The government of Bangladesh has been compelled to pull down its projections for expenditure in the coming couple of years – in light of the changed economic reality brought about mainly by the Russia-Ukraine war and its aftermath of sanctions and counter-sanctions. In its projections for the 2021-22 budget, the government had projected its total expenditure at 17 percent of GDP for the next two fiscals, i.e. 2022-23 and 2023-24. However, in preparing the budget for 2022-23, the government has estimated expenditure at 15.2 percent of GDP for the 2022-23 fiscal, while it will be 15.5 percent for the 2023-24 fiscal. By 2024-25, as per a budget document, the target for expenditure has been set at 15.6 percent of GDP. Read more: Austerity is on but people will get electricity: PM The government in the last fiscal, 2021-22, had set the expenditure target at 17.5 percent, but it was revised to 14.9 percent. This is part of the government’s austerity drive in terms of expenditure, given all the forecasts that the world is heading towards an economic recession in 2023.  According to the document, government expenditure was 13 percent of GDP in 2020-21 fiscal. As per the document, with successful implementation of reforms in Public Financial Management, government expenditure kept increasing since the 2015-16 fiscal. Read more: PM reiterates call to practice austerity in all spheres of life It also mentioned that the Annual Development Programme (ADP) was 4.5 percent of the GDP in the 2020-21 fiscal. In the current fiscal, the government plans to allocate 5.5 percent of the GDP for the ADP while it is 6.3 percent for 2022-23 and 6.4 percent for 2024-25. The document is revealing in how large the Russia-Ukraine conflict looms in the government’s calculations, and the challenges posed in its wake. The “unprecedented” price hike in the international energy market, food supplies and other essential commodities alongside the widespread disruption in international supply chains have adversely affected the global economy, including Bangladesh. Read More: Govt focuses on less current expenditure and increased capital spending: official document The conflict is likely to emerge as a new obstacle in the way of achieving development targets, as well as full recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The prices of essential import commodities for Bangladesh like oil, gas, fertiliser, edible oil, etc. have skyrocketed in the international market. According to Finance Division estimate, only nine essential commodities (crude and refined oil, LNG, wheat, fertiliser, palm oil, coal, soybean oil, maize and rice) imported to Bangladesh will cost an additional USD 8.2 billion in 2022, considering the rise in their prices over that in 2021. The other key import items like consumer goods, capital machineries and industrial raw materials have also seen significant price escalations in the international market. In addition, the costs of international logistics are on the rise. Import-induced inflation, therefore, is gradually emerging as a major concern for Bangladesh Government. Read More: Govt spending on public servants is to rise next fiscal

Facing a mounting wheat crisis, a government-run Seed Bank in West Bank has been racing against the clock to provide hundreds of local farmers with tons of improved wheat seeds in hope of greater yields. The Palestinian territories have been suffering from a shortage of supply and soaring local wheat and flour prices, both the main source of imports, since the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine conflict two months ago. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Palestinians depend entirely on the imports of wheat both in terms of food and animal feed, with 35,000 to 40,000 tons of imports annually to cover the demand of each. "Every country in the world has its own (food) stock. But the Palestinians do not have that 'luxury'," Sameh Jarrar, the director of the Plant Genetic Resources Department in the Seed Bank at the Ministry of Agriculture, told Xinhua. Jarrar added that Palestinians have been making every effort to garner sufficient local alternatives to food imports in case the conflict would not end soon. Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war not to trigger food crisis in Bangladesh: Razzaque The Seed Bank was established by the ministry in the 1980s under the supervision of a local advocacy group, where a total of 2,000 varieties of wild and domestic seeds are stored to preserve the genetic resources of indigenous plants in the Palestinian territories against the risk of extinction in climate change. "We rely on two sources to store these seeds: the first is internal, and it is usually collected by the original wheat seeds through a work team affiliated with the ministry, and an external source obtained from international and Arab institutions," Jarrar said. What distinguishes those improved varieties in the bank is that they can better withstand the varying climates and can germinate as quickly as possible, which would help narrow the shortage gaps, he added. Researchers would work with local farmers to grow the varieties in test fields on promoting yields, climate resilience, and genetic diversity, according to Mohammed Abed, director of the 750,00-hectare Beit Qad Experimental Station for field crops. Wheat, barley, and legumes are the main produce of the government-run test fields. "We carry out the preservation by planting the varieties annually, multiplying them and renewing the bank from time to time," Abed said. "We annually provide some 50 tons of improved seeds to farmers, who world cultivate them and put the yield on sale in local markets," he said. Also Read: UN rings alarm over food crisis in Central American Dry Corridor However, things do not seem easy primarily because "Israel controls much of the arable Palestinian lands in the West Bank and has imposed restrictions on Palestinian farmers' access to the lands," according to Ahmed Rabaia, a local agricultural expert. "In 2010, there were about 25,000 dunams (2,500 hectares) producing about 45,000 tons, which constituted between 10 to 15 percent of consumption. Due to Israeli violations, we have only 18,000 dunams left and those produce only about 30,000 tons, and this amount constitutes between five to six percent of consumption," Rabaia added. "At a time when we do not know when the Russia-Ukraine conflict will end, it is necessary to search for other sources such as Egypt, Canada, and Australia to reduce the risks that we may be exposed to in the future in order to obtain wheat at low prices that do not affect the Palestinian consumers," he explained.    

