Ukrainian Foreign Minister’s request to NATO: “Weapons, weapons and more weapons”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with G7 and NATO members on Thursday to rally more support for his country’s fight against Russia.
“I came here today to talk about the three most important things: guns, guns and more guns. Ukraine’s urgent needs, sustainability of supplies and long-term solutions that will help Ukraine prevail,” he wrote in a tweet.
Kuleba specifically asked for aircraft, missiles, armored vehicles and heavy air defense systems. The meeting came as Russia intensified its attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine after withdrawing from areas around the capital Kyiv.
— Natasha Turak
Shell writes off around $5 billion in assets after leaving Russia
Shell is set to write off between $4 billion and $5 billion worth of its assets after withdrawing from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, revealing some of the financial impact of the Russian withdrawal on western oil companies.
“For first quarter 2022 results, the after-tax impact of impairment of long-term assets and additional charges (e.g., write-offs of receivables, expected credit losses and onerous contracts) related to Russia operations is expected to be $4 to $5 amount to billions,” Shell said in a statement on Thursday.
The company added that the additional fees “have no impact on underlying earnings.”
— Natasha Turak
According to the UN, 63 of the 1,563 civilians killed in Ukraine are children
A young boy makes an offering at his mother’s grave while his younger brother and a neighbor stand by, in the town of Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, after the Ukrainian army secured the area following the withdrawal of the Russian army from the Kyiv region to the Earlier days, Bucha, Ukraine, April 4, 2022.
Narciso Contreras | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The United Nations has confirmed 1,563 civilian deaths and 2,213 wounded in Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24.
The UN has identified at least 63 children among those killed.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights adds that the death toll in Ukraine is unlikely to be higher, citing delays in reporting due to the armed conflict.
A local resident searches for the graves of relatives at a cemetery in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, on April 5, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images
The international organization says most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons, including heavy artillery and multiple-missile systems fire, as well as missile and airstrikes.
The United Nations says the war has produced more than 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees, mostly elderly, women and children.
Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, mourns next to the grave of his friend Ihor Lytvynenko, who local residents say was killed by Russian soldiers after they found him next to the basement of a building amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Bucha, in the region Kyiv, Ukraine. April 6, 2022.
Alkis Konstantinidis | Reuters
US accuses Russian oligarchs of violating sanctions linked to Ukraine
Konstantin Malofeev, CEO of media group Tsargrad, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Moscow, Russia, September 16, 2021.
Tatyana Makeyeva | Reuters
The Justice Ministry charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev with conspiring to violate US sanctions imposed in 2014 after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 47-year-old Malofeyev eight years ago for “playing a leading role in supporting Russia’s 2014 invasion of eastern Ukraine.” He is still at large but is said to be in Russia, according to US authorities.
The FBI said Malofeyev “recently described Russia’s 2022 military invasion of Ukraine as a holy war.”
The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
— Amanda Macias
The US sanctions Putin’s adult children and bans all new investments in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Novgorod Region Governor Andrei Nikitin during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2022.
Mikhail Klimentyev | Sputnik | Reuters
The US announced a series of new sanctions against Russia as it seeks to squeeze Moscow’s business community and elites in response to mounting Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
The Biden administration will ban all new investments in Russia and impose full lockdown measures on Sberbank and Alfa Bank, two of the country’s largest financial institutions.
The US will also sanction two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and family members of other senior Russian officials.
The Biden administration believes that “many of Putin’s fortunes are hidden with family members, and that’s why we’re targeting them,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
– Christina Wilkie
