Nato foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Bucharest; US says aid will help Ukraine deal with damage to energy infrastructure
- Russia-Ukraine war at a glance
People should not forget the war in Ukraine this Christmas, the country’s First Lady has said ahead of a speech to British MPs on Tuesday.
Olena Zelenska is expected to address MPs and peers on Tuesday as she visits London, days after Rishi Sunak made his first visit as Prime Minister to Kyiv to meet Ukraine‘s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Zelenska will urge the British public not to forget the “tragedy” of the Russian invasion amid the festive season.
The pace of global shipping activity is set to lose steam next year as economic turmoil, conflict in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic weaken the outlook for trade, UN agency Unctad said on Tuesday.
The world’s largest investment banks expect global economic growth to slow further in 2023 following a year roiled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation.
The slowdown is expected to impact shipping, which transports more than 80% of global trade, although tanker freight rates could stay high.
For the overall 2023-2027 period, growth is predicted at an annual average of 2.1%, a slower rate than the previous three-decade average of 3.3%, UNCTAD said, adding that “downside risks are weighing heavily on this forecast”.
“The recovery in maritime transport and logistics is now at risk from the war in Ukraine, the continued grip of the pandemic, lingering supply-chain constraints, and China’ss cooling economy and zero-Covid policy, along with inflationary pressures and the cost-of-living squeeze,” Unctad said in the report.
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