May 5, 2022 UPDATE
Click here for a news update
Newsroom, 05.05.2022, 19:57
Conference — Thursday’s international donors conference held in Warsaw to raise funds to help Ukraine managed to gather more than 6 billion Euros, the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. The online event was also attended by the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, who presented a new humanitarian assistance package of Romania worth 3.2 million Euros. Nicolae Ciuca reiterated Bucharests multidimensional support for Kyiv: political and diplomatic, humanitarian and refugee assistance, and economic. Nicolae Ciuca said that Romania was ready to participate in the reconstruction process of Ukraine and reiterated his support for the European path of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. More than 8,000 Ukrainian citizens entered neighboring Romania on Wednesday. Almost 860,000 Ukrainians have crossed the Romanian border since the invasion of Russian troops, most of them transiting to other countries.
Ukraine — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday announced the launch of an online crowdfunding platform to help his country fight Russian invaders and rebuild the country’s infrastructure. The platform is called United24, and all funds will be transferred to the National Bank of Ukraine and allocated to the relevant ministries. Zelenski promised that reports on the distribution of donations would be published every 24 hours. “Only together can we stop the war that Russia has started and rebuild what Russia has destroyed. Together we can help freedom overcome tyranny,” Volodymyr Zelensky said. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its army had simulated a nuclear missile launch in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, located between Poland and Lithuania, both members of the European Union and NATO. According to the source, the combat units also carried out “operations in conditions of radiation and chemical contamination”. Russia has placed its nuclear forces on high alert shortly after invading Ukraine on February 24.
EP — The European Parliament on Thursday approved a resolution calling that the Republic of Moldova should receive the status of a candidate country for EU accession. According to Radio Chisinau, the MEPs appreciated the efforts made by the authorities, and also by Moldovan citizens, while emphasizing the risks which Moldova is running due to the war in Ukraine. The Commission is invited to rapidly complete its assessment and to provide full assistance to Chisinau during the accession process. The European Parliament also calls for a clear and strong political signal to be given at the European Council meeting due in June in relation to the European path chosen by the Republic of Moldova. The European Union has a duty to support the Republic of Moldova, the European Council President Charles Michel said in Chisinau on Wednesday. He said that Brussels was considering additional military support for the Moldovan authorities, which will add to the assistance in the areas of logistics and cyber defense which the Union has already agreed on. At the US State Department, spokesman Ned Price reassured Moldova, a neighbor of Romania and Ukraine, that the US is firm in relation to its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Sanctions – The sixth package of European sanctions against Russia targets senior officials and the military, the banking sector, the media and, for the first time, imposes an embargo on oil imports. The European Commission President Ursula von der Lyen has warned that it will not be easy for Europe without Russian oil, especially as some member states are 100% dependent. Therefore, the package includes exceptions and transitional measures for these countries.
Meeting — The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu received Garry Kasparov, president of the Human Rights Foundation, a former world chess champion and human rights activist in Bucharest on Thursday. According to a Romanian Foreign Ministry communiqué, the talks took place “in the context of Russias military aggression and illegal, unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and of the need to counteract the invasion’s profoundly negative effects at the security, economic and humanitarian levels”. Minister Bogdan Aurescu has once again condemned, “in the strongest terms”, the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine and made a presentation of the humanitarian support provided by Bucharest to the neighboring state and to the Ukrainian refugees in Romania. In turn, Garry Kasparov presented a series of assessments of Russias internal situation and possible developments in the war started by Moscow war. He highlighted the need to strengthen support for Ukraine by the entire international community in order to resist aggression. (LS)
