2022-03-03 08:01:55
Russian forces have taken the Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials confirmed, the first major urban centre to fall since Moscow invaded one week ago.
"The (Russian) occupiers are in all parts of the city and are very dangerous," Gennady Lakhuta, head of the regional administration, wrote on messaging service Telegram late Wednesday.
The strategic port city of 290,000 people near the Black Sea came under siege as Russian forces pressed ahead with their offensive across other urban centres.
Another key Ukrainian port, Berdiansk, has already been seized by Russian troops, while Mariupol has repelled attacks "with dignity," according to that city's mayor, Vadim Boichenko.
Russian forces have also bombarded Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv, prompting comparisons to the massacres of civilians in Sarajevo in the 1990s.
2022-03-03 06:39:34
Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that his country had thwarted Russia's "sneaky" plans, saying he was proud of the "heroic" resistance to Moscow's invasion.
"We are a nation that broke the enemy´s plans in a week. Plans written for years: sneaky, full of hatred for our country, our people," Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram.
2022-03-03 04:52:27
Washington: The World Bank on Wednesday announced it was halting all of its ongoing projects in Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Citing the "hostilities against the people of Ukraine," the development lender said it "has stopped all its programs in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect."
The bank finances infrastructure projects and provides policy advice to members, but "has not approved any new loans to or investments in Russia since 2014. There has also been no new lending approved to Belarus since mid-2020."
2022-03-03 04:21:17
The UN said Wednesday that it had recorded nearly 230 civilian deaths in Ukraine, including 15 children, since Russia's full-scale invasion began, warning that the true toll was likely far higher.
The UN rights office, OHCHR, said it had registered 752 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 227 people killed and 525 people wounded, between February 24, when Russia invaded, and midnight Tuesday.
2022-03-03 01:07:12
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that "demands" Russia "immediately" withdraw from Ukraine, in a powerful rebuke of Moscow's invasion by a vast majority of the world's nations.
After more than two days of extraordinary debate, which saw the Ukrainian ambassador accuse Russia of genocide, 141 out of 193 United Nations member states voted for the non-binding resolution.
2022-03-02 23:50:45
WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday announced more sanctions over Moscow's war against Ukraine, this time targeting Russian ally Belarus and Russia's defense industry.
The White House unveiled "sweeping restrictions on Belarus to choke off its import of technological goods in response to its support" of Russia's war.
It also announced "sanctions that target Russia's defense sector" to "impose significant costs on Russian weapon development and production companies."
2022-03-02 23:38:07
LONDON: Russian businessman Roman Abramovich said on Wednesday he had decided to sell Chelsea Football Club, 19 years after buying the London side, and promised to donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
"I have always taken decisions with the club's best interest at heart," Abramovich said in statement published by the reigning European and world soccer champions on their website.
"In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club's sponsors and partners."
Abramovich said he would not ask for loans he has made to the club — reported to total 1.5 billion pounds ($2.0 billion) — to be repaid to him and the sale would not be fast-tracked.
He said he had told his aides to set up a charitable foundation which would receive all net proceeds from the sale.
2022-03-02 23:06:53
PARIS: Russian President Vladimir Putin has hastened his own downfall with a war in Ukraine that he cannot win, exiled opponent the former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky charged on Tuesday.
Khodorkovsky told France 24 television in an interview from London that Putin´s decision to order an invasion of Ukraine was an "emotional" move by a leader who is increasingly "paranoid".
"It is a suicide. He cannot win in Ukraine, even if they take Kyiv and the (eastern city) of Kharkiv. This is hastening his end."
"The regime will decompose. It will not be rapid, we are talking about one or two years," said Khodorkovsky, adding that the end could come about due to a collapse of the economy.
Khodorkovsky was long Russia's most famous prisoner, jailed from 2003 to 2013 on charges his supporters said were manufactured for his daring to challenge Putin.
But before his arrest, Khodorkovsky had as chief executive of the Yukos oil giant gained first-hand knowledge of Putin through face-to-face meetings.
He argued that before launching the invasion, Putin had been on course to stay in power all his life but had now committed a "historic" error.
2022-03-02 22:38:39
BRUSSELS: EU foreign ministers will hold urgent talks Friday with their counterparts from Ukraine, the US, Britain and Canada as well as NATO's chief on Russia´s invasion, the bloc's foreign policy chief said.
The meeting, announced on Twitter by the EU's Josep Borrell, comes as Western allies send weapons to Ukraine and roll out a barrage of sanctions against Russia over its war on its pro-Western neighbour.
2022-03-02 22:07:30
MOSCOW: Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine and another 1,597 had been wounded since the beginning of Moscow's military operation there, Russia's RIA news agency reported.
It was the first time that Moscow had put a figure on its casualties.
2022-03-02 21:51:30
SOFIA: Bulgaria has given two Russian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country over accusations of spying, Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska said on Wednesday.
Bulgaria, Moscow's closest ally during the Cold War but now a European Union and NATO member state that has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has expelled eight other Russian diplomats over suspected spying since October 2019.
"Two Russian diplomats have been declared persona non grata, after we received a letter from the chief prosecutor," Genchovska told reporters.
Prosecutors on Wednesday accused one Russian diplomat of espionage and said a Bulgarian reserve general was being investigated for handing out information considered to be state secrets to the Russian diplomat. The prosecutors did not provide details of the timing of the events.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bulgaria has stepped up work on probes linked to national security and authorities were assessing whether more Russian diplomats had breached their status, a government spokeswoman said.
The foreign ministry has handed a second note to a representative of the Russian embassy in Sofia to protest against a recent publication seen as offensive to Bulgaria and its Western allies on social media.
In a Feb. 28 Facebook post, the embassy said a number of Russian government websites had been blocked or were displaying incorrectly in Bulgaria, because of "the information aggression by Washington and its Euro-Atlantic henchmen".
2022-03-02 21:04:43
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a ban on Russian oil imports to the United States in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine is not "off the table."
"Nothing is off the table," he told reporters when asked if oil could be the next target of unprecedented US and Western sanctions against Moscow.
The United States, together with EU and other allies, has already imposed sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian currency, commercial banking sector, airlines and other targets.
2022-03-02 21:31:55
WASHINGTON: US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the launch on Wednesday of a task force to pursue "corrupt Russian oligarchs" and violators of sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
"The Justice Department will use all of its authorities to seize the assets of individuals and entities who violate these sanctions," Garland said in a statement announcing the launch of "Task Force KleptoCapture."
"We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue this unjust war," Garland said.
US President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening, warned Russia's billionaires that the task force would "find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments their private jets."
"We are coming for your ill-begotten gains," he said.
2022-03-02 20:39:13
BRUSSELS: The European Union on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 22 senior Belarusian military officers over Minsk's role in aiding Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The six generals and 16 colonels were added to the EU blacklist because "Belarus is participating in a Russian unprovoked invasion against Ukraine by allowing military aggression from its territory," the official sanction document said.
The blacklist bans travel into the bloc and imposes asset freezes.
2022-03-02 20:21:26
BEIJING: Russian and Belarusian athletes were given the all-clear Wednesday to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics, which open this week under the shadow of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged sporting federations across the world to exclude athletes from Russia as well as Belarus, which hosted troops before the invasion.
But on Wednesday the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) held a meeting and posted a brief statement saying athletes from the two countries would be allowed to compete as “neutrals”.
“They will compete under the Paralympic flag and not be included in the medal table,” the committee said.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said it was a difficult time for the world and the Paralympic movement but he urged competitors to treat the “neutral athletes as they would any other athletes”.
“Unlike their respective governments these athletes and officials are not aggressors,” Parsons told reporters in Beijing.
He declined to say whether the IPC would take action against any athletes protesting, saying it would act on a case-by-case basis.
Britain’s Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries took a dim view of the decision.
“I am extremely disappointed in the IPC -- this is the wrong decision and I call on them to urgently reconsider,” she said on Twitter.
“They must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing.”
2022-03-02 19:32:52
WASHINGTON: The United States is "very open" to imposing sanctions on Russia's oil and gas industry as it also weighs the potential market impact, the White House said on Wednesday as global oil prices touched eight-year highs and supply disruptions mounted.
In television interviews, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said while Washington was still considering hitting Moscow's vast energy sector over Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the impact on global oil markets and US energy prices were a key factor.
Asked if Washington and its Western allies would slap energy sanctions on Russia, Psaki told MSNBC: "We’re very open."
"We’re considering it. It’s very much on the table, but we need to weigh what all of the impacts will be," she added.
2022-03-02 19:18:53
BERLIN: Germany on Wednesday took more steps to diversify its energy supplies in a bid to cut dependence on key supplier Russia, announcing a 1.5 billion euro order for non-Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and slowing its exit from coal.
"Pragmatism must trump every political commitment," Economy Minister Robert Habeck told public radio Deutschlandfunk in remarks that would have been unthinkable by a Greens minister a week ago.
"The security of supplies must be safeguarded," he added, addressing fears of blackouts and rationing of gas for heating.
Habeck's comment are the latest sign of how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has upended Germany's planned transition toward carbon neutrality, forcing the government to reconsider its planned nuclear and coal exits.
Russia is the largest supplier of gas to Germany, accounting for 38%, according to data on the Economy Ministry's website. Coal and gas jointly accounted for 43% of Germany's gross power production last year.
As part of its diversification efforts Germany has commissioned its gas market trading hub to buy LNG for 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) from outside Russia, despite Moscow having met all its contracted supply obligations so far, the ministry said on Wednesday.
2022-03-02 18:32:47
LONDON: English Premier League club Everton said Wednesday they were suspending with "immediate effect" sponsorship agreements with three companies in which Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has a stake following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Everyone at Everton remains shocked and saddened by the appalling events unfolding in Ukraine," said a club statement.
"The club can confirm that it has suspended with immediate effect all commercial sponsorship arrangements with the Russian companies USM, Megafon and Yota." Usmanov, an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has a major stake in the three companies.
2022-03-02 18:59:17
KYIV: Ukraine on Wednesday invited the worried mothers of Russian troops captured on the battlefield to come and collect their sons, in an apparent attempt to embarrass Moscow.
"A decision has been taken to hand over captured Russian troops to their mothers if they come to collect them in Ukraine, in Kyiv," the defence ministry said in a statement.
2022-03-02 18:09:06
MADRID: Spain will supply weapons directly to Ukraine following Russia's invasion, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday, two days after saying Madrid would only contribute via an EU funding mechanism.
The move came after pressure on Sanchez's left-wing coalition government to take a more proactive approach to the war raging on Europe's eastern flank.
"Spain will give the Ukrainian resistance offensive military hardware," said Sanchez, without giving specific details on what that would entail.
He previously said Spain would only supply offensive capabilities through the EU's European Peace Facility (EPF), a 450-million-euro ($500 million) funding mechanism activated on Sunday to provide military aid to Ukraine.
2022-03-02 17:33:11
LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said that Britain was pushing UN members meeting in New York to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine.
"We call on every nation to join us in condemning Russia and demanding that Putin turns his tanks around," he told parliament, warning that the Russian leader faces further sanctions if he does not.
2022-03-02 17:14:45
BRUSSELS: The EU on Wednesday excluded seven Russian banks from the global SWIFT network, as sanctions were ratcheted up over Moscow's war on Ukraine.
The seven banks cut out from the secure interbank messaging network that permits transactions are Russia's second-biggest lender VTB Bank as well as Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya Bank, Sovcombank and VEB (Vnesheconombank), effective immediately, according to an official EU publication.
The list did not name two major Russian banks, Sberbank and Gazprombank, which were left connected to SWIFT to allow EU countries to pay for Russian gas and oil deliveries.
2022-03-02 15:44:22
GENEVA: Nearly 836,000 refugees have now fled the conflict in Ukraine for safety in neighbouring countries, United Nations figures showed Wednesday.
In all, 835,928 people have fled the country's borders, the according to the website of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR — a huge jump from the 677,000 announced Tuesday afternoon by agency chief Filippo Grandi. More than half have headed west into Poland.
2022-03-02 16:44:49
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog on Tuesday began an extraordinary meeting to weigh up a draft resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine has four active nuclear power plants, providing about half the country's electricity, as well as stores of nuclear waste such as the one at Chernobyl, and fears linger over the possible consequences should they be damaged in the fighting.
Chernobyl was the site of the worst nuclear accident in history in 1986 and last Thursday the site fell to Russian troops.
"The best action to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine's nuclear facilities and its people would be for this armed conflict to end now," Director General Rafael Grossi told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors meeting.
"It is the first time a military conflict is happening amidst the facilities of a large, established nuclear power programme," he said.
A diplomatic source told AFP that a resolution had been drafted condemning Russia's invasion. Given the current composition of the board of governors, some form of resolution is likely to be approved by a majority of states.
2022-03-02 14:52:11
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.
Peskov also said Moscow needed to formulate a harsh, thought-out and clear response against measures imposed on Western countries to undermine the Russian economy.
2022-03-02 11:06:54
Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O 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.
2022-03-02 08:33:57
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday vowed that Russia's Vladimir Putin will pay over the long run even if he makes gains on the battlefield in Ukraine.
"While he may make gains on the battlefield – he will pay a continuing high price over the long run," Biden said in his State of the Union address.
"He has no idea what's coming," the US president said.
He spoke to Congress on the sixth day of Russia's invasion of its European neighbour and as Kyiv stared down a miles-long armoured Russian column potentially preparing to take over the Ukrainian capital.
2022-03-02 07:18:36
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden sharply criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and led a standing ovation for the embattled Ukrainian people in a State of the Union speech that he rewrote to address Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Let each of us if you're able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world," Biden said.
The lawmakers stood, applauded and roared, many of them waving Ukrainian flags.
