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Russia has started moving very small numbers of troops away from positions around Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the Pentagon said on Tuesday (March 29), adding it was more of a repositioning than a retreat or a withdrawal from the war.

“Has there been some movement by some Russian units away from Kyiv in the last day or so? Yes, we think so. Small numbers,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.

Kirby also told reporters that U.S. troops in Poland were “liaising” with Ukrainian forces as they hand over weapons to them, but it was not training “in the classic sense.”

Kirby did not provide details on what exactly the interactions entail.

Kirby added that additional aircraft, including 10 F-18 jets, and more than 200 personnel would be headed to eastern Europe, including Lithuania.

U.S. President Joe Biden also said it remains to be seen whether Russia follows through with any actions to scale down its military operations in Ukraine, saying Washington and its allies will continue with strong sanctions and aid for Ukraine.

“We’ll see if they follow through with what they’re suggesting” as Moscow-Kyiv negotiations continue, he told reporters at the White House following his meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore. “We’re going to continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on.”

Lee expressed his country’s condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Singapore is a staunch supporter of international law and the UN Charter, which prohibits acts of aggression against a sovereign state. And that’s why we’ve strongly condemned the unprovoked attack by Russia on Ukraine,” he said. “The sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of all countries, big and small, must be respected.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said on Tuesday has not seen “signs of real seriousness” by Russia in pursuing peace after its invasion of Ukraine, adding that Moscow should end its aggression now and pull its forces back.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the signals from peace talks with Russia could be called positive but added that they did not drown out the explosions from Russian shells.

In a late-night address, Zelenskiy also expressed caution about Russia’s promise to sharply curtail military action in some areas and said Ukraine would not be easing off its defensive efforts.

Russia and Ukraine have been holding peace negotiations in an Istanbul palace. Zelenskiy said Kyiv saw no reason to believe in words from some Russian representatives.

“We can say the signals we are receiving from the talks are positive but they do not drown out the explosions of Russian shells,” he said, adding that Ukraine could only trust a concrete result from the talks.

Earlier in the day, Russia promised to scale down military operations around Ukraine’s capital and north.

Zelenskiy said that despite this vow, “the situation has not become easier … the Russian army still has significant potential to continue attacks against our state.” He added: “Therefore we are not reducing our defensive efforts.”

Zelenskiy reiterated that for any peace deal to work, Russian troops would have to leave and there could be no compromise on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Published : March 30, 2022

By : Reuters

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A group of Ukrainian protesters who demand western countries stop trade with Russia arrived in Berlin on Tuesday (March 29), calling on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to stop selling goods to Moscow.

Several dozen Ukrainians, among them refugees and children, placed a pair of shoes they said had belonged to a now-dead six-year-old Ukrainian girl called Tatyana outside the chancellery.

“These shoes are completely new. She didn’t have a chance to wear them. So we brought them to Olaf Scholz and we propose to him to sell them to Russia as he is selling goods to Russia,” protester Iryna Zemlyana said outside the chancellery.

Scholz was visiting the Ahrtal region in western Germany, more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Berlin, which was hit by deadly floods last summer. His economy ministry has ruled out a total embargo on exports to Russia.

The Ukrainian group of protesters made their way to Germany after staging a protest at the Polish-Belarusian border 10 days ago where they blocked a highway in an attempt to prevent goods from reaching Russia by road.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday (March 28) urged Western nations to toughen sanctions quickly against Russia, including an oil embargo, to stop Moscow from having a free hand to escalate its measures against his country.

Published : March 30, 2022

By : Reuters

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Afghans said the U.S. sanctions on Afghanistan have badly undermined businesses and worsened the country’s already fragile economy.

“Scores of people including 50 women worked in my firm to produce pickle in the past, but nowadays only two persons are working with me,” female Afghan entrepreneur Nafas Gul Jami said with a sigh.

Putting on display her products in a stall at a three-day Agricultural Products Exhibition which opened here on Saturday, Jami said the U.S. sanctions on Afghanistan have badly undermined businesses and worsened the country’s already fragile economy.

