PM Draghi: Putin says conditions not yet in place for ceasefire in Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told him that conditions are not yet in place for a ceasefire in Ukraine, more than a month after Moscow began a military operation in the country.

Draghi said Putin had told him so during a telephone call on Wednesday. The Russian leader also told him that current gas contracts remained in force and European firms would continue to pay in euros and dollars, rather than in rubles, Draghi told a press conference on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Russia demanded that “unfriendly” countries must pay in rubles, not euros, for its gas.

Putin announced a “special military operation” on February 24 to demilitarize Donetsk and Lugansk, largely populated by ethnic Russians, in eastern Ukraine. In 2014, the two regions – collectively known as the Donbas – declared themselves new republics.

The United States and its European allies have labeled the military operation as “Putin’s land grab”, imposing unprecedented waves of sweeping sanctions.

Asked about Italy’s increased defense spending following the Ukraine war, Draghi said that his country sought to reach the NATO goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense in 2028.

Russia to ditch dollar in gas trade with ‘unfriendly’ countries

Russia says the country will accept roubles instead of the dollar in its gas trade with “unfriendly countries.”

Zelensky: If Russia not punished, other may be emboldened

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Australia’s parliament Thursday that Russia must be held accountable for what he called past wrongs, warning that a failure to punish the Kremlin may embolden other states to launch wars against their neighbors.

He also called for fresh and more crushing sanctions to retaliate against Russia’s military operation against Ukraine, saying that years of failure to curb Russia have emboldened Moscow.

“If we don't stop Russia now, if we don't hold Russia accountable, then some other countries of the world who are looking forward to a similar war against their neighbors will decide that such things are possible for them as well,” Zelensky said in the video address.

“The fate of the global security is decided now. No one can manage to win … no one can save any part of the world from radioactive (destruction) that were to come if nuclear weapons are used,” the Ukrainian president added.

Australia has already sent military equipment to Ukraine and banned exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia. It has also sanctioned 443 Russian individuals and 33 entities over Moscow’s operation in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Canberra said it was slapping an additional 35 percent tariff on imports from Russia and Belarus, which has supported the operation.

Russia announces ceasefire in Ukrainian city of Mariupol to allow civilian evacuation

Russia has announced a local ceasefire to allow civilians to be evacuated from Ukraine

'Most of Ukraine’s defense industry destroyed'

Aleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said on Thursday that Russia’s military operation has destroyed almost all of Ukraine's defense industry.

“They have practically destroyed our defense industry,” he said in a video address as he welcomed the terms of a proposed peace deal as a win for his country.

Arestovych said under the peace deal discussed with Russia on Tuesday, Ukraine would be protected from future threats by international security guarantees that Russia would not be able to veto.

“This is an ideal agreement that improves our position several times over in a fundamental way,” he added.

The military conflict has so far displaced more than 3.5 million people in what the United Nations has described as the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

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