UKRAINE WRAP | Russia says it will reduce military activity near Ukraine capital

March 30 2022 - 20:54

Separatist leader says 140,000 have left Mariupol for Russia or Donetsk

Russian-backed separatist leader said on Wednesday that 140,000 people had left the Ukrainian city of Mariupol for Russia or the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic since Russian forces began besieging it, the Interfax news agency reported.

The port city of Mariupol, which had a prewar population of more than 400,000, is a key target for Russia in its apparent attempt to create a land bridge between the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, and pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Denis Pushilin, head of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said on Russian television that "about 140,000 left Mariupol ... Both towards the DPR and towards Russia", Interfax reported.

There was no way to verify Pushilin's statement. Ukraine has previously accused Moscow of forcing Mariupol residents into Russian-backed rebel territory and Russia against their will.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the DPR and the adjacent Luhansk People's Republic as independent states three days before he sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.Moscow says one of the aims of its military campaign is to "liberate" largely Russian-speaking places such as Mariupol from the threat of genocide by what it calls Ukrainian nationalists and Nazis.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy - himself a native Russian speaker - has rejected those claims, saying they are just a pretext for Russia's invasion.

The mayor's office estimated on Monday that nearly 5,000 people had been killed in Mariupol since the start of the siege and that about 170,000 people remained trapped amid ruins without food, heat, power or running water after 290,000 left.

Safe evacuation corridors have functioned only sporadically at best.

-Reuters

March 30 2022 - 18:30

Greece will review plans on additional LNG cargoes if Russian gas flows stop

The Greek gas grid operator will review its plans on additional cargoes of liquefied natural gas that Greece might need if Russia stops gas supplies to the country, the energy ministry said on Wednesday.

Greece held an emergency meeting of its energy regulator, gas and power transmission operators and its biggest gas and power suppliers to assess all available scenarios about gas supply security.

Gas grid operator DESFA will also examine the cost for adding an additional floating tank at the country's sole LNG terminal off Athens, the ministry said in a statement after the meeting. 

-Reuters

March 30 2022 - 13:16

Russians plan melancholy version of Instagram after ban

A black and white, melancholy alternative to Instagram that asks users to post sad pictures of themselves may launch in Russia this week, its creators said, to express sadness at the loss of popular services such as the U.S. photo sharing platform.

Russia restricted access to Instagram from March 14 and subsequently found its owner Meta Platforms Inc guilty of "extremist activities", as Moscow battles to control information flows with Big Tech after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Instagram said the decision to block it would affect 80 million users in Russia. Although people can still sometimes access the photo-sharing platform using a Virtual Private Network, domestic alternatives have started appearing, the latest being 'Grustnogram', or 'Sadgram' in English.

"Post sad pictures of yourself, show this to your sad friends, be sad together," a message on the platform's website read.

An image of the app's planned user interface showed a woman in a fur coat standing in front of St Basil's Cathedral on Moscow's Red Square. The search bar tells users to search for sad compatriots.

Instead of Instagram's heart-shaped 'like' button, Grustnogram offers a broken heart and the option to 'be sad'.

"We are very sad that many high quality and popular services are stopping their work in Russia for various reasons," Afisha Daily quoted Alexander Tokarev, one of the service's founders as saying. "We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other.

"Tokarev said four people, including two freelance programmers, were behind the project, and said he expected the application to appear on Google Play by the end of the week, and later on the App Store.

Rossgram, an imitation of Instagram in name, design and colour scheme, was set to launch this week, but its founders only succeeded in publishing a video of a prototype hours after the scheduled launch time.

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 10:30

US, Ukraine wary of Russian promise to scale down military operations

Ukraine reacted with skepticism to Russia's promise in negotiations to scale down military operations around Kyiv and another city as some Western countries expected Moscow to intensify its offensive in other parts of the country

March 30 2022 - 10:00

Russia says it will reduce military activity near Ukraine capital

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have ended the first direct talks in more than two weeks in Istanbul, with Moscow saying it was ready to “fundamentally cut back” military activity near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. 

Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin said the move was meant “to increase trust” in talks aimed at ending the fighting, as negotiators met face-to-face on Tuesday after several rounds of failed talks.

