Poland says sanctions against Russia useless, Ukrainian officials warn of fierce fighting

“I must say clearly that the sanctions we have imposed are not effective. The clearest evidence is the exchange rate of the ruble. The exchange rate of the ruble has risen to the level before the Russian attack.Ukraine“That means all the economic, financial, budgetary and monetary sanctions are not as effective as some leaders would like,” RT quoted Mr. Morawiecki as saying on April 2.

The Polish Prime Minister's statement is completely grounded, because after Western countries imposed a series of sanctions on the Russian economy early last month, the exchange rate of the Ruble to the USD and Euro fell to record lows of 132 and 147 respectively. However, the exchange rate in recent days has reached 85 and 93 respectively, almost reaching the level before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.

The recovery of the value of the ruble is related to a number of economic measures taken by the Central Bank of Russia, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a decree on March 31 forcing “unfriendly” countries to buy Russian gas in rubles.

Ukrainian officials warn of fierce fighting

According to advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Alexey Arestovic, the fighting in the Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine in the coming days will be very fierce.

“Ukrainian troops around Kiev have regained control of 30 towns or villages and are holding the line against Russian troops in the east. We have no illusions that the war will be easy. There are still battles ahead of us in the south, in the port city of Mariupol and in eastern Ukraine,” Arestovic said on April 2, according to Al Jazeera.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said in a Facebook post the same day that the country's military "has regained control over the entire Kiev region." "Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel and the entire Kiev region have been liberated," Maliar wrote.

Mr. Zelensky warns of mine disaster

According to the AP news agency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 2 accused that while withdrawing from the area around the capital Kiev, Russian forces left "mines around houses, military equipment". "We still cannot return to normal life as before, even in the areas we have regained after fierce fighting", he said.

“We still have to wait until the lands are cleared of mines, wait until we can be sure that there are no new mines,” Mr. Zelensky added.

According to the AP news site, they have not been able to confirm the accuracy of Mr. Zelensky's statement.

Ukraine insists there is no war of attrition

“There will be no ‘Afghanization’, nor a protracted conflict that will consume Russia as some expect. Russian troops will leave many areas except those in eastern and southern Ukraine,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky and a member of the Ukrainian delegation, wrote on Twitter on April 2.

“They will try to hold on to those places, install air defense systems and reduce casualties. Without heavy weapons, we will not be able to dislodge them,” Podolyak added.

Tuan Tran