Russia-Ukraine war: world ‘more dangerous’ after Putin suspends key nuclear arms deal, Nato says; six killed in Kherson shelling
Vladimir Putin says he will suspend Russia’s participation in New Start treaty; civilian areas in Kherson shelled during Putin speech, Ukraine says.
The foreign ministers of the G7 have said their countries would continue to impose economic costs on Russia and urged the broader international community to reject what they described as Moscow’s “brutal expansionism”.
“We will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities – inside and outside of Russia – that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law,” the leaders said in a joint statement, Reuters’ reports.
Engie, the French energy company, reported a sharp increase in its annual profit, helped by higher natural gas and power prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company said its net recurring income for 2022 totalled 5.2 billion euros ($5.55 billion), up from 2.9 billion euros in 2021.
Full-year earnings before tax and interest was 9 billion euros, up from 6.1 billion euros in 2021.
When Anastasiia Vereshchynska, 27, left Kyiv with her partner for a trip to western Ukraine in early February 2022, they did not pack lightly. “We were taking a bit more just in case. There was lots of information on social media about what to pack in case of war: medicine, warm clothes, valuables and documents, thermals. I was thinking we are doing this because we are panicking and that it would not really help us.”
But Vereshchynska was not panicking unduly. They were meant to return from the city of Ivano-Frankivsk on 23 February. But Russia’s invasion the following day meant the couple remained in the city for several months, staying in a friend’s flat.
One year on, the couple is living in Uzhhorod, a city perched on Ukraine’s border with Slovakia. “It’s a pretty small city but lots have come from other regions,” says Vereshchynska, who works remotely for an NGO. “I suppose for people living there before the invasion it’s a bit uncomfortable – probably the city wasn’t prepared for this number of people.” Rents have also risen, she says.
More than 18 million people – almost one in five Ukrainians – fled the country in the wake of Russia’s invasion last year, but around 10.3 million have since returned. Millions of others have been internally displaced by devastation in cities including Kharkiv, Odesa and Mariupol.
