Author of the article: Bloomberg News Bloomberg News Date of publication: 17 Apr 2022 • 18 hours ago • 7 minutes reading • 149 comments Russian soldiers walk along a road in Mariupol on April 12, 2022, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to seize the port-city strategy as part of an impending massive offensive in eastern Ukraine, while the President of Russia provocatively supports the war against Russia’s neighbor. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images
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Billionaire Roman Abramovich is trying to restart talks between Ukraine and Russia, which both sides say have stalled. Ukrainian central bank and finance officials will head to Washington for next week’s meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
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The bombings resumed near Kyiv and the Lviv region near Poland saw its first known missile attack in weeks. Russia has warned the United States against sending weapons, according to a diplomatic note cited by the New York Times and the Washington Post. The United Kingdom has said that damaged roads are blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid. Ukraine’s economy may shrink by half, said Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. All CET hours: Ukraine says Russia continues pounding Mariupol (08:01 am) Russia continues to pound the port of Mariupol, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in the middle of a Moscow window to hand over troops to the besieged city.
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Air raids and preparations for a naval landing by Russian forces are underway, the Ukrainian side said. Russia has said it will save the lives of soldiers who surrender by 6:00 p.m. Moscow time, with the window lasting for several hours. Gaining control of Mariupol remains a key goal for Russia as it seeks to build a land bridge over the Crimean peninsula. Russia demands Mariupol defenders surrender (11:30 p.m.) Russia has called on Ukrainian forces in the besieged industrial city of Mariupol to lay down their arms on Sunday to avoid assassination. Ukraine has rejected similar Russian demands in the past. Colonel-General Mikhail Mizinchev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center, described a “catastrophic situation” in Azovstal, an extensive steel plant that has become the last stop in the city’s defense. “Everyone who lays down their arms is guaranteed to survive,” Mizinchev was quoted as saying by Tass.
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Austria takes years to cut off Russian gas (9:30 p.m.) Austria could cut off gas imports from Russia “in a few years,” Chancellor Carl Nehammer told NBC’s Meet the Press. Austria is 80 percent dependent on Russian gas, so “it is not possible today, tomorrow,” he said. Nehamer, whose country is militarily neutral under the 1955 agreement that ended Allied and Soviet occupation after World War II, was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. He said he made the trip to “confront” Putin with evidence of civilian killings in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev held by Russian forces. Zelensky says talks on Russia are deadlocked (7:53 p.m.) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said talks with Russia were “deadlocked because we would not trade our territory and our people.”
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If Russian forces continue to threaten to destroy the remaining Ukrainian troops fighting in Mariupol, it would “end” the talks, he said in an interview with Ukrainian online media. Abramovich seeks to start talks (6:52 pm) Billionaire Roman Abramovich traveled to Kyiv in a bid to resume peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which stalled following reports of Russian atrocities against civilians. Abramovich met with Ukrainian negotiators to discuss ways to revive the talks, according to those familiar with the matter. In Russia, Abramovich “represents the side that supports a diplomatic solution and the end of the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the media. “No one can guarantee it is not a game.”
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Putin’s ally in Ukraine Medvedchuk detained (6:41 pm) A Ukrainian court has ordered the continued detention of Kremlin-friendly politician Viktor Medvenchuk after he tried to flee the country, according to a statement on the court’s Facebook page. Prosecutors suspect Medvedchuk, a tycoon who has been sanctioned by the US since 2014, of high treason and terrorist financing. His assets were frozen in 2021. He denies any wrongdoing. Medvedchuk has been under house arrest since last year, but escaped during the initial Russian invasion. He was arrested by Ukrainian security forces this week at an unknown location. Zelensky has a follow-up call with Johnson (6:22 pm) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Boris Johnson on Saturday, a week after the UK prime minister paid a visit to Kyiv. They discussed “the need for a long-term security solution for Ukraine,” according to a Downing Street reading.
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Russian ships barred from Italian ports after sanctions (6:14 pm) Russian ships will not be able to anchor in Italian ports from Sunday, the Ansa news agency reported. The move is part of the European Union’s latest package of sanctions against Moscow for invading Ukraine, Ansa said. The change also applies to ships that changed their flag to any other nationality from Russia after February 24, Ansa said. Ships moored in Italy should depart as soon as possible. Ukrainian central bankers to visit Washington (5:17 pm) Central Bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko and Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Nikolaychuk will travel to Washington for spring meetings between the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, bank spokeswoman Halyna Kalachiva said. They will be accompanied by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. The meetings start on Monday.
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The IMF has set up a new account designed to provide donor countries with a secure way to support the Ukrainian economy. Canada in its recent budget proposed up to CAD 1 billion ($ 795 million) to be disbursed through the account and will be available to other IMF members or intergovernmental entities wishing to use it as a means of providing assistance, the IMF said. Minister pledges that Kyiv will service the foreign debt (2:12 pm) More than 80 percent of Ukraine’s debt this year is domestic, “which we can easily cover” or refinance, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said in a televised interview. He said the external debt repayment schedule was “fairly modest and simple”, culminating in September, when Kyiv was due to pay $ 500 million in interest on Eurobonds. The minister said Ukraine had cut spending by 180 billion hryvnia ($ 6 billion) and needed $ 5 billion to $ 7 billion a month to fund its budget as the war continued.
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The Ukrainian economy could shrink between 30 percent and 50 percent, Marchenko said. Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 45 percent in 2022, according to the World Bank Putin and Saudi Arabia’s successor optimistic about OPEC +, says Kremlin (12:40 pm CET) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s successor, Mohammad bin Salman, have given a “positive assessment” of their co-operation with the OPEC + producer group to stabilize the global oil market, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday. The phone call was initiated by Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin said, and the leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine and Yemen. The successor spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and also discussed Ukraine, according to state television.
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Saudi Arabia and other major Gulf oil producers have so far resisted US calls for increased production as prices have risen amid the Ukraine crisis and concerns about possible sanctions on Russian exports. Russia has captured more than 1,000 civilians, an official said (12:43 p.m.). More than half of the citizens arrested by Moscow forces are women, said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, who asked in a televised address to be released immediately. “We will not exchange soldiers for civilians. “It would violate the Geneva Conventions,” he said. Ukraine has captured more than 700 Russian troops and Russia has captured about 700 Ukrainian soldiers, with possible further exchanges of prisoners, he said.
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Ukraine and Russia agreed on nine humanitarian corridors on Saturday to evacuate civilians. Russian troops bombed the center of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region, while people gathered for evacuation, …
