Ukraine-Russia Crisis: Russia says it has used hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine (File)
Dozens of soldiers were killed after Russian troops struck a Ukrainian military barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv, witnesses told AFP on Saturday while a rescue operation was underway.
“No fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks” when Russian troops struck early Friday, a Ukrainian serviceman on the ground, 22-year-old Maxim, told AFP without providing his last name.
“At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but we do not know how many others are in the rubble,” he said.
Another soldier estimated that the bombing could have killed around 100 people.
Authorities have not yet released an official death toll.
The military facility located in the north of the city was fully destroyed after being hit by several rockets Friday morning.
Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine on Friday to destroy a weapons storage site in the country’s west, the defence ministry said.
Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat, and state news agency RIA Novosti said it was the first use of the Kinzhal hypersonic weapons during the conflict in pro-Western Ukraine.
“The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region”, the Russian defence ministry said Saturday.
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More than 3.3 million refugees have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the United Nations said Saturday, while nearly 6.5 million are thought to be internally displaced within the country.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 3,328,692 Ukrainians had left since the war began on February 24, with another 58,030 joining the exodus since Friday’s update.
“People continue to flee because they are afraid of bombs, airstrikes and indiscriminate destruction,” said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.
“Aid is vital but can’t stop fear. Only stopping the war can.”
Some 90 percent of those who have fled are women and children. Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are eligible for military call-up and cannot leave.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, saying it would otherwise take Russia “several generations” to recover from its losses in the war.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the assault on Feb. 24, Russian forces have taken heavy losses and their advance has largely stalled, with long columns of troops that bore down on Kyiv halted at its suburbs.
However they have laid siege to cities, blasting urban areas to rubble, and in recent days have intensified missile attacks on scattered targets in western Ukraine, away from the main battlefields in the north and east of the country.
On Saturday Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region using hypersonic weapons, missiles that can travel at five times the speed of sound or faster.
Dozens of soldiers were killed after Russian troops struck a Ukrainian military barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv, witnesses told AFP on Saturday while a rescue operation was underway.
“No fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks” when Russian troops struck early Friday, a Ukrainian serviceman on the ground, 22-year-old Maxim, told AFP without providing his last name. “At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but we do not know how many others are in the rubble,” he said.
JustIn | Dozens dead after shelling of military barracks in south Ukraine, news agency AFP reported quoting witnesses
In Mariupol daily life is a series of harrowing escapes from bomb blasts and basic survival rituals, amid the rubble that lies everywhere.
Uncollected corpses wrapped in blankets, coats or any available covering lie in courtyards cleared of debris. Those killed are often buried in common graves.
All around are the blackened shells of the sprawling tower blocks typical of Soviet-era dwellings. Twisted metal on balconies, shattered windows, woods, metal and other wreckage scattered between buildings and in streets.
Some 400,000 people have been trapped in the strategic port city on the Sea of Azov for more than two weeks, sheltering from heavy bombardment that has severed central supplies of electricity, heating and water, according to local authorities.
Nine people were killed and 17 wounded in shelling of the suburbs of the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine on Friday, deputy mayor Anatoliy Kurtiev said on Saturday.
The military has since declared a 38-hour curfew in Zaporizhzhia, which was being attacked by Russian forces with mortars, tanks, helicopters and rocket systems, Kurtiev said in an online post.
Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine on Friday to destroy a weapons storage site in the country’s west, the defence ministry said.
Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat, and state news agency RIA Novosti said it was the first use of the Kinzhal hypersonic weapons during the conflict in pro-Western Ukraine.
“The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region”, the Russian defence ministry said Saturday.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said on Saturday that 112 children have been killed so far in the war in Ukraine.
It also said on Telegram that 140 children had been wounded.
Reuters could not immediately verify the information.
Ukraine military orders 38-hour curfew in southern Zaporizhzhia city
The Ukrainian military imposed a 38-hour curfew in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, starting at 1400 GMT on Saturday and ending early on Monday, deputy mayor Anatoliy Kurtiev said.
Ukraine’s prosecutor office says 112 children killed in war in Ukraine
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said on Saturday that 112 children have been killed so far in the war in Ukraine. It also said on Telegram that 140 children had been wounded.
Moscow has never used the export of energy resources as an instrument of political pressure, since Russian energy companies have always fully fulfilled their obligations and continue to do so now, Director of the First European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexey Paramonov told Sputnik.
“Moscow has never used the export of energy resources as an instrument of political pressure. Russian energy companies have always fully fulfilled their obligations. They continue to do so now,” he said.
Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine on Friday to destroy a weapons storage site in the country’s west, the defence ministry said.
“The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition” in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region,” the Russian defence ministry said Saturday.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss believes that the sanctions against Russian businessmen imposed over the military operation in Ukraine will not be lifted.
“It’s extremely difficult. These oligarchs have enabled Vladimir Putin to do what he’s doing. There is blood on his hands,” Truss told the Times newspaper when asked if the sanctions against the Russian businessman will be lifted.
A humanitarian corridor for evacuations in Ukraine’s Luhansk region will be opened on Saturday morning, regional governor Serhiy Gaiday said on Telegram.
“A humanitarian corridor has been agreed, we will try to evacuate people and bring food today. A ‘regime of silence’ has been agreed for March 19, starting at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT),” Gaiday said.
Will China Provide Military Help To Russia In Ukraine?
The United States is still concerned about China providing military support to Russia even after President Joe Biden spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, on Friday to discourage him from aiding Moscow in its military operation in Ukraine, said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.
The United States will neither engage in hostilities in Ukraine nor establish a no-fly zone over the country, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin told the CNN broadcaster.
“Well, the President’s [Joe Biden] been very clear about the fact that we won’t have troops engaged in combat with Russia and Ukraine in order to affect or put into place a no fly zone,” mr Austin said.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are continuing to do their bit for the people of Ukraine. The couple has made donations to charities to support Ukrainians as they paid tribute to Invictus Games athlete Serhii Karaivan, who died while fighting against Russian forces.
As per Fox News, the couple’s Archewell Foundation announced on Friday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have donated to several organisations working on the ground to support the Ukrainian people.
Japan Prime Minister In Delhi Today, May Discuss Ukraine War With PM Modi
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to India gains significance amid the western countries slapping sanctions against Russia for its military operation in Ukraine.
Here’s Why Ukraine Has Turned To Crypto Donations
Cryptocurrencies have taken on an unprecedented role in the war in Ukraine, helping the government raise millions of dollars to fund its fight against the Russian invasion. Crypto donations are of value to Ukraine because they are less influenced by geopolitical or macroeconomic factors
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government for their assistance in evacuating Bangladeshi nationals who were stranded in the Sumy oblast of Ukraine.
“I write to express my sincere thanks to you and your government for extending support and assistance in rescuing and evacuating some Bangladeshi nationals along with the Indians who were stranded in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine,” Hasina said in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Modi.
French President “extremely concerned” over Ukraine war
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed Friday his “extreme concern” over the fate of Ukraine’s Mariupol in over an hour of talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, urging “a lifting of the siege and humanitarian access” to the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow, saying Russia would otherwise need generations to recover from losses suffered during the war.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had always offered solutions for peace and wanted meaningful and honest negotiations on peace and security, without delay.