More than two weeks into a war he expected to dominate in two days, Vladimir Putin is projecting anger, frustration at his military’s failures and a willingness to cause even more violence and destruction in Ukraine, in the assessment of U.S. intelligence officials. Officials in recent days have publicly said they’re worried the Russian president will escalate the conflict to try to break Ukraine’s resistance. Russia still holds overwhelming military advantages and can bombard the country for weeks more. And while the rest of the world reacts to horrific images of the war he started, Putin remains insulated from domestic pressure by what CIA Director William Burns called a “propaganda bubble.” Putin’s mindset — as tough as it is to determine from afar — is critical for the West to understand as it provides more military aid to Ukraine and also prevent Putin from directly taking on NATO countries or possibly reaching for the nuclear button. Intelligence officials over two days of testimony before Congress last week openly voiced concerns about what Putin might do. And those concerns increasingly shape discussions about what U.S. policymakers are willing to do for Ukraine. Read: India unsure of Russian arms to meet China, Pakistan threats Over two decades, Putin has achieved total dominance of Russia’s government and security services, ruling with a tiny inner circle, marginalizing dissent, and jailing or killing his opposition. He has long criticized the breakup of the Soviet Union, dismissed Ukraine’s claims to sovereignty, and mused about nuclear war ending with Russians as “martyrs.” Burns told lawmakers that he believed Putin was “stewing in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition for many years.” Putin had expected to seize Kyiv in two days, Burns said. Instead, his military has failed to take control of major cities and lost several thousand soldiers already. The West has imposed sanctions and other measures that have crippled the Russian economy and diminished living standards for oligarchs and ordinary citizens alike. Much of the foreign currency Russia had accumulated as a bulwark against sanctions is now frozen in banks abroad. Burns is a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow who has met with Putin many times. He told lawmakers in response to a question about the Russian president’s mental state that he did not believe Putin was crazy. “I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now,” he said. “He’s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties.” Russia’s recent unsupported claims that the U.S. is helping Ukraine develop chemical or biological weapons suggest that Putin may himself be prepared to deploy those weapons in a “false flag” operation, Burns said. There’s no apparent path to ending the war. It is nearly inconceivable that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has won admiration around the world for leading his country’s resistance, would suddenly recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea or support granting new autonomy to Russian-friendly parts of eastern Ukraine. And even if he captures Kyiv and deposes Zelenskyy, Putin would have to account for an insurgency supported by the West in a country of more than 40 million. “He has no sustainable political end-game in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians,” Burns said. Avril Haines, President Joe Biden’s director of national intelligence, said Putin “perceives this as a war he cannot afford to lose. But what he might be willing to accept as a victory may change over time given the significant costs he is incurring.” Intelligence analysts think Putin’s recent raising of Russia’s nuclear alert level was “probably intended to deter the West from providing additional support to Ukraine,” she said. The White House’s concern about escalation has at times frustrated both Democrats and Republicans. After initially signaling support, the Biden administration declined in recent days to support a Polish plan to donate Soviet-era warplanes to Ukraine that would have required the U.S. to participate in the transfer. The administration previously delayed sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and would not send Stinger air-defense missiles to Ukraine before changing course. Questioned on Thursday, Haines said Putin might see the plane transfer as a bigger deal than the anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons already going to Ukraine. Haines did not disclose whether the U.S. had intelligence to support that finding. Read: Russian footholds in Mideast, Africa raise threat to NATO U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said the Biden administration had been “always a step or two late” out of fear of triggering Putin. He urged the White House to agree quickly to the transfer of planes. “I think it comes off as quibbling,” Quigley said. “If anyone thinks that Putin is going to distinguish and differentiate — ‘Oh, well, they’re taking off from Poland’ — he sees all of this as escalatory.” Meanwhile, as the violence worsens and more Russians die, the West is also watching for any sign of holes forming in Putin’s “propaganda bubble.” One independent Russian political analyst, Kirill Rogov, posted on his Telegram account that the war is “lost” and an “epic failure.” “The mistake was the notion that the West was unwilling to resist aggression, that it was lethargic, greedy and divided,” Rogov wrote. “The idea that the Russian economy is self-sufficient and secure was a mistake. The mistake was the idea of ​​the quality of the Russian army. And the main mistake was the idea that Ukraine is a failed state, and Ukrainians are not a nation. “Four mistakes in making one decision is a lot,” he said. Before the invasion, polling conducted by the Levada Center, Russia’s top independent opinion research firm, found that 60% of respondents consider the U.S. and NATO the “initiators” of conflict in eastern Ukraine. Just 3% answered Russia. The polling was in January and February, and the Levada Center has not published new polling since the war began. Outsiders hope ordinary Russians will respond to the sharp decline in their living standards and find honest portrayals of the war through relatives and online, including by using VPN software to bypass Kremlin blocks on social media. Russian state television continues to air false or unsupported allegations about the U.S. and Ukrainian governments and push a narrative that Russia can’t afford to lose the war. “Otherwise, it will lead to the death of Russia itself,” said Vladimir Solovyov, host of a prime-time talk show on state TV channel Russia 1, on his daily radio show last week.

