(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the Ukraine crisis right now:
HEADLINES
* A Russian armoured column bore down on Kyiv on Tuesday and invasion forces fired lethal rocket barrages into the centre of the country’s second largest city, on the sixth day of Russia’s assault.
* The United States and 30 countries agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilize global energy markets.
* Kyiv’s mayor published a video showing the moment when a tall TV antennae in the city was engulfed in flames, apparently hit by a rocket. Earlier, Russia’s defence ministry said it was planning to strike communications and intelligence sites in the capital that it said were being used for “information attacks,” media outlet TASS said.
* Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is looking at leaving Russia, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a move that would make it the first European bank to do so since the invasion of Ukraine.
* France declared an “all-out economic and financial war” against Russia, saying it would collapse the Russian economy as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
* Russia, which describes its assault as a special operation, not an invasion seeking territory, said it was placing temporary curbs on foreigner investors seeking to exit Russian assets, as ripple effects of sanctions on Russia were making themselves felt.
* Rocket strikes on the centre of Kharkiv killed at least 10 people and wounded 35, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said. Similar strikes that killed and wounded dozens in the city the previous day involved cluster bombs, experts said.
MARKETS, SANCTIONS AND OTHER REACTIONS
* Major investors, including hedge fund Man Group and British asset manager abrdn, said on Tuesday they were cutting their positions in Russia. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) blocked multiple Russian financial institutions from their networks.
* Shipping giant Maersk will temporarily halt all container shipping to and from Russia, deepening the country’s isolation.
* The head of Stellantis said on Tuesday the company had set up a task force to conform with any sanctions and monitor its staff in Ukraine, hours before the world’s No.4 carmaker presents its strategic plan for the next few years.
QUOTES
* “Watch what you’re saying, gentlemen! And don’t forget that in human history, economic wars often turned into real ones.” Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev reacting to French comments about economic war.
* “The train station echoes with tears, children asking why daddy is leaving.” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder on the refugee exodus from Ukraine, which has seen fighting age men stay behind.
COMING UP
Source : Reuters
