Zelensky calls on UN Security Council to show Russia the exit over war crimes
Zelensky tells UN Security Council to kick Russia out — or dissolve itself: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN Security Council that it should remove Russia from the council so it can no longer exercise its veto power on votes about the war in Ukraine. “If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether,” Zelensky said during a speech to the council yesterday (watch, runtime: 20:00). Zelensky made the speech following a visit to the Ukrainian city of Bucha, where civilian bodies were found in the streets following Russian forces’ withdrawal, many of them having apparently been executed a point-blank range or indiscriminately killed. The Ukrainian president warned the council of similar scenes in other cities currently under the Russian occupation.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry landed in Warsaw for the second leg of an Arab League peacemaking mission, according to a tweet by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez. The Arab League delegation met with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, Hafez said in a separate tweet, but there’s been no official word yet on the outcome of subsequent talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The Arab League delegation made a brief visit to Moscow yesterday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, where it offered to mediate ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine.
IN ECONOMY- US tries to drain Russian USD reserves — or tip it into default: The US government blocked the Russian government on Monday from using reserves held at US banks to make a USD 600 mn bond payment, Reuters reports. Russian authorities will now have to choose whether to drain the country’s remaining USD reserves for payments on its debt, or face a historic default. The country 30 days before the grace period on the payment runs out.
A fresh round of sanctions against Russia will likely include coal export and investment bans: The US, European Union and the G7 are working to hit Russia with more sanctions, a US official told Bloomberg. The new round of sanctions could include a US ban on investing in Russia and an EU ban on coal imports, as well as tougher penalties on Russian financial entities, and officials and their families.
Sanctions extend to the dark web: The US Treasury announced sanctions targeting prominent Russian darknet market Hydra to “disrupt proliferation of malicious cybercrime services, dangerous drugs, and other illegal offerings.”