Mariupol may be a “red line” in the path of negotiations

Reuters reported that the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said there had not been any recent diplomatic communications between Russia and Ukraine at the level of their foreign ministries and that the situation in the port of Mariupol, which he described as "dire", may be a "red line" in the path of negotiations.

Russia offered to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Mariupol if they laid down their arms Sunday, however, Reuters reports that ''Ukrainian soldiers resisted a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverized port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the nearly two-month war.''

The offer, made “out of purely humane principles,” gave Ukrainian forces still fighting in the city until 6 a.m. Moscow time (11 p.m. ET) to surrender, according to a statement from the Russian military, reported by the TASS news agency.

Market implications

Traders will be on the lookout for developments surrounding Mariupol which have risk-off implications given the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a “red line” that stops peace efforts.