Ukraine Latest: Germany Sets Out Peace Steps Ahead of UN Vote

(Bloomberg) – A day before Russia’s year-long invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden said Moscow made a “huge mistake” in suspending a landmark nuclear deal with the US, but added that he didn’t think it was sending signals be that Vladimir Putin plans to use nuclear weapons.

Putin praised the deepening of ties with Beijing during a visit from China’s top diplomat, who said the relationship between the two countries is “solid as a mountain”.

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Key Events and How It Develops

Germany’s foreign minister outlined “concrete steps” towards peace ahead of an expected vote on a non-binding United Nations resolution calling for an end to the war. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations has already rejected the proposal.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Hear the latest from our series of special Twitter Space talks about a year of war in Ukraine. Today focuses on the impact on global energy supplies and markets, as well as on the environment and renewable energy policies. You can access it from this link. You can also listen to our talk yesterday about the war itself and military lessons.

How does Ukraine keep hitting back at Russia? (podcast)

Important Developments

• Biden does not see Putin using nuclear weapons despite the suspension of the arms treaty
• The Ukrainians crowdfund their defense from drones to mortars
• G-7 prepares new instrument to improve enforcement of sanctions against Russia
• Putin says he’s waiting for Xi amid Chinese peace push on Ukraine
• Five charts showing the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On the floor

Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian troops about 90 times in the past 24 hours along the main axes of their offensive in the east of the country, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook. The Russians fired 10 missiles and carried out 19 aerial attacks and 37 attacks using multiple launch missile systems. Dozens of towns and villages along the front line suffered artillery fire, including the city of Kherson.

(All times CET)

Wagner Leader Says Mercenary Group Gets Ammo Now (7:41am)

The founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his fighters in Ukraine would now receive new shipments of ammunition after a dispute with the Defense Ministry.

“Today at 6 a.m. they announced that they would start sending the ammunition,” Prigozhin said, according to his press service’s Telegram account. “I would like to thank everyone who has helped us. You saved the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands, of men defending their fatherland.”

Prigozhin, an ally of multimillionaire Putin who rose to prominence during the war in Ukraine, has forged a battlefield rivalry with Russia’s regular armed forces.

Germany strikes “path to peace” (6:30 a.m.)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock outlined “necessary concrete steps” for peace in Ukraine, which will be part of a resolution to be tabled by more than 50 countries at the United Nations General Assembly.

“What the global community is demanding could not be simpler: an end to Russian attacks, protection of civilians, respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity through the withdrawal of Russian troops, and accountability for crimes committed,” Baerbock said in an emailed statement.

“This is the path to peace, I will repeat that in New York,” she added. “The world community will decide that today, and that’s what the world has been expecting from Russia for a year.”

Biden Sees No Nuclear Threat in START Suspension (4am)

Biden said Putin made the world less safe by suspending participation in the New START nuclear deal, but added he didn’t think it was a signal that the Russian leader would use nuclear weapons.

Putin made a “big mistake,” Biden said while speaking to reporters in Warsaw on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with a group of NATO allies on the eastern flank known as the Bucharest Nine.

“I don’t understand that he’s thinking about using nuclear weapons or anything like that,” Biden said in an interview with ABC News published later Wednesday, adding that the Russian president’s decision was still “not very responsible.”

G-7 Expands Crucial Support for Ukraine’s IMF Funding Request (6:47 p.m.)

The Group of Seven nations plans to provide significant support to Ukraine’s efforts to access International Monetary Fund financing until the end of March as IMF officials have started talks with the US, people familiar with the matter said.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been in talks with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva over the past few days about a lending program, with Treasury and IMF teams in daily contact, one of the people said.

Read the whole story here.

G-7 Prepares New Tool to Improve Russia Sanctions Enforcement (6:36 p.m.)

The Group of Seven Nations is poised to create a new tool to coordinate its enforcement of existing sanctions against Russia in an attempt to tighten the screws and improve compliance, according to people familiar with the matter.

The instrument, tentatively dubbed the Enforcement Coordination Mechanism, aims to support information-sharing and other actions, including on countries and companies around the world suspected of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, by circumventing or undermining sanctions, according to one person.

©2023 Bloomberg LP