In summary
– After a visit to Ukraine, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Monday becomes the first European leader to visit Moscow since the start of the invasion on February 24.
– «The battle for Donbass will last for several days, and during these days our cities could be completely destroyed»warns Serguiï Gaïdaï, the governor of the Luhansk region, in the Donbass.
– EU foreign ministers discuss a 6th sanctions package against Moscow today in Luxembourg, but halting oil and gas purchases to stop funding the Russian war effort divides the 27 .
The United States urges India to leave its neutrality. US President Joe Biden is due to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually on Monday. Diplomatic engagement between the two countries has increased in recent weeks, with the United States urging India to abandon its stance of neutrality in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Societe Generale ceases its banking and insurance activities in Russia. The French bank Societe Generale announced on Monday “to cease operations” in Russia and will sell its entire stake in Rosbank, a heavyweight in the Russian banking sector, as well as its insurance subsidiaries in the country, according to a press release. This “envisaged transaction should lead” to a negative impact in its accounts of 3.1 billion euros, specifies the bank which continued its activities in Russia since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
For the United Kingdom, Russia could use phosphorus munitions in Mariupol. In its latest intelligence update on Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense warns that Russia’s use of phosphorus munitions in Donetsk “raises the possibility of their future use in Mariupol, as fighting for the city escalates”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 11 April 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/3RYc4QJBuG
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— Ministry of Defence ???????? (@DefenceHQ) April 11, 2022
Russian General Dvornikov, carnage from Chechnya to Donbass. The Kremlin has appointed Aleksandr Dvornikov to lead the offensive in southeastern Ukraine and allow Vladimir Putin to claim victory before the symbolic date of May 9. His record of service, particularly in Syria, earned him an appalling reputation. Read the article by our correspondent in Moscow.
© Alexei Nikolsky
In this photo taken on March 17, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, poses with Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov during an award ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.
A diplomatic overture? In an interview with the American channel NBC on Sunday evening, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba declared himself open to negotiations with Moscow. “If sitting down with the Russians can help me prevent at least one massacre like in Bucha, or at least another attack like in Kramatorsk, I must seize this opportunity”, he said. A missile strike in front of the Kramatorsk train station in eastern Ukraine killed 57 people, including at least 5 children on Friday.
The Austrian Chancellor will talk about Boutcha to Putin. After going to Ukraine on Saturday, Karl Nehammer is expected in Moscow on Monday where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said he had “the intention to do everything so that measures are taken in favor of peace”, while acknowledging that the chances of doing so are slim. This trip to Moscow is “a risky missionbut also a “dialogue window”, he explained, believing that “personal diplomacy” is in order. He intends to talk to the Kremlin about “war crimes” in Boutcha, where he went on Saturday.
Zelensky prepares minds. “Next week will be no less important than this or the previous ones. Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a statement on Sunday evening.
How many Mariupol in preparation? The Battle for Donbass “will last for several days, and during these days our cities may be completely destroyed”predicted for his part on Facebook Serguiï Gaïdaï, the governor of the Luhansk region, in the Donbass. “The Mariupol scenario may repeat itself in the Luhansk region”he said, referring to the major port in southeastern Ukraine devastated and besieged since late February by Russian forces.
Bombardment in Kharkiv. While the population tries to flee the eastern regions of Ukraine to escape the battle which is announced there, the airstrikes and the bombardments continue: Sunday, they made at least two dead in Kharkiv (east), the second city in the country, and its suburbs, according to regional governor Oleg Sinegoubov. “The Russian army continues to wage war on civilians, for lack of victories on the front”accused Oleg Sinegoubov.
Video: War in Ukraine: Zelensky calls for a “new round of sanctions” against Russia (Le Figaro)
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