2022-03-02 05:36:14
WASHINGTON: The US government is set to announce a ban on Russian flights from American airspace following similar moves by the European Union and Canada, government and industry officials told Reuters.
The precise timing is unclear but is expected within the next 24 hours, the sources said.
Late on Tuesday, United Airlines UAL.O said it has temporarily suspended flying over Russian airspace, joining other major US carriers who have taken the step after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
2022-03-02 04:25:33
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Joe Biden will say on Tuesday that the West was ready for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and his administration is prepared with a plan to fight inflation, according to excerpts of his State of the Union address.
"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 will say, according to excerpts of his address released by the White House.
2022-03-02 02:25:54
KYIV: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called Tuesday for "aggressor" Russia to be stopped as he spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden about Moscow's invasion.
"Just had a conversation with the US President. The American leadership on anti-Russian sanctions and defence assistance to Ukraine was discussed," Zelensky said on Twitter.
2022-03-01 23:50:20
WASHINGTON: The World Bank is pushing for "fast-track" approval of an additional $350 million loan for Ukraine within days, to provide emergency cash for its efforts to defend against Russia's invasion, people familiar with the plans said.
The expansion of an existing loan would provide "budget support" to Ukraine, leaving no restrictions on how President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government can spend it, the sources told Reuters.
One of the sources said the loan may be ready for board consideration as early as the end of this week, while another said next week was also possible, with disbursement coming within days of approval.
They said the plan has strong support on the World Bank's 25-member executive board, despite objections from Russia's executive director. The United States and Western allies control an overwhelming majority of the development lender's voting shares.
The move to quickly wire cash to Ukraine has taken on greater urgency at the World Bank since Russia invaded the country last week. World Bank President David Malpass told Zelenskiy in Munich on Febraury 19 that the organization was preparing a $350 million disbursement by the end of March, followed by other financing projects.
2022-03-01 23:34:59
ANKARA: Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Tuesday that Ukrainian and Russian delegations were unlikely to meet for planned talks on Wednesday, adding Moscow's demands to end its invasion were "unrealistic".
"They will most likely not meet (on Wednesday)," Kalin told broadcaster CNN Turk. "It will most likely be postponed a couple of days, we are in touch with the negotiating teams," he said, adding he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would end the assault by realising the economic damage it causes to Russia.
2022-03-01 22:59:20
PARIS: The International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday that member countries had agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to stabilise the market after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The decision — taken by 31 member countries of the IEA's governing board — aims to "send a unified and strong message to global oil markets that there will be no shortfall in supplies" as a result of the Ukraine conflict, it said in a statement.
2022-03-01 22:32:54
BRUSSELS: NATO foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in Brussels on Friday over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the alliance said in a statement.
NATO allies have rushed to bolster their eastern flank after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack, but remain adamant that they will not get involved militarily in the war in non-NATO member Ukraine.
2022-03-01 22:21:51
WASHINGTON: The United States vowed on Tuesday to release 30 million barrels of oil as part of a global 60 million barrel pledge in an effort to shore up energy markets amid the ongoing Russia invasion of Ukraine, and said it could take further steps as needed.
"We are prepared to use every tool available to us to limit disruption to global energy supply as a result of (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin's actions," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
"We will also continue our efforts to accelerate diversification of energy supplies away from Russia and to secure the world from Moscow's weaponization of oil and gas," the statement added.
The United States and 30 member countries of the International Energy Agency agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilize global energy markets, the US Department of Energy said in a separate statement.
"We stand prepared to take additional measures if conditions warrant," US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
2022-03-01 21:43:44
LVIV: An attack by Russian forces on a television tower in Kyiv killed five people, the Ukrainian emergency services said on Tuesday in a statement on television.
2022-03-01 21:00:47
BRUSSELS: European Union finance ministers will discuss the economic impact of the war in Ukraine on Wednesday and seek to coordinate to minimise the fallout from the crisis, EU officials said.
The video conference, due to start at 1400 GMT, will focus on consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the national and EU level.
The ministers will look at the impact of EU sanctions and Russia's response, including the overall affect on energy prices and inflation.
"The ministers will discuss how to coordinate to mitigate all that," the official said.
2022-03-01 21:15:26
LONDON: Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) are ready to tap their oil reserves further if needed, Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda told reporters on Tuesday.
Ministers belonging to Paris-based group agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil to cool prices in the wake of a rally stoked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The share of each country in the agreed release was expected to be determined in the coming days, the minister added.
2022-03-01 21:05:09
BRUSSELS: European Union finance ministers will discuss the economic impact of the war in Ukraine on Wednesday and seek to coordinate to minimise the fallout from the crisis, EU officials said.
The video conference, due to start at 1400 GMT, will focus on consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the national and EU level.
The ministers will look at the impact of EU sanctions and Russia's response, including the overall affect on energy prices and inflation.
"The ministers will discuss how to coordinate to mitigate all that," the official said.
There are unlikely to be written conclusions because the ministers had addressed the issue in statements last week after a meeting in Paris, officials said, although the situation had evolved since then with additional sanctions, including against the Russian central bank.
2022-03-01 20:48:29
Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States has accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations.
The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
2022-03-01 20:03:49
GENEVA: If Russian President Vladimir Putin achieves his goal of ousting the government in Kyiv, the humanitarian and rights crises in Ukraine "will only get worse", the top US diplomat warned Tuesday.
"If President Putin succeeds in his stated goal of toppling Ukraine's democratically-elected government, the human rights and humanitarian crises will only get worse," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the UN Human Rights Council in a video address.
2022-03-01 19:14:37
MOSCOW: Russian troops will carry out an attack on the infrastructure of Ukraine's security services in Kyiv and urged residents living nearby to leave, the defence ministry said Tuesday
"We call on... Kyiv residents living near relay nodes to leave their homes," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
2022-03-01 18:58:56
2022-03-01 18:40:00
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Kyiv was recalling ambassadors from fellow ex-Soviet republics Kyrgyzstan and Georgia over their government's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We are recalling for consultations our ambassador from Kyrgyzstan over a justification of the aggression against Ukraine," he said in a video on Facebook.
"We are recalling our ambassador from Georgia, over the obstacles created to the volunteers who want to help us and over the immoral position on sanctions."
2022-03-01 18:26:08
HONG KONG: Senior Chinese Diplomat Wang Yi spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday, Chinese state television CCTV reported.
2022-03-01 17:58:42
LONDON/COPENHAGEN: The world's two biggest container lines on Tuesday temporarily suspended cargo shipments to and from Russia in response to Western sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, in a further blow to trade with the country.
Swiss headquartered MSC, the world's biggest container shipping company by capacity, said in a customer advisory that as of March 1 it had introduced "a temporary stoppage on all cargo bookings to/from Russia, covering all access areas including Baltics, Black Sea and Far East Russia”.
"MSC will continue to accept and screen bookings for delivery of essential goods such as food, medical equipment and humanitarian goods," it said.
Denmark's Maersk said separately it would temporarily halt all container shipping to and from Russia, also adding that the suspension covering all Russian ports, would not include foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies.
2022-03-01 17:44:55
BRUSSELS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the European Union on Tuesday to prove that it sided with Ukraine in its war with Russia, one day after signing an official request to join the bloc.
"We are fighting to be equal members of Europe," Zelenskiy told an emergency session of the European Parliament via video-link.
"Do prove that you are with us. Do prove that you will not let us go. Do prove that you are indeed Europeans and then life will win over death and light will win over darkness," he said in Ukrainian in a speech translated to English by an interpreter talking through tears, as emotion gripped the parliament.
EU lawmakers, many wearing #standwithUkraine T-shirts bearing the Ukrainian flag, others with blue-and-yellow scarves or ribbons, gave Zelenskiy a standing ovation.
"The EU will be much stronger with us. Without you, Ukraine will be lonesome," Zelenskiy said, with Kyiv likely well aware that Ukraine's membership bid will be long and difficult. Read full story
2022-03-01 17:30:27
LONDON: The UK government is open to ejecting Russia as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council following the invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said Tuesday.
"The prime minister hasn't set out any position on that," he told reporters.
"What is right to say is that we want to see Russia isolated diplomatically, and we will consider all options to achieve that."
2022-03-01 17:00:08
BRUSSELS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called in a live video address to the European Parliament for the EU to "prove" it is with Ukraine as it resists Russia's invasion.
"Without you, Ukraine is going to be alone. We have proven our strength. We have proven that, at a minimum, we are exactly the same as you are. So do prove you are with us, do prove that you will not let us go," Zelensky said.
2022-03-01 17:23:17
KYIV: Russian shelling on Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv killed at least 10 people and left many more injured on Tuesday, emergency services said, in an attack that targeted the central square and the main administration building.
"At least 10 people were killed and more than 20 were injured," the regional emergency services said in a statement, adding that 10 people had been discovered alive under rubble as rescue workers cleared debris.
2022-03-01 16:46:23
MOSCOW: Russia will impose temporary curbs on foreign investors seeking to exit Russian assets to ensure they take a considered decision not one driven by political pressure, the prime minister said on Tuesday, as Moscow responds to Western sanctions.
"In the current sanction situation foreign entrepreneurs are forced to be guided, not by economic factors, but to make decisions under political pressure," Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told a governmental meeting.
"In order to give business a chance to make a considered decision, a presidential order was prepared to impose temporary curbs on exit from Russian assets," he said.
2022-03-01 15:47:13
LVIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Russian artillery attacks on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv amounted to state terrorism and called on the international community to recognise it as such.
"The terror aims to break us, to break our resistance," he said in a video address shared on social media describing Kyiv and Kharkiv as Russia's main targets.
2022-03-01 15:59:13
WARSAW: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned about the growing humanitarian crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday, saying refugee numbers could run into millions as people flee their homes.
"When I spoke to (US) President Biden last night, we focussed on the humanitarian emergency that is now beginning. Putin's invasion has already cost hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, and we must prepare for an even larger outflow, perhaps in the millions," Johnson said from Warsaw.
"The UK will provide up to 220 million pounds ($294.69 million) in emergency and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. I have placed 1,000 troops on standby to help the humanitarian response in neighbouring countries including Poland," he added.
2022-03-01 16:00:39
KUALA LUMPUR: Linda, a Russian-flagged crude oil tanker targeted by U.S. sanctions, will not be allowed to call at Malaysia's Kuala Linggi port, the country's transport ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry in a statement said the port's operator had made the decision to decline the ship's intention to dock to avoid violating any sanctions. The vessel had been scheduled to arrive at the weekend.
2022-03-01 16:28:11
LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday it had passed a law that would ban all ships that have any connection to Russia from entering its ports.
Britain had said on Monday that it wanted all ports to refuse entry to ships that were Russian flagged, registered or controlled while it drew up new legislation.
"We've just become the first nation to pass a law involving a total ban of all ships with any Russian connection whatsoever from entering British ports," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter.
2022-03-01 13:05:52
Britain's deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday that "nothing was off the table" when asked whether sanctions could be imposed on Russian oil and gas supplies.
Asked if western countries should go further in terms of the supply of oil and gas, Raab told BBC TV: "Yes I think we will look at that very carefully ... As we take action to starve the Russian war machine, there is nothing that is off the table.”
Western countries have already imposed massive financial sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week.
2022-03-01 13:03:44
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that the Ukraine is "victim of the crises created by the United States".
Iran's top political authority also said his country supports the end to the war in Ukraine, but added that the roots of the conflict must be acknowledged.
Khamenei, who spoke in a televised speech, said the Ukraine crisis showed that "the United States cannot be trusted."
2022-03-01 12:34:51
Global supply chains, already hit hard by the pandemic, are facing further disruption and cost inflation as airspace closures after Russia's invasion of Ukraine affect the air freight industry.
Transport between Europe and north Asian destinations like Japan, South Korea and China has become particularly problematic due to reciprocal airspace bans that bar European carriers from flying over Siberia and Russia airlines from flying to Europe.
Airlines responsible for moving around 20% of the world's air cargo are affected by those bans, Frederic Horst, managing director of Cargo Facts Consulting, told Reuters on Tuesday.
2022-03-01 10:09:21
Moscow faced increasing isolation on Tuesday as President Vladimir Putin showed no sign of stopping an invasion of Ukraine, where fierce fighting and Russian bombardment have killed dozens and sparked a refugee crisis.
Russia's invasion, launched last week, appears not to have achieved the decisive early gains that Putin would have hoped for.
The Russian leader faces mounting diplomatic isolation for launching the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two,and the systemic impact of Western sanctions led to a near 30% collapse in the rouble on Monday before central bank intervention rescued the currency from its lows.
2022-03-01 08:24:57
A member of the Ukrainian delegation at ceasefire talks with Russia on Monday said the negotiations were difficult and the Russian side was biased.
"The Russian side, unfortunately, still has a very biased view of the destructive processes it has launched," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter after attending the talks near the Belarusian border.
2022-03-01 06:41:27
WASHINGTON: Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States on Monday accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations.
2022-03-01 05:04:40
President Joe Biden said on Monday Americans should not worry about a nuclear war after Moscow put its nuclear deterrent on high alert amid a barrage of Western reprisals over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
2022-03-01 03:31:11
PARIS: Russia has been expelled from the World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions "until further notice", FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement on Monday, while European football's governing body also ended its partnership with Russian energy giant Gazprom.
2022-03-01 00:59:44
The United States has ordered 12 Russian diplomats at the United Nations to leave by March 7, Moscow's envoy to the international organization told reporters on Monday.
2022-02-28 23:28:25
LVIV: Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov appealed directly to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine on Monday, saying they would receive full amnesty and monetary compensation if they voluntarily laid down their weapons.
"Those of you who do not want to become a murderer and die can save yourselves," he said in a post on social media.
