Treaties denounced as illegal by the West to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine have been recognised as lawful by Russia's Constitutional Court.
Documents published online on Sunday said the court ruled to “recognise … as corresponding to the constitution of the Russian Federation” accords for Ukraine's Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia to become part of Russia.
The four regions represent territory equal to about 18 per cent of Ukraine's total land area.
Ukraine and its western allies said the annexation, which followed referendums declared a sham by the West, was illegal.
The news comes a day after Ukrainian forces retook the city of Lyman, located in Donetsk.
In a brief video posted on Sunday on Telegram, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the city had now been “fully liberated” by Ukrainian troops.
“As of 12:30 (9.30am UK-time), Lyman is fully cleared,” he said in a short video clip on his Telegram channel.
There was no comment from the Russian armed forces on Sunday on the status of Lyman.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday it was pulling troops out of the area “in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement”.
Mr Zelenskyy has vowed to press ahead with efforts to recapture land in the east.
“During this week, there were more Ukrainian flags in Donbas. It will be even more in a week,” he said in his nightly address.
Russian officials “have already started biting each other” in a bid to assign blame for military setbacks, he said.
UK military intelligence said Lyman was likely to have been defended by “undermanned elements of Russia’s western and central military districts” as well as contingents of reservists.
“The force probably experienced heavy casualties as it withdrew along the only road out of the town still in Russian hands,” said the British Ministry of Defence in its daily intelligence bulletin.
“The withdrawal has led to a further wave of public criticism of Russia’s military leadership by senior officials.
“Further losses of territory in illegally occupied territories will almost certainly lead to an intensification of this criticism and increase the pressure on senior commanders.”
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's southern Chechnya region, on Saturday called for a change of strategy from Moscow, “right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.”
Other senior officials, including former president Dmitry Medvedev, have also suggested Russia may need to resort to nuclear weapons, but Mr Kadyrov's call was the most urgent and explicit.
Washington has said it would respond decisively to any use of nuclear weapons, with suggestions the US could destroy Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Pope Francis on Sunday called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war.
“I deeply deplore the grave situation that has arisen in recent days, with further actions contrary to the principles of international law. It increases the risk of nuclear escalation, giving rise to fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences worldwide,” he said during the Sunday Angelus prayer.
He implored Mr Putin “to stop this spiral of violence and death” and on Mr Zelenskyy “to be open to serious proposals for peace”.
Kyiv has said it would not hold peace talks with Moscow while Mr Putin was president.
The Pope urged the international community “to do everything possible to bring an end to the war, without allowing themselves to be drawn into dangerous escalations”, and to support any efforts to resolve the conflict through dialogue.
It is the first time that the Argentine Pope has directly addressed the Russian leader in a speech since the start of Moscow's invasion on February 24.
Pope Francis has been trying since the start of the invasion to open a path of dialogue with Moscow, while condemning a “cruel and senseless war”.
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Brief scores:
Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
