Just one calendar year immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine, a lot of of the greatest U.S. corporations say their moves to suspend operations or withdraw from Russia keep on being in effect.
An NBC News review of the 30 firms that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Normal found that 24 experienced disclosed enterprises in Russia right before the war. Of people 24 companies, 18 have possibly suspended enterprise in Russia or exited the country in excess of the earlier yr, and the remaining 6 have decreased the scope of their functions there, according to organization spokespeople attained by NBC Information and earlier general public statements.
Six companies in the Dow 30 haven’t publicly clarified their company dealings in Russia, if any, given that the invasion. But two of them — Walmart and Residence Depot — advised NBC News that they experienced no prior or existing small business there. The other 4 didn’t react to requests for comment.
Seven providers that introduced previous spring that they had been paring back at the very least some functions from Russia didn’t react to requests for an update on these moves. But all 19 of the companies that did present updates or confirmation of their standing as of Friday stated they experienced no strategies to cultivate closer ties with Russia.
The craze extends outside of the C-suites of the Dow 30.
Investigation from Yale University’s Main Government Management Institute, led by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, appeared at 460 U.S. businesses, of which 325 appeared to have suspended or exited their enterprises in the state. The Yale scientists also counted around 1,000 organizations throughout the world that have curtailed their operations in Russia.
“Never prior to in background have we seen so many corporations exit from a region right away,” explained Steven Tian, a study director with the Yale institute.
Workers dismantled a McDonald’s signal in Novosibirsk, Russia, final September as the chain withdrew from the place.Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik through AP file
It has taken other corporations numerous months to fully wind down their companies in Russia as the war rages into its next calendar year.
Really hard Rock International, which had franchises in Moscow and St. Petersburg at the time of the invasion, informed NBC News Friday that its franchise lover had closed the Moscow site. But the enterprise, which isn’t in the Dow 30, explained the St. Petersburg husband or wife has not agreed to follow fit.
“Hard Rock Intercontinental is in the legal procedure of terminating the St Petersburg settlement and closing the Cafe,” the company reported in a assertion.
‘No longer tenable’
In some situations, companies paused their Russian functions to comply with sanctions imposed by the U.S. governing administration, a new slate of which the Biden administration unveiled on Friday.
U.S. Treasury sanctions on persons or entities have needed main finance corporations to lower sure ties. In addition to an extensive list of Russian oligarchs, the Treasury’s Office environment of International Property Regulate selected Russia’s greatest banking institutions and the Russian central financial institution as sanction targets, successfully barring U.S. providers and persons from transacting and investing Russian securities and working with Russian companies.
Dow associates JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs each said past March that they would ultimately wind down their organizations in Russia in compliance with regulatory specifications.
Below intense community scrutiny, other Dow-member businesses moved speedily final spring to situation statements, in quite a few scenarios promising to suspend operations in Russia. Apple pledged to quit offering merchandise in the region, Visa claimed it would lower off card transactions into and out of Russia, and Boeing stopped pieces distribution and provider agreements.
Other corporations halted, and then exited, their firms. After indicating in March 2022 that it would shut its Russian eating places and pause functions, McDonald’s moved two months later on to get started marketing a lot more than 850 restaurants with the aim of leaving the state solely, expressing that possessing firms in Russia was “no for a longer period tenable, nor is it steady with McDonald’s values.”
For some big companies, leaving Russia entailed important costs. McDonald’s booked a $1.2 billion charge as a result of crafting off its investment decision there. Honeywell took a $295 million strike as a end result of winding down its Russian businesses.
For other individuals, exposure to Russia was small, so the charge of leaving was small. American Categorical advised analysts in March 2022 that its company dealings in Russia ended up limited to just a person card lover, making any impression “not content.” The computer software firm Salesforce equally mentioned the impression of exiting its small business with a “very small number” of Russia-based shoppers was minimum.
Decoupling
Not just about every company packed up and still left entirely.
NBC Information counted 6 businesses in the Dow 30 that declared strategies to partially retreat from Russia. Merck, Amgen and Johnson & Johnson have all suspended investments and medical trials in Russia but are continue to advertising important medications that are not subject matter to worldwide sanctions.
Procter & Gamble has stopped investments and minimized its product or service choices in Russia but is continuing to give fundamental overall health, cleanliness and private care goods “needed by the lots of Russian families who depend on them in their every day lives.” The Dow chemical firm said it experienced suspended the order of feedstocks and energy from Russia but was still giving “limited important goods” like foodstuff packaging, cleanliness, cleansing and sanitation goods and other household products.
Russia’s sizing, equally economically and geographically, indicates some firms continue to have minimal or indirect ties to the region.
For illustration, Chevron stated it doesn’t have exploration or creation things to do in Russia. But the oil huge has a 15{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in a Kazakh pipeline joined to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. The company suggests the fairness crude that it moves by the pipeline is Kazakh in origin and as a result not subject to international sanctions on Russian oil.
The construction gear firm Caterpillar has suspended producing in Russia. Questioned about experiences that the business is continuing to transfer pieces through the location as aspect of its supply chain, Caterpillar declined to remark. “We keep on to comply with all applicable laws and evolving sanctions,” a spokesperson claimed.
Even in the banking field, in which sanctions restrict organization functions, some strains are blurred. After a brief pause final summer season, some Wall Avenue banking institutions resumed facilitating trades in Russian financial debt.
People moves brought liquidity to an usually dried-up market place for Russian federal government bonds, most likely enabling buyers outdoors the U.S. to participate in the secondary market. Having said that, the Treasury clarified very last 12 months that these kinds of trades have been authorized less than U.S. sanctions, supplied they were being section of efforts to wind down current investments.
UN says at least 3,942 killed in Ukraine since start of war
People stand amid newly-made graves at a cemetery in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the settlement of Staryi Krym outside Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
The United Nations has confirmed 3,942 civilian deaths and 4,591 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor on Feb. 24.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay reports.
The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.
— Amanda Macias
Global consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine will be ‘severe,’ Wladimir Klitschko says
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine will have far-reaching, severe consequences not only for Russia and Ukraine but also for the rest of the world, said Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian former professional boxer and brother of Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
“We’re going to have a food crisis, with Ukraine getting out of this chain of suppliers — we supply a lot of grains into Africa and Asia — and with the blocking of the Black Sea, it’s not going to happen and the world is going to take those severe consequences,” he said, speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the World Economic Forum.