2022-02-28 23:21:10
UNITED NATIONS: The 193-member United Nations General Assembly began meeting on the crisis in Ukraine on Monday ahead of a vote this week to isolate Russia by deploring its "aggression against Ukraine" and demanding Russian troops stop fighting and withdraw.
The General Assembly will vote this week on a draft resolution similar to a text vetoed by Russia in the 15-member Security Council on Friday. No country has a veto in the General Assembly and Western diplomats expect the resolution, which needs two-thirds support, to be adopted.
While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they carry political weight. The United States and allies see action at the United Nations as a chance to show that Russia is isolated because of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
The draft resolution already has at least 80 co-sponsors, diplomats said on Monday. More than 100 countries are due to speak before the General Assembly votes.
2022-02-28 22:56:34
LONDON: Britain's media regulator on Monday launched 15 investigations into the output of Russian-backed television channel RT over the impartiality of its coverage of the invasion of Ukraine.
Ofcom expects any media organisation with a licence to broadcast in Britain to provide a significant range of voices to maintain impartiality.
The European Union on Sunday proposed banning RT and news agency Sputnik to prevent what it said was Russian propaganda. But Britain has warned that that approach could lead to a reciprocal ban by Moscow against the BBC and others.
"Given the serious on-going situation in Ukraine, we will be concluding our investigations into RT as a matter of urgency," said Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's Chief Executive.
2022-02-28 22:38:49
MANCHESTER: UEFA have cancelled their sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom, a source close to European football's governing body told Reuters on Monday.
The sponsorship deal has been in place since 2012 and has been reported to be worth around 40 million euros per season.
2022-02-28 21:40:25
MOSCOW: Russia complained on Monday to the US ambassador to Moscow over what it described as "hostile" protests near its diplomatic facilities in the United States and told Washington to ensure the safety of its staff, Russia's foreign ministry said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked anger across much of the Western world.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comments to US ambassador John Sullivan at a meeting in Moscow. They also discussed other bilateral issues, the foreign ministry said.
2022-02-28 21:16:09
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners on Monday morning after President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert in the face of a barrage of Western reprisals over the war on Ukraine.
The United States said the Russian president was escalating the war with "dangerous rhetoric." White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Putin has displayed a pattern of "manufacturing threats" that don't exist in order to justify further aggression.
The call will be held at 11:15am ET (1615 GMT).
2022-02-28 20:54:44
BERLIN: Germany aims to speed up wind and solar energy projects, the economy ministry said on Monday, as the war in Ukraine underscores the need to reduce reliance on Russian gas.
The country, which uses gas to heat half of its households, also announced plans to ensure the country's gas storage facilities are full at the beginning of winter, irrespective of operator interests, the ministry said. Read full story
Cutting back on Russian gas - which accounts for half of German imports - will be tricky for Europe's largest economy as it is already set to exit nuclear power this year and coal-fired energy by 2030 to help it reach climate change targets.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a leading member of the Greens party, noted that Germany needed to take a range of steps, including diversifying its sources of imports.
"We need to admit that in the past we have been too reliant on Russian imports," Habeck told journalists ahead of a European Union meeting in Brussels.
2022-02-28 19:04:10
WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday blocked Americans from engaging in any transactions involving Russia's central bank, National Wealth Fund and finance ministry in further punishment of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The fierce economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies on Russia's central bank and other key sources of wealth are likely to drive Russian inflation higher, cripple its purchasing power and drive down investments, US officials said on Monday as the new measures took effect.
The move comes after the United States and its allies last week imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting Moscow, including against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's largest lenders, after the country's forces invaded Ukraine.
"This is a vicious feedback loop that's triggered by Putin's own choices and accelerated by his own aggression," a senior US administration official said.
2022-02-28 18:51:39
LVIV, Ukraine: Ukraine's energy minister appealed on Monday to the European Union to integrate Ukraine into the ENTSO-E electricity transmission network, saying the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant Ukraine no longer would buy power from Belarus or Russia.
"We have proved the seriousness of our intentions to integrate with the European system, even in this difficult time of war," Herman Halushchenko said in a statement.
"Despite military aggression by Russia, rocket attacks, attacks on critical infrastructure, the Ukrainian power system, working autonomously, has proven its reliability and security of electricity supply to consumers."
2022-02-28 18:16:24
HELSINKI: Finland's Neste has replaced most of its Russian crude oil purchases with other crudes such as North Sea oil due to crisis in Ukraine, the company said on Monday.
Previously the Finnish refiner purchased from Russia some two thirds of the crude oil it uses.
"In case of eventual gas disruptions Neste can partially use alternative fuels and optimise our production according to the situation," an executive in charge of Neste's oil products business, Markku Korvenranta, told Reuters by email, adding the company was able to deliver products to its customers normally at the moment.
2022-02-28 17:45:55
ANKARA: FTurkey's pledge to block some Russian warships from passing through its waters to the Black Sea during the Ukraine crisis could help repair its ties with NATO, even as it risks reprisals from Moscow.
But a buildup of Russian ships waiting to make the journey will test Ankara's resolve over the next few days and show how far it is willing to go in tilting its uniquely delicate diplomatic balance between east and west.
That could curb Moscow's ability to build up its naval force attacking Ukraine's Black Sea Coast, though it all depends on the small print in the 1936 Montreux Convention.
2022-02-28 16:40:59
KYIV/MOSCOW: Talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began on the Belarusian border on Monday, Moscow said, as Russia's diplomatic and economic isolation deepens four days after invading Ukraine, the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
Talks began with the aim of an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces, the Ukrainian president's office said, read more after a Russian advance that has gone more slowly than some expected.
It was not clear whether any progress could be achieved after President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched the assault and put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday.
The talks are being held on the border with strong Russian ally Belarus, where a referendum on Sunday approved a new constitution ditching the country's non-nuclear status at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a launch pad for Russian troops invading Ukraine.
2022-02-28 16:38:08
LONDON: Ukraine's government has raised cryptocurrency worth almost $13 million after posting appeals on social media for donations of bitcoin and other digital tokens, data from blockchain analysis firm Elliptic showed on Monday.
Ukraine's official Twitter account made the appeal for cryptocurrency donations on Saturday following the country's invasion by Russia, posting digital wallets addresses for tokens including bitcoin and ether.
Ukraine's Vice-Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted the wallet addresses. "Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations," wrote Fedorov, who is also minister of digital transformation.
2022-02-28 15:05:26
Talks between Ukraine and Russia have started at the Belarussian border, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters via text message on Monday.
Earlier the Ukrainian president's office said Ukraine's goal for the talks was an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.
2022-02-28 15:01:27
At least 102 civilians in Ukraine have been killed since Russia launched its invasion last Thursday, with a further 304 injured, but the real figure is feared to be "considerably higher", UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday.
Bachelet, addressing the opening session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, said: "Most of these civilians were killed by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and air strikes.
2022-02-28 14:57:27
NATO partners are providing Ukraine with air-defence missiles and anti-tank weapons, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a tweet on Monday, adding that he had held another phone conversation with Ukraine's president earlier.
2022-02-28 13:10:16
China's foreign ministry on Monday reiterated its opposition to the use of what it calls illegal and unilateral sanctions, after western countries moved to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was speaking at a regular daily news briefing.
2022-02-28 10:39:33
US President Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners Monday morning at 11:15 a.m. ET (16:15 GMT) to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia's attack on Ukraine and to coordinate a united response, according to the White House.
2022-02-28 10:35:39
Meta Platforms FB.O said a hacking group used Facebook to target a handful of public figures in Ukraine, including prominent military officials, politicians and a journalist, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country.
Meta said in the last 48 hours it had also separately removed a network of about 40 fake accounts, groups and pages across Facebook and Instagram that operated from Russia and Ukraine targeting people in Ukraine, for violating its rules against coordinated inauthentic behavior.
2022-02-28 07:49:30
Blasts were heard in Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv on Monday morning, Ukraine's State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection said.
Kyiv had been quiet for a few hours prior to that, it said in a brief statement on the Telegram messaging app.
2022-02-28 04:18:13
The United Nations Security Council voted Sunday to hold a rare emergency special session of the General Assembly to discuss Russia's attack on Ukraine.
The meeting will be convened on Monday, and is set to give all 193 members of the global body the opportunity to express their views on the invasion.
Russia voted against the resolution, but under UN regulations it did not have veto power to derail the referral of the war to the General Assembly.
2022-02-28 01:48:55
BRUSSLES: EU countries will send "fighter jets" to Ukraine at Kyiv's request to help it counter the Russian air and land assault, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday.
"We're going to provide even fighting jets. We're not talking about just ammunition. We are providing more important arms to go to a war," he told a press conference.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told the EU "they need the kind of fighting jets that the Ukrainian army is able to operate. some member states have these kinds of planes," Borrell said.
2022-02-28 00:01:45
UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations spokesman said Sunday that the idea of a nuclear war was unimaginable, after Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country´s nuclear forces on high alert.
"The mere idea of a nuclear conflict is simply inconceivable," Stephane Dujarric told AFP when asked for the reaction of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Putin's move as part of the Ukraine crisis.
2022-02-27 23:25:39
BRUSSELS: Russia's war on Ukraine is displacing "over seven million people", the EU commissioner for crisis management said Sunday.
"We are witnessing what could become the largest humanitarian crisis on our European continent in many, many years," Janez Lenarcic told a media conference after a meeting of EU interior ministers focused on the refugee flow out of Ukraine.
"Currently, the expected number of displaced Ukrainians is over seven million people," he said, but cautioned he was giving only "rough estimates" from the UN because fighting prevented accurate counting.
He added that, according to the UN, if the war continued, "there will be around 18 million Ukrainians that will be affected in humanitarian terms, be it in Ukraine proper, or in the neighbouring countries".
2022-02-27 22:47:30
Protestors take part in a demonstration against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on February 27, 2022, at the Venceslas square in Prague, Czech Republic — Michal Cizek / AFP
2022-02-27 22:51:56
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday called a meeting of its governing body to discuss the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, days after Moscow's troops took control of the Chernobyl site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement that the meeting of its board of governors would be held at 11 am (1000 GMT) on Wednesday at its Vienna headquarters.
Ukraine has four active nuclear power plants, as well as stores of nuclear waste such as the one at Chernobyl, and there have been fears over the possible consequences should they be damaged in the fighting.
Chernobyl was the site of the worst nuclear accident in history in 1986 and on Thursday the site fell to Russian troops.
2022-02-27 22:36:39
KYIV: Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he was willing to "try" talks with Russia but was sceptical, as Kyiv and Moscow prepare to meet at Ukraine's border with Belarus on the fourth day of Russia's invasion.
"I will be honest, as always: I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try," Zelensky said in a video address. He added that if there was a "chance" to end war, he should take part in the talks.
Zelensky issued the video after speaking with Belarus leader and Moscow ally Alexander Lukashenko.
Russian troops have attacked Ukraine from many directions, including from Belarusian territory, after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in the early hours of Thursday.
Kyiv has refused to hold talks in Belarus — where Moscow wants to meet — saying the country was acting as a launchpad for the invasion.
2022-02-27 22:06:30
MOSCOW: The Russian army on Sunday admitted that there were "killed and injured" soldiers among its troops in Ukraine on the fourth day of its invasion of the country, without specifying how many Russians had died there.
"Russian servicemen are showing courage and heroism while fulfilling combat tasks in the special military operation. Unfortunately, there are killed and injured among our comrades," Moscow's army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on state television.
2022-02-27 21:44:26
COPENHAGEN: The World Health Organization on Sunday called for a safe corridor through Poland to deliver critical medical aid to Ukraine and warned that hospital oxygen supplies in the country were dangerously low.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Europe regional director Hans Kluge said oxygen supplies were "nearing a very dangerous point" and that most hospitals could exhaust their reserves within the next 24 hours, putting thousands of lives at risk.
The WHO is working to deliver oxygen cylinders and liquid from regional networks, they said, adding that the supplies would need "safe transit, including via a logistics corridor through Poland".
"It is imperative to ensure that life-saving medical supplies — including oxygen — reach those who need them," they said in a joint statement as Moscow's incursion into its neighbour reached its fourth day.
The disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prevented trucks from transporting oxygen from plants to hospitals, which have also suffered power shortages.
2022-02-27 21:24:37
BERLIN: Germany advises its citizens against travelling to Russia, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine enters day four.
The ministry said the use of non-Russian credit cards in Russia was currently limited.
2022-02-27 21:22:08
Canada has closed its airspace to all Russian carriers in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ottawa announced Sunday.
"We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine," Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Twitter.
The closure, effective immediately, aligns Canada with the vast majority of European countries.
While there had been no direct flights between Canadian and Russian airports, the decision by the world´s second-largest country — Russia is the largest — could seriously complicate flights by Russian carrier Aeroflot to or from the US, as well as to other countries to the south.
2022-02-27 20:55:03
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Sunday that it was calling an extraordinary meeting of its board of governors next week "to discuss the current situation in Ukraine".
The meeting will begin at 11 am (1000 GMT) on Wednesday at the IAEA´s Vienna headquarters, the agency said in a statement.
It said Director General Rafael Grossi "is actively in contact with all involved to ensure the safety and security of nuclear facilities and material in Ukraine".
Ukraine has four active nuclear power plants, as well as stores of nuclear waste such as the one at Chernobyl.
2022-02-27 20:47:52
President Vladimir Putin's nuclear forces alert represents a "totally unacceptable" escalation of the invasion of Ukraine, the United States said Sunday as it accused the Russian leader of fabricating threats to justify "further aggression."
"This is a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC when asked about the announcement from Moscow.
2022-02-27 20:48:56
ISTANBUL: NATO member Turkey changed its rhetoric to call Russia's assault on Ukraine a "war" on Sunday and pledged to implement parts of an international pact that would potentially limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Kyiv had appealed to Ankara to block any more Russian ships from entering the Black Sea, from which Moscow launched an incursion on Ukraine's southern coast. At least six Russian warships and a submarine transited Turkey's straits this month.
