Ukraine Latest: Jill Biden Goes to Europe; Orban Slams Proposal
First lady Jill Biden is due to depart on a trip to Romania and Slovakia for a visit that includes meeting refugees from Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- First lady Jill Biden left on a trip to Romania and Slovakia for a visit that includes meeting refugees from Ukraine, and showing U.S. appreciation to the countries and relief agencies aiding those who have fled the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says he’s accepted an apology from President Vladimir Putin after the Russian foreign minister said Adolf Hitler was part Jewish. The remark was part of Russia’s attempt to defend their statements that the aim of the invasion was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said a European Union package of sanctions that would include a ban on Russian oil by the end of the year would be a threat to the bloc’s unity.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- Fiona Hill Says Putin Sensed West’s Weakness Before Ukraine War
- EU Seeks to Sanction Ex-Gymnast ‘Closely Associated’ With Putin
- Tracking Russian Billionaires’ Megayachts as Sanctions Force Them to Sea
- U.S. Warns Russian Moguls of ‘No Hiding Place’ in Yacht Seizure
- Russia Finds New Use for Nord Stream 2 as Europe Shuns Its Gas
All times CET:
Jill Biden Leaves for Eastern Europe Trip (4:45 a.m.)
Jill Biden left the U.S. for a trip that takes her to Romania and Slovakia, where she will visit U.S. troops, reaffirm ties with the two NATO allies and hear from Ukrainian refugees, her office said in a statement.
She also plans to meet Ukrainian mothers and children forced to flee their country due to Putin’s war. On Sunday in Slovakia, she will participate in events with displaced Ukrainian families to mark Mother’s Day, it said.
“It’s so important to the president and to me that the Ukrainian people know that we stand with them,” she told reporters before leaving.
Boehly’s Group Close to Deal for Chelsea (1:50 a.m.)
Chelsea is close to signing a sale agreement with a group led by former Guggenheim Partners President Todd Boehly, putting an end to a weeks-long bidding process for one of the most successful football clubs of the past two decades.
Boehly’s consortium could reach an agreement as soon as Friday with Chelsea and its owner, the sanctioned Russian oligarch Abramovich, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because it was private. Representatives for the buyer group and the club didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: Boehly’s Group Is Said to Be Close to Deal for Chelsea Club
Canada to Support Sweden in NATO (12:05 a.m.)
Canada would support Sweden if it applies for NATO membership and will urge a quick process of ratification to help guard against any potential Russian reprisals, Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said.
Read more: Sweden, Finland Win U.S. Security Aid Pledge on Road to NATO
Japan PM Says Ukraine Could be Tomorrow’s East Asia (11:55 p.m.)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference in a visit to London that “Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia,” without providing further details. Kishida also announced additional sanctions on neighbor Russia, including freezing the assets of more individuals and halting exports to more organizations.
“The invasion by Russia is not just a European problem. It’s a problem for the international community, including the Indo-Pacific.”
Read more: Ukraine War Spurs Pacifist Japan to Consider Stronger Military
Orban Blasts EU Sanctions Proposal (11:34 p.m.)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the European Union is at risk of fracturing its unified front against Moscow if it tries to push through its latest proposal to ban Russian oil by the end of the year.
“If the commission insists on the adoption of its proposal, it will have to bear full responsibility for a historical failure in the court of European integration,” Orban wrote in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seen by Bloomberg.
Read more: Orban Blasts EU Sanctions Proposal as Threat to the Bloc’s Unity
Envoy Says Frozen Funds Should Help Rebuild Ukraine (9:55 p.m.)
Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said funds from frozen Russian assets should be used to help rebuild the country.
“We fully support the idea to use those frozen assets in the future to compensate Ukraine and to use this money to for the rebuilding and reconstruction effort,” Markarova said at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. The ambassador said the move was justified because there is “no such thing as private banks or drilling companies in Russia.”
Pentagon Says Ukraine Won’t Take U.S. Focus Off Pacific, Taiwan (9:50 p.m.)
The war in Ukraine and the billions of dollars in weapons the U.S. is sending there to help fight Russia’s invasion won’t siphon off attention or resources for the Indo-Pacific region, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
There’s no concern that “our focus on Ukraine is somehow going to take our focus, our eye, off the Indo-Pacific or specifically our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act,” Kirby told reporters.
Ukraine Aid Slows in U.S. Congress (9:34 p.m.)
Congress is moving slowly to meet President Joe Biden’s request for Ukraine aid amid an ongoing fight over Covid relief money and immigration and a drive to vote on abortion-related legislation in the Senate next week.
Biden last week requested $33 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and other countries affected by Russia’s invasion. Behind-the-scenes talks among lawmakers this week have so far failed to produce a draft bill.
Zelenskiy Speaks to Bush by Video Link (9:15 p.m.)
Zelenskiy spoke with former President George W. Bush via video link to discuss Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and the U.S support for Kyiv, according to an emailed statement. They also discussed the “tragic events that happened” in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, just nine months after Bush was inaugurated.
“For me our conversation is important because you are an example of a strong leader,” Zelenskiy’s statement said he told the former president, inviting Bush to visit Ukraine. Bush said in a statement he was “honored” to speak with Zelenskiy, whom he called “the Winston Churchill of our time.”
Senate to Consider Biden’s Ukraine Envoy Pick (8:39 p.m.)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will take up the nomination of Bridget Brink to be the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on May 10, with Democratic Chairman Bob Menendez pledging to “swiftly” confirm her to the position. The U.S. hasn’t had a confirmed ambassador to Ukraine since 2019.
Brink is the current ambassador to Slovakia and has spent her career working in Eastern Europe and on issues in the region for the State Department.
Israel Says Putin Apologizes Over Minister’s Hitler Remark (8:12 p.m.)
Israel said that Putin called Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to apologize after a heated public disagreement between the two countries over remarks made by Russia’s foreign minister suggesting that Adolf Hitler was Jewish.
Bennett accepted Putin’s apology for Sergei Lavrov’s comments, the prime minister’s office said on Twitter. A Kremlin statement made no mention of an apology, instead saying that Putin and Bennett discussed the conflict in Ukraine and agreed on the importance of remembering the victims of World War II, including the Holocaust.
In an Italian TV interview on Sunday, Lavrov had defended Moscow’s justification for its invasion of Ukraine as de-Nazification even though Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy is Jewish, saying that “Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood too.” Lavrov added: “This means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.”
EU Seeks to Sanction Ex-Gymnast ‘Closely Associated’ With Putin (6:35 p.m.)
The European Union has proposed sanctioning Alina Kabaeva, a former gymnast who chairs the National Media Group and is “closely associated” with Putin, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News and people familiar with the matter.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied media reports that Putin, 69, has been romantically involved with Kabaeva or has children with her.
The list still needs to be approved by European governments and could change before that happens. EU ambassadors are expected to meet on Friday morning to discuss -- and potentially approve -- a sixth package of sanctions that also includes measures to phase out all oil imports by the end of the year.
Germany Sees Gas as EU’s Next Target (3:45 p.m.)
Germany expects the EU to turn its sights on Russian gas once a phased-in ban on Russian oil imports has been agreed, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s top economic adviser.
“We’ve reduced our dependence on Russian coal almost to zero,” Joerg Kukies said at an event in Berlin. “We are in the process as we speak of negotiating an embargo of Russian oil by the end of the year,” he added. “And what’s up next? Gas!”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.