WAR IN UKRAINE: THE LASTEST
- Russia has said it does not want to negotiate with ukraine’s government until the military operation is complete
- It came after Zelenski called for a meeting with Putin to end the fighting
- Putin said he would be willing to send a team of negotiators to meet Zelenski – in Belarus to help with the invasion
- Russian president urged Ukrainian military to overthrow ‘regime’ in Kiev
- Chinese President Xi spoke to Putin by phone and called for a diplomatic solution to the fighting
- Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kiev in the past 24 hours
- Two children reportedly killed in kiev bombing overnight
- Ukraine bans men aged 18 to 60 from leaving country to summon them to armed forces
- Zelenski allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the battle
- Russia sends paratroopers to Chernobyl after taking over yesterday, Moscow says
- Ukraine reported “abnormal” levels of radiation at the plant amid fears that the nuclear repository had been breached during fighting, but Moscow said the readings were normal
- Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised there will be more support in Ukraine in the coming days
- Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning
Anger is growing today over the EU’s weak and divided attempts to sanction Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, as it was revealed that the Italian prime minister had requested and received an exemption for his country’s luxury goods industry.
Mario Draghi has been accused of prioritising luxury shoes over punishing Putin as EU countries have “disgraced themselves” with the failure to take a firm approach to sanctions against Russia.
They were accused of thwarting British and American efforts to kick Russia out of the world’s largest financial payment system.
Speaking to G7 leaders yesterday, Boris Johnson insisted on swift suspending Russia, which is used to carry out about half of its international trade.
But the move was kicked into the long grass because of resistance from a number of EU countries, US President Joe Biden has suggested.
Sources told the Telegraph today that Draghi had won the exemption for Italian luxury goods such as shoes and designer clothes, saying: “Obviously selling Gucci loafers to oligarchs is a bigger priority than fighting back against Putin.”
Polish politician Donald Tusk, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, attacked Germany, Hungary and Italy for blocking Brussels from taking a hardline approach to Putin.
Mr Tusk, a former President of the European Council, tweeted: “In this war everything is real: the madness and cruelty of Putin, the Ukrainian casualties, the bombs falling on Kiev.
“Only your sanctions are pretended. Those EU governments that blocked difficult decisions (e.g. Germany, Hungary, Italy) disgraced themselves.
In addition, French Finance Minister Bruno le Mer said today that Swift’s option to cut Russia remains open, but he sees this only as a last resort.
Ukraine yesterday called on the West to trigger the move, with Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba warning that those who refuse will have “blood on their hands.”
Today, President Vladimir Zelenski demanded that more “pressure” be put on Russia as the capital Kiev was attacked.
Armed Forces Minister James Happy told MPs today: “I hope we can win the argument because it looks like a sanction that Russia will sit down and pay attention to.”
Mario Draghi has been accused of prioritising luxury shoes over punishing Putin as EU countries have “disgraced themselves” with the failure to take a firm approach to sanctions against Russia.
Sources told the Telegraph today that Draghi had won the exemption for Italian luxury goods such as shoes and designer clothes, saying: “Obviously selling Gucci loafers to oligarchs is a bigger priority than retaliating against Putin.”
Pedestrians walk past an exhibition of luxury gucci products, a division of Kering SA, in the windows of the GUM department store on Red Square in Moscow, Russia
Polish politician Donald Tusk, who grew up behind the iron curtain, attacked Germany, Hungary and Italy for blocking Brussels from taking a firm approach to Vladimir Putin
Speaking to G7 leaders yesterday, Boris Johnson insisted swift’s suspension of Russia, which is used to carry out about half of its international trade
Armed Forces Minister James Happy told MPs today: “I hope we can win the argument because it looks like a sanction that Russia will sit down and pay attention to.”
What is Swift?
Swift, or “The Company for Global Interbank Financial Telecommunication” is a secure messaging system that facilitates rapid cross-border payments, making international trade flow smooth.
Banks that connect to the system and establish relationships with other banks can use Swift messaging to make payments.
Messages are protected, so payment instructions are usually followed without questions. This allows banks to process large volumes of transactions quickly.
It has become a major financing mechanism for international trade. In 2020, about 38 million Swift messages were sent every day through the platform, according to the 2020 annual review.
Trillions of dollars are transferred every year using the system.
Swift, founded in the 1970s, is a cooperative of thousands of member institutions that use the service.
Based in Belgium, it makes a modest profit of $36 million in 2020.