"It is not a couple of air strikes now, the situation in Ukraine is officially a war... We will implement the Montreux Convention," Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, said in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk.
2022-02-27 20:11:51
Ukraine's foreign minister said Sunday that Kyiv would not buckle at talks with Russia over its invasion, accusing President Vladimir Putin of seeking to increase "pressure" by ordering his nuclear forces on high alert.
"We will not surrender, we will not capitulate, we will not give up a single inch of our territory," Dmytro Kuleba said at a press conference broadcast online.
2022-02-27 19:20:49
KYIV: Ukraine said Sunday it would hold talks with Russia at its border with Belarus — near the Chernobyl exclusion zone — after a call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko.
"The politicians agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet the Russian one without preconditions at the Ukraine-Belarus border, near the Pripyat River," Zelensky's office said.
Zelensky has said he will not hold talks with Russia on the territory of Belarus, where some Russian troops were stationed before invading on Ukraine´s northern border.
But Kyiv said Lukashenko assured Zelensky that "all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarus territory will remain on the ground during the travel, negotiations and return of the Ukrainian delegation".
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a Russian delegation was currently in the Belarusian city of Gomel.
Moscow has wanted to hold the talks in Kremlin-aligned Belarus.
2022-02-27 19:30:34
MADRID: Spain said Sunday it was closing its airspace to Russian carriers, following similar moves by several European nations over Moscow´s invasion of Ukraine.
"Spain will proceed to close its airspace to Russian airlines," the transport ministry said on Twitter, adding that it was following the "cooperation guidelines set by the European Union".
2022-02-27 19:44:00
WASHINGTON: The United States charged Sunday that President Vladimir Putin is "manufacturing threats" as he placed Russian nuclear deterrence forces on high alert amid the Ukraine crisis.
"This is a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC when asked about the announcement from Moscow.
2022-02-27 18:53:02
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his defence chiefs to put the country's nuclear "deterrence forces" on high alert Sunday and accused the West of taking "unfriendly" steps against his country.
International tensions are already soaring over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Putin's order will cause further alarm.
Moscow has the world's second-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons and a huge cache of ballistic missiles which form the backbone of the country's deterrence forces.
"I order the defence minister and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into a special mode of combat service," Putin said.
"You see that Western countries are not only unfriendly to our country in the economic sphere — I mean illegitimate sanctions," he added, in a televised address.
2022-02-27 18:51:42
WASHINGTON: The United States said Sunday it is sending nearly $54 million in new humanitarian aid to Ukraine as it grapples with the Russian invasion.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is focused on Ukraine's "urgent humanitarian needs as an important part of our response to Russia's premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack."
This new assistance to be channelled through NGOs includes "provision of food, safe drinking water, shelter, emergency health care, winterization and protection," Blinken said in a statement.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says that since Russia first attacked Thursday, more than 368,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, while over 160,000 are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine.
Blinken said the new assistance will also help aid groups maintain contact between family members who have been separated by the war, "hopefully leading to reunification in some cases."
2022-02-27 18:05:53
MOSCOW: Russia's state communications regulator on Sunday said it had written to Alphabet Google and demanded that access to Russian media's YouTube channels be restored on Ukrainian territory.
The regulator, Roskomnadzor, said it wanted all restrictions imposed on the Russian-language YouTube channels of media outlets RBC, TV Zvezda and Sputnik to be removed.
Moscow on Friday said it was partially limiting access to Meta Platforms Facebook, accusing it of "censoring" Russian media.
2022-02-27 17:51:25
PARIS: France on Sunday announced it would follow other European countries in shutting its airspace to Russian aircraft to punish the country for invading Ukraine, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in a tweet.
"France is shutting its airspace to all Russian aircraft and airlines from this evening on", said Djebbari.
2022-02-27 17:42:54
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Ukrainian authorities of wasting "an opportunity" to hold talks after Moscow's invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.
The Kremlin said that Putin had briefed Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about "the course of a special military operation to protect Donbas."
During the call, he "also noted that the Russian delegation is in the Belarus city of Gomel and is ready for negotiations with representatives of Kyiv, who, showing inconsistency, have not yet taken advantage of this opportunity".
2022-02-27 17:02:21
BERLIN: Germany will make good on plans to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and up its natural gas reserves to cut its dependence on Russian gas after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday.
"We will do more to ensure secure energy supply for our country," he told lawmakers in a special Bundestag session called to address the Ukraine crisis.
"We must change course to overcome our dependence on imports from individual energy suppliers."
Germany has been under pressure from other Western nations to become less dependent on Russian gas, but its plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and to shut its nuclear power plants have left it with few options.
2022-02-27 16:22:34
KYIV: Russian troops have entered Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and fighting was under way on Sunday, the head of the regional administration said on the fourth day of Moscow's invasion of the pro-Western country.
"The Russian enemy's light vehicles broke into the city of Kharkiv," Oleg Sinegubov said in a Facebook post, urging residents not to leave shelters.
"The Ukrainian armed forces are eliminating the enemy."
While fighting raged in Kharkiv, the city administration in Kyiv, 400 kilometres (250 miles) to the west, said the capital remained completely under the control of Ukrainian forces despite clashes with "sabotage groups".
The Russian defence ministry claimed on Sunday that its troops had besieged the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and the city of Berdyansk in the southeast.
2022-02-27 15:45:47
MOSCOW: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko called on Kyiv on Sunday to sit down and hold talks with Russia so that Ukraine does not lose its statehood, Russia's RIA news agency reported.
Russia said on Sunday its delegation was ready to meet Ukrainian counterparts in the Belarusian city of Gomel, but Kyiv said Belarus was complicit in the Russian invasion and could not be regarded as a neutral intermediary.
2022-02-27 15:40:53
ZURICH: At least 64 civilians have been killed and more than 160,000 are on the move after Russian troops entered Ukraine this week, a United Nations relief agency said.
"As of 5:00 p.m. on 26 February, (U.N. human rights office) OHCHR reports at least 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 dead," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a status report,
It added the actual figures were likely to be "considerably higher".
Damage to civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity or water. Hundreds of homes had been damaged or destroyed, while bridges and roads hit by shelling had left some communities cut off from markets, it said.
It cited the U.N. refugee agency as saying more than 160,000 people had been internally displaced and more than 116,000 forced to flee into neighbouring countries.
"U.N. agencies and humanitarian partners have been forced to suspend operations due to the deteriorating security situation," OCHA said.
"The U.N. and its partners maintain their presence across the country and remain committed to staying on the ground and responding to growing humanitarian needs and protection risks once the situation permits."
2022-02-27 15:28:27
Paris: Russian president Vladimir Putin has been suspended as honorary president of the International Judo Federation (IJF) due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the sport's governing body announced on Sunday.
The conflict has entered a fourth day with Moscow ordering its troops to advance in Ukraine "from all directions", while the West responded late Saturday with sanctions that sought to cripple Russia's banking sector.
Ukrainian officials said 198 civilians, including three children, had been killed since Russia invaded early Thursday.
"In light of the ongoing war... in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr. Vladimir Putin's status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation," read the IJF statement.
Putin, an accomplished judoka who was awarded an eighth dan in 2014 -- one of the highest levels in the sport, has been honorary president since 2008.
IJF president Marius Vizer lauded him back in 2014 as "the perfect ambassador for our sport".
'In light of the ongoing war.. in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr. Vladimir Putin's status as Honorary President,' the IJF has said
Putin has made much of his fondness for keeping fit with judo and ice hockey.
Putin's suspension comes on the back of a range of sporting punishments for Russia.
European football's governing body UEFA stripped Saint Petersburg of the hosting of the May 28 Champions League final -- their most prestigious club competition -- and Formula One cancelled the Russian Grand Prix scheduled for September 25.
Both Poland and Sweden have said they will not play Russia in the 2022 World Cup play-offs with the Swedish Government, hoping to persuade their 27 European Union partners to implement a blanket sporting ban.
This includes barring Russian athletes from competing on European Union soil.
2022-02-27 13:54:25
Tunis: Thousands of young Arabs who took up studies in Ukraine, often fleeing violence back home, are appealing to be rescued from a new nightmare -- Russia's full scale invasion of the country.
More than 10,000 Arab students attend university in Ukraine, drawn to the former Soviet republic by a low cost of living and, for many, the lure of relative safety compared with their own troubled homelands.
Many have criticised their governments for failing to take concrete measures to repatriate them, and sought refuge in basements or the metro system. Few dared to cross the border into neighbouring Poland or Romania in search of sanctuary.
"We left Iraq to escape war... but it's the same thing in Ukraine (now)," Ali Mohammed, an Iraqi student told AFP by telephone from the western city of Chernivtsi.
Mohammed said he has been calling the Iraqi embassy in Kyiv around a dozen times a day since Russia launched the invasion but no one has picked up.
"We are demanding to go home. We are waiting to be rescued," he said. According to an Iraqi government official, there are 5,500 Iraqis in Ukraine, 450 of them students.
Syrian Raed Al-Moudaress, 24, echoed him.
"I arrived in Odessa only six months ago, hoping to open a new page far away from war," he told AFP by telephone.
"I am lost. I don't know what to do," he said, adding he is spending most of his time hiding in a basement.
Among Arab countries, Morocco has the largest number of students in Ukraine, with around 8,000 enrolled in universities, followed by Egypt with more than 3,000.
"We demand solutions. The authorities must find us a solution," to get back home to Morocco, Majda tweeted when the invasion began on Thursday.
"What are you waiting for? This is World War III," she said, addressing authorities in her country, who announced measures the following day.
Hundreds of students from Lebanon, gripped by a financial crisis the World Bank says is one of the world's worst in modern times, are also trapped in the country.
"The (Beirut) authorities have not issued guidelines" for our evacuation, said Samir, 25.
"I left Lebanon because of the financial crisis, sold my car and took my small savings to study in Ukraine," he told AFP from Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border.
Many Arab students were drawn to Ukraine by the low cost of living and few had the means to join the exodus of refugees pouring into neighbouring Poland and Romania since the Russian invasion
Ali Chreim, a restaurant owner from Kyiv who heads the Lebanese expat community in Ukraine, said he has been helping a group of young Lebanese women, who have sought shelter in the capital's metro, by sending them food.
Before the invasion, 1,300 Lebanese students were studying in the country. Half managed to flee by their own means, but the rest are stuck, Chreim said.
Beirut set up a hotline but it only functions "intermittently", he added.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the government was drawing up plans to help nationals trapped in Ukraine.
Planes will be sent to neighbouring Poland and Romania at a "date to be announced later", he said.
2022-02-27 10:30:50
Seoul: North Korea has accused the United States of being the "root cause of the Ukraine crisis" while defending Russia, in Pyongyang’s first official response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia ordered troops into neighbouring Ukraine this week, prompting global outcry and punishing sanctions from the West, some directed against Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.
But North Korea, in a muted response issued in the form of a commentary posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website, said the United States was to blame for the unfolding disaster.
Washington has pursued "military supremacy in disregard of the legitimate demand of Russia for its security" according to the commentary, attributed to Ri Ji Song, a researcher at the North’s Society for International Politics Study.
"The root cause of the Ukrainian crisis also lies in the high-handedness and arbitrariness of the US," said the post uploaded on the North’s foreign ministry website on Saturday.
Ri slammed the US for holding a "double standard" — saying it meddled in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of "peace and stability" but "but it denounces for no good reason self-defensive measures taken by other countries to ensure their own national security."
"Gone are the days when the U.S. used to reign supreme," the post said.
The response is a "low-key" official reaction as it was published under an individual name, said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University.
"The conclusion is that it’s all because of the US. The main point is that you will suffer if you don’t have power," he told AFP.
Along with Beijing, Russia is one of the North’s few international friends and has previously come to the regime’s aid.
Moscow has long held the line against increasing pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea, even asking for relief from international sanctions for humanitarian reasons.
China, North Korea’s most important ally, has also blamed the United States and its Western allies in recent weeks for "hyping up" the Ukraine crisis.
South Korea, a close security ally of Washington, said last week it will join international economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The East Asian country fired a ballistic missile Sunday, Seoul said, resuming a weapons-testing blitz following a month of relative calm during the Beijing Winter Olympics, and while the world focuses on Ukraine.
The Sunday launch is Pyongyang's eighth so far this year, including test-firing its most powerful missile since high-profile negotiations between leader Kim Jong Un and then US president Donald Trump collapsed in 2017. Diplomacy has languished ever since.
Despite biting international sanctions, Pyongyang has doubled down on military development and last month threatened to abandon a self-imposed moratorium on firing long-range and nuclear weapons.
Analysts had widely predicted Pyongyang would seek to capitalise on US distraction over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday with new tests.
South Korea’s military said Sunday it had detected a ballistic missile fired towards the Sea of Japan at 07:52 local time (2252 GMT Saturday) from Pyongyang.
"The latest ballistic missile has a range of around 300 kilometres and an altitude of around 620 kilometres and details are under close analysis by South Korean and US intelligence," it added. Japan also confirmed the launch.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House expressed "deep concern and grave regret", and criticised the timing "when the world is making efforts to resolve the Ukraine war".
"With the US interest shifted to Europe over the Ukraine crisis and the UN Security Council unable to function, Pyongyang is seizing the opportunity," Shin Beom-chul, a researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, told AFP.
North Korea sees this as a perfect moment to "continue its development of necessary weapons and to strengthen its nuclear arsenal", with a view to being recognised as a nuclear power, he added.
The recent pause in testing during the Beijing Winter Olympics was seen as a mark of deference to key diplomatic ally and economic benefactor China.
The latest launch also comes as South Korea gears up to elect its next president on March 9.
