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The European Union will launch further tightening to hit Moscow on the economy while the US blocks new investment in Russia and Britain decides to go gasfree. Taiwan has also passed new sanctions against Russia with immediate effect: According to reports from the island’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, the measures primarily affect exports for the hightech sector. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes the measures but says “they are still not enough”. At the military level, the bombings continue and new reports of atrocities committed by the army or by militiamen recruited by Putin continue to pour in from the liberated cities. Kyiv reports that the Russian army would use portable crematoria on the southern front to get rid of the bodies of civilians. In Hostomel, 400 citizens are missing after the Russians left.
USA, 1,700 refugees at the border with Mexico
About 1,700 Ukrainian refugees arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, hoping to travel to the United States. A welcome center for refugees from Ukraine has been set up in a gym in the border town near San Diego. Heavy fighting continues in the east of the country and Kyiv is calling on residents of the Lugansk, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions to evacuate. Zelensky emphasizes: “We must do everything possible to restore the work of local companies and commercial activities and to rebuild small and mediumsized businesses in our area, where it is safe and possible to work”. In Mariupol, Russian soldiers are said to have set up mobile crematoria to burn the bodies of the killed residents. Kyiv is denouncing the disappearance of over 400 people from Gostomel, where a weeklong curfew is in place from 6am.
Kuleba to NATO: “We have three requests: guns, guns, guns”
NATO warns: “We must be ready for a long confrontation with Russia”. The NATO Foreign Ministers Council is taking place in Brussels, in which the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is also taking part: “I have three requests: weapons, weapons, weapons. We sacrifice our lives, you ensure that the war is contained and does not spread to other parts of Europe. We insist on an embargo on Russian oil and gas, full separation from fast, closed ports. I hope we don’t end up in a situation where other shocks like Bucha are needed to impose new sanctions. I can’t believe that the Ukrainian people have to suffer so much to get European politicians to act ».
Bucha, Russia calls for an independent investigation
Tensions over the massacre of civilians in Bucha and accusations against Russian troops continue. The Kremlin insists it is denouncing a “monstrous staging” that needs to be cleared up by “an objective and independent investigation,” and Beijing too is hoping for an investigation that will uncover the truth “on the basis of facts.” Berlin says Russia’s position is “unsustainable” given satellite imagery. For British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Bucha’s actions “do not appear to be very far from genocide”.
Dragon: Do we want silence or the air conditioning on?
The war situation has a significant impact on the Italian economy. “The war has worsened growth prospects.” But “we will do whatever is necessary to help families and businesses,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said, reiterating the need for a united majority to carry out reforms and deal with the emergency. Regarding the sanctions in Moscow, he assured that “the gas embargo is not in place yet and I don’t know if it will ever come up on the table”, arguing that without Russian gas “we are covered until October” and asked: “Let’s do it Quiet or air conditioning on?. And on the energy price, Draghi emphasizes: “We cannot wait for the EU, we will continue with national measures”.