Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin said he is not sending conscripts or reservists to fight
Ukraine and Russia made tentative progress in talks Monday but failed to reach a deal on creating “humanitarian corridors” from pummelled cities, as the bloodshed from Moscow’s invasion mounted.
Kyiv said there had been “positive results” from the third round of negotiations, focused on giving civilians evacuation routes from besieged towns, but Russia said its expectations from the talks were “not fulfilled”.
Ukraine today accepted Russia’s proposal of setting up humanitarian corridors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is not sending conscripts or reservists to fight and that “professional” soldiers fulfilling “fixed objectives” are leading the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed calls for the West to boycott Russian exports, particularly oil, and to impose a no-fly zone to stop the carnage.
More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24.
Here are the LIVE updates on Ukraine-Russia Conflict:
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Ukraine War Live News Updates: Putin Says Will Not Use Conscript Soldiers In Ukraine
Russia will not use any conscript soldiers in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. “I emphasize that conscript soldiers are not participating in hostilities and will not participate in them. And there will be no additional call-up of reservists,” Putin said in a televised message to mark International Women’s Day. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine President Speaks To Israel PM On Mediation Efforts With Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett today about Bennett’s efforts to act as an intermediary with Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv has voiced frustration with Israel’s refusal to provide defensive aid to Ukraine against Russia but has welcomed its role as a go-between. “Thanked for Israel’s mediation efforts. Discussed ways to end the war and violence,” Zelenskiy said in a tweet. (Reuters)
Under ‘Operation Ganga’ to rescue Indian citizens from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, about 18,000 Indians have been brought back by special flights so far. As many as 410 Indians were brought back today by special civilian flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries by two special civilian flights from Suceava, said an official press release. With this, about 18,000 Indians have been brought back through the special flights which began on February 22, 2022. (ANI)
Ukraine Live News: UK Says Visa Centre For Ukraine Refugees Being Set Up In France
The UK government today said it was setting up a visa centre for Ukrainian refugees in northern France, after confusion and anger that some were being turned away. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told parliament a “pop-up” site would be located in Lille, some 70 miles (110 kilometres) from Calais where scores of Ukrainians have flocked. (AFP)
Ukraine Says Temporary Ceasefire Mostly Held In Sumy, Allowing Evacuations
A temporary ceasefire mostly held around the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, allowing civilians including around 1,000 foreign students to be evacuated through a humanitarian corridor, the regional governor said. Convoys of 20-30 private cars were leaving in waves, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said in televised comments. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live Updates: Energy Giant Shell Says Will Stop Russian Oil Purchases
Energy giant Shell said today it would withdraw from its involvement in Russian gas and oil, including an immediate stop to purchases of crude from the country. The UK-based company also issued an apology for buying a cargo of Russian crude oil last week and said it would shut its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in the country. Shell said it’d withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons “in a phased manner, aligned with a new (UK) government guidance” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil,” it said in a statement. (AFP)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine Says Russian Forces’ Advance Has “Slowed Considerably”
The advance of Russian forces in Ukraine has slowed significantly and Ukrainian forces are counter-attacking in some areas, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Tuesday. “The tempo of the enemy’s advance has slowed considerably, and in certain directions where they were advancing it has practically stopped,” he told a televised briefing. “The forces that continue to advance, advance in small forces.” (Reuters)
Ukraine Live News: Ukraine Says Russian Forces Hit 2 Oil Depots In Northern Region
Russian forces are bombing civilian infrastructure and homes in Ukraine’s northern region of Zhytomyr, and carried out air strikes on two oil depots on Monday evening, Governor Vitaliy Bunechko said in televised comments on Tuesday. He gave no further details. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live: Attacks On Ukraine Hospitals, Ambulances Increasing Rapidly: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities in Ukraine have increased rapidly in recent days and warned the country is running short of vital medical supplies. The UN agency on Monday confirmed at least nine people had died in 16 attacks on healthcare facilities since the start of a Russian invasion on February 24. It did not say who was responsible. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live Updates: Adidas Joins Brands Closing Russia Stores Following Invasion
German sportswear group Adidas is temporarily closing its stores in Russia and shut its online shop, joining a growing list of companies suspending their activities following the invasion of Ukraine. Adidas said in a statement late Monday that it would “suspend the operations of our stores and our e-commerce site in Russia until further notice” but continue to pay its employees. (AFP)
SpiceJet delayed its evacuation flight from Suceava in Romania by approximately three hours on Monday night for a group of 36 Indian students who were stranded at the Ukraine-Romania border. “The departure of SpiceJet flight SG 9547 from Suceava to Delhi with 152 Indian students on board was scheduled at 7.20 pm (local time) when information was received about a group of 36 Indian students stranded at the Ukraine-Romania border,” according to a statement issued by the airline.