“It’s going to knock on every person’s, every family’s, every government’s door if we don’t stop it.”
There is increasing alarm about the global rise in food prices, particularly of basic essential goods like wheat and cooking oil (Ukraine is a leading global producer of both wheat and sunflower seeds, used for oil), with Russia’s war in Ukraine disrupting production and exporting. Russia has largely blocked exports of grain via the Black Sea, leaving Ukraine’s Western allies to look for ways to get its produce out of the country.
— Holly Ellyatt
West is much stronger than Russia, NATO chief says
No one knows how long the conflict in Ukraine will last but NATO must stand together to support Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNBC.
“The West, NATO partners around the world, we are much stronger than Russia so as long as we support Ukraine and we’re not directly involved in the war, we’re not part of the war … then we are able to stand out and to stand up against this invasion,” Stoltenberg told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Stoltenberg said that Russia must not be able to “get its way” in Ukraine as that would make the world “even more dangerous.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had several unintended consequences for Russia, with NATO looking stronger and more united than in recent years. It is also set to expand with Finland and Sweden announcing that they are applying to join the organization.
Russia is weaponizing food supplies, EU’s von der Leyen warns
Russia is using food supplies as a weapon as it has done with its energy supplies, the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen told global leaders gathered in Davos.
“We are witnessing how Russia is weaponizing its energy supplies. And this is having global repercussions. Unfortunately, we are seeing the same pattern emerging in food security,” von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum.
In Russian-occupied Ukraine, von der Leyen continued, “the Kremlin’s army is confiscating grain stocks and machinery … Russian artillery is bombarding grain warehouses across Ukraine – deliberately. And Russian warships in the Black Sea are blockading Ukrainian ships full of wheat and sunflower seeds.”
A farmer wears a bulletproof vest during crop sowing in the Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine.
She said the consequences of these “shameful” acts with global food prices rising — particularly the price of basic commodities such as wheat and cooking oil, both of which Ukraine is a massive producer and exporter — are obvious.
“Bread prices in Lebanon have increased by 70{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, and food shipments from Odesa could not reach Somalia. And on top of this, Russia is now hoarding its own food exports as a form of blackmail – holding back supplies to increase global prices, or trading wheat in exchange for political support,” she said. Such an act was tantamount to using hunger and grain to wield power, she said.
Russia has blamed the West for soaring food prices, saying on Monday that these are down to the West and its international sanctions.
— Holly Ellyatt
Putin is now getting ‘more NATO’ because of his invasion, alliance chief says
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attends a ceremony to mark Sweden’s and Finland’s application for membership in Brussels, Belgium, May 18, 2022.
Johanna Geron | Reuters
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had unintended consequences for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said.
“He wanted less NATO on his borders, now he’s getting more NATO,” Stoltenberg said in a special address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Stoltenberg’s comments come as relations between Russia and the Western military alliance NATO remain tense after Finland and Sweden announced applications to join the organization.
Although the application process takes time for all existing NATO members to approve, and Turkey’s objections have not yet been overcome, the expected expansion of NATO has irked Russia with President Putin calling it “a problem,” although his foreign minister has tried to downplay the significance of the enlargement.
— Holly Ellyatt
UK looking at how to get grain out of Ukraine, warning of ‘hunger and famine’ if not
Ears of wheat are seen in a field near the village of Zhovtneve, Ukraine.
Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters
The U.K. is holding talks with Ukraine over how to get its grain out of the country, a British government minister said Tuesday.
Russia has blocked Ukraine’s main sea ports, blocking exports of grain from the country — which is seen as one of the world’s “bread baskets” as a massive exporter of agricultural products, from wheat to sunflower oil — and pushing up global food prices in the process.
U.K. Transport Minister Grant Shapps told Sky News that he was very concerned about the issue, saying more lives could be lost as a result of hunger.
“What really worries me is we’ve seen many lives lost in Ukraine and we could see even more lives lost in other places in the world through grain and food shortages which could be even greater than the lives lost in the war directly,” he said.
Shapps said he’d met Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksander Kubrakov last week to discuss how to move grain out of the country, following reports that the U.K. and other willing allies could put in place a military escort to ensure ships carrying goods out of the port of Odesa were kept safe.
“We were discussing details which I can’t go into but about how infrastructure could be in place to ensure the grain leaves,” Shapps said Tuesday. “We’re looking at all the different options … there are lots of different potential ways to get grain and other goods out of the country,” he said.
Shapps warned “there could be a lot of hunger and famine” if Ukraine’s agricultural produce could not be exported.
— Holly Ellyatt
Moscow appears ready to sever ties with the West as China pivot continues
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Zhang Ming in Moscow, Russia May 18, 2022.
Russian Foreign Ministry | Reuters
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow would “seriously consider” whether it needs to re-establish relations with the West.
Speaking in a question and answer session at an event in Moscow Monday evening, Lavrov said Western countries had espoused “Russophobia” since the Kremlin had launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb.24. The West considers it an aggressive, unprovoked invasion.
“If they want to offer something in terms of resuming relations, then we will seriously consider whether we will need it or not,” he said, adding that Russia was developing its own system of import substitutions given the international sanctions on the country.
Russia should not be in any way “dependent on the supply of anything from the West to ensure the development of critical industries for the security, economy and social sphere of our motherland,” Lavrov added.
“Now that the West is in a dictatorial position, our economic ties with China will grow even faster,” Lavrov said, adding that this also poses an opportunity to develop Russia’s far east and eastern Siberia.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russia seeking to encircle Severodonetsk, UK says
Russia has increased the intensity of its operations in the Donbas as it seeks to encircle Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Rubizhne, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update Tuesday.
“At present the northern and southern axes of this operation are separated by approximately 25 km of Ukrainian-held territory,” the ministry noted.
While there has been strong Ukrainian resistance with forces occupying well dug-in defensive positions, Russia has, however, achieved some localized successes, due in part to concentrating artillery units, the U.K. noted.
Capturing what the British military called the “Severodonetsk pocket” (area) matters a lot to Russia, because “it would see the whole of Luhansk Oblast placed under Russian occupation.”
