Russia-Ukraine War: More than 677,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
New Delhi:
Russian forces launch a massive strike on local government headquarters in the centre of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, killing at least 10 people.
Another apparent Russian airstrike on Kyiv‘s main television tower in the capital city’s centre killed five, knocking down state broadcasting.
Residents in Kyiv dig in as satellite images show a Russian military column dozens of miles long bearing down on the city.
In a phone call to US President Joe Biden Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it is important to stop “aggressor” Russia “as soon as possible’.
Zelensky also asked the EU to “prove” it is with Ukraine by accepting it as a member, in a video address to the European Parliament.
“Without you, Ukraine is going to be alone,” he says.
More than 677,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the UN’s refugee agency says, with the number rising rapidly.
Here are the LIVE updates on Ukraine-Russia War:
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, the RIA news agency reported.
Lavrov has said that Russia, which launched what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last week, would face a “real danger” if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons.
Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat said that more people will be evacuated in the next two or three days.
Mr Shekhawat said, “All of you have come with a sad memory to India. Many of you must not have been able to sleep for hours, days… The government working day and night for you…More people to be evacuated in next 2-3 days.”
He further said, “I know that you might not have slept for days before coming to India due to fear. I want to tell you that even the officials and Ministers were worried about your safety.”
Under Operation Ganga, Air India flight 1946 landed in India, carrying 215 students stranded in Ukraine from Bucharest at 9.30 am
Russia is gathering troops closer and closer to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post on Wednesday.
“We are preparing and will defend Kyiv!,” he added. “Kyiv stands and will stand.”
Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday authorities were looking into information about possible Russian rocket or artillery fire on the airport of Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa.
Russia will not allow Ukraine to obtain nuclear weapons, TASS news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Wednesday.
Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine last week in what it called a special operation to demilitarise and “denazify” the country, a justification dismissed by Kyiv and the West as propaganda.
The Kremlin said Russian officials were ready to hold a second round of talks with Ukraine on Wednesday but it was not clear if Ukrainian officials would turn up.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there was contradictory information regarding the talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Russia must stop the bombing of Ukrainian cities before talks could take place.
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has called on Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, his spokesperson wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
“Alexei Navalny has called for people to go out and protest against the war every day at 19:00 and on weekends at 14:00. The main squares of your towns, wherever you are,” spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote.
Navalny’s movement had previously called for a campaign of civil disobedience to protest against Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
Navalny, the most prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was jailed last year after he returned to Russia from Germany following his recovery from what Western laboratory tests established was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in Siberia. Russia denied carrying out such an attack.
European Union diplomats have approved new sanctions against Belarus for its supporting role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an EU senior diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday.
A second official said this week that the aim of new sanctions against Minsk is was stop exports of any further Belarusian goods to the EU, on top of those already subject to sanctions.
Sanctions would also hit oligarchs, the central bank and would cut Belarusian banks off from the SWIFT banking system, the second official had said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Wednesday it was difficult to foresee the scale and depth of Western sanctions the Russian economy in response to Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported.
Western countries have taken unprecedented measures to isolate Russia’s economy and financial system over its invasion of Ukraine, including sanctions on its central bank and the exclusion of some of its lenders from global payments system SWIFT.
The Embassy office in Ukraine is being set up in Lviv, which will enable our Embassy teams to spread out to the border areas of Ukraine with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania: Foreign Secretary pic.twitter.com/sSCbb5wcq6
– PIB India (@PIB_India) March 2, 2022
Athens on Wednesday launched an operation to evacuate Greek diplomats, journalists and other citizens from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol as Russian forces pushed further into the country.
A Greek foreign ministry source said a convoy of cars would head west under Russian assurances of safety, picking up people from other cities including Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.
Spain will supply “military hardware” to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of its pro-Western neighbour, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told parliament on Wednesday.
“I… want to announce to you that Spain will deliver offensive military hardware to the Ukrainian resistance,” Sanchez said.
