April 11, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Monday that he was not "particularly optimistic" from his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Nehammer — the first European leader to have met with Putin face-to-face since the invasion of Ukraine began — said that he confronted the Russian president "with the facts."

"I made it clear to Mr. Putin, his attitude, his view is not shared by anybody. He sees it as a kind of self-defense operation of the Russian federation. He calls it special military operations. I call it the war," he said.  

Nehammer, however, noted that "it was also clear and recognizable that the Russian president still has confidence" in the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey.  

Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he raised alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine during a "tough" and unfriendly meeting Monday with Vladimir Putin. It was the first Western sit-down with the Russian President since he launched his invasion in February.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country is "ready" for a major Russian offensive in the east of the country, as he accused Moscow of lying to deflect the blame for the war.

Nine evacuation corridors were agreed for Sunday, as the death toll rose from a Russian missile strike last week on a train station packed with evacuees.

Here are more of the latest headlines from the Russia-Ukraine conflict:

Increased reports of rape and sexual violence against Ukrainian women and children must be thoroughly and independently investigated to ensure accountability, Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, said Monday morning. 

She later added that there is also an increased risk of human trafficking at border crossings, with young women and unaccompanied teenagers at particular risk. 

Bahous was addressing the UN Security Council in New York City upon her return from Moldova, where she observed the humanitarian response at temporary shelters erected for people fleeing Ukraine. There are an estimated 95,000 Ukrainians being hosted in Moldova to date, Bahous said.

UN Women, a United Nations entity dedicated to advancing gender equity and the empowerment of women, is working with refugee response teams and civil society teams on the ground in Moldova “to ensure that the gendered nature of this crisis is addressed with a gender sensitive response.”

Bahous stressed the imperative need to have a “gender-sensitive” humanitarian response, including “services to provide with a focus on protection and to address the increased trauma and psycho-social support needs.”

“Women make up 80% of all health and social care workers in Ukraine, and many of them chose not to evacuate,” Bahous said. “I heard from women in the shelters that they too, are taking on leadership roles, and supporting the refugee response in the host countries.”

Despite this, Bahous said women remain largely absent from any current negotiation efforts. She called for the UN Security Council and all UN member states to "to ensure the meaningful participation of women and girls, including from marginalized groups, in all decision-making processes, peace, diplomacy, and humanitarian. Without this, we will not have peace, development, or human security.”

Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have been displaced in just six weeks and nearly half of the children who remain in Ukraine may face food insecurity, Manuel Fontaine, director of emergencies for UNICEF, said Monday.

Fontaine added that the situation for children in Ukraine is even worse in Mariupol and Kherson, “where children and their families have now gone weeks without running water and sanitation services, a regular supply of food, and medical care. They are sheltering in their homes and underground, waiting for the bombs and violence to stop.”

The UNICEF emergencies director also expressed his concerns about the presence of “explosive remnants of war” which can expose children to death and injury, as well as the disruption of education for children across the country. 

“Nationwide school closures are impacting the learning — and the futures — of 5.7 million school-age children and 1.5 million students in higher education. In the Donbas region, a whole generation of children have already seen their lives and education upended during the past eight years of conflict,” Fontaine said.

More Western firms are quitting their business in Russia.

Swedish telecoms company Ericsson said it is suspending its business in Russia indefinitely.

It added that its employees in Russia will be placed on paid leave.

Ericsson said it would record a 900 million Swedish krona ($95 million) provision in first quarter 2022 for impairment of assets and other exceptional costs.

French banking giant, Societe Generale, has ceased its banking and insurance activities in Russia and has announced the sale of its entire stake in Rosbank and its Russian insurance subsidiaries to Interros Capital, Rosbank’s former shareholder.

The group stated in a news release that it would exit “in an effective and orderly manner from Russia, ensuring continuity for its employees and clients.”

The transaction remains subject to the approval by the relevant regulatory and anti-trust authorities, according to the news release. “The closing of this operation should occur within the coming weeks,” Societe Generale said adding that it would lead to a write-off of about 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany have pledged $2.7 million to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support its investigation of possible war crimes committed in Ukraine.

EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg met via videoconference with ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan at a meeting convened by Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra on Monday.