Nonetheless, while currently Russia’s main effort, this operation is only one part of Russia’s campaign to seize the Donbas.
“If the Donbas front line moves further west, this will extend Russian lines of communication and likely see its forces face further logistic resupply difficulties,” the ministry noted.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russia has fired on 38 towns in Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine says
Ukraine has said that Russian forces have struck multiple towns in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, including civilian infrastructure.
“The occupiers fired on 38 towns in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts,” Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force said in a Facebook post Tuesday, “destroying and damaging 62 civilian objects, including 53 houses, an agricultural enterprise, a kindergarten, a bank branch, a pharmacy and the national police administration building.”
As a result of these shellings, at least seven civilians were killed and six others were injured, the update noted. CNBC was unable to verify the information.
Russian forces have been intensifying their assaults in the Donbas region in recent weeks, with fierce fighting seen around the city of Severodonetsk which is located between Donetsk and Luhansk, currently the most contested areas in the Ukraine war.
A picture taken on May 22, 2022, shows the destroyed bridge connecting the city of Lysychansk with the city of Severodonetsk in the eastern Ukranian region of Donbas, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images
In a separate Facebook post, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces are “exerting intense fire along the entire line of contact and in the depths of the defense of our troops in the Donetsk, Slobozhansky and Pivdennobuzhsky operational areas.”
“The greatest activity of hostilities” is observed in the Donetsk operational district, the post noted, namely near Lysychansk and Severodonetsk.
— Holly Ellyatt
Kherson to accept both Russian rubles and Ukrainian hryvnyas, Russian official says
A man holds up Russian ruble and Ukrainian hryvnia notes on 18 March 2014.
Moscow-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region says the region will officially accept both Russian rubles and Ukrainian hryvnyas, the Associated Press reported.
Saldo also said an office of a Russian bank will open in the region, the AP reported.
Kherson was the first city to fall fully under Russian control. A Russian official previously spoke of plans to request Russian President Vladimir Putin to annex the region and have it join the Russian Federation.
— Chelsea Ong
Turkey urges Sweden to alleviate its security concerns about the country’s bid to join NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech in Turkey on November 11, 2017. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Sweden to take “concrete steps” to ease Turkey’s security concerns regarding Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the Associated Press reported.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Sweden to take “concrete steps” to ease Turkey’s security concerns regarding Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the Associated Press reported.
“We can in no way ignore the fact that Sweden is imposing sanctions against us,” Erdogan said, according to the AP. “Turkey’s rightful expectations concerning (an end to the) support to terrorism and sanctions must be met.”
Turkey has said it opposes Sweden’s application to join NATO, saying the country supports the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK – a Kurdish Marxist separatist movement that has been fighting Turkish forces on-and-off since the 1980s.
The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, as well as by the U.S., Canada, Australia and the European Union.
— Chelsea Ong
World Food Program chief presses billionaires ‘to step up’
The head of the U.N.’s World Food Program is telling billionaires it’s “time to step up” as the global threat of food insecurity rises with Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying he’s seen encouraging signs from some of the world’s richest people, like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Agency Executive Director David Beasley built upon a social media back-and-forth he had with Musk last year, when the Tesla CEO challenged policy advocates to show how a $6 billion donation sought by the U.N. agency could solve world hunger.
Since then, “Musk put $6 billion into a foundation. But everybody thought it came to us, but we ain’t gotten any of it yet. So I’m hopeful,” Beasley told The Associated Press at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where some of the world’s biggest elites and billionaires have gathered.
“I don’t know what it’s going to take,” he said of Musk. “We’re trying every angle, you know: Elon, we need your help, brother.”
Musk and Bezos didn’t immediately respond to emails or other messages seeking comment.
— Associated Press
EU will likely reach a Russia oil embargo deal ‘within days,’ German economy minister says
The European Union will likely agree to an embargo on Russian oil imports “within days”, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told broadcaster ZDF.
Habeck warned, however, that an embargo would not automatically weaken the Kremlin as rising prices were enabling it to rake in more income while selling lower volumes of oil.
Therefore, one consideration was to no longer pay “any price” for oil, but to agree on upper limits, he said. For that to work, however, many countries would have to get on board.
— Reuters
‘Never have I been so ashamed of my country’: Russian diplomat quits over Ukraine invasion
Russian service members work on demining the territory of Azovstal steel plant during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
A Russian diplomat quit over his country’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it “not only a crime against the Ukrainian people but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia.”
“Never have I been so ashamed of my country as on Feb. 24 of this year,” wrote Boris Bondarev, a counselor in Russia’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva, in an email to other diplomats there.
“Those who conceived this war want only one thing — to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity,” wrote Bondarev.
Bondarev wrote that during his 20 years in Russia’s Foreign Ministry, “the level of lies and unprofessionalism” has increased, but in recent years “has become simply catastrophic.”
“Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy. It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred.”
A grim milestone has been crossed these days in the war in Ukraine – extra than 100 assaults on health and fitness treatment confirmed by WHO because the begin of the war on 24 February. The assaults so far have claimed 73 lives and wounded 51.
Of the latest complete of 103 assaults, 89 have impacted health amenities and 13 have impacted transport, which includes ambulances.
“We are outraged that assaults on wellbeing care are continuing. Assaults on overall health treatment are a violation of intercontinental humanitarian law,” reported Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-Basic, at a push convention. “Peace is the only way ahead. I once more simply call on the Russian Federation to cease the war.”
“It’s a actually unfortunate irony that we are recording this milestone of in excess of 100 attacks on wellness in Ukraine on Environment Wellbeing Working day,” noted Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, who frequented the humanitarian hub of Lviv in western Ukraine right now. “I have been personally struck by the resilience and fortitude of health treatment vendors and in fact of the overall health program by itself in Ukraine. WHO has been doing the job to make sure supply strains continue being open up to let lifesaving health and medical provides to arrive at towns and towns nationwide, and ongoing assaults on overall health make this exertion all the more demanding.”
