Bloomberg European Union diplomats approved a plan to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the invasion of Ukraine, a move that would freeze their overseas assets, according to two senior officials. The asset freeze, which comes in addition to a broader package of sanctions that the EU approved early Friday, does not affect the ...

  Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to negotiate with Ukraine during a phone call between the two leaders Friday afternoon, state media reported. “China supports Russia and Ukraine to resolve issues through negotiations,” Xi said, according to China Central Television. Putin told Xi that “Russia is willing to conduct high-level talks with Ukraine,” the ...

  Bloomberg Taiwan’s president played down concerns that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could trigger a similar crisis in Asia, warning against any efforts to use the crisis in Europe to sow panic in Taiwan. President Tsai Ing-wen condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for damaging global stability and violating Ukraine’s sovereignty, a nation that shares similar security worries with Taiwan. “I ...

  Bloomberg Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unfolding in a nation with 15 atomic reactors operating near full capacity, exposing Europe’s second-biggest nuclear fleet to potential safety risks. Monitors at the International Atomic Energy Agency said in an email that they’re gravely concerned by the situation and remain in contact with Ukrainian nuclear-safety regulators. Reactors require steady supplies of electricity ...

  Bloomberg Russia’s invasion of Ukraine poses a difficult question for China: How can it support a key strategic partner when relations with the US and Europe are so much more important for its economy? An important energy supplier to China, Russia has strengthened trade ties with Beijing over the past decade. However, Russia’s economic weight pales in comparison to ...

Bloomberg From Chelsea penthouses to Highgate mansions, Russia’s long-standing infatuation with UK real estate is evident from a cursory glance at some of the country’s priciest property transactions. The past decade has seen that trend explode. The number of UK properties whose owners’ principal correspondence address is in Russia reached 1,127 in August 2021, according to data released by the ...

  Bloomberg Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund’s chief executive, Nicolai Tangen, is resisting pressure to sell Russian stocks now, saying doing so would be akin to a “gift” to the country’s oligarchs. The Oslo-based fund is the world’s biggest owner of publicly traded companies with a portfolio of about 9,000 stocks, and has about 0.2% of its assets invested ...

  Bloomberg Russia still has about $300 billion of foreign currency held offshore — enough to disrupt money markets if it’s frozen by sanctions or moved suddenly to avoid them. That’s according to Credit Suisse Group AG strategist Zoltan Pozsar, who parsed data from the Bank of Russia and financial markets to calculate that a much larger share is held ...

  Bloomberg Italy’s new plan to break its dependence on Russian gas may rely partly on an old source of energy: coal. Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Friday that the country could reopen some shuttered coal plants to help bridge its looming energy supply gap and cut its dependence on Russia, which currently accounts for 45% of Italian gas supplies. ...

  Bloomberg Polish residents queued to withdraw cash from banks amid concerns over the fallout from Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, triggering a statement from the central bank that the country has sufficient reserves despite some ATMs running out of zloty. “All bank orders are carried out without value limits, in the full nominal value, throughout the country,” the National ...