News of the World

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Ukraine celebrates blowing up Russian warship

Ukraine on Thursday celebrated blowing up a Russian warship that was bringing military supplies to invading forces.

“The morning starts with good news!” Ukraine’s armed forces gloated as it shared videos and photos of the still-blazing landing ship, the Orsk.
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Aerial footage showed huge plumes of black smoke billowing over the Azov Sea from the docks in Berdyansk, an area that Ukraine said has been “captured by Russia.”

The flames burst out as the ship sat near at least two others, although it was not immediately clear if the damage spread beyond the Orsk.

Defense analyst and author H.I. Sutton speculated that the Alligator-class ship was destroyed with a “ballistic missile strike.” Two other ships were seen “sailing away as fire raged,” he tweeted.

Zelensky urged Biden not to sanction Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich: report

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly asked President Biden to hold off on imposing sanctions against Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in the hope that the reputed crony of Vladimir Putin could act as a go-between in negotiating peace.

The US Treasury Department was asked by the White House to stand down on sanctioning Russian billionaire Abramovich after Zelensky personally made his pitch to Biden during a recent phone conversation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Officials at the Treasury Department prepared a package of sanctions against Abramovich that were timed to coincide with a parallel announcement from the European Union, the Journal reported.

But Biden apparently acceded to Zelensky’s request for caution.

Tesla’s new Texas factory is throwing a party — and locals aren’t happy

Tesla is planning to hold a massive, 15,000-person bash to celebrate the grand opening of its gigafactory in Austin — and the shindig has local community and environmental groups up in arms.

Locals raised objections to a permit that was granted to Elon Musk’s electric car maker for an April 7 party at the company’s new 8 million-square-foot headquarters.

Travis County officials signed off on the invite-only event, which will include two stages with live music, food, and a fireworks display, Bloomberg reported.

Paul DiFiore, who represents the Colorado River Conservancy and the Austin-based group PODER, said that the event will generate noise, force road closures, kick up dust from construction, and increase water pollution.

“This grand opening is not a substitute for real community engagement,” DiFiore said.