If Swift shuts down Russian banks, it would restrict the country’s access to financial markets around the world.
Russian companies and individuals will find it more difficult to pay for imports and receive money for export, take out loans or invest abroad.
Russian banks could use other payment channels such as phones, messaging apps or email. This will allow Russian banks to make payments through banks in countries that have not imposed sanctions, but since the alternatives are likely to be less effective and secure, the volume of transactions may fall and costs may increase.
If Russian banks were cut off by Swift, exporters would find selling goods in Russia riskier and more expensive.
Russia is a big buyer of industrial goods. The Netherlands and Germany are the second and third largest trading partners, according to World Bank data, although Russia is not the top 10 export market for any of the countries.
Foreign buyers of Russian goods would also struggle, potentially prompting them to look for alternative suppliers.
But when it comes to Russian oil and gas, foreign buyers may find it difficult to find replacement suppliers.
Boris Johnson is expected to raise again the prospect of banning Russia from the Swift payment system with allies today, Downing Street said.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister was asked if the UK would push for the sanction and he said: “You will have heard the Prime Minister’s comments in the House of Representatives about this yesterday, we will continue to work with allies to try to cut Russia off swift.
“You will know that the Prime Minister raised this in his conversation with the G7 leaders yesterday, I expect him to raise it again at the NATO leaders’ meeting today.”
The spokesman would not be drawn on which countries opposed the proposal, but said: “We have set out why we want to ensure that we can do this, as the Prime Minister said yesterday, to ensure that we send a clear message to Vladimir Putin that his efforts will not succeed and to ensure that we can inflict a severe blow on the Russian economy.”
But Joe Biden last night pointed out that the opposition came from EU countries. Asked if Russia should be cut off from Swift, the US president said: “It’s always an option, but at the moment it’s not a position that the rest of Europe wants to take.”
French Finance Minister Bruno le Mer said today that France and its European allies are determined to do great damage to the Russian economy and punish Russia for Vladimir Putin’s “stupid decisions” with “mass and immediate sanctions.”
“We want to isolate Russia financially,” Le Mer said. “We want to sever all ties between Russia and the global financial system. We’re going to drain the financing of the Russian economy.
But as he hosted a meeting of EU counterparts in Paris on Friday to discuss the economic consequences, he said Swift’s removal of Moscow remained an option, but only as a last resort.
The Belgium-based Company for Global Interbank Financial Telecommunications (Swift) is a mechanism for making secure payments abroad and is widely used in international trade.
Mr Johnson is said to see Swift’s suspension of Russia as an essential step to ensure putin’s regime is in maximum economic pain from its invasion of Ukraine.
“The Prime Minister is very keen on this – he pushes it very hard,” one source said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman later confirmed that Mr Johnson had formally put the issue to the table at the G7 meeting, but said there was only “an agreement that we need to talk more about it.”
Diplomatic sources say Germany and Italy are the main adversaries. Officials said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that neither he nor the entire EU would support the move at this stage.
Diplomatic sources said opposition from Germany and Italy meant Swift’s ban would not be included in EU sanctions to be published today, although some Eastern European member states such as Lithuania are pushing hard to do so.
During a conversation with Mr. Scholz this week, the prime minister warned him that “the West’s inaction or inadequate response will have unthinkable consequences.”
But Joe Biden last night pointed out that the opposition came from EU countries. Asked if Russia should be cut off from Swift, the US president said: “It’s always an option, but at the moment it’s not a position that the rest of Europe wants to take”
European concerns are said to be directed at potential damage to their own economies if they cannot buy Russian gas through the system. But former cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said the crisis was already so serious that countries had to accept sacrifices to punish Russia.
Jenrick told the Daily Mail: “Swift’s suspension of Russia is the single most effective, immediate act that could seriously damage their financial system. While Russia has developed alternatives, they are not the same and there will be great dislocation.
‘The UK seems to be arguing the case with our allies, which is extremely welcome, but unfortunately some nations put their short-term financial interests first. Russia relies on such weakness, we have to work hard now or the price will only increase.”
US-British financier Bill Browder, who once described himself as Vladimir Putin’s “number one enemy,” yesterday said the suspension would bring Russia back “into the dark ages.”
Mr Culeba was even more candid, tweeting: “Anyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned by Swift should understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children will also be on their hands.”
But some nations are said to be worried that the ban could lead to an even worse outcome, such as putting Russia in the arms of Chinese payment systems.