Johnson about tyrant Putin and seizing invaders’ property: Highlights on war in Ukraine as of April 1

Author

Olexandr Zakharov

Also, a source in the British government said that London was concerned that the US, France, and Germany could push Ukraine towards a settlement with significant concessions to the Kremlin. According to Johnson, the treaty should be signed only if Kyiv is in the strongest possible position.

The major developments of the day were:

Germany approved supplying Soviet design BMP-1 to Ukraine. The vehicles were handed over to the Swedish army in the late 1990s, which later sold them to a Czech company that now wants to sell them to Ukraine, according to Welt am Sonntag. The company was ready to do this back in 2019, but at that time the German government that must approve such a resale rejected the application.

Photo: Wikipedia

The infantry fighting vehicles will be delivered within a few weeks, because they need to be repaired and modernized. BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. It is equipped with small-caliber guns and machine guns, as well as ATGMs.

On April 1, a massive fire broke out at an oil depot in Belgorod, Russia. The governor of the region said that there were unknown helicopters with unguided missiles. Russia claims that the attack was from the territory of Ukraine.

A few days ago, a detonation occurred at an ammunition depot in Belgorod.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine refused to refute or confirm this information, saying that it was not responsible for the disasters in Russia, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

Politics

Ukraine is waiting for an official response from Russia regarding the talks in Istanbul on April 1 and earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

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He explained that Kyiv needs to understand whether the Kremlin will continue to speak the language of ultimatums. According to him, Ukraine has already seen the public comments of officials of the occupying state, but is waiting for a full-fledged official response.

A meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may be held in Istanbul.

Photo: Getty Images

Both leaders have no objection to this idea, but a date needs to be agreed upon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured, according to Milliyet. Erdogan himself was supposed to meet with the bloodthirsty dictator of the Kremlin on April 1.

The British Prime Minister advised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to rush to conclude a peace agreement with Russia. When talking to the Ukrainian leader, the British Prime Minister called Vladimir Putin a liar and a tyrant, The Times reports.

Photo: Getty Images

Economy

On April 1, the Verkhovna Rada approved bill No. 7169 that provides for the procedure of nationalizing the property of Russian citizens, as well as collaborators and businessmen who deny the war in Ukraine and support the invasion and temporary occupation of our territories. According to the People's Deputy and First Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zhelezniak, 305 deputies voted in favor. According to the text of the law, all nationalized property will go to cover reparations.

Photo: Getty Images

On April 1, the Verkhovna Rada passed bill No. 7234. It finally removed the restrictions on the single tax of the 3d group of the sole proprietors: companies with any turnover will be able to pay only 2% of it, the head of the relevant Committee Danylo Hetmantsev explained. In addition, according to the law, no customs payments will be levied on goods, the final recipients of which are law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other military formations.
On April 1, the National Bank addressed the central banks of Japan, Great Britain, the United States, the European Union, and the European Commission with a call for a complete ban on settlements in Russian and Belarusian rubles.

"The ban on payments in Russian rubles will make it possible to thwart the plans of the aggressor state to switch to payments in its national currency. This step will help maintain the status quo in trade settlements with Russia," NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko stressed.

Business

Russia is running out of beer cans, Obozrevatel reports, citing the invader’s media. Such cans occupy 30% of the market (other beer is sold in glass packaging).

Photo: facebook.com/BallCorpHQ

The fact is that the largest manufacturer of aluminum packaging — the US-based Ball Corporation — decided to shut down its business in Moscowia.

Tenants should stop taking rent from the Ukrainian business that partially does not work and sends all possible funds to help the army. It is necessary to impose a moratorium on paying rent in wartime, says Anatolyi Amelin, director of economic programs at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future.

"I spoke to a few friends today — business and sales stand idle. Free liquidity was sent to the front. "But war is when one fights to the last ditch and another gets rich." Some tenants have decided that this is their time to shine and demand 100% (!) rent. Both warehouses and commercial premises. If there is no payment, they promise to throw everything out into the street... What do you call that?"

As a compromise, charging no more than 50% of fees or imposing payment only for utility bills could be envisaged, the economist noted.

Context.