LIVE: China Urges Unfreezing Other States’ Assets - Envoy to UN

On April 19, the Ukrainian conflict continued as Russian forces began the battle for the Donbass region. The following are the latest developments:

China urges to refrain from freezing other states’ assets - envoy to UN

The practice of freezing other states’ assets undermines global economic stability and must be stopped as quickly as possible, Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun has said.

"Arbitrary freeze of foreign exchange reserves of other countries also constitutes a violation of sovereignty and is tantamount to weaponizing economic interdependence," he told the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday.

"Such practices undermine the foundation of world economic stability and bring new uncertainties and risks to international relations. They should be abandoned as soon as possible," the Chinese diplomat continued.

"We must pay attention to and eliminate the negative impact of sanctions. All-dimensional and limitless sanctions have had serious spillover effects, with developing countries bearing the brunt," he added. "The international community should strengthen coordination to keep food and energy supplies and prices stable, and avoid unnecessary export restrictions."

Washington seeks to make Europe dependent on its liquefied gas - Russian diplomat

By pushing its European partners to impose more anti-Russian sanctions, Washington is trying to increase their dependence on US liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies," Russian First Deputy Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky has said.

"Our pragmatic American colleagues keep seeking maximum economic benefits without a twinge of conscience. While prompting Europeans to adopt increasingly tough economic sanctions, Washington (that is least affected by this scenario), intends to make them depend on American LNG," he told the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday.

He went on to say that Russia has the potential for coping with consequences of Western sanctions.

"It is well-known that Russian economy is coping with sanctions-related pressure successfully. We keep finding new opportunities for development and engagement with new reliable partners," the Russian diplomat continued. "The only country that is losing in every sense and dimension is Ukraine. The authorities in Kiev however seem to not notice that, or pretend to not notice for that matter.".

West sees need to step up pressure on Russia - UK government

Leaders of Western countries discussed stepping up their pressure on Russia, including through more sanctions and diplomatic isolation, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said following a video call on Tuesday.

On Tuesday evening, Johnson spoke to the leaders of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Romania, Japan, European Commission, European Council, and the NATO Secretary General about the situation in Ukraine.

"The leaders agreed to work together to find a long-term security solution so that Ukraine could never be attacked in this way again. They discussed the need to increase the pressure on Russia with more sanctions against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine, as well as further diplomatic isolation," the statement said.

The UK premier informed other leaders about his visit to Kiev on April 9. He underscored "the critical need for further military support to Ukraine in the face of a major Russian offensive in the Donbas and ongoing attacks elsewhere."

Johnson also welcomed US President Joe "Biden’s leadership," and the allies "agreed to work closely together in the weeks and months to come.".

RELATED:

NATO Conducts Military Exercises Near Russian Border

Germany promises Ukraine full financial and military support. On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that his country would fully support Ukraine in the face of Russia's offensive. This support, however, will materialize through its Western allies because the German army does not have "the necessary reserves."

He made these claims after a virtual conference with presidents Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, and Andrzej Duda. Also present at this event were the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, and the European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen.

Russia begins second phase of special military operation in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced  the start of the second phase of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Its goal is the complete liberation of the populations residing in the self-proclaimed Popular Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. To achieve this, Russian troops will use exclusively conventional weapons, Lavrov pointed out.

The Ukrinform news agency reported that up to 30 percent of Ukraine's infrastructure was damaged as the result of the conflict with Russia, which started on Feb. 24. The hostilities have either destroyed or damaged 300 bridges and over 8,000 km of roads, said Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The Ukrainian government estimated that the cost of direct damage to the country's infrastructure caused by the conflict could reach US$100 billion.

United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres asks Russia and Ukraine for a four-day truce for Orthodox Easter. Such a truce could be coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross, would serve to evacuate civilians, and would allow humanitarian aid to enter Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk, and Lugansk.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said this proposal has received the support of the Ukrainian Council of Churches, which brings together Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims, and Jews.

"Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake...Silence the guns," he stressed, recalling that around 12 million people need humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

On Monday, Griffiths said he was pessimistic about the possibility of a ceasefire since the two sides don't even sit down to talk. However, he pinned his hopes on mediation efforts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Zelensky proposes to extend martial law again. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted to the parliament a bill to further extend martial law in the country. If lawmakers pass the bill, the martial law will be extended for two months, until June 24.

Kiev imposed martial law after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on Feb. 24. On March 15, the Ukrainian parliament voted to extend the martial law till April 25.

Latvia will ban the purchase of Russian gas and promotes a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. On Tuesday, Economy Minister Janis Vitenbergs said that his country would change the energy law to officially prevent the purchase of Russian gas at the end of the year. This proposal, however, still has to be approved by parliament.

His government has agreed in principle to buy gas for next fall and winter from the Klaipeda LNG terminal in Lithuania and a floating LNG terminal in Estonia, which Estonia and Finland will jointly operate.

The Economy Ministry will examine proposals from the private sector before May 31 to push for the construction of a land-based LNG and regasification terminal on the Latvian coast. To get those investors, Vitenbergs traveled to the United States a few weeks ago.

Canada includes two daughters of Putin in a new round of sanctions. The sanctioned daughters are Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova. In recent weeks, they were placed on sanction lists by the European Union (EU), the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Canada also sanctioned Petr Aven, who until March of this year directed Alfa-Bank, the largest commercial bank in Russia; Oleg Boyko, president of Finstar Financial Group, and Mikhail Fridman, co-founder of Alfa-Bank, born in Ukraine and with Russian and Israeli nationality.

The new round of sanctions also affects Igor Makarov, a former professional cyclist and president of Areti International Group; Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of the Central Bank of Russia; Sergei Roldugin, a personal friend of Putin; Maria Lavrova, wife of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and his daughter, Ekaterina Vinokurova.