Following the meeting, Hoekstra said, “The deployment of the Criminal Court is one of the most important tracks towards justice for Ukrainians.” The Netherlands wants “justice to follow for the victims of the Russian invasion.”

Hoekstra pledged over $1 million on behalf of the Netherlands to the ICC to support its investigation. 

Germany said in a news release the country was also pledged an additional $1 million to the court.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde announced in a statement that Sweden would also provide an extra half a million euros, saying, “the ICC needs the full support of the international community.”

Last week, the European Union set aside a dedicated $8 million to support and train Ukrainian prosecutors in investigating possible war crimes.

The ICC formally opened an investigation into the situation in Ukraine on March 2. 

Russia is attempting to resupply and reinforce its forces in the Donbas, according to a senior US defense official, as evidenced by a convoy of vehicles approaching the Ukrainian city of Izyum from the north.

The vehicle line includes a “command and control element, a support battalion, basically enablers, perhaps rotary wing aviation support and other infantry support,” according to the official.

The official also said there is evidence that Russia is attempting to reinforce its position southwest of the city of Donetsk primarily with artillery units.

The US does not assess that this is “a new offensive” in the Donbas, according to the official, rather that the Russian forces are “working to reinforce their capabilities and to add to it.”

Meanwhile, the US Defense Department is considering options for training more Ukrainians on the Switchblade drone system, according to the senior US defense official.

But the official said no decisions have been made about “what that would look like, how long would it take, where would it be, who would train.”

There were previously a small number of Ukrainians in the US going through military education who the US trained on the system before they returned to Ukraine.

A face-to-face meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was ''not a friendly visit," Nehammer said in a statement issued by an Austrian official after the meeting.

Nehammer — the first European Union leader to have met with Putin since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 — said the conversation with the Russian leader was "very direct, open and tough.” 

The Austrian chancellor added that his most important message to Putin was that the war in Ukraine must end because "in a war there are only losers on both sides,” reiterating that he had hoped to help bring an end to the war or improve conditions for civilians. 

''I addressed the serious war crimes in Bucha and other places and emphasized that all those responsible for them must be held accountable. I also told President Putin in no uncertain terms that sanctions against Russia will remain in place and will continue to be tightened as long as people are dying in Ukraine,'' Nehammer said.

''The EU is more united than ever on this issue. I also made it clear to the Russian President that there is an urgent need for humanitarian corridors to bring drinking water and food to the besieged cities and to bring out women, children and the wounded. I will now return to inform our European partners about my conversation with the Russian President and discuss further steps," he concluded.

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour joined CNN on Monday to talk about why the band decided to record its first music in nearly 30 years — a song in support of Ukraine featuring vocals by a Ukrainian soldier.

The legendary rock band released the new single “Hey Hey Rise Up” last week in support of the people of Ukraine, the band said in a statement. It’s the first new music from the band since 1994, and all proceeds will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief, the statement added.

The song is performed by Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, with bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboard. The song features vocals by Andriy Khlyvnyuk from the Ukrainian band Boombox. The band used audio of Khlyvnyuk singing in central Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, where he performed “a rousing Ukrainian protest song written during the first World War which has been taken up across the world over the past month in protest” against the Russian invasion.

Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren, said in the statement that he felt moved by Khlyvnyuk’s performance “in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and … in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war.”

On Monday, Gilmour talked about how his family members sent him the clip of Khlyvnyuk singing that song in the square. 

Gilmour said at the time he was "already very frustrated by my own inability to do anything much" for Ukraine. He called Russia's attack on Ukraine "appalling."

Gilmour said it is an "awful thing that's going on in Ukraine" and this song "seemed like a great thing to arrive at my feet that I could then turn it into something which was actively, I hope, do some positive good." 

Asked if he could imagine the band doing a live performance with Khlyvnyuk in the future, Gilmour said, "I certainly wouldn't rule it out." 

"It would be great if we can make something like that work. And he's very keen on the idea. I have spoken to him several times in the last three weeks," he added.

Gilmour said that one of those conversations he had with the singer, who is fighting in the war, happened while "he was in a hospital bed having been struck by a piece of mortar shrapnel." 

"He was there with a big black eye, a bandage all over his face. The reality of what he's living, other people are living through there is just beyond what most of us can really understand or believe can happen in the world."