Instead of reducing the intensity of the fighting on Russia’s part, “the military seizure of Ukraine and the shelling of cities” continues, the NATO Secretary-General said.
The NATO leadership will review Russia’s actions towards Ukraine, not Moscow’s statements. This was stated by Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference on Thursday, March 31.
“We can judge Russia only by its actions, not by its words,” Stoltenberg said, commenting on Russia’s recent statement about its intention to reduce military activity in the directions of Kiev and Chernigov.
But now, according to him, instead of reducing the intensity of the fighting on the part of Russia, “the military seizure of Ukraine and the shelling of cities” continues.
Secretary General Aljanska added that “he welcomes any effort to find a political solution, including negotiations with Turkey.” But now, instead of reducing the intensity of the fighting, Russia has continued “military seizure of Ukraine and shelling of cities.”
Earlier it was learned that NATO was preparing for possible strikes by Russia, which threatened to strike the transport where the West delivers weapons to Ukraine.
NATO spoke about a new conference with Ukraine’s participation
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Energy companies have created a project to show who continues to cooperate with the Russian Federation and funded the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian energy companies have created the Stop Bloody Energy project with a call to stop cooperation with Russia in the fuel and energy sector.
The project was launched by the group DTEK, Naftogaz of Ukraine and Ukrenergo.
“Every dollar paid for Russia’s energy is a dollar given directly into the hands of the killer. There can no longer be any hesitation about doing business with Russian energy companies or not,” the spokesman said. project website in a statement.
It contains information about gas, coal (trading), oilfield services and engineering companies that continue to cooperate with the Russian Federation.
“Those who have not yet understood this should receive a clear signal: today, your margin includes a certain number of Ukrainian children killed, houses destroyed, cities destroyed and millions of lives lost. lost and devastated by the war. The only way to stop this war is to deprive the aggressor country of funds for its extension, “the appeal said.
It should be noted that Naftogaz and DTEK have previously appealed to the world energy association with a call to stop the membership of Russian companies and stop any cooperation with them.
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Several hundred industrial enterprises have already moved or are currently moving from the war zones to continue their work, the prime minister said.
In the past week, Ukraine began to return to work. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this in a video message on Thursday, March 31.
“The business is starting to recover from the first shock. A range of decisions in the areas of tax, regulation, customs and credit policy, of course, have contributed to this. Several large factories have started working simultaneously. More over 120,000 entrepreneurs applied in a couple of days to move to a new taxation system-2% of turnover, ”Shmyhal said.
According to him, in the past 24 hours, a thousand new sole proprietors have been registered through the Diya system.
The prime minister added that about 1,500 manufacturing enterprises have already applied for the relocation. Several hundred have already moved or are currently moving to combat areas to continue working, the government head added.
Remember that the Ukrainian economy will grow sharply next year if the war with Russia ends in the next two months. This forecast was announced by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
So far, Ukrainian authorities estimate the economic collapse at 35% or more.
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The application does not work due to a technical authorization failure. Specialists are working on the problem, they promise to fix it in the near future.
Ukrainian users complain that Privat24 Internet bank does not work. Website and mobile app are down.
Bank customers only see a message that regular maintenance is being carried out.
“There was a technical failure in the authorization, that is, a failure at the entrance to Privat24 through the application. We are already working on its removal, we are fixing it,” commented Oleg Serga, a spokesman for Privatbank, in the newspaper Strana on the cause of failure.
According to him, experts expect the work to be restored in about an hour.
In the meantime, PayPal began to operate fully in Ukraine. Now Ukrainians can buy on the Internet, transfer money and withdraw it with Ukrainian bank cards.
We added that seven Russian banks and three Belarusians had previously been disconnected from SWIFT.
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The Turkish leader plans to speak to both presidents this week. He also refused to impose sanctions against Russia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that in the near future he intends to hold a meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, March 31, the Anadolu report.
“Erdogan intends to talk to Putin and Zelensky in the near future, he added that the ultimate goal is to bring them together,” the message said.
At the same time, RosSMI said Erdogan plans to talk to Putin and Zelensky this week.
At the same time, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that a meeting between Zelensky and Putin was possible after the text of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine was fully executed.
