Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– Ukraine moots tactical retreat in east –
Ukrainian troops are considering a tactical retreat from the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which is being shelled “24 hours a day” by Russian forces.
“It is possible that we will have to retreat” to better fortified positions, regional governor Sergiy Gaiday says in an interview on television channel 1+1.
But he rules out surrendering one of the last major centres of resistance to Russian rule in the Lugansk region of Donbas.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says his troops have “fully liberated” all residential areas but had yet to capture Severodonetsk’s industrial zone.
– Hundreds holed up in chemical factory –
Some 800 civilians trapped by the fighting have taken refuge in the Azot chemical factory, according to a lawyer for a Ukrainian tycoon whose company owns the facility.
The lawyer for Dmytro Firtash describes a scenario similar to the port city of Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were holed up for weeks in a giant steelworks alongside Ukrainian troops defending the last part of the city.
The lawyer says those inside the plant include around 200 employees who remained behind to secure “highly explosive chemicals”, as well as 600 city residents.
Firtash is a close ally of former pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, but has denounced Russia’s invasion.
– Turkey backs Russian demand on sanctions –
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu backs Russia’s calls to lift sanctions on the country to help ease a global grain shortage caused by the war in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine produce 30 percent of the global wheat supply.
Russia’s exports have been hit by sanctions, while Ukraine’s are stalled by a Russian blockade of the country’s ports.
Turkey is offering to escort shipments out of Ukrainian ports.
At a press conference with his visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Cavusoglu, who is mediating in efforts to unblock Ukraine’s grain, says Moscow’s demand for “the removal of obstacles standing in the way of Russia’s exports” is “legitimate”.
Lavrov says Russia is “ready to ensure the safety of ships that leave Ukrainian ports”.
– Merkel defends Russia legacy –
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel says she has “nothing to apologise for” as her years-long policy of detente towards Russian President Vladimir Putin comes under fire.
“Diplomacy isn’t wrong just because it hasn’t worked,” the 67-year-old says in her first major interview since stepping down six months ago, carried on the Phoenix news channel.
– Stalemate ‘not an option’ –
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country must achieve victory “on the battlefield”, saying stalemate with Russia is “not an option”.
In an interview with Britain’s Financial Times newspaper, he says Ukrainians “cannot go on living in this position, in hostilities” and reiterates a plea for foreign help to resist the invasion.
“We are inferior in terms of equipment and therefore we are not capable of advancing,” he says, adding that his ultimate aim remains the “full de-occupation of our entire territory”.
– OECD, World Bank warn of economic pain –
The OECD slashes its global growth forecast and predicts a spike in inflation caused by the war in Ukraine.
The Paris-based body says it expects global GDP to grow by three percent, down from the 4.5 percent estimated in December, and that inflation in its 38 member states will reach 8.5 percent, the highest level since 1988.
“The world is set to pay a hefty price for Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the OECD’s chief economist Laurence Boone says.
The World Bank warns the global economy risks falling into a harmful period of 1970s-style “stagflation”.
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