As Mariupol falls, Russia finds new friends in old places

Facing a slew of brand new sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday hailed the "liberation" of the strategic city of Mariupol, Ukraine's major trading port and a key city on the Russia-Crimea land route.

The two-month long battle had so far been the biggest battle in the war in Ukraine.  

In a show of perhaps calculated mercy, Putin also called off an operation to storm the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, where over 2,000 Ukrainian militants – romanticised by Western commenters as the new Spartans – remain entrenched, according to the Russian military, reports TASS news agency.

In a televised meeting at the Kremlin, Putin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu: "I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary. I order you to cancel it ... There's no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities ... Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can get through."

Ukraine ridiculed Russia's decision to abandon the siege of Azovstal.

"They physically cannot take Azovstal, they have understood this, they have taken huge losses there," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych told a briefing. "Our defenders continue to hold it."

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 120,000 civilians were still being blocked from leaving Mariupol.

New sanctions announced

The United States on Wednesday unveiled its latest round of sanctions going after Russia, this time targeting a key commercial bank and "a global network of more than 40 individuals and entities led by US-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev," CNN reported.

The US Treasury Department said it was also targeting "companies operating in Russia's virtual currency mining industry, reportedly the third largest in the world," noting it was the first time it has "designated a virtual currency mining company."

In addition, the State Department is imposing a slew of visa restrictions in response to the Russian war and for "undermining democracy in Belarus."

In the latest round of sanctions, the US Treasury Department went after "Public Joint Stock Company Transkapitalbank (TKB)" for being "at the heart of sanctions evasion" and its subsidiary, as well as companies in Russia's virtual currency mining industry, the CNN report added.

So far, Russia seems prepared to brace any sanctions.

Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina on Thursday said Russia has all necessary financial resources and there is no threat of default, TASS reported.

According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, as of February 1, 2022, Russia's external public debt amounted to $59.5bln, including debt on external bonded loans. In total, Russia has 15 active bonded loans with maturities from 2022 to 2047.

New friends in old places

Russia may not be as abandoned by Europe as it once may have seemed.

Germany's finance minister said the country was moving "as fast as possible" to end its reliance on Russian energy, but it would take time, the BCC reported.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had earlier said Germany would end oil imports by the end of the year, with gas following.

Germany is currently buying around 25% of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia.

Lindner told the BBC that his country was working to implement an embargo on Russian energy but that he preferred using sanctions which "hurt [Putin] more than us".

He said a sudden halt to Russian energy imports could see the physical shutdown of German producers such as manufacturers and carmakers, the BBC reported.

Earlier this week, German economic institutes warned that immediately halting Russian imports would spark a sharp recession in Europe's biggest economy by 2023.

Linder's stance was at odds with statements made by Germany's foreign minister, Ms Baerbock, who is Green Party co-leader.

Baerbock said Germany would halve Russian oil imports by the summer and eliminate them altogether by the end of the year, to be followed quickly by a reduction in Russian gas imports.

Linder's comments came after Germany's Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said it cannot send heavy weapons to Ukraine from the Bundeswehr's own supplies.

During a live broadcast by RTL and n-tv channels on Thursday, Lambrecht said it would be necessary to set up what is known as a circular exchange with EU and NATO partners, meaning arms could be supplied to Ukraine from other countries, for which Germany will later be able to compensate, the TASS reported.

Meanwhile in France, French National Rally presidential candidate Marine Le Pen believes blocking Russia's imports of oil and gas would mean hara-kiri for Europe, but would do no harm to Russia itself.

"We cannot commit hara-kiri with the hope of hurting Russia," she said during a televised debate with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening. Le Pen will face the incumbent president in a presidential runoff scheduled for April 24.

In Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday reiterated China's opposition to unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction", without directly mentioning the West's punitive actions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Xi Jinping also proposed a "global security initiative" that upholds the principle of "indivisible security", a concept also endorsed by Russia, although he gave no details of how it would be implemented.

"We should uphold the principle of indivisibility of security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries," he said.

Ukraine, too, isn't lacking friends.

Top finance officials from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have walked out of a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) in protest of Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.

Ukrainian officials in attendance also walked out of the meeting of top finance officials from the world's 20 largest economies, a source familiar with the meeting told the Reuters news agency.

On the other side, US President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million security assistance package for Ukraine.