Protests against Russia's aggression against Ukraine outside the Russian embassy in Stockholm, February 23, 2022. (Photo: Paul Wennerholm / TT via AP)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: Russia’s state-run news agency Tass Wednesday reported that Russia has started evacuating personnel from its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine. Moscow has an embassy in Ukraine’s Kyiv and consulates in Kharkiv Odesa and Lviv. The Tass report stated the embassy in Kyiv confirmed that the evacuations have begun.
The Ukraine Parliament on Wednesday voted to approve in the first reading a draft law which gives permission to Ukrainians to carry firearms and act in self-defence, news agency Reuters reported. “The adoption of this law is fully in the interests of the state and society,” the authors of the law said in a note and added that the law was needed due to “existing threats and dangers for the citizens of Ukraine”.
Satellite images showed a new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of troop tents in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border. The images released by Maxar Technologies also showed a new field hospital has been added to a military garrison in western Russia close to the border with Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country was always open to diplomacy. However, it puts its own national security interests first and would continue strengthening its military in the wake of “a difficult international situation”, Putin added. “Our country is always open to a direct and honest dialogue and ready to search for diplomatic solutions to the most complicated issues,” Reuters quoted Putin as saying.”But I want to repeat that Russia’s interests and the security of our people are unconditional. So, we will continue to strengthen and modernise our army and navy.”
A Ukrainian service member touches a dog on the front line near the city of Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Reuters)
Russian state-run news agency Tass on Wednesday reported Russia has started evacuating diplomatic personnel from Ukraine.
Pope Francis on Wednesday said the threat of war in Ukraine had caused "great pain in my heart", and urged politicians to make a serious examination of conscience before God about their actions.Speaking in a sombre tone at the end of his weekly general audience, Francis urged leaders to abstain from any moves that would cause further suffering for people and proclaimed Ash Wednesday, March 2, as an international day of fasting and prayer for peace. --Reuters
In this handout photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspects weapons during a visit to Ukrainian coast guards in Mariupol, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. In late January, Zelenskyy said that $12.5 billion had been withdrawn from accounts in the country. Last week, he called on members of parliament and businessmen who had fled to return. More than 20 charters and private jets left Kyiv last week, carrying some of the country's most prominent executives. (AP)
The Ukraine Parliament on Wednesday voted to approve in the first reading a draft law which gives permission to Ukrainians to carry firearms and act in self-defence, news agency Reuters reported. “The adoption of this law is fully in the interests of the state and society,” the authors of the law said in a note and added that the law was needed due to “existing threats and dangers for the citizens of Ukraine”.
Australia has announced additional sanctions on Russia and is warning businesses to prepare for retaliation through Russian cyberattacks. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that targeted financial sanctions and travel bans will be the first batch of measures in response to Russian aggression toward Ukraine. Australia and Russia have imposed sanctions on each other since 2014. The sanctions were initiated by Australia in protest of Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The National Security Committee in Morrison's Cabinet approved sanctions and travel bans that target eight members of the Russian Security Council. They also agreed to expand previous sanctions and to align with the United States and Britain by targeting two Russian banks. --AP
People across the world are tuning in to news channels for updates amid the escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine. As several news channels and outlets are bringing in the news about the Russia-Ukraine crisis, a multi-lingual reporter Philip Crowther has stunned netizens with his eloquent coverage of the situation in six languages.
Without stumbling, he is heard reporting from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in English, Luxembourgish, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. Crowther took to Twitter to share a montage of his reporting on Monday and it has amassed more than 3 million views so far.
Technically, war has been going on in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas between Ukraine forces and Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Around 14,000 people have been killed so far in the conflict. An additional 1.4 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced.
The White House had earlier been reluctant to use the term “invasion” but has now shifted its position. “We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, told CNN. “An invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.”
The EU and the UK, meanwhile, weighed in on what Putin’s decision means.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls up reservists aged 18 to 60 for a maximum service of one year. (Reuters)
Russia Wednesday welcomed India's "independent position" on the Ukraine crisis and said its views on the issue at the UN Security Council was reflective of the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.
Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin said India has been playing a vital role as a responsible global power and it takes an "independent and balanced" approach to global affairs.