Japan’s Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said the "recent and rapid development of North Korea’s missile related technology cannot be overlooked from the view of security of our country and this region".
North Korea is reeling economically from biting sanctions over its weapons programs and a lengthy coronavirus blockade, but continuing its "ambitious schedule of military modernisation" is a top priority, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
"The Kim regime’s strength and legitimacy have become tied to testing ever better missiles," he added in emailed comments.
Outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who repeatedly pursued peace talks with the North during his five-year term, has warned that the situation could easily escalate.
"If North Korea’s series of missile launches goes as far as scrapping a moratorium on long-range missile tests, the Korean Peninsula may instantly fall back into the state of crisis we faced five years ago," he said in a written interview with international press, including AFP, this month.
Under Trump’s successor Joe Biden, the United States has repeatedly declared its willingness to meet North Korean representatives, while saying it will seek denuclearisation.
But Pyongyang has so far dismissed the offer, accusing Washington of pursuing "hostile" policies.
Domestically, North Korea is preparing to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of late founder Kim Il Sung in April, which experts say Pyongyang could use to carry out a major weapons test.
Recent satellite images suggest that the North may be preparing a military parade to showcase its weapons to mark the key anniversary.
"North Korea will be prudent about testing an intercontinental ballistic missile since it’s the last remaining card that can put pressure on the United States," Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, told AFP.
"Such a card is only meaningful when you’re holding it in your hand."
2022-02-27 09:30:53
Washington: Elon Musk said Saturday his company SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband service had been activated in Ukraine, after a Kyiv official urged the tech titan to provide his embattled country with stations.
"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk tweeted, adding "more terminals en route."
The tweet came some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia.
"While you try to colonize Mars -- Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space -- Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations," Fedorov tweeted at Musk.
He also called on the billionaire "to address sane Russians to stand" against their government's invasion.
Internet monitor NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a "series of significant disruptions to internet service" since Thursday, when Russia launched military operations in the country.
Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the planet.
The company on Friday launched a further 50 Starlink satellites and many more are slated to be put into Earth's orbit.
2022-02-27 09:14:54
Berlin: Germany on Saturday dramatically ramped up its backing for Ukraine's battle against Russia, approving weapons deliveries for Kyiv in a policy U-turn and agreeing to limit Moscow's access to the SWIFT interbank system.
"The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point in history. It threatens our entire post-war order," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz as his government approved the delivery of a huge batch of lethal weapons to Kyiv.
"In this situation, it is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in its defence against (Russian President) Vladimir Putin's invading army," said Scholz, stressing that Germany "stands closely by Ukraine's side".
In a shift from its longstanding policy of banning weapons exports to conflict zones, Berlin is opening up its Bundeswehr store, pledging to transfer 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 "Stinger" class surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine.
It also finally approved the deliveries of 400 anti-tank rocket launchers via the Netherlands to Ukraine on Saturday.
The anti-tank launchers had been purchased by the Netherlands from Berlin, and The Hague had therefore required Germany's green light to hand them to Kyiv.
Likewise, a weeks-long request from Estonia for the transfer to Ukraine of nine old Howitzers purchased from ex-communist East Germany won approval.
Besides the weapons, 14 armoured vehicles will be handed over to Ukraine, and "will serve for the protection of personnel, possibly for evacuation purposes", said a government source.
Up to 10,000 tonnes of fuel will also be sent through Poland to Ukraine, said the source, adding that other "possible support services is now being examined".
Welcoming the decision, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted: "Keep it up, Chancellor Olaf Scholz!"
2022-02-27 08:41:49
KYIV: Western allies announced sweeping new sanctions against Moscow on Saturday, including kicking key Russian banks off the main global payments system, as a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were repelling Russian troops advancing on Kyiv.
Seeking to ratchet up economic punishment for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its European partners also said they would impose restrictions on Russia's central bank to limit its ability to support the rouble and finance his war effort.
The announcement came as fighting continued across Ukraine. Reuters witnesses in Kyiv reported occasional blasts and gunfire in the city on Saturday evening, but it was not clear exactly where it was coming from. The capital and other cities have been pounded by Russian artillery and cruise missiles.
Putin launched what he called a special military operation on Thursday, ignoring weeks of Western warnings and saying the "neo-Nazis" ruling Ukraine threatened Russia's security - a charge Kyiv and Western governments say is baseless propaganda.
Russia's assault is the biggest on a European state since World War Two and threatens to upend the continent's post-Cold War order.
A U.S. defence official said Ukraine's forces were putting up "very determined resistance" to the three-pronged Russian advance that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westwards, clogging major highways and railway lines.
"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies," the Western allies said as they escalated their punitive response.
"We will implement these measures within the coming days," according to a joint statement from the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Britain and the European Commission. read more
After initially shying away from such a move largely because of concern about the impact on their own economies, the allies said they committed to "ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system." They did not name the banks that would be expelled but an EU diplomat said some 70% of the Russian banking market would be affected.
The move - which the French finance minister had earlier called a "financial nuclear weapon" because of the damage it would inflict on the Russian economy - deals a blow to Russia's trade and makes it harder for its companies to do business.
SWIFT, or the "Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication", is a secure messaging network that facilitates rapid cross-border payments, making it a crucial mechanism for international trade.
Sanctions on Russia's central bank could limit Putin's use of his more than $630 billion in international reserves, widely seen as insulating Russia from some economic harm.
The new measures will prevent Russia from "using its war chest," according to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the European Union's executive.
Clay Lowery, executive vice president for the Institute of International Finance, said the new sanctions "will most likely exacerbate ongoing bank runs and dollarization, causing a sharp sell-off, and a drain on reserves."
But because Russia's large banks are deeply integrated into the global financial system, new sanctions imposed on them, such as cutting them off from SWIFT, could have a spillover effect, hurting trading partners in Europe and elsewhere.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a Twitter post early on Sunday: "Thanks to our friends ... for the commitment to remove several Russian banks from SWIFT."
The Kremlin said its troops were advancing again "in all directions" after Putin ordered a pause on Friday. Ukraine's government said there had been no pause.
"We have withstood and are successfully repelling enemy attacks. The fighting goes on," Zelenskiy said in a video message from the streets of Kyiv posted on his social media.
The crisis has galvanised the NATO Western military alliance, which has announced a series of moves to reinforce its eastern flank. While NATO has said it will not deploy troops to Ukraine, a string of countries are sending military aid.
U.S. President Joe Biden approved the release of up to $350 million worth of weapons from U.S. stocks, while Germany, in a shift from its long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones, said it would send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles.
Amid a barrage of cyberattacks blamed on Moscow, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said his government will create an "IT army" to fight back. Kyiv already has quietly called on its hacker underground to help against Russian forces, Reuters exclusively reported.
Fedorov also called on Saturday on SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk to provide Ukraine with the company's Starlink satellite broadband service. Musk responded on Twitter: "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route."
Ukraine, a democratic nation of 44 million people, won independence from Moscow in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union and wants to join NATO and the EU, goals Russia opposes.
Putin has said he must eliminate what he calls a serious threat to his country from its smaller neighbour, accusing it of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine - something Kyiv and its Western allies reject as a lie.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser said about 3,500 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded. Western officials have also said intelligence showed Russia suffering higher casualties than expected and its advance slowing.
Russia has not released casualty figures and it was impossible to verify tolls or the precise picture on the ground.
"We know that (Russian forces) have not made the progress that they wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance," the U.S. official said, without providing evidence.
Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said there was no major Russian military presence in the capital but that saboteur groups were active. Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion, later told Germany's Bild tabloid the city was "nearly encircled".
Authorities have handed thousands of assault rifles to residents and told citizens to make petrol bombs.
At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed and 1,115 people wounded so far, Interfax quoted Ukraine's Health Ministry as saying.
Interfax later cited the regional administration in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, saying 17 civilians had been killed and 73 wounded by Russian shelling.
Moscow says it is taking care not to hit civilian sites.
U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi said more than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have crossed into neighbouring countries - half to Poland and many to Hungary, Moldova and Romania.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had captured Melitopol, a city of 150,000 in southeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials did not comment and Britain cast doubt on the report.
If confirmed, it would be the first significant population centre the Russians have seized.
Several European countries, including Russia's Baltic neighbours Lithuania and Latvia, said they were closing their airspace to Russian airliners. read more Germany said it was preparing to follow suit.
2022-02-27 01:57:12
PARIS: Mocked in some quarters for what sometimes seemed token efforts to support Ukraine's military in the face of the Russian threat, the West is starting to finally step up supplies of military equipment after the invasion.
With Ukrainian forces putting up real resistance in the face of the Russian advance, Western officials say there is a genuine interest in ensuring President Vladimir Putin pays the maximum price for the invasion.
Germany in particular was criticised this month ahead the invasion for only stumping up some 5,000 helmets to send to Ukraine, a gesture that the mayor of Kyiv, former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, said had left him "speechless".
"What will they send us next? Pillows?" he asked the Bild daily.
France and other Western states were wary of arms deliveries they feared could provoke President Vladimir Putin into action at a time when diplomacy was still alive.
Since Putin unleashed the attack on Ukraine on February 24 however, everything has changed.
Germany said Saturday its army would transfer 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger-class surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine, a U-turn from its longstanding policy of banning weapon exports to conflict zones.
France was also carrying out deliveries of defensive weapons to Kyiv, according to its military. Ukraine's embassy in Paris said it had in particular requested anti-aircraft hardware.
2022-02-26 23:06:47
MOSCOW: Russia's space agency Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with Europe on space launches from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana in response to Western sanctions over Ukraine, Roskosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said on Saturday.
"In response to EU sanctions against our companies, Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners on space launches from Kourou, and is withdrawing its technical staff... from French Guiana," Rogozin said in a post on his Telegram channel.
The European Union played down Russia's pullout, saying it would not affect the quality of service of its satellite networks Galileo and Copernicus.
Galileo is Europe's global navigation satellite system which provides positioning and timing information used in mobile phones, cars, railways and aviation. Copernicus delivers earth observation data, documenting climate change, for example.
"We will take all necessary decisions in time to work on the development of the second generation of these two sovereign spacial infrastructures," EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for space issues in the bloc's executive Commission, said on Twitter.
2022-02-26 22:59:57
KYIV: Soldiers picking through charred debris scattered near the smouldering remains of a truck and a few civilians taking fresh air before a curfew were among scarce signs of life in Ukraine's capital on Saturday, after a second night of artillery barrages.
Russian forces have been pounding the centuries-old capital Kyiv and other cities with cruise missiles and shells since the start of an invasion on Thursday morning.
Many shops were closed, including those selling food, and the streets were empty except for a odd car - a contrast to the columns of vehicles choking roads in recent days as tens of thousands of residents fled west - and a few pedestrians pulling suitcases.
"I was smart enough to stock food for at least a month, we have everything," said Serhiy, a middle aged man who said he started buying extra groceries for his family well before the violence broke out.
"I did not trust politicians that this would end peacefully," Serhiy said, taking a walk before a curfew that kicked in at 5:00pm.
2022-02-26 22:40:31
The national teams of Poland and Sweden said they will not play Russia in upcoming World Cup qualifying matches, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The schedule calls for Russia to face Poland and Sweden to meet the Czech Republic on March 24. The winners of the two games will play on March 29 for a berth in the 2022 World Cup, to be held this fall in Qatar.
Cezary Kulesza, president of the Polish Football Association, posted the stance of his organization on Twitter on Saturday.
"This is the only right decision," he wrote. "We are in talks with the Swedish and Czech association to present a common position to FIFA."
The Swedish federation released a similar statement Saturday morning.
2022-02-26 21:00:49
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reached out Saturday to the people of Russia in their own language, saying they do not deserve a "pointless war" against their Ukrainian neighbors.
In a message tweeted in both English and Russian, Blinken sought to counter President Vladimir Putin's argument that the West threatens Russia with an eastern expansion of NATO into former Soviet bloc countries.
"To the people of Russia," Blinken wrote, "you deserve to live with security and dignity like all people everywhere. No one is seeking to jeopardize that."
He added: "You do not deserve a pointless war with your neighbors, friends and family in Ukraine."
NATO expansion was one of the Russian leader's repeated complaints in the months-long run up to the invasion, which he ultimately unleashed on Thursday in defiance of Western warnings of severe economic repercussions.
Putin demanded — but did not get — guarantees that Ukraine would never obtain NATO membership, and a NATO rollback from eastern Europe.
"The people of Ukraine deserve to live in peace, as do you," Blinken wrote to the people of Russia.
State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted the same missive and added: "A message to the Russian people: We don´t blame you for the actions of your government."
2022-02-26 21:14:45
MOSCOW: The Russian army has been given orders to broaden its offensive in Ukraine "from all directions" after Kyiv refused to hold talks in Belarus, the defence ministry said Saturday.
Russian forces have made thrusts into the Ukrainian capital Kyiv before falling back to the outskirts, facing tough resistance on day three of the invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin.
"After the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, today all units were given orders to develop the advance from all directions in accordance with the operation's plans," Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
The Kremlin said Friday that Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukraine but Ukraine wanted talks in Warsaw instead.
2022-02-26 20:45:19
MANCHESTER: Manchester United and Watford players stood together with a sign saying "peace" in six languages ahead of Saturday's Premier League match in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian flags were also waved among the crowd at Old Trafford as a show of support for the beleaguered nation.
On Friday, United announced they had terminated a deal with Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot following President Vladimir Putin's actions, which have been met with heavy international sanctions.
"It's just an incredible situation we have a kind of war in Europe," United interim manager Ralf Rangnick said on Friday.
"When I watch TV in the morning and the evening I still cannot believe what I see there. I very much hope politicians all over the world de-escalate the situation."
