UKRAINE WRAP | White House says it would take steps if Russia seizes assets of US companies who halted business

March 09 2022 - 20:51

White House says it would take steps if Russia seizes assets of U.S. companies who halted business

The Biden administration welcomes U.S. companies who have stopped doing business in Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine and would likely take steps if their assets were seized, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. 

-Reuters

March 09 2022 - 15:12

Ukraine warns of radiation leak risk after power cut at occupied Chernobyl plant

Radioactive substances could be released from Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant because it cannot cool spent nuclear fuel after its power connection was severed, Ukraine’s state-run nuclear company Energoatom said on Wednesday.

Fighting made it impossible to immediately repair the high-voltage power line to the plant which was captured by Russian forces after the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Energoatom said there were about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies at Chernobyl that could not be kept cool amid a power outage.

March 09 2022 - 15:08

Putin misjudged Ukraine but will persist, US spy chief says

Russia is likely to face “a persistent and significant insurgency” after President Vladimir Putin misjudged how the war against Ukraine would proceed but the Russian leader won’t be deterred and may try to change how he defines victory, the top US spy chief said. 

“We judge it will be especially challenging for the Russians to hold and control Ukrainian territory and install a sustainable pro-Russian regime in Kyiv,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday during an annual hearing on global threats.

US intelligence agencies assess that Moscow underestimated the strength of Ukraine’s resistance and the degree of military challenges, while Russian forces are operating “with reckless disregard” for civilians in Ukraine. 

March 09 2022 - 13:45

Cooking oils in ‘perfect storm’ as war slashes Black Sea exports

Cooking oils face “a perfect storm” with as much as 60% of sunflower oil exports from the Black Sea region delayed in this marketing year because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to James Fry, a veteran analyst and chairperson of consultancy LMC International. 

Sunflower and corn plantings, which should take place soon, are also likely to be smaller in Ukraine and Russia this year, Fry said in remarks prepared for a conference.

A month ago the company expected sunflower oil exports from the Black Sea to increase by more than 2-million tonnes to 13.5-million tonnes in 2021-2022, Fry said, adding the question is how much of that will be lost because of the war.

March 09 2022 - 10:09

WATCH | How the Ukraine-Russian conflict could affect SA

TimesLIVE Video takes a look at how SA could play a role in alleviating global food, coal and diamond shortages as missiles, gunfire and devastation mark parts of Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

March 09 2022 - 09:00

IMF board to consider $1.4bn in funding for Ukraine on Wednesday — Georgieva

The International Monetary Fund's executive board is poised to approve on Wednesday $1.4 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine to help it respond to Russia's invasion, IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday. 

Georgieva told a forum hosted by the Financial Times that the funding came on top of $700 million disbursed to Ukraine by the IMF in December, and $2.7 billion in emergency reserves it received as part of an IMF allocation in August.

March 09 2022 - 08:30

Ukraine evacuations: Thousands flee cities of Irpin and Sumy

Ukrainian officials say 3,500 Ukrainian residents and foreign students were able to leave the city of Sumy on Tuesday through a humanitarian corridor. That is after an air strike killed at least 20 people there.

March 09 2022 - 08:15

Not lovin’ it — McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coke and Pepsi halt sales in Russia

McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Starbucks stopped sales of their best-known products in Russia on Tuesday, offering a united rebuke of the war on Ukraine by companies that define the US for much of the world.

Pepsi and McDonald’s were corporate pioneers whose work with the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russian state decades ago was seen as improving international relations.

All four companies have major operations in Russia.

March 09 2022 - 07:42

Russia promises 'silence' for Ukrainians to flee battered cities

Russia said it is ready to provide humanitarian corridors on Wednesday for people fleeing Kyiv and four other Ukrainian cities, as the number of refugees created by the biggest assault on a European country since World War 2 surpassed 2 million. 

Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defence Control Centre, was quoted as saying by the Tass news agency that Russian forces would “observe a regime of silence” from 10am. Moscow time (0700 GMT) to ensure safe passage for civilians wishing to leave Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

March 09 2022 - 06:30

McDonald's, Starbucks close Russia locations

McDonald's, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Starbucks stopped sales of their best-known products in Russia, offering a united rebuke of the war on Ukraine by companies that define America for much of the world

March 09 2022 - 06:00

Hospital treats Ukraine's youngest war victims

This hospital in Kharkiv treats some of the youngest victims of the war in Ukraine, with several children being brought in to be treated for shrapnel and bullet wounds.