Another 13 flights under Operation Ganga coming in today carrying approximately 2,500 Indian nationals, EAM S Jaishankar said in a tweet
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Highlights: The European Union said it had joined members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in suspending Russia and Belarus from the Council's activities.
"This decision is a part of the European Union's and like-minded partners response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the involvement of Belarus in this unprovoked and unjustified aggression," it said on Saturday.
Russia declared a partial ceasefire on Saturday to allow humanitarian corridors out of the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, Russia's defence ministry said.
The partial ceasefire will allow civilians to leave the city during a five-hour period from Saturday morning, the city authorities said. Civilians will be allowed to leave Mariupol between noon and 5 p.m. Moscow time (0900 - 1400 GMT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a special military operation before dawn on February 24, ignoring Western warnings and saying the "neo-Nazis" ruling Ukraine threatened Russia's security. Russia's assault is said to be the biggest on a European state since World War Two and threatens to upend the continent's post-Cold War order.
Another 13 flights under Operation Ganga coming in today carrying approximately 2,500 Indian nationals, EAM S Jaishankar said in a tweet
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Saturday and called for de-escalation and finding a diplomatic solution to the raging Ukraine crisis. Qureshi spoke on the telephone with Lavrov and besides bilateral ties, the two foreign ministers discussed the regional situation, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office here. Underlining Pakistan's concern at the latest situation in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighted that Pakistan had emphasised fundamental principles of UN Charter, called for de-escalation, and underscored the need for a diplomatic solution in accordance with the relevant multilateral agreements, international law, and provisions of the UN Charter, according to the statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, his spokesperson said. Israel has offered to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, though officials have previously played down expectations of a breakthrough. (Reuters)
Russian forces have taken control of a psychiatric hospital in the town of Borodyanka in Ukraine's Kyiv region, with 670 people inside, the regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba told local media on Saturday. "Today we do not understand how to evacuate these people, how to help them," Kuleba said. "They are running out of water and medicines," he said. "These are people with certain special needs, they need constant help ... many of them have been bedridden for years." (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western sanctions were akin to war on Saturday as his forces pressed on with their assault on Ukraine, where planned civilian evacuations from two besieged cities were called off. Russia and Ukraine traded blame over the failure to provide safe passage to civilians fleeing the two bombarded cities, on the 10th day of a war that has fuelled Europe's biggest humanitarian disaster in decades.
Russia's invasion, which began on Feb. 24, has sent nearly 1.5 million refugees fleeing westward into the European Union and provoked unprecedented international sanctions on Moscow. (Reuters)
At least 351 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, and another 707 wounded, although the true numbers are probably "considerably higher", a U.N. monitoring mission said on Saturday. Most of the civilian casualties were caused by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and from missile and air strikes, monitors from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.
"OHCHR believes that the real figures are considerably higher, especially in Government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intensive hostilities have been going on was delayed and many reports were still pending corroboration," it said. (Reuters)
Russia has provided hundreds of buses and is waiting to take Indians out. A group of diplomats has been sent to Belgorod* from the Indian embassy to deal with this issue on the spot and coordinate actions with the Russian side: Russian envoy to media
The Ukraine-Russia crisis will have consequences for the whole world including the Russia-India ties… to what extent, it will be reflected; can't say now. There may be an impact in terms of transactions, the possibility of financial cooperation in connection with sanctions, the Russian envoy told the media.
It makes sense for Indians to take advantage of the Ukraine-Russia situation when West partners refuse to cooperate... A window of opportunity for Indian business...makes sense for India to cooperate...: Russian envoy to media
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chair a high-level meeting on the Ukraine issue shortly.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that any country that sought to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered by Moscow to have entered the armed conflict, reports AFP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's attempt to secure direct NATO help in the conflict between their countries was not helping talks between the two sides.
"Constant angry statements from Mr Zelenskiy do not increase optimism," Lavrov told reporters on Saturday. In particular, he mentioned Zelenskiy's strong criticism of the Western military alliance on Friday for refusing to intervene in the conflict by preventing Russian missiles and warplanes using Ukrainian airspace.
"My question is: If he is so upset that NATO has not intervened on his behalf as he hoped, then he expects to resolve the conflict by involving NATO in all this, and not through talks?" Lavrov said. (Reuters)