In the two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, around 2.5 million people have fled — the great majority of them to European Union countries. More than half have entered Poland while hundreds of thousands more are seeking refuge, mostly in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch an unprovoked war has been met with an outpouring of goodwill in Europe. The EU has launched an emergency protection system offering shelter, access to jobs, medical treatment and education to those who fled the assault. The protection system streamlines entry procedures. It was established in 2001, in response to the fallout from the wars in former Yugoslavia and Kosovo in the 1990s, when thousands were forced from their homes. It has never been used before, despite the arrival of well over 1 million people in Europe in 2015, many fleeing conflict in Syria. The “Temporary Protection Directive” sets out minimum standards across the EU’s 27 countries for helping those in need. Member nations can provide more favorable conditions if they want. It also eases procedures for countries to transfer refugees between them if those people agree to move. The following is a short guide to the new rules, what they mean for Ukrainians seeking shelter in Europe and for those who might want to help them. Read: Zelenskyy says 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers killed WHO IS ELIGIBLE? The decision applies to all Ukrainian nationals who have been displaced from Ukraine on or after Feb. 24, 2022 “as a result of the military invasion by Russian armed forces that began on that date.” It also applies to their family members — spouses, unmarried partners in stable relationships and children — or to people who were already refugees inside Ukraine before the war. It excludes those who were living in Ukraine short-term, like foreign students. HOW LONG CAN REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE STAY? Ukrainian nationals are allowed to travel visa-free in Europe and so can move around once they are admitted for a 90-day period. This means they can choose the EU country that would like to stay in and apply for temporary protection there. It’s particularly good for those who want to stay with relatives already in Europe. That period of protection would apply for one year, initially. Unless it ends, the stay could be extended in six-month periods for a further year. If Ukraine remains unsafe, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, could extend the protection system for one more year, making a maximum of a three-year stay possible under certain circumstances. Member states should try to help people return voluntarily when their stay is over. In some cases, they could help set up exploratory visits to help people work out whether it’s safe to go home. People can also apply for asylum in the EU at any time during their stay. WHAT ARE PEOPLE ENTITLED TO? Some countries are already providing free rail and bus travel, and other benefits to people fleeing Ukraine. Some are lodged in reception centers or with willing European families. But under this system, European governments should ensure that people have access to accommodation or help to get housing. Read: Ukraine claims another Russian general killed They should receive social welfare benefits and possibly medical care. Countries should allow people to apply for jobs or become self-employed workers. Adult education, training in a trade or workplace experience should also be possible. People under 18 should be given access to schools. Children traveling alone would be placed with adult relatives, foster families, reception facilities adapted to receiving minors, or with the adults they fled Ukraine with. Any visas should be provided free of cost.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross says he hopes that corridors to evacuate civilians from under-fire cities in Ukraine will begin to work better after a sputtering start. ICRC President Peter Maurer told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday that his organization has been working for days to bring the warring parties together and encourage them to hold detailed military-to-military talks on enabling civilians to flee. Maurer said it’s important that agreements succeed “because the military units stand close to each other and the smallest uncertainty, as we have seen in recent days, leads instantly to exchanges of fire, and that makes the escape routes impossible.” Read: Air alert declared in Kyiv as fighting continues He added: “We hope that it will work better today; in any case, we are talking to the parties and, above all, the parties are talking to each other — that is the most important thing at the moment.” But, pressed on how confident he is, he added: “I really can’t speculate. But we hope that today a large number can at least get to safety at least from some cities. I wouldn’t venture to speculate how the day will develop in eastern Ukraine in particular.” Russia’s Defense Ministry says its operation thwarted a large-scale plot to attack separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov on Wednesday cited from what he claimed was an intercepted Ukrainian National Guard document laying out plans for a weekslong operation targeting the Donbas region. Konashenkov said in a televised statement: “The special military operation of the Russian armed forces, carried out since Feb. 24, preempted and thwarted a large-scale offensive by strike groups of Ukrainian troops on the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, which are not controlled by Kyiv, in March of this year.” Read: Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails He did not address Russia’s shelling, airstrikes and attacks on Ukrainian civilians or cities, Russian military casualties or any other aspect of its bogged-down campaign. Russia calls its invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation,” and official statements about the war have focused almost exclusively on fighting and evacuations in the separatist-held regions, where Russian-backed forces have been fighting Ukraine’s military since 2014.

