Direct | The US, the EU, and other countries leave a G20
Finance officials from the US, the EU, and other countries walked out of a G20 meeting in Washington on Wednesday, protesting Russia's presence at the meeting. The US Treasury Secretary and the European Commissioner for the Economy, among others, stood up as Russia's intervention began. The Spanish Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, "firmly" condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but remained at the meeting, since she served as president of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the IMF, according to sources close to the meeting.
Meanwhile, when 56 days have passed since the start of the Russian invasion, Moscow reported that it had handed Ukraine its "draft document" for an agreement, "which includes absolutely clear and developed formulations. "The ball is in its field, we await a response," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Wednesday.
In Mariupol, meanwhile, a small group of civilians managed to leave the Ukrainian city this Wednesday, within the framework of the ceasefire ultimatum given by Russia to the Ukrainian forces to surrender and give up the last focus of resistance, at the plant Azovstal Metallurgical.
Although Russia has guaranteed safety to those leaving, the Ukrainian troops are wary and have asked world leaders to help evacuate the armed forces, the more than 500 wounded, and hundreds of civilians who are believed to remain in the steel plant, in an increasingly difficult situation. "This is our appeal to the world, it may be the last, we may only have a few days or hours left. The enemy group is dozens of times larger than us, they have dominance in the air, in the artillery, in the groups that operate on the ground, equipment, and tanks," a spokesman for the Ukrainian fighters said in a video posted on Wednesday.
UKRAINE, IS WILLING TO SEND A NEGOTIATING DELEGATION TO MARIUPOL TO EVACUATE CIVILIANS AND MILITARY. The Ukrainian negotiator David Arajamia, together with the advisor to the Ukrainian Presidency, Mijailo Podoliak, have declared their willingness to send a negotiating delegation to Mariupol to hold talks with the Russian side to evacuate civilians and military personnel from the besieged town. "In a conversation with the defenders of the city, it was proposed to hold a round of negotiations on the spot to evacuate our military garrison. For our part, we are ready to enter into such talks at any time as soon as we receive confirmation from the Russian side. ", has said.
SPAIN CONDEMNS THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE IN THE G20 SESSION BUT DOES NOT LEAVE THE MEETING. The First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, condemned this Wednesday "firmly" the Russian invasion of Ukraine and remained at the G20 meeting that was boycotted by some countries in the presence of Russia. Sources close to the meeting told Efe that Calviño remained in her chair since she served as president of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the International Monetary Fund. [Keep reading]
ANTI-AIRCRAFT ALERTS AT VARIOUS POINTS IN UKRAINE | Air-raid alarms are sounding right now in "multiple regions of Ukraine, including in Kyiv".
ZELENSKI SPEAKS WITH THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA | "I had a telephone conversation with Cyril Ramaphosa (President of the Republic of South Africa). I told him about our resistance to Russian aggression. We discussed the threat of a global food crisis, deepening relations with the Republic of South Africa, and cooperation within the international organizations," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his Twitter account.
UKRAINE "READY FOR A SPECIAL ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS" | "Yes. Without any conditions. We are ready to hold a "special round of negotiations" in Mariupol. One on one. Two on two. To save our boys, Azov, military, civilians, children, living and wounded. Everyone Because they are ours. Because they are in my heart. Forever", said the adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
TURKEY SAYS SOME NATO COUNTRIES WANT TO PROLONG THE WAR | Some NATO member countries want to prolong the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu said today in an interview on CNNTürk broadcaster. "There are some countries within NATO who want the war in Ukraine to continue. They think that if the war continues, Russia will be weakened. The situation in Ukraine matters little to them," the minister said.
THE Kyiv ORCHESTRA GIVES ITS FIRST CONCERT AFTER THE INVASION | The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra will give its first concert since the Russian invasion on Thursday in Warsaw, Poland, at the start of a European tour that the musicians hope will "heal troubled souls and help boost Ukrainian culture."
ZELENSKI WANTS TO EXCHANGE RUSSIAN SOLDIERS FOR CIVILIANS IN MARIUPOL | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine is ready for any format of exchange of captured Russian soldiers and bodies of Russian soldiers killed by Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol.
