Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – April 21, 2022

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Some NATO member states want the war in Ukraine to continue for Russia to get weaker, said Turkiye’s foreign minister.

More than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia launched a war in the country two months ago, according to the UN.

A total of 20,900 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on its western neighbor, the Ukrainian military claimed.

EU countries have started banning Russian ships from their ports, with many critical imports, namely oil and natural gas, exempted under the bloc's latest sanctions.

Russia may try to resume negotiations after its recent attacks on the eastern Donbas region that started Monday, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

Norway has sent about 100 French-made Mistral anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to back up the country in its ongoing war with Russia, the Norwegian Defense Ministry announced.

Germany will stop its oil imports from Russia by the end of the year, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced Wednesday after talks with her Baltic counterparts.

Outgoing President Emmanuel Macron warned his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen on Wednesday that she will bring France to the brink of a civil war if she imposes a ban on the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, if she claims victory in France’s presidential election.

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that 70% of the increase in inflation last month was a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin's “price hike” because of his war against Ukraine and its effect on gasoline and energy prices.

The US Treasury Department designated a Russian bank, an oligarch and a virtual currency mining company Wednesday for allegedly evading sanctions imposed by Washington and its allies for the war in Ukraine.

A British court issued a formal order to extradite WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US to face espionage charges.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Russian army Wednesday for a successful test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.