Oil prices jumped and shares were sharply lower Monday as the conflict in Ukraine deepened amid mounting calls for harsher sanctions against Russia. Brent crude oil briefly surged above $130 a barrel but was trading around $125 a barrel later Monday. Benchmark U.S. crude also bounced, gaining $10 and then giving up some of that advance. European markets opened lower and U.S. futures were down 1.7%. The price of gold surged above $2,000 an ounce as investors bought the precious metal viewed as a safe haven in times of crisis. Russian forces were pummeling some Ukrainian cities with rockets even after Moscow announced another cease-fire and proposed a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday. Also read: Asian stocks rise after Fed chair supports smaller rate hike A similar temporary cease-fire in two Ukrainian cities failed over the weekend — and both sides blamed each other. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House was exploring legislation to further isolate Russia from the global economy, including banning the import of its oil and energy products into the U.S. Oil prices came under additional pressure after Libya’s national oil company said an armed group had shut down two crucial oil fields. The move caused the country’s daily oil output to drop by 330,000. But reports said U.S. officials may be considering easing sanctions against Venezuela. That potentially could free up more crude oil and ease concerns about reduced supplies from Russia.   U.S. crude jumped $6.92 to $122.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The all-time high was marked in July 2008, when the price per barrel of U.S. crude climbed to $145.29. That pushed the average price for gasoline in the U.S. above $4 a gallon, a milestone already reached again. The price of regular gasoline rose almost 41 cents, breaking $4 per gallon (3.8 liters) on average across the U.S. on Sunday for the first time since 2008, according to the AAA motor club. Brent crude, the international pricing standard, hit $139.13 per barrel before falling back Monday. It was trading up $6.57 at $124.68 a barrel in London. In early European trading, France’s CAC 40 dipped 3% to 5,879.70, while Germany’s DAX lost 3.2% to 12,675.43. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.4% to 6,890.71. U.S. shares were set to start the week lower, with the futures for both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 down 1.8%. Higher fuel costs are devastating for Japan, which imports almost all its energy. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.9% to 25,221.41. Also read: Ruble dives, stocks sink as West tightens Russia sanctions Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 3.9% to 21,057.63, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 2.3% to 2,651.31. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.0% to 7,038.60. while the Shanghai Composite lost 2.2% to 3,372.86. “The Ukraine-Russia conflict will continue to dominate market sentiments and no signs of conflict resolution thus far may likely put a cap on risk sentiments into the new week,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore. “It should be clear by now that economic sanctions will not deter any aggression from the Russians, but will serve more as a punitive measure at the expense of implication on global economic growth. Elevated oil prices may pose a threat to firms’ margins and consumer spending outlook,” Yeap said. China reported Monday that its exports rose by double digits in January and February before Russia’s attack on Ukraine roiled the global economy. Customs data show exports grew by 16.3% over a year earlier in a sign global demand was recovering before President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion. Imports advanced 15.5% despite a Chinese economic slowdown that the war threatens to worsen. China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Keqiang, warned Saturday global conditions are “volatile, grave and uncertain” and achieving Beijing’s economic goals will require “arduous efforts.” Markets worldwide have swung wildly recently on worries about how high prices for oil, wheat and other commodities produced in the region will go because of Russia’s invasion, inflaming the world’s already high inflation. The list of companies exiting Russia has grown to include Mastercard, Visa and American Express, as well as Netflix. The conflict in Ukraine also threatens the food supply in some regions, including Europe, Africa and Asia, which rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region, known as the “breadbasket of the world.” Wall Street finished last week with shares falling despite a much stronger report on U.S. jobs than economists expected. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 4,328.87, posting its third weekly loss in the last four. It is now down just under 10% from its record set early this year. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 115.08 Japanese yen from 114.86 yen. The euro cost $1.0830, down from $1.0926.

As Olga Okhrimenko walked into a bustling ballroom-turned-refugee shelter at a four-star Romanian hotel, her corgi, Knolly, strained at the leash anxiously seeking the warmth inside. It had taken them three days to flee Ukraine by car, bus and taxi in the bitter cold. The 34-year-old Ukrainian marketing manager could hardly contain her emotions, and a simple “are you OK?” filled her eyes with tears she thought she no longer had. The first refugees began arriving more than a week ago at the Mandachi Hotel and Spa in Suceava in Romania, where the owner decided to make the lavish, 850-square-meter ballroom available to them. Since then, more than 2,000 people and 100 pets have taken shelter here, with row upon row of numbered mattresses under an incongruous glittering disco ball. They are part of the swiftest refugee exodus so far this century, in which more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine in just 10 days, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Since the war started on Feb. 24, more than 