UKRAINE WRAP | Russia to expel senior Czech diplomat in retaliatory move
Image: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
April 13 2022 - 20:48
Russia to expel senior Czech diplomat in retaliatory move
Russia's foreign ministry on Wednesday said it was expelling a senior Czech diplomat from Moscow after Prague last month told a top Russian official at the embassy to leave. In a statement, the ministry said the Czech diplomat had to leave Russia before the end of day on April 16.
-Reuters
April 13 2022 - 19:30
Ukraine humanitarian truce doesn't seem possible at moment, U.N. chief says
A humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine does not seem possible at the moment, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.
Since the beginning of April U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths has visited Russia and Ukraine to see if a humanitarian truce could be agreed.
"At the present moment a global ceasefire in Ukraine doesn't seem possible," Guterres told reporters.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, thousands have been killed and the United Nations said some 11 million Ukrainians - more than a quarter of the population - have fled their homes. More than 4 million of those people have left Ukraine.
"There are lots of things that can be done in order to guarantee evacuation of civilians," said Guterres.
He said the United Nations had made proposals to Russia to "bring the parties together and to manage" humanitarian access, local ceasefires and the evacuation of civilians.
He said the United Nations was waiting on a response from Russia.
-Reuters
April 13 2022 - 14:03
Sub-Saharan Africa's growth to slow to 3.6% this year, World Bank says
Sub-Saharan Africa's economy is set to grow 3.6% this year, down from 4% in 2021, the World Bank said on Wednesday, as it warned rising food and energy prices fuelled by Russia's war in Ukraine could spark civil unrest in the region.
While it upgraded the forecast for this year by 0.1 percentage points and said last year's growth had beaten its initial forecasts, the bank said inflation in the region was set to quicken to 6.2% this year, up from 4.5% in 2021.
War in Ukraine would worsen the factors holding back Africa's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic despite small direct economic links, it said, due to higher commodity prices, tighter global monetary policy and a fall in foreign financial flows.
April 13 2022 - 13:45
Russia war changes Finland's security environment-Finnish govt
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has profoundly changed Finland's security environment, according to a Finnish government white paper issued on Wednesday. NATO membership would increase Finland's defence budget by 1-1.5%, according to the document.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 13:05
Leaders of Poland and Baltic states in Kyiv to discuss military assistance
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Polish leader's office said.
The four join a growing number of European politicians to visit the Ukrainian capital since Russian forces were driven away from the country's north earlier this month.
“Heading to Kyiv with a strong message of political support and military assistance,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted on Wednesday, along with a picture of the presidents next to a train.
April 13 2022 - 12:06
Putin says Russia can redirect energy exports away from the West
Russia can easily redirect exports of its vast energy resources away from the West to countries that really need them while increasing domestic consumption of oil, gas and coal, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
Putin also said that "unfriendly countries" had destroyed supply chains in Russia's Arctic regions and some nations were not fulfilling their contractual obligations.
Speaking at a meeting with officials to discuss development in the Russian Arctic, Putin said this had created problems for Russia.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 12:00
US, allies 'will not be indifferent' to those who undermine Russia sanctions, Yellen warns
Countries that are seeking advantage by failing to condemn Russia's "heinous war" against Ukraine are being short-sighted and will face consequences if they undermine Western sanctions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.
The United States and its partners "will not be indifferent" to actions that undermine the sweeping sanctions they have imposed on Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion, she warned in wide-ranging remarks prepared for an event hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank.
Yellen said the war between Russia and Ukraine had redrawn the world economic outlook and the Biden administration was resolute in its commitment to hold Russia accountable for its "horrific conduct" and its violations of international law.
"Rest assured, until Putin ends his heinous war of choice, the Biden Administration will work with our partners to push Russia further towards economic, financial, and strategic isolation," she said.
The Russian invasion had galvanized many countries and companies to take a unified stance and severe business ties with Moscow, in a way that could help shape the global response to other "unmet global challenges," Yellen said.
