The latest updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine are available here. You can follow us on Telegram.
Russia wants to move away from the U.S. dollar and rely less on imports in response to sanctions, the Foreign Minister said. Video calls between Russia and Ukraine are happening daily, according to Lavrov.
The Russian central bank slashed interest rates on Friday and said that sanctions would cause a bigger economic drop than expected.
The president said that Russia wants to empty the Donbas region. Russian advances are being slowed by Ukrainian resistance and limited counterattacks. In an emotional moment, the Pentagon's chief spokesman called Russian aggression in Ukraine "just brutality of the coldest and most depraved sort".
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State media reported that the head of Russia's space program said that Moscow was pulling out of the International Space Station because of sanctions.
The general director of the Russian space agency said on state television that they would inform their partners about the end of their work on the International Space Station.
The United States, Europe and Canada have imposed restrictions on the Russian space industry.
Despite the Russian airstrikes on agricultural infrastructure, Ukrainian farmers continue to plant spring grains and oilseeds. Grain storage facilities in the Dnepropetrovsk were empty.
In spite of fighting in the east and south, sowing of early crops is still going on in all but one region.
Farmers are fighting on the front line of the food crisis.
AirBaltic will lease a plane from Ukraine International Airlines and provide short-term work to its crew. The AirBaltic network will be serviced by the Boeing 737.
Sergey Fomenko, a vice-president at the Ukrainian airline, said in an email that such an act of international aviation cooperation is very symbolic.
The central bank of Ukraine on Friday announced a number of restrictive measures in order to calm the domestic foreign exchange market and ease pressure on its international reserves. Limits for banks on trading foreign currency were cut.
The central bank relaxed restrictions on the purchase of limited amounts of cash dollars and euros in April.
Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region's government, said that two buses being used to evacuate civilians from the village of Popasna came under fire from Russian troops. There has been no word on casualties so far.
According to newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, President Sauli Niinisto said that the decision on NATO membership would be made by the heads of state in May.
Niinisto is going to Sweden in May to meet the King of Sweden, as well as policy makers and other people.
Robert Holzmann told Austrian public broadcaster ORF that the European Commission will review whether efforts by utilities to meet Russian demands are legal.
The governor of Austria's National Bank said that while he had heard that gas importers in Europe may be opening ruble accounts to make payments, it is ultimately up to them.
Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Bryansk, said that Russian air defenses prevented an aircraft from entering the region.
Parts of an oil terminal as well as the village of Zhecha were damaged in the incident. There was no response from Ukraine.
A diesel storage facility in Bryansk was damaged by fire. The cause of the fire was not known.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces are slowing Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.
Russian troops failed to advance on their front around Izyum over the past day, according to a U.S.-based think tank. Russia may have to redeploy some units because of the counter attacks by Ukraine.
Russia redeployed troops northward from Mariupol on Friday to support the capture of the Luhansk region.
The President said in his video address that Russia wants to destroy the region.
Russia wants to empty this territory of all people because of the constant bombardments, he said.
Mariupol, the Black Sea city besieged by Moscow for over a month, was called a Russian concentration camp.
According to a law firm, a group of individuals and entities have filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse Group AG and some of its officers, accusing them of violating federal securities laws.
Pomerantz said in a statement that the class action was filed in a New York district court.
According to the statement, the complaint alleges that Credit Suisse and its officers made false and misleading statements regarding the bank's business, operations, and compliance policies.
Russia wants to move away from the U.S. dollar and rely less on imports in response to sanctions over the war with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told China's IANS news agency.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are taking place daily via video, as delegations of the two countries work toward a draft of possible agreements, according to the Russian Foreign Minister.
According to Tass, a majority of Russia's key gas customers have agreed to its terms on payments.
According to people familiar with the strategy, the Biden administration has a plan to steal some of Putin's best innovations by waiving visa requirements for highly educated Russians.
The rule that Russian professionals applying for an employment-based visa must have a current employer is one proposal that could be dropped. Russian citizens who have earned master's or doctorate degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics in the U.S. or abroad would be eligible.
Russia sent a team of specialists to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russian forces but still operated by the Ukrainian staff, according to the IAEA website.
The officials from Russia's state nuclear company are demanding daily reports about the operations and management of the plant. The situation at the plant continues to be challenging and requires continued attention according to the director general of the IAEA.
John Kirby denounced Putin for the "depravity" of Russia's tactics in Ukraine and the "bizarre" claims he has made about it.
Kirby told reporters that there was no attempt by Russia to be precise in their targeting.
The Pentagon spokesman told reporters that the bulk of the training for Ukrainians was being done by members of the Florida National Guard.
The Russian government made it clear that European customers are required to pay in rubles for natural gas supplies, but that the mechanism could cause companies to violate European Union sanctions if they want to keep the fuel flowing.
Putin threatened to cut off supplies to countries that don't pay in rubles. The EU said the process Russia set up for making the payments, which requires customers to open both foreign-currency and ruble accounts with state-controlled Gazprombank, was in violation of sanctions on the central bank.
The Economy Minister said that the government would be able to restore fuel supplies within a week.
Her comments came amid growing concern among Ukrainians that buying fuel will become more difficult, at least in cities such as the capital Kyiv, where demand is rising as people return to their homes after Russian troops pulled back. Long lines of cars at filling stations are a common occurrence.
The chief executive officer of Naftogaz, the state-run energy company of Ukraine, said in an interview that he expects Russian gas flows to Europe to continue.
Russia's Finance Ministry said dollar payments on two foreign bonds are progressing after being held up for weeks. There were two Eurobonds, one in 2022, the other in 2042. The development could sidestep a default.
Russia's central bank cut interest rates more than expected and indicated that borrowing costs may fall even lower, as priorities shift to supporting an economy derailed by international sanctions over Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
The Bank of Russia lowered its benchmark three weeks after reversing part of the emergency hike. The economists predicted a decrease to 15%. The economy may face two straight years of contraction.
The economy may contract 8% to 10% this year and end-year inflation could spike to as high as 23%, according to new projections issued by policy makers on Friday.
The growth outlook of the Bank of Russia has been slashed.
The Bank of Russia forecast from February 11 to April 29.
With help from Ros Krasny.
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