KYIV,DOHA,JERUSALEM (JTN) Ukraine propose referendum
A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has said his region wants a
referendum on reunification with Russia. The head of the self-
proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, Leonid Peshanik, says his
region could soon hold a referendum on whether voters are in favor
of making the region part of Russia. Russia has continued to support
pro-Russian separatists in the Luhansk and adjoining Donetsk
regions since the unrest broke out in 2014. It should be noted that
before the invasion of Ukraine, on February 21, Moscow had
recognized the independence of these two parts from Ukraine.
= Russia’s war could spread unrest around the world, says IMF chief
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that
the impact of the Russian war on the global economy could lead to
civil unrest in the Middle East and other regions. Speaking at the
Doha Forum in Qatar, Kristalina Georgieva said that the world’s poor
were being hit hardest by the economic crisis caused by Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russia. He says
poor countries are facing rising food prices and declining jobs. He
cited the example of the Arab Spring protests in 2011, when the
economic crisis led to violent protests against governments in
several Arab countries.
= The United States has no plans to change the government in Russia
The US State Department has rejected any plan to change the
government in Russia, saying the United States has no plans to
change the government in Russia or elsewhere. In a press
conference on the sidelines of his visit to Jerusalem, Secretary of
State Anthony Blanken made it clear that the United States had no
plans to change the government in Russia or elsewhere. A day
earlier, President Joe Biden had said that Russian President Vladimir
Putin could not stay in power for long. Explaining the US president’s
statement, Anthony Blanken said that the president had simply said
that Vladimir Putin could not be allowed to wage war against
Ukraine.