“The female Afghan businesspersons are in need of economic support and encouragement, and we need to find markets for our products to boost our businesses,” she said.

The 45-year-old woman pointed to an increasing poverty, a high rate of unemployment, isolation of Afghanistan and freeze of 7-billion-U.S. dollar assets of the war-torn country by the United States following the U.S. military defeat and troop withdrawal from the Central Asian nation in August last year.

In a decree issued in February, U.S. President Joe Biden allocated 3.5 billion U.S. dollars from the frozen Afghan assets to the 9/11 victims’ families and earmarked another 3.5 billion U.S. dollars as humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

An Afghan woman waits for customers at the Art Bazaar in Bamiyan city, central Afghanistan, on March 19, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

The decision, which has further exacerbated Afghanistan’s economic woes, has been widely condemned in Afghanistan.

More than 22 million Afghans out of the country’s some 35-million population, according to aid agencies, are facing acute food shortages and the war-torn country would face a humanitarian catastrophe if not assisted.

“I am the owner of a bee farm in the central Daykundi province but I had no activity over the past six months due to economic miseries,” said businesswoman Zahra Naemi.

Naemi, 30, who has hired 10 people including six women in her farm, collected 1,000 kg honey in past years but her products reduced to 400 kg so far this year.

“The purchasing power of people has been reduced almost to zero and they can’t afford to buy honey and that was why I have sold 400 kg at half price,” Naemi complained.

She assumed that like her, many businesspersons suffered due to lack of market, economic hardships and sanctions imposed on Afghanistan.

Mohammad Hamid Samadi, an Afghan businessman who runs a saffron producing company, told Xinhua that he exported saffron to 25 countries in the past years but his company’s income has drastically reduced due to the shattered economy.

“Freezing of Afghan assets has led to capital outflow and eventually to a worsening economy and an increase in poverty in the country,” Samadi said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister of the Afghan caretaker government Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said the country is committed to supporting farmers and the agricultural sector. 

Afghans stand in line to leave the country at Islam Qala, a town along the border with Iran in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, March 3, 2022. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua)
 

Published : March 30, 2022

By : Xinhua

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The Group of Seven (G7) has reached a consensus to reject Russia’s demand to pay for gas in rubles, said German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck on Monday.

Russia’s demand was “a unilateral and clear breach of existing contracts,” Habeck, who is also the German minister for economic affairs and climate action, said after a virtual meeting of the G7 energy ministers.

Germany is currently chairing the G7.

Contracts that had been concluded should continue to apply, said Habeck. “A payment in rubles is not acceptable,” he added, urging companies involved not to follow Russia’s demands.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that gas deliveries to a number of “unfriendly countries” which buy Russia’s gas would now have to be paid in rubles.

On March 7, the Russian government issued a list of countries “taking unfriendly actions against Russia, Russian companies, and citizens,” referring to the economic sanctions introduced amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Asked at a daily briefing in Moscow what Russia will do if Europe refuses to pay for gas deliveries in rubles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Russia has begun to draw up a ruble settlement plan for natural gas exports. If European countries refuse to pay in rubles, Russia will respond in due time, he said.

When attending an energy conference in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian energy giant Eni, said his company will not pay their energy bills using the Russian ruble. He said Eni doesn’t have rubles, noting the contracts say fuel payments should be made in euros.

The leaders of EU member states failed to reach an agreement on banning the import of Russian energy at the just-concluded EU summit. A German government spokesman reiterated on Monday that Germany does not support sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, which will significantly blow the German economy and employment.

The EU imports about 40 per cent of its natural gas from Russia, most of which are settled in euros. The “ruble settlement order” announced by Putin means that these “unfriendly” countries with import demand will have to buy rubles.

In recent days, EU countries have successively imposed mounting sanctions against Russia, but they are heavily dependent on Russia’s energy. They say payment in rubles is not acceptable.

Published : March 29, 2022

By : Reuters

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday (March 28) that although Ukrainian forces had regained control over some areas in the Kyiv region, the fighting was ongoing.