2022-02-26 20:31:18
KYIV: Kyiv authorities said Saturday they were imposing a day-and-night curfew until Monday morning, after some invading Russian forces entered the Ukrainian capital.
"The curfew in Kyiv will start on Saturday at 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) and end at 8:00 (0600 GMT) on Monday," city authorities said on Telegram, adding that "all civilians that are on the streets during the period of the curfew will be considered members of sabotage groups of the enemy."
2022-02-26 19:57:09
LONDON: Virgin Atlantic said on Friday it would avoid Russian airspace, meaning flights between Britain, India and Pakistan would take slightly longer.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers by slightly longer flight times," a spokesperson said.
"The safety and security of our customers and people always comes first and we're monitoring the situation in Ukraine and Russia extremely carefully following the escalation of conflict, continuing to operate in full compliance with relevant safety regulators, authorities and governments."
Flights between Britain and India or Pakistan could become longer by between 15 and 60 minutes.
2022-02-26 19:29:30
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden instructed the US State Department to release $350 million in military aid to Ukraine on Friday as it struggles to repulse a Russian invasion.
In a memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden directed that $350 million allocated through the Foreign Assistance Act be designated for Ukraine's defense.
2022-02-26 19:20:49
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday for Turkey's humanitarian and military support, saying a "ban on the passage of (Russian) warships to the Black Sea" was very important for his country.
Turkey, which controls the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits that link the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, has not publicly announced any ban on Russian warships using the straits despite Ukraine's urgent requests that it do so.
On Friday Turkey's foreign minister said that under the 1936 convention covering the matter, Ankara could not bar warships returning to a home base in the Black Sea from passing through the straits. Russia has a major naval base in the Black Sea.
2022-02-26 18:36:55
Belgium will deploy 300 troops in Romania as part of NATO efforts to strengthen its eastern flank, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Saturday, as Russia pounded Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day.
"Belgium assumes its responsibility within NATO Rapid Response, of which elements were activated yesterday. In the current phase, 300 Belgian soldiers will be deployed in Romania," he said on Twitter.
Belgium will also support the Ukrainian forces with 2,000 machine guns and 3,800 tons of fuel, according to De Croo, who added that the government in Brussels was looking into further requests for help from the government in Kyiv.
2022-02-26 18:17:30
BUDAPEST: Hungary will support all European Union sanctions against Russia and will not block anything, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday, speaking on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border.
"Hungary made clear that we support all the sanctions, so we will block nothing, so what the prime ministers of the European Union are able to agree, we accept it and we support it," he told reporters in English.
"This is the time to be united, it's a war," he said, adding that peace efforts were the most important.
2022-02-26 17:56:52
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Saturday accused Ukraine of prolonging the military conflict by refusing to negotiate as Russia pressed on with its invasion of the pro-Western country.
"In connection with the expected negotiations, the Russian president yesterday afternoon ordered the suspension of the advance of the main forces of the Russian Federation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call.
"Since the Ukrainian side refused to negotiate, the advance of the Russian forces resumed this afternoon."\
2022-02-26 17:38:40
2022-02-26 17:14:05
WARSAW: Polish Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker on Saturday said 100,000 people have crossed the border into Poland from Ukraine since Russia's invasion this week.
"From the onset of warfare in Ukraine through today, along the entire border with Ukraine, 100,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland," Szefernaker told reporters in the border village of Medyka, southeastern Poland.
The head of the Polish border guard, Tomasz Praga, added at the press conference that on Friday alone nearly 50,000 people had crossed into Poland from Ukraine.
Poland, which was already home to an estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians before Russia's invasion and which has expressed steadfast support for Ukraine, has so far seen the bulk of those fleeing Ukraine cross into its territory.
"Latest update is that almost 116,000 have fled to neighbouring countries since 24 Feb — mainly Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania," the UN refugee agency UNHCR tweeted on Saturday.
"Numbers are rising," it added.
2022-02-26 16:16:44
MILAN: Italy will support any European Union line on sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, including measures on the SWIFT global payment system, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office said on Saturday.
Draghi held a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday, "reiterating Italy ... will fully support the European Union line on sanctions against Russia, including on SWIFT", the office said in a statement.
A decision to cut Russia off from SWIFT will be taken in a matter of days, the governor of a central bank within the euro zone told Reuters on Saturday.
2022-02-26 16:45:48
The executive board of the Norwegian Ski Federation said on Saturday it does not want Russian athletes competing at upcoming World Cup races and world championships in Norway after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine this week.
"The Norwegian Ski Federation's message to Russia and Russian athletes is crystal clear - we do not want your participation," it said in a statement.
2022-02-26 17:02:23
ATHENS: Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday, saying Greece had favoured the harshest European Union sanctions against Russia after its attack and stood ready to provide assistance.
Greece's health ministry is sending medicines and medical supplies to Ukraine, Mitsotakis' office said.
Greece's embassy staff and its ambassador in Kyiv, who left the city on Friday by car on safety concerns, had safely passed the Moldavian border, the ambassador himself and foreign ministry officials said.
Consulates in Mariupol and Odessa will remain open to assist Greek citizens and expatriates, they added.
2022-02-26 15:25:25
Russia doesn't really need diplomatic ties with the West after it imposed sanctions on Moscow over what he called Russia's military operation in Ukraine, former president and top security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday.
Medvedev, writing on social media, said it was time to "padlock the embassies."
2022-02-26 15:20:24
Internet connectivity in Ukraine has been badly affected by the Russian invasion, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country where fighting has been heaviest, internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said on Saturday.
2022-02-26 14:33:23
An air raid siren was heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv at about 11:20 a.m. (0920 GMT), a Reuters correspondent reported.
Ukrainian authorities said earlier on Saturday that a residential building in the city had been hit by a missile.
2022-02-26 14:31:57
Poland will not play a World Cup qualifying soccer match against Russia next month because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the president of Poland's Football Association, Cezary Kulesza, said on Saturday.
Kulesza said the association was in talks with its Swedish and Czech counterparts regarding playoff matches set for March to fill a slot for the World Cup.
2022-02-26 14:30:55
The Netherlands will supply 200 air defence rockets to Ukraine as quickly as possible, the Dutch government said in a letter to parliament on Saturday, while France has decided to send defensive military equipment to Ukraine to support the country against Russia's invasion, a French army spokesman said on Saturday, adding that the issue of sending offensive arms was still under consideration.
"You can imagine that shipping the equipment is complicated at the moment", a spokesman for the French army's Chief of Staff told reporters at a briefing.
It also said it will move Dutch embassy staff from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to Jaroslaw, across the border in Poland, due to deteriorating security.
2022-02-26 13:53:22
At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Ukrainian Health Ministry was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying on Saturday.
He said 1,115 people were wounded, including 33 children.
2022-02-26 13:33:09
The staff of Ukraine's embassy in Moscow is evacuating to Latvia, the Latvian foreign ministry told Reuters on Saturday.
"It was their plea, we readily agreed. We are assisting them in the process and help with settling down," Latvian foreign ministry spokesperson Janis Bekeris said.
2022-02-26 13:16:37
Dozens of people were wounded in overnight fighting in Kyiv, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Saturday morning.
As of 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), 35 people, including two children, had been wounded, he said. It is unclear whether he was referring only to civilians.
2022-02-26 11:45:32
Russian troops have captured the city of Melitopol in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, Russia's Interfax news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Saturday.
The ministry also said Russia has used air- and ship-based cruise missiles to carry out overnight strikes on military targets in Ukraine.
2022-02-26 11:41:54
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he would stay in Kyiv as he appeared in a video filmed outside his office in the capital city.
"We will not put down weapons, we will defend our state," Zelenskiy said.
2022-02-26 11:21:57
Russian troops have taken over the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant to the north of the Ukrainian capital, the Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, citing Ukraine's energy ministry.
2022-02-26 11:07:29
President Joe Biden has instructed the US State Department to release $350 million in military aid to Ukraine on Friday as it struggles to repulse a Russian invasion.
In a memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden directed that $350 million allocated through the Foreign Assistance Act be designated for Ukraine's defense.
2022-02-26 11:02:05
Ukraine's military command said areas near the cities of Sumy, Poltava and Mariupol were hit by air strikes on Friday, with Russian Kalibr cruise missiles launched at the country from the Black Sea.
2022-02-26 09:51:40
Moscow said on Friday it was partially limiting access to Meta Platforms Inc's FB.O Facebook, accusing it of "censoring" Russian media, announcing the measure a day after Russia invaded Ukraine and the latest in a series of steps against U.S. social media giants.
2022-02-26 09:48:45
Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital on Saturday as authorities urged citizens to help defend the city from advancing Russian forces in the worst European security crisis in decades.
Heavy, frequent artillery fire and intense gunfire, apparently some distance from the city centre, could be heard in Kyiv in the early hours, a Reuters witness said. The Ukrainian military said Russian troops attacked an army base on a main Kyiv avenue but the assault was repelled.
But even as the fighting grew more intense, the Russian and Ukrainian governments signalled an openness to negotiations, offering the first glimmer of hope for diplomacy since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Thursday.
"The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday in a video address posted to his Telegram channel. "Tonight, they will launch an assault. All of us must understand what awaits us. We must withstand this night."
The air force command reported heavy fighting near the air base at Vasylkiv southwest of the capital, which it said was under attack from Russian paratroopers.
It also said one of its fighters had shot down a Russian transport plane. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Kyiv residents were told by the defence ministry to make petrol bombs to repel the invaders, as witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of the city.
Some families cowered in shelters after Kyiv was pounded on Thursday night by Russian missiles. Others tried desperately to get on packed trains headed west, some of the hundreds of thousands who have left their homes to find safety, according to the United Nations' aid chief.
After weeks of warnings from Western leaders, Putin unleashed a three-pronged invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south on Thursday, in an attack that threatened to upend Europe's post-Cold War order.
"I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields," Putin said at a televised meeting with Russia's Security Council on Friday. "Take power into your own hands."
Putin has cited the need to "denazify" Ukraine's leadership as one of his main reasons for invasion, accusing it of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss the accusations as baseless propaganda.
Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and Kyiv hopes to join NATO and the EU - aspirations that infuriate Moscow.
Putin says Ukraine, a democratic nation of 44 million people, is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history.
2022-02-26 09:19:14
Meta Platforms Inc FB.O is barring Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on its platform anywhere in the world, the parent company of social media giant Facebook said on Friday.
"We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media," its security policy head, Nathaniel Gleicher, said on Twitter. "These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend."
2022-02-26 09:11:00
Kyiv: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has uploaded a video to social media from outside his Kyiv office, rubbishing the rumours that he has fled the country.
"The president is here," Ukraine's President posteda video on social media alongside other government officials, stating that the country's leaders had not fled Kyiv as Russian forces advanced.
2022-02-26 08:31:05
BRUSSELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance was deploying its rapid response force for the first time ever to bolster defences in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
"It is still a fluid situation. What we have seen is that the Ukrainian forces are fighting bravely and are actually able to inflict damage on the invading Russian forces," Stoltenberg said after a video summit of NATO leaders.
"It is a full invasion of Ukraine. They are moving towards Kyiv and the stated goal is to change the government of Ukraine."
Stoltenberg’s warned that the Kremlin’s aggression had created a "new normal", threatening Europe’s broader security beyond non-NATO member Ukraine.
"We have already strengthened our deterrence and defence," Stoltenberg said.
"Yesterday, allies activated our defence plans and, as a result, we are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF) on land, at sea, and in the air to further strengthen our posture and to respond quickly to any contingency."
The step is the latest by NATO aimed at beefing up its defences after allies spearheaded by the United States rushed thousands of troops to eastern members as the Kremlin moved on Ukraine.
"We have over 100 jets at high alert, operating in over 30 different locations and over 120 ships from the high north to the Mediterranean," Stoltenberg said.
"This is to preserve peace to prevent an attack and to prevent that the war which is going on in Ukraine spills over to any NATO allied country."
He did not give any details on where the response forces were being sent, saying it was up to NATO’s top military commander.
Created in 2003, the NRF is made up of 40,000 personnel and includes an 8,000-strong high-readiness contingent with air, sea and special operations soldiers that can be deployed within days.
2022-02-26 07:51:00
Russian troops attacked an army base located on a main avenue in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv but the assault was repelled, the Ukrainian military said early on Saturday.
Separately, the Interfax Ukraine agency said Russian soldiers were trying to capture one of the city's electricity generating stations.
Hours earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had predicted Russian troops would mount an assault overnight.
"Military criminals of Russia attacked one of the military units in Kiev on Victory Avenue. The attack has been fought back," the armed forces of Ukraine said in an English-language posting on Facebook.
It gave no details and the report could not immediately be confirmed. Peremohy, or Victory, Avenue is located just to the west of the centre of Kyiv.
2022-02-26 07:37:37
WARSAW: The Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria each said Friday they would close their airspace to flights by Russian carriers in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, starting from midnight.
Earlier Friday the Polish airline LOT had already halted flights to Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
"As of midnight today, we are halting the traffic of all Russian airline companies in Czech airspace," Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka tweeted.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Facebook that Poland was also preparing such a resolution.
2022-02-26 05:57:53
PARIS: France is to deploy 500 military personnel as part of NATO forces to Romania after Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine, the army chief of staff said Friday.
"NATO has decided to reinforce its presence to send a very clear sign of strategic solidarity, to position forces in Romania," Thierry Burkhard told Radio France Internationale and broadcaster France24.
"We will send around 500 men with armoured vehicles."
He said France would also maintain a military presence in Estonia, which borders Russia, beyond March.
2022-02-26 04:16:48
Russia, as expected, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Friday that "deplores in the strongest terms" the country's "aggression" against Ukraine and demanded the immediate withdrawal of its troops.
Eleven of the council's 15 members voted for the motion, which was co-written by the United States and Albania.
China, India and the UAE abstained.