This milestone of over 100 assaults on wellbeing spans scarcely 42 days considering that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine commenced. The impact of this violence is not only speedy, in the figures of fatalities and injuries – but also long-expression in the consequences for Ukraine’s wellness care program. It’s a important blow to the country’s efforts to institute health and fitness reforms and reach universal overall health protection, a objective it had designed considerable development on in advance of the war erupted.
“Across Ukraine, 1000 wellness services are in proximity to conflict spots or in adjusted regions of management,” stated Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Consultant in Ukraine. “Health personnel in the course of the country are risking their life to serve all those in want of health-related solutions, and they, and their sufferers, must under no circumstances be specific. Additional, when persons are prevented from seeking and accessing health and fitness care, both mainly because the facilities have been destroyed or out of concern that they may well turn out to be a concentrate on, they lose hope. The mental well being toll wreaked by the war cannot be underestimated, affecting civilians and the overall health workforce alike.”
Attacks on health and fitness are regrettably observed amid conflicts globally. Due to the fact 1 January 2022, WHO has verified 160 assaults on overall health treatment in 11 countries and territories ensuing in 97 deaths and 74 injuries. Exterior of Ukraine at this time, Sudan is also witnessing a latest improve in attacks on well being care.
Notes to the editor
What’s the definition of an assault on health and fitness?
An attack on health treatment is any act of verbal or physical violence or obstruction or risk of violence that interferes with the availability, access and shipping and delivery of healing and/or preventive overall health products and services. Sorts of attacks differ throughout contexts and can array from bodily violence, psychosocial threats and intimidation to use of hefty weaponry against healthcare services.
Attacks on overall health care involve attacks on wellness services, transportation, staff, clients, materials and warehouses.
What is WHO’s role?
WHO has been tasked by WHA to keep track of and disseminate experiences on attacks on wellness (WHA Resolution 65.20).
Our Attacks on Overall health Treatment initiative aims to improve protection for health staff everywhere so they can present healthcare in a safe atmosphere without the need of disruption from functions of violence. The initiative has 3 principal pillars of get the job done together with (1) the systematic collection of details on attacks, (2) advocacy for protecting against assaults, and for stopping them if they occur, and (3) the promotion of excellent tactics and heightened consciousness for preserving healthcare from assaults.
How does WHO have out its function?
WHO’s Surveillance Method for Attacks on Wellness Care (SSA), released in December 2017, is the primary mechanism for accumulating main source facts of attacks on health care in countries with advanced humanitarian emergencies. Its methodology lets the cataloguing of assaults and gives data centered on a stage of certainty for every single incident. The ensuing information and facts is then designed publicly offered.
Does WHO make other facts on assaults on well being treatment publicly offered?
WHO does notshare facts further than details published on the SSA dashboard, which has precise steps in position to protect the confidentiality of sources and to prevent any even more hurt to survivors of an assault and the affected neighborhood.
Does WHO investigate attacks on health care?
WHO is neither mandated nor equipped to examine these assaults, together with identification of the perpetrators. WHO’s role is to systematically acquire and disseminate facts on assaults. It does so by verifying that attacks on health care have occurred in get to spotlight their extent and consequences. Other bodies within just the United Nations process have the mandate to investigate assaults on healthcare and WHO cooperates with them.
The Kremlin has accused the European Union of “performing in a hostile style to us” more than arms materials to Ukraine.
Russia’s government warned that supplying weapons to Ukraine is “hazardous and destabilising” as Russia continues to progress on the place.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also today called the West an “Empire of Lies” as he reviewed the economic climate with major officers next the imposition of sweeping sanctions in opposition to Moscow.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to elaborate on Putin’s final decision on a “particular routine” for nuclear forces or the variety of casualties the Russian forces has suffered.
Putin has requested that Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces be put on large alert, expressing aggressive statements by NATO leaders and financial sanctions against Moscow have been guiding the choice.
Stick to are living updates: Blasts read in Kyiv and Kharkiv as Zelenskyy suggests following 24 hours ‘crucial’ for Ukraine
Impression: Vladimir Putin satisfies with his defence minister Sergei Shoigu and military manager Valery Gerasimov
British isles Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described his feedback as “a significant attempt to distract away from his problems in Ukraine” by reminding the earth Russia has nuclear capacity.
The Kremlin’s opinions on Monday are a reaction to the West’s stepping-up of weapons materials to Ukraine to aid it defend against the biggest invasion of a European point out considering that the Next Earth War.
It arrives as Moscow has claimed it has launched a “special military procedure” aimed at protecting civilians.
With out furnishing proof, Mr Peskov went on to say that many Ukrainians were getting utilized as human shields in what he known as a crime by Ukrainian nationalists and described them as victims of their country’s propaganda.
He additional that most Russian citizens have kinfolk in Ukraine, and their hearts had been aching about what was taking place there.
Critical developments in the Ukraine disaster:
• Putin orders nuclear deterrent forces to be set on superior inform • Zelenskyy: Ukraine and Russia to keep talks at Belarus border • Ukraine claims regulate of crucial city Kharkiv right after intense clashes • Overseas secretary warns conflict could last ‘years’ • BP to offload its stake in condition-owned Russian oil huge Rosneft
The Kremlin also acknowledged on Monday that Russia’s economic actuality had improved – but noticed no motive to question the efficiency and trustworthiness of the central bank, which hiked fascination prices to 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} as it sought to shield the economic climate from unparalleled Western sanctions.
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Nuclear warn is ‘attempt to distract’
West is an ’empire of lies’
Putin is meeting with numerous officers throughout the day, which include the finance minister and central financial institution governor, Mr Peskov said.
He additional that Russia experienced a plan to react to sanctions and was now carrying it out.
He stated Moscow will also retaliate in opposition to Western sanctions that concentrate on Russia’s aviation industry.
“The guiding basic principle will be reciprocity, and our possess interests will be at the forefront of that,” he informed reporters on a conference simply call.
A transcript of a assembly with the Russian Key Minister Mikhail Mishustin quoted Putin condemning the West about sanctions.
He reported: “[Mishustin] and I reviewed this subject, the natural way bearing in mind the sanctions that the so-known as Western community – as I known as it in my speech, the ’empire of lies’ – is now making an attempt to put into practice versus our place.”
Ukraine-Russia talks start off in Belarus
In the meantime, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak has mentioned talks with Russia in Belarus have begun, according to Reuters.