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed to grant temporary protection to people fleeing war in Ukraine, including a residence permit and access to employment and social welfare.
Designed to deal with mass arrivals of displaced persons in the EU, the new legislation will provide the same level of protection in all member states.
The proposal, which had been previously announced, will be discussed by EU interior ministers on Thursday.
US President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader “has no idea what’s coming”, as Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia, whose invading forces bombarded Ukrainian cities and appeared poised for an advance on Kyiv.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled the fighting since Putin ordered a full-scale invasion nearly a week ago, with a miles-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv readying to advance on the capital.
We are in touch with the Indian authorities for Indians stranded in Kharkiv, and other areas of eastern #Ukraine. We have received India’s requests for emergency evacuation of all those stuck there via Russain territory…: Denis Alipov, Russian Ambassador-designate to India pic.twitter.com/EgmN6LQd52
– ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2022
Belarus said on Wednesday it had stepped up security at its western and southern borders as Russia invades neighbouring Ukraine.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that his country had no plans to join Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and dismissed Kyiv’s allegations that Russian troops were attacking Ukraine from Belarusian territory.
More than 2,500 Chinese nationals in Ukraine have been moved out of the country, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular media briefing on Wednesday.
China has said previously that there were about 6,000 Chinese citizens living in the country.
Amid intensified efforts by the central government to evacuate the thousands of Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine, the pilot of a special SpiceJet flight from Hungary’s Budapest to New Delhi expressed pride in the courage demonstrated by the plane full of passengers and reassured them that they were now safe.
In a video, the pilot is seen making a heartening announcement to all passengers aboard the nine-hour flight.
The Indian Air Force or IAF will not be significantly impacted by United State’s sanctions on Russia and India’s relations with both the countries are strong, Vice Chief Air Marshal Sandeep Singh said today.
“We know the geopolitical situation is difficult (currently)… Our relations with Russia will continue,” Air Marshal Singh said at a press briefing in Delhi.
Russia started its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24. Western nations including the US have imposed major economic and other sanctions on Russia following the offensive.
Italian oil giant Eni said Tuesday it would withdraw from the Blue Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to Turkey, in which it has a 50 percent stake.
“Eni intends to sell its stake” in Blue Stream, a company spokesman said, following moves by rivals BP and Shell to divest from Russia-linked projects after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
The company controls the gas pipeline — which links the two countries via the Black Sea — equally with Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Wednesday the country was set to receive Stinger and Javelin missiles from abroad, as well as another shipment of Turkish drones.
Several Western countries have pledged to supply Ukraine with weapons to fend off a Russian invasion.
US President Joe Biden today said that Russia’s Vladimir Putin will pay over the long run even if he makes gains on the battlefield in Ukraine. Russia has begun targetting civilian areas in Kharkiv, Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Read more
After more than 100 countries spoke during two days of extraordinary debate, the UN General Assembly was poised to vote Wednesday on whether it will vigorously deplore Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demand Moscow withdraw troops immediately.
The vote on the draft resolution is being touted by diplomats as a bellwether of democracy in a world where autocracy is on the rise in countries from Myanmar to Venezuela, and comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces bear down on Kyiv while terrified Ukrainians flee.
The resolution is non-binding, but — if it passes — will serve as a powerful rebuke to Russia on the world stage and a marker of its isolation. The vote must reach a two-thirds threshold to pass.
At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in the last 24 hours, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Wednesday.
The authorities have said Russian missile attacks hit the centre of Ukraine’s second-largest city, including residential areas and the regional administration building.
More than 113,000 Ukrainians have fled to Romania in the first six days since Russia invaded Ukraine by land, sea and air, border police data showed on Wednesday.
They have entered Romania through its four land border checkpoints with Ukraine, but also through its checkpoints with Moldova, data showed. More than half of them have already exited the country on their way to Bulgaria and Hungary.
Over 450,000 people entered Poland from Ukraine since a Russian invasion of the country started last Thursday, Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker told private Radio Zet on Wednesday.
