In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, March 3, 2022, a view from the window of a Russian military helicopter as it flies over an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: Ukrainian negotiators at talks with Russian officials on Thursday demanded a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors to evacuate besieged citizens as Moscow’s invasion forces surrounded and bombarded Ukrainian cities. Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that Moscow is ready for talks to end the fighting in Ukraine but will continue to press its effort to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
Ukraine’s state emergencies agency said that at least 22 civilians have been killed in a Russian strike on a residential area in the city of Chernihiv, a city of 280,000 in Ukraine’s north. It said the casualties could be higher as rescuers are continuing to look through debris for more bodies. The development comes even as talks between Russia and Ukraine were underway in Belarus. In other news, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed in fighting in Ukraine earlier this week, news agency AP reported. His death was confirmed by a local officers’ organization in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court prosecutor has launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide amid a rising civilian death toll and widespread destruction of property during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the probe late Wednesday night after dozens of the court’s member states asked him to take action. After informing the court’s judges of his decision to open an investigation that covers all sides in the conflict, Khan said, “Our work in the collection of evidence has now commenced.”
People sleep in the Kyiv subway, being used as a bomb shelter. (AP)
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said the pace of India’s evacuation operation from Ukraine is accelerating and about 1,000 Indians have left Kharkiv to nearby Pisochyn pursuant to its advisory a day ago.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that the Indian side is in touch with both Ukrainian and Russian authorities to examine the modalities of how Indians can be evacuated from both Kharkiv and Sumy.
“We are closely following the developments in Kharkiv, Sumy and other cities in eastern Ukraine. As you know yesterday we issued an advisory for Indians in Kharkiv to leave the city by 6 pm local time. Pursuant to this, a large number of students have left Kharkiv and are currently in the nearby issue of Pisochyn. We estimate this number to be around 1,000,” he said. Read more
“How is this an evacuation,” asked Animesh Mishra, 22, from a hostel room in western Ukrainian city of Pesochin, having escaped war-torn Kharkiv on Wednesday, after being holed up in a hostel bunker there with fellow students since the Russian invasion began eight days ago.
Mishra was one of hundreds of medical students who walked 25 km to reach Pesochin late Wednesday, after the Indian embassy gave an urgent call on Twitter to all students in Kharkiv to leave within four hours and reach shelters at three location around the city.
He had attempted to leave the city by train a day before the embassy’s call but couldn’t find any vehicle to the station. On Wednesday morning, he was lucky to get a taxi. But that’s where his luck ran out. Read full report
The Biden administration offered humanitarian relief to Ukrainians in the United States on Thursday, which could protect as many as 30,000 people from being deported.
Ukrainians can remain for up to 18 months under the federal programme known as Temporary Protected Status.
"Russia's premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, that has forced Ukrainians ?to seek refuge in other countries," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said. (AP)
Brazil's government announced on Thursday that it will grant temporary visas and residence permits to Ukrainians and stateless people affected by Russia's invasion of its neighbor, according to the country's official gazette.Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported that Brazil was close to signing off on the measure, citing a source with knowledge of the plan.
The business representative of the Ukrainian embassy in Brasilia, Anatoliy Tkach, said that there are already some inquiries from Ukrainians interested in coming to Brazil, although he recognized numbers were small. (Reuters)
The Biden administration ordered new sanctions blocking Russian business oligarchs and others in President Vladimir Putin's inner circle on Thursday in response to Russian forces' fierce pummeling of Ukraine.
Those targeted by the new sanctions include Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, and Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, one of Russia's wealthiest individuals and a close ally of Putin.
The US State Department also announced it was imposing visa bans on 19 Russian oligarchs and dozens of their family members and close associates. (AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that he has again asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukraine, but that Putin won't do it.
'At this point, he refuses,' Macron wrote in Twitter post.
He confirmed that he had spoken to Putin on the phone earlier on Thursday and said he will continue the dialogue to prevent "more human tragedy."
'We must prevent the worst from happening,' Macron also said in his post.
