Need help?Contact Verslo žinios Customer Service.by phone (8 5) 252 6330 or e-mailemail to subscription@verslozinios.lt.A summary of Tuesday’s events can be found here.The latest news will be announced on Thursday at 5 p.m.According to Kommersant, the Russian refinery in MarchIn the first half of 2006, recycling volumes were reduced by 6% compared to February, and this decline is likely to continue.This is due to problems with Russian oil exports related to EU and US sanctions.According to Argus, Russian oil production is already in April.could fall by 16% to 8.8 million.barrels per day.The organizers of SIAL, China's largest agribusiness and hospitality exhibition, have refused to allow Russian companies to participate due to "political restrictions".The event itself takes place in Shanghai, but is owned by the French Comexposium.The Russian authorities are trying to keep companies whose foreign owners have decided to leave the Russian market, said Alexander Novak, the deputy prime minister.According to him, in this case, owners who refuse to work in Russia may be given the opportunity to sell their shares.Speaking during a government hour in the Duma, the deputy prime minister expressed hope that a compromise with the companies would be found in many cases.In his view, the main challenge is to preserve organizations and jobs.Janet Yellen, the US Treasury secretary, will meet with four senators this week to discuss a bill in Congress that would deprive Russia of the opportunity to sell gold to evade sanctions, Axios said.The bill would prevent Russia from using its gold reserves, which amount to about 132 billion.USD.Russia has blocked access to Google News, accusing the news bulletin tool of spreading false information about the war.The decision was made at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, the Interfax news agency reported.The Office found that the tool "provided access to a number of publications and material containing unreliable socially significant information on the conduct of the special military operation on Ukrainian territory".The French carmaker Renault, which had previously shut down and resumed production this week, has announced that it is stopping work at its Moscow plant.The President of Ukraine called on Renault and other French companies to withdraw from Russia in a video address to the French parliament today.In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the carmaker stressed that it was already complying with international sanctions against Russia.Oksana Baulina, a journalist for The Insider, was killed in the shooting while filming the ruins in Kyjiv.One civilian was also killed and two people were injured and hospitalized, according to The Insider.For several days now, satellite images have been showing the rising water level of the Irpine River.It is unclear how the river began to flood: whether the Ukrainians deliberately opened the gates of the dam, or whether it was hit by a military blow.The Russian army controls most of the western bank of the Irpine around Rakivka, and the Ukrainian army is established and defends the north-western part of Kiev around Moschun.If the Russians will not be able to cross it, they will not be able to occupy Kiev from the west.The video also shows a Russian tank firing on the eastern bank of the Irpine.1,143 buildings in Kharkiv have been demolished, Igor Terekhov, the mayor, said on Wednesday.According to the mayor of the city, 998 of all the buildings destroyed during the Russian shootings were residential houses.The U.S. has concluded that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday."Last week, I endorsed President Joe Biden's statement that Putin's forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine based on the countless images of destruction and suffering we have all seen.I then noted that deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime, "Blinken said."Today, I can report that, based on the information currently available, the US government believes that members of Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine," he added.Russia on Wednesday said it was sending U.S. diplomats in response to Washington's decision earlier this month to send 12 U.S.-based representatives to Moscow at the United Nations."On March 23, the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission, who was summoned to the State Department, was given a note with a list of U.S. diplomats declared persona non grata," the Russian State Department said in a statement.Jake Sullivan, a U.S. national security adviser, said new Western sanctions would be imposed on Russian politicians and a wealthy elite close to President Vladimir Putin - the oligarchs.Mr Sullivan said the Western partners were also seeking to "coordinate the implementation of sanctions in order to effectively combat Russia's efforts to evade sanctions."Sowing has started in 2% of Ukraine's agricultural land, as the country has just experienced night frosts, said Taras Vysocki, Ukraine's deputy minister of agrarian policy and food.According to him, early summer cereals are already being sown - wheat and oats."There are about 30 million people in Ukraine.hectares of agricultural land.Some of them are now, unfortunately, mined.However, this area is not critical in terms of the implementation of sowing and food security guarantees for both Ukraine and the countries to which we export our products, "UNIAN quoted Vysocki as saying.About 20-25% of winter crop areas are in the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine.French law enforcement confiscated two luxury yachts owned by Alexei Kuzmichev, one of Russia's most influential businessmen and a major shareholder in the conglomerate Alfa.According to a source in the French government, AFP reported that the Bear Bear, a 17-meter