is not the Nigeria where Babangida deported sociology lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Patrick Wilmot for the “treasonable sin” of teaching what “he was not paid to teach.”

Or the one where General Sani Abacha hounded NADECO leaders, including President Bola Tinubu, for standing up to the extreme human rights abuses of that government.

In 2024?

This is 2024, with a government that parades some of the most well-known human rights figures up and down the corridors of power and even among the principal officers of the National Assembly. Where is this ghost of 17th-century England coming from?

Let me be clear. Protest is not – and should not – be chaos and anarchy. The killing of protesters and police officers during the #EndBadGovernance protests in August, which left seven persons dead, the arson at the NCC building in Kano, the open calls for a military takeover, and the symbolic insinuation that Russian intervention was welcome are inexcusable.

The silence of some top politicians and leaders, especially from the North, fueled suspicions of complicity if not connivance. Yet, why add a third if two wrongs don’t make a right?

I don’t know what Intelligence is saying or the briefing Tinubu is getting. Of course, he needs them. We need them, too, as citizens. No modern state can do without them. But in many countries, their job has become more valuable and sophisticated – and one might even say, often dangerously sophisticated – far beyond the voodoo of Hopkins’ witch-hunt in the east of England. 

Like Aziraphale and Cowley

For example, for decades in the US, and going back to the Vietnam War, through the Nixon years and the Cold War and even the destabilisation of Libya, the Intelligence services perpetrated some of the vilest acts in pursuit of the so-called enemies of the state, actually a mask for vendetta and a ladder for the ascendancy of the deep state. 

Like the angel Aziraphale and the demon Cowley in Good Omens, the good and bad guys in the security services have shared interests. They routinely collaborate for good and ill, sometimes at the state's expense.

Take heed

Tinubu must take heed. He has a competent Attorney General and Minister of Justice in Lateef Fagbemi who should advise him to tread softly. The history of our security services, especially the bad habits inherited from colonial rule and reinforced by the long years of military rule and entitled politicians, hasn’t changed much. 

Nigerians didn’t elect police officers, the state security service or special advisers to run the government. That’s not their job. They cannot abridge the people’s freedoms in a quest for ascendancy. Those who breach the law in exercising their liberty should not face the justice that reminds us of Hopkins’ England but a process consistent with modern progressive society, one that Tinubu was voted to uphold.

As the veteran journalist Owei Lakemfa said in his column last week, the danger is not so much the protesters, their sponsors or the witches in a coven somewhere. The biggest threat to the land is the hardship in plain sight, compounded by the lavish lifestyle of government officials and the lack of clarity about what is next. And the president doesn’t need Witchfinder General Hopkins to tell him.

** Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It.