Russia Ukraine News Highlights | US President Joe Biden will make his first visit to Europe since the invasion of Ukraine to discuss the crisis with NATO allies next week, the White House said on Tuesday as the refugee tally hit 3 million amid more Russian air strikes.
Moscow has not captured any of the 10 biggest cities in the country following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.
Local authorities said Tuesday's bombardments on Kyiv killed at least five people as buildings were set ablaze and people were buried under rubble.
About 2,000 cars left the southern port city of Mariupol, location of the worst humanitarian crisis, the local council said.
Just over 3 million have now fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations, with over 1.8 million arriving in neighbouring Poland. Its prime minister and those of Slovenia and the Czech Republic were in Kyiv on Tuesday to show solidarity.
NATO leaders will meet at the military alliance's headquarters in Brussels on March 24 to discuss the crisis that has prompted fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.
"We will address Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence & defence," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.
Biden will be in attendance, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
"His goal is to meet in person face-to-face and talk about and assess where we are at this point in the conflict," she said.
Asked if Biden would also visit Poland, do something tied to Ukrainian refugees or meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Psaki declined to comment, saying trip details were still being worked out.
Russia calls its actions a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has also called its neighbour a U.S. colony with a puppet regime and no tradition of independent statehood.
Talks between Russia and Ukraine via a video link resumed on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials played up hopes the war could end sooner than expected, saying Moscow may be coming to terms with its failure to impose a new government by force.
In a hint of a possible compromise, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared to accept security guarantees from the West that stop short of its long-term objective of joining NATO. Moscow sees any future Ukraine membership of the Western alliance as a threat and has demanded guarantees it will never join.
"If we cannot enter through open doors, then we must cooperate with the associations with which we can, which will help us, protect us ... and have separate guarantees," said Zelenskiy.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks. "The work is difficult, and in the current situation the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive," he said.
The crisis is being felt in the form of spiralling energy costs in many Western countries with some heavily reliant on exports from Russia and after a U.S. ban on imports of oil from the country.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Middle East on Wednesday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates before seeing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia in efforts to secure more oil flows.
"We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term," said Johnson.
FORK IN THE ROAD?
In Kyiv, around half of the 3.4 million residents have fled and some spend nights sheltering in metro stations.
Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that 97 children had died so far in the invasion. Hundreds of civilians have been killed.
On the Romanian border, a woman named Tanya said she had fled the southern frontline town of Mykolaiv to save her child. "Because the people that are there now are Russians, Russian soldiers, and they kill children."
A convoy with supplies for Mariupol, where residents have been sheltering from repeated Russian bombardments and are desperate for food and water, was stuck at nearby Berdyansk, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Fox News said a second journalist working for the cable network was killed in Ukraine in the same incident in which a Fox cameraman died when their vehicle was struck on Monday by incoming fire.
But one of Zelenskiy's top aides predicted the war would be over by May or even within weeks as Russia had run out of fresh troops.
"We are at a fork in the road now," Oleksiy Arestovich said in a video. He said he expected either a peace deal within one or two weeks or another Russian attempt with new reinforcements, which could prolong the conflict for another month.
At the United Nations, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow would end what it calls its "special military operation" when its goals were achieved, including demilitarisation.
LUXURY SANCTIONS
In Rivne in western Ukraine, officials said 19 people had been killed in a Russian air strike on a TV tower. If confirmed it would be the worst attack on a civilian target so far in the northwest where Russian ground troops have yet to tread.
Russia denies targeting civilians.
More than 100 buses carrying a few thousand civilians left the besieged northeastern city of Sumy in a "safe passage" operation, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday. They were heading towards Lubny in central Ukraine after Russians gave a green light for the evacuation.
Russia said it now controlled the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. Reuters could not independently verify the report.
The conflict has brought economic isolation upon Russia.
The United States, the European Union and Britain announced further sanctions on Tuesday, while Moscow retaliated by putting Biden and other U.S. officials on a "stop list" that bars them from entering Russia.
The latest EU sanctions include bans on energy sector investments, luxury goods exports to Moscow, and imports of steel products from Russia.
They also freeze the assets of more business leaders believed to support the Russian state, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich.
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Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukrainian and Russian presidents must hold direct talks, Ukrainian negotiator says
Ukraine's position at peace talks with Russia is quite specific, with demands including a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops that must be discussed in direct talks between the two countries' presidents, a Ukrainian negotiator said on Wednesday. "Our position at the negotiations is quite specific - legally verified security guarantees; ceasefire; withdrawal of Russian troops. This is possible only with a direct dialogue between the heads of Ukraine and the Russian Federation," negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | European leaders return safely after Kyiv visit amid attacks
The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia safely returned to Poland on Wednesday after a visit to Kyiv intended to show support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's military onslaught. The leaders met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday to convey a message of solidarity with Ukraine and of support for the nation's aspirations to one day join the European Union.
They went ahead with the hours-long train journey despite concerns about risks to their security while traveling through a war zone. All three countries are members of the European Union and NATO. Although pronouncing their trip to be an EU mission, officials in Brussels cast it as something the three leaders had undertaken on their own. NATO's secretary-general said it was good for allies to engage closely with Zelenskyy, but also didn't clearly endorse it.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | EU links up electricity grid to war-hit Ukraine
The EU on Wednesday completed linking up its electricity grid to Ukraine, making good on a promise to keep the lights on in the war-ravaged country under attack from Russia, officials said."In this area, Ukraine is now part of Europe," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said in a statement, adding that Moldova -- which also has a Russia-backed breakaway region -- was also connected to the grid."The EU will continue to support Ukraine in the energy sector, by ensuring the reverse flows of gas to the country and the delivery of energy supplies that are badly needed," she said.EU energy ministers on February 28 announced they would hook up the grid of their 27-nation bloc with Ukraine after it disconnected from the Russian electricity network and suffered missile strikes and shelling to its infrastructure.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | New talk of compromise on both sides lifts hope for Russia-Ukraine breakