Russia Ukraine War News Live: A firefighter walks outside a destroyed apartment building after a bombing in a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 15, 2022. (AP)Russia Ukraine War Crisis Live: Russian forces shot and killed 10 people standing in line for bread in Chernihiv, said the US embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday. “Such horrific attacks must stop. We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine,” it added. The embassy did not cite what evidence it had of the attack in a statement posted on its official Twitter site and on its Facebook page. Russia has called its military actions in Ukraine a “special operation”. It did not immediately comment on the U.S. embassy statement. Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that some formulations for agreements with Ukraine were close to being agreed, with neutral status for Kyiv under “serious” consideration. Ukraine too has said that it sees possible room for compromise in talks with Russia despite new assaults on Mariupol. The fast-moving developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground came on the 20th day of Russia’s invasion.
Meanwhile, the White House said that India taking up Russia’s offer of discounted crude oil would not be a violation of American sanctions. However, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that we should “think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time.” India has not supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi has consistently asked all stakeholders to resolve differences through dialogue. It has, however, abstained in all United Nations resolutions against Russia.
Aleksander, 41, presses his palms against the window as he says goodbye to his daughter Anna, 5, on a train to Lviv at the Kyiv station. (AP)
Russian forces shot and killed 10 people standing in line for bread in Chernihiv, said the US embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday. “Such horrific attacks must stop. We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine,” it added.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed on Twitter that Mayor Oleksandr Yakovlev and his deputy, Yuri Palyukh, have been abducted by Russian invaders.
Russia and Ukraine both emphasised newfound scope for compromise on Wednesday as peace talks were set to resume three weeks into a Russian assault that has so far failed to topple the Ukrainian government.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the talks were becoming "more realistic", while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was "some hope for compromise", with neutral status for Ukraine - a major Russian demand - now on the table. (PTI)
Russia’s military forces blasted Ukraine’s capital region and other major cities Wednesday as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defense that has frustrated their progress nearly three weeks after invading.
With Russia’s ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, a glimmer of optimism emerged that talks between the two sides could make progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiations would continue and Russia’s demands for ending the war were becoming “more realistic.”
Russia rained shells on areas around Kyiv and within the city, where a 12-story apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel. (AP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that some formulations for agreements with Ukraine were close to being agreed, with neutral status for Kyiv under "serious" consideration.
However, he told the RBC news outlet that there were other issues of importance too, including the usage of the Russian language in Ukraine and freedom of speech. (Reuters)
Talks with Ukraine are difficult and slow, but Russia sincerely wants peace as soon as possible, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky was quoted by Interfax as saying Wednesday.
The negotiations are hard, going slowly. Of course, we would like it all to happen much faster, this is a sincere desire of the Russian side. We want to come to peace as soon as possible,' Medinsky said.
"We need a peaceful, free, independent Ukraine, neutral — not a member of military blocs, not a member of NATO," he added. (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that some formulations for agreements with Ukraine were close to being agreed, with neutral status for Kyiv under "serious" consideration.
However, he told the RBC news outlet that there were other issues of importance too, including the usage of the Russian language in Ukraine and freedom of speech.
He said that key issues for Russia include the security of people in eastern Ukraine and demilitarisation of Ukraine. (Reuters)
The Ukrainian prosecutor general said Wednesday 103 children have been killed so far in the war in Ukraine.
Russian forces have struck more than 400 educational establishments and 59 of them have been destroyed, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said on Facebook. (Reuters)
A senior Ukrainian official said it was an "open question" whether a "humanitarian corridor" would be opened Wednesday to evacuate more civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk also said in a video address that Russian forces were in control of a hospital which they captured on Tuesday in Mariupol, and that 400 staff and patients there were being held hostage.
Russian troops had opened fire from artillery positions on the grounds of the hospital, she said. Reuters was unable immediately to verify the information.
Nato is set to tell its military commanders Wednesday to draw up plans for new ways to deter Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, including more troops and missile defences in eastern Europe, officials and diplomats said.
While at least 10 of Nato's biggest allies, including the United States, Britain and France, have deployed more troops, ships and warplanes to its eastern flank, and put more on stand-by, the alliance must still consider how to face up to a new security situation in Europe over the medium term.