The assembly will emphasis on attaining an fast ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces, the Ukrainian presidency reported in a assertion earlier.
The delegation, which arrived in the Gomel area by helicopter, also includes Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov.
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine reached into its second largest city, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was putting nuclear forces on high alert, the EU announced unprecedented new actions against Moscow.
Putin’s order to make his nuclear weapons more ready for launch – made Sunday in response to “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers and economic sanctions by the West – represent an unnecessary and dangerous move, according to the Pentagon.
A senior Defense Department official said Russia is under no threat from the United States and its NATO allies. The Pentagon is confident it can protect the United States and its allies, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
President Joe Biden, who has spent the weekend in Wilmington, Delaware, has spoken with his national security team regularly Sunday to receive updates on Russia and Ukraine, according to the White House.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly scheduled an emergency session Monday on Russia’s invasion.
Also Monday, neutral Switzerland will consider joining other Western nations in sanctioning Russia. Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said Sunday it was “very probable” the Swiss would follow the EU’s lead and sanction Russia and freeze Russian assets in the country, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, the European Union plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund a weapons purchase to assist Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in its latest response to Russia’s invasion, European Commission officials said Sunday. It marks the first time the block would finance military equipment for a country under attack.
On top of the military funding from the EU, the U.S. approved delivery of anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
The move to shut down Russian flights to Europe prompted a call from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, urging all Americans in Russia to consider leaving “immediately,” ahead of the impending drop off in flights.
Earlier Sunday, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a delegation would meet with Russian officials for talks, near the Belarus border.
Also Sunday, Russian troops entered Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and fighting is underway in the streets, according to the Associated Press. Videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv and a light vehicle burning on the street. Residents were urged to stay inside.
The U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
The exact timing of delivery is not known, but officials say the U.S. is currently working on the logistics of the shipment. The officials agreed to discuss the development only if not quoted by name.
The decision comes on the heels of Germany’s announcement that it will send 500 Stinger missiles and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine.
The high-speed Stingers are very accurate and are used to shoot down helicopters and other aircraft. Ukrainian officials have been asking for more of the powerful weapons.
Estonia has also been providing Ukraine with Stingers since January, and had to get U.S. permission in order to do that.
After days of fence-sitting, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said on Sunday it was “very probable” that neutral Switzerland would follow the European Union’s lead and sanction Russia and freeze Russian assets in the country.
Reuters reported that Cassis, who was interviewed on French-language Swiss public television, said the nation’s seven-member Federal Council would meet Monday and review recommendations by finance and economy officials.
“It is very probable that the government will decide to do so tomorrow, but I cannot anticipate decisions not yet taken,” Cassis said, via Reuters.
Switzerland, a global financial hub and commodities trading center – has so far resisted calls for it to levy sanctions and possibly freeze Russian assets, especially after the EU and U.S. announced sanctions.
“The civilized, democratic world has to stand up to the biggest threat to European security and stability since the Second World War,” Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for EU external affairs, said on Friday. “It affects not only Ukraine. It affects Europe. Switzerland is part of Europe. So we expect our partner, our neighbor, our ally to follow suit in standing up for defending the principles on which our communities and countries are based.”
The oft-neutral country’s move came as a surprise to some.
“Switzerland to sanction Russia! Holy crap. A country that was neutral against the literal Nazis. Neutral no more!” tweeted Paul Massaro, a counter-corruption advisor to the U.S. Congress.
It was not known immediately how many wealthy Russian elites, especially oligarchs close to Putin, have stashed money in Swiss banks, known for their strong privacy firewalls. But various leaks of banking documents over the years suggest they have a sizable amount invested in Switzerland.
In 2018, Swiss banks reportedly frozen $1 billion in the accounts of one oligarch alone – Russian metals tycoon Viktor Vekselberg – over fears that they could be fined for doing business with him after Washington levied sanctions against the businessman, the Moscow Times reported at the time.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Sunday that American citizens “should consider departing Russia immediately” because of the dramatic drop-off in airline service in and out of the country.
“An increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines,” a security alert posted to the embassy’s website states. “U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available.”
The guidance comes after the EU’s move to close its airspace to Russian airlines. Russian airline Aeroflot says it cancelled all flights to Europe.
The State Department had already advised Americans not to travel to Russia because of its aggression against Ukraine, as well as the potential harassment of U.S. citizens in the country and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
The vote on Sunday to authorize an emergency meeting was 11 in favor, Russia opposed, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. That was the exact same vote on a resolution Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. But in that case, Russia used its veto and the resolution was defeated.
Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya asked for the General Assembly meeting to be held under the so-called “Uniting for Peace” resolution, initiated by the U.S. and adopted in November 1950 to circumvent vetoes by the Soviet Union during the Korean War.
That resolution gives the General Assembly the power to call emergency meetings when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members – the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.
The United Nations had announced the civilian death toll had reached 240 by Saturday, but stressed that the actual figure was potentially “considerably higher.”
Officials with the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued a new advisory Sunday, telling Americans to choose departure routes very carefully if they are trying to flee.
“Ukraine’s roads are in many cases crowded, exposed to combat operations, and infrastructure such as bridges in some locations has been destroyed,” the embassy said in a notice. “Sheltering in place may remain the best option for some.”
Most border crossings into Poland and all main crossing points into Moldova “are severely backed up,” with extremely long wait times – in some cases, more than 30 hours, the embassy said.
“We recommend that, if possible, U.S. citizens consider redirecting to border crossings with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, which are currently experiencing lower wait times to cross,” the note says. “Note that conditions at each border can change very quickly and wait times can increase at any time without warning.”
Shipping giants FedEx and UPS have suspended services to Russia amid the country’s military assault on Ukraine.
UPS said it had halted all international shipments to addresses in Russia as of Feb. 25. FedEx said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and had suspended inbound service to Russia “until further notice.”
Both companies had already stopped service to Ukraine, after Russian troops invaded the neighboring country. Russian troops have now advanced well into Ukrainian territory, reaching its second largest city and encircling the capital, Kyiv.
Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday that Ukrainians are doing a “tremendous job” defending the country against Russian military attacks.