The resolution was always doomed to fail because of Moscow's veto power as a permanent member of the council.
2022-02-26 04:08:08
KYIV: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday before dawn that Russian troops would attempt to take the capital city Kyiv during the night.
"Special attention on Kyiv — we cannot lose the capital," Zelensky said in a video address released by the presidency. "Tonight they will attempt a storm" of the capital, he added in an apparent reference to Kyiv.
2022-02-26 02:22:03
MOSCOW: Western sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and top diplomat Sergei Lavrov are a sign of the West's "impotency", a Russian foreign ministry official said Friday.
"Sanctions against the president and the foreign minister of a country are an example and a demonstration of the complete impotence of the foreign policy" of the West, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Russian television.
2022-02-26 01:29:27
LONDON: The UK government on Friday ordered all assets of President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov frozen over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Treasury issued a financial sanctions notice against the two men, adding them to a list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and bank accounts in the UK frozen.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier told his NATO partners that he was planning "imminent" sanctions against Putin and Lavrov.
Downing Street said Johnson told his counterparts that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a "catastrophe" and the Kremlin chief was "engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn post-Cold War order".
Warning that Putin "may not stop there" and calling the situation a "Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences", he urged leaders to cut Russia off from the SWIFT international bank transfer system "to inflict maximum pain".
2022-02-26 00:48:34
TBILISI: Some 30,000 people rallied in Georgia´s capital on Friday in an outpouring of solidarity with fellow ex-Soviet country Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed his forces on Ukraine and on Friday Moscow's troops approached capital Kyiv.
The war which has claimed dozens of lives left Georgians recalling a deadly Russian invasion of their territory in 2008.
On Friday evening, demonstrators filled Tbilisi's main thoroughfare, waving Ukrainian and Georgian flags and singing the both countries' national anthems.
2022-02-25 23:44:58
Pakistan's embassy in Ukraine has managed to get about 65 students from Kharkiv who are on the train now and will be transported to Poland from the Lviv reception centre.
At the moment, there are 35 students in the facilitation centre in Ternopil who are also being facilitated to go to Poland.
Around 30 students have already been sent to Poland.
The embassy says it is coordinating with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) through the embassy in Warsaw to have a sufficient number of students who can be evacuated directly to Pakistan.
2022-02-25 23:28:13
LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his NATO partners Friday he was planning "imminent" sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Johnson also urged "leaders to take immediate action against (international bank transfer system) SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
2022-02-25 23:04:25
BRUSSELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday the alliance is bolstering its defences with troops and air power on its eastern flank in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He said allies had activated defence plans and "as a result ... are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force on land, at sea and in the air", including thousands more troops and over 100 jets put on high alert in 30 locations, he said.
2022-02-25 23:00:52
BRUSSELS: Ukrainian forces are putting up resistance and inflicting damage on Russia's invading military as it seeks to push deeper into the country, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.
"It is still a fluid situation. What we have seen is that the Ukrainian forces are fighting bravely and are actually able to inflict damage on the invading Russian forces," Stoltenberg said after a video summit of NATO leaders.
2022-02-25 22:58:53
Ukraine's interior ministry said on Friday Russian troops could target natural gas transit pipelines from Russia to Europe.
The ministry called on Ukrainians to watch out for any people with Russian accents who suddenly arrived in their region. It said several saboteur groups has been discovered in Kyiv and warned that more were appearing in other cities.
2022-02-25 22:42:26
2022-02-25 22:31:44
BERLIN: The head of Germany's foreign intelligence service was in Ukraine when Russia invaded and had to be taken home overland in a gruelling two-day journey by special forces when the country's airspace was closed, Focus magazine reported.
The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) confirmed that Bruno Kahl had been in Ukraine on Wednesday for "urgent talks" but had to change his departure plans after the invasion began.
"Because of the outbreak of hostilities and the closure of Ukraine's airspace, the President had taken the land route back," the BND said in a statement on Friday, which did not mention the part special forces had allegedly played.
"This was a difficult and lengthy journey because of the streams of refugees going in the same direction. He is back in the European Union and is expected in Berlin today."
2022-02-25 22:17:27
STRASBOURG: The Council of Europe said Friday it is suspending all representatives of Russia from participation in the pan-European rights body over Moscow's attack against Ukraine.
Permanent representatives of its 47 member states "agreed to suspend the Russian Federation from its rights of representation in the Council of Europe," invoking Article 8 of its statute, a statement said.
The decision takes effect immediately and affects the rights of representation of Russia in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
However the decision does not affect the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which is part of the Council of Europe.
2022-02-25 21:59:04
MOSCOW: Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday said it was partially limiting access to Meta Platforms FB.O Facebook in response to restrictions the US social media giant has imposed on Russian media, accusing Facebook of "censorship".
It was not immediately clear what the restrictions would involve. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
2022-02-25 21:40:34
WASHINGTON: Russia is facing more resistance than Moscow anticipated in its invasion of Ukraine, including in its advance on the capital, Kyiv, and appears to have lost some of its momentum, a senior US defense official said on Friday.
But the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested a mixed picture for the Russian effort to press an offensive that Washington and Kyiv say is aimed at decapitating the government and installing a puppet regime.
"We do assess that there is greater resistance by the Ukrainians than the Russians expected," the senior defense official said, adding Ukraine's command and control of its military "remains intact".
"They are not moving on Kyiv as fast as what we believe they anticipated they would be able to do. That said, they continue to try to move on Kyiv."
2022-02-25 21:33:56
COPENHAGEN: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said on Friday that no Russian act will participate in this year's Eurovision Song Contest as this would "bring the competition into disrepute".
Finland said earlier on Friday it would not send contestants to the Eurovision 2022 final if Russia was allowed to participate, while other European public broadcasters, including Ukraine's, called for Russia to be expelled from the song contest.
2022-02-25 20:59:57
LONDON: The British pound edged higher on Friday, recovering from a two-month low hit in the previous session after investors rushed into safe-haven currencies like the Japanese yen and the US dollar following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Against the dollar GBP=D3, the pound rose 0.19% to $1.3402 after falling to $1.3302 on Thursday, a Dec. 22 low. Versus the euro EURGBP=D3, the pound slipped 0.29% to 83.91 pence.
But some semblance of calm was evident in global markets on Friday, with European stocks edging higher and riskier currencies like the Australian dollar strengthening after Thursday's sell-off.
"We interpret the markets’ reaction as an acknowledgment that the Ukraine war is unlikely to spiral into a broader conflict that would pit NATO directly against Russia while the sanctions are unlikely to derail the economic recovery in the US and Europe," RBC strategists said.
2022-02-25 20:46:46
LONDON: A bloc of 10 northern European defence allies, which includes the Baltic states, agreed on a call Friday that further sanctions were needed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the UK said.
"The leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin's inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed," a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson´s office said following the call.
2022-02-25 20:32:03
BEIRUT: Russia's embassy in Lebanon was surprised by the Lebanese foreign ministry statement that condemned the Russian military operations in Ukraine, it said in a statement on its Facebook page.
"The statement... surprised us by violating the policy of dissociation and by taking one side against another in these events, noting that Russia spared no effort in contributing to the advancement and stability of the Lebanese Republic," the statement said.
Lebanon condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday and called on Moscow to halt its military operations at once. Read full story
2022-02-24 23:59:00
WASHINGTON: The United States had imposed sanctions on the company in charge of building Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, expanding penalties on Moscow after it recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
The sanctions, which target the Nord Stream 2 AG company and its CEO, Matthias Warnig, add to pressure on the Baltic Sea project that was designed to double the gas flow capacity from Russia to Germany.
Europe's most divisive energy project, Nord Stream 2 has not begun operations pending certification by Germany and the European Union.
Read complete story here.
2022-02-25 20:29:04
PARIS: France is in favour of excluding Russia from the global SWIFT interbank system but other European states have "reservations" about using such a "financial nuclear weapon", Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday.
"Some (European Union) member states have shown reservations, France is not one of these states," Le Maire told reporters after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Paris, adding that SWIFT exclusion would be weighed "not in the coming days or weeks, but in the coming hours".
2022-02-25 20:00:41
PARIS: The International Olympic Committee, angry at the Russian invasion of Ukraine breaching the 'Olympic Truce', on Friday urged all international sports federations to cancel their forthcoming events in Russia.
"The IOC EB (executive board) today urges all international sports federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus," read the IOC statement.
"They should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority."
2022-02-25 20:20:42
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the country's leadership whom he described as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis".
Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, he urged them to "take power in your own hands."
"It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said, referring to leadership in Kyiv led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish.
2022-02-25 19:50:51
KYIV: Pakistanis studying in Ukraine have demanded the government for a safe exit from the country as tensions between Kyiv and Moscow escalate.
Two Pakistani students, Aqeel-ur-Rehman and Shooban Najam, who are residing in Kyiv, have said that they are out of cash and were stuck in the capital due to the continual crossfire.
"More than 20 Pakistani students have currently sought shelter in a bunker in Kyiv [...] and they have run out of money," Rehman said in a video message alongside Najam.
He said they were stuck in the capital as flights were suspended and airports were nonoperational. "Our money is kept in banks and ATMs are closed, we need help."
Read complete story here.
2022-02-25 19:26:58
LONDON: Ukrainian cybersecurity officials say hackers from neighboring Belarus are targeting the private email addresses of Ukrainian military personnel "and related individuals".
In an announcement posted to Facebook, Ukraine's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) said the hackers were using password-stealing emails to break into Ukrainian soldiers' email accounts and using the compromised address books to send further malicious messages.
The CERT said blamed a group codenamed "UNC1151" for the hacking, identifying its members as Minsk-based officers of Belarusian military.
2022-02-25 19:06:08
STOCKHOLM: Swedish climate and environment activist Greta Thunberg said on Twitter she was taking part in a protest on Friday outside the Russian embassy in Stockholm against its invasion of Ukraine.
Thunberg, 19, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, posted on Twitter a picture of her standing with other protesters holding a sign with "Stand With Ukraine" written on it, saying she was "outside the Russian embassy right now".
Russia on Friday pressed on with the invasion launched Thursday, with European Union countries planning more sanctions against Russia and tens of thousands of people crossing Ukraninan borders into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia as missiles pounded Kyiv.
2022-02-25 19:01:51
BRUSSELS: The EU has agreed to freeze European assets linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, three EU officials and a European diplomat told AFP on Friday.
The measures were added Friday after being raised in overnight discussions by EU leaders on a new sanctions package that EU foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc were to validate.
2022-02-25 18:51:27
OSLO: Norway, Europe's second-largest gas supplier after Russia, will continue to be a reliable supplier to the continent, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Friday.
2022-02-25 18:38:22
2022-02-25 18:25:57
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that reaction from NATO and Western countries to Russia's assault on Ukraine had not been decisive, adding he hoped a NATO summit on Friday would lead to a more determined approach from the alliance.
"It should not turn into an ordinary flurry of condemnation. NATO should have taken a more decisive step," Erdogan said after Friday prayers in Istanbul.
"The EU and all Western mentalities did not show a seriously determined stance, they are all constantly advising Ukraine," he told reporters. "It is not possible to get anywhere with advice. When you look at the steps taken, there are no steps taken."
Despite a wave of sanctions from the West on Russia, Turkey has said it opposes such moves. It has also avoided using words such as "condemn" in its reaction or "invasion" to describe what is happening, instead saying Moscow's attack was "unacceptable".
2022-02-25 18:17:15
The Embassy of Pakistan in Bucharest has said it is facilitating 24/7 those Pakistanis who are entering Romania from Ukraine.
2022-02-25 18:14:07
PARIS: The Eiffel Tower in Paris will be illuminated with the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag starting Friday in a show of solidarity after the invasion by Russian forces, the landmark's operator said.
For three nights the monument will display the colours "in support of the Ukrainian people" at the request of Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is also the Socialist party candidate for French presidential elections in six weeks.
Hidalgo attended a rally in Paris on Thursday to protest Russia's military offensive against its neighbour, which she denounced on Twitter as an "unjustified and criminal act" by Moscow.
2022-02-25 18:00:21
WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday his government would prepare a resolution which will result in closing Poland's airspace for Russian airlines, a day after Russia attacked Ukraine.
"I have ordered the preparation of a resolution of the council of ministers which will lead to the closure of the airspace over Poland to Russian airlines," Morawiecki wrote on Facebook.
2022-02-25 12:38:40
Taiwan will join "democratic countries" in imposing sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Friday, with the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC saying it would comply with all export control rules.
The crisis is being watched closely in Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and which has faced increased military pressure from Beijing over the last two years.
"We very harshly condemn such an act of invasion and will join democratic countries to jointly impose sanctions," Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters in Taipei without giving details.
2022-02-25 13:39:13
UEFA has moved this year's Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European soccer's governing body said in a statement on Friday.
UEFA also said the home games of Ukrainian and Russian club and national teams competing in UEFA competitions would be played at neutral venues "until further notice".
2022-02-25 14:38:25
The European Central Bank's chief economist Philip Lane has told fellow policymakers that the Ukraine conflict may reduce the euro zone's economic output by 0.3%-0.4% this year, four people close to the matter told Reuters.
This was the "middle scenario" presented by Lane at a Governing Council meeting in Paris on Thursday, hours after Russia invaded Ukraine and as the ECB is grappling with how the crisis may affect its plans to withdraw monetary stimulus measures.
Lane also presented a severe scenario where GDP is reduced by close to 1% and a mild scenario where events in Ukraine had no impact on the 19-country currency bloc, which the sources said was now considered unlikely.
2022-02-25 15:38:06
US stock indexes were set for a weaker open on Friday, a day after staging a dramatic late rally, as developments around a raging war in Ukraine kept investors on edge.