Defence ministers from the alliance will order the military advice at Nato headquarters on Wednesday, just over a week before allied leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, gather in Brussels on March 24.
"We need to reset our military posture for this new reality," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. "Ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term, in all domains." (Reuters)
As Ukrainians flee their country amid the Russian invasion, music has emerged as a symbol of resistance. Now, a video of a woman playing a giant piano sitting amid the wreckage of her ruined home destroyed by shelling has gone viral.
In the video that has taken social media by storm, the woman is seen clearing some ashes from the keys before playing a beautiful rendition of a melody composed by Frédéric Chopin. As she continues to play Polish composer Chopin’s ‘Etude Op 25 no1’ the camera pans to show the devastation—shattered glasses, blown away doors and broken furniture.
As many as 13,800 Russian soldiers have been killed since Moscow launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, said the Ukrainian military in a statement Wednesday.
According to the report released by Ukraine’s ministry of defence, a further 430 tanks, 1375 armoured combat vehicles, 190 artillery systems and 108 helicopters have also been destroyed, said a Guardian report.
The emergency service in Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv region said Wednesday that at least 500 residents of the city of Kharkiv have been killed since Russia invaded on February 24.
Reuters was unable immediately to verify the information. Russia denies targeting civilians.
Russia announced Tuesday that it formally left the Council of Europe, the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog.
Russia’s departure from the body potentially preempts the country’s expulsion following its invasion of Ukraine.
The head of the delegation at the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Pyotr Tolstoy, handed a letter from Russia’s long-serving foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, to the Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric of the Council of Europe, Russian state-run Tass reported.
➡️ The United States imposed sanctions on Russians it accused of gross human rights violations and slapped fresh measures on the Belarusian president.
➡️ Russia retaliated by sanctioning Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others.
➡️ The EU hit Moscow with fresh sanctions, including bans on Russian energy sector investments, luxury goods exports to Russia, and imports of steel products from Russia.
➡️ Nine out of 10 Ukrainians could face poverty and extreme economic vulnerability if the war drags on over the next year, wiping out two decades of economic gains, the UN Development Programme said.
➡️ Russia's sanctions-ravaged government is teetering on the brink of its first international debt default since the Bolshevik revolution, with $117 million in interest on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds due Wednesday.
US President Joe Biden will announce $800 million in new security assistance to Ukraine Wednesday, a White House official said. News agency AFP reported that the announcement brings 'the total (aid) announced in the last week alone to $1 billion,' as per the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
The Chinese government criticized Taiwan's aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.
China accused Taiwan of "taking advantage of other's difficulties" by providing aid and imposing sanctions.
A spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, said Taiwan's government was using the issue for its own purposes.
"The Democratic Progressive Party authorities are using the Ukraine issue to validate their existence and piggy back on a hot issue, taking advantage of other's difficulties," she said. The Taiwanese nationalist and center-left Democratic Progressive Party has been in power since 2016.
On the other hand, Taiwan's government said it had a duty to stand with other democracies and support Ukraine.
Recently, Taiwan has engaged in military drills to deter what it sees as a threat from China. (Deutche Welle)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the US Congress Wednesday at around 6.30 pm IST.
Zelenskyy's livestreamed address into the US Capitol will be among the most important in a unique and very public strategy in his fight to stop Russia.
When Zelenskyy is live-streamed into the Capitol, his speech could very likely put him at odds with US President Joe Biden, who has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or facilitating the transfer of military planes from neighbouring Poland that Zelenksyy has been pleading for since the outbreak of the war. (AP)
Russian warships around midnight fired missiles and artillery at the Ukrainian sea coast near Tuzla, to the south of Odesa, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said.
"They fired a huge amount of ammunition from a great distance," he said on Facebook.
Gerashchenko said Russia wanted to test Ukraine's coastal defense system. He said there was no attempt to land troops. He didn't say whether any of the shelling hit anything. (AP)
Ukraine said a fourth Russian general has been killed in the fighting.
Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev died Tuesday during the storming of Mariupol, said Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko, who published a photo on Telegram of what he said was the dead officer. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported the death of another Russian general in his nighttime address but didn't name him.
Mityaev, 46, commanded the 150th motorised rifle division and had fought in Syria, Gerashchenko said. There was no confirmation of the death from Russia. (AP)