Dialogue has to continue to 'protect the (civilian) population, to obtain good will gestures ... to put an end to this war,' Macron said. (AP)
The United States on Thursday will impose sanctions on an array of Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin spokesman, the White House said, as Washington takes aim at those close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The United States imposed full blocking sanctions on several oligarchs and officials, as well as some of their companies, the White House said. Those designated include Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, the founder of Russian mining company Metalloinvest, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (Reuters)
Slovakia's government approved a further aid package of military material worth 32.2 million euros for Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Thursday.
The package is the third and biggest contribution so far from the central European country, which shares a border with Ukraine and has taken in tens of thousands of refugees fleeing fighting after Russia's invasion last week.
The government, according to its website, also approved allowing overflights of foreign forces of NATO, of which Slovakia is also a member.The allowance would be to provide operations support or allow for humanitarian missions, exercises, or transport of delegations, the ministry said. (Reuters)
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia's military operations in Ukraine were going according to plan and praised its soldiers as heroes.
In televised comments, Putin made a series of allegations against Ukrainian forces for which he did not provide evidence, including that they were holding foreign citizens hostage and using human shields. (Reuters)
Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed in fighting in Ukraine earlier this week. His death was confirmed by a local officers’ organization in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.
Sukhovetsky, who was 47, began his military service as a platoon commander after graduating from a military academy and steadily rose through the ranks to take a series of leadership positions. He took part in Russia’s military campaign in Syria. He was also a deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army.
A funeral ceremony will be held in Novorossiisk, but further details weren’t immediately announced. (AP)
Ukrainian negotiators at talks with Russian officials on Thursday demanded a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors to evacuate besieged citizens as Moscow's invasion forces surrounded and bombarded Ukrainian cities. (Reuters)
Video shows the bombardment of Chernihiv in Ukraine, on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him, salting the proposal with sarcasm.
“Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 meters,” he said Thursday, apparently referring to recent photos of Putin sitting at one end of an extremely long table when he met with French President Emmanuel Macron. “I don’t bite. What are you afraid of?” Zelenskyy said at a Thursday news conference.
Zelenskyy said it was sensible to have talks: “Any words are more important than shots.” (AP)
The United States on Thursday planned to impose economic sanctions on a wide array of Russian oligarchs and their families, two sources familiar with the matter said, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Washington has already hit a variety of oligarchs with asset-blocking sanctions. The source, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said some significant names would be included in Thursday's actions. (Reuters)
Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing on the eve of the Games following threats of boycotts by other teams over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said. Belarus has been a key staging area for the full-scale invasion Russia launched on Ukraine a week ago. Thursday's decision comes a day after the IPC gave athletes from the two countries the green light to participate in the March 4-13 Games as neutrals, saying the "athletes were not the aggressors". (Reuters)
The United Nations' human rights chief said on Thursday that tens of millions of lives were at risk in Ukraine as the conflict there intensified. Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate halt to hostilities as she opened a debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on setting up an international commission of inquiry into alleged violations by Russia.
"Tens of millions of people remain in the country, in potentially mortal danger. I am deeply concerned that the current escalation of military operations will further heighten the harm they face," Bachelet said. (Reuters)
Ukraine President Zelenskyy says seeks direct talks with Putin 'only way to stop the war', reports AFP.
Ukraine’s state emergencies agency says that at least 22 civilians have been killed in a Russian strike on a residential area in the city of Chernihiv, a city of 280,000 in Ukraine’s north. It said the casualties could be higher as rescuers are continuing to look through debris for more bodies. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed no let-up in his invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, even as the warring sides met for ceasefire talks and Kyiv demanded safe passage for besieged civilians. After the fall of a first major Ukrainian city to Russian forces, Putin appeared in no mood to heed a global clamour for hostilities to end as the war entered its second week.
'Russia intends to continue the uncompromising fight against militants of nationalist armed groups,' Putin said, according to a Kremlin account of a call with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Russian armoured columns from Crimea pushed deep into the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on the first day of their invasion Thursday, triggering fighting that left at least 13 civilians dead. Nine Ukrainian soldiers were also killed, the Kherson regional administration said, as the Russian force seized crossing points from Crimea to the mainland and a crossing over the Dnipro river. (AFP)