Erdogan also reiterated that his country would not participate in sanctions against Russia. Because “places great importance on maintaining a dialogue with him.”
He noted that the country has experienced problems with wheat supply due to the war in Ukraine, but “they are largely resolved.”
In addition, the Turkish president predicted that fewer tourists from Ukraine and the Russian Federation will visit them this year than in 2021, so Turkey will attract tourists from other countries.
Recall, Putin said that the time for his meeting with Zelensky has not yet come, as the conditions for a ceasefire are not yet ripe.
Turkey does not see the implementation of the decisions in Istanbul
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Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also said that both Ukraine and Russia see Italy as a guarantor of security.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with him, said that the time had not yet come for him to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and had not yet ripe conditions for a ceasefire. This was reported by La Repubblica.
According to Draghi, he asked Putin to talk directly with Zelensky.
“I expressed to Putin the belief that a meeting with Zelensky was necessary to resolve the points of the agreement. The answer has not yet come in time,” the head of the Italian government said.
Also, according to Putin, “payments for gas will be made in euros and dollars, and converting them into rubles or not is an internal affair of the Russian Federation.”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also said that both Ukraine and Russia see Italy as a guarantor of security.
It was previously reported that Germany was ready to act as guarantor of Ukraine’s security.
Security guarantees. Who is willing to support Ukraine
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Rescuers pulled 18 bodies from the rubble, another person died in intensive care. Search and rescue continues.
The number of deaths as a result of the missile attack on the Nikolaev regional state administration has risen to 19 people. This was reported by the State Emergency Service in the Nikolaev region.
It was learned that rescuers pulled out 18 corpses from the rubble, another person died in intensive care.
Search and rescue continues.
It will be recalled that as a result of the shelling, a nine -storey building of the state regional administration was hit. As a result, the central part of the building from the 9th to the 1st floor was destroyed.
Earlier it was reported that 15 were dead.
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After falling by 20% this year, the Ukrainian economy could grow by 23% next year, according to the bank.
Ukraine’s economy will grow sharply next year if the war with Russia ends in the next two months. This forecast was provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Reuters wrote on Thursday, March 31st.
The bank believes the war will lead to the biggest economic collapse in both countries in 25 years. But Ukraine’s economy will recover sharply in 2023, as long as the war is about to end.
Ukraine’s economy will contract 20% this year, according to EBRD chief economist Beata Javorczyk, as territorial conflicts take place that make up 60% of the country’s GDP before the war.
However, GDP could recover by 23% in 2023 if the war is near the end.
“Ukraine, which was originally a poor country, is going to be harder. We understand that from a third to half of companies have stopped working, and electricity consumption is 60% of pre-war levels,” he said. by Yavorchik.
So far, Ukrainian authorities estimate the economic collapse at 35% or more.
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The Finns are looking at their long border with Russia, for fear that Russia might invade their country as well. Against the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, support for NATO membership is growing in Finland.
Where is the red line now that the Kremlin will not cross when it comes to security issues? No one else knows this, even in a country like Finland, which has a lot of experience reading signals sent by Russia.
Finland’s eastern border with a length of more than 1300 kilometers is the longest border between the European Union and the Russian Federation. Since the end of World War II, peace has reigned here. But since Russia invaded Ukraine, another of its sovereign neighbors, on February 24, the Finns have apparently never abandoned their safe position.
However, at Vaalimaa, the closest checkpoint to Helsinki on the Finnish-Russian border, after the outbreak of fighting in Ukraine, everything is still fine, border guard captain Jussi Pekkala assures.
The only change, he said, was the relatively small number of Ukrainians and Russians trying to flee the armed conflict and being sent to Finland.
Vigilance is the norm
“Of course, we are prepared and preparing for a lot of situations,” Pekkala said in an interview with DW. “I wouldn’t say it’s a state of alert, but if you’re on any frontier, then this will be the first place. Where you’ll see any change in the situation taking place in the surrounding world.
This kind of change would be highly undesirable for Finland, which has worked for decades to maintain its delicate geostrategic balance-avoiding military alliances, carefully maintaining the same valid relations with Moscow. and its well -equipped and trained armed forces.
