Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets a wounded soldier during his visit to a hospital in Kyiv. (Photo: AP)Russia Ukraine War Crisis Live: A day after 35 people were killed in a Russian missile attack on a military base in western Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Nato to impose a no-fly zone in a video statement, news agency AFP reported. “If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on Nato territory,” he said.
Negotiations are set to continue between Ukraine and Russia on Monday with officials on both sides offering cautious optimism despite little evidence that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s position has changed. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak confirmed talks will take place with Russia on Monday via video link.
Meanwhile, India has decided to temporarily relocate the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to Poland as fighting in the country intensified. Over the days since the start of the war on February 24, majority of the Indian diplomats had moved from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to Lviv, a city that’s a short distance from the Ukraine-Poland border.
People carry their belongings after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine, at the border crossing in Palanca, Moldova, March 11, 2022. (AP)
India’s neighbours in South Asia have taken their own positions on the war in Ukraine keeping in mind their history, economy, the big power rivalry playing out in their countries, and their relations with these powers. There was a clear divide among the seven countries between those who maintained a neutral position, and those who were unequivocal in their opposition to Russia.
Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal supported the resolution against Russia in the United Nations General Assembly. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka abstained. Nepal, which is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, also voted for the HRC resolution to set up an independent investigation into Russia’s alleged violations of human rights in Ukraine. Read our Explainer to understand the relations.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling for an urgent solution to prevent a “worst-case scenario” for civilians trapped in the southern city of Mariupol, according to a statement released Sunday. “A worst-case scenario awaits the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped by heavy combat in Mariupol unless the parties reach a concrete humanitarian agreement urgently,” the statement says.
Negotiations are about to go on between Ukraine and Russia on Monday with officials on both sides offering cautious optimism despite little evidence that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s position has changed. “Again. Negotiations go non-stop in the format of video conferences. Working groups are constantly functioning. A large number of issues require constant attention. On Monday, March 14, a negotiating session will be held to sum up the preliminary results,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said.
The Australian government has slapped fresh sanctions on Russian oligarchs, including the prominent billionaire Roman Abramovich, who is the London-based owner of Millhouse Capital and the Chelsea Football Club. Australia on Monday designated 33 individuals, including the chief executive of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, and the chair of Bank Rossiya, Dmitri Lebedev. The move against Abramovich, one of the world’s richest men, brings Australia in line with the UK and the US. Click here to read about the Russian oligarchs who have been sanctioned so far.
For those who are joining us now, here’s a round-up of what has happened so far:
◼ President Zelenskiy urges Nato to impose no fly zone after the attack on the military base that brought the fighting close to the Polish border. “If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on Nato territory,” he said.
◼ The US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Russia would pay “severe price” if it initiated a chemical attack on Ukraine.
◼ Russia’s defence ministry admitted responsibility for the rocket attack on the International Centre for Peacekeeping & Security, a military base, near Lviv on Sunday.
◼ The death toll from the attack rose to 35 people. Boris Johnson called Russia’s actions barbaric and said it was a test of all of humanity. US secretary of state Antony Blinken condemned the attack, saying the brutality must stop.
◼ Russia has asked China for military equipment since the start of the invasion, the Financial Times reported. The request has sparked fear in the White House that Beijing may aid Russia and undermine the West’s efforts in Ukraine.
◼ Russia’s state media and communication regulator, Rozcomnadzor, says Instagram will be banned, citing the social networking site “calls for violence against Russians” as the reason behind the embargo.
A day after 35 people were killed in a Russian missile attack on a military base in western Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Nato to impose a no-fly zone in a video statement, news agency AFP reported. “If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on Nato territory,” he said. The attack on the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre base brought the fighting close to the Polish border.
Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine and its impact on regional and global security, a source familiar with the plans said.
The meeting had been in planning for some time as part of a broader effort by Washington and Beijing to maintain open channels of communication and manage competition, but the war in Ukraine would be “a significant topic,” the source said.
“This meeting is taking place in the context of Russia’s unjustified and brutal war against Ukraine, and as China has aligned itself with Russia to advance their own vision of the world order, and so I expect … the two of them will discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” the source said. (AP) Read more
Britain will pay people to open their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion as the government moves to deflect anger over its response to the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.
