Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Calls Xi’s Hour-Long Call ‘Productive’

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(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since the Kremlin’s invasion began, telling the Ukrainian leader that the only way to achieve peace is through negotiations. Although readouts of the call suggested no major breakthroughs, President Zelenskiy’s office described it as a “productive hour-long conversation.”

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Russia put two companies owned by Finland’s Fortum Oyj and German utility’s Uniper SE under temporary state administration in response to asset freezes by the US and its allies. President Vladimir Putin Tuesday night signed a decree, allowing the government to introduce temporary state control over property or securities owned by companies or individuals from so-called unfriendly states.

Russian prosecutors are pursuing new cases accusing jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny of “extremism” and “terrorism,” charges that carry sentences of up to 30 years and 35 years respectively, according to his spokeswoman.

Key Developments

  • Xi Finally Speaks to Zelenskiy as China Pushes Peacemaker Role

  • Russia Seizes Fortum, Uniper Plants in Response to Asset Freezes

  • Ukrainian Refugees See Financial Solidarity Slip in Romania

  • Russia Steps Up Tactical-Nuclear Threats With Belarus Training

(All times CET)

EU Official Says It’s Good China-Ukraine Channels Are Open (8:46 p.m.)

A European Union official said it was good the Xi-Zelenskiy phone call finally took place and that communications channels are open.

The official, who discussed the call on condition of anonymity, said the EU looked forward to more details on China’s intention to send a special envoy to Ukraine. But US officials responded warily to the call, and indicated it did nothing to alleviate their belief that Xi’s peace plan is a nonstarter.

Ukraine Says Russia Halted Vessels Passing UN Grain Corridor (7:51 p.m.)

Four vessels — including one chartered by the UN World Food Program and directed to Ethiopia — weren’t permitted to leave the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny Wednesday and had to wait for their passage to be approved by Russia, according to a Ukrainian Navy statement on Facebook.

Russian representatives in the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul refused to let vessels move to and from Ukrainian seaports taking part in the United Nations’ Black Sea Initiative, the Navy said.

Russia Has Lost 80 Aircraft But Still Has 1,000: US General (7:04 p.m.)

Russia has lost 80 aircraft to Ukraine’s defenses but still has 1,000 fighter jets and bombers, the US commander of European forces told the House Armed Services Committee.

In prepared remarks released earlier, General Christopher Cavoli said Russia remains a “formidable and unpredictable threat” to the US and European interests and “will likely rebuild its future Army into a sizable and more capable land force.”

The war in Ukraine hasn’t affected Russia’s strategic weapons stockpile and Russian air, maritime, space, and cyber forces haven’t “suffered significant degradation,” Cavoli said in the remarks. Russia retains “a vast stockpile of deployed and non-deployed nuclear weapons, which present an existential threat to the U.S. homeland, our allies, and partners, and is failing to comply with several of its legal obligations under the New START Treaty,” Cavoli said.

Russia Industry Grows First Time in a Year on War Production (6:02 p.m.)

Russian industry unexpectedly rebounded for the first time in a year, as sectors associated with military production delivered strong performances amid rising spending on the invasion of Ukraine.

Industrial production was up 1.2% in March from a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistics Service, instead of the decline expected in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Mining and resource extraction were down 3.6% but the agency didn’t break out data for oil production, unlike in past releases.

Manufacturing was up more than 6%, led by a 30% gain in “finished metal goods,” which includes arms and ammunition. Computers, electronic and optical products, which economists say is likely to include parts for aircraft and rocket engines, as well as optical sights and other systems grew 23%.

Russia to Crack Down Further on Foreign NGOs (4:13 p.m.)

New draft laws proposed in parliament would criminalize working with nongovernmental organizations that don’t register with the authorities, adding to the pressure on civil society as the Kremlin seeks to eradicate outside influence.

The plan, proposed by a parliamentary commission that investigates alleged foreign interference, would impose fines and jail terms of up to three years for people who worked with such groups. Organizations that work with unregistered NGOs would face heavy fines.

