Friday, April 3, 2015

Update: Kano INEC Commissioner Resident , wife, children killed in “strange” fire

Aftermath of the presidential decisions a weekend ago, Kano State’s Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Abdullahi Minkaila has been executed in a strange flame episode.


flames


The deceased was smoldered alongside his wife and two youngsters, in a flame scene , which happened Thursday night.


The late Minkaila and his family were raced to the Murtala Mohammed master clinic where they gave up the ghost at the beginning of today. Representative of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mallam Garba affirmed the scene says they couldn’t discover the genuine reason for the inferno.


 


Update:


The Resident Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commissioner in Kano, Mikaila Abdulahi, has died, a PREMIUM TIMES correspondent in Kano has said.


He quoted some neighbours as describing the fire incident as “strange”. Mr. Mikaila, who oversaw last Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections in the state, reportedly died in a strange fire incident at his residence on Friday morning.


Our correspondent said Mr. Mikaila’s wife, Zulaiha, and two daughters, Aisha and Asmau, were also killed in the incident.


The spokesperson of the Kano state Command of the Police confirmed the incident to our reporter. Magaji Majiya, an assistant superintendent of police, said the INEC commissioner and his family died as they tried to escape through the window of their apartment.


He said the fire was suspected to have been caused by a spark in the family’s generator set at about 4a.m. Friday morning. He said the fire later spread to other parts of the house and that the INEC Commissioner and his family tried to escape through the window of one of the toilets in the building but were blocked by a burglary barrier.


Mr. Majiya said the State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Idris, and the Deputy Police Commissioner in-charge of Criminal Investigation Department [CID], arrived the scene almost on time.


They later rushed the INEC commissioner and his family to Murtala Muhammad Hospital, where they were confirmed dead, the police spokesperson said.  While the police said they are waiting for the result of an autopsy on the remains of Mr. Abdullahi and his family, the spokesperson for the Kano state office of INEC, Garba Muhammed, said the bodies of the victims were already being conveyed to his native Dutse, the Jigawa state capital, for burial, in line with Islamic tradition.


Some neighbours, who declined to be named in this story for fear they might be harassed by the police, said the fire was strange, and suggested the police should not consider the incident an ordinary one.  They wondered why a spark from a generator would engulf an entire building and kill its occupants so fast.

What's the proper Yoruba salutation is given to 'idobale' and 'ikunle' ?

Greetings !.. So we dicussed in the past idobale and ikunle to show respect to our Elders. My question is if someone dobale to you , as an Elder ,what is the protocol? Is prayer given or just short salutation. What is the proper Yoruba salutation given?


Idobale


Ikunle


 

Beautiful Photos from the 2nd Egungun Festival in Argentina 2015.

Colourful photos from the 2nd  Egungun Festival in Argentina 2015.
egungun_festival17

See more photos bellow.



What is the definition of Itutu ?

Photo of Ogun river


Itutu. What is the definition? What does it mean beyond coolness. How is being cool defined in a traditional religious sense? Are there many different types of itutu ?


Adunifa Eretunde


Odu Ogundabede- Please help !

Can someone please shed more light on Odu Ogundabede. Thank you


ifa_bowl

Ifa says: A ki i dobale ka nina loju !

Ifa says: A ki i dobale ka nina loju.
ifa

One cannot prostrate and full of anger. Any better translation and comments are welcome. Blessings.


Baba Olosun.

Atunwa: Reincarnation, Can you give your understanding?

Atunwa:
atunwa

Reincarnation, Can members give their understanding? Can you reincarnate in another lineage? What if your family line stops with you and you have no children? How does one know for sure they are a reincarnated Ancestor? All responses welcomed!


