Live blog: Collective G7 decision needed on frozen Russian assets —US envoy

Saturday, January 27, 2024

1553 GMT — The US special envoy for Ukraine's economic recovery said that before tapping into frozen Russian assets the G7 must first take a collective decision to do it.

Penny Pritzker spoke on the sidelines of the first day of the annual meeting of global elites in Davos, Switzerland, where the war in Ukraine figures highly on the agenda.

Ukraine has pushed for the West to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to pay for its reconstruction.

"I think there's enormous hope that the Russian sovereign assets could become an easy source of financing," Pritzker said at the Ukraine House, whose organisers include the foundation of Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk and asset manager Horizon Capital.

She said the Group of Seven wealthy nations has asked ministers to study if Russian assets could be used for Ukraine.

She said the United States would not go it alone and a "collective decision" must be made. "There's real work going on and real effort and real intention, but we're far from a conclusion," she said.

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1527 GMT — Kremlin says West using 'Russian threat' to distract from internal problems

Western countries are trying to use "the Russian threat" to distract their people from internal problems, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Speaking to broadcaster Rossiya, Peskov branded German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius' call to prepare for a war with Russia "an old horror story about a Russian bear."

"This call is easy to understand. The economic problems are clear. The competitiveness of the famous German industry is falling, expenses are growing, and the load of social obligations is rising. German farmers take to the streets ... meaning they reached the end of their patience.

"What’s the best distraction in such a situation? The old horror story about the Russian bear. Especially taking into account that he's already awake," he said.

1518 GMT — New German leftist party urges Russia talks to end Ukraine war

The co-leader of a new German left-wing populist party called on the government to negotiate with Russia to halt the conflict in Ukraine.

Addressing 450 founding members of the radical party named after her, Sahra Wagenknecht urged Berlin to stop supplying arms to Kiev.

"We are delivering arms to Ukraine for a victory in which, alas, even the Ukrainian generals no longer believe," Wagenknecht said.

"This war must be brought to an end and very quickly through negotiations," she said to applause inside the former Kosmos cinema on Berlin's Karl Marx Avenue.

1307 GMT — Russia ready to discuss gas supplies with EU as Ukraine transit deal expires: reports

Russia is ready to hold talks with the European Union on natural gas supplies as a transit deal with Ukraine expires at the end of 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying by several news agencies.

Under a five-year deal agreed between Moscow and Kiev in 2019, Russia is exporting gas to Europe via Ukraine and pays Ukraine for the usage of its pipeline network. The arrangement has continued despite the start of Russia's war in Ukraine in February 2022, although Russian gas deliveries to Europe have plummeted since then.

Earlier this week, various media outlets cited Ukraine's government as saying that Kiev will not seek talks with Moscow on the possibility of extending the gas transit agreement. "If the other party wishes, we are ready to discuss. So far, we don't see such a desire," Novak was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.

1144 GMT — Cross-border Russian raid kills two Ukrainians: Kiev

A cross-border incursion by a Russian "reconnaissance and sabotage group" has killed at least two people in a Ukrainian border village, local officials said.

The attack happened in Ukraine's Sumy region inside a five-kilometre buffer zone along the border with Russia, an area where Kiev had asked residents to evacuate.

"This morning, an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group brutally and cynically shot a brother and sister," the Sumy regional administration said in a statement.

1130 GMT — No evidence for Russia's claim that POWs died in a plane crash: Ukraine

Officials in Ukraine have said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said that Russian officials had "with great delay" provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in Wednesday's plane crash in Russia's Belgorod region.

Ukraine's Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities.

2335 GMT — Clashes in US Senate over fate of military aid to Ukraine

The fates of US military aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia and the politically explosive issue of illegal immigration into the United States were up in the air as President Joe Biden rebuked congressional Republicans for stalling on a deal.

The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives said Congress is not ready to approve the renewal of US military aid crucial to Ukraine for its desperate fight against Russia because there is no parallel deal on reinforcing the US-Mexican border — a major conduit for undocumented migrants.

The Senate "appears unable to reach any agreement," wrote Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter to lawmakers, adding that in any case his party would not give approval in the House, meaning it "would have been dead on arrival."

But Biden responded in a statement that Republicans and Democrats have, in fact, been working intensively on a bipartisan deal to address those border security issues.

2302 GMT —Zelenskyy announces second pro-business body after fury over banker's arrest

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the creation of a second body to assist businesses in wartime after several entrepreneurs voiced outrage at the arrest of a prominent banker.

Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address, said the All-Ukraine Economic Platform would help businesses overcome the challenges posed by Russia's nearly two-year-old conflict.

In his latest remarks, Zelenskyy said the platform would be a "new communication mechanism with entrepreneurs" and would encompass the "entire business community." He said he was grateful to all entrepreneurs "who stay in the country and maintain their businesses and jobs."

2135 GMT — Ukraine shot down Russian plane, deliberately or in error: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine was shot down by Ukrainian air defences, whether on purpose or by mistake.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it shot down the plane and has challenged Moscow's account of who was on board and what happened.

"I don't know if they did it on purpose or by mistake, but it is obvious that they did it," Putin said in televised comments, his first on the crash. "In any case, what happened is a crime. Either through negligence or on purpose, but in any case, it is a crime."

For our live updates from Friday, January 26, click here.