Russia has shut down dozens of foreign-backed groups in recent years, declaring many of them “undesirable.”

Ukraine Says 44 POWs Returned From Russia (3:15 p.m.)

Ukraine returned home 42 servicemen and two civilians from Russian captivity, according to President Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.

The prisoners included defenders of Mariupol, Azovstal, and Kherson, he said. The Russian Defense Ministry said 40 of its servicemen had been freed after negotiations and were due to arrive in Moscow.

Wagner Chief Complains of Munitions Shortage Again (2:36 p.m.)

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russian mercenary company PMC Wagner, complained again that his forces don’t have enough shells and other munitions and blamed unnamed commanders for holding them back.

“We have enough for about 2-3 weeks before we’re down to the last cartridge in the clip,” he said in a recording posted on his Telegram channel. “The Ukrainian offensive is inevitable, but there is betrayal underway within the Russian Federation - they aren’t letting us put up defenses and attack further.”

He said the Ukrainian counteroffensive is likely to begin after the first week of May, once the mud on the battlefield dries. Earlier this year, he complained that the Russian Defense Ministry wasn’t giving his forces adequate supplies, but in recent weeks the conflict had appeared to fade.

China to Send Representative to Ukraine, Xi Says (1:17 p.m.)

Xi told Zelenskiy during a phone call that the war can only be resolved through negotiations, according to China’s state TV, which cited the Chinese leader as saying his nation would send a representative to Ukraine. Zelenskiy said on his Telegram channel that there could “be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises.”

China recently put forward a 12-point cease-fire proposal that was dismissed by Kyiv’s allies as being a one-sided deal that would benefit the Kremlin, while French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to enlist Beijing’s help to intervene in Ukraine.

Putin Critic Navalny Risks Decades in Jail, Spokeswoman Says (1:05 p.m.)

Prosecutors are pursuing new cases against Navalny of “extremism” and “terrorism,” his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter.

A Moscow court gave Navalny until May 5 to familiarize himself with 196 volumes of case material alleging “extremism,” the state-run Tass news service reported. Navalny said via video link before the closed hearing that prosecutors were also preparing a “terrorism” case against him.

Putin’s most high-profile critic is already serving a nine-year sentence after he returned to Moscow in January 2021 from treatment abroad for a poisoning in Russia that he and the West blamed on the Kremlin.

Russia Steps Up Tactical-Nuclear Threats (11:17 a.m.)

Russia trained troops from Belarus on tactical nuclear warheads for Iskander short-range missiles, taking a step toward following through on its threat to deploy the weapons on the territory of its ally.

Putin last month announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus for the first time. As its invasion of Ukraine has struggled, Russia has repeatedly suggested it may use nuclear weapons, drawing criticism from the US and its allies, as well as China and India, which have generally been more supportive of Russia in the conflict.

Poland to Open Repair Hub for Leopard Battle Tanks in May (11:17 a.m.)

Poland will open a repair hub next week for German-made Leopard tanks returning from the Ukrainian battlefield, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday.

The decision follows a letter signed by Poland, Germany and Ukraine laying out the preliminary financial scheme for the creation of a service hub.

Garland Meets With Chief Justice (7:13 a.m.)

US Attorney General Merrick Garland met in Washington Tuesday with Vsevolod Kniaziev, the chief justice of Ukraine.

The two men discussed “the challenges posed by wartime conditions” in running a justice system, and “expanding access to justice, especially in those areas most affected by the war,” according to a Justice Department account of their encounter.

Sweden Expels Five Russian Diplomats (7:13 a.m.)

Sweden expelled five diplomatic staff members from the Russian embassy, broadcaster SVT reported. The ambassador was summoned by Swedish authorities.

“Their activities on our territory have been incompatible with their status as diplomats,” said Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom in an interview.

(An earlier version of this story corrected an item on delayed grain shipments to show only one ship was UN-chartered)

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