Russia Ukraine War News Live: Ihor, 28, who used to be a sales manager, takes part in a training with weapons at a private company room following the Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine, March 23, 2022. (Reuters)Russia-Ukraine War Crisis Live: US President Joe Biden landed in Brussels Wednesday in the middle of a dispute with European allies over whether to impose further energy sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, a senior US defence official said that Russian ground forces appear to be digging in and setting up defensive positions between 15-20 km outside Kyiv, as they continue to make little to no progress moving toward the city center.
Russia’s communications regulator has blocked the news aggregator service of Alphabet Inc’s Google, accusing it of allowing access to what it calls fake material about the country’s military operation in Ukraine, Interfax news agency said Wednesday.
India, along with 12 other UN Security Council members, abstained on a resolution by Russia on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The draft resolution by Russia was cosponsored by Syria, North Korea and Belarus. It failed to get adopted in the Council on Wednesday as it did not get the required nine yes votes to pass. Russia and China voted in favour of the resolution while there were no countries voting against. India and the remaining Security Council members abstained.
A Ukrainian firefighter sprays water inside a house destroyed by shelling, in Kyiv, Ukraine (AP photo)
Britain will send thousands more missiles to Ukraine's government as Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Western allies to boost the supply of military aid to Ukraine.
Johnson is travelling to Brussels on Thursday for talks with NATO and leaders of the Group of Seven. He is expected to provide further details of the new British aid during the visit, including the donation of 6,000 more missiles comprising anti-tank and high-explosive weaponry.
"The United Kingdom will work with our allies to step up military and economic support to Ukraine, strengthening their defences as they turn the tide in this fight," Johnson said. (AP)
The US State Department says Russia has begun the process of expelling several more diplomats from the US embassy in Moscow. The department said it received a list of diplomats Wednesday who have been declared "persona non grata" by the Russian foreign ministry. It didn't say how many diplomats were affected by the order, which generally results in the expulsion of those targeted within 72 hours.
The Russian foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan on Monday to protest President Joe Biden's description of Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal" over the invasion of Ukraine. After that meeting, Russia warned that it was close to severing diplomatic relations with the United States, which would be an unprecedented move.
The State Department called Wednesday's move "Russia's latest unhelpful and unproductive step" in relations between the countries. It urged Russia "to end its unjustified expulsions of U diplomats and staff."
US President Joe Biden landed in Brussels Wednesday in the middle of a dispute with European allies over whether to impose further energy sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia supplies about 40% of the natural gas Europe uses, making it difficult for several European nations to ban Russian energy imports as the United States has.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will seek payment in roubles for gas sales to "unfriendly" countries, a move that sent European gas prices soaring on concerns it would exacerbate the region's energy crunch. (Reuters)
A senior US defence official said Wednesday that Russian ground forces appear to be digging in and setting up defensive positions between 15-20 km outside Kyiv, as they continue to make little to no progress moving toward the city center.
The official said it appears the forces are no longer trying to advance into the city and, in some cases east of Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have been able to push Russian soldiers further away. The official said Russian forces had been 20-30 km away to the east and northeast, and are now about 55 km away.
The official said that, instead, Russian troops are exerting more energy and effort in the eastern Donbas region, specifically in Luhansk and Donetsk. The official said the US is seeing Russia prioritize the fight there, in what could be an effort to cut off any Ukrainian troops in those areas and prevent them from moving west to defend other cities. (AP)
Russian military forces, led by President Vladimir Putin, have committed war crimes in Ukraine by hitting civilian targets and have unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across the war-torn country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
"Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine," Blinken said Wednesday.
"We've seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities. Russia's forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded," Blinken said. (PTI)
On September 2, 1945, the allied forces accepted Japan’s formal surrender, marking the end of the most destructive global conflict of all time — World War II. But nearly eight decades later, Japan and Russia technically remain at war.
The two countries are yet to formally sign a peace treaty to end World War II hostilities. At the heart of the conflict is a group of tiny islands located just off Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido.
Now peace talks between the two countries have hit yet another stumbling block — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After Japan joined the West in imposing hefty sanctions on Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry announced that it was withdrawing from treaty discussions, accusing Japan of “consciously choosing an anti-Russian course”.
India, along with 12 other UN Security Council members, abstained on a resolution by Russia on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
The draft resolution by Russia was cosponsored by Syria, North Korea and Belarus. It failed to get adopted in the Council on Wednesday as it did not get the required nine yes votes to pass.
Russia and China voted in favour of the resolution while there were no countries voting against. India and the remaining Security Council members abstained.
The Russian offensive against Mariupol has turned the city into “ashes of a dead land”, the city council asserted on Tuesday, describing the increased bombarding and shelling ever since Ukraine rejected the Kremlin’s proposal to lay down their arms and surrender.
Mariupol has been a key fighting ground as Moscow looks to overturn its 2014 loss when the Russia-backed separatists had failed to capture the city in the Donetsk oblast (region). We explain why Mariupol holds the key to the Russian offensive.
About 70 km from the border with Poland, Lviv in Ukraine has become the main transit point for all those fleeing the war. Located in the western part of the country, this city has largely been untouched by Russia’s invasion. But on the road from the border, there are reminders.
The city’s limits are guarded by volunteers and the police, with a checkpost marked by sand bags, barbed wire, concrete blocks, tyres and metal slabs. Smaller checkposts can be seen outside every village and town, even if some are left unguarded. Everyone is prepared, in case the war comes west.
But inside the city’s limits, people go about their daily lives. Of the over 3.5 million who have left Ukraine since the war began a month ago, most have gone through Lviv, and many continue to arrive in the city. From here, they take buses, cars and trains, or travel on foot, to cross over to Poland, and then move to Warsaw before leaving for other parts of Europe.
➡️ Nato estimates that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of fighting
➡️ Ukraine's president calls for a worldwide show of support on Thursday to mark one month since Russia invaded.
➡️ The Biden administration has made a formal determination that Russian troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine
➡️ Biden has embarked on a trip to Europe as Russia's war in Ukraine bogs down
➡️ Russian Olympic athletes who participated in a pro-Putin rally are facing a backlash (AP)
Russia's communications regulator has blocked the news aggregator service of Alphabet Inc's Google, accusing it of allowing access to what it calls fake material about the country's military operation in Ukraine, Interfax news agency said Wednesday.
"We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end," Google said in a statement. "We’ve worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible."
Interfax said Roskomnadzor, the regulator, had acted on a request from the office of Russia's prosecutor general. "The American online news resource in question provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic and publicly important information about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine," Interfax quoted the regulator as saying.
A new Russian law makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the Russian military. (Reuters)