But some countries were still "sitting on the fence, perhaps seeing an opportunity to gain by preserving their relationship with Russia and backfilling the void left by others," Yellen said, without naming any specific countries.
"Such motivations are short-sighted. The future of our international order, both for peaceful security and economic prosperity, is at stake," Yellen said. "And let’s be clear, the unified coalition ... will not be indifferent to actions that undermine the sanctions we’ve put in place.
"Yellen's remarks come days after President Joe Biden warned India, which has not imposed sanctions on Moscow, that buying more oil from Russia was not in India's interest and could hamper the U.S. response to the war in Ukraine.
Washington and its allies have sought to pressure India, China and other "fence-sitters" to take a clear stance opposing Russia and what it has called a "special military operation.
"Yellen said Biden's multilateral approach had enabled the Group of Seven advanced economies to impose significant costs on Russia, and made clear they were acting in support of a rules-based global order that protects peace and prosperity.
She said the same approach - and shared values - could help solve other big issues, such as climate change, ending the Covid-19 pandemic, and supporting low-income countries.
Yellen said changes were also needed to "modernize our existing institutions — the (International Monetary Fund) and the multilateral development banks — so that they are fit for the 21st century.
"Her calls come after Biden said Russia to be excluded from the Group of 20 major economies.
"Some may say that now is not the right time to think big," she said, citing the war and the lingering pandemic. "Yet, I see this as the right time to work to address the gaps in our international financial system that we are witnessing in real time.
"U.S. officials began crafting proposals to create the IMF, the World Bank and the post-war international financial architecture in 1941, early in World War Two, and a new architecture was needed now, she said.
"As then, we ought not wait for a new normal. We should begin to shape a better future today," she said.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 11:46
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says Russia using phosphorous bombs
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday in an address to Estonia's parliament that Russia was using phosphorous bombs in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of using terror tactics against civilians.
He did not provide evidence and Reuters has not been able to independently verify his claim.
Zelenskiy added that instruments needed to be found to pressure Russia to stop forcibly deporting Ukrainians and called for sanctions on Russia to continue, saying they were the only way to force Russia to agree to peace.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 10:48
Seven killed, 22 wounded by shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, says governor
At least seven people were killed and 22 wounded by shelling in Ukraine's northeastern region of Kharkiv over the past 24 hours, Governor Oleh Synegubov said on Wednesday.
In an online post, he said a 2-year-old boy was among those killed in the 53 artillery or rocket strikes he said Russian forces had carried out in the past day in the region.
Reuters could not independently verify the information. Russia denies targeting civilians.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 08:55
Ukraine says risk of Russia using chemical weapons remains high
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday there was a high risk of Russia using chemical weapons against her country, echoing warnings by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier in the week.
On Tuesday Malyar said authorities were checking unverified reports that Russia may have already used chemical weapons while besieging the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and that there was a theory that phosphorous munitions had been used.
Russia has previously called U.S. talk of Russia using chemical weapons a tactic to divert attention away from awkward questions for Washington and accused Ukraine of preparing to use them.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 08:52
One civilian killed in Russian shelling of Ukraine's Luhansk region - governor
One civilian was killed in Russian shelling of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region over the past 24 hours, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Wednesday.
He said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that three trains would be offered on Wednesday to residents who wanted to leave the region, which he said was under constant shelling and may face a new large offensive by Russian forces.
Russia has denied targeting civilians since it invaded Ukraine on February 24 and has said Ukrainian and Western allegations of war crimes are fabricated.
Ukraine's state railway company said in a separate statement on Wednesday that a train station in central Ukraine had been shelled overnight.
