TALKS Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca held talks in Bucharest with the EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit. The two officials have discussed the EU response to the crisis caused by the Russian military aggression in Ukraine. The head of the Romanian executive has presented Romania’s strategy for ensuring the country’s energy independence by using nuclear energy, building green energy plants and by exploiting the new offshore gas deposits. Commissioner Schmit has underlined the effective efforts of the Romanian authorities to receive over half a million Ukrainian refugees and has voiced the European Commission’s support for the member states enabling them to quickly access the funds that are already at the disposal of the member states and are to be supplemented.
AID Romania is ready to lay at the disposal of Ukraine the infrastructure in the port of Constanta, so that the country may be able to carry on its exports of cereals, as its ports have been blocked by the Russian invasion. The statement has been made by Romania’s Defence Minister Vasile Dincu, who has also added that talks in this respect are underway. The Romanian official has underlined the move represents “an opportunity for Ukraine to fund its survival.” Dincu has also mentioned that Romania may also benefit from the move though the country has no issues in this respect because it is an exporter of cereals. In another development political sources in Bucharest have announced that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will be addressing the Romanian Parliament on Monday night. Over 86 hundred Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Wednesday night slightly exceeding the number of refugees who came to Romania on Tuesday. 600 thousand Ukrainian nationals have arrived in Romania since the beginning of the invasion. Most of them only transited the country towards Western Europe.
WAR The Ukrainian army is bracing up for a new wave of Russian attacks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. Russian offensives are expected in eastern Ukraine after they have failed to advance towards capital Kyiv, as initially intended. Ukraine has noticed a Russian military buildup in Donbas, Zelensky also says. According to Reuters, in five weeks since they started invasion, the Russian troops haven’t captured any major city in Ukraine in spite of the sustained attacks and heavy artillery fire. Furthermore, the Russians have also suffered heavy losses in military personnel and gear. NATO does not believe Russia’s pledges to reduce military operations around Kyiv and in the north of the country. Its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, believes that Russian troops aren’t withdrawing but repositioning and the alliance is expecting more Russian attacks. The NATO official has underlined the allies will continue to support Ukraine, including with military supplies as long as it is needed. The Russian invasion has forced the displacement of nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population and four million have already left the country. Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree under which as of April 1st the countries that Moscow deems as unfriendly are to set up a special account to transfer their payments, which will be further exchanged into rubles. European leaders have rejected paying for deliveries in rubles as the contracts stipulate payment in Euros and sometimes in dollars. Russia is presently supplying about a third of Europe’s gas.
