A Russian jet fired a glide bomb at Kharkiv, killing at least one civilian at a mail hub as Ukraine’s second-largest city continued to suffer from frequent aerial strikes
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced the formation of a political group with nationalist forces in Austria and the Czech Republic, seeking to break out of his isolation within the European Union and lure right-wing groups looking to build on rising support from voters.
The International Monetary Fund will add a requirement for Ukraine to implement changes to its customs code in a bid to step up a crackdown on corruption.
Deadly Russian glide bomb hits postal sorting hub in Kharkiv
A Russian jet fired a glide bomb at Kharkiv, killing at least one civilian at a mail hub as Ukraine’s second-largest city continued to suffer from frequent aerial strikes.
The bomb targeted a sorting terminal of Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s major private private parcel delivery service, according to a statement from the company posted on Facebook.
At least 10 civilians were injured and nine more who may have been inside the terminal during the attack were unaccounted for, the Interior Ministry said on Telegram.
The attack highlighted the danger to Kharkiv from glide bombs, which are equipped with flight control surfaces that can expand their range. The one that struck the city on Sunday was released from a Su-34 jet flying inside the Belgorod region in Russia, said Oleksandr Filchakov, head of the regional prosecutor’s office, on local TV.
Russia had dropped more than 800 such bombs over Ukraine in the past week alone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday on social media, as he reiterated his call for allies to provide weapons capable of hitting Russian aviation targets.
“Ukraine needs the necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are. This step is essential,” said Zelensky.
Early on Sunday evening, the regional city administration in Kyiv reported damage to an apartment block in the capital struck by debris from a Russian missile.
Separately, Russia reported a new Ukrainian drone attack against its industrial facilities.
The Novolipetsk Steel plant in Lipetsk, about 400km northeast of Kharkiv, was attacked by a swarm of drones on Sunday, said Russia’s largest steelmaker. No significant damage was reported, the company added.
Hungary’s Orbán forms EU alliance as populists expand power
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced the formation of a political group with nationalist forces in Austria and the Czech Republic, seeking to break out of his isolation within the European Union and lure right-wing groups looking to build on rising support from voters.
The alliance is the latest twist in a tumultuous period for Europe’s populist right, following advances in continent-wide elections earlier this month and as recent polls projected a surge at French legislative elections on Sunday.
They’re now assessing how to leverage their support and upend the dominance of moderate parties, while also dealing with more divisive groups on the far-right such as Germany’s AfD.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in particular, has been looking to exert more influence, and frustrated by closed-door negotiations between the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the socialists and the liberals to nominate European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to a second term.
It’s uncertain whether Von der Leyen’s appointment has enough backing to be approved by European lawmakers next month.
For Orbán’s Fidesz, the move is an attempt to return to a more influential position in the bloc since having to leave the moderate conservative EPP in 2021. Austria’s Freedom Party has been a member of the Identity and Democracy group spearheaded by France’s Rassemblement National, while former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO is leaving the liberal Renew caucus to join Orban’s new grouping.
“We are creating a political formation that will forge ahead and soon become Europe’s largest right-wing group,” Orbán told reporters in Vienna on Sunday.
One hurdle to expanding Orbán’s group, including efforts to lure Poland’s Law & Justice, may be differing attitudes toward Russia.
The Hungarian leader and the Freedom Party have been staunch opponents of providing military and financial aid to Ukraine. Law & Justice, as well as Meloni, have pledged to support Ukraine.
The three parties that joined forces on Sunday will initially have the minimum of 23 seats needed to formally create a separate caucus within the European Parliament. But they’ll also need to include deputies from at least seven member states to be recognised.
IMF adds customs code reforms to Ukraine’s programme requirements
The International Monetary Fund will add a requirement for Ukraine to implement changes to its customs code in a bid to step up a crackdown on corruption.
Kyiv will need to align its customs operations with European Union legislation, strengthen personnel integrity, and introduce a merit-based and transparent hiring process for staff, according to a memo from the Washington-based lender published on Saturday.
That includes a leadership selection process with integrity checks and the meaningful participation of experts with international experience, to be in place by the end of October.
