Ukraine War: Russian troops have edged closer to Kyiv
New Delhi:
Across Ukraine, Russia’s invasion has continued to take a bloody toll, destroying cities and ensuring that many lives will never be the same again.
Russian troops not only edged closer to Kyiv but kept up their siege of the southern port city of Mariupol, where officials said nearly 2,200 people have been killed. Russia’s forces had earlier focused on eastern and southern areas of Ukraine — home to more ethnic Russians — but in recent days have moved to the country’s centre.
The United Nations estimates almost 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale land and air assault on February 24, most of them to Poland, struggling to provide for the arrivals.
Here are the LIVE Updates on Ukraine-Russia War:
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Kyiv to impose 36-hour curfew from late Tuesday
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv will impose a 36-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid a “difficult and dangerous moment” after several Russian strikes, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
British PM says West must end Russian energy ‘addiction’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Tuesday for the West to end its “addiction” to Russian energy, which he says allows President Vladimir Putin to “blackmail” the world.
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine was at a crossroads that could lead to an agreement at talks with Russia or a new Russian offensive. “We are at a crossroads. Either we will agree at the current talks or the Russians will make a second attempt (at an offensive) and then there will be talks again,” adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said.
The G20 grouping of nations is not an appropriate forum to discuss the Ukraine issue, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry told a regular news conference in the Chinese capital on Tuesday.
The G20, or Group of 20, consists of 19 countries, including China and the European Union. Its next summit is set for October on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
The Polish, Czech and Slovenian prime ministers will visit Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Polish government said in a statement.
“The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and to present a broad package of support for the Ukrainian state and society,” the statement said.
Ukraine plans to open nine “humanitarian corridors” on Tuesday to evacuate civilians from areas besieged by Russian forces and will try to deliver humanitarian supplies to encircled Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Vitaliy Koval, the governor of the northern region of Rivne, said separately that the death toll from a Russian air strike on a television tower in his region on Monday had risen to at least 19.
Russia said on Tuesday there was no risk of a food shortage on the domestic market and cautioned consumers against rushing out to stock up on staples after the West slapped sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s economy is facing its gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union after the United States and Europe cut Russia off from swathes of the global economy due to Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Two bodies were pulled from the rubble after a strike on a 16-storey building in the Sviatoshynsky district, the emergency service said in a Facebook post, adding that 27 people had been rescued from the site.
Blasts rock Kyiv as talks with Russia to resume
A series of powerful explosions rocked Kyiv early Tuesday even as talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume. At least three large blasts were heard in the centre of the capital early Tuesday, and an AFP journalist saw a column of smoke rising.
China denied on Tuesday claims by US officials that Russia had sought military assistance in Ukraine and accused Washington of spreading “malicious disinformation” that risked escalating the conflict.
“The US has repeatedly spread malicious disinformation against China on the Ukraine issue,” the Chinese embassy in London told Reuters in a statement.
China Says It Wants to Avoid US Sanctions Over Russia’s War
China wants to avoid being impacted by U.S. sanctions over Russia’s war, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, in one of Beijing’s most explicit statements yet on American penalties that are contributing to a historic market selloff.
Loud explosions heard in centre of Ukraine capital Kyiv
At least three powerful explosions were heard in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv Tuesday morning, AFP journalists said, although the cause was not immediately known.
Russia-Ukraine War: The Weapon Systems Being UsedAs the Russian invasion of Ukraine neared its 20th day, failing to shake off questions about its success, the Russian government on Monday issued yet another statement that its operation was going to plan.
Underlining how Ukraine is being “decimated before the eyes of the world”, UN chief on Monday warned that a meltdown of the global economy due to the conflict is provoking a hunger crisis that is hitting the poorest, hardest.
Addressing the media outside the Security Council chamber in New York, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that with each passing hour in Ukraine, the death and destruction is getting worse: “Whatever the outcome, this war will have no winners, only losers.”
NASA insisted tensions linked to the war in Ukraine had no impact on International Space Station operations or the planned return of an American astronaut aboard a Russian capsule later this month. Mark Vande Hei is due to fly to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov on March 30 after 355 days in space, a new US record
The Ukrainian government on Monday launched a website in partnership with crypto-firms FTX and Everstake that will funnel donations to Ukraine’s central bank as it combats a devastating invasion by Russia.
On the “Aid for Ukraine” website, users can currently offer donations in 10 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, ether, tether and dogecoin.
Korean Air Lines said on Tuesday it will reroute its flights to Europe and eastern North America that used Russian airspace, citing operational challenges and safety concerns.
The airline said it will also temporarily suspend all of its passenger and cargo services to and from Moscow and Vladivostok until the end of April.
Britain’s Defence Ministry said in a tweet on Monday that Russia could be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine in response to a staged fake attack on Russian troops.
It cited no evidence to support the assertion in what it called an intelligence update. US officials have made similar statements.
President Zelensky To Address Full US Congress On Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine’s president will deliver a virtual address to Congress on Wednesday as lawmakers bid to rachet up pressure on the White House to take a tougher line over Russia’s invasion.