‘Catastrophic’: Britain PM Liz Truss, US President Joe Biden unite to stop Russia
Ukraine has revealed how much the damage bill from Russia’s invasion has climbed to, as world leaders unite to stop Vladimir Putin.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused almost $1 trillion of damage, a Kyiv government official said Thursday, as the war batters the country’s economy.
In terms of “direct and indirect costs” Ukraine had suffered “somewhere close to $1 trillion” in damages, said Oleg Ustenko, economic advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The figure was equivalent to five times Ukraine’s annual GDP before the invasion in February, Ustenko said at an event hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.
The official previously estimated the damage caused by invading Russian forces in the first two weeks of the war totalled around $100 billion.
The destruction and displacement as a result of the conflict was a “significant problem for public financing”, Ustenko said.
Many businesses that had not been destroyed were “not working at full capacity or they are working just several hours a day”, he said.
“It means that the budget is going to receive much less compared with what was expected initially.”
Despite drastic cuts to government spending, the Ukrainian government was running a deficit of five billion euros ($4.9 billion) per month since the invasion, Ustenko said.
In 2023, Kyiv expected the gap to narrow to around 3.5 billion euros, he added. Allies have rushed to pump Ukraine with aid to fill the gap, with the World Bank, European Union and G7 countries pledging billions in cash.
The Ukrainian government expected the economy to shrink by 35 to 40 percent this year, Ustenko said.
The drop was the “deepest decline in our GDP that we have experienced since 1991” and the founding of the modern Ukrainian state, he added.
PRISONERS RELEASED
Russia said on Thursday that 55 servicemen released in the largest prisoner exchange with Kyiv since the start of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine are now in Russia.
“All servicemen have been delivered to the territory of the Russian Federation by military transport aircraft and are in medical institutions of Russia’s defence ministry,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said that the released prisoners were “in mortal danger” while in captivity. “They are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance,” it added.
A leader of Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine confirmed on Thursday that President Vladimir Putin’s ally Viktor Medvedchuk was part of the prisoner swap with Ukraine.
“Fifty-six people were released, 55 of them servicemen... Viktor Medvedchuk was also released from captivity,” Denis Pushilin told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, referring to the former Ukrainian lawmaker, who was accused of high treason.
Following the exchange announced on Wednesday, Ukraine received 215 people, including fighters who led the defence of Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks that became an icon of Ukrainian resistance.
Also in the statement, the defence ministry’s daily briefing, Moscow accused Kyiv of “provocations” at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine “aimed at creating a threat of a man-made disaster”.
It said that over the past 24 hours, Ukraine repeatedly shelled the nearby city of Energodar and the territory near the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, adding that radiation levels were “normal”.
The plant has been a hot spot for concerns of a nuclear incident after tit-for-tat claims of attacks there.
WORLD LEADERS UNITE TO STOP RUSSIA
The world has been called on to unite against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s “belligerent” threat to launch a nuclear strike to have his way with Ukraine.
And the West has warned China to not see his “misguided threats” as an invitation to join in.
The West initially viewed Putin’s latest televised threat, including mobilisation of civilian military reserves and a possible nuclear strike, as terrifying and needing a calm response.
But Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky responded demanding that the world punish Russia during a dramatic video address to the UN General Assembly in New York.
President Zelensky outlined what he called Ukraine’s “formula” for peace, calling for nations to give more support to his military and to punish Russia on the international stage.
“A crime has been committed against Ukraine, and we demand just punishment,” he told the Assembly.
But by the end of the day British Prime Minister Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden also speaking in New York, led global condemnation of Putin’s ratcheted threats.
The leaders branded Russia as wagering a dangerous game and misguided sabre rattling that reinforced the need to stand behind Ukraine.
They agreed his actions sought to justify a “catastrophic” failure in his bid to conquer Ukraine.
Putin in a seven minute televised address announced a partial military mobilisation, with 300,000 reservists set to be called up as the Kremlin attempts to regain ground in the face of a counter-attack by Ukraine’s forces. Putin also said “it’s not a bluff” when he vowed that Russia would use its weapons of mass destruction if its territory was threatened.
