Thursday, March 28

Ukraine Latest: Leaders Meet to Discuss Funds for Reconstruction


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address an international gathering in Berlin aimed at mapping out the war-battered nation’s reconstruction funding needs.

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(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address an international gathering in Berlin aimed at mapping out the war-battered nation’s reconstruction funding needs.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who chairs the Group of Seven nations, will host the event alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The two leaders called the effort a “Marshal Plan of the 21st century” this week in an op-ed for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

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Ukraine’s allies are increasingly concerned that desperation in the Kremlin over an unrelenting string of battlefield failures may lead Russia to escalate its war, possibly using a massive attack on a target like a dam or even a weapon of mass destruction. For the moment, there’s no sign Moscow is actually making preparations for such a strike, according to officials from NATO countries who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

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(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

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  • Putin’s Threats Worry NATO as Sign of Russian Desperation
  • Top US, Russian Generals Speak Amid Fears of Nuclear Escalation
  • Europe’s Autumn Heatwave Means More Gas for Later in Winter
  • Russian Oil Logistics in Chaos With Weeks Until Sanctions Bite

On the Ground

Russian troops shelled the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local authorities said on Telegram. Analysts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War said that the slower pace of Russian air, missile, and drone strikes may reflect “decreasing missile and drone stockpiles and the strikes’ limited effectiveness of accomplishing Russian strategic military goals.”

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(All times CET)

Ukraine Limits Power to Industries (8:45 am)

Ukrainian electricity grid operator Ukrenergo said it limited power to industries in all regions of the country to stabilize the functioning of the energy system.

The operator also urged people to save power and use home appliances — like washing machines and boilers — at night.

Investigation Identifies Alleged Russian Missile Programmers (8:41 am)

An investigation published by Bellingcat, in partnership with The Insider and Der Spiegel, identified dozens of members of a “secretive” group of military engineers in Russia’s Defense Ministry that it said were linked to the programming of cruise missiles “that have killed hundreds and deprived millions in Ukraine of access to electricity and heating.”

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Phone metadata records showed contacts between the specialists and their superiors “spiked shortly before” the strikes, according to the six-month investigation, which found that members of the group are mostly young men and women, including a husband-and-wife couple, with IT and even computer-gaming backgrounds working in centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Identification of programmers of the flight paths of the missiles was relevant as deliberate or indiscriminate strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure could amount to war crimes, it said.

World Bank Disburses Additional $500 Million to Ukraine (8:38 am)

The World Bank announced the disbursement of an additional $500 million to help Ukraine meet urgent spending needs.

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The money will be used to maintain essential government services, the lender said in a statement. The bank has already mobilized $13 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, including commitments and pledges from donors. So far, $11.4 billion has been fully disbursed, according to the bank’s data.

German President Visits Ukraine (8:08 am)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his visit aims to show solidarity with Ukraine and convey a message his nation stands by the war-torn country.

“Our solidarity is unbroken and it will stay that way,” he said in a statement posted on his website.

Austin Discussed Russia With Stoltenberg, Ukraine’s Reznikov (1:39 am)

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed recent diplomatic engagements with Russia, according to a readout.

In a separate readout, Austin reiterated that the US rejects false allegations by Russia about Ukraine and any attempt to use them as a pretex for further escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

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financialpost.com