(Bloomberg) — Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that some troops would return to their regular bases after completing drills, according to a Russian news agency, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to meet President Vladimir Putin. U.S. warnings of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine had reached their most urgent level yet this week.
The pair are meeting one day after Scholz’s visit to Ukraine, when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rattled markets with a sarcastic comment about the rest of the world predicting a date for an attack by Russia. Putin’s top diplomat, meanwhile, urged the Russian leader to continue talks with the West.
The U.S. has said its intelligence indicates Russia may attack imminently. Officials in Moscow have repeatedly denied an invasion is planned.
All times CET
Markets Embrace Russian Media Report on Troops (9:25 a.m.)
European stocks gained after Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Moscow is returning some troops to bases following drills. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.7% by 9:18 a.m., while European gas and oil prices fell.
Units of the Russian Western and Southern military districts will start returning to permanent bases on Tuesday after completing drills, the Interfax news service reports, citing the Defense Ministry. It’s unclear where these forces are currently positioned. Russia had previously said that troops would return home after completing drills in Belarus, which are set to wrap up on Sunday.
Australia Says China Should Condemn Russia (6:30 a.m.)
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on China to condemn Russia’s “threats of violence against Ukraine,” accusing Beijing and Moscow of “banding together.” Russia and China have close ties, with China taking a neutral position when Putin annexed Crimea in 2014.
Morrison has long pushed a strong line on Beijing, a stance that has affected trade given China is a big buyer of commodities. With an election due by May, he’s been highlighting his government’s approach to national security, accusing the opposition of not being critical enough of Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has said that Morrison is “seeking selfish political gains” and his remarks are “unethical and dangerous.”
U.S. Offers $1 Billion Loan Guarantee (5:30 a.m.)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S is offering Ukraine a sovereign loan guarantee for as much as $1 billion “to support its economic reform agenda and continued engagement with the International Monetary Fund.”
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefed U.S. lawmakers about the proposal by phone earlier Monday, describing it as part of a broader package of macroeconomic support, according to people familiar with the discussions. Blinken said three previous sovereign loan guarantees, issued between 2014 and 2016, “played a critical role in helping Ukraine successfully stabilize its economy amid previous Russian aggression.”