We welcome the independent position of India which it took twice at the UN Security Council," he said at an online media briefing. "The Indian activities at the UN Security Council are fully reflecting the merit of our special and privileged strategic partnership," he added. (PTI)
While the US and Europe second-guess Vladimir Putin's next move on Ukraine, the Russian President gave a glimpse into the country's decision-making process during a security meeting on recognising two breakaway regions in Ukraine.
During the televised meeting Monday, Putin pressed Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin to "speak plainly". The tense exchange saw the spy chief being interrupted repeatedly as he struggled to find the right words.
China's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it opposes any sanctions on Russia. We never think that sanctions is the best way to solve problems, the ministry said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow is ready to look for 'diplomatic solutions', reports news agency AFP.
The Ukrainian military said Wednesday one soldier had been killed and six wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine in the past 24 hours as ceasefire violations remain at a high level.
The military said on its Facebook page it had recorded 96 incidents of shelling by separatists over the past 24 hours compared with 84 a day earlier. It said separatist forces used heavy artillery, mortars and Grad rocket systems.
Ukraine has accused Russia of provoking violence, saying it used it as a pretext to formally recognise eastern Ukraine as independent and move its troops into the region, precipitating a crisis that the West fears could unleash a major war. (Reuters)
Deputy Chief of Mission of the Russian Embassy in New Delhi said that Donetsk and Luhansk, two rebel-held regions in Ukraine, applied officially to Russia for recognition of their independence.
The situation in Ukraine has its roots in post-Soviet politics, the expansion of NATO and the dynamics between Russia and Europe, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.
In an interactive session at a think-tank in Paris, he said Tuesday that the world today is in the midst of "multiple crises" and these developments have generated new challenges to the international order.
"The situation in Ukraine is the result of a complex chain of circumstances over the last 30 years. Most countries, such as India and France, which are very active, are seeking a diplomatic solution," he said.
"The real question is: are you mobilised to find a good solution or are you content with posturing? India can talk with Russia, with other countries, within the UN security council and support initiatives like those of France," Jaishankar said when asked why India has not condemned the concentration of Russian troops on the Ukrainian borders. (PTI)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crisis could be resolved if:
1️⃣ Kyiv recognises Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed after seizing it from Ukraine in 2014,
2️⃣ renounces its bid to join NATO and partially demilitarises
The West has decried the annexation of Crimea as a violation of international law and has previously flatly rejected permanently barring Ukraine from NATO.
If Russia further invades Ukraine, the Biden administration could deprive it of a vast swath of low- and high-tech US and foreign-made goods, from commercial electronics and computers to semiconductors and aircraft parts, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
President Joe Biden would achieve that by expanding the list of goods that require US licenses before suppliers can ship them to Russia, and his administration would then deny those licenses, the people said. The measures, whose details have not previously been reported, are part of a suite of export control penalties that the United States has prepared to damage Russia’s economy, targeting everything from lasers to telecoms equipment and maritime items.
Former US President Donald Trump termed Russian President Vladimir Putin's move declaring a portion of Ukraine as independent as "genius" and said Putin will have the "strongest peace force".
Speaking to the conservative talk show 'The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show', Trump claimed that the Russian invasion would not have happened had he been in office. His full remarks are as follows:
"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So, Putin is now saying, 'It’s independent,' a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy… I know him very well. Very, very well. By the way, this never would have happened with us. Had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened. But here’s a guy that says, you know, 'I’m gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,' he used the word 'independent,' 'and we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.' You gotta say that’s pretty savvy."
"I think he sees this opportunity. I knew that he always wanted Ukraine. I used to talk to him about it. I said, 'You can’t do it. You’re not gonna do it.' But I could see that he wanted it. I used to ask him. We used to talk about it at length. I think nobody probably knows him better in terms of the discussions that we have or that we’re having this morning. So, I knew him very well. I got to know him."
Taiwan's security and armed forces must increase their surveillance and alertness on military activities in the region, President Tsai Ing-wen said Wednesday during a meeting to discuss the Ukraine crisis.
Taiwan and Ukraine are fundamentally different in terms of geostrategic, geographical environment and importance of international supply chains, but government units must tackle possible "cognitive warfare" and misinformation by foreign forces, Tsai's office cited her as saying. (Reuters)
Sounds of shelling were heard near Ukraine frontline, said news agency AFP in a video report Wednesday.