227,000 Ukrainians have crossed into neighboring Romania, according to local authorities. Like Okhrimenko, some of the refugees at the Mandachi have fled cities on the front lines of the war. “Whenever somebody asks me where I am from, and I say Kharkiv, their expression, it’s like I arrived from Hiroshima,” Okhrimenko told The Associated Press from mattress number 60. “Then, I remember everything going on there and I break down.” Read: Russia sets ceasefire for evacuations amid heavy shelling After five days of shelling, she decided to flee Kharkiv on March 1 with Knolly, a couple of friends and their two cats. Their car passed by the city’s central Freedom Square just 20 minutes before it was engulfed by a giant ball of fire in a Russian military strike. “It was difficult for me before to say I’m a great patriot of my land,” she said. “But on Feb. 24, I became one 100%.” As she spoke, volunteers on megaphones interrupted several times to announce buses leaving for Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and other European nations. The room was chaotic, filled mostly with women and children, as men stayed in Ukraine to fight. Some spoke Russian, underlining the sense of a war on family. The majority of the refugees were Ukrainian, but there were also Nigerians, Moroccans, Italians, Chinese and Iranians. Toddlers cried in the arms of exhausted mothers, who took deep breaths to calm their children and themselves. Cats and dogs of all sizes shared beds with their owners, and one stressed Chihuahua with bulging eyes bit anyone who attempted to pet it. Some 300 volunteers, translators and social workers take turns to help here. In the mornings, they change the mismatched sheets on vacated mattresses, placing a “reserved” or “free” handwritten sign over them. In the reception area, the two bars display not alcohol but an array of diapers, toothbrushes, snacks and even surgical masks and disinfectant gel. At the opposite end of the King Salon, at mattress number 82 near stacks of red velvet chairs, 85-year-old Nellya Nahorna sat in silence combing her gray hair with her fingers. It was the second time this Ukrainian grandmother had fled war. In 1941, when she was just 4 years old, Nahorna was injured by shrapnel in Nazi Germany’s invasion of Ukraine, she said. “The first night of the war, my mother grabbed me from my cradle and ran to take the last car that carried the wounded to the border,” Nahorna recalled in a soft, low voice. Now, more than 80 years later, it was her daughter, 57-year-old Olena Yefanova, who grabbed her on the first day of the war and crossed the border. They came from the town of Zaporizhzhia, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was hit by Russian shelling last week. “This war is different,” Nahorna said in Russian. In World War II, the enemies were German “fascists,” she said. But now, she was fleeing from her “brothers.” They had to make stops along the way to get her a Ukrainian passport. “I would like to tell the Russian mothers .... help by keeping your sons right next to yourselves and don’t let them fight and attack other countries,” Nahorna said. In an astonishing accomplishment, the same grandmother who leaned on a cane to make it from her mattress to a table a few steps away had walked the last 5 km (3 miles) to Romania by foot. At one point, Nahorna’s heart seemed like it was giving up, and a doctor gave her some pills so she could continue, her daughter said. “My mother clenched her will into a fist and left,” Yefanova said proudly. “She understood that this is going to be hard but she took it steadfastly.” Yefanova had left her husband and one son behind, enlisted to fight the Russians. She wept as she showed a photo of them on her phone screensaver. Read: Macron keeps an open line to Putin as war in Ukraine rages “Our kids play a game called little tanks - (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is playing his own version of this game,” she said. “And he is (using) his people in this game.” A row behind Yefanova on mattress 34, Anna Karpenko thought of her partner as their 6-year-old son played with a yellow balloon. Before she left him at their home in Chornomorsk, on the outskirts of Ukraine’s biggest port city of Odesa, he promised they would get married after the war. But “when we said goodbye, it felt like it was forever,” Karpenko said, wiping tears from her eyes. Normally, she said, she’s an optimistic person. Now she and her son both cry every day. Russian ships have made repeated attempts to fire on the Black Sea port of Odesa, according to Ukrainian officials. Karpenko said people in her town had gathered on beaches to fill bags with sand. Originally from Crimea, Karpenko speaks Russian, worked for a Russian language school and has relatives in Donetsk, one of two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has divided her family, with her Donetsk relatives supporting Putin. “They think that all of their problems are caused by Ukraine,” she explained in frustration. “They worship (Putin) as if he was a God.” She’s given up trying to tell them it was Russian strikes she was fleeing. By the next morning, Okhrimenko and her corgi had left. Her husband, who had moved to Germany only a few months ago, drove down to pick them up. She had planned to join him eventually, but never thought she would suddenly be chased out by sirens and explosions. “We just took a deep sigh of relief together and hugged each other so strong,” Okhrimenko told AP by text message from the road to Germany. Karpenko, her son and her mother boarded a bus also bound for Germany. On the same bus were Yefanova and Nahorna, the 85-year-old grandmother. Thirty hours after leaving the makeshift shelter, they were still on the road. “The longest journey in my life,” Karpenko texted AP from a gas station in Austria. As one bus left, others arrived at the Hotel Mandachi, full of freezing refugees carrying their children and their belongings. With no end to the war in sight, the wedding parties that once took place in the ballroom have been postponed indefinitely.

