Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says tens of thousands killed in Mariupol; Austrian leader to meet Putin https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/11/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html?__source=androidappshare
Russian forces are preparing for what is expected to be a large and more focused push on expanding control in the east and south of Ukraine. The shift in military strategy comes after a failure to capture the capital city of Kyiv.
President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new general to direct the next phase of the war in Ukraine. The U.S. has cast doubt, however, that a change in battlefield leadership will have much impact on Moscow’s prospects.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is on Monday scheduled to travel to Moscow to meet with Putin, shortly after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Nehammer is set to become the first European leader to hold talks with Putin since Russia’s unprovoked onslaught began on Feb. 24.
Russia said on Monday that it had used cruise missiles to destroy S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems which had been supplied to Ukraine by an unidentified European country.
Russia launched Kalibr cruise missiles on Sunday against four S-300 launchers which were concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the defence ministry said.
Russia said 25 Ukrainian troops were hit in the attack.
— Reuters
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Ukraine says nine humanitarian corridors agreed for Monday
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says nine humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from besieged eastern areas of the country have been agreed for Monday.
The planned corridors include five in the Luhansk region, three in the Zaporizhzhia region and one in the Donetsk region, Vereshchuk said.
— Sam Meredith
Zelenskyy says tens of thousands killed in Mariupol; almost 300 hospitals destroyed
“Even despite that the Russians haven’t stopped the attack, they want to do so that Mariupol will be an example,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translation.
He accused Russia of targeting and destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure, including nearly 300 hospitals, and warned tens of thousands of Russian forces are being readied for the next offensive.
“There is no hope that Russian rational thinking will prevail and Russia will stop. Russia can only be forced to do this,” Zelenskyy said.
— Sam Meredith
Germany sees ‘massive indications’ of Russian war crimes in Ukraine
“We have massive indications of war crimes,” Baerbock said ahead of a meeting with European ministers in Luxembourg, Reuters reported. “In the end, the courts will have to decide, but for us, it is central to secure all evidence.”
“As the German federal government, we have already made it clear that there will be a complete phase-out of fossil fuels, starting with coal, then oil and gas, and so that this can be implemented jointly in the European Union, we need a joint, coordinated plan to completely phase out fossil fuels to be able to withdraw as a European Union,” Baerbock said.
— Sam Meredith
Ukraine’s northeast city of Kharkiv sees 66 strikes in the last 24 hours, governor says
Sinegubov said 11 civilians were killed in the attacks, including a 7-year-old, while 14 people were wounded. The affected areas include Saltivka, Pyatihatky, Kholodna Hora, Pisochyn, Zolochiv, Balakliya and Derhachi.
CNBC has not been able to independently verify this report.
“We are seeing the activity of enemy reconnaissance aircraft in the region,” Sinegubov said via Telegram, according to a translation.
— Sam Meredith
‘Don’t fall for it’: Ukraine warns Russian disinformation may target Western lawmakers
“Russia knows arms supplies are essential for Ukraine and mobilizes all efforts to undermine them,” Kuleba said via Twitter.
“Moscow prepared a massive info campaign targeting foreign media and politicians. Their troll factory may spam emails and flood comments with [disinformation] on Ukraine. Don’t fall for it,” Kuleba said.
— Sam Meredith
France’s Societe Generale to withdraw from Russia with sale of Rosbank stake; shares jump 5%
The bank’s exit from Russia comes after mounting pressure to follow in the footsteps of other Western companies in the wake of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
SocGen said in a statement that it would have a 2 billion euro ($2.1 billion) write-off of the net book value of the divested activities and an exceptional non-cash item with no impact on the Group’s capital ratio of 1.1 billion euros.
Shares of SocGen rose nearly 5% during early morning trade in London.
— Sam Meredith
War to slash Ukraine’s GDP output by over 45%, World Bank forecasts
The World Bank also forecast Russia’s 2022 GDP output to fall 11.2% due to punishing financial sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies on Russia’s banks, state-owned enterprises and other institutions.
The World Bank’s Eastern Europe region, comprising Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, is forecast to show a GDP contraction of 30.7% this year, due to shocks from the war and disruption of trade.
For Ukraine, the World Bank report estimates that over half of the country’s businesses are closed, while others still open are operating at well under normal capacity. The closure of Black Sea shipping from Ukraine has cut off some 90% of the country’s grain exports and half of its total exports.
— Reuters
Images from the last 24 hours depict traces of Russia’s war with Ukraine
-GETTY IMAGE
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