ship worth € 20 million, was seized on 16 March in the Mediterranean resort of Cannes.Eur.Another 26-meter-long Big Bear, which was inspected in the nearby town of Antibes and is said to be worth 70 million, was seized on Monday.Eur.Between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian troops were killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a month, two senior NATO military officials said.Their assessments are based on what Ukraine reports to them, what they know from data published by Russia "intentionally or by mistake" and from "open source" information, CNN reported.The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 64 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, said on Wednesday."The attacks on health facilities must stop.Healthcare facilities and healthcare workers are not and should never be the target, ”he said.Mike Ryan, director of the WHO Health Emergency Program, shared International Organization for Migration statistics on the health of people fleeing Ukraine.They say 32% of the fugitives are chronically ill and nearly 20% are disabled, CNN reports.On Wednesday, Germany warned that Russia's demand to pay in rubles for gas supplies to Europe was a breach of contract."The announcement of the payment in rubles is ... a breach of contract, and we will now discuss with our European partners how we will react to it," said Robert Habeck, Germany's economic minister.Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany imported 55% of its natural gas from Russia.After the Russian president said that payments for gas supplied by the Gazprom Group to the European Union (EU) would be accepted only in rubles, Lithuanian economists see the Kremlin's efforts to artificially bail out the currency that has reached historic lows.According to them, such a decision by Russia will further encourage EU countries to look for alternative sources of gas supply.Ukrainian forces have repulsed Russian troops in several settlements surrounding Kyiv, Vitaly Klychko, the city's mayor, said on Wednesday, promising to defend every building instead of giving up the capital.Klychko said he would not have more detailed information about the ongoing counter-offensive operations by the Ukrainians.The curfew was in force in the Ukrainian capital from Monday evening to Wednesday morning.According to V. Klyčkas, this measure is necessary because information has been received from the army about possible attacks.The mayor said dozens of saboteurs had been arrested since the start of the war.Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said no one expected the West to freeze Russia's central bank assets.The minister once again described the 300 billion.Confiscation of Russian assets worth "theft"."When the Central Bank's reserves were frozen, no one could have imagined that such sanctions could be imposed by the West.This is the simplest theft, "Lavrov was quoted as saying by Kommersant.The International Swimming Federation (FINA) said on Wednesday that it had revoked the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutral athletes in this year’s World Water Sports Championship and banned them from participating in it.The FINA statement said that after an "independent risk assessment", its board "confirmed that athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus would not participate in the World Cup."This year's World Water Sports Championships will take place in Budapest from June 18 to July 3.The Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) has asked Google to remove apps from the Google Play Store that allow banned Russian TV shows.Read more about it here.The United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday it was suspending all technical cooperation with Russia.The ILO has decided to "suspend technical cooperation or ILO assistance to the Russian Federation other than humanitarian aid," the organization said.According to the ILO, the suspension will remain in force "until a ceasefire is agreed and a peaceful solution is implemented".Moscow is also banned from attending certain meetings and conferences.The resolution was submitted to the ILO Board by Canada.42 members were reportedly voting in favor, two against and eight abstentions."The continuing aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation, with the help of the Belarussian government, is clearly incompatible with the organisation's goals and objectives and the principles of ILO membership," the resolution said.The authors call on Moscow to "immediately and unconditionally stop the aggression, withdraw its troops from Ukraine, end the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and refrain from any further illegal threats or use of force against any member state."Joe Biden, the president of the United States, left for Europe on Wednesday to strengthen Western unity and tighten unprecedented sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and its brutal attempt to upset the balance of power after the Cold War.Mr Biden climbed a Marine One helicopter at the White House to tell reporters the seriousness of the crisis in Eastern Europe and warned that he saw a "real threat" from Russia's use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.Mr Biden will hold a press conference at NATO headquarters on Thursday before flying to Poland.He will meet with President Andrzej Duda on Saturday and return to Washington after the meeting.Jake Sullivan, a White House national security adviser, told reporters that Biden would seek to "strengthen the incredible unity we have built with allies and partners."According to Sullivan, the economic sanctions imposed on the Russian financial sector by the Western allies will be further tightened.Another package of sanctions will be "announced along with our allies on Thursday," Mr