- Ukraine’s GDP output will contract by more than 45 percent this year as a result of the Russian invasion, according to a World Bank forecast.
- The World Bank also forecast Russia’s GDP output to fall by at least 11 percent as a result of punitive sanctions.
- Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine faces a critical week as Russia prepares for a renewed assault in the east of the country.
Here are the latest updates:
43 mins ago (02:08 GMT)
Russian forces will attack Kyiv, Chechen leader says
Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, says Russian forces will stage an offensive on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
“There will be an offensive … not only on Mariupol, but also on other places, cities and villages,” Kadyrov said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.
“Luhansk and Donetsk – we will fully liberate in the first place … and then take Kyiv and all other cities,” he added.
1 hour ago (01:46 GMT)
Russia threatens legal action if West forces debt default
Russia will take legal action if the West tries to force it to default on its sovereign debt, Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has told the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper.
“Of course we will sue, because we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that investors receive their payments,” Siluanov told the newspaper.
“We will present in court our bills confirming our efforts to pay both in foreign currency and in roubles. It will not be an easy process. We will have to very actively prove our case, despite all the difficulties.”
Russia faces its first sovereign external default in more than a century after it made arrangements to make an international bond repayment in roubles earlier this week, even though the payment was due in US dollars.
1 hour ago (01:32 GMT)
The world responsible for atrocities in Ukraine, Zelenskyy says
Zelenskyy has told CBS’ 60 minutes the world is responsible for Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine.
“I remember, all of us remember, books about the second World War, and about the devil in uniform – Adolf Hitler. Are those countries who did not participate in the war responsible? The countries who let German forces march throughout Europe? Does the world carry responsibility for the genocide? Yes. Yes, it does. When you [have the ability to] close the sky – yes it’s scary, that a world war could start. It’s scary. I understand [that]. And I cannot put pressure on these people because everyone is afraid of war. But whether the world [is responsible] for this, I believe so, yes. I believe so,” he said.
2 hours ago (01:08 GMT)
‘I am no longer interested in their diplomacy’: Zelenskyy on NATO and UN
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised NATO and the United Nations in an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes.
“When you are [working] at diplomacy, there are no results. All this is very bureaucratic… I don’t have any more lives [to give]. I don’t have any more emotions. I’m no longer interested in their diplomacy that leads to the destruction of my country,” Zelenskyy said after being asked why he had spoken in an undiplomatic way to NATO and the UN’s Security Council (UNSC).
In recent days Zelenskyy had told the UNSC it should punish Russia or “dissolve itself”.
When asked what he wants the world to understand, Zelenskyy said:
“We are defending the right to live. I never thought this right was so costly. These are human values. So that Russia doesn’t choose what we should do and how I’m exercising my rights. That right was given to me by God and my parents.”
“We are defending the right to live”: Ukraine’s president speaks with Scott Pelley about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and recently uncovered alleged war crimes in Kyiv suburb of Bucha. https://t.co/be8bjqttcg
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 11, 2022
2 hours ago (00:30 GMT)
US and Ukraine condemn Russia’s elections in occupied Georgia
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Russia’s “unlawful” elections in Georgia’s South Ossetia region held on April 10. South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been occupied by Russia since the country’s invasion of Georgia in 2008.
The US embassy in Georgia also issued a statement saying it does not “recognise the legitimacy of the so-called presidential elections” and “will not acknowledge their outcome.”
“Our position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains clear: these regions are integral parts of Georgia. No ‘elections’ or a priori illegitimate ‘referendum’ calling for incorporation of South Ossetia into Russia can change this,” the statement said. It also called on Russia to immediately stop its war in Ukraine and occupation of Georgia.
We condemn Russia for organizing unlawful elections in the occupied parts of Georgia. They will have no legal implications. We believe severe sanctions on Russia and their strict implementation will advance the restoration of the territorial integrity of both Georgia and Ukraine.
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) April 10, 2022
3 hours ago (23:55 GMT)
9.1 billion euros raised for people fleeing Ukraine
The Stand Up For Ukraine campaign’s pledging event has raised 9.1 billion euros for people displaced by the invasion of Ukraine, inside the country and abroad. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also announced an additional 1 billion euros in loan.
The global pledging event included a social media rally on Friday and a pledging conference on Saturday, which took place in Warsaw, Poland. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in attendance.
Celebrities including Elton John, Alanis Morissette, Billie Eilish, Annie Lennox and Chris Rock joined the campaign alongside global leaders pledging for their countries.
More than 4.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Touching moments with refugees from Ukraine after our #StandUpForUkraine global pledging event.
We raised €9.1 billion to support those fleeing Russia’s invasion, inside the country and abroad.
And more support will come. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/uSaWViNWUy
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 10, 2022
4 hours ago (23:00 GMT)
Next few days of war are crucial: Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president has warned his countrymen that the coming week would be as crucial as any since Russia launched its invasion.
“Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address.
He accused Russia of trying to evade responsibility for war crimes. “The day will come when they will have to admit everything. Accept the truth,” he said.
He again called on Western countries, including Germany, to provide more assistance to Ukraine. During talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Zelenskyy said he discussed “how to strengthen sanctions against Russia and how to force Russia to seek peace”.
“I am glad to note that the German position has recently changed in favour of Ukraine. I consider it absolutely logical,” Zelenskyy said.
5 hours ago (21:56 GMT)
EU ‘could revisit renewable targets’ in push to quit Russian energy
The European Union could set more ambitious targets for its transition to renewable energy as it seeks alternatives to imports of oil and gas from Russia, EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans has said.
The European Commission has proposed that the EU cut imports of Russian gas by two-thirds this year, and is drafting plans to phase them out by 2027.
The Commission is due to propose a “Repower EU” plan in May for how the bloc can quit Russian fossil fuels.
“What we will do in the next couple of weeks is work towards what I call the Repower EU initiative, and as part of that we want to accelerate the energy transition. So in that context we might revisit our targets,” Timmermans told reporters during a visit to Cairo.
5 hours ago (21:39 GMT)
Austrian leader plans to meet Putin
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said he would meet the Russian president on Monday in Moscow. It would be Putin’s first face-to-face meeting with a counterpart from the European Union since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Read the full story here.
6 hours ago (21:06 GMT)
War to slash Ukraine’s economic output, says World Bank
Ukraine’s economic output will likely contract by 45.1 percent this year as Russia’s invasion has forced businesses to close, slashed exports and destroyed productive capacity, the World Bank has said in a new assessment of the war’s economic effects.
The World Bank also forecast Russia’s 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) output to fall 11.2 percent due to punishing financial sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies on Russia’s banks, state-owned enterprises and other institutions.
The World Bank’s Eastern Europe region, comprising Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, is forecast to show a GDP contraction of 30.7 percent this year, due to shocks from the war and disruption of trade.
6 hours ago (20:46 GMT)
Ukraine says 2,824 more people evacuated
A total of 2,824 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Sunday, including 213 residents of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post.
6 hours ago (20:44 GMT)
Powerful blasts heard in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Mykolaiv: Local media
A series of powerful explosions were heard in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv and also in Mykolaiv, a city near the Black Sea in the southern part of the country, Ukrainian media has reported.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Read all the updates from April 10 here.
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