The next round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine took place on Thursday and Friday remotely, Ukrayinska Pravda reports, citing Kyiv’s chief negotiator David Arakhamia.
In this round of negotiations, Ukraine put forward an ultimatum to Russia, according to which the Russians will carry out the so-called. the referendum “will put an end to negotiations,” said another senior Ukrainian official, who requested anonymity.
Ukrayinska Pravda notes that while the heads of the negotiating teams did conduct negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the talks had allegedly stalled.
Huge losses of Ukraine and a huge drop in GDP
According to the World Bank, Ukraine has suffered about $60 billion in losses to date as a result of the Russian invasion. Losses are mounting all the time because the Russians continue to bomb buildings and destroy infrastructure, – said the head of the World Bank, David Malpass. He named Mariupol and Borodzyanka among the most affected cities.
The information provided by the World Bank does not take into account the losses caused by the recession in the Ukrainian economy. President Volodymyr Zelensky estimates the total damage to his country at no less than half a trillion dollars. – Russia blocked our ports in the Black and Azov seas. This greatly reduced our exports, mainly agricultural products. It also hit food security in the world, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian authorities emphasize that the losses as a result of the Russian invasion to date have exceeded the cost of the country’s economy by three times. Kyiv estimates that the country’s GDP could fall by as much as 50 percent.