Zelenskyy on European aid mission, fighter planes; Russian forces close in on Bakhmut – CNBC

The value of life in Russia has disappeared, yet it is a value that Europe holds dear, Zelenskyy said in his address to lawmakers in Brussels.

Moscow, with its invasion of Ukraine, “set out to destroy the value of life in Europe”, the Ukrainian leader said. “The value of life has been destroyed in Russia.”

He added that only lives “in the Kremlin” are of value, and that hundreds of thousands of people in Russia have been reduced to “army bodies”. He accused the Russian state of hating social justice and diversity and capitalizing on xenophobia.

—Natasha Turak

Ukraine could soon face a critical decision over its tactical withdrawal from Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk, as the city’s fate hangs in the balance.

Russian and Ukrainian forces fought fiercely for Bakhmut for months, with Moscow viewing his capture as a strategic objective and a way to cut Ukrainian supply lines to Donetsk. Russian officials recently claimed that forces from Moscow had almost completely surrounded Bakhmut.

Ukraine disputes how far Russia has advanced into Bakhmut, although, in line with Western defense analysts, it admits that Russian forces are closing in on the town, having made small but gradual advances in the surrounding area.

Still, Kyiv vows to keep fighting for now, with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy saying last week that “no one will give in to Bakhmut. We will fight as long as possible. We consider Bakhmut our fortress.”

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—Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets European leaders on Thursday as he continues his second major trip abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader is expected to address the European Parliament on Thursday morning and then attend an extraordinary meeting of 27 EU heads of state later in the day.

The talks in Brussels come after a surprise visit to the UK on Wednesday and a last-minute meeting with French and German leaders in Paris that evening. This is the second time Zelenskyy has left Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24 last year.

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—Silvia Amaro

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at Paris Orly airport in France and was greeted by French Army Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

Zelenskyy is due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Elysee Palace.

Earlier today, Zelenskyy paid a surprise visit to the UK and met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III.

Prior to this trip, Zelenskyy had only left his war-weary country once since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago.

—Amanda Macias

This content was produced in Russia, where law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

MOSCOW — Russian consumer demand contracted at its fastest pace in seven years in 2022 and real disposable incomes fell, new data showed, as the country’s population felt the effects of its clouded economic outlook.

Russia’s export-dependent economy weathered the impact of the sanctions better than expected, but still suffered a GDP contraction of around 2.5% as the West imposed restrictions in an effort to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Although its economic outlook this year is not so bleak, Russia is facing labor shortages, falling oil and gas revenues as price caps and embargoes come into effect, as well as with a sharply widening budget deficit, 2023 should present new challenges for the government .

Real disposable income fell by 1% in 2022, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Service Rosstat. Real wages, which are adjusted for inflation, rose 0.3% year-on-year in November, only the second positive reading since March.

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer demand, fell 6.7% in 2022, the worst showing since 2015, when in December they were down 10.5% year on year. on the other, the worst monthly performance since May 2020 and the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

—Reuters

THE HAGUE — International prosecutors say they have found “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) overhead. from the east of the country in 2014.

However, the evidence implicating Putin and other Russian officials was not conclusive enough to lead to a criminal conviction, they said, ending their investigation for now.

MH17 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system while flying over eastern Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens.

“There are strong indications that the Russian president has decided to provide the BUK,” prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.

But prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer told a press conference in The Hague that the investigation had now “reached its limit”.

“The findings are insufficient for the prosecution of new suspects,” she said.

The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied Russian state involvement in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

—Reuters