~Adunifa Eretunde

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Photo: Davido acquires brand new Porsche, shows it off on IG

davido

Music star, Davido imparted a photograph of his most recent auto which simply landed to him, a White Porsche

CNN is at it again, puts Nairobi in Nigeria...:-)

CNN’s “mistake” while reporting the Kenyan College massacre early this evening.
cnn

I guess CNN is trying to pass message to some of their American viewers who thinks Africa is a country. Offcour- this can be perceieved by their other viwers as mistake. This is not the first time CNN is linking most talked about positive event to another negative one.
cnn1

See more sample across the globe bellow.


CNN did it again. Apparently the key identity of ISIL killer’Jihadi John’is Russian President Vladimir Putin.


CNN just can’t seem to simply help themselves. In a written report confirming the identity of’Jihadi John’on Thursday, the headlines agency accidentally took down the picture of the ISIL-affiliated killer and replaced it with a picture of Vladimir Putin.


With US State Department officials constantly saying that Russia is really as bad as ISIL, perhaps it was just a matter of time before CNN would start mistake the Russian leader for Jihadi John.


The gaffe is merely the newest in what seems just like a never-ending and hilarious group of bloopers created by the international news agency about Russia and Ukraine, the final occuring just a week ago, when CNN accidentally annexed Ukraine to Russia:



  Last summer, the agency had placed Slavyansk, an area in eastern Ukraine contested by Kiev and Donetsk rebels in Crimea about 500 kilometers southwest, in Crimea, which had broken off and joined Russia.  





Earlier, commenting on referendums which had taken invest Donetsk and Luhansk regarding their status within Ukraine, CNN posted a graphic placing the referendum somewhere in Pakistan.



 






APC Senatorial candidate looks into Fayose over victory party

The All Progressives Congress Senatorial competitor speaking to Ekiti Central in the last Saturday’s National Assembly race Gbenga Olofin has advised Governor Ayodele Fayose against coercing him.
fayose


Olofin who lost in the decision to a Peoples Democratic Party’s hopeful depicted as “untrue” the claim that he took part in a triumph party by the APC where individuals from PDP were purportedly assaulted.


An announcement by the Director, Media and Publicity of his campaign association, Akogun Oguntayo, asserted Olofin had left Ekiti after the day of the decision and couldn’t have taken an interest in any triumph rally.

The statement said,


“We received the statement credited to the Governor’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Lere Olayinka, with a rude shock because Amb.Olofin who they claimed led a celebration rally is currently out of the state.


“Governor Fayose is deliberately using this fabricated allegation to divert attention from electoral atrocities he committed in connivance with some security agents during the last National Assembly election.


“Some members of our party including the candidate were harassed and detained, while election results were taken away to an undisclosed venue, tampered with before bringing same to collation centre in Ado Ekiti a day after leaving the local government collation centre.


“The result did not come until the evening when our Director General, Toba Daramola, left the venue.”


The statement urged members of the party to remain calm in the face of provocation by the governor and his agents.

See The Impressive Academic Profile Of Nigeria's Elected Vice President

Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was Wednesday the first of April 2015, declared the champ of the 2015 Nigerian Presidential races.


Indeed before the director of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, gave the testament of profits, congrats have been pouring in.


Given the way that it is his fourth endeavor at assuming responsibility of the country, crying in the wake of losing the last time, it was a huge triumph, particularly done against a more youthful officeholder, Goodluck Jonathan.


It will however be unreasonable not to note the significance of the commitment of his running mate, Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, in assembling the 15,424,921 votes that won vanquished the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).


Born on the 8th of March 1957 to the family of late Sir Adeyemi, Osinbajo is a father of three children with Oludolapo Osinbajo, a granddaughter of Obafemi Awolowo, a Senior Pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and a politician amongst many other things.

He has a very impressive academic history:

Osinbajo started at Corona School for his primary school education.

Between 1969 and 1975, he attended Igbobi College Yaba for his secondary education. There he won several awards including; the State Merit Award 1971; the School Prize for English Oratory, 1972; Adeoba Prize for English Oratory 1972-1975; Elias Prize for Best Performance in History (WASC) – 1973, School Prize for Literature (HSC), 1975; African Statesman Intercollegiate Best Speaker’s Prize, 1974.

