US supplies more weapons to Ukraine

Dusseldorf The US continues to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced additional shipments of weapons and ammunition worth up to $800 million, including artillery and drones.

Every American can be proud that US generosity would help help Ukraine fight Russia’s aggression, he said. Biden announced that the new package will include dozens of howitzers and tactical drones, among other things.

The US government announced an $800 million military aid package last week. The US has already pledged or delivered more than $3.3 billion worth of arms to Ukraine since Russia’s war of aggression began in late February.

With a view to the feared major Russian offensive in the Donbass, Biden spoke of a “critical time window” in which the “course for the next phase of this war” would be set. According to US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby, the new weapons package also includes 121 new type of combat drones dubbed “Ghost”. These were “rapidly developed by the Air Force in response to specific Ukrainian needs” and have similar capabilities to the armed “Switchblade” drones.

In addition to military aid, the US government pledged an additional $500 million in economic aid to Ukraine. The funds from the United States for this purpose add up to a billion dollars in the past two months, said Biden. Among other things, the money should help to stabilize the Ukrainian economy and support cities that were devastated by the Russian attack.

Biden also announced a new punitive measure against Russia. Henceforth, no ship flying the Russian flag or guided by Russian interests will be allowed to dock in the United States, he said. According to Biden, this is another step that the USA has taken together with its international partners.

The US President emphasized that Russia should be denied the “advantages of the international economic system” because of the war of aggression against Ukraine. The European Union had also decided to ban ships flying the Russian flag from entering EU ports.

Meanwhile, Russia is reacting to the US measures with its own sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions against 29 other US citizens on Thursday. Among them are Vice President Kamala Harris and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, according to a statement. They will be banned from entering the Russian Federation indefinitely. 61 Canadians are also subject to punitive measures.

London imposes new sanctions

The British government also decided on further punitive measures on Thursday. Travel bans have been imposed on Russian officers who are said to play a key role in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and potential assets have been frozen, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Russia is deliberately targeting hospitals, schools and transportation hubs, Secretary of State Liz Truss stressed. “Today’s new wave of sanctions hits those generals and military companies that have blood on their hands.” Among the sanctioned generals, at least one is said to have been involved in the “Bocha massacre.”

Non-military backers like the head of logistics company Russian Railways are also on the new sanctions list, along with a number of military companies that have been sanctioned in line with other Western allies.

Evidence of other war crimes

According to the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), the atrocities allegedly committed by Russian soldiers in the Ukrainian city of Bucha are likely to be classified as war crimes. Investigators from the organization found “ample evidence of summary executions, other unlawful killings, enforced disappearances and torture that would constitute war crimes and potential crimes against humanity,” HRW said in New York on Thursday.

“Nearly every corner of Bucha is now a crime scene, and it felt like death was everywhere,” said HRW contributor Richard Weir. The evidence indicated that the now withdrawn Russian forces occupying the Bucha “disregarded civilian life and the most basic principles of martial law.”

For their investigations, the human rights activists interviewed 32 residents of the city personally and five others by telephone. In addition, evidence was documented on site, and photos and videos as well as satellite images were viewed.

The images of killed Ukrainian civilians from the suburbs of the capital Kyiv caused horror around the world earlier this month. A total of more than 400 bodies were found in Bucha, some with their hands tied behind their backs. The Ukrainian secret service spoke of “mass murder”.

Russia denies having anything to do with the atrocities. International investigations are now underway. There are numerous calls for those responsible to be brought before an international court.

Estonia and Latvia strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the Russian army on Thursday. In a statement adopted unanimously, the Latvian parliament accuses Russia of committing genocide against the Ukrainian people. The resolution cites detailed testimonies and evidence of crimes allegedly committed by the Russian military in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol and other Ukrainian locations.

As a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the EU and NATO, Latvia could not accept Russia’s actions. The parliament of neighboring Estonia passed a similar declaration shortly thereafter.

According to the operator Maxar, new satellite images show a mass grave near the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The field has been enlarged in recent weeks and now contains more than 200 new graves, the US company said.

A comparison of images from mid-March to mid-April suggests that enlargement began between March 23 and 26. The mass grave is located near an existing cemetery in the village of Manhush, 20 kilometers west of Mariupol.

Unclear situation in the negotiations

Whether and when there will be more concrete talks about an end to the war is still an open question. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia is still waiting for a response from Ukraine after handing over a new drafted proposal for ending the war. A draft of a possible future document was handed over to the Ukrainian delegation, he says, according to the Interfax agency.

At the same time, Peskov was surprised by statements made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who had declared the day before that he had neither heard nor seen anything about the proposal. “This also raises certain questions as to why President Zelensky is not informed about our text versions,” said Peskov. The Kremlin spokesman recently accused Kyiv of failing to engage in the negotiations. “We keep waiting.”

More Handelsblatt articles on the war in Ukraine

At the same time, Peskov made it clear that Russia would not back away from its plans in Ukraine. “The special operation is proceeding according to plan. Mariupol, which used to be a place of gathering of nationalist groups, is liberated,” he said. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously informed Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin that the port city was under Russian control.

Meanwhile, Zelenskiy has ruled out Moscow as a venue for peace talks with Russia. For his country, he is ready to travel to any place on the planet, he told the Austrian newspaper “Der Standard” – but certainly not to Moscow. With other Russian rulers, however, the question arose again.

The Central Bank of Russia plans to cut interest rates

The Russian central bank is considering a rate cut despite high inflation and capital flight as a result of western sanctions. “We will consider the possibility of a further reduction in the coming sessions,” her boss Elvira Nabiullina said in a speech to parliament on Thursday.

In order to prevent the ruble from falling, the central bank initially raised the interest rate from 9.5 to 20.0 percent after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has since lowered it back to 17 percent. The next decision is due on April 29th.

Nabiullina sees the domestic economy facing structural change because of the western sanctions. “Problems can arise even with highly localized production,” she warned.

For example, Russia makes its own paper but uses foreign bleach. Foreign-made packaging materials for food produced in Russia are also urgently needed. The changeover does not happen overnight. “All this takes time,” said the currency guardian.

Russian banking experts expect inflation to reach 22 percent this year and gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by 9.2 percent. This is the result of a survey by the Russian central bank.

This further worsens the expectations compared to March. At that time, the bankers had expected 20 percent inflation and an eight percent drop in GDP in Russia in view of the Western sanctions.

Two months after the start of the war against Ukraine ordered by the Kremlin, the prospects for 2023 have continued to deteriorate: the experts now expect no growth at all instead of one percent for next year.

More: You can follow the latest developments in our news blog