A decision was taken to wait for the students who would be travelling by road to the Suceava Ștefan cel Mare International Airport, the statement said. The departure of the flight was revised thrice as the SpiceJet team waited for the Indian students to arrive, it stated. “The flight finally departed at 10.05 pm (local time) and reached Delhi at 8.30 am today (local time) with a total of 188 students on-board,” according to the statement. (PTI)
Germany’s federal prosecutor has opened a probe into suspected war crimes by Russian troops since the invasion of Ukraine, authorities said today, amid international outrage over attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. “We will collect and secure all evidence of war crimes,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper. Germany’s federal prosecution office in Karlsruhe has opened a so-called structural investigation to begin collecting evidence, he said. A source in the office confirmed to AFP that a probe had been opened. (AFP)
Reuters: China’s Xi Calls For “Maximum Restraint” In Ukraine
Chinese President Xi Jinping today described the situation in Ukraine as worrying and called for “maximum restraint,” saying the priority should be preventing the situation there from spinning out of control, Chinese state media reported. Xi, speaking at a virtual meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the three countries should jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. (Reuters)
The European Union’s executive will propose a new mechanism to punish disinformation around the world, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said today, citing what he said were lies intentionally spread by Russian state-owned media. Borrell told the European Parliament that the EU should be able to freeze assets and ban travel to the bloc of those deemed responsible, in order to highlight such abuses of information to manipulate and mislead. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live: EU To Sanction More Russian Oligarchs, Belarus Banks, Says Report
The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The sanctions, to be discussed by EU ambassadors on Tuesday at a meeting starting at 1400 GMT, will ban three Belarusian banks from the SWIFT banking system and add several oligarchs and Russian lawmakers to the EU blacklist, which already includes many, the sources told Reuters.
Ukraine Live: Ukraine Says 30 Buses En Route To Collect Evacuees From Mariupol
As many as 30 buses are on the way to the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol to collect evacuees via a humanitarian corridor to Ukraine-controlled territory, deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on television on Tuesday. There were signs Russian forces were firing in the direction of a route for humanitarian aid, she added, without providing further details. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live: Jailed Kremlin Critic Urges Russians To Keep Protesting Ukraine War
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has urged the Russians to continue protesting against Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, days after thousands of protesters were arrested at anti-war rallies nationwide. Over 13,500 Russians have been detained at demonstrations against the invasion of Ukraine since President Putin ordered his army to attack its pro-Western neighbour on February 24. (AFP)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine President Says Child Died From Dehydration In Besieged City
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address today that a child had died from dehydration in Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol, which has had no water, power or heating supplies for days. “In 2022, from dehydration,” Zelenskiy said, likening the crisis linked to Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities to that created by the Nazi invasion during World War 2. The child’s death could not immediately be confirmed independently. (Reuters)
Ukraine Live: UN Rights Chief Decries Arrests Of Anti-War Protesters In Russia
The ability to criticise public policy in Russia, particularly its invasion of Ukraine, is narrowing, with some 12,700 people unlawfully detained in anti-war protests, the top UN human rights official Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday. “I remain concerned about the use of repressive legislation that impedes the exercise of civil and political rights and criminalising non-violent behaviour,” Bachelet told the Human RIghts Council in Geneva, speaking by video message. (Reuters)
Ukraine War: Trapped Civilians In Ukraine Must Be Allowed To Leave Safely: UN Rights Chief
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called today for civilians trapped in active hostilities in numerous areas of Ukraine to be able to leave safely. Pro-Ukrainian activists have been unlawfully detained in the east of their homeland, while people considered pro-Russian have been beaten in Ukraine, she said in a speech to the Human Rights Council, citing reports received by her office. “I repeat my urgent call for a peaceful end to hostilities,” Bachelet told the Geneva forum by video message. (Reuters)
A first convoy of residents and foreign students has left the Ukrainian city of Sumy after an agreement with Russia on establishing a humanitarian corridor, officials said on Tuesday.
“I do think that we will pass the two million mark today or maybe at the latest tomorrow. So, it doesn’t stop,” Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Oslo.
Japan intends to closely follow the course of the meeting between Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba, scheduled for March 10 in the Turkish city of Antalya, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Tuesday.
After the first wave of refugees from Ukraine there is likely to be a second wave consisting of more vulnerable refugees, the head of the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
“If the war continues we will start seeing people that have no resources and no connections,” UNHCR head Filippo Grandi told a news conference.
Ukraine began evacuating civilians from the northeastern city of Sumy and from the town of Irpin near the capital Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
The evacuations began after Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to establish “humanitarian corridors” to allow civilians out of some towns and cities besieged by Russian forces.
All sanctions options on the table, including energy: Dutch Foreign Minister
All sanctions options against Russia are on the table, but if the European Union imposes sanctions on energy, all EU states must be able to bear the burden, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra, said in Vilnius on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address British lawmakers via videolink in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the first time a president of another country has addressed the main Westminster chamber.
