April 11, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

As Finland and Sweden consider joining NATO, the Kremlin has warned Monday that expanding the alliance won't bring any more stability to Europe.

"We have repeatedly said that the alliance itself is more of a tool for confrontation. This is not an alliance that provides peace and stability, and further expansion of the alliance, of course, will not lead to more stability on the European continent," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Some background: Finland and Sweden could soon join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The move would likely infuriate Moscow and -- officials say -- would further underscore Russia's strategic error in invading Ukraine.

NATO officials told CNN that discussions about Sweden and Finland joining the bloc have gotten extremely serious since Russia's invasion. Senior US State Department officials said the matter came up at this week's NATO ministerial meeting, which was attended by the foreign ministers from Stockholm and Helsinki.

The Finnish government will present a security paper including a possible NATO membership for parliamentary discussion on Wednesday, the country's Foreign Minister announced on Monday.

“This gives [the] Parliament now a possibility to discuss all the aspects of possible NATO membership and/or other security solutions. And then based on that debate, of course, government will make the conclusions together with the President of the Republic," Pekka Haavisto told reporters ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

Haavisto said it was “important” that neighboring Sweden is following a "similar process" which he expects to take time. “But of course we exchange information all the time and, hopefully, if we make similar kinds of decisions, we could do them around the same time", he said.

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Finland and Sweden could soon join NATO, prompted by Russian war in Ukraine

The Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavsky said leaders must make “any kind of effort which would lead to at least some easing of the situation" in Ukraine.

Speaking ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Lipavsky said "some humanitarian corridors" will help Ukrainians, but added: “On the other side, don't be naive. Putin is a perpetrator of this horrendous war crime and those atrocities, and he should be punished for that."

Nine humanitarian corridors were agreed for Sunday -- covering the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia -- allowing civilians to leave for safer parts of Ukraine.

The ministers are gathering just as the Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow -- the first visit of an EU leader to Russia since the start of the invasion in late February.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis remained cautious about the visit, saying: “I've seen a lot of efforts by many leaders -- by Emmanuel Macron -- to try and see whether they can talk to the guy [Putin]. I personally have no reason to believe that he's talkable [to].”

Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized that everything must be done to clarify Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including supporting the International Criminal Court in investigating war crimes.

"What is clear is that Ukraine needs further military material, above all heavy weapons, and now is not the time for excuses -- now is the time for creativity and pragmatism," she added.

German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, are preparing the first evacuation flight carrying injured Ukrainian civilians since the beginning of the Russian invasion, a spokesperson told CNN Monday.

A special Air Force Airbus A310 MedEvac left Monday from Cologne-Wahn military air-field to the city of Rzeszow in south-eastern Poland, about 90 km from the Ukrainian border.

The plane will bring children and adults to Germany for treatment, the Bundeswehr confirmed.

Wounded Ukrainian soldiers had been brought to Germany in the past by other means.

Some background: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 4,232 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia's invasion of the country began, with 1,793 killed and 2,439 injured as of 9 April, according to a briefing released Sunday.

Weeks of relentless Russian bombardment have left "tens of thousands of dead" in the port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.

In a video address to the South Korean parliament, Zelensky described the ordeal of the southern city.

"[Mariupol] has been blocked by Russian troops since March 1. It was a city of half a million. Half a million people. The occupiers blocked it and did not even allow food and water to be brought there," he said, adding:

Independent estimates of the full death toll in Mariupol are not available.

A Ukrainian military commander currently in Mariupol told CNN Wednesday night that Russian military forces are trying to wipe the besieged city “off the face of the Earth.”

“It is a humanitarian catastrophe. The military that were involved in active hostilities here are completely surrounded. There are supply problems with water, food, medication and general supply. It’s a very difficult situation,” said Serhiy Volyna, deputy commander of the Marine Battalion in Mariupol.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer intends to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin “the truth” about the war in Ukraine during their face to face meeting in Moscow on Monday, according to a top Austrian official.

Nehammer is set to be the first EU leader to meet with Putin since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in late February.

He visited Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President Volodymy Zelensky on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of an EU meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters "it makes a difference to be face to face and tell him what the reality is: that this president has de facto lost the war morally."

"The reason for the meeting is that we don’t want to miss any opportunity, we must use every chance to end the humanitarian hellish situation in Ukraine ... every voice that will help Putin to see the reality outside of the wall of Kremlin is not a lost voice," Schallenberg added.

Some background: Nehammer's trip to Moscow is significant given his country's neutral status, which is enshrined in its constitution.

Austria is not part of NATO and does not supply weapons to Ukraine. It has, however, provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and helmets and protection vests for civilian use, according to a statement from the Austrian Chancellery.

Nehammer said Saturday that while his country is militarily neutral, "we understand we have to help where injustice and war crimes take place."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has used his address to South Korea's parliament on Monday to ask for weapons to aid his country's defense against Russia -- even though South Korea's Defence Ministry has denied the request earlier.