While most of the world is shunning President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the few leaders keeping an open line of communication is French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron’s diplomatic efforts to prevent the war failed, but he’s not giving up: the two men have spoken four times since Russian forces attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24, and 11 times over the past month. The French leader, whose country holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, is now one of the few outsiders with a view into Putin’s mindset at the time of the largest military invasion in Europe since World War II. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is also becoming a mediator, meeting Putin on a surprise visit to Moscow on Saturday and speaking with him again by phone on Sunday. Macron’s relentless push for dialogue reflects France’s post-World War II tradition of carving out its own geopolitical path and its refusal to blindly follow the United States. After Russian troops pushed deep into Ukraine, Macron’s resolve to maintain communication channels with Putin is providing Western allies with insight into the Russian leader’s state of mind, his intentions on the battlefield and at home in Russia as the Kremlin cracks down on opponents. “He is keeping a diplomatic channel open for the West in case Putin might want to de-escalate and look for a way out of this crisis,” said Benjamin Haddad, a senior director for Europe at the Atlantic Council in Paris and a member of Macron’s party. Macron has also spoken to Putin on behalf of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Haddad said, trying to extract some mercy from Putin: local cease-fires, safe passage for trapped civilians and access to humanitarian aid. During their most recent call on Sunday that came at Macron’s request, the French leader and Putin focused for nearly two hours on the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear plants. Putin said he doesn’t intend to attack them and agreed on the principle of “dialogue” between the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ukraine and Russia on the issue, according to a French official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the French presidency’s practices. Read: UN court hearings to open in Ukraine case against Russia There is “absolutely no illusion at the Elysee that Putin will keep his word on anything he promises,” Haddad said, or that Putin will change his mind about the invasion. But Haddad said that it’s important that Macron keeps trying to engage Putin even as the West punishes Russia and strengthens Ukraine’s defenses. And breaking with the diplomatic norm of keeping such conversations secret, the French presidency has widely shared the content of Macron’s talks with Putin. Macron’s advisers and the president himself detailed the excruciating efforts to prevent the war and then laid bare Putin’s broken promises of peace. That helped Macron galvanize support for the toughest sanctions against Russia, uniting the notoriously divided 27-member EU and revive NATO’s geopolitical role. To the extent that keeping lines of communication open can be useful during a conflict to relay messages, warnings or threats, and hear the response, the Biden administration believes that such contacts can be useful for at least getting some insight into Putin’s mood, demeanor and mindset. Hence, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will go to Paris Tuesday to hear from Macron directly about his latest conversations with Putin. But U.S. officials remain unconvinced that Macron’s efforts — or any other leader’s — have had any significant impact on Putin’s decison-making process. They note that despite a series of interventions by the French president, Putin has not only gone ahead with the invasion but also intensified the conflict. The French president has been clear from the start: Putin alone is to blame for the death and destruction in Ukraine and the major consequences of the war for France and Europe. But on the other hand if Putin wants to talk, he will listen. Putin called on Thursday. The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine had already topped 1 million and several towns in the east were in ruins. Macron picked up and they talked for 90 minutes. An official in the French presidency rushed to brief reporters on the conversation. Putin told Macron the military operation in Ukraine is “going according to plan” and he will continue “until the end,” the official said. Read: Ukraine says Russia steps up shelling of residential areas Putin claimed that “war crimes” were being committed by Ukrainians. He called them “Nazis,” the official said. There’s no need to negotiate, Putin said. He will achieve the “neutralization and disarmament of Ukraine” with his army. The official couldn’t be named in keeping with Elysee practices. Macron “spoke the truth” to Putin, the official said, and explained how his war on Ukraine is perceived by the West. “I spoke to President Putin. I asked him to stop attacks on Ukraine. At this point, he refuses,” Macron tweeted. He said dialogue will continue. “We must prevent the worst from happening.” Since he was elected president in 2017, Macron has shown a keen interest in forging personal relationships with world leaders, including those who value a degree of pragmatism when discussing democracy and human rights while pursing business opportunities. His business-friendly diplomacy paid off in the Persian Gulf in December when he signed a multi-billion euro weapons contract with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nayhan. Macron drew fierce criticism on that trip for traveling to Saudi Arabia to become the first Western leader to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “Macron stands out among European Union leaders with his willingness to be in the spotlight, to drive the foreign policy and push things ahead,” said Silvia Colombo, an expert on EU foreign relations at the International Institute in Rome. There is no other foreign leader that Macron has tried to bring closer to his corner than Putin. Macron, a staunch European, was confident that a mixture of personal charm and the splendor of France’s past would convince Putin to keep Russia within the European security habitat. Macron first hosted Putin in the sumptuous Place of Versailles in 2017. Two years later they discussed stalled Ukraine peace talks in Macron’s summer residence at the Fort de Bregancon on the French Riviera as Macron tried to build on European diplomacy that had helped ease hostilities in the past. It’s become clear over the past several weeks that Putin was on the war path even as he denied it, sitting across from Macron at a very long table during his last visit to Moscow. Macron wanted to believe him, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after critics claimed the French president has fallen into the old European trap of appeasing Putin’s Russia. “The president is not naive,” Le Drian said on the eve of Russia’s invasion. “He knows the methods, the character and the cynical nature of Putin.”

