US President Joe Biden, in a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, announced Washington’s plans to provide Ukraine with $500 million in direct financial assistance, according to a White House press release.
“President Biden informed President Zelensky that the United States intends to provide the Ukrainian government with $500 million in direct budget support,” the document says.
The two leaders also discussed how the US is working with allies and partners to identify additional opportunities to provide defense assistance to the Ukrainian military. It was also about how the United States is trying to “satisfy the basic needs of Ukraine in the field of security.”
In addition, Zelensky provided Biden with information on the state of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, the press release also says.
The German truck and bus manufacturer MAN was forced to send about 11,000 employees on unpaid leave due to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
The Volkswagen Group-owned company said on Wednesday that its facilities in Munich and Krakow, Poland, have been halted since March 14 due to the cessation of supplies of electrical wires produced at Ukrainian factories. At three other MAN sites, production volumes have been reduced, including at the engine plant in Nuremberg.
“Suppliers of electrical wiring for trucks cannot produce it at Ukrainian enterprises or can produce it in very limited quantities,” MAN said in a statement. “As a result, we could lose production for several weeks, which will sharply reduce output figures in the second quarter.”
The company said it has already started looking for additional sources of truck wiring harnesses in other countries.
“However, this will take several months,” said Alexander Vlaskamp, chief executive officer of MAN.
The company notes that its employees will be transferred to a reduced working hours scheme, in which MAN compensates them for 80% of lost income from both its own and state funds.
The problems of Ukrainian suppliers previously led to disruptions in the work of Volkswagen and BMW enterprises.
Most of the Ukrainian enterprises for the production of electrical wiring, located in the western part of the country, have resumed work, the Financial Times newspaper writes, citing representatives of several enterprises.
Thus, the German Leoni, which owns two factories in the west of Ukraine, has already reported that both of its enterprises have returned to work.
Other companies, including Aptiv and Kromberg & Schubert, have resumed production, FT sources say.
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Ukraine has become a full member of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Association), the Ministry of Education and Science reports.
“COST reaffirms its solidarity with Ukraine and its people. We will continue to promote scientific activities for peaceful purposes while strongly condemning war and violence. COST, by providing networking opportunities for researchers and innovators, can be a powerful weapon against totalitarianism. Therefore, we call for international efforts to ensure the safety of Ukrainian innovators and researchers,” the association said in a statement, quoted by the Ministry of Education.
It is noted that among the strategic priorities of COST can be identified: the promotion and dissemination of advanced science and improvement; empowering and supporting young innovators and researchers; promoting interdisciplinary research for breakthrough science.
In addition, membership in this organization provides Ukrainian innovators and scientists with an additional opportunity to join the COST Actions research networks, which offer an open space for international collaboration of scientists, as well as give impetus to the progress of innovation and research.
EUROPEAN COOPERATION, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION, UKRAINE
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has sent an official appeal to the European Commission with proposals to increase economic pressure on the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
“Despite the already introduced restrictive measures, Russian business finds workarounds and continues to conduct operations in other countries. Accordingly, the existing sanctions do not fully achieve their goal,” the ministry said on its website on Tuesday.
In this regard, the Infrastructure Ministry proposes to the European Union: completely block land and sea transport links with Russia and Belarus; block the possibility of transporting goods and people to Russia and Belarus through the territory of the European Union and across its borders; prohibit the provision of customs services for goods delivered to Russia and Belarus.
“In particular, these measures are necessary to stop the supply of dual-use goods to the aggressor country that can be used for military needs,” the ministry said.
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Losses among civilians since February 24, 2022, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, until 24:00 on March 27, 2022, amounted to 2,975 civilians (2,909 in the report a day earlier), including 1,151 dead (1,119), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported on Monday.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration,” the document says.
This concerns, for example, Mariupol and Volnovakha (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), Popasna and Rubizhne (Luhansk region), and Trostianets (Sumy region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. These figures are being further corroborated and are not included in the above statistics.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” the report said.
According to confirmed UN data, 229 men, 171 women, 34 boys and 15 girls died, while the sex of 54 children and 648 adults has not yet been determined.
Among the 1,824 injured, there were 34 girls and 26 boys, as well as 73 children, whose sex has not yet been determined.
Compared to the previous day, four children were killed and seven were injured, according to the UN.
OHCHR points out that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on March 28, there are 317 (301) deaths and 700 (694) injured in the territory controlled by the government, and 60 (59) deaths and 228 (227) injured in the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed “republics.”
In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 774 (759) dead and 896 (869) wounded .
The report also states that, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, as of 08:00 on March 28, some 143 (139) children were killed and 216 (205) injured.
The increase in indicators in this report compared to the figures in the previous report should not be attributed only to new cases that occurred on March 27, since OHCHR also verified a number of cases that occurred in previous days during the day, the document specifies.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking before the start of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, expressed hope that they would facilitate a personal meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.
“The progress made in these talks will allow the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to negotiate in person,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by Daily Sabah.
He noted that Turkey is also ready to host such talks between the two leaders on its territory.
Erdogan indicated that Turkey is “deeply concerned” about the situation around Ukraine and calls for a ceasefire.
“The negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine has raised hopes for peace. Ensuring a ceasefire as soon as possible would be beneficial to all parties,” the Turkish president said.
“We hope that the meetings [in Istanbul] will benefit both sides and the region,” he said.
“I think it is possible to come to an agreement that will suit both sides and the world community,” he stressed. Erdogan noted that a “permanent, fair, practical solution is required.”
Erdogan also stressed that Turkey is ready to perform mediation functions for as long as necessary. “We are ready to help the peace process as much as you need,” he said, addressing the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations began in Istanbul on Tuesday morning, they are taking place in the Dolmabahce Palace.
As the President’s Office told Interfax-Ukraine, the Ukrainian delegation included leader of the Servant of the People faction in the parliament David Arakhamia, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, MPs Andriy Kostin and Rustem Umerov, adviser to the head of the President’s Office Mykhailo Podoliak, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mykola Tochytsky, and Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