“I think Putin got a lot more than he bargained for. He’s in a very difficult position. And I think anything we can do, obviously, financially, going after his international criminal enterprise with sanctions and so forth is important. But the support for Ukraine’s ability to defend themselves is also important,” McMaster told Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
The retired lieutenant general also said the seizure of Ukraine’s capital Kiev is “not in the cards for the immediate future,” but acknowledged the next 72 hours are going to be “really critical.”
KYIV, Ukraine – As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv’s mayor is both filled with pride over his citizens’ spirit and anxious about how long they can hold out.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, after a grueling night of Russian attacks on the outskirts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians if Russian troops managed to take Kyiv.
“We can’t do that, because all ways are blocked,” he finally said. “Right now we are encircled.”
When Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Thursday, the city of 2.8 million people initially reacted with concern but also a measure of self-possession. However, nerves started fraying when grocery stores began closing and the city’s famously deep subway system turned its stations into bomb shelters.
The mayor confirmed to the AP that nine civilians in Kyiv had been killed so far, including one child.
A Klitschko-ordered curfew began about sundown on Saturday and is to extend until at least 8 a.m. Monday. His order pointedly stated that any unauthorized person outside could be considered a saboteur.
“We are hunting these people, and it will be much easier if nobody is on the street,” Klitschko explained, saying that six Russian “saboteurs” were killed Saturday night.
In the last few days, long queues of people — both men and women — were spotted waiting to pick up weapons throughout the capital, after authorities decided to distribute weapons freely to anybody ready to defend the city. There are concerns, however, about arming nervous civilians with little military experience amid warnings of Russian saboteurs disguised as Ukrainian police or journalists.
“To be honest, we don’t have 100{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} control,” said Klitschko. “We built this territorial defense in a short amount of time — but these are patriotic people.”
“Right now, the most important question is to defend our country,” he added.
The top official in the European Union said the bloc will take unprecedented new steps after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised tensions with talk of nuclear weapons.
“We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU,” she said.
“For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack,” she added.
The EU will also ban pro-Kremlin media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, she said.
The European Commission’s plans followed the announcement earlier in the day that Germany was committing 100 billion euros ($113 billion) to a special armed forces fund and would keep its defense spending above 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of GDP from now on. The shift underscored how Russia’s war on Ukraine was rewriting Europe’s post-World War II security and defense policy in ways that were unthinkable only a few weeks ago.
The EU’s plan to fund weapons purchases was unprecedented and would use millions of euros to help buy air defense systems, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and other military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces. It would also supply things like fuel, protective gear, helmets and first aid kits.
Oil giant BP will walk away from its nearly 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in Russian oil company Rosneft, according to media reports.
BP Chairman Helge Lund issued a statement announcing the exit, as well as the resignation of BP CEO Bernard Looney from the board of the Russian oil firm.
BP has been a shareholder in Rosneft since 2013, according to the BBC.
Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Putin “totally underestimated” the resolve of the Ukrainians and the support building worldwide for the Ukrainian people, describing the Russian invasion so far as a major “miscalculation.”
“Remarkably what he’s also been able to do his unify the vast majority of us in the Senate, Democrats, Republicans alike,” Warner said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And he’s going to pay a high price.”
Warner said Putin over the past few years became “more and more isolated.”
“When you are an authoritarian leader, and you’re only hearing from people that want to say to the boss, hey, you’re right. I think that leads to miscalculation. I think that is what has happened in the case of this invasion in Ukraine.”
As she made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made clear that the U.S. response to the invasion of Ukraine will not include American troops or air personnel.
“The president has made clear that we’re not going to put boots on the ground,” Thomas-Greenfield said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Thomas-Greenfield said that mandate includes no patrols of any “no-fly zone” in the region.
The U.S. will provide whatever assistance it can to Ukraine, working with NATO partners, she said, but: “We’re not going to put American troops in danger. So that means we’re not going to put American troops in the air as well. But we will work with the Ukrainians to give them the ability to defend themselves.”
The main force of Russian assault aimed at Kyiv remained stalled Sunday about 18 miles from the city’s center, hindered by stiff Ukrainian resistance and Russia’s own problems providing fuel and supplies for its troops, according to a senior Defense Department official.
There are indications of some fighting inside Kyiv and that Russian troops in Ukrainian military uniforms have appeared there, said the official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
The officials described Ukrainian resistance as stiff and creative around Kyiv and Kharkiv. Meantime, fuel shortages and logistics problems for Russian troops are most acute near Kharkiv.
The war is a major operation for Russia’s military, a complex mission that it does not have recent experience mounting, the official said. It’s unclear if the shortages in materials represent a failure in planning or execution. However, the official said Russian officers are expected to learn and adapt to its logistical problems.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, there are troubling indications that Russia is encircling the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, and could be planning to besiege it, the official said. There are increasing rocket attacks there, imprecise weapons that can kill civilians and damage infrastructure.
Overall, Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed two-thirds of the combat forces he deployed against Ukraine is now inside the country, the official said.
Russia has launched more 320 ballistic missiles into Ukraine during the four-day war. There are some indications that several ballistic missiles have failed to launch.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Sunday the U.S. will continue to apply stiffer economic sanctions against Russia as Putin escalates fighting in Ukraine.
“We are continuing to assess what we can do moving forward,” Thomas-Greenfield said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And the Russians can be assured that we will continue to put more and more sanctions as they continue to press more on the Ukrainian government.”
U.S. and Western allies have cut some Russian banks out of the SWIFT financial system but stopped short of a complete removal.
“They will feel the pain,” she said, adding there are also actions the U.N. can take.
“We can isolate them. We can isolate them in the United Nations. We can isolate them in U.N. specialized agencies. They are feeling that isolation.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said if peace talks are to succeed, Russia must be willing to make “serious compromises” and “respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on high alert is not a good sign.
It “just adds to the very aggressive rhetoric” of Russia, the NATO leader said.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States accused Russia of committing war crimes in its attack on her country.
Ambassador Oksana Markarova said Sunday that Russian troops are using heavy missiles and heavy artillery to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure, as well as hospitals and kindergartens. Many children have been killed, and one entire family was shot in their car, she said.
“Nothing is off limits to them,” Markarova said on ABC’s “This Week.” “What we see is a full-fledged war, with war crimes on the ground.”’