PUTIN REPLACES A COMMANDER WHO fought IN Kyiv | Russian President Vladimir Putin relieved General Sergei Chubarikin as commander of the 76th Airborne Assault Division, which fought during the "special military operation" in the north of Kyiv, where numerous atrocities were committed against the civilian population. According to official media reports today, Putin dismissed General Chubarikin and replaced him with Colonel Denís Shimov, who until now commanded the 11th Airborne Brigade based in the Siberian region of Buryatia. Shimon was decorated as a Hero of Russia during the current military campaign for his role in taking over the Kherson region, bordering the annexed Crimean peninsula.
UKRAINE CONFIRMS THE FAILURE OF THE MARIUPOL CORRIDOR | Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Irina Vereshchuk, confirmed on Wednesday that the humanitarian corridor opened in Mariupol throughout the day has not worked as planned and has blamed Russia for "the lack of control over its own Army". "Due to the lack of control over her own army, the invaders have not been able to guarantee a proper ceasefire," Vereshchuk said in a statement released through her Facebook profile. SEE MORE.
Macron accuses Le Pen of depending on Putin and a Russian bank
Emmanuel Macron accused his opponent in the presidential elections on Wednesday, Marine Le Pen, of depending on Vladimir Putin and a Russian bank that in 2015 granted a loan to his party that has not yet been repaid by the National Group (RN).
"You were one of the first political leaders to recognize the result of the Crimean referendum. Why did you do it? Because it depends on Russian power and Putin," Macron said in the television debate on Wednesday, days before the second return of the presidential elections this Sunday.
The outgoing president has reproached Le Pen for his party voting in the European Parliament against the reception of Ukrainian refugees and financial aid to the country after the Russian invasion, measures against which the RN MEPs positioned themselves.
Le Pen has defended herself against the accusations by assuring that she was forced to go to the First Czech Russian Bank after not having obtained a loan in France.
"I am a patriot. I will defend France and the French all my life. What you say is false," the far-right candidate responded about a tweet she wrote in 2014 in which she positioned herself in favor of a free Ukraine. of influences.
Macron has refused to drop the accusations against Le Pen and has insisted that Russia's interference in the 2017 campaign was not "accidental".
The US announces new sanctions against 40 Russian individuals and companies for "supporting the brutal war" in Ukraine
The United States announced on Wednesday a new battery of sanctions against a network of 40 individuals and companies, led by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, which is allegedly helping Russia dodge Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
Russian commercial bank Transcapitalbank and Russian cryptocurrency company Bitriver, as well as 10 of their subsidiaries, were also sanctioned, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The United States has decided to punish these entities because, by helping Russia to evade sanctions, they are supporting the "brutal war" that Russian President Vladimir Putin has waged against Ukraine, the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence of the Treasure, Brian Nelson.
Malofeyev has a vast network of companies that he uses to help the Kremlin evade US, UK, Canadian, and European Union (EU) sanctions, according to the Treasury.
Helps to avoid penalties
One of the entities that help it evade sanctions is the International Agency for Sovereign Development, based in Moscow and which declares that its objective is to advise African and Asian countries on how to restructure their debt, although in reality it is dedicated to helping companies sanctioned Russian companies to seek business abroad, according to the Treasury.
Another of the sanctioned companies is Tsargrad, a Russian propaganda tool that Maloféyev allegedly uses to act as an intermediary between the Kremlin and pro-Russian politicians in Europe.
Target recently pledged to donate more than $10 million to the Russian government for the war in Ukraine, the Treasury said in its note.
The US first sanctioned Malofeyev in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea, and at the time, the Treasury described the oligarch as one of the main sources of financing for the Russians who were promoting the separation of Ukraine from Donbas, in the East of the country.
The Treasury accuses the bank Transcapitalbank of having offered the Kremlin its help to circumvent the sanctions that have caused several Russian banks to be excluded from the SWIFT international interbank communication system, which makes it difficult or prevents transactions between banks.
Specifically, Transcapitalbank has made available to the Kremlin a system called "TKB Business", which is intended to be an alternative to SWIFT.
cryptocurrencies
Likewise, the Treasury Department explained that its sanctions on Bitriver seek to prevent that cryptocurrency company from helping the Kremlin obtain funds for the sale of its natural resources.