Russian forces intensified shelling of cities in Ukraine's center, north and south, a Ukrainian official said, as a second attempt to evacuate besieged civilians collapsed. With the Ukrainian leader urging his people to take to the streets to fight, Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted blame for the invasion, saying Moscow's attacks could be halted “only if Kyiv ceases hostilities.” The outskirts of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, Mykolaiv in the south, and Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, faced stepped-up shelling late Sunday, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. Heavy artillery hit residential areas in Kharkiv and shelling damaged a television tower, according to local officials. The attacks dashed hopes that more people could escape the fighting in Ukraine, where Russia's plan to quickly overrun the country has been stymied by fierce resistance. Russia has made significant advances in southern Ukraine and along the coast, but many of its efforts have become stalled, including an immense military convoy that has been almost motionless for days north of Kyiv. Food, water, medicine and almost all other supplies were in desperately short supply in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Russian and Ukrainian forces had agreed to an 11-hour cease-fire that would allow civilians and the wounded to be evacuated. But Russian attacks quickly closed the humanitarian corridor, Ukrainian officials said. “There can be no ‘green corridors’ because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom,“ Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. A third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian leaders is planned for Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rallied his people to remain defiant, especially those in cities occupied by Russians. Read:Ukraine official says assault halts evacuations for 2nd time “You should take to the streets! You should fight!” he said Saturday on Ukrainian television. “It is necessary to go out and drive this evil out of our cities, from our land.” Zelenskyy also asked the United States and NATO countries to send more warplanes to Ukraine, though that idea is complicated by logistical questions about how to provide aircraft to Ukrainian pilots. He later urged the West to tighten its sanctions on Russia, saying that “the audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal" that existing sanctions are not enough. The war, now in its 12th day, has caused 1.5 million people to flee the country. The head of the U.N. refugee agency called the exodus “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II." A senior US defense official said Sunday that the U.S. assesses that about 95% of the Russian forces that had been arrayed around Ukraine are now inside the country. The official said Russian forces continue to advance in an attempt to isolate Kyiv, Kharkhiv and Chernihiv, but are being met with strong Ukrainian resistance. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said the convoy outside Kyiv continues to be stalled. As he has often done, Putin blamed Ukraine for the war, telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that Kyiv needed to stop all hostilities and fulfill “the well-known demands of Russia." Putin launched his invasion with a string of false accusations against Kyiv, including that it is led by neo-Nazis intent on undermining Russia with the development of nuclear weapons. The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday announced that its forces intend to strike Ukraine’s military-industrial complex with what it said were precision weapons. A ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, claimed in a statement carried by the state news agency Tass that Ukrainian personnel were being forced to repair damaged military equipment so that it could be sent back into action. Zelenskyy criticized Western leaders for not responding to Russia's latest threat. “I didn’t hear even a single world leader react to this,” Zelenskyy said Sunday evening. The Russian Defense Ministry also alleged, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian forces are plotting to blow up an experimental nuclear reactor in Kharkiv and to blame it on a Russian missile strike. Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke Sunday about the nuclear situation in Ukraine, which has 15 nuclear reactors at four power plants and was the scene of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The men agreed in principle to a “dialogue” involving Russia, Ukraine and the U.N.'s atomic watchdog, according to a French official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with the presidency’s practices. Potential talks on the issue are to be organized in the coming days, he said. Putin also blamed the fire last week at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which Ukrainian officials said was caused by Russian attackers, on a “provocation organized by Ukrainian radicals." International leaders, as well as Pope Francis, appealed to Putin to negotiate. In a highly unusual move, the pope said he had dispatched two cardinals to Ukraine to try to end the conflict. “In Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing,” the pontiff said in his traditional Sunday blessing. The death toll remains unclear. The U.N. says it has confirmed just a few hundred civilian deaths but also warned that the number is a vast undercount. About eight civilians were killed by Russian shelling in the town of Irpin, on the northwest outskirts of Kyiv, according to Mayor Oleksander Markyshin. The dead included a family. Video footage showed a shell slamming into a city street, not far from a bridge used by people fleeing the fighting. A group of fighters could be seen trying to help the family. The handful of residents who managed to flee Mariupol before the humanitarian corridor closed said the city of 430,000 had been devastated. “We saw everything: houses burning, all the people sitting in basements,” said Yelena Zamay, who fled to one of the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists. “No communication, no water, no gas, no light, no water. There was nothing.” British military officials compared Russia’s tactics to those Moscow used in Chechnya and Syria, where surrounded cities were pulverized by airstrikes and artillery. Read:Ukraine tries to evacuate city under weeklong Russian attack “This is likely to represent an effort to break Ukrainian morale,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said. Zelenskyy reiterated a request for foreign protectors to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which NATO so far has ruled out because of concerns such an action would lead to a far wider war. “The world is strong enough to close our skies,” Zelenskyy said Sunday in a video address. Ukraine’s military is greatly outmatched by Russia’s, but its professional and volunteer forces have fought back with fierce tenacity. In Kyiv, volunteers lined up Saturday to join the military. The West has broadly backed Ukraine, offering aid and weapon shipments and slapping Russia with vast sanctions. But no NATO troops have been sent to Ukraine. Ukraine is planning to create an international legion of volunteer fighters from dozens of countries. More than 20,000 people have volunteered, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. "The whole world today is on Ukraine’s side, not only in words but in deeds,” he said on Ukrainian television Sunday night. Russia has made significant advances in southern Ukraine as it seeks to block access to the Sea of Azov. Capturing Mariupol could allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that most other countries considered illegal. Russia has become increasingly isolated in the days since the invasion began, closing itself off to outside sources of information as sanctions bite deeply into its economy. The ruble has plunged in value, and dozens of multinational companies ended or dramatically scaled back their work in the country. On Sunday, American Express announced it would suspend operations in Russia, as well as in Russian-allied Belarus. Also, two of the so-called Big Four accounting firms, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, said Sunday they would end their relationships with their Russia-based member firms. TikTok announced Sunday Russian users would not be able to post new videos or see videos shared from elsewhere in the world. The company blamed Moscow’s new “fake news” law, which makes it illegal, among other things, to describe the fighting as an invasion. Netflix also cut its service to Russia but provided no details. Facebook and Twitter have already been blocked in Russia, along with access to the websites of a number of major international media outlets. TikTok is part of the Chinese tech company ByteDance. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress is exploring how to further isolate Russia from the global economy, including banning the import of its oil and energy products into the United States. Pelosi said Sunday that the legislation under consideration would also repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus and begin the process of denying Russia access to the World Trade Organization.

