(Bloomberg) — U.S. President Joe Biden ramped up his condemnation of Vladimir Putin by accusing the Russian president’s forces of committing genocide in Ukraine, as Washington prepared a new military aid package of roughly $750 million for Kyiv.
Putin said peace talks are stalled, and vowed to continue his “military operation” there even as he called the conflict “a tragedy.” Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said the discussions are “extremely difficult.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again called for further European Union sanctions on Russia to include oil and all banks. French President Emmanuel Macron said Putin’s decision to attack derived from anti-West resentment and paranoia.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- U.S. Prepares Massive New Surge of Military Aid to Ukraine
- World’s Top Oil Merchant Says It Will Stop Trading Russian Crude
- Germany May Snub India as G-7 Guest Over Russia Stance
- Richest Russian Strikes Deal as Sanctions Snare Other Oligarchs
- Russia Faces Hard-to-Verify Claims of Chemical Arms in Mariupol
- Ukraine War Will Start Rippling Through U.S. Corporate Earnings
All times CET:
U.S. Prepares New Surge of Military Aid (4:44 a.m.)
Roughly $750 million in weaponry is expected to be sent under presidential drawdown authority, people familiar with the matter said. This allows Biden to transfer equipment from U.S. stocks without congressional approval to speed up delivery during an emergency.
The types of weapons in the package are still being discussed and are not yet finalized, added the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the assistance before it was announced.
The U.S. has provided more than $2.4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Biden took office. Of that, more than $1.7 billion was delivered after the invasion began on Feb. 24.
Top Oil Merchant Will Stop Trading Russian Crude (2:57 a.m)
Volumes of Russian oil handled by Vitol “will diminish significantly in the second quarter as current term contractual obligations decline,” a company spokesperson said by email. “We anticipate this will be completed by end of 2022.”
BP Plc, Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. earlier announced plans to abandon their stakes in investments related to Russia as they take steps to halt dealings with the nation. Refiners in India and China have continued to purchase Russian oil cargoes, either directly from Moscow or via traders.
Separately, Russia is ready to sell crude oil and petroleum products to “friendly countries” within any price range, Izvestia reports, citing an interview with Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov.
Biden Says Putin Has Committed ‘Genocide’ (11 p.m.)
Biden for the first time accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine. Speaking at an event in Iowa on Tuesday laying out steps to lower fuel costs that have surged during the war, Biden described Russia’s actions in the conflict as a “genocide.” He later stood by his comments, but said lawyers would ultimately make the official determination.
“Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian,” the president told reporters before departing Iowa. “The evidence is mounting.”
Biden Accuses Putin of Committing ‘Genocide’ in Ukraine (1)
Macron Says Putin Is Paranoid, Won’t Stop Attacks (7:56 p.m.)
French President Emmanuel Macron told Le Point magazine that Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine derived from anti-West resentment and paranoia. Covid-19 exacerbated Putin’s feeling of isolation, according to Macron.
“He found himself in Sochi for months, he locked himself down, he had less contact with other thinking,” Macron said, predicting that Putin won’t stop his attacks and needs a military victory ahead of May 9, the day Russia marks its victory in World War II. The French leader stressed that he will continue to speak to his Russian counterpart to warn him about the dangers of continuing the cycle of violence.
German President Isn’t Welcome in Kyiv (6:36 p.m.)
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier planned to visit Kyiv in a gesture of solidarity with the Ukrainian government, but he wasn’t welcome, according to Bild.
“I was prepared for it,” the newspaper cited Steinmeier as saying in Warsaw on Tuesday. “But apparently, and I have to take this on board, that wasn’t wanted in Kyiv.”
Steinmeier has been criticized by Ukrainian officials for his previous support of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. In a rare admission, the former foreign minister said in a TV interview this month that he and other German officials had failed in their policy toward Russia and President Vladimir Putin over the past two decades.
UN Backs French Plan To Offset Food Crisis (5:24 p.m.)
David Beasley, the World Food Programme’s executive director, said he will join efforts to ensure the “people in the greatest need around the world receive the support they need.”
Details of the plan are set be outlined by the end of June, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said, adding the food crisis will be discussed within the Group of Seven format.
Ukraine Negotiator Says Talks Continue, Are Difficult (4:42 p.m.)
Talks continue with Russia in working subgroups, Mykhailo Podolyak said by WhatsApp message, adding “the emotional background is difficult.” He said Moscow was seeking to use public statements to drive its claims in the negotiation process.
Putin Says Peace Talks ‘at Dead End’ (4:15 p.m.)
The “military operation” is going “according to plan,” Putin said in a joint press conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. In his first public comments on the atrocities reported in Bucha, he said allegations that Russia was responsible were “fake.”
Putin also accused Ukraine of backing off earlier concessions. The government in Kyiv says it has not changed its position and in turn blames Russia for the lack of progress.