Sullivan said.The White House adviser did not provide further details, but said that much attention would be paid "not only to the introduction of new sanctions, but also to a concerted effort to prevent the circumvention of sanctions".Sergei Kislitsa, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations (UN), called on the General Assembly to vote in favor of a resolution calling on Russia to cease hostilities immediately.The resolution, which is not binding, has been signed by nearly eighty other member states, including the U.S., CNN reports.The resolution also deplores the dire humanitarian consequences of the Russian invasion and reaffirms its commitment to respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and its internationally recognized borders.According to Kislica, joining the resolution will "send a powerful message to contribute to a breakthrough in humanitarian action on the ground."Ukraine's foreign ministry says Russia's aggression in the country could lead to a global food shortage crisis.Historically, Ukraine is considered one of the major exporters of grain in the world.It has also supplied many aid agencies.The UN World Food Program bought almost half of its wheat stocks from Ukraine before the war."We do not know when we will be able to export."We cannot export corn, oil or wheat, which are vital products," Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, told the Italian parliament on Tuesday.After the Russian president said that payments for Gazprom's gas supplied to the European Union (EU) would be accepted only in rubles, the state-owned Lithuanian gas supplier Ignitis said it would no longer buy Russian gas."We do not plan to pay Gazprom, so it is not relevant for us, but we will buy popcorn," said Artūras Ketlerius, Ignitis Group's head of public relations at BNS.According to him, Ignitis has not purchased gas for Gazprom's needs in Lithuania since the beginning of this year, but it was purchased for Latvian and Estonian customers and stored at the Inčukalnis storage facility in Latvia.The national agreement on defense should be prepared within three to four weeks, says Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the chairman of the Seimas National Security and Defense Committee (NSGC) leading the group preparing the agreement.According to the head of the committee, the most controversial issue so far is the Conservative idea of ​​a general summons, but it can be implemented in various forms, such as raising the threshold for conscription.On Wednesday, G. Nausėda held a meeting with representatives of parliamentary political parties on the strategic guidelines of Lithuania's foreign, security and defense policy.The head of state said he was pleased that there were no objections to the allocation of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) for national defense, according to him, this could be fixed in the party agreement accordingly.The head of state also stated that Lithuania must prepare for total global defense at all levels - from NATO to every citizen.The Seimas has set up two working groups to draft party agreements on defense and foreign policy.Speaking to the French parliament on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky called on the country's companies, including carmaker Renault, supermarket group Auchan and construction and household goods retailer Leroy Merlin, to leave Russia."French companies have to leave the Russian market," Zelensky said in a 15-minute virtual address."Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and other companies must stop supporting the Russian war machine," the president added.Lithuania must prepare for total global defense at all levels - from NATO to every citizen, says President Gitanas Nausėda after a meeting with representatives of political parties."The principle of total defense must be enshrined not only in the State General Defense Plan, but also in the peacetime readiness to carry out the tasks of mobilization and organize civil resistance.We must prepare for total global defense at all levels, from NATO to every citizen, ”G. Nausėda is quoted as saying in a statement circulated by the Presidency.On Wednesday, G. Nausėda held a meeting with representatives of parliamentary political parties on the strategic guidelines of Lithuania's foreign, security and defense policy.The head of state said he was pleased that there were no objections to allocating 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) to national defense.According to him, this could be fixed in the agreement of the parties accordingly.The President also notes that civil protection and defense must be singled out as a separate area of ​​preparation for the country's defense.Swiss food giant Nestle is blocking KitKat, Nesquik and some other brands in the country after criticism from Russia's President Volodymyr Zelensky over ties with Russia.The company said in a statement that it had previously suspended exports and imports of non-essential goods to and from Russia, advertising and investment in that country.Nestle has announced that its operations in Russia will now focus on providing basic food to babies, hospitals and food facilities.The company said all profits in Russia, if successful, would be donated to humanitarian organizations.