He added that the number of people entering Poland fell slightly on Tuesday to 98,000 from a record number of over 100,000 on Monday.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky today said that he was not iconic, but Ukraine was. The Ukrainian President has emerged as a formidable leader for his spirited defiance in the face of the Russian’s offensive.
Asked about his transition from a comic actor to a wartime leader during a CNN interview, Zelensky said, “It’s very serious, it’s not a movie… I’m not iconic, I think Ukraine is iconic.” Read more
Russia-Ukraine War: Google Blocks Russia State Media From Play App Store In Europe
Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Tuesday that it has blocked mobile apps connected to RT and Sputnik from its Play store, in line with an earlier move to remove the Russian state publishers from its news-related features.
Russia-Ukraine War: Taiwan President To Donate Salary For Ukraine Relief Efforts
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday that she, Vice President William Lai and Premier Su Tseng-chang will each donate one month’s salary to help with humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine.
Days after visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to film scenes for his documentary on Russia’s invasion, Hollywood actor-director Sean Penn found himself among thousands of refugees fleeing to Poland, joining the exodus on foot.
Penn, 61, posted a photo to his Twitter feed on Monday showing the movie star wearing a backpack and toting a piece of luggage on wheels as he trudged along the shoulder of a road beside a line of cars stretching into the distance. Read more
Twitter will comply with the European Union’s sanctions on Russian state-affiliated media RT and Sputnik when the EU order takes effect, the social network said on Tuesday.
“The European Union (EU) sanctions will likely legally require us to withhold certain content in EU member states,” a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, bombing major cities like Kharkiv, CNN journalist Bijan Hosseini has described what he calls his sister’s incredible 108-hour journey to reach Poland, facing “racism”, injuries and sub-zero temperatures.
“During her escape she experienced racism, injuries, freezing temps and sleep deprivation. Her story is only one of the hundreds of thousands of people trying to get out,” he wrote in a Twitter thread posted on Tuesday.
The journalist said his sister is adopted, and from Sierra Leone, and this played a significant role in prolonging her exit. Read more
Accusing his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of waging a “premeditated and unprovoked” war against Ukraine, President Joe Biden in his maiden State of the Union Address said the United States is ready to tackle the challenge posed by him.
“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising,” Biden said addressing the joint session of the Congress in his first State of the Union.
Russian airborne troops landed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Wednesday, the Ukrainian army said, adding that there were immediate clashes.
“Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv… and attacked a local hospital,” the army said in a statement on messaging app Telegram. “There is an ongoing fight between the invaders and the Ukrainians.”
Kharkiv, a largely Russian-speaking city near the Russian border, has a population of around 1.4 million.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress.
Speaking in an interview in a heavily guarded government compound, Zelenskiy urged NATO members to impose a no fly zone to stop the Russian air force, saying this would be a preventative measure and not meant to drag the alliance into war with Russia.
Zelenskiy, who has refused offers to leave the Ukrainian capital as Russian forces advanced, also said Ukraine would demand legally binding security guarantees if NATO shut the door on Ukraine’s membership prospects.
Several dozen Japanese men have answered a Ukrainian call for foreign volunteers to fight Russia’s invasion, according to a media report on Wednesday.
As of Tuesday, 70 Japanese men – including 50 former members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and two veterans of the French Foreign Legion – had applied to be volunteers, the Mainichi Shimbun daily said, quoting a Tokyo company handling the volunteers.
The United States will contribute half of the 60 million barrels of oil International Energy Agency (IEA) countries agreed to release Tuesday to stabilize global markets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden said.
“I can announce the United States has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. America will lead that effort, releasing 30 million barrels of oil,” Biden told members of Congress in his first State of the Union address.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Tuesday her government wanted to boost the country’s military capabilities following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the “general threat level” had increased.
“Sweden’s defensive capabilities need to be strengthened, the rearmament needs to be brought forward,” Andersson said during a televised speech to the nation.