Roman Abramovich has decided to sell Chelsea Football Club, which he purchased for 140 million pounds from British businessman Ken Bates in July 2003. Chelsea have risen to become one of Europe's most prominent clubs under Abramovich's ownership. However, the time has come for the Russian billionaire to leave the London-based club due to the mounting concern over the Ukraine-Russia war. The achievements of Chelsea FC during Abramovich's tenure as well as the reasons behind his decision to sell the team are discussed in this article.   The main reason for Abramovich's desire to sell Chelsea The US and EU nations hit back at Russia's invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions. The Russian people, particularly businessmen and athletes in many areas of the world, are in serious problems as a result of the embargo. The owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich found himself in trouble after the British government’s sanction threat on Russian businesses. Initially, he intended to pass over stewardship to the club's trustees, but owing to rising pressure from the British government and the media, the Russian oligarch had to change his decision. Abramovich eventually decided to sell Chelsea Football Club after 19 years in control because of unforeseen circumstances.  Read BPL Football: Rahmatganj MFS gain first victory; Police FC earn 2nd win beating Muktikoddha After making the decision, Roman Abramovich confirmed in an official statement that his ownership of Chelsea is purely based on passion and love for the game and that he did not purchase the club for any commercial reasons. He has also told his team to set up a charity foundation so that all of the money from the sale may go to Ukraine's conflict victims.  Chelsea's achievements in the Abramovich Era   Chelsea football club have become one of Europe's wealthiest and most successful clubs in the last two decades after Roman Abramovich purchased the London-based club in 2003.  Chelsea have won a total of 34 major trophies since its foundation in 1905. Twenty-one of them were won during Roman Abramovich's reign. This indicates that the Russian billionaire's rule is responsible for two-thirds of the club's entire success to date. Read BPL Football: Ctg Abahani force Dhaka Abahani to taste first defeat Chelsea won the Premier League for the first time in 50 years in 2005. Chelsea have won five league championships since then. Chelsea also have won five FA Cups, three EFL Cups, and two Community Shields in domestic football during Abramovich's tenure.  Chelsea’s biggest triumph came in 2012 when they beat FC Bayern Munich in the final to win the Champions League for the first time. Nine years later, Chelsea once again won UEFA's most prestigious club competition in 2021. Overall, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea have won two Champions League, two Europa League, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup in international tournaments. Impact of the Ukraine-Russia Conflict on Sports The ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis has had a significant impact on Russian and Belarussian sports. Russia and its athletes have been barred from competing in several sporting events by many governing bodies. Here are a few notable ones. Read BPL Football: Ogbugh's hattrcik enable Saif SC to earn 5-1 win over Swadhinata KS Prohibition by the International Olympic Committee Russia and Belarus will be barred from hosting any International Olympic Committee (IOC) sporting events. Besides, athletes will not be allowed to compete in tournaments under the flags of Russia or Belarus. Bans imposed by FIFA and UEFA FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement that the Russian national team and Russian clubs have been indefinitely suspended due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. Bar by World Athletics World Athletics declared in a statement that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be permitted to compete in any World Athletics competitions in the foreseeable future. Read BPL Football: Robinho's penalty secures the 3 points for Bashundhara Kings The Stance of the International Tennis Federation on the Russia-Ukraine Crisis The International Tennis Federation has revoked the memberships of the Russian and Belarusian tennis federations. However, Players from these two nations will be able to compete in international competitions.   Others The international swimming federation has confirmed that Russian and Belarusian swimmers would be permitted to compete as neutral players from neutral teams in international competitions. The title of honorary president and ambassador for Russian President Vladimir Putin has been terminated by the World Judo Federation. The International Volleyball Federation has also barred Russian and Belarusian players from competing in international competitions until further notice. Way Forward  The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has had an impact on the global stage. Russians are facing a slew of sanctions as a result of their invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Russian investors in Europe are experiencing unexpected sanctions. For instance, Russian citizen Roman Abramovich is under pressure to sell his London-based club Chelsea FC. Read Russia loses Champions League final to Paris; Sochi F1 axed