New weapons, canceling assault on Azovstal, and abandoning Russian oil: Highlights on war in Ukraine as of April 21

Author

Yulia Ustymovych

The 57th day of the war against the Russian invaders continues in Ukraine. has compiled business, political, and economic news that will help you learn more about the situation in the country that has been fighting for its right to exist for more than a month.

The major developments of the day are:

Ten Ukrainian servicemen and nine civilians of Ukraine were released from Russian captivity on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk reported. This time there were injured among those released. Now they can get full-fledged treatment and go to rehab.
Putin ordered to cancel the assault on the Azovstal industrial zone in Mariupol, calling it inexpedient. This was discussed at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez and Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen visited Kyiv. "Just arrived in Kyiv. Ukraine has the support, solidarity and commitment of Spain," Sanchez tweeted.

Politics

Slovenia will give Soviet T-72 tanks to Ukraine, and Germany will supply Slovenia with Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Fuchs armored personnel carriers, the German news agency DPA reports. According to the agency, Ukraine uses T-72 tanks. There is no need to train Ukrainian tankers. The tanks will be supplied from the reserves of Slovenia. As compensation, Germany will provide Slovenia with machines of its own production.
The parliaments of Estonia and Latvia recognized the Russian crimes in Ukraine as genocide. This was reported on the website of the Saeima of Latvia and in the Telegram channel of Olena Shuliak, head of the Servant of the People party. Shuliak stressed that the Estonian parliament was the first in the world to consider the issue of recognizing the genocide that Russia committed on the territory of Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated that Russian-affiliated ships would be banned from entering U.S. ports, Reters reports. "This means that not a single ship under the Russian flag or a ship owned by Russia or operated by someone associated with Russia will be able to dock in the United States port access our shores," the U.S. President explained.

Economy

The Verkhovna Rada expanded the deficit of the state budget of Ukraine by 200 billion UAH — to 456.36 billion UAH to increase the expenditures of the reserve fund by this amount from 1.5 billion UAH to 201.5 billion UAH. As a result, total domestic borrowings this year should amount to 519.96 billion UAH, external borrowings – 318.72 billion UAH. State budget expenditures have been increased to 1.793 trillion UAH, including for the general fund — to 1.572 trillion UAH, and state deficit ceiling — to 456.36 billion UAH, including the deficit of the general fund — 360.26 billion UAH.
G-7 countries, together with the international community, promise and are already providing Ukraine with significant additional support in the amount of more than $24 billion for 2022 and beyond, both financially and materially, their finance ministers and central bankers said in a statement following a meeting in Washington.
Denmark will allocate about $90 million for weapons for Ukraine, sDanish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated. "We will do our best to support Ukraine in the future as well. So I briefed you today, President Zelenskyy, on significant new contributions, including almost 600 Danish kroner, that's about $90 million for weapons, and this raises Denmark's total military contribution to more than 1 billion Danish kroner," Frederiksen said at a briefing with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday.

Business

Almost 200,000 companies and individual entrepreneurs switched to the simplified taxation system imposed during the wartime — the third group of a single tax with a rate of 2% of income, Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the parliamentary Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, said in an interview with Ekonomichna Pravda (Economic Truth from Ukrainian).
The Board of Directors of Ferrexpo plc approved an increase in funding for the Ferrexpo Humanitarian Fund by $5 million to $12.5 million. "The decision to increase funding was made so that the Group’s management could continue to respond effectively and in a timely manner to the humanitarian crisis that has developed in Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion," the statement reads.
After February 24, Austria refused to purchase Russian oil, the Kurier newspaper reports, citing a representative of the OMV Group. "The purchase volumes from Russia have always been very low ... we replaced it with other oil from the market," the newspaper quotes a representative of the Austrian company.

Context.

We have already reported about the updates in the chronicle of the world’s economic war against Russia as of April 21.
In addition, covered the combat losses of the Russian invaders as of April 21, 2022.