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that 3,626,546 people have left Ukraine by Wednesday.69,301 people left the country last day alone.It is estimated that a total of more than 10 million people left homes in Ukrainian-controlled regions by February 24.people make up more than a quarter of their population.Of these, about 6.48 million.remained in the country.According to the UNHCR, the refugee crisis is the worst in Europe since World War II.Russian soldiers, who demolished the bridge over the Desna River, completely cut off Chernihiv from Kyiv and held him hostage, and plan to "evacuate" the locals to the Kursk region.Lyudmyla Denysova, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, said this."Today, Chernihiv is completely cut off from the capital.The occupiers blew up a bridge over the Desna River to transport humanitarian aid to the city and evacuate civilians.The city has no electricity, water, heat and almost no gas, and the infrastructure has been destroyed, ”says L. Denysova.NATO leaders intend to agree on additional support for Ukraine on chemical and nuclear threats in the country's fight against invading Russian forces, Alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday."I hope the Allies will agree tomorrow on additional support, including cyber security assistance, as well as equipment to help protect Ukraine from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats," Stoltenberg said ahead of an extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the G-20 summit in Indonesia later this year, Moscow's ambassador said on Wednesday, not stressing rumors that Russia could be expelled from the group because of the war in Ukraine.On the eve, the United States said it would consult with its allies on Russia's membership in international fora to increase pressure on the Kremlin over the invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a refugee crisis in Europe and shook world markets.Russia's ambassador to Indonesia, Lyudmila Vorobjova, noted that Jakarta, the host of this year's G-20 summit, had already invited Putin to a summit in Bali in November."It simply came to our notice then.But for now, yes, (Putin) is going to come, "she told reporters on Wednesday.For almost a month now, the aggression of the Russian war has ravaged Ukraine.Lithuanian entrepreneurs who have worked here claim that they do not calculate losses, but look for ways to protect and support employees.Read more here.After the longest holiday in history, almost a month, the Moscow Stock Exchange will partially resume trading in local stocks.The shares of 33 companies included in the IMOEX index of the Moscow Stock Exchange will be resumed on the Moscow Stock Exchange from Thursday, the Central Bank of Russia announced on Wednesday.Read more here.NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that at the summit, NATO leaders intend to agree on the deployment of important new forces in the eastern flank in response to Russia's war in Ukraine."I hope that the leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's position in all areas and significantly increase its forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, on land, in the air and at sea.The first step is the deployment of four new NATO battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, "Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of an extraordinary summit on Thursday.Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas is visiting Ukraine on Wednesday, where he handed over Lithuanian military support.As the Russian invasion continued, he met with the country's defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, in Kyiv."We have just brought support to Ukraine.We handed over Kyjiv directly to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine O. Reznikov."Everything you need for 21st century warfare," the minister wrote on Facebook, without detailing the specific support he handed over.Read more here.Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that payments for Russian natural gas to "unfriendly" countries must be made in rubles.Putin provided such information during a meeting with members of the government, published on the Kremlin's website.Read more here.The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has said the number of Ukrainian diplomats in Belarus will be reduced and they should leave the country within 72 hours.Belarus is also closing the Ukrainian consulate in Brest.The Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus will continue to work in the 1 + 4 format, ie an ambassador and four staff members.On Tuesday, Belarus accused employees of the Ukrainian embassy in Minsk of espionage.Russia's climate envoy Anatoly Chubais has stepped down and left Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.This is a top-level official who has severed ties with the country because of Russia's war.66 m.Chubais is one of several reformers in the 1980s who remained in Vladimir Putin's government and maintained close ties with the West.Chubais gave Putin his first job in the Kremlin and initially supported his coming to power.Under Putin, he held important positions in large state-owned enterprises, and last year Chubais was appointed Putin's envoy for sustainable development.Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has increased pressure on local government critics.Putin on March 16.said it would cleanse Russia of traitors allegedly working with the United States and its allies.Last week, Arkady Dvorkovich, a former economic adviser to Dmitry Medvedev during his presidency and prime minister until 2018, condemned the invasion and resigned as head of the Skolkov Technology Foundation.The mayor of Kiev's suburb, Irpine Oleksandr Markushyn, says Ukraine's armed forces, territorial defense and police "control 80% of our city."Speaking on Ukrainian television, O. Markušynas said: “Our city is constantly fired from Grad systems.Very massive.They are firing on residential areas, high-rise buildings. "Although a mass evacuation has taken place in recent weeks, O. Markušynas estimates that up to 6,000 people remain in Irpinė.He also said small groups are being evacuated on a daily basis.National police said on Wednesday they were resuming work in Irpine, most of which was occupied by Russian forces.This is another