The United States, the European Union and some other countries responded to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine with a wave of sanctions on Thursday, impeding Russia's ability to do business in major currencies.
The coordinated response, softer than many investors had feared, helped ease risk-off sentiment in the previous session, with Wall Street ending sharply higher, led by a 3% gain in the Nasdaq following a weak open.
"It is too early to assume that the sanctions will force Russia to back down, or that any other nation will not get involved," said Charalambos Pissouros, head of research at JFD Group.
"Thus, we prefer to treat yesterday's recovery in risk assets as a corrective rebound and we see decent chances for another leg south."
Morgan Stanley and Microsoft Corp fell around 1% each in premarket trading to lead losses among big banks and megacap growth names.
2022-02-25 16:00:13
KYIV, Feb 25 (Reuters) - People in Kyiv were told to make Molotov cocktail petrol bombs on Friday as they hid in makeshift shelters and basements, awaiting a Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital.
Missiles pounded Kyiv overnight and air raid sirens wailed, increasing fears among residents who did not flee the city of 3 million on Thursday that an assault was imminent.
"Make Molotov cocktails, neutralise the occupier!," the Defence Ministry said, while local authorities told people in the northwestern Obolon area of the city to stay off the streets because "active hostilities" were approaching.
2022-02-25 16:31:29
BRUSSELS: The European Union is preparing a third round of sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, an official told Reuters on Friday shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy lamented what he said was an insufficient reaction from Europe.
The official, speaking under condition of anonymity, said the third round would freeze European assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"We are moving as quickly as we can," said the official, adding the bloc could also target "many more" oligarchs.
2022-02-25 17:00:58
Virgin Atlantic and British Airways both began routing flights around Russian airspace on Friday after London and Moscow banned each other's airlines in tit-for-tat retaliation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
While the extent of the longer-term fallout from the attack was unclear, airlines have been asking Anchorage Airport in Alaska about capacity, harking back to Cold War days when it was a popular refuelling hub for jets barred from Soviet airspace. Read full story
Beyond the closing of airspace over and around the conflict zone, airlines, lessors and manufacturers were all assessing the growing risks of doing business with Russia as Western nations slapped sanctions on companies, banks and individuals.
"It will be more difficult for investors to accept portfolios of aircraft assets containing Russian airlines. Nobody wants to take Russian risk today," aviation adviser Bertrand Grabowski said, adding that fears included a lack of insurance coverage.
2022-02-25 17:15:25
Formula One on Friday said it will not race in Russia this season, saying it was "impossible" to do so after the country launched an invasion on neighbouring Ukraine.
The race was scheduled for September 25 at Sochi's Olympic park.
"We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation," the sport said in a statement.
2022-02-25 17:34:48
Missiles pounded Ukraine's capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities in Kyiv said they were preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government.
Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv, a European city of three million people, and some residents sheltered in underground metro stations.
Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people.
A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered.
Kyiv city council warned residents of the Obolon district, near an air base seized on Thursday by Russian paratroopers, to stay indoors because of "the approach of active hostilities".
2022-02-24 23:24:54
PARIS: FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was "concerned" by "the tragic and worrying" situation, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.
"I was shocked by what I saw. I am worried and concerned by this situation. FIFA condemns the use of force," said Infantino at a press conference.
Russia is due to host a 2022 World Cup play-off with Poland on March 24 and if victorious another on March 29 against the winners of the Czech Republic and Sweden — although those federations have demanded the matches be moved.
2022-02-24 23:16:29
WASHINGTON: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday warned the conflict in Ukraine will have repercussions for the global economic recovery.
Following Russia's invasion of its neighbor, Georgieva said she was "deeply concerned," and cautioned that the fighting "adds significant economic risk for the region & the world."
The International Monetary Fund continues to assess the economic impact, but will "stand ready to support our members as needed," she said on Twitter.
The Washington-based crisis lender is in the process of deploying $2.2 billion in assistance to Ukraine under a loan program set to end in June, but Georgieva has said the fund could provide additional aid if needed.
2022-02-24 23:10:15
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden was poised to unveil harsh new sanctions against Russia on Thursday after Moscow attacked Ukraine.
Biden will announce the new measures at 1:30pm EST (1830 GMT), the White House said.
Biden met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies earlier on Thursday to map out more severe measures against Russia after President Vladimir Putin launched what Biden called "a premeditated war" against Ukraine.
His announcement will represent the second tranche of sanctions against Russia since Putin earlier this week declared two breakaway regions of Ukraine independent and sent troops there.
2022-02-24 22:47:25
BRUSSELS: European Union leaders will impose new sanctions on Russia, freezing its assets, halting its banks' access to European financial markets and hitting "Kremlin interests" over its invasion of Ukraine, senior officials said on Thursday.
The bloc will also target Russia's trade, energy and transport, among other sectors, and include export controls in what the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell described as "the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented."
An emergency summit starting at 1900 GMT will also discuss offering EU candidate status to Ukraine, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda said, a step Kyiv has long called for, though it may not win approval from all EU leaders. Read the full story here.
2022-02-24 22:41:36
KYIV: The Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been captured by Russian forces, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Thursday.
"It is impossible to say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians," he said.
"This is one of the most serious threats in Europe today," Podolyak said.
2022-02-24 22:40:12
BEIJING: China rejected calling Russia's moves on Ukraine an "invasion" and urged all sides to exercise restraint, even as it advised its citizens there to stay home or at least take the precaution of displaying a Chinese flag if they needed to drive anywhere.
"China is closely monitoring the latest situation. We call on all sides to exercise restraint to prevent the situation from getting out of control," said Hua Chunying, spokesperson at China's foreign ministry.
At a packed daily media briefing in Beijing, Hua bridled at journalists' characterisation of Russia's actions.
"This is perhaps a difference between China and you Westerners. We won't go rushing to a conclusion," she said.
2022-02-24 22:09:51
BERLING: Russian President Vladimir Putin has put himself on the "wrong side of history" with the invasion of Ukraine, leaders of the Group of Seven most developed nations said in a statement on Thursday.
"President Putin has re-introduced war to the European continent. He has put himself on the wrong side of history," they said in a statement following crisis talks.
2022-02-24 22:05:02
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow had no other choice but to invade Ukraine to ensure Russia's security, speaking hours after his army crossed his ex-Soviet neighbour's borders.
"What was happening left us with no choice," the Russian leader said during a televised meeting with business representatives, adding that "we had no other way of proceeding".
2022-02-24 22:00:48
GENEVA: The Red Cross chief warned on Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine risked death and destruction at a scale "frightening to contemplate".
Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement that Moscow's invasion "has sent an ominous chill down my spine."
"We already see the immediate consequences for civilians, with the latest intensification triggering new displacement," he said.
Even before Thursday's invasion, residents in the east of the country had already endured eight years of conflict, Maurer said.
"Now, I fear increased suffering, with the potential of massive casualty numbers and extensive destruction of civilian objects like water and electricity plants," he said, also predicting "mass displacement, trauma, family separation and missing persons".
2022-02-24 21:55:43
PARIS: UEFA will hold an emergency meeting on Friday with this season's Champions League final in Saint Petersburg set to be at the top of the agenda as European football's governing body said it "strongly condemns" Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.
"UEFA shares the international community's significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine," it said in a statement on Thursday.
"We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine and stand ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people."
UEFA said an extraordinary meeting of its executive committee would be held on Friday at 0900 GMT and a decision is likely to be made on this season's Champions League final.
The showpiece game of European club football's premier competition is scheduled to be played on May 28 at the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg, which already hosted several matches at last year's European Championship and at the 2018 World Cup held in Russia.
2022-02-24 21:52:56
MOSCOW: Dozens of people gathering in Moscow and Saint Petersburg Thursday to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine have been detained, according to AFP journalists at the demonstrations.
Riot police at Pushkin Square in central Moscow arrested dozens of people, while around 20 people have been detained in Russia´s former imperial capital Saint Petersburg.
2022-02-24 21:52:17
PARIS: The football federations of Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden on Thursday released a joint statement calling on FIFA to move World Cup qualifying play-off ties due to be played next month away from Russia.
The three countries said in a letter to world football´s governing body that the play-off matches scheduled for late March "should not be played in the territory of the Russian Federation".
Russia are due to host Poland in a play-off semi-final on March 24. Should they win, they would then host the Czech Republic or Sweden five days later to decide who qualifies for the World Cup in Qatar.
2022-02-24 21:25:47
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday Ukrainian forces were fighting to prevent Russian troops from capturing the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl.
Elsewhere, parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson region were no longer under Kyiv's control, the regional administration said, as Russian forces attacked by land, sea and air.
2022-02-24 20:45:22
KYIV: Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko on Thursday announced an overnight curfew in Ukraine's capital as the country battled to repel a Russian invasion.
The former world heavyweight boxing champion said the curfew would last from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am local time (2000-0500 GMT) and that public transport would stop working during that period.
Metro stations would remain open throughout to serve as bomb shelters, he said.
2022-02-24 21:00:22
WASHINGTON: The Russian invasion of Ukraine intends to decapitate the country's government and install new leadership allied to Moscow, a senior US defense official said Thursday.
"They have every intention of basically decapitating the government and installing their own means of governance," the official said.
2022-02-24 20:27:46
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies on Thursday morning to map out more severe measures against Russia after President Vladimir Putin launched what Biden called "a premeditated war" against Ukraine.
Biden, who spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy late on Wednesday, convened his National Security Council earlier on Thursday to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine, according to a White House official.
He planned to make his first public remarks on the new conflict in Ukraine at 12:30pm EST (1730 GMT), the White House said. Biden and his G7 colleagues are scrambling to respond to a worst-case scenario by imposing harsh sanctions on Russia that may cause gasoline prices in the West to go up.
The virtual meeting between the United States and its allies was underway, the White House said, as the group prepared to respond to what Biden in a statement late Wednesday called "an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces" on Ukraine.
2022-02-24 19:51:36
MOSCOW: Russia said Thursday that its military had destroyed more than 70 military targets including 11 airfields in Ukraine.
"As a result of strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces, 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities were destroyed," said Igor Konashenkov, a defence ministry spokesman, specifying that destroyed facilities included 11 airfields. He said a Ukrainian military helicopter and four drones had also been shot down.
2022-02-24 19:30:16
BERLIN: Western allies will unleash sanctions that will drastically restrict Russia's access to the European and American markets, Germany's vice-chancellor said Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The "strong sanctions package" will "cut off the Russian economy from industrial progress, will attack and freeze assets and financial holdings, and will dramatically limit access to the European and American markets," said Robert Habeck.
2022-02-24 19:25:58
FRANKFURT: German football club Schalke 04 said Thursday it would remove Russian gas company Gazprom as its main shirt sponsor following the invasion of Ukraine.
"In light of the events, developments and escalation of the past days, FC Schalke 04 has decided to remove the logo of the main sponsor, Gazprom, from the shirts," the historic second division club said in a statement.
2022-02-24 19:25:28
KYIV: Russian and Ukrainian forces are battling for control of an airbase on the northern outskirts of Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian officer said Thursday, as dozens of attack helicopters swooped on the area.
"Fighting is underway for Gostomel airfield," armed forces chief Valeriy Zaluzhny said in a message posted on Facebook. Shortly earlier, AFP reporters had seen helicopters flying low over the city from the north.
2022-02-24 19:15:52
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden was meeting with G7 allies Thursday to hammer out a raft of new sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine, and will later speak to the American people on a crisis that he warns will cause "catastrophic loss of life."
The virtual, closed-door meeting of G7 leaders — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — was set to start at 9:00 am (1400 GMT), with Biden's White House speech scheduled for early afternoon.
Biden also held a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, saying afterwards that he had promised to "provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."
2022-02-24 19:00:18
MOSCOW: Russian authorities on Thursday warned anti-war sympathisers from gathering for protests after President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine.
The Investigative Committee, in a statement, warned Russians of legal repercussions for joining unsanctioned protests related to "the tense foreign political situation".
2022-02-24 18:51:52
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday said he was waiting for Ukraine's allies to impose concrete sanctions on Russia as the military said four ballistic rockets had been fired at Ukrainian territory from the territory of Belarus.
In the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city council said shelling had hit a residential area and the number of casualties was being ascertained.
2022-02-24 18:44:13
PARIS: Russia's invasion of Ukraine will dominate the agenda of planned European Union finance ministers' talks on Friday and Saturday, officials said, as the EU will try to assess how much the war on its border will hit the economy of the 27-nation bloc this year.
"The Russian aggression will definitely feature prominently in tomorrow's discussions and the main focus for all finance ministers will be to assess the economic consequences of the escalation as it evolves," an EU official said.
The finance ministers will discuss the impact of the invasion as well as painful EU sanctions on Russia that were to be decided by European leaders on Thursday evening and potential Russian counter-sanctions.
Before the invasion, the ministers were to discuss economic recovery after the pandemic, changes to their fiscal rules and speeding up the development of the bloc's capital markets.
2022-02-24 18:43:13
WARSAW: Poland is preparing a medical train to transport Ukrainians wounded in Russia's assault on its neighbour, the country's health ministry said, adding that Polish hospitals were ready to receive thousands of patients.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, assaulting it by land, sea and air in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two and prompting Ukrainians to flee their homes. Read full story
"Poland is preparing to accept migrants from Ukraine, including Ukrainian citizens affected by the armed conflict," the health ministry said in an email sent to Reuters.
2022-02-24 18:41:59
EU chief Charles Michel on Thursday urged Belarus to "not take part" in Russia's military assault on Ukraine, ahead of an emergency European Union summit to decide new sanctions on Moscow over its invasion.
In an appeal to Belarus and its people during a media conference at NATO headquarters, Michel said: "You have the choice not to follow Russia's destructive action. You have the choice not to take part in this needless tragedy against your neighbours in Ukraine."