LIVE: Medvedev - Europe Won't Last a Week Without Russian Gas

On April 22, the Ukrainian conflict continues without the parties being able to agree on a definitive ceasefire. Meanwhile, Russian troops have begun drawing the entire English alphabet on their vehicles in response to Western bans on displaying the letters Z and V. Below are the main developments of this conflict as they happen.

Medvedev believes that Europe won't last a week without Russian gas.

 Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, believes that Europe will not be able to do without Russian gas for a long time.

"The European Commission has allowed gas payments in rubles and believes that European businesses can still apply the Russian president's decree," he wrote on Saturday night on his Telegram channel.

"We appreciate the consistency and integrity of our European partners.... Especially since, according to the latest IMF data, Europe will be able to do without our gas for no more than six months," he said.

"But seriously, they won't last a week," said the Russian Security Council deputy chairman.

The day before, the European Commission confirmed that it saw in Russia's proposed mechanism for paying for gas supplies ways to circumvent EU sanctions, but at the same time believes that EU companies can find a legal way to pay for supplies even in the new realities.

The published explanations of the EC note that under the new scheme, Russia will have complete control over the transfer of dollars or euros into rubles and thus will be able to connect to the Central Bank, which is prohibited by the EU sanctions. At the same time, the document says that companies can still use the new mechanism without violating sanctions if they ask "their Russian counterparts to fulfill their contractual obligations in the same way as before the new decree, that is, by simply transferring the required amount in dollars or euros.

At the same time, the European Commission advises companies to find out from their Russian counterparts whether this is really possible.

Earlier, the Western media reported, citing sources, that the European Commission presented to the member states an analysis of the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin to pay for gas supplies from Russia in rubles and warned that its implementation would violate sanctions against Moscow.

UN chief to discuss ways to ‘silence guns’ in Ukraine during Moscow visit - spokesperson

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres intends to discuss ways "to silence the guns" in Ukraine during his visit to Moscow on April 26, Associate Spokesperson for the UN chief Eri Kaneko said at a briefing.

"His message will be, as he said in his letter, it’s - he wants to discuss with the [Russian] leadership what steps can be taken right now in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people, in order to allow people who need to get out to get out in safe passage," she pointed out.

While in Moscow, Guterres will hold a working meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will also be received by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On April 19, the UN secretary general sent letters to the Russian and Ukrainian permanent missions to the United Nations, requesting meetings with the two countries’ presidents in their respective capitals. According to the UN chief’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, "the secretary general said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law.".

Twenty DPR servicemen killed, 119 suffer wounds in past week - militia official

Twenty service members from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) were killed in fighting against Ukrainian nationalists in the past week, Deputy Chief of the DRP People’s Militia Eduard Basurin said.

"We are sorry to report that 20 defenders of the DPR were killed in fighting against UKrainian nationalists in the past week and another 119 suffered wounds," he said, according to a statement posted on the DPR militia’s Telegram channel.

Basurin specified that the Ukrainian military had fired over 100 munitions at the DPR territory in the past day. The attacks involved 122 mm BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, 122 mm artillery pieces, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars. Five settlements came under fire, two homes were damaged. At the same time, DPR forces killed 27 Ukrainian nationalists, destroyed an infantry fighting vehicle and two armored personnel carriers.

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Russia aims at full control of Donbass. One of the tasks of the Russian Armed Forces during the ongoing second stage of the special military operation is to "establish full control over Donbass and southern Ukraine," Deputy Commander of Russia's Central Military District Rustam Minnekaev said Friday.

The control of Donbass will make it possible for Russia to create a land corridor to Crimea and influence Ukraine's vital facilities, including Black Sea ports where agricultural and metallurgical products are delivered to other countries, Minnekaev said at a defense industries meeting.

The control of Ukraine's south will open another way out to Transnistria, the major general added.

Russia assures that the situation in Mariupol has normalized. On Friday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov claimed that the inhabitants of Mariupol "now have the possibility to move freely through the streets without hiding from the bombing of the Ukrainian Nazis."

"The authorities of the Donetsk People's Republic are organizing the cleaning of debris from the streets and the removal of affected Ukrainian military equipment," he pointed out, adding that Russia is currently delivering humanitarian aid to the inhabitants.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers, neo-Nazis from the Azov battalion, and foreign mercenaries "are safely blocked in the area of the Azovstal metallurgical factory," Konashenkov claims. On Thursday night, however, Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky said that Mariupol "continues to resist, despite everything."

UN Secretary Antonio Guterres will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. On April 26, he will also have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres.

Previously, on Thursday afternoon, the UN Secretary sent separate letters to the permanent missions of Russia and Ukraine to the UN, asking Putin to receive him in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to receive him in Kiev.

"The Secretary said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law," said Dujarric.

China refutes U.S. official's remarks on Ukraine issue. On Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian  refuted a U.S. official's remarks that China should learn the right lessons from the situation in Ukraine, including that it can't separate the United States from its allies.

"China's position on the Ukraine issue is aboveboard, just, objective and beyond reproach. On the contrary, it is the U.S. side that has a poor track record on relevant issues. We advise the U.S. side to look in the mirror and properly manage its own affairs before pointing fingers at others," Zhao said, pointing out that the remarks made by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman are entirely cliches and an old trick to smear and slander China.