Peace negotiations and hundreds of thousands are fleeing

It is difficult to seriously believe in a peaceful solution to this deadlock in Ukraine. And as confirmation this Monday evening – the first round of peace negotiations between Russians and Ukrainians has just ended – news of new violent explosions in Kyiv and Kharkiv.

The war doesn’t take a break on day five either. The areas around Ukraine’s two largest cities are the main targets for Russian forces.

The capital is still in Ukrainian hands. “There is no Russian army directly in the city yet. They come, fight and go back,” said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko. “Some Russian snipers are already here in the city. That’s why you have to be careful.”

He is primarily concerned with the supply of food and medicine. “Logistics collapsed. Food and medication will be tight for the next few days,” said Klitschko on Bild Live.

Meanwhile, the delegates from Russia and Ukraine spoke for more than five hours at their meeting on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. Perhaps the most important result: both sides remain willing to talk.

According to the Interfax agency, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said: “First of all, we agreed to continue the negotiation process. The next meeting will take place in the coming days on the Polish-Belarusian border.” Both sides had agreed on that. Until then, the delegations would consult with their “leaders of the country”.

“We are going back to the capitals for consultations,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak after the first round. “The main goal was the cessation of fire and hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.” The explosions in the evening show that this goal was not achieved.

This is how the markets react

The West achieved clear results on Monday with its financial sanctions, which surprisingly also Switzerland joined in the late afternoon. Previously, after the EU, the USA had also imposed severe sanctions on the Russian central bank. The Kremlin had to concede that economic reality had changed significantly.

In the evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin banned his citizens from transferring foreign currency abroad. According to a decree issued by the Russian President and published by the Kremlin, debts abroad should no longer be settled. Money may no longer be transferred to accounts opened abroad. The decree will come into force this Tuesday. This is apparently intended to prevent the Russian ruble from falling further.

The Russian ruble plummeted on Monday, falling to a record low against the US dollar. At times, about 117 rubles had to be paid for one dollar, after about 84 rubles on Friday. By the afternoon, the ruble recovered only slightly.

The Russian central bank reacted to the sanctions with a drastic interest rate hike of 10.5 percentage points to 20 percent. The Ministry of Finance also introduced an obligation for companies to sell part of their proceeds in foreign currency. The measure should also aim to limit the fall in the Russian currency.

What is already clear today: There will be no stock trading on the Moscow stock exchange on Tuesday either. Trading on the stock and derivatives exchange will not resume on March 1, the Russian central bank decided.

>> Read about this: Panic on bonds, ruble in free fall – Russian central bank doubles key interest rate to 20 percent

And what is the Dax doing? He catches up again and largely stems his losses, which were initially significant. The leading German index, which had lost a little more than three percent in the morning, ended trading with a relatively moderate discount of 0.73 percent to 14,461 points.

Last Thursday, the Dax fell to almost 13,800 points as a result of the attack on Ukraine, before a noticeable recovery began on Friday.

>> Read about this: Dax clearly limits losses until the close of trading – the leading index remains above 14,000 points

Ukraine applies for EU membership

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has now officially applied for his country’s admission to the European Union. His office announced on Monday that the documents were already on their way to Brussels.

There is support for the initiative there. A resolution of the EU Parliament to be voted on this Tuesday urges Ukraine to join the EU. The text calls on the EU institutions to give the country EU candidate status.

In the meantime, according to the resolution, work should continue to integrate the Ukrainian market into the EU’s internal market. The resolution is available from the German Press Agency. According to the information, it has been coordinated between the groups, with the exception of the right-wing national ID group.

>> Read about this: EU accession in an urgent procedure? The most important answers to Ukraine’s membership application

Baerbock’s warning words

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock advises German nationals who are currently in Russia to consider leaving the country. One does not know how the situation will develop in the next few days, said the Green politician on Monday after meeting her Slovenian colleague Anze Logar in Berlin.

It was therefore made clear that anyone who does not necessarily have to stay in Russia should “consider a return trip in view of the restrictions on air traffic”. Accordingly, the departure of family members of the embassy staff is made possible.

Allied switching conference

In Washington, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden consulted with his allies on Monday evening. Other participants in the switching conference were German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Johannis, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are also said to have attended.

The White House said the meeting was “to discuss the latest developments regarding the Russian attack on Ukraine and to coordinate our joint response.”

Sports federations exclude Russia

The football associations Fifa and Uefa are also drawing consequences. Both ban Russian teams from all competitions until further notice. In addition, Uefa announced the end of its sponsorship contract with the Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing contracts, including the Champions League, national team competitions and the 2024 European Championship. The contract has been in effect since 2012 and is said to be worth around €40m per season. Gazprom has not issued a statement.

The decisions were the logical consequence after the International Olympic Committee had previously recommended all world federations and organizers of sporting events not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to take part in international competitions. The decision of the two football associations also sealed the elimination of the Russian team in the World Cup elimination for Qatar.

This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the developments in the Ukraine war:

Eastern Europe historians in the podcast

The Eastern European historian Karl Schlögel is a guest on the “Handelsblatt Today” podcast today. He is concerned about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war rhetoric: “This man who is willing to reduce Aleppo to rubble is also doing it in the middle of Europe.”

Schlögel is clear: Putin’s only concern is maintaining his power. Nevertheless, the 73-year-old is certain that Putin will fail. The only question is “how big and terrible the victims will be”.

>> Click here for the current episode – listen.