March 30 2022 - 09:40

Germany will not accept breach of gas supply contracts by Russia -econ min

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Wednesday said if Russia insisted that existing contracts be paid in roubles rather than the agreed euro and dollar denominations, it would be in breach of contract as well as a war monger.

"We will not accept any breach of private delivery contracts, and I am pleased that companies agree," he said at a news conference.

Habeck also urged consumers to use gas sparingly, adding high prices had already reduced demand.

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 09:34

Russian gas flows to Europe remain steady

Russian gas deliveries to Europe on three key pipeline routes were broadly steady on Wednesday morning, with only a slight dip seen in deliveries through Nord Stream 1, operator data showed.

Flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline across the Baltic Sea were at 70,987,742 kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h) on Wednesday morning, slightly down from levels of around 73,400,00 over the previous 24 hours.

However, the current drop is in line with nominations, which suggest a rebound later on Wednesday morning.

Eastbound flows into Poland from Germany along the Yamal-Europe pipeline stopped on Tuesday and physical flows at the Mallnow border point remain at zero, data from operator Gascade showed.

Meanwhile, Russia's Gazprom has also booked westbound transit capacity at Mallnow for a second day.

The usually westbound pipeline reversed on March 15 as nominations to ship gas into Germany fell to zero, while Polish customers bought gas from Germany.

Nominations for flows into Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point were at 882,416 megawatt hours (MWh) per day on Wednesday, unchanged day on day, data from Slovakian operator TSO Eustream showed.

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 09:20

Russian forces hit industrial facilities in western Ukraine, regional governor says

Russian forces hit industrial facilities in three strikes on the Khmelnitskyi region of western Ukraine overnight, regional governor Serhiy Hamaliy said on Wednesday.

He gave no details of the targets but said fires had been "localised" and checks were being made to determine whether there were any casualties.

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 08:25

UK taking sceptical view towards Russian pledges, deputy PM says

Britain will take a very sceptical view towards any promises coming from Russia about Ukraine and will respond to Moscow based on its actions, not its words, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Wednesday.

"I would be very careful in taking at face value what is coming out of Putin's war machine," he told Times Radio, adding that room for diplomacy must still be made.

"Ultimately, they need to be tested by their actions and they need to withdraw from Ukraine, not just reposition.

"But I think we take a very sceptical view about anything coming out of Moscow."

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 08:09

Pay Russia roubles for oil, grain, fertiliser and metals, suggests parliament speaker

Russia should sell oil, grain, metals, fertiliser, coal and timber for roubles on global markets where it is profitable for Russia, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, suggested on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that natural gas exported to Europe or the United States be paid for in roubles.

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 07:30

Britain says Russian units forced to return to Belarus, Russia to resupply

British military intelligence said on Wednesday that Russian units suffering heavy losses in Ukraine had been forced to return home and to neighbouring Belarus in an effort to re-organise and resupply.

"Such activity is placing further pressure on Russia’s already strained logistics and demonstrates the difficulties Russia is having re-organising its units in forward areas within Ukraine," Britain's defence ministry said.

Russia is likely to continue to compensate for its reduced ground manoeuvre capability through mass artillery and missile strikes, the ministry added. 

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 07:00

Residential areas of Ukraine's Lysychansk shelled - governor

Residential areas of Ukraine's eastern city of Lysychansk were shelled by heavy artillery on Wednesday morning, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai wrote on Telegram.

"A number of high-rise buildings have been damaged. Information on casualties is being confirmed," he said. "Many buildings have collapsed. Rescuers are trying to save those still alive." 

Reuters

March 30 2022 - 06:10

Russian hotel owner welcomes Ukrainian refugees

Russian hotel owner Mikhail Golubtsov, who owns a cozy inn in central Serbia, says it was partly the shame he feels over Russia's invasion of Ukraine that persuaded him and his family to take in Ukrainians fleeing the war.

March 30 2022 - 06:00

Stocks rally on Russia-Ukraine resolution hopes

US stocks rose with the Dow and S&P notching their fourth straight session of gains, on optimism some progress was being made toward a deal to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.