“Sweden should have a strong defence,” she said, announcing they would initiate talks for additional resources. Read more
US President Joe Biden said that Russia would have to pay for the ongoing onslaught in Ukraine. Just hours before his address, Biden held a more than 30 minute phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss further US help in arming Ukraine. Read more
The world has “isolated” Vladimir Putin for sending Russian forces pouring into Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said Tuesday, vowing that devastating sanctions would “sap” Russia’s economic strength and weaken its military.
“Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been,” Biden told members of Congress in his first State of the Union address, adding “he has no idea what’s coming” in terms of economic penalties and punishment.
US credit card giants Visa, Mastercard and American Express said they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“As a result of sanction orders, we have blocked multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network,” Mastercard Chief Executive Michael Miebach said in a statement released Monday night.
“We will continue to work with regulators in the days ahead to abide fully by our compliance obligations as they evolve.”
Visa said on its website that it is “taking prompt action to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions, and is prepared to comply with additional sanctions that may be implemented.”
US President Joe Biden branded his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “dictator” during his State of the Union address Tuesday, one week after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
“A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world,” Biden told Congress.
Russia-Ukraine War: Joe Biden bans Russian aircraft from US airspace
Russian aircraft banned from US airspace, says Joe Biden in State of Union speech
Russia-Ukraine War: World Bank Aid For Ukraine As Russia Steps Up Bombing On Cities: 10 Facts
Facing stiff resistance from Ukraine, Russia has stepped up its attack on its cities. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has sought help from the US, saying it is important to stop the “aggressor” at the earliest. Read ten latest developments here.
#OperationGanga developments.
Six flights have now departed for India in the last 24 hours. Includes the first flights from Poland.
Carried back 1377 more Indian nationals from Ukraine.
– Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 2, 2022
An apparent Russian airstrike aimed at Kyiv’s main television tower killed five people on Tuesday, officials said, knocking out some broadcasts but leaving the structure intact.
After a blast sounded around the city and smoke was seen rising in the Babi Yar district, the emergencies service said five people were also injured in the attack.
Ukrainian officials released footage of charred bodies and cars damaged by the strike, which came during a surge of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv.
“To the world: what is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babi Yar,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky asked in a tweet.
A second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will be held on Wednesday, two days after the first round of negotiations produced no tangible results. As the war rages in Ukraine, an Indian student was killed in Kharkiv in Russian shelling. Read ten latest developments here.
Catholic charity Caritas Poland said it will take in 2,000 children from Ukrainian orphanages, with the first group of 300 arriving on Wednesday.
“Our eastern neighbours are talking about a humanitarian catastrophe that is approaching fast,” Caritas Poland director Marcin Izycki told PAP.
“We have decided to respond to the crisis in Ukraine and provide shelter to the most vulnerable in our country,” he said on Tuesday.
The children will come mainly from orphanages in eastern Ukraine, which has been worst affected by Russia’s assault on the country.
Russia-Ukraine War: Moscow Threatens To Block Russian-Language Wikipedia Over Invasion Article
Russian authorities have threatened to block Wikipedia’s Russian-language site over an article that mentions deaths among Ukrainian civilians as well as the Russian forces that have entered Ukraine, Russian Wikipedia said on Tuesday. In a tweet, it posted a picture of a notification from the Russian communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, informing it of a threat from state prosecutors to block the site over a Russian-language article titled “Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)”.
American aviation giant Boeing on Tuesday announced it was suspending its support for Russian airlines and its operations in Moscow amid a growing backlash to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv,” the Ukrainian capital, a Boeing spokesperson said.
In rare backing for Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday assured Vladimir Putin of his “strong support” in a telephone call, according to a Kremlin statement.
In the call initiated by Caracas, the Venezuelan leader also condemned “destabilizing actions of the United States and NATO” and spoke out against a Western campaign of “lies and disinformation,” it said.