Ukraine has been warning that Russia plans intensified attacks in the country's east and south after withdrawing its troops from areas to the north of the capital, Kyiv. The United States said last week that Moscow probably planned to deploy tens of thousands of soldiers in eastern Ukraine.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 08:26
Mayor of Ukraine's Mariupol says more than 100,000 people awaiting evacuation
The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, said on Wednesday in televised remarks that more than 100,000 people remained in the city awaiting evacuation.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 08:22
Gold inches higher as Ukraine conflict lifts safe-haven bids
Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday as concerns of an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict increased safe-haven bids for the precious metal, although a firmer U.S. dollar capped bullion's gains.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,969.76 per ounce, as of 0609 GMT, after hitting a near one-month peak of $1,978.21 on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,975.80. "Gold is benefiting from some safe-haven demand this week as inflation fears grow, China growth stumbles and the war in the Ukraine gets set for round two," said OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the on-and-off peace negotiations as "a dead-end situation" on Tuesday, while U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time that Moscow's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide.
The dollar index firmed near May 2020 highs, making gold less attractive for overseas buyers, after reassurance from U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard that the central bank will stay the course on hiking interest rates.
Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risks, interest rate hikes would raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. "March inflation came in at up 8.5%, year-on-year, which is a 40-year high, inflation historically bullish for hard commodities," said Michael Langford, director at corporate advisory AirGuide.
"That being said gold has no attributable yield and in a high interest rate environment, will be less desirable relative to other asset classes. I see gold having some minimal upside but medium to longer-term more likely to fall in price.
" Spot gold faces a strong resistance at $1,975 per ounce, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Spot silver was up 0.4% at $25.46 per ounce, platinum rose 0.7% to $972.51 and palladium gained 3.1% to $2,398.15.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 08:16
Ukraine deputy PM says not possible to open humanitarian corridors on Wed
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said it was not possible to open any humanitarian corridors on Wednesday, and she accused occupying Russian forces of violating a ceasefire and blocking buses evacuating civilians.
Vereshchuk added in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that authorities would work to reopen the humanitarian corridors as soon as possible.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 08:11
Russian gas nominations for Slovakia dip -operator data
Daily nominations for Russian gas deliveries to Slovakia via Ukraine fell on Wednesday, data from Slovakian operator TSO Eustream showed.
Nominations via the Velke Kapusany border point stood at about 520,937 megawatt hours (MWh) per day, down from 608,133 MWh per day on Tuesday, the data showed.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 07:30
Chechen chief Kadyrov says over 1,000 Ukrainian marines surrender in Mariupol
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered in the besieged port city of Mariupol and urged remaining forces holed up in the Azovstal steel mill to surrender.
There was no comment from Ukrainian officials on the statement made on Kadyrov's Telegram channel. Ukraine's General Staff, in its morning report on Wednesday, said that Russian forces were proceeding with attacks on Azovstal and the port.
Russian television showed pictures of what it said were marines giving themselves up at Illich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol on Tuesday, many of them injured.
It was not clear what plant - Azovstal or Illich Iron and Steel Works - Kadyrov meant when he talked about the 1,000 surrendered Ukrainian marines.
"Within Azovstal at the moment there are about 200 wounded who cannot receive any medical assistance," Kadyrov said in his post. "For them and all the rest it would be better to end this pointless resistance and go home to their families.
"Kadyrov is an ardent supporter of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and has deployed many of his fighters in Ukraine to bolster Russia's drive to "demilitarise" and "denazify" Ukraine.
In earlier postings, he vowed to proceed with the capture of Mariupol and to press on to take all other Ukrainian cities, including KyivRussian television pictures showed what it said were Ukrainian soldiers being marched down a road with their hands in the air. One of the soldiers was shown holding a Ukrainian passport.
Reuters
April 13 2022 - 06:10
Biden stands by 'genocide' remark
In a speech, US President Biden said for the first time that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide. He later stood by the description but told reporters, ‘We'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies’
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April 13 2022 - 06:00
Biden says Putin committing 'genocide'
In a speech, U.S. President Biden said for the first time that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide. He later stood by the description but told reporters, ‘We'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies’
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