The town of Irpin had been retaken by Ukrainian forces who were making advances but Russian troops remained in control of the northern Kyiv region, he said.

Speaking in his nightly video address to Ukrainians, Zelenskiy also urged Western nations to toughen sanctions quickly against Russia, including an oil embargo, to stop Moscow from having a free hand to escalate its measures against his country.

The clearly irritated president said the West had miscalculated last year in delaying sanctions and the invasion had followed.

Russia’s month-old invasion of Ukraine, the biggest European conflict since World War Two, has seen over 3.8 million Ukrainians flee abroad, left thousands dead or injured and isolated Russia’s economy.

Zelenskiy said sanctions had to be “effective and serious” given Russia’s actions to date.

The United States has already introduced an embargo on Russian oil shipments. But Europe, far more dependent on Russian energy, has been more hesitant. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has said introducing such an embargo would trigger recession and mass unemployment.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers on Monday patrolled territory recently recaptured from Russian forces in the northeastern part of Kyiv region, passing through a landscape scarred by heavy fighting.

Several wrecked Russian tanks lay scattered throughout the area next to destroyed buildings and the ruins of a church.

The Ukrainian soldiers on patrol paused to bury the charred remains of a dead combatant.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm and “denazify” its neighbour. Kyiv and the West consider this a pretext for an unprovoked invasion to try to topple the elected Ukrainian government.

Published : March 29, 2022

By : Reuters

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Amnesty International has been documenting attacks against civilians in Ukraine, with the targeting by Russian forces of hospitals and schools, its director for Eastern Europe Marie Struthers said.

The rights group is releasing its annual report on Tuesday (March 29), in the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Struthers said Russia was repeating siege techniques used in the wars in Syria and Chechnya, where civilians were indiscriminately targeted and where cluster ammunitions banned under international humanitarian law were being used.

“We’re very pleased that at least 39 states acted very quickly to request that the International Criminal Court open an investigation into possible war crimes committed on Ukrainian territory,” she said.

Abductions and forced displacement of Ukrainians to Russia, which the UN Human Rights Office has documented, if proven to be true, “is clearly a war crime and is absolutely prohibited under the Geneva conventions,” Struthers said.

Amnesty International, on the other hand, has urged Ukrainian soldiers to stop documenting Russian soldiers being held as prisoners of war, as it was also a violation of their rights.

Russia’s month-old invasion of Ukraine, the biggest European conflict since World War Two, has seen over 3.8 million Ukrainians flee abroad, left thousands dead or injured and isolated Russia’s economy.

In Russia, Amnesty International has observed the further dwindling of rights, with arrests and fines of civilians who have protested against the war, and new legislation that punishes individuals calling it an “invasion” as opposed to a “special military operation”.

Struthers has warned of total disinformation, with the last of independent media having shut down after warnings or threats of imprisonment.

A Russian court found prominent Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny, guilty of large-scale fraud last March 22. Russian prosecutors are seeking to move Navalny to a maximum-security penal colony for 13 years on charges of fraud and contempt of court.

Struthers said Navalny was continually exposed to psychological aggression, and moving him to a maximum-security prison had no grounds.

“The international community at large bears responsibility for not having put enough pressure on Russia during all these years of oppression, because it’s been a steady decline for at least 10 years and the world didn’t take it seriously enough, which for us, means in part that this outcome was inescapable,” Struthers said.

Published : March 29, 2022

By : Reuters

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The seven-day average of vaccine doses of all types given in the United States fell to 127,000 per day this week, according to data tracked by The Hill. That marks a steady decline since January, when more than 1 million shots per day were being administered.

The number of COVID-19 vaccinations per day in the United States has fallen to the lowest level since the early days of the inoculation campaign in 2020, while new Omicron subvariant led to rise in infections in country.

The seven-day average of vaccine doses of all types given in the country fell to 127,000 per day this week, according to data tracked by The Hill. That marks a steady decline since January, when more than 1 million shots per day were being administered.