Asked whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is safe, Markarova offered no information on his whereabouts but added, “He is as safe as our country.”
She spoke shortly after Zelenskyy’s office confirmed that a delegation will meet with Russian officials. Marakova said Ukraine is ready “for any peace talks that would stop the war and get them out from our country.” But the Ukrainians will not surrender, she said.
Sen. Tom Cotton on Sunday called on the Biden administration and American businesses to provide “no support whatsoever” to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
“We can do more than prayers and hashtags and lining up building storage,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s time for the president and some of our European partners to quit pussyfooting around.”
Cotton appealed to the Biden administration to increase its sanctions on Russian banks, arguing that while the administration says it has sanctioned 80{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of Russian banks, Russian President Vladimir Putin “controls 100{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of banks.”
The Arkansas Republican also blamed Western nations for underestimating Putin’s ambition.
Despite a strong condemnation of Putin, Cotton stopped short of condemning former President Donald Trump, who has called Putin “smart” and his plan both “savvy” and “genius.” Cotton repeatedly said he does not speak for other politicians.
Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russian President Vladimir Putin recent behavior is a departure from her past encounters with the “cold and calculating” leader.
“This is a different Putin,” Rice, who served under former President George W. Bush, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “He seems erratic… He has descended into something I have not seen before.”
While Rice said the prospect of peace talks was promising, she urged Ukraine to follow the advice of former President Ronald Reagan.
“Trust but verify,” she said. “It’s always a good thing if there is a chance (at peace),” she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert is another example of the Russian leader “manufacturing threats” to justify aggression against Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday.
“We’ve seen him do this time and time again,” Psaki said on ABC’s “This Week.” “At no time has Russia been under threat from NATO.”
“This is all a pattern from President Putin,” Psaki said, “and we’re all going to stand up” to him.
Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russian President Vladimir Putin may have “bitten off more than he can chew” perhaps forcing early peace talks.
Rice, speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” said Putin likely believed that he could “waltz” into Ukraine.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, cast Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion as a battle of “good and evil,” and called for more sanctions on the “evil regime” of Vladimir Putin.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Romney also said he hopes Putin will use potential peace talks with Ukraine as an opportunity to back off.
“He made a huge error,” Romney said of Putin. “This is not going well for him.”
Removing Russia from a global banking network as part of a new round of sanctions “will make a big difference” in isolating the Kremlin, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressed hope for prospective peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
“We’ll look forward to what comes out of those discussions,” Thomas-Greenfield told CNN’s “State of the Union.” The ambassador spoke shortly after reports that Ukraine would send a delegation to a location near the Belarus border to talk with Russian negotiators.
U.N. ambassador says Russian leaders will be held accountable – including Putin
Thomas-Greenfield did not directly address the question of whether Putin should be tried as a war criminal – but also did not reject the idea.
“We’re holding the Russians accountable at every level,” she said on CNN.
The office of Ukraine’s president has confirmed that a delegation will meet with Russian officials as Moscow’s troops draw closer to Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border and did not give a precise time for the meeting.
The announcement on Sunday came hours after Russia announced that its delegation had flown to Belarus to await talks. Ukrainian officials initially rejected the move, saying any talks should take place elsewhere than Belarus, where Russia has placed a large contingent of troops.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday that Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert indicates the Russian president is “continuing to escalate” the war in Ukraine in a way that is “unacceptable.”
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. is using “every possible lever” to stop Russia’s invasion of its neighbor and that the U.N. Security Council will meet later Sunday.
“I’m not surprised at this information because Putin has tried every means possible to actually put fear in the world in terms of his actions. It just means that we need to ramp up up our actions at the U.N.”
When asked whether there’s a threat of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield responded: “Certainly nothing is off the table with this guy.”
Russia President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces Sunday to be on high alert, a dramatic escalation of tensions with the West that brought immediate condemnation from the U.S. as Russia continues its full-scale assault on Ukraine.
Putin, announcing the move on Russian state television, called it a response to “aggressive statements” and tough financial sections from NATO countries. The extraordinary step raises the threat of nuclear warfare entering the conflict in Ukraine, a scenario the White House has previously said it has not assessed.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, condemned the action as “unacceptable” in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Putin directed the Russian defense minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a “special regime of combat duty” during a meeting with top officials.
“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.
At the onset of the conflict with Ukraine, Putin warned that any nation that would “hinder us” will face” such consequences that you have never encountered in your history,” although he did not elaborate what he meant.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The capital, Kyiv, was eerily quiet after huge explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported blasts at one of the airports. Only an occasional car appeared on a deserted main boulevard as a strict 39-hour curfew kept people off the streets. Terrified residents instead hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian assault.
“The past night was tough – more shelling, more bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “There is not a single facility in the country that the occupiers wouldn’t consider as admissible targets.”
Videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. The images showed Russian troops roaming the city in small groups. In one image, Ukrainian troops were seen firing at the Russians and damaged Russian light utility vehicles abandoned nearby.
The images underscored the determined resistance Russian troops face while attempting to enter Ukraine’s bigger cities. Ukrainians have volunteered en masse to help defend the capital, Kyiv, and other cities, taking guns distributed by authorities and preparing firebombs to fight Russian forces.
Located in The Hague, the Netherlands, the ICJ is the main judicial arm of the United Nations.
“Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.
The ICJ rules on disputes between states, including responsibility for breaches of international law. It is not linked to the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which holds individuals accountable for atrocities.
When offered an escape from Kyiv, allegedly by the United States, the 44-year-old Ukrainian president immediately rejected the notion and demonstrated selfless leadership and a portrait of courage generally reserved for Hollywood.
Many leaders would have abandoned ship, putting their own personal safety above that of their countrymen. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, is taking a stand for freedom, boldly demonstrating that freedom is worth fighting for; that a government of, by and for the people is worth defending.
Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek has called for the NHL to “immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players” amidst Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine.
Hasek, who played in the NHL for 16-seasons and is widely considered one of the best goaltenders of all time, called Ovechkin an “alibist,” a “liar” and a “chicken (expletive)” after Ovechkin failed to publicly denounce Putin and his country’s aggression.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks with Russia but not in Belarus.
