UNITED24 Media Telegram (for the last 2 days)
49 states condemned the Russian Federation for organizing a meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the alleged legal grounds for the abduction of Ukrainian children, β a joint statement by the member states.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the US and China are learning lessons from the war in Ukraine.
According to him, the lesson that China can focus on is "the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy." According to the FBI director, China has already "begun to take steps to protect its economy from potential sanctions."
Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany's military-industrial complex is experiencing a significant upswing, β Bloomberg
In March, the company reported a record profit and enormous orders of 26.6 billion euros. The company Hensoldt, which specializes in the manufacture of electronics for various types of weapons, also reported record volumes of orders. [wonder if Swiss arms sales are falling]
πThe International Swimming Federation supported the recommendations of the IOC to return neutral status to Russians and Belarusians.
Defense Minister Reznikov held two-hour talks in Athens with the head of the Greek Foreign Ministry, Panagiotopoulos, on military support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, β EPT.
πΈ As a result of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian oligarchs lost their assets and political influence, due to which they actually ceased to be oligarchs. However, the risks of the emergence of new ones remain, β Bloomberg.
The agency, citing an unnamed European diplomat, writes that the G7 countries are putting pressure on the Ukrainian authorities with the demand to resume reforms and the fight against corruption.
China did not provide weapons to any of the parties to the "Ukrainian conflict", said the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Russian Federation, Zhang Hanhui.
According to him, from the beginning of the crisis, Beijing actively contributed to resolving the conflict in Ukraine through dialogue and negotiations, "did not add fuel to the fire and did not try to take advantage." [but oh, they haven't bothered to speak to Ukraine yet!]
The ruble continues to depreciate on the Moscow Stock Exchange, renewing the lows since the first month of the war in Ukraine. On Thursday, the dollar rose above the 82 ruble mark for the first time since April 2022, and the euro broke through the 90 mark
The decision to liberate Crimea should be made only by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, taking into account the will of the Ukrainians, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a comment to the Funke Mediengruppe publication.
Since February 24, 2022, Russia has fired 4,750 missiles at Ukraine with a total cost of approximately $16 billion, β Forbes
β‘οΈ Zelenskyy signed a decree on the creation of 19 new military administrations in the Zaporizhzhia region
Russians kidnapped four employees of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and took them to an unknown destination, β Energoatom
Poland and the Baltic countries propose introducing sanctions against the Russian nuclear power industry, β RMF FM with reference to the document.
The countries propose considering restrictions within the 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia. In particular:
β«οΈintroduce individual sanctions against Rosatom board members;
β«οΈto prohibit concluding new contracts with "Rosatom";
β«οΈban investments in Russian nuclear energy;
β«οΈban the import of Russian enriched uranium.
To encourage other countries to accept the sanctions finally, the four countries offer many exceptions and transition periods.
In particular, withdrawal from all agreements with Rosatom within two years. As well as a nine-year transitional period for the completion of two reactors at the Paks NPP in Hungary. [only a proposition at this stage]
The global economy will grow by less than 3% yearly for the next five years. According to the International Monetary Fund, these are the worst growth expectations in two decades.
"The world economy is breaking apart into geopolitical blocs with democracies led by the United States on the one side and autocracies led by China on the other. This could lead to competition in technology systems and reduced trade," the report said.
The US will hold an interagency forum on cooperation with Ukraine on April 13, the US State Department reported.
The purpose of the event is to attract American investments to Ukraine.
βοΈBiden extended sanctions against the Russian Federation for another year, β White House
The majority of Russians still believe that the sanctions of the West do not affect them in any way, β poll by "Levada-Center".
An all-Russian survey showed that the number of those who are worried about sanctions in the Russian Federation is gradually decreasing: 34% of respondents are not concerned, 30% are not very worried, and those who circumvent the restrictions β to a large extent or very strongly β 18% and 15%, respectively.
78% of respondents believe that sanctions will not negatively affect the development of Russia, and 57% even think that they will strengthen the country and become an incentive for its development.
The Vatican once again tried to "reconcile" Ukrainians and Russians by involving children from both countries in the Holy Procession, β Vatican News.
Significantly, a boy from Ukraine and his family had to flee at night from Mariupol, surrounded by Russian troops, and move to Italy. His father remained in Ukraine due to martial law. At the same time, the Russian teenager said that he "feels guilty but does not understand why."
"It became known from the media that during the 10th station, children (boys) from Ukraine and Russia will symbolize the tragedy of the war. The Russian boy, in particular, will talk about his murdered brother, father, and grandfather, who went missing in the war. But he will surely forget to mention that his relatives came to Ukraine to kill the Ukrainian boy's father and the whole family... and not the other way around!" Yurash wrote on Facebook. [this seems rather cruel to me; at the very, very least misjudged]
This is what Maryinka looks like now