The seven-day average number of administered vaccine doses over the past week was a 27.1 decrease from the previous week, according to data of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of March 23, about 255 million people, or 76.8 percent of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 217.2 million people, or 65.4 percent of the total U.S. population, have been fully vaccinated, CDC data show.

However, less than half of the total booster-eligible population has not yet received a booster dose.

A woman jogs by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 4, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

About 96.9 million booster doses have been reported in people who have been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

Experts said booster shots are particularly important in the face of the Omicron variant, which has a greater ability to evade the protection from two doses of the vaccine.

The lagging rates in COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters left the United States more vulnerable to a potential new increase in cases, as is starting to happen in Europe, even with higher booster rates in many countries.

“Periodic reminder that U.S. booster coverage is terrible, especially considering most in this group are not opposed to vaccines in general and many are high risk (age or otherwise),” tweeted Jason Schwartz, a professor at the Yale School of Public Health.

Amid the slowdown in vaccinations, the BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant is steadily gaining its ground in the country, with infections almost doubling each week in February, CDC data show.

The BA.2 variant now makes up over one third of new COVID-19 infections in the United States. This data is up from 22.3 percent a week prior, and 15.8 percent two weeks before.

In the northeastern part of the country, BA.2’s prevalence has surpassed 50 percent in the latest week.

The rapid spread of the variant coincided with the start of the allergy season, which may complicate symptoms and delay timely distinction.

With COVID-19 cases rising in parts of Europe and Asia due to BA.2’s rapid spread, scientists worry that the variant may soon push cases up in the United States too.

Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said he expects “an uptick in cases” due to BA.2, but not necessarily a massive surge like other variants have caused. 

Published : March 29, 2022

By : Xinhua

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Henry Kissinger once stated: “To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.” That is something for Europe to chew on.

The Ukraine crisis has entered its second month. In terms of security, economy, refugees, etc., Europe will pay a heavy price in the crisis.

Since the end of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has pushed for five rounds of eastward expansion up to Russia’s borders. As Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, if the U.S. and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, it would take those missiles only minutes to reach Moscow.

It is like shoving the muzzle of cannons to Russia’s doorstep, which is certainly unacceptable to a big power like Russia. However, after instigating Europe and provoking Russia, the United States stood aloof from the conflict and left Europe to clean up the mess.

But don’t forget that the distance between Washington and Moscow is 7,800 km, while Berlin is only 1,600 km away from Moscow. The security framework of Europe has broken into pieces. It may take years to restore the security order in Europe.

Photo taken on March 18, 2022 shows diesel and gasoline prices displayed on a board at a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany. (Photo by Armando Babani/Xinhua)

The European Union (EU) is the largest foreign investor in Russia with total direct investment of 311.4 billion euros (about 341.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019. In 2021, the total trade in goods between the EU and Russia amounted to 257.5 billion euros (about 281.9 billion dollars). But the close economic ties were cut off by the continuous and all-encompassing sanctions.

Figures say everything. The European Commission expects the EU’s economic growth rate in 2022 to be lower than 4 percent as predicted earlier before the conflict. Some even forecast that the final growth rate will be less than 3 percent.

According to data from London’s ICE exchange, the price of natural gas in Europe climbed to nearly 3,900 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters on March 7, with an alarming increase rate of 79 percent. The price of wheat in Europe has risen by over 50 percent to a new high unseen in 14 years. Closed airspace between Russia and Europe results in 3.3 percent of EU flights canceled and costs the airlines an extra 10,000 euros (about 10,951.3 dollars) per detoured hour.

A burning ring on a gas cooker is seen in Manchester, Britain, March 17, 2022. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua)

The European Central Bank has adjusted the inflation outlook of the euro zone from 3.2 percent to 5.1 percent. And all the losses will be borne by Europeans.

Meanwhile, the influx of over 3 million Ukrainian refugees into Europe poses a severe challenge to European countries with emerging social problems such as food shortages, lack of health care and children’s education.

