Russia to widen trade economic ties with Asian countries after Western sanctions
Meanwhile, missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough.
FollowMoscow: Russia’s economy ministry on Friday said it was working on measures to minimise the effect of Western sanctions imposed after the country invaded Ukraine and would be stepping up trade and economic ties with Asian countries.
“We understand that the sanctions pressure we have faced since 2014 will now intensify,” the ministry said. “The rhetoric of some of our foreign colleagues was such that we have been ready for potential new sanctions for a long time,” Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough.
Air raid sirens wailed over the city of 3 million people, where some were sheltering in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 137 people, including 10 military officers, have been killed and 316 people injured so far.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said Washington will intervene if Putin moves into NATO countries, stressing that if his Russian counterpart is not stopped now, he will be emboldened. The countries on NATO’s eastern flank, especially the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all have received the first batches of US military troops and equipment.
In the wee hours of Friday, Ukraine said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, the site of the 1986 disaster, and the staff at the Chernobyl plant had been “taken hostage”. World leaders have decried the invasion and announced sanctions on Russia. China, meanwhile, continues its support of the Kremlin with its customs agency approving imports of wheat from all regions of Russia, Reuters report added.
