WARSAW, Poland – Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday that the country is well on its way to receiving new EU funding to support Ukrainian refugees and compensate for weapons provided by Poland to Ukraine.
More than 3 million refugees have entered Poland from Ukraine. While some have passed and others have returned home, most are still in Poland and receiving state support.
Poland also supplies various weapons to Ukraine.
“Although slowly, this (EU) support for Poland is coming… and we are well on our way to receiving new funds to help refugees, as well as those related to the weapons we have handed over to Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.
___
KEY DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
– The mayor of Severodonetsk says that Russian forces are taking over half of the city
– In a great attempt to punish Moscow, the EU bans most oil imports from Russia
– “Terrible Nightmare”: Treatment of wounded civilians in Ukraine
– A meeting on war crimes in The Hague on the war between Russia and Ukraine
– Orban from Hungary wins relief from EU embargo on Russian oil
– The Turkish leader writes about the “risks” of Sweden and Finland in NATO
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
___
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
BRUSSELS – Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that Italian energy company ENI was able to pay Russia for gas without violating sanctions, as Russia considers the payment to be completed as soon as the payment is made in euros.
“It is then converted into rubles on the market by a Gazprom agent, not through the Russian central bank,” Draghi said.
He said that it seems that Russia has imposed different conditions on different countries and “in some cases, when there have been suspensions, they have demanded payments in rubles, period.”
ENI also intends to go to a tribunal in Sweden and ask if this method of payment violates the contract. So far, the court has not ruled, as this changed last week, Draghi said.
___
BRUSSELS – The European Union has called on its international partners to avoid placing barriers to trade on agricultural products, as Russia’s war against Ukraine risks further fueling a possible global food crisis.
“We call on all partners not to restrict trade in agricultural products,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday.
Ukraine has said Russia is blocking exports of 22 million tonnes of its grain, some of which is destined for Africa. African countries imported 44% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine between 2018 and 2020, according to the UN
Von der Leyen said the EU was trying to help deliver food by road and rail, but land transport aid could provide only a fifth of Ukraine’s usual monthly exports.
“Of course it is more annoying and expensive, but it is necessary to get this wheat out,” she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said EU sanctions make things worse. Putin said he was ready to help allay fears if the restrictive measures were lifted.
___
Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukraine welcomes the European Union’s decision to block most Russian oil imports.
“The oil embargo will speed up the countdown to the collapse of the Russian economy and military machine,” Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in a statement.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry estimated that the ban could cost Russia “tens of billions of dollars” and praised the European Union for “not only making it difficult for the Kremlin to finance the aggression of (the Russian Federation), but also strengthening its own energy security.”
___
BRUSSELS – French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed that France will continue to “fight impunity” after a French journalist was killed by shrapnel from shells while covering a Ukrainian evacuation operation.
The French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into war crimes.
Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, 32, was killed Monday as he covered a humanitarian operation near Severodonetsk, a key city in the Donbass region that has been fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces, according to his employer, French news agency BFM TV.
Speaking after a European summit in Brussels, Macron said that journalists and humanitarian workers must be protected in military zones. Civilians must be protected. “
Russia “violates all international law,” he said.
___
BRUSSELS – Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany is working on a deal with Greece that will see Athens deliver old military equipment to Ukraine and receive armored personnel carriers from Germany to fill the gap.
Germany has faced criticism for its alleged reluctance to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, which the government has denied. It points out, among other things, arrangements for NATO allies to deliver older equipment – especially of Soviet design – to Kyiv and then have modern materials supplied by Germany.
Scholz pointed to an agreement already reached with the Czech Republic on Tuesday. He said he had agreed with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to conclude a similar deal after a European Union summit. He did not give details, but said it would be finalized by the country’s defense ministries and could be implemented quickly.
Scholz said he had also talked to his Polish counterpart about similar arrangements.
___
BRUSSELS – The President of the African Union, the President of Senegal Maki Sol, told the leaders of the European Union that the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports paves the way for a “catastrophic scenario” with widespread shortages and rising prices across the continent.
Addressing leaders gathered in Brussels on Tuesday for a summit focused on helping Ukraine, Sal said stopping grain and fertilizer exports across the Black Sea is very worrying for a continent that hosts 282 million malnourished people. . He said the price of manure in Africa has already tripled since 2021.
“According to some estimates, grain yields in Africa will fall by 20 to 50 percent this year,” Sal said. “We would like to do everything we can to free up available grain stocks and ensure transport and market access.
Charles Michel, President of the Council of the EU, said that “the EU is spared no effort to free Ukraine’s exports by land and to explore alternative sea routes”.
African countries imported 44% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine between 2018 and 2020, according to UN figures. The African Development Bank is already reporting a 45% increase in wheat prices on the continent.
___
Russia’s top diplomat has again blamed Kyiv and the West for blocking Ukrainian grain exports and the global food crisis.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia “guarantees the free export of Ukrainian grain from ships now locked in Ukrainian ports”, but first Ukraine must “demine coastal waters in Ukraine’s territorial sea”.
Lavrov told a news conference after meeting with his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, that if this was done, “on the high seas … Russia’s navy will ensure the unimpeded passage of these ships to the Mediterranean and beyond to their destinations.” , ”
He also accused Western countries of creating “a series of artificial problems with the closure of their ports to Russian ships, with the disruption of logistics and financial chains.” He added that they “must seriously consider what is more important to them – to do PR on food security or to solve the problem with concrete steps.”
___
MOSCOW – Russia’s deputy head of the Security Council says sanctions against the country, including new measures aimed at exporting oil, are aimed at hurting ordinary Russians and are motivated by hatred.
Dmitry Medvedev, who is also a former president and prime minister, wrote in the Telegram on Tuesday that the sanctions do not affect Russia’s political elite and will not be “fatal” to big business, but are aimed precisely at the Russian people. ”
He claims that the measures affecting oil and gas are aimed at forcing the government to introduce budget cuts.
“An embargo on the purchase of oil and gas from Russia? The same: to reduce budget revenues and force the state to give up its social obligations “by increasing payments in line with inflation,” he wrote.
The European Union has agreed to a ban on all Russian oil exports at sea to the EU, but not on a key pipeline to some Central and Eastern European countries, including Hungary. The EU has not imposed an embargo on Russian gas.
After listing sanctions in various sectors, Medvedev wrote: “They all hate us! The basis for these decisions is hatred of Russia, the Russians and all its people.
___
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The Norwegian Refugee Council says thousands of civilians captured in Severodonetsk “are in dire need of help.” He called on humanitarian organizations to be allowed access to the eastern Ukrainian city “with life-saving assistance and to allow the safe evacuation of civilians who wish to leave.”
Council Secretary-General Jan Egeland said on Tuesday: “We are afraid that up to 12,000 civilians will remain under crossfire in the city without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. He added that “the almost constant bombing is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements”, with “only a few valuable opportunities” to escape.
He added that the organization “cannot save lives under the hail of grenades”.
___
Kyiv, Ukraine – The mayor of Severodonetsk said Russian forces had taken about half of the city in eastern Ukraine.
Alexander Struck told the Associated Press in a telephone interview on Tuesday that heavy fighting continued and artillery bombardment threatened the lives of thousands of civilians still sheltering in the devastated city.
“Half of the city has been taken over by the Russians and fierce street fighting is taking place,” Struck said. “IN…
Add Comment