Speaking in a video message Sunday, Zelenskyy suggested meeting in Warsaw, Poland; Bratislava, Slovakia; Istanbul; Budapest, Hungary; or Baku, Azerbaijan. He said other locations are also possible but made clear that Ukraine doesn’t accept Russia’s selection of Belarus, which Russia has used as a staging ground for its invasion.
The Kremlin said Sunday a Russian delegation had arrived in Homel, Belarus, for talks with Ukrainian officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the delegation includes military officials and diplomats.
Russia was working Sunday to limit strategic strategic ports along the Ukraine’s coastline stretching from the border with Romania in the west to the border with Russia in the east. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Russian forces had blocked the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.
Russia’s military also put increasing pressure on strategic ports in the south of Ukraine, blocking the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.
Cutting Ukraine’s access to its sea ports would deal a major blow to the country’s economy.
Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.
Huge explosions lit up the sky early Sunday south of the capital, Kyiv, where people hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale assault by Russian forces.
On Sunday morning, Ukranian writer Illarion Pavliuk plans to set out on a dangerous journey to help his countrymen as explosions rock Kyiv, and outgunned Ukrainian forces continue to maintain control of their capital.
Pavliuk is not a solider, but he does have a military background. In 2015, he was an intelligence volunteer in the war in Eastern Ukraine. And yet, this is what Ukraine has become – a country where internationally acclaimed artists are forced to kiss their children goodnight before they go off to defend their homeland from the occupying force. “We will never give up and we are going to win this war. You cannot defeat the whole nation. And Ukrainians are absolutely united as a nation now.”
His words are haunting and powerful, with his children in the background.
“What can I tell you about this war? It is difficult to say a couple of words,” he says. “I would never ever imagine my four children dropping their toys and running to sit in the thickest doorway in the house because of cruise missiles above our city; ballistic missiles.
“And I would never imagine this and I will never forgive Russia.”
Sanctions from the United States and European nations intensified Thursday as Western nations’ leaders condemned Russia’s actions.
Europe
BASF
The German chemical substances maker BASF(BASFY) co-owns Wintershall Dea, just one of the fiscal backers of the suspended Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, with Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s LetterOne trader group. It says it generates 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of group income from Russia.
BP
British oil corporation BP(BP) is the greatest overseas trader in Russia with a 19.75{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in the country’s countrywide oil business Rosneft. It also retains stakes in several other oil and fuel projects in Russia.
Coca-Cola HBC
The London-shown corporation bottles Coke for Russia, Ukraine and a great deal of Central, Jap Europe. It counts Russia among the its major markets and employs 7,000 folks there.
Danone
The French yogurt maker Danone controls Russian dairy manufacturer Prostokvanhino and will get 6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of full sales from the country.
Engie
The French gasoline utility company is 1 of five co-financiers of Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2.
Metro
The German retailer employs about 10,000 people today in Russia exactly where it serves some 2.5 million customers.
Nestle
The Swiss shopper products company had 6 factories in Russia as of 2020, including vegetation making confectionery and drinks, according to its website. Its 2020 product sales from Russia were truly worth about $1.7 billion.
Renault
The French carmaker has a 69{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in Russian joint venture Avtovaz, which is behind the Lada auto model and sells extra than 90{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of its auto output domestically.
Rolls-Royce
The aeroengine maker says Russia contributes less than 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of total profits, but 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of its titanium, which is applied to make motor components and landing equipment for extended-haul jetliners, is from the place.
Safran
Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA is the French jet motor maker’s major solitary supplier of titanium nevertheless the French enterprise claims Russia provides less than 50 percent its specifications.
Shell
The Dutch oil enterprise owns 27.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the Sakhali-2 liquefied purely natural gasoline venture, which has an once-a-year potential of 10.9 million tonnes and is operated by Gazprom. It is also one particular of the 5 co-financiers of Nord Stream 2.
TotalEnergies
The French oil firm is a person of the major buyers in Russia with a 19.4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in Russia’s Novatek, a 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} desire in the Yamal LNG joint enterprise, 21.6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of Arctic LNG 2, a 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in the onshore Kharyaga oil industry and several holdings in the country’s renewables, refining and chemicals sectors, according to its site.
Uniper
The German utility has a $1 billion exposure to Nord Stream 2, together with 5 electricity plants in Russia with a merged capability of 11.2 gigawatts, delivering about 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of Russia’s total power desires. It also imports Russian natural gasoline to Europe.
The United States
ExxonMobil
The American oil giant has additional than 1,000 staff members in Russia, and has been in the region for around 25 years.
Its subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas Confined (ENL), has a 30{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in Sakhalin-1 — a vast oil and purely natural gasoline venture found off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Much East. It has operated the task considering the fact that 1995 on behalf of a consortium that features Japanese and Indian partners, as effectively as two affiliates of Russia’s biggest oil enterprise, Rosneft.
McDonald’s
The burger chain has classified Russia as a higher-growth industry and ongoing to open spots there all over the last 10 years.
Mondelez
The Oreo maker and owner of Cadbury became the top chocolate maker in Russia in 2018.
Asia
Japan Tobacco
The organization employs about 4,000 people at its Russian vegetation, and its tax payments in 2020 accounted for 1.4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the Russian Federation condition spending budget, the business reported on its site. The former tobacco monopoly relies on the Commonwealth of Unbiased States, like Russia and Belarus, for about a fifth of its revenue.
Marubeni
The Japanese buying and selling property has 4 places of work in Russia, where by it sells tires for mining tools and manages a well being checkup heart.
Mitsubishi
The business distributes Mitsubishi Motor cars by way of some 141 dealerships in Russia and has a stake in Sakhalin II fuel and oil development project that supplies Japan with liquefied all-natural gas and trades coal, aluminium, nickel, coal, methanol, plastics and other material. It also materials power plant equipment and other machinery to Russia.
SBI Holdings
SBI Lender, established almost a few many years back, features company expert services and financial loans to Japanese companies increasing functions in Russia.
Toyota
The company’s plant in Saint Petersburg, Russia, tends to make Camry and Rav4 automobiles, and it has a product sales place of work in Moscow. It has about 2,600 personnel, such as 26 Japanese nationals, at people areas.
— CNN Business’ Mark Thompson and Reuters contributed to this report.
