- Another round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for Tuesday
- A convoy of 160 civilian cars managed to leave Mariupol on Monday
- A Russian TV editor interrupted a live broadcast with an anti-war placard
- Oil prices dipped back towards $100 per barrel after last week’s spike
- UK to host ‘Joint Expeditionary Force’ leaders from northern Europe later
This article was last updated at 03:26 UTC/GMT
Met opera holds special Ukraine benefit
The Metropolitan Opera in New York, known as the “Met,” held a special benefit concert for Ukraine on Monday night.
The 90-minute program started with a rendition of Ukraine’s national anthem led by Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi.
Last week, the Met dropped Russian soprano Anna Netrebko from future performances as she declined to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Members of the Metropolitan Opera company stand in solidarity with the proud Ukrainian people, so strong in the face of such injustice, destruction and death,” Met general manager Peter Gelb said while speaking from the stage.
The concert was broadcast on Ukrainian public radio.
Zelenskyy: Russia didn’t expect such resistance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address late on Monday that Russia “didn’t expect such resistance” in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that the Russian military was responsible for war crimes and vowed to hold Russian leadership accountable.
“We are working with our partners on new punitive measures against the Russian state,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy confirmed that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would resume on Tuesday.
UK to host Joint Expeditionary Force meeting
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Tuesday host leaders from a number of European countries belonging to the Joint Expeditionary Force.
Besides the United Kingdom, the force includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Leaders of the group will meet in London, where they are expected to discuss measures to be taken against Russia.
Oil prices dropping sharply again after spike
Crude oil prices dived sharply in early trading in Asia on Tuesday, with the West Texas Intermediate price dipping back below $100 per barrel.
The other major oil price indicator, Brent Crude, sank to $100.54 but remained in three-figure territory.
Oil prices have risen sharply during the conflict in Ukraine, amid concerns over shortages and supply amid sanctions against Russia. Both prices peaked above $120 per barrel, near 14-year highs.
Possible falling demand in China, as the government shuts down the tech hub of Shenzen in a bid to control COVID cases, was attributed to the reduction in price.
Continued talks between Russia and Ukraine also led to cautious optimism among some investors.
Brazil’s government also said late on Monday that, after talks with the US, it was willing to increase its oil production in a bid to compensate for any missing Russian stock.
Slovakia expels three Russian diplomats
The Foreign Ministry in Bratislava said late on Monday that Slovakia had given three Russian embassy staff 72 hours to leave the country.
The ministry said they had broken diplomatic rules, without disclosing their identities or their roles at the Russian Embassy.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Jaoslav Nad told news site Pravda.sk that Slovakia had detained three of its citizens suspected of spying for Russia. He said, “This is just the beginning.”
Police confirmed they were investigating suspected espionage but did not comment on domestic media reports on the individuals’ identities. Reportedly, they included an officer from the Defense Ministry, an employee at domestic intelligence service SIS, and an employee for pro-Russian media. The SIS said nobody detained was a current employee at the agency.
Russia said it would take retaliatory steps in response to Slovakia’s expulsions.
Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Monday
Another round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine closed with little meaningful progress, save a plan for another round later on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Ukrainian lawmakers to extend martial law for another 30 days.
Russian authorities were halting grain exports to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in addition to Russia itself. The Russian government was also temporarily stopping the exports of white sugar and raw sugar to countries outside the bloc.
The move comes amid fears that the war in Ukraine would disrupt the food supply in Europe.
Over 4,000 civilians were transported away from the fighting on Monday, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, including a convoy of vehicles that left the besieged city of Mariupol.
Jake Sullivan, security adviser to US President Joe Biden, met with Chinese Foreign Policy Advisor Yang Jiechi in Rome for the seven-hour negotiations concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During talks, Sullivan warned China against supporting Russia.
The World Bank said it was making nearly $200 million (€183 million) in additional and reprogrammed financing to bolster Ukraine’s social services for vulnerable people.
Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Channel One interrupted a live broadcast on Russian state TV waving a placard reading: “No war, stop the war.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a renewed call for a cease-fire during a visit to Turkey, speaking alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
At least nine people were killed and nine more wounded in an airstrike on a television tower in Ukraine’s northern Rivne region, Governor Vitaliy Koval said. Meanwhile, Russia said a Ukrainian strike killed 20 civilians in the rebel-held city of Donetsk, which Ukraine later disputed.
si/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Russia ‘didn’t expect such resistance’ — live updates
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