"Ukraine needs support for its military, including planes and tanks," Zelensky told lawmakers, adding:

Earlier on Monday, South Korea's Defence Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan said the ministry had denied Ukraine's request for an anti-air weapon system and that they cannot provide lethal weapons considering its own "national security situation and military readiness posture."

Seoul has consistently said it would not provide lethal weapons or deploy its military to support Ukraine. Last month, it provided non-lethal military supplies worth around $800,000, including bulletproof helmets, tents, blankets, bedspreads, ready-to-eat meals (MREs), first aid kits and medicines, a defence ministry official confirmed to CNN at the time.

On Monday, Zelensky again appealed for Seoul's support, referencing in his speech the international community's support for South Korea during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.

The World Bank has warned Ukraine’s economy will shrink by half this year because of the Russian invasion.

In an economic update of the region, the World Bank said Sunday that Ukraine’s economy is expected to shrink by an estimated 45.1 percent this year, “although the magnitude of the contraction will depend on the duration and intensity of the war.”

Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for the Europe and Central Asia region, said the "magnitude of the humanitarian crisis unleashed by the war is staggering. The Russian invasion is delivering a massive blow to Ukraine’s economy and it has inflicted enormous damage to infrastructure.” She added:

World Bank forecasts that Russia’s economy will contract by 11.2 percent in 2022 following tough sanctions.

Other economies affected: The bank also warned that emerging and developing economies in Europe and Central Asia will be hit hard.

“In addition to Russia and Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova and Tajikistan are projected to fall into recession this year, while growth projections have been downgraded in all economies due to spillovers from the war, weaker-than-expected growth in the euro area, and commodity, trade and financing shocks.”

Wheat prices rise: Russia and Ukraine account for about 40percent of wheat imports in the region and about 75 percent or more in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, according to the World Bank.

“The war has pushed wheat prices higher as it disrupts Ukraine’s planting and harvest seasons, including for other crops such as corn, barley, and sunflowers; destroys critical fields, stores, infrastructure, and production, especially in eastern Ukraine; and halts shipping from the Black Sea, from which about 90 percent of Ukraine’s grains are exported," the World Bank said in the report.

Russian ports are operating, but insurance costs have soared due to the conflict and inhibited cargoes from leaving Russia, World Bank noted.

Russian shelling against Kharkiv and its surrounding regions continued on Monday, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.

Some context: Ukrainian officials say major fighting is underway in the east of the country, with heavy shelling reported throughout the Donbas region.

Ukraine's defense intelligence chief told CNN Friday that Russian troops were regrouping across the border and plan to advance toward Kharkiv. Officials have urged the evacuation of civilians from the region, as Russian forces shift focus to southern and eastern Ukraine.

"Last night there were about 66 reports of shelling from Grad and Smerch multiple rocket launchers, artillery and tanks," Syniehubov said. "The battles were fought in Zolochiv district, that is in the direction of Derhachiv. Residential areas [of Kharkiv], residential districts of Pyatihatky, Saltivka, Oleksiyivka, the Kharkiv Tractor Plant and Kholodna Hora were affected again."

Children among the dead: Syniehubov said 11 civilians were killed the previous day, including a seven-year-old child, and that more than 14 people were injured.

Ukrainian officials have reported heavy fighting around Izium, in southern Kharkiv region, which Syniehubov described as the "most critical" area at present.

He said evacuations continued from the towns of Lozova and Barvinkove.

Syniehubov said that more than 2,000 houses have been destroyed in Kharkiv region, and added that plans for planting agricultural land were be curtailed by the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance.

"We plan to sow 60-80% of the arable land in Kharkiv region," he said. "It depends on the military situation. In some places the fields are mined ... The arable land was damaged by explosions."

Shelling by Russian armed forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine continued on Monday, according to a report by the UK Ministry of Defense. 

Ukrainian forces have repulsed several assaults resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles, and artillery equipment, according to the assessment. 

The UK report has also said that Russia's prior use of phosphorous munitions in Donetsk "raises the possibility of their future employment in Mariupol as fighting for the city intensifies.”

According to Human Rights Watch, "white phosphorus can burn people to the bone, smolder inside the body, and reignite when bandages are removed."

The munitions are either banned or circumscribed under international law in populated areas.

A great increase in civilian casualties is also a risk, according to the UK military intelligence report, because of Russia’s continued reliance on unguided bombs which "decreases their ability to discriminate when targeting and conducting strikes".

Some background: Local officials in Donetsk and Luhansk have been urging many communities to evacuate.

Nine humanitarian corridors were agreed for Sunday -- covering the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia -- allowing civilians to leave for safer parts of Ukraine.

Maria Mezentseva, a member of Ukraine's parliament, has called for Russia to open more safe-passage corridors.