Between 1975 and 1978, Osinbajo studied at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he earned a Second Class Upper Bachelor of Laws degree. He was awarded the he received the Graham-Douglas Prize for Commercial Law.

1979 had the mandatory one year professional training at the Nigerian Law School

In 1980 studied at the London School of Economics and obtained his Master of Laws

Between late 1979 and 1980, he did his National Youth Service (NYSC) with the Bendel Development and Planning Authority (BDPA)

Between 1981 and 1988, he commenced academic work as a lecturer at UNILAG

In 1990, aged 33, he became a Professor of Law

Between 1997 and 1999 he was a Professor of Law and Head of Department of Public Law at UNILAG

He is presently the chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of Redeemer’s University (RUN)

Osinbajo has many publications to his name and is a member of several professional bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Nigerian Body of Benchers and the Council of Legal Education in Nigeria and Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

On March 31, 2015, Professor Osinbajo became the Vice-President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.


French President phones President-elect Buhari, invites him to Paris 

French President Francois Hollande talked by telephone with President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday and welcomed him to Paris for dialogs on development of trade in the between  France and Nigeria.


buhari_swag


An announcement by the French Embassy in Abuja, said the French leader praised Buhari on his prosperity and noticed the large smooth constituent procedure, which hardens Nigeria’s democracy.


“The French head of state assured the President-elect of France’s wish to continue the close relationship that existed with his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan and reiterated France’s support for Nigeria and its neighbors in their efforts to combat the terrorist sect Boko Haram,” the announcement included.


Hollande likewise communicated his wish to grow trade between France and Nigeria and welcomed his Nigerian partner to Paris.

President Jonathan condemns attack on Kenyan university

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday sympathized with the administration and individuals of Kenya also the groups of the individuals who passed on in the terrorist assault on the Garissa University College in Kenya.
gej


In an announcement by his representative, Reuben Abati, the President denounced what he called conscious targeting of guiltless persons, schools and other easy targets by terrorists.  He said such savage demonstrations of viciousness should have no place in any edified society.

The statement added,


“The President assures President Uhuru Kenyatta and the brotherly people of Kenya that Nigeria stands in full solidarity with them as they come to grips once again with the aftermath of another heinous terrorist attack on their country.


“Nigeria, President Jonathan affirms, will continue to work with Kenya, other African countries and the international community to rid the world of all terrorist groups.


“The President believes that the attack on the Kenyan University and other similar atrocities across the world must strengthen and solidify the resolve of the global community to take more urgent and co-ordinated actions to speedily defeat the agents of global terror.”

Lamido, Suswam meet President Jonathan

More government authorities on Thursday trooped to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to express their solidarity with President Goodluck Jonathan, two days after he lost his re-election offer.


SAFRICA-NIGERIA-DIPLOMACY-ECONOMY-TRADE


The individuals who met the President in his office included clergymen, heads of government offices and Peoples Democratic Party boss.


Others are Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State; Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.


While Akpabio and Suswam met the President in his office, Lamido met Jonathan inside his office residence at night.


The senator arrived when the President was breaking his fast with some pastors, who were driven by his Chaplain, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba.

Buhari’s victory the will of God – Tompolo

A previous Niger-Delta aggressor, Government Ekpemupolo, generally known as Tompolo, has portrayed the triumph of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, as the will of God.
tompolo


Tompolo’s announcement comes under 24 hours after another ex-activist, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, said he and his partners may be compelled to come back to militancy taking after President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat.


Tompolo, alongside other ex-activists, had additionally undermined to wreak devastation if Jonathan lost the race.


Be that as it may, Tompolo, in an announcement by his representative, Paul Bebenimibo, engaged Nigerians to acknowledge the result of the March 28 race for the purpose of peace.