Russia’s economy has withstood the sanctions “blitzkrieg,” Putin said, citing the recovery of the ruble exchange rate. But he conceded that logistics and payment systems remain a weakness and the long-term impact could be more painful.
ArcelorMittal to Restart Blast Furnace in Ukraine (4:04 p.m.)
Europe’s biggest steelmaker said it was responding to a request from the government in Kyiv. The company idled operations at its Kryvyi Rih facility when the war broke out. Pig iron production will return to around fifth of the plant’s normal output.
Airbus Defends Decision to Buy Russian Titanium (4:03 p.m.)
The company said sanctions would hurt aerospace manufacturers who depend on the lightweight metal and wouldn’t deter Putin when it comes to Ukraine.
The European plane maker has been stockpiling titanium for many years, Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said at the company’s AGM. That’s given it some breathing room in the short and medium term, even if an embargo does take effect.
OPEC Sees War Curbing Oil Supply and Demand (3:32 p.m.)
The comment from the cartel suggests it sees little need to divert from its current production policy. OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told the European Union on Monday that the oil market was beyond its control.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut forecasts for global oil consumption in 2022 by 410,000 barrels a day, according to its latest monthly report. At the same time, it lowered projections for supplies from outside the cartel by 330,000 barrels a day, with Russia’s output now seen 530,000 barrels a day below previous estimates.
World Bank Announces $1.5 Billion for Ukraine (2:19 p.m.)
The World Bank is preparing $1.5 billion for Ukraine to support the continuation of essential government services during the war, the institution’s president, David Malpass, said in Warsaw.
Donors and recipient countries approved $1 billion for Ukraine and $100 million for Moldova, according to Malpass. The disbursement is part of as much as $3 billion that the World Bank has pledged in funding for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
Number of People Returning to Ukraine Surges (12:30 p.m.)
The number of people returning to Ukraine from abroad has jumped to about 30,000 per day, according to Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the State Border Guard Service.
While in the first days of the war mostly men were coming back to Ukraine, now there are more women, elderly people and children returning, Demchenko said in a video briefing. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that more than 4.3 million refugees fled the country after the outbreak of war, with some 7.1 million displaced internally.
Putin Says Conflict With West Inevitable (11:30 a.m.)
Speaking to workers at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, Putin said conflict with the West was inevitable and that Russia is too large to isolate from the rest of the world.
Western sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine won’t keep Moscow from developing space-exploration efforts, he added, vowing to resume the country’s lunar program.
German Investor Mood Deteriorates (11 a.m.)
Confidence in Germany’s economic recovery slid for a second month as investors worry that price spikes driven by the war in Ukraine will dampen output.
The ZEW Institute’s gauge of expectations dropped to -41 in April from -39.3 the previous month, hitting the lowest since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in early 2020. An index of current conditions also worsened.
Zelenskiy Repeats Call for Oil Sanctions (10:45 a.m.)
“Some very powerful decisions must be taken and they must be taken now with the sixth package of sanctions,” Zelenskiy said in an address to the Lithuanian parliament, referring to EU measures against Russia.
He warned that if Russia’s assault on Ukraine is not repelled, Europe may face security threats against nations including Poland, Georgia, Moldova and the Baltic states.
Slovakia Mulls Giving Fighter Jets to Ukraine (10:35 a.m.)
The Slovak government signaled it’s considering donating its fleet of Soviet-era MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, the Sme newspaper reported, citing an interview with Prime Minister Eduard Heger.
“If this equipment is to be useful somewhere, then it’s in Ukraine,” Sme quoted Heger as saying. European nations are attempting to ramp up weapons shipments to Ukraine amid concerns sanctions on Russia are insufficient to force Moscow to end the war.
Ukraine Says it Thwarted Cyberattack (10:30 a.m.)
Ukraine said it prevented a cyberattack on its energy infrastructure this month that was apparently launched by Sandworm, a group of hackers linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency.
Microsoft and ESET helped repel the attack, in which the hackers sought to disable power facilities using Industroyer2 and CaddyWiper malware, the nation’s telecommunications agency said.
India Plans to Boost Exports to Russia (10:10 a.m.)
India is planning to boost exports to Russia by an additional $2 billion as the two nations work out a payment system in local currencies to continue bilateral trade, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is in talks with Moscow to liberalize market access for several Indian-made products, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. This comes as the two governments work toward a proposal to settle trade in rupees and rubles and look for ways to balance trade given that India is a net importer of Russian goods.
Inflation in Ukraine Surged Last Month (9:30 a.m.)
Ukraine saw a rapid increase in prices for food staples, drugs and fuel last month, as Russia’s invasion disrupted supply chains and complicated access to imports, according to the country’s central bank.
Fuel costs rose by 30% from the previous year due to soaring prices in global markets and Russia’s targeting of Ukraine’s oil-storage facilities, even though the government scrapped sales and excise taxes on fuel to help ease the burden on consumers. Annual inflation accelerated to 13.7% from 10.7% in February.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