UK says it will back Poland if decides to sends jets to Ukraine
British defence minister Ben Wallace said on Tuesday Britain would support Poland if it decided to provide Ukraine with fighter jets, but warned that doing so might have direct consequences for Poland.
It has been agreed that the first convoy will start at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) from the city of Sumy. The convoy will be followed by the local population in personal vehicles, the deputy PM said
At least nine people, including two children, have died in an air strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, some 350 kilometres east of Kiev, the rescue services said Tuesday.
“Enemy planes insidiously attacked apartment buildings” on Monday night, the rescue services said on Telegram after arriving on the scene at 11 pm. Sumy, near the Russian border, has been the scene of heavy fighting for days.
At least nine dead in bombing of Ukraine city Sumy
US President Biden thanks South Korea for joining sanctions against Russia
US President Joe Biden has sent a letter of thanks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for joining financial sanctions and export controls against Russia, saying the move sent a strong message of support for Ukraine, Moon’s office said on Tuesday.
Ukraine President Zelensky Says “Not Hiding, Not Afraid”, Shares Location
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky today said that he is in Kyiv and is not afraid. The statement comes amid the Russian troops intensifying shelling in several Ukrainian cities. Russian forces are inching closer to the capital Kyiv from the north and west.
More than 291,000 Ukrainians fled to Romania since Russian invasion
A total of 291,081 Ukrainians have fled to Romania since a Russian invasion on Feb. 24, including 29,636 on Monday, border police data showed on Tuesday.
Health crisis spills out of Ukraine conflict
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the exodus raises the spectre of a regional health catastrophe on top of the huge toll in death and destruction from the fighting in Ukraine
Closer Defence Ties Way Forward: UK On India’s Russia-Ukraine Stance
Britain said that India’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict was the result of its dependence on Russia and therefore the way forward would be to ensure closer economic and defence ties between India and the UK.
Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar informed the Karnataka government that the body of Naveen Shekharappa who died in Ukraine amid the Russian military operations will be brought to India once shelling stops there, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday.
UK, western nations considering sanctions targeting Russian energy exports
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday said that London and other Western governments are seriously considering sanctions on Russian energy exports in response to the ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
Australia announces fresh sanctions against ‘propagandists’ Russia
Australia has imposed another round of sanctions against Russia for its “unjustified invasion” of Ukraine and is targeting Moscow’s senior military officers, as well as state propagandists spreading “pro-Kremlin disinformation”.
FIFA to let foreign players leave Ukraine and Russia
FIFA on Monday announced that it will suspend the contracts of foreign players currently tied to Ukrainian and Russian clubs for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
US envoys held energy talks with Venezuela’s Maduro: White House
The White House said Monday that a US delegation held weekend talks in Venezuela with the government of President Nicolas Maduro that included a discussion of energy supplies — as Washington looks for ways to reduce its imports of Russian oil.
In order to conduct a humanitarian operation from 12.30 IST on March 8, 2022, Russia declares cease-fire and is ready to provide humanitarian corridors. Read more ➡️ https://t.co/5FkSKPsLPjpic.twitter.com/oypKjjEExz
– Russia in India 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbIndia) March 8, 2022
Germany to host G7 meeting on Ukraine invasion’s impact on food security
Germany will host a virtual meeting of agricultural ministers from G7 countries on Friday to discuss the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global food security and how to best stabilize food markets, the government said.
Asian markets mostly fell again Tuesday as investors try to assess the economic impact of the Ukraine war, while oil prices extended gains after rocketing to a near 14-year high.
Ukraine’s military intelligence said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have killed a Russian general near the besieged city of Kharkiv, the second Russian senior commander to die in the invasion.
Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army, was killed on Monday, the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Alphabet Inc’s Google said it has seen Russian hackers well-known to law enforcement, including FancyBear, engaging in espionage, phishing campaigns and other attacks targeting Ukraine and its European allies in recent weeks.
Japan has frozen the assets of an additional 32 Russian and Belarusian officials and oligarchs, the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday.
Japan also is banning exports of Russia-bound oil refinery equipment and Belarus-bound general-purpose items that can be used by its military, the ministry said.
The multinational technology corporation IBM has suspended all its business in Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, CEO Arvind Krishna said.
“I’ve heard from many of you in response to last week’s announcement regarding the war in Ukraine, and I appreciate your feedback. First, let me be very clear — we have suspended all business in Russia. In addition, I want to give you an update on a few of the efforts underway to support our colleagues in the region,” Krishna said in a statement on Monday.
The World Bank said its executive board on Monday approved a $723 million package of loans and grants for Ukraine, providing desperately needed government budget support as the country battles a Russian invasion.
Ukraine and Russia made tentative progress in talks Monday but failed to reach a deal on creating “humanitarian corridors” from pummelled cities, as the bloodshed from Moscow’s invasion mounted.
Kyiv said there had been “positive results” from the third round of negotiations, focused on giving civilians evacuation routes from besieged towns, but Russia said its expectations from the talks were “not fulfilled”.