“The leaders condemned Putin’s recent belligerent statements on Ukraine,” a spokesman said of the bilateral meeting between Biden and Truss.
“They agreed his actions highlight the need for allies to continue their economic and military support to Ukraine. The Prime Minister updated President Biden on her recent announcement that the UK will recommit to at least the same level of defensive support for Ukraine next year.
“Both leaders discussed the increased threat posed by autocracies to our values and the international system. The Prime Minister updated President Biden on the UK’s plans to update the Integrated Review to ensure the UK is fully equipped to tackle the evolving challenge from countries like China and Russia.”
The leaders agreed to redouble bilateral efforts to reduce energy dependence on Russia and to increase the amount of renewable and other forms of energy flowing from democratic states.
“Both leaders reiterated their commitment to reaching net zero, and the UK outlined the UK’s plans to be a net energy exporter by 2040, in large part thanks to renewable energy,” he said.
This could include a renewed appeal to Australia to supply Europe with extra liquefied natural gas (LNG). Qatar is also part of the energy supply talks.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong blasted Mr Putin’s nuclear threat as “unthinkable and irresponsible”
“His claims of defending Russia’s territorial integrity are untrue — no sham referendum will make them true,” she said.
“Russia alone is responsible for this illegal and immoral war and peace must first lie with Russia withdrawing from Ukrainian territory.”
Speaking in New York, where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly, Senator Wong said the Australian government was continuing to consider what further support could be provided to the Ukrainian war effort.
Asked whether more Bushmaster vehicles would be sent, she said: “I’m not in a position to respond today. We have made substantial contributions and we will continue to do what more we can to support those brave men and women who are fighting for their freedom.”
Senator Wong also confirmed the government was working through the security and logistics of reopening Australia’s embassy in Ukraine.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said while it was up to the Albanese Government to determine what additional assistance Australia could provide to Ukraine, as much as practically possible should be offered.
“It is in Australia’s interests, as it is in interests of nations all over the world, for Ukraine to succeed in defence of its sovereignty and territories and to uphold the type of international laws and rules in a way that can then deter others from ever acting in the type of way that President Putin and Russia have acted on this occasion,” he said.
Mr Birmingham also said “all options should be on the table” for further sanctions against Russia.
“We ought to be considering, in concert with our partners around the world, the pursuit of further sanctions, further measures, that can tighten the pressure on Russia, and particularly on President Putin, in any way possible,” he said.
As well as the immediate call up of 300,000 reservists, Russia has said it would in coming days conduct referendums in Ukraine’s east as to whether they wanted to be part of Russia and he threatened to use nuclear weapons if he believed the West was threatening its territory.
His words drew immediate protests from Russians with more than 1000 arrests in that country but not enough to sway the embattled leader who has brought his nation to the brink of economic collapse from his February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Ms Truss said that any “sham referendums” in Ukraine would not be recognised.
Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: “The probability that Russia would use nuclear weapons has always been low, but it is higher than it was because there are fewer alternatives.
Mr Gould-Davies added: “It’s not even clear that using nuclear weapons would be effective either. It’s not clear it would stop Ukraine from fighting or the West from supporting it.
“But I think that as Russia gets more desperate and its options narrow, then (the use of nuclear weapons) becomes more probable than it was.”
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier said all nations had to appeal to Russia to stop the war while NATO secretary-general Jens Stoletenberg said NATO would not engage with “dangerous, reckless nuclear rhetoric”.
Putin’s threats were reinforced by other Russian figures.
A former Putin adviser and now political scientist Sergei Markov said the Russian leader had made a clear threat not just to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine but also to start a general nuclear war that would kill everyone.
“It was absolutely clear that Russia has no war against Ukraine. Russia has no reason to use technical nuclear weapons against Ukrainians. Ukrainians are our brothers but Ukrainians are occupied by western countries. It is western countries who are fighting against (the) Russian army using Ukrainian soldiers as their slaves.”
- With AFP
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Originally published as ‘Catastrophic’: Britain PM Liz Truss, US President Joe Biden unite to stop Russia
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