Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – April 17, 2022

By Ahmet Gencturk

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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 918 populated areas were liberated from Russian forces and 3,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the Russian war in late February

After praising the armed forces’ success on the battlefield, Zelenskyy said economic sanctions are key to bringing a halt to ongoing Russian attacks.

He also said the final document on ending the war with Russia may consist of two separate treaties -- one on security guarantees and another between Kyiv and Moscow.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed Ukraine lost more than 23,000 troops since the beginning of the war. Speaking at a daily news conference in Moscow, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov promised to soon publish documents that were captured from the Ukrainian military and confirm the figures.

Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk called on the Georgian government to join international sanctions against Russia.

Russia announced retaliatory sanctions on 13 current and former UK officials, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. Accordingly, they were banned entering from Russia for "unprecedented hostile action by the British Government, in particular, the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials" for the war on Ukraine.

In a related development, the Scottish government vowed to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime following Moscow’s announcement of a travel ban against British politicians.

Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members who fled to Greece after the 2016 defeated coup in Turkiye, were sent to third countries by Greek authorities, according to Greek daily Ta Nea.

North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and his Bosnian counterpart Bisera Turkovic said common, peaceful and prosperous futures of the two countries lie in EU and NATO membership.

The White House said President Joe Biden plans to nominate Michael Barr to be the next vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve.

Tunisian President Kais Saied decried plans by lawmakers to form a “national salvation” government overseas as a “coup attempt.” On Friday, Riad Al-Shuaibi, a political adviser to Ennahda leader Rashed Ghannouchi, told the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that consultations were underway with the Tunisian opposition to form a national salvation government to get the country out of an ongoing political crisis.

India canceled plans to buy Mi-17 V5 helicopters from Russia to boost its domestic production, according to the India Daily newspaper.