Until now, the Finns believed that they did not need guarantees for mutual protection in the event of aggression that NATO member countries had, the majority of the population continued to reject any proposals to join the alliance. This was until February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Growing support for NATO membership: sudden but understandable
Suddenly, according to a survey conducted in February commissioned by Finnish national broadcaster YLE, 53% of respondents reported support for the country’s entry into NATO. In March, this number was even higher – 62%. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said that while the increase in support for NATO membership was “overwhelming”, the reasons for it were clear.
“People thought we would live in peace in the 2020s, but now we have a war in the middle of Europe, not far from Finland,” the minister said in an interview with DW after a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels in the beginning. of this month, to which Kaikkonen and his Swedish colleague were invited.
The Finnish minister also explained that in April the government will present an updated analysis of the country’s revised security situation to parliament in April, putting the NATO issue on the agenda. Many believe that after subsequent public and parliamentary debates, Helsinki will seek membership in the alliance.
Memories of the “winter war” bring a new chill
For Finns, rethinking the dangers to their freedom is not just about the future, it is also about remembering the past. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in 1939. During the so-called “winter war” Moscow, as it is today in Ukraine, justified its invasion on the grounds that it was allegedly provoked by Finland itself.
The Finns then, almost alone resisting, retained their freedom at the cost of huge losses – human life, territory and well -being.
An example for Ukraine? “Finlandization” for the sake of peace
Since then, they have been preparing to do it again if necessary. According to the “whole society” principle of national security, Finnish adults are trained to be self -sufficient in any emergency – whether it be natural disasters, industrial accidents or invasions of neighbors.
Finnish reserves remain stable
In Vantaa, a suburb of Helsinki, Finnish army reservists strive to keep their shooting efficiency equal. In the past month, more people have been training here than ever before. At the same time, the number of new entrants both in self-defense classes and in the reservist training course has increased sharply.
Antti Kettunen, chairman of the Vantaa Reservists Club, said that in the first two weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the club’s membership grew by 20% to 250.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Kettunen admits. “The situation in Ukraine shows that anything is possible. You have to be prepared,” added Minna Nenonen, head of the Association of Finnish Reservists. “But it’s not panic. People just want to live. And now it’s time to learn it.”
Moscow threatens the consequences
But the pursuit of additional protection afforded to NATO member countries by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which deals with mutual defense, has its own risks, which have previously been part of the suppression of Finnish intentions to join the alliance.
Today, Moscow has repeatedly and unequivocally threatened Helsinki with “serious political and military consequences” if the country moves towards applying for NATO membership.
Defense Minister Kaikkonen said Helsinki was taking the Kremlin’s word for it: “There will be some kind of reaction from Russia. What it will be like in practice is impossible to say.” Given this uncertainty, parliamentary adviser Anri Vanhanen described the situation in the application for Finland’s accession to NATO as follows – “now or never.”
“If we don’t join the alliance, we have to explain the reason,” he said. “What is the basis of our security now and in the future? Is our close defense cooperation with the EU enough to ensure this? We do not know.”
Vanhanen believes Finland’s entry into NATO is a good step for the alliance itself.
“We are not security consumers,” the parliamentary adviser assured. With a well -trained military, full interoperability with NATO and a key regional location, “we are truly a security donor,” concludes Henri Vanhanen.
Source: Russian Service DW
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Holopristans were holding posters with the names of the captured people, Ukrainian flags and national symbols.
Residents of the occupied city of Holaya Pristan, Kherson region, went to a peaceful rally, where they demanded that the Russian occupiers release the arrested residents and, in particular, the mayor of the city Alexander Babich. This was reported on the Facebook group Gola Pristan – Miska Rada.
The action took place in the plaza near the City Council.
People were holding posters with the names of the captured people, flags of Ukraine and national symbols.
“Kherson is Ukraine”, “Naked Pier is Ukraine”, “Freedom for the mayor”, “Freedom for prisoners,” the Holopristans chanted.
They also performed songs of Ukraine and Hola Prystan.
It will be recalled that the kidnapping of Alexander Babich was discovered on March 29. In this fact, criminal proceedings were launched on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war. In all, the Russian military abducted eight people in Hola Prystan, including the mayor and several representatives of local authorities.
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