Russia says it will allow food shipments to leave Ukraine if sanctions are lowered
Russia is ready to offer a humanitarian corridor for food-carrying ships to leave Ukraine in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports have been blocked since Russia invaded, with more than 20 million tons of grain stuck in the country’s silos.
“We have repeatedly stated on this point that a solution to the food problem requires a comprehensive approach, including lifting the sanctions that have been imposed on Russian exports and financial transactions,” Rudenko told Reuters.
“And it also requires the demining of Ukraine from all the ports where the ships are anchored. Russia is ready to provide the necessary humanitarian passage, which it does every day.”
The Kyiv Independent reports on the Russian bombing of Kramatorsk, Donetsk (eastern Ukraine):
⚡️Russian missiles hit a residential area in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast.
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko reported that several residential buildings had been destroyed or damaged due to airstrikes that hit the city overnight, but no casualties.
– The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 25, 2022
Zelensky says the West has no unity with Ukraine
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, spoke via a video link at a roundtable discussion at the World Economic Forum:
Unity is about weapons. My question is, is this unit in practice? I can’t see it. Our big advantage over Russia would be when we are truly united.
In particular, he criticized Europe:
We are on the European continent and we need the support of a united Europe.
Added:
Is there this unity regarding the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO? No, no. So is there a strong set west? No.
Updated at 09.54 BST
Jacob Steinberg
The acquisition of Chelsea football club for £ 4.2bn has been completed after Roman Abramovich accepted the UK government’s terms of sale, ending a tumultuous period that led to fears about the club’s existence. following the war in Ukraine.
A new era at Stamford Bridge may officially begin after an offer led by Todd Boehly, a co-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball, received permission to pass. The government issued the license after saying it was “now satisfied that all proceeds from the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or any other sanctioned person.” Abramovich received sanctions after the Russian invasion.
The sale will follow a two-step process under which £ 2.5bn will go to a collateral account until the government is satisfied that the funds will go to a charity for war victims in Ukraine. Boehly’s group has pledged to invest £ 1.75 billion more in the club. Crucially, Abramovich has accepted legally binding guarantees that will allow his £ 1.6bn loan to Chelsea to be credited to a frozen account under government control.
The government has demanded assurances that the charity will be independent of Abramovich. Mike Penrose, a former Unicef CEO in the UK, has been asked to lead the foundation.
“Last night, the UK government reached a position where we could issue a license that would allow the sale of the Chelsea football club,” a government statement said. “Following the sanction of Roman Abramovich, the government has worked hard to ensure that Chelsea’s football club can continue to play football. But we have always been clear that the club’s long-term future could only be secured with a new owner “.
Updated at 10.05 BST
A Ukrainian farmer wears body armor to plow the front fields in Zaporizhzhia. Photo: Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters City workers pick up desk frames and chairs as scrap metal in a school that was destroyed during clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces on May 24 in Kharkiv. Photo: John Moore / Getty ImagesA child plays in front of houses ruined by bombings in Borodyanka. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko / AP
Updated at 10.05 BST
Shaun Walker
Igor Volobuyev spent two decades working at the heart of the Russian business establishment, first for Gazprom and then for its subsidiary Gazprombank, where he was vice president until February this year.
Vladimir Putin then launched his war against Ukraine in late February, and Volobuyev decided that he could no longer bear to live in Russia. He packed a small backpack with objects and a pile of cash and left the country on March 2, pretending to be on vacation.
A few days later, he crossed from Poland to Ukraine, where he spent his childhood. Now he spends his days trying to persuade officials to provide him with Ukrainian documents and allow him to enlist in the military.
“I want to go to the place where I can defend my land with a weapon, I try every day,” he said in an interview with the suburbs of the capital, Kyiv. “I will never return to Russia.”
Hundreds of thousands of Russians are believed to have fled the country since the start of the war, and many intellectuals, journalists and activists have expressed opposition to the conflict. However, among political and business elites, desertions have been extremely rare. Despite reports of widespread dismay at the invasion of Ukraine, only a small handful of people have spoken publicly to condemn the war.
Maksym Kozytskyi, governor of Lviv in western Ukraine, has released his latest update for the region. He reports that during the night there were two warnings of airstrikes, including one triggered “when the enemy fired missiles from the Black Sea,” but says that “the threats did not materialize.” Everything is quiet in the Lviv region. “
Updated at 08.01 BST
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, spoke again at the World Economic Forum in Davos this morning. Reuters reports that he told an audience that he was only willing to speak directly with Vladimir Putin and not through intermediaries.
He added that if the Russian president “understands the reality” there is a possibility of finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The Ukrainian president said Moscow should withdraw its troops along established lines before Russia could begin its invasion on February 24.
“This could be a first step towards talks,” he said, adding that Russia has been playing its talks with Ukraine for some time.
Yesterday, a close ally of Putin’s, Dmitry Medvedev, said that any peace should recognize that “final” decisions had already been made on the future of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and that any peace agreement would suggest that Russia should withdraw from Crimea would be treated as a threat of war.
Updated at 07.52 BST
Russia’s RIA Novosti quotes Rodion Miroshnik, the self-proclaimed ambassador of the Lugansk People’s Republic of Russia. He said his forces, along with the Russian army and fighters from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, had broken down Ukraine’s defenses in the Lugansk region. Published in Telegram:
Ukrainian defense is collapsing. An active assault on Zolote is underway. Peace forces are advancing towards Maloryazantsevo, Volcheyarovka. It is not yet known exactly what part of the Ukrainian military formations left these settlements and what part remained, but the trend is clearly visible.
Updated at 07.41 BST
I will now give it to my colleague Martin Belam in London.
Nike has reportedly decided not to renew a franchise agreement with Inventive Retail Group, a company that operates 37 Nike retail stores in Russia.
The company temporarily closed all of its own stores in Russia in March and has halted web sales in the country.