Moody’s says Russia may be in default
The rating agency Moody’s says Russia may be in default as it tries to service its dollar bonds in rubles. If this happens, it will be Russia’s first large-scale bankruptcy of foreign debt since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
Russia made payments on April 4 on two bonds maturing in 2022 and 2024 in rubles, despite the terms of the securities, which require payment in dollars. Moscow says any failure is a force against it from the West because of its sanctions.
Therefore, Russia can be considered a default according to Moody’s definition if it is not cured by May 4, which is the end of the grace period, a statement from Moody’s said. “Bond contracts do not provide for payment in any currency other than dollars.
MOSCOW, Russia: Russia’s central bank has implemented a number of capital controls in a bid to support domestic assets and the ruble’s currency as international sanctions put pressure on the economy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
KIRIL Kudryavtsev | AFP | Getty Images
Russia warns that missile strikes on Kyiv will intensify in response to attacks “on Russian territory”
Russia has warned of new missile strikes on Kyiv a day after the sinking of its flagship “Moscow” in the Black Sea, which Ukrainian forces say they struck with their own missiles.
“The number and scale of missile strikes on targets in Kyiv will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or acts of sabotage on Russian territory by the Kiev nationalist regime,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Moscow has not accepted Ukraine’s claim that it has hit its ship, and says it sank due to a fire on board.
Explosions hit Kyiv on Friday, the largest in about two weeks, which Russia claims were aimed at a facility for the production and repair of Ukrainian missiles. A car repair shop worker in Kyiv told Reuters that he saw three explosions hit an industrial building across from him, starting a fire that was put out by firefighters.
“The building was on fire and I had to hide behind my car,” Kiril Kirilo told the news agency.
– Natasha Turak
Finland is very likely to join NATO, the minister said
Faced with a dramatic change in the assessment of its security and relations with Russia, Finland is “very likely” to join NATO now, Finnish European Affairs Minister Titi Tupurainen said in an interview with Sky News.
“The people of Finland seem to have already decided, and there is a huge majority for Finland’s membership in NATO,” she said in Helsinki.
“Of course, that’s not all. We are a parliamentary democracy, so we need to discuss this issue in our parliament. At this point, I would say it is very likely, but a decision has not yet been made.”
Russia has warned of the consequences if the Scandinavian country takes such a move, and the alliance expands beyond Russia’s borders, that it will have to make new nuclear deployments in the Baltic states.
– Natasha Turak
Kyiv has hit the most powerful explosions heard in weeks
The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was hit on Friday by the most powerful explosions heard since Russian forces withdrew from areas around the capital two weeks ago.
Russia has said it has targeted and struck a plant in Kyiv that manufactures and repairs Ukrainian missiles, including anti-ship missiles. The strikes come a day after Russia’s leading missile cruiser, the Moscow, sank in the Black Sea off the Ukrainian coast. Moscow said it was due to a fire on board, while Ukrainian authorities say they hit it with missiles.
– Natasha Turak
Moscow’s sinking will force Russia to rethink its Black Sea strategy, British ministry says
“Moscow” was shown in 2008. Russia will probably have to come up with a news strategy for the Black Sea now that its flagship has been destroyed.
Vasily Batanov | AFP | Getty Images
The loss of Russia’s leading Black Sea Fleet ship Moscow is likely to force the Kremlin to reconsider its naval strategy in the Black Sea, according to Western estimates.
Ukraine says it hit Moscow on Wednesday with two cruise missiles. Moscow acknowledged that the missile cruiser Moscow sank on Thursday, but blamed the on-board munitions that detonated.
A Pentagon spokesman said Thursday that the United States could not confirm either story.
Nevertheless, “Moscow” was Russia’s command ship in the Black Sea and was crucial to the Russian navy’s air defense strategy, the UK Defense Ministry said in an intelligence assessment released Friday.
“This incident means that Russia has already suffered damage to two key naval assets since the invasion of Ukraine, the first being the Russian landing ship” Alligator “Saratov on March 24,” the Defense Ministry said.
“Both events are likely to force Russia to reconsider its maritime position in the Black Sea,” the ministry said.
Military analysts speculate that Moscow would play an important role in any landing attack on Odessa, Ukraine’s most important seaport.
Soviet-era Moscow was re-equipped to improve its capabilities and returned to operational condition last year, the British ministry said. He played a role in Russia’s bombing of Syria in 2015, its invasion of Crimea in 2014 and its war with Georgia in 2008.
Russia says its 510 crew has been safely evacuated.
“Ted Camp.”
“Indisputable evidence of Putin’s war crimes”: US lawmakers visit Kyiv and Bucha
Two US lawmakers visited Ukraine on Thursday, becoming the first known US officials to do so since Russia launched its offensive on February 24.
Senator Steve Danes (R-MO) and member of the Ukrainian-born representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN) traveled there to meet with Ukrainian officials in the capital Kyiv and Bucha, where Russian troops have been accused of mass atrocities.
“There is indisputable evidence of Putin’s war crimes everywhere – images of shallow mass graves full of civilians, women and children are heartbreaking,” Danes said in a statement.
“America and the world need to know about Putin’s atrocities against the innocent people of Ukraine now, not after time has passed and the consequences of evil and bloodshed have been cleared up. The sooner we can provide Ukraine with the deadly help it needs to win this war, the sooner we will end war crimes. “
The bodies and mass graves were discovered after Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, a suburb on the outskirts of Kyiv. The atrocities prompted the UN to remove Russia from its seat on the Human Rights Council and forced US and European leaders to impose more sanctions on Moscow.
“Joanna Tan.”
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