Budapest says Vladimir Putin’s response to calls for peace was “positive, but with conditions” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday that he has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine in Budapest, urging the Russian leader to declare an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing military conflict…

Russia has paid foreign holders of Eurobonds in rubles for the first time after an attempt to settle the $649.2 million payment was rejected by a foreign financial institution under orders from Washington, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday.

The US expanded full blocking sanctions on Wednesday against Russia’s state lender Sberbank and one of the country’s largest private lenders, Alfa Bank. “Today, we’re dramatically escalating the financial shock by imposing full blocking sanctions on Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, and its largest private bank, Alfa Bank,” a senior administration official told reporters.