 


He said,


“I believe that nothing can happen if God does not approve of it. I want to appeal to all our people to be orderly, calm and embrace peace. The will of the people is sacrosanct and the existing peace be maintained.


“Peace is a prerequisite for national development. People should remain calm also during the governorship election.”

Okupe breaks silence on Buhari’s victory, says PDP will return to power soon

Doyin Okupe, the senior exceptional associate on open issues to President Goodluck Jonathan, has praised President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, and his party, the All Progressives Congress, over their triumph in Saturday’s presidential race.


okupe


In an announcement posted on his Facebook page, Mr. Okupe said Mr. Buhari’s triumph is the will of God. He likewise said his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, would come back to power soon.


See his statement bellow.


“It has pleased the Almighty God to give victory to General Muhammedu Buhari, the Presidential candidate of the APC and the President elect.


“We accept this as the Will of God and I personally congratulate the General for his success.


“We have ran a good race and fought a gallant battle.


“We are bowed but not cowed.


“We lost the crown but we gained a trophy.


“The PDP family must not despair;


“If it took General Buhari 30 years to come back to power, it should take us much less.


“For the opportunities we have had we give God All the Glory.


“To millions of our supporters we say thanks


“To those who are our adversaries, the battle has been fought, and it has been won & lost


“The strife is over for the next four years ONLY.


“We rejoice with APC and the people of Nigeria on the progress we have jointly made in our democratic journey.


“For our democracy to endure it is important that the winner clearly emerges while the loser concedes with equanimity.


“Certainly we will be back. We will overcome this defeat and rise again to power and glory


“In a twinkle of an eye.


“God bless Nigeria.”

Arianna Angel's backside is Bigger Than Nicki Minaj & Kim K Combined (Pics Inside)

The super curvy glamor model is currently turning on the heat on IG as she’s giving Nicki Minaj together with Kim Kardashian a run for their money.




See more pics bellow.




US Fighter Jets Send Message to China With ‘Emergency’ Landing in Taiwan

The arriving of two US bomber jets on Taiwan on Wednesday has chafed China’s Foreign Ministry.
us_bomber_jet


While the Pentagon says the planes endured mechanical inconvenience while flying a routine preparing activity, others see it as a political message, cautioning China to moderate its developing impact.


The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 laid out strict guidelines for how the United States ought to manage the island. While Washington secretly considers Taiwan to be an autonomous country, China considers the island, just 140 miles from its shore, as its own region under the “one-China arrangement.”


China has affirmed army bases on an artificial island close to the debated Spratly islands, posturing yet another test for US abroad military, conciliatory and political impact.  While the US has promised backing to Taipei, if it be assaulted, any military contact between the two is intensely scowled upon by Beijing. Which is the reason Wednesday’s arriving of two F-18s at the Tainan air base is so upsetting — and unusual.


“We have already made solemn representations to the US side,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said in a news briefing. “China demands that the United States strictly abide by the “one-China policy”…and cautiously and appropriately handle the incident.”


For its part, the Pentagon insists that the incident was an emergency situation, not intended as an act of defiance.


“Two F-18C Hornets…made a precautionary landing this morning at an airfield in southwestern Taiwan,” Marine Corps spokesman, Maj. Paul L. Greenberg,said, according to the Washington Times. “The cause of the mechanical issue which led to the precautionary landing is currently being examined. As soon as the necessary maintenance is performed, both aircraft will soon depart Taiwan.”


But the timing makes the Pentagon’ version of events highly suspect. Earlier this week, Chinese bombers underwent the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s first exercises in the “west Pacific.” The flightpath took the H-6K bombers over the Bashi Channel, a waterway between Taiwan and the Philippines.



“The ‘emergency’ landing for two F/A-18 fighters at an air base in Taiwan, while perhaps unintended, does give China a significant signal of US resolve,” military analyst Rick Fisher told the Washington Times, “two days after China used its new H-6K nuclear cruise missile bomber in exercises intended to signal a threat to US forces in Guam.”


