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Russia-Ukraine Conflict Highlights: Russian troops launched multiple air strikes on a military training ground outside Ukraine's western city of Lviv, near the border with Poland, a local official said Sunday.
Russia "launched an air strike on the International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security," some 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Lviv, head of the Lviv regional administration, Maxim Kozitsky, said on his verified Facebook page, adding that eight missiles were fired.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday that Russia might use chemical weapons following its invasion of Ukraine and that such a move would be a war crime, according to an interview in German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday authorized $200 million in weapons and other assistance for Ukraine, the White House said, as Ukrainian officials said heavy shelling by Russian forces were endangering attempted evacuations.
The decision brings total U.S. security aid provided to Ukraine over the past year to $1.2 billion, a senior administration official said. In a memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden directed that up to $200 million allocated through the Foreign Assistance Act be designated for Ukraine's defense.
The funds can be used for weapons and other defense articles from the Defense Department's stock, as well as military education and training to help Ukraine. The fresh funds come days after the U.S. Congress approved $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine as part of a $1.5 trillion measure to fund the U.S. government through September.
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.
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Russia said on Sunday that it was counting on China to help it withstand the blow to its economy from Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, but the United States warned Beijing not to provide that lifeline.Russian Finance Minister AntonSiluanovsaid sanctions had deprived Moscow of access to $300 billion of its $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves, and added that there was pressure on Beijing to shut off more.
"We have part of our gold and foreign exchange reserves in the Chinese currency, inyuan. And we see what pressure is being exerted by Western countries on China in order to limit mutual trade with China. Of course, there is pressure to limit access to those reserves," he said.
"But I think that our partnership with China will still allow us to maintain the cooperation that we have achieved, and not only maintain, but also increase it in an environment where Western markets are closing."(Reuters)
Instagram users in Russia have been notified that the service will cease from midnight on Sunday after its owner Meta Platforms 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".Meta, which also owns Facebook, said on Friday that the temporary change in its hate speech policy applied only to Ukraine, in the wake of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. (Reuters)
Turkish PresidentTayyipErdoganand Greek Prime MinisterKyriakosMitsotakisagreed in talks on Sunday to improve ties, despite the long-running disagreements between the two NATO members, Ankara said.
Both countries have key roles to play in the changing security situation in Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and their increased cooperation would have benefits for the region, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
Turkey shares a maritime border with both Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, has good relations with both countries and has offered to mediate in the conflict. (Reuters)
Russian and Ukrainian officials gave their most upbeat assessments yet on Sunday of progress in their talks on the war in Ukraine, suggesting there could be positive results within days."We will not concede in principle on any positions. Russia now understands this. Russia is already beginning to talk constructively," Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviserMykhailoPodolyaksaid in a video posted online."I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days," he said. (Reuters)
Nearly 125,000 people have been evacuated via humanitarian corridors from conflict zones in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address on Sunday. "Today the key task is Mariupol," he said, adding that a humanitarian supply convoy was now only 80 kilometres (50 miles) away from the besieged port city where more than 400,000 people are trapped. (Reuters)
Russia's expansion of attacks to new targets in Ukraine near the Polish border reflects its growing frustration about the pace of the invasion, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday.
Sullivan said Washington had no plans to have U.S. military forces operating in Ukraine, but the United States would defend "every inch" of NATO territory, while increasing assistance to Ukrainian fighters, including through provision of anti-aircraft weapons.
He said the United States and its allies would continue to escalate pressure on Russia and warned that any moves by China or others to provide a lifeline to Russia or help them evade Western sanctions would "absolutely" result in consequences.(Reuters)
Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather Sunday in cities across Europe to protest against the ongoing war in Ukraine, with small rallies taking place in Russia as well despite a crackdown by authorities against such demonstrations.
Trade unions called a protest in Berlin where sunny weather was expected to boost the turnout. Organizers planned to march from the city's Alexanderplatz a large square named after Russian Tsar Alexander I to a site near the Brandenburg Gate. Protests were also planned in Warsaw, London, Madrid, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart.
In Russia, where protests against the war in Ukraine have typically met with a heavy police response, rights group OVD-Info said 135 people had been detained in 20 cities as of early afternoon Moscow time. Meanwhile, Ukrainian nationals in Taiwan and supporters staged a march Sunday in Taipei to protest the Russian invasion. (AP)
A Russian missile attack on a large Ukrainian military facility near the border with NATO member Poland on Sunday killed 35 people and wounded 134, a Ukrainian official said.
Ukraine said foreign military instructors have previously worked at the base, but a NATO official said there were no personnel from the alliance at the base. It was not immediately clear whether any non-NATO states might have representatives there.
Regional governorMaksymKozytskyysaid Russian planes fired around 30 rockets at theYavorivInternational Center for Peacekeeping and Security, adding that some were intercepted before they hit. At least 35 people were killed and 134 wounded, he said. Reuters was not able to verify his statement.
Reuters
With the military conflict escalating between Ukrainian and Russian troops, India has decided to temporarily shift its embassy in Ukraine to neighbouring Poland.
"In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, including attacks in the western parts of the country, it has been decided that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily relocated in Poland. The situationwill be reassessed in the light of further developments," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
As many as 179 students who were trapped in war-torn Ukraine, have reached Jharkhand, State Migrant Control Room officials said on Sunday. Of the 179 students, 34 were from Ranchi district followed by East Singhbhum (26), Dhanbad (18), Godda (15), Palamu (14), Hazaribag (13) and Bokaro (10). (PTI)