Ukraine must show progress in fighting corruption — which has eroded its economy since the country got independence in 1991 — to keep billions of dollars in international financial aid flowing as the country battles Russia’s full-scale invasion for a third year.
Effective efforts at cracking down on graft are also required for Ukraine’s potential entry into the European Union and Nato.
The IMF’s memorandum additionally envisages a first-ever external audit of the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau, known as Nabu, by independent auditors picked by international partners by the end of September.
“The external audit of Nabu should be completed promptly, and its results leveraged to enhance the bureau’s accountability and operational effectiveness,” said the IMF.
Russian goods find their way to Singapore as war fatigue sets in
Heavily discounted Russian-made goods, from hair products to chocolate, are finding their way onto Singapore’s virtual supermarket shelves even as many countries — and companies — shun doing business with the nation following its invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
Visitors to Alibaba’s Singapore Lazada and Redmart sites can find several products originating from Russia, including 120g jars of salmon roe for S$11 ($8) as well as 460ml bottles of hair conditioner for S$2.49. On other Singapore grocery sites, similarly sized jars of roe range between S$15.90 to S$44. On Shopee, a subsidiary of Sea, the online shelves are stocked with bargain made-in-Russia waffle cakes and hazelnut milk chocolates.
While several nations have import prohibitions on goods that have originated from Russia, Singapore’s sanctions are limited to fundraising activities that benefit the Russian government and exports from the city-state that could directly contribute to the war effort. There isn’t any prohibition against selling Russian groceries on the island and globally there are no sanctions on Russian exports of food.
Based on the labels of the products purchased by Bloomberg News, most appear to have been shipped from China. China hasn’t imposed sanctions in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Globally, more than 1,000 multinational companies have publicly announced they’re voluntarily pulling away from Russia beyond the bare minimum legally required by international sanctions, according to the Yale School of Management
Singapore has strongly condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and last year, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gravely violated the United Nations charter and international law. But as the war drags into its third year, any outpouring of anger may be ebbing.
“Singaporeans may be against the Russian invasion of Ukraine but they’re not against Russian goods,” Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. “In Singapore, trade is our lifeblood. We trade with every country whether we like them or not.”
Russia may resume production of intermediate-range missiles
Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled his country was likely to resume the production of short and intermediate-range missiles in what he called a response to the US deployment of the nuclear-capable weapons in various regions of the world.
“We need to start producing these strike systems and then, based on the actual situation, make decisions about where they should be deployed if the security of our country demands it,” Putin said at a meeting of his Security Council.
The US pulled out of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia in 2019 after it accused Moscow of not complying with the agreement. Putin said at the time that Washington’s withdrawal “created fundamental risks for everyone”.
The US has not only brought such weapons to Europe for exercises in Denmark but also recently placed missiles in the Philippines, the Russian leader said on Friday in remarks broadcast via the Kremlin’s Telegram channel.
Russia extends petrol export permits on ample home supply
Russia will allow the nation’s refineries to continue exporting petrol for another month as the domestic market remains well supplied.
The government prolonged the permit given to refiners until 31 July, according to a decree published on Saturday. The previous order had been set to expire on 30 June.
“The earlier adopted export regulations have proved efficient and allowed saturation of the domestic market,” Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said in a separate statement, elaborating on the extension. Currently, domestic fuel stockpiles are sufficient and local demand was met in full, he said.
Russia limited petrol exports for six months starting on 1 March to prevent a shortage of the fuel and a surge in prices as President Vladimir Putin campaigned for a fifth term. The decision was also linked to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia’s refineries, which curbed gasoline output before usual spring maintenance.
The government temporarily lifted the ban from 20 May through the end of June as domestic supplies proved more than sufficient to meet demand, and risks flipped to overstocking.
In February, just before the ban, Russia exported about 141,000 barrels a day of petrol, or almost 14% of its total production of the fuel, according to industry data seen by Bloomberg. About half of Russian petrol exports go to nations under intergovernmental agreements, including to countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, which were excluded from the restrictions. DM