Especially given that the fighters could have just as easily landed at the Japanese airfield on Shimoji island, only 120 miles east.


The landings also seem timely given the recent rise in aggressive American rhetoric against the Chinese government. On Tuesday, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet warned an Australian naval conference audience about China’s construction of a “great wall of sand,” in reference to the artificial islands being built in the Spratly chain.



“When one looks at China’s pattern of provocative actions towards smaller claimant states…It’s no surprise that the scope and pace of building man-made islands raises serious questions about Chinese intentions,” Admiral Harry Harris Jr. said.


These allegations of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea appear to be causing a rise in American hostility. In March, the US Senate demanded that the Pentagon develop a strategy to counter the rise of Chinese influence in the region.


Wednesday’s incident isn’t even the first example of an aggressive US air presence in recent months. In February, the US moved its most advanced spy plane, the Poseidon P-8A, into the Philippines to monitor the region

Pentagon Chief: We Might Bomb Iran Even if Nuclear Deal Reached.

As the P5+1 nuclear negotiations – ostensibly seeking to ensure a peaceful future for the Middle East – conclude, they were prefaced by a surprising announcement.
jonathan

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that even if a deal was reached, the US reserves the right to bomb Iran.


 A framework deal has been agreed upon by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and the other participating nations. But on Tuesday, when the outcome was far less certain, Defense Secretary Carter assured the public that no agreement would entirely eliminate a more aggressive alternative.


“The military option certainly will remain on the table,” Carter said on NBC’s Today program. “One of my jobs is to make sure all options are on the table.”



Military intervention would be necessary if Iran decided to break the deal, which sought to limit the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges Tehran would be allowed to operate. If it was discovered that the Islamic Republic was operating more centrifuges than agreed upon, and using that excess uranium to develop nuclear weapons, then an attack on those enrichment facilities could, theoretically, be an option.


He also stated that any agreement “can’t be based on trust, it has to be based on verification,” and that it must be “one that keeps us and the region safe. If it’s a good agreement to have, obviously it’s one worth waiting for.”


The new framework deal agreed upon by negotiators states that Tehran will be allowed to operate a single enrichment facility in Natanz, and in exchange, all nuclear-related sanctions against the nation will be lifted.


During his appearance, the Defense Secretary also took time to address other parts of what he called the “confusing, crazy-quilt region” of the Middle East. In reference to the chaos in Yemen, Carter said the United States would continue its counterterrorism operations, no matter the outcome of the Iranian negotiations.


Carters comments came just after Arizona Senator John McCain suggested that Israel “go rogue” and resist any deal that the negotiations might come to.


“The Israelis will need to chart their own path of resistance. On the Iranian nuclear deal, they may have to go rogue” McCain said on the Senate floor. “Let’s hope their warnings have not been mere bluffs.”


McCain’s words may encourage a nation already bitterly opposed to the negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very vocal about his distrust of Iran’s intentions.


“This dangerous deal, as it appears to be emerging, bears out all of our fears, and even more than that,” Netanyahu said during a speech on Sunday, as the original March 31 deadline for a framework deal approached.


After meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner announced they would put forth a bill which would require President Obama to get the approval of Congress before any deal is officiated.


'Historic Deal' With Iran finallly reached- Obama

US President Barack Obama said Thursday following a decision of the P5+1 and Iran on the framework of the future nuclear agreement after many months of talks that a “historic deal” had been reached with Tehran.


US President Barack Obama said that if the Iranian nuclear deal was implemented, it would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.



“Iran will never be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon,” Obama said.




Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R) delivers a statement, flanked by European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne on April 2, 2015 .



