Russia says Ukraine aid convoy contains no military personnel August 16, 2014 Russia's defence secretary Sergey Shoygu has assured his US counterpart Chuck Hagel that an aid convoy heading for Ukraine contains no military personnel. Western countries have expressed concern that Russia is using the convoy as a pretext for sending more soldiers to the area, but Russia denies these allegations, saying that the purpose of the convoy [...]
Global banks lend £255m to Russia’s Evraz despite Ukraine tensions August 13, 2014 Russian steelmaker Evraz yesterday said it had signed a $425m (£255m) loan from international banks, showing that western institutions were still comfortable doing business there despite increasing tensions over Ukraine. FTSE 250-listed Evraz, which counts oligarch and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich as its largest shareholder, said it had secured the five-year loan with [...]
London Report: FTSE flat as Pru data counter geopolitical tensions in Ukraine August 12, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares yesterday were pegged back by tension between the west and Russia over Ukraine, although robust results lifted insurance and pensions group Prudential. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.4 of a point – flat in percentage terms – at 6,632.42 points. A convoy of 280 trucks that Russia said were carrying humanitarian aid [...]
Ukraine to block Russian aid convoy August 12, 2014 A Russian aid convoy will be turned back from the Ukrainian border amid fears the mission may be used to send in soldiers. The Ukrainian government has said that the convoy lacks Red Cross (ICRC) certification and will not be allowed to enter the country. If the aid is to cross the border, a Ukrainian [...]
NATO fears Russian aid to Ukraine may disguise invasion August 11, 2014 TENSIONS between Russia and the West threatened to flare up again yesterday as President Putin vowed to press on with plans to send an aid convoy into eastern Ukraine. It comes as the Russian leader, blamed for arming rebels and stoking conflict in the ex-soviet state, has amassed 45,000 troops on the border with its [...]
West warns Russia not to use humanitarian mission as a pretext to invade Ukraine August 9, 2014 The UK and US governments have advised Russia against using humanitarian assistance as a cover-up for sending troops to eastern Ukraine. "I am deeply concerned by reports of an increased flow of heavy weapons crossing into Ukrainian sovereign territory from Russia and by reports of Russian armed forces exercising for a 'humanitarian intervention' in [...]
Draghi: Ukraine crisis a threat to the Eurozone economy August 7, 2014 Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), today admitted that the Ukraine crisis represented a threat to the Eurozone economy. The geopolitical concerns surrounding the Ukraine crisis and in particular the import ban imposed by Russia, were highlighted as a potential risk to European economic outlook by Draghi, but he insisted that [...]
Ukraine concerns drive German bond yields to an historical low August 6, 2014 GERMAN bond yields touched another historical low yesterday, with the benchmark 10 year bond’s yield dropping to just 1.1 per cent, down from just below two per cent at the beginning of the year. Some analysts attributed a build up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border as one of the reasons for the drop. [...]
London Report: Ukraine and poor data weigh on FTSE but easyJet climbs August 6, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday fell after being pummelled by disappointing economic data and growing fears over the crisis in Ukraine. The FTSE 100 fell 46.32 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6,636.16 points after earlier hitting a three-month low of 6,588.43 points. Pharma stocks were the biggest fallers as investors worried that interest from US [...]
Ukraine rebels hand over black boxes from MH17 flight to Malaysian officials July 21, 2014 Pro-Russian militants have handed over the two black boxes from the downed MH17 aircraft to Malaysian officials. After an agreement with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday evening, separatist leader Aleksander Borodai signed them over to the Malaysian experts at a meeting in the eastern Ukranian city of Donetsk. A number of reporters were [...]