(Bloomberg) — Sanctions against Russia can only be lifted after its forces leave Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding this includes Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
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About 100 civilians have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the eastern port city of Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in an operation involving the United Nations and Red Cross.
Ukraine’s military said Russian attacks continued in the east around Izyum with the conflict extending along most of the contact line in the Donetsk area that delineates pro-Russian separatist areas of the country.
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Key Developments
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Hungary Would Veto EU Sanctions on Russian Energy, Minister Says
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Pro-Russia Hacking Group Targets Romania (11:03 a.m.)
Romanian government websites, including those of the country’s defense ministry and border police, were the target of a cyberattack on Friday that the nation’s intelligence service attributed to a pro-Russian hacking unit.
The hacker group known as Killnet claimed credit for so-called distributed denial-of-service attack, which began at around 4 a.m. local time, the Romanian Intelligence Service said in a statement.
Russian Shelling Continues in Donetsk, Luhansk (10:15 a.m.)
Ukraine’s military said Russia continued shelling overnight across the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, with storage facilities and residential areas hit.
There were artillery strikes on Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant after a window where some civilians were able to leave, National Guard brigade commander Denys Shleha said in televised comments. He added there are still around 200 civilians at Azovstal and 500 wounded soldiers, with more evacuations planned Monday.
Ukraine used drones to destroy two Russian speedboats near Snake Island, army Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in a Facebook post. On Sunday the military had said Russian forces were using the speedboats to evacuate troops.
Finland Terminates Rosatom Contract (9:41 a.m.)
Fennovoima Oy terminated a contract with Rosatom Corp. for the delivery of the Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant, citing significant delays and the company’s inability to mitigate risks stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
EU Energy Ministers to Discuss Russian Gas (8:11 a.m.)
European Union energy ministers meet on Monday to discuss that bloc’s gas situation, in particular Moscow’s decision to cut supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, reaffirmed that foreign payments for gas will be considered complete only after they are converted into rubles, making it difficult for Europeans to purchase supplies without violating sanctions.
“Gas supplies are considered paid not when euros or dollars arrive but when they are converted into rubles, which can’t be stolen,” Lavrov said in an interview with Italian TV channel Rete 4 over the weekend, his first with Western media since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Germany to Woo India With G-7 Invite in Push to Isolate Russia (7:21 a.m.)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as special guest to a Group of Seven leaders’ summit next month, according to people familiar with the discussions. The decision could be announced as early as Monday, when Scholz hosts Modi in Berlin.
Scholz was undecided on Modi’s invitation until a few weeks ago given the prime minister’s reluctance to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a jump in fossil fuel deliveries to India from Russia.
Jill Biden to Meet Displaced Ukrainians (5:58 a.m.)
First lady Jill Biden will travel to Romania and Slovakia from May 5-9, the White House said in a statement. During her visit she will meet Ukrainian mothers and children forced to flee because of the war, it said.
South Korea Diplomats Return to Kyiv (2:39 a.m.)
South Korea plans to resume operations at its embassy in Kyiv from Monday. Embassy staff had been evacuated to the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi as well as Romania, the foreign ministry said.
Baerbock Says Sanctions Lifted After Russian Withdrawal (1:10 a.m.)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made clear that sanctions against Russia would only be lifted after a complete withdrawal of its troops from Ukrainian territory. She included Crimea in that, which Russia annexed in 2014 and would be unlikely to cede again.
“It is important that we can withstand every sanction that we introduce, if necessary, for years,” Baerbock told public broadcaster ARD. “We will only lift these sanctions once the Russian troops have left.”
Read more: Baerbock: Sanctions Will Only Be Lifted After Russian Withdrawal
Hungary Would Veto EU Sanctions on Russian Energy (11:55 p.m.)
Hungary would veto any European proposal that leads to the restriction of energy imports from Russia, according to a senior minister in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government.
“We’ve made it clear that we’ll never support” extending European Union sanctions against Russia to the field of energy, Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas told HirTV on Sunday.
War Will End When Ukraine Wins, Zelenskiy Says (10:15 p.m.)
“The war will end when we win,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Greek newspaper Kathimerini. “Since the beginning of the war we have started working on scenarios for all kinds of attacks. Trust in the Russian side’s promises and commitments is zero, after all,” he said.
Zelenskiy estimated the cost of the war to Ukraine’s infrastructure at $60 billion.
Biden Speaks With Pelosi on Kyiv Visit (9:07 p.m.)
President Joe Biden spoke with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she returned to Poland to “discuss her visit to Ukraine” and her meeting with Zelenskiy, a White House official said. No other details were given.
Zelenskiy Says 100 Evacuations From Azovstal So Far (4:57 p.m.)
Zelenskiy confirmed civilian evacuations from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. The effort started Saturday night under United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross guidance.
More than 100 people have been moved out so far and the operation continues, said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, who said she hopes to be able to meet the first group of evacuees on Monday. Zelenskiy said the civilians will be transported to Zaporizhzhia.
Some 1,000 civilians and perhaps 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trapped in the Azovstal plant, which has been under heavy Russian bombardment.
Close to 1 Million Have Crossed Back From Poland (3 p.m.)
Almost ten weeks into Russia’s invasion border flows between Ukraine and Poland are more two-sided. On Saturday, 23,500 people crossed into Poland while 26,800 returned to Ukraine, according to Poland’s border authorities.
Through the end of April some 3.076 million people had crossed into Poland since Feb. 24 — and 975,000 had made the reverse journey.
Altogether, the United Nations estimates almost 5.5 million people have left Ukraine, with Poland, Romania and Russia the top destinations. Millions more have been displaced within the country.
Modi Heads to Europe to Convey India’s Perspective (2 p.m.)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will “exchange perspectives” on the war in Ukraine during his visit to Germany, France and Denmark this week, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said. He arrives in Berlin Monday.
India has always maintained that “there should be cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and the path to resolution goes through diplomacy and dialog,” he said. Still, the South Asian nation has abstained at recent United Nations votes for draft resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion.
Scholz Says ‘Necessary’ For Germany to Arm Ukraine (1:03 p.m.)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday it was “now necessary” for Germany to supply Ukraine with weapons in its fight against Russia.
“We will support them with arms deliveries so that they can defend themselves,” Scholz said at a May 1 labor union event. Scholz added refusing to do so was “behind the times” given the amount of assistance other European countries have offered.
Scholz has faced calls from members of his ruling coalition and opposition parties to ramp up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and take a more asserting stance against Moscow.
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