According to the latest estimates, around 6 million refugees will eventually flood into Europe, costing Europe a stunning 30 to 70 billion euros (about 32.9 to 76.7 billion dollars) on resettlement and even more on their social welfare and access to housing, medical treatment and schools.

The government of Poland, which has received the largest number of refugees so far, has said it will need more money than the EU is currently offering in order to host the refugees arriving there.

History has proven many times that Europe’s interests have never been America’s concern.

Last year, the United States hastily withdrew from Kabul, leaving its European allies stunned and unprepared. The United States also forged the AUKUS with Britain and Australia, blatantly breaking the Australia-France submarine deal. These are typical hegemonic acts of the United States, which treats its allies and partners as mere political tools ready to be abandoned anytime.

Henry Kissinger once stated: “To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.” That is something for Europe to chew on.

Ukrainian people move towards a border crossing at the border area between Ukraine and Poland. (Xinhua/Ren Ke)

Published : March 29, 2022

By : Xinhua

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The amount of humanitarian aid arriving in Ukraine is beginning to wane even as the Russian bombardment persists, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister Oleksii Iaremenko said on Sunday (March 27).

Speaking in a cargo warehouse near Warsaw’s Chopin airport during delivery of medical equipment facilitated by charity Direct Relief, Iaremenko said more support was desperately needed.

He said he hoped the decrease was due to “some pause to find new resources” and said support should be given now, rather than delaying weeks or months.

Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe said the group was working to give the Ukrainian healthcare system more support in taking care of traumatic injuries

The shipment bound for Ukraine included everything from metal beds to gauze to asthma inhalers and oxygen concentrators.

The conflict in Ukraine has caused a humanitarian crisis and displaced an estimated 10 million people, nearly a quarter of the country’s population, according to the United Nations.

Moscow says it is conducting a “special military operation” with the aim of demilitarising and “denazifying” its neighbour, and denies targeting civilians.

Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia has invaded Ukraine without provocation.

Published : March 28, 2022

By : Reuters

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– Erdogan, Putin agree to hold next round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Turkey – Forest fires near Chernobyl plant cover over 10,000 hectares – Ukraine ready to exchange prisoners with Russia: Zelensky The Russia-Ukraine conflict continued on Monday, while Russian and Ukrainian delegations will hold a new round of face-to-face negotiations this week. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Sunday agreed to hold the next round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Turkey’s Istanbul city, the Turkish presidency said.

The two leaders had a phone conversation on Sunday and discussed the latest situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the negotiation process, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

The two leaders “agreed that the next meeting of the negotiation teams of Russia and Ukraine will be held in Istanbul,” the statement said.

Forest fires, which broke out around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant due to hostilities, cover more than 10,000 hectares, Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said Sunday.

“We have recorded 31 fires, which caused an increased level of radioactive contamination in the air,” Denisova wrote on Facebook.

Ukrainian firefighters are unable to reach the area, which is controlled by Russian forces, Denisova added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (1st L) meets with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (1st R) in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C) in Antalya, Turkey, March 10, 2022. (Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that his country stands ready for an all-for-all prisoner exchange with Russia before the end of hostilities, the presidential press service reported.

“I believe that there is an agreement to exchange everyone for everyone, we have this number — let’s exchange for this number,” Zelensky said in an interview with Russian media.

He also noted that Ukraine wants to hand over the corpses of Russian soldiers to their relatives.

Photo taken on March 10, 2022 shows the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

Russian and Ukrainian delegations will hold a new round of face-to-face negotiations on March 29-30, head of Russia’s negotiation team Vladimir Medinsky said on Sunday.

“Today, another round of negotiations with Ukraine via video link took place. As a result, it was decided to meet in person on March 29-30,” Medinsky, also an aide to the Russian president, said on Telegram.

Meanwhile, David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, said Sunday that the next live round will be held in Turkey on March 28-30.

Since Feb. 28, Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of face-to-face peace talks and then a series of online discussions, but have failed to reach a major agreement. 

Published : March 28, 2022

By : Xinhua