possible sign that Ukrainian forces are reclaiming the area around the capital, Kyiv.Kyiv on Wednesday called on the West to extend sanctions on Russian television figures, accusing them of propaganda propaganda and incitement to violence against Ukraine.In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries have imposed sanctions on high-ranking Russian officials, business leaders and personalities such as Margarita Simonjan, head of the Russian state broadcaster RT."Russian television propagandists are worse than Russian pilots," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social network Twittter on Wednesday."Pilots are at risk of being shot.Speaking heads fall asleep safely, then go on the air and call for nuclear strikes or invasion of NATO members.Authorize each of them."Block all toxic Russian propaganda and the means that enable it," he urged.The EU has banned satellite and cable broadcasts of the television channel RT and the Kremlin-controlled Sputnik, as well as their broadcasts via the apps or the internet.The European Commission has approved a temporary framework that will allow Member States to take full advantage of the flexibility provided by state aid rules during the war in Ukraine, allowing countries to provide up to € 400,000 in aid to companies affected by the current crisis or sanctions.Read more here.Rinat Akhmetov, one of the richest Ukrainian businessmen, said the Mariupol metallurgical plant would never operate under Russian occupation."Russian soldiers are destroying Mariupol, killing the city's inhabitants and bombing factories.These factories will not operate under Russian occupation under any circumstances, "the businessman told The Wall Street Journal.Mr Akhmetov emphasized that, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Ukrainian army, the Azovstal and Illich Steel plants were still under Ukrainian control.The Azovstal and Ilyich iron and steel plants employed about 40,000 people in the city.Both plants are controlled by Ukraine, but they are temporarily closed, ”WSJ quoted the businessman as saying.Kyiv said on Wednesday that negotiations with Russia to end the nearly-month-long war are facing serious difficulties."Negotiations are continuing online.There are serious difficulties in them, because the Ukrainian side has a clear and principled position, "Mychail Podoliak, an adviser to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who is taking part in the talks, said in written comments to the media.Moscow said earlier that Kyiv was "constantly changing its position" in the talks, and that the United States was "trying to keep us in a state of military action for as long as possible."Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Moscow and Kyiv negotiators held several face-to-face meetings at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, but negotiations have recently continued remotely;no progress has been announced yet.Russian special services officials are holding "one-on-one talks" with regulars of the Belarusian army, the Chief Intelligence Board of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said.According to her, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to involve the Belarusians in the war with Ukraine, promising them money and training in Russian military colleges."Yes, Putin's emissaries are trying to persuade Belarusian troops to take part in the war against Ukraine, even though they are not part of the Belarusian armed forces.Belarusians are offered $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 a month for "special tasks."In addition, they are offered preferential training in Russian military higher education institutions, "the Ukrainian intelligence report said.It is added that such cases were recorded in the units of the 103rd Airborne Division of the Belarusian Armed Forces and the Gomel Border Guard Group."Nevertheless, the motivation of Belarusian soldiers to take part in combat operations is very low."Those who have given their consent will be removed from the lists of personnel of their units in order to extend their service outside the ranks of the Belarusian Armed Forces," Ukrainian intelligence reports.Lithuania wants NATO to review the defense plans of the Baltic states and "both Poland and the Baltic states have a strategy of full defense," Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said before the NATO summit."The main goal of reviewing the Baltic defense strategy is not to identify the exact capabilities, but to assess the completely changed security situation, and from that, first of all, political planning in the region begins, and I hope to achieve this," G. told reporters on Wednesday. Landsbergis.Read more here.The Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis states that the embargo on cargo transported by Russia and Belarus by road and sea must cover not only the Baltic States and Poland, but also the entire EU, therefore the decision on it must be made "at the European level"."If one or more states did this - it would create an opportunity for arbitrage, an opportunity to travel elsewhere - there would be no effect," the minister told reporters on Wednesday before the government meeting.According to him, it is also important that such a ban covers both tugs and ships: "Because only if the roads are blocked somewhere, it is really best to transport cargo with ships."Eur.Choose the companies and topics you are interested in - we will inform you with a personal newsletter as soon as they are mentioned in "Verslo žinios", "Sodra", the Center of Registers, etc.sources.Prof.the beginning of the war must be reflected in the company's 2021R. Rainys - about cyber security, interfaces between cryptocurrencies and ransomware and Yandex.We remind you that the laws of the Republic of Lithuania prohibit:Need help?