Russia’s invasion has shuttered businesses, slashed exports and destroyed productive capacity, the World Bank says.
- Ukraine’s GDP output will contract by more than 45 percent this year as a result of the Russian invasion, according to a World Bank forecast.
- The World Bank also forecast Russia’s GDP output to fall by at least 11 percent as a result of punitive sanctions.
- Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine faces a critical week as Russia prepares for a renewed assault in the east of the country.
Here are the latest updates:
9.1 billion euros raised for people fleeing Ukraine
The Stand Up For Ukraine campaign’s pledging event has raised 9.1 billion euros for people displaced by the invasion of Ukraine, inside the country and abroad. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also announced an additional 1 billion euros in loan.
The global pledging event included a social media rally on Friday and a pledging conference on Saturday, which took place in Warsaw, Poland. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in attendance.
Celebrities including Elton John, Alanis Morissette, Billie Eilish, Annie Lennox and Chris Rock joined the campaign alongside global leaders pledging for their countries.
More than 4.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Touching moments with refugees from Ukraine after our #StandUpForUkraine global pledging event.
We raised €9.1 billion to support those fleeing Russia’s invasion, inside the country and abroad.
And more support will come. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/uSaWViNWUy
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 10, 2022
Next few days of war are crucial: Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president has warned his countrymen that the coming week would be as crucial as any since Russia launched its invasion.
“Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address.
He accused Russia of trying to evade responsibility for war crimes. “The day will come when they will have to admit everything. Accept the truth,” he said.
He again called on Western countries, including Germany, to provide more assistance to Ukraine. During talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Zelenskyy said he discussed “how to strengthen sanctions against Russia and how to force Russia to seek peace”.
“I am glad to note that the German position has recently changed in favour of Ukraine. I consider it absolutely logical,” Zelenskyy said.
EU ‘could revisit renewable targets’ in push to quit Russian energy
The European Union could set more ambitious targets for its transition to renewable energy as it seeks alternatives to imports of oil and gas from Russia, EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans has said.
The European Commission has proposed that the EU cut imports of Russian gas by two-thirds this year, and is drafting plans to phase them out by 2027.
The Commission is due to propose a “Repower EU” plan in May for how the bloc can quit Russian fossil fuels.
“What we will do in the next couple of weeks is work towards what I call the Repower EU initiative, and as part of that we want to accelerate the energy transition. So in that context we might revisit our targets,” Timmermans told reporters during a visit to Cairo.
Austrian leader plans to meet Putin
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said he would meet the Russian president on Monday in Moscow. It would be Putin’s first face-to-face meeting with a counterpart from the European Union since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Read the full story here.
War to slash Ukraine’s economic output, says World Bank
Ukraine’s economic output will likely contract by 45.1 percent this year as Russia’s invasion has forced businesses to close, slashed exports and destroyed productive capacity, the World Bank has said in a new assessment of the war’s economic effects.
The World Bank also forecast Russia’s 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) output to fall 11.2 percent due to punishing financial sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies on Russia’s banks, state-owned enterprises and other institutions.
The World Bank’s Eastern Europe region, comprising Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, is forecast to show a GDP contraction of 30.7 percent this year, due to shocks from the war and disruption of trade.
Ukraine says 2,824 more people evacuated
A total of 2,824 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Sunday, including 213 residents of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post.
Powerful blasts heard in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Mykolaiv: Local media
A series of powerful explosions were heard in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv and also in Mykolaiv, a city near the Black Sea in the southern part of the country, Ukrainian media has reported.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Read all the updates from April 10 here.
