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A child collects toys near a clothes donation point as refugees fleeing conflict in Ukraine arrive at the Medyka border crossing in Poland, February 28, 2022. (AP) World leaders continued measure to isolate Moscow as President Vladimir Putin Tuesday 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.
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Putin 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.
Here are top developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict:
🔴 Hollywood studios Disney, Warner Bros, and Sony Pictures Entertainment said they would pause theatrical releases of upcoming films in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine and the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Russia is a significant market for Hollywood, accounting for $601 million in box office in 2021, or about 2.8% of worldwide ticket sales, which totalled $21.4 billion last year, according to Comscore. Several major films are slated for global release, ‘The Batman,’ scheduled to open in Russia on March 3 as part of a worldwide roll-out, and Paramount Pictures’ ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2′ which makes its global debut on April 8.
🔴 Russian teams were suspended from all international football, including qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup. World football body FIFA and European authority UEFA banned Russian national and club teams from their competitions “until further notice.” Russia’s men’s national team had been scheduled to play in World Cup qualifying playoffs in just three weeks’ time.
🔴 An Air India Express flight carrying 182 Indian nationals evacuated from war-torn Ukraine landed in Mumbai from the Romanian capital Bucharest on Tuesday morning, an airline spokesperson said. This is the second evacuation flight operated to Mumbai from Bucharest to bring back Indians from war-hit Ukraine since February 27.
🔴 The United States announced Monday it is expelling 12 members of the Russian Mission at the United Nations, accusing them of being “intelligence operatives’ engaged in espionage.
🔴 The first talks between Ukraine and Russia aimed at halting the Russian invasion were inconclusive. A second meeting in Belarus would be held in the “coming days.”
🔴 Switzerland, a favoured haven of Russian oligarch money, sidelined its customary neutrality and froze assets held by Putin and his subordinates, further limiting their access to financial resources already squeezed by sanctions announced by President Joe Biden and members of the European Union.
🔴 India said in the United States Security Council meeting that it was deeply concerned over the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and reiterated its call for an immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities, saying all differences can only be bridged through honest, sincere and sustained dialogue.
(With inputs from agencies)
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