The new scheme called "Homes for Ukraine" will let refugees from the war come to Britain even if they do not have family ties, the government said on Sunday.
Britain will pay people 350 pounds ($456) a month if they can offer refugees a spare room or property for a minimum period of six months. (Reuters) Read more
Instagram users in Russia have been notified that the service will cease from midnight on Sunday after its owner Meta Platforms (FB.O) said last week it would allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as “Death to the Russian invaders”.
An email message from the state communications regulator told people to move their photos and videos from Instagram before it was shut down, and encouraged them to switch to Russia’s own “competitive internet platforms”. (Reuters)
More than 500 aircraft leased to Russian airlines by companies based in the West are in danger of never coming out of Russia.
There are no signs of a de-escalation in the war, the West is steadily turning up the heat on punitive sanctions, and President Vladimir Putin has cleared a proposal to nationalise all Western businesses that ceased operations in Russia after the sanctions were announced. But why are airline lessors set to lose more than 500 planes and $12 bn in Russia? Read our explainer here
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan says Russia will face a response from NATO should any of its attacks in Ukraine cross borders and hit members of the security alliance.
Russian missiles on Sunday struck a military training base close to Ukraine’s western border with NATO member Poland and killed 35 people.
Sullivan tells CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that President Joe Biden “has been clear repeatedly that the United States will work with our allies to defend every inch of NATO territory and that means every inch.”
Sullivan says a military attack on NATO territory would cause the invocation of Article 5. That requires other countries in NATO to come to the defense of the attacked nation. Sullivan says “We will bring the full force of the NATO alliance to bear in responding.” (AP)
From yachts, private jets and mansions to football clubs, Russian oligarchs have been facing the heat of sanctions from various countries, especially the US, in the wake of the Russian invasion. While the list grows longer each day and the war on Ukraine continues, there are plenty of questions as to who gets sanctioned and why. But how is the West looking to freeze out Russian oligarchs? Rounak Bagchi explains
Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Lyudmila Denisova, said Russia used phosphorous bombs during overnight attacks in eastern Ukraine. Use of these weapons in residential areas is prohibited under the Geneva convention.
Denisova shared a photo purporting to show an alleged phosphorus attack in the town of Pospasna in the eastern Luhansk region, but these claims have not yet been independently verified. A senior Ukrainian police officer previously accused Russian troops of launching phosphorus bomb attacks in Luhansk. (DW)
Hours after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Sunday afternoon to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and its impact on India, New Delhi decided to temporarily relocate the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to Poland. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were among those who attended the meeting.
Over the days since the start of the war on February 24, majority of the Indian diplomats had moved from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to Lviv, a city that’s a short distance from the Ukraine-Poland border. Read more
A 51-year-old New York Times correspondent, Brent Renaud, was reportedly shot dead in Ukraine today.
Pope Francis says 'massacre' in Ukraine must stop, reports AFP.
Men in camouflage, hardened by battle, sniffled as a Ukrainian Orthodox choir sang the haunting funeral mass. One man put his arm around another as tears welled in his eyes.
“The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished,” said the priest during the funeral rites Saturday for two of the four soldiers who died when the city’s military airfield was bombed before dawn Friday.
“For 30 years we were singing these words and saying we would suffer for our freedom, but we could not have imagined these words would become our reality, that we would have to send our sons to defend us against our neighbors,” Father Mykhail, the priest, said.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its third week. With the four deaths at the airfield, it arrived in Lutsk, a provincial capital only 55 miles from Poland. It was a rare attack in the west by a Russian military that has focused primarily in the south, north and around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Read more
Germany will take in 2,500 refugees who have fled to Moldova from Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Saturday, as eastern Europe's efforts to aid refugees come under strain.
The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24 now totals nearly 2.6 million and some cities in eastern Europe are running out of accommodation. (Reuters)
Governor of Ukraine’s Lviv region has said that 35 people were killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s western military base, news agency Reuters reported.
Nine killed by bombing in southern city of Mykolaiv, says regional governor. Also, a bus carrying Ukrainians crashes in Italy, leaving one dead, reports AFP.