The long-awaited interim solution on Iran’s nuclear program was reached earlier on Thursday at the latest round of talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The US president said that the reached deal was an opportunity for Iran to prove that its nuclear program was peaceful. Obama said that sanctions could be re-imposed if the nuclear agreement was violated adding that the reached nuclear agreement was based on unprecedented verification, not on trust.  “If Iran shifts, we will know it. If we suspect anything, we will inspect it,” US President Obama said.  He added that other US sanctions against Iran that were not related to its nuclear program would remain.




“The international community has agreed to provide Iran relief from certain sanctions, our own sanctions and international sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council,” Obama stated.  The deadline for a comprehensive agreement has been set for July 1, 2015.


The US president, however, emphasized that the final agreement had not been signed yet.


Obama said that the reached agreement on Iranian nuclear program had prevented a new war in the Middle East adding that the approach of Washington and Tel Aviv on the the Islamic Republic’s nuclear issue differ.


“If… Netanyahu is looking for the most effective way to ensure Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon, this is the best option,” he said.





“I will be speaking with Prime Minister [Netanyahu] today to make clear that there is no daylight, there will be no daylight when it comes to our support for Israel security, and our concerns about Iran’s destabilizing policies and threats towards Israel,” Obama said.


The agreement has “made the world safer,” he said.


The president quoted John Fitzgerald Kennedy saying that “must never fear to negotiate.”


The P5+1 group comprising Russia, the United States, France, China, the United Kingdom and Germany have been trying to reach a deal with Iran that would ensure the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear energy program since 2013.

Source: Sputnik

Venezuela Plans to Buy More Russian Weapons

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro plans to buy more weapons produced in Russia and China, saying the nation should step up its defense against foreign threats.
venezuelan


“We are a people of peace; we want neither violence nor war,” Maduro said, adding that the army, police and the people of Venezuela have to stay alert.


Venezuela is the largest weapons importer in Latin America, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Since 2011, the country spent some $2.6 on weapons, buying the majority of them in Russia.


Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, speaks during the annual state-of-the-nation address at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan 21, 2015


In the period from 2012 to 2015 Venezuela is expected to become the second-largest importer of Russian weapons, with sales reaching up to $3.2 billion, Igor Korotchenko, head of the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade, told RIA Novosti.


Venezuela and Russia’s state-run arms trader Rosobornexport signed more than 30 contracts on arms supplies in 2005-2009. Venezuela received Russian air defense systems (Antey-2500, Pechora-2M, Buk and Igla) as well as T-72M tanks, Grad and Smerch multiple rocket launcher systems, armored vehicles and artillery.

Russia Slams NATO Military Buildup in Europe as 'Unprecedentedly Dangerous'

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared that NATO’s augmentation is an unprecedented violation of all agreements, including the Russia-NATO Founding Act.


nato

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — NATO military buildup in Eastern Europe is an unprecedentedly dangerous move, which violates all existing agreements, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.


“NATO buildup on the Eastern flank, or in the so-called ‘front-line countries,’ is an unprecedentedly dangerous step that violates all agreements, including the Russia-NATO Founding Act, which is still in force,” the ministry’s spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a news briefing.


The Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation was signed in Paris, France, in May 1997.


Lukashevich’s words came after the announcement that NATO will deploy forces in Romania.


“If the Romanian government considers it acceptable to increase the presence of NATO groups on its land, as well as by creating such a powerful ‘armed fist,’ they just have to be aware of the responsibility and the consequences of such move,” Lukashevich said.

On Wednesday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the bloc was undergoing its largest troop increase since the Cold War ended.


In February, NATO said that its Response Force, stationed close to Russia in Eastern Europe, will more than double to include 30,000 military personnel.


The nearly year-long conflict in southeast Ukraine has served as a justification for NATO expansion in Eastern Europe. The military bloc, along with its political and economic counterparts, claims Moscow is involved in the ongoing fighting.


Russia has expressed concern over NATO expansion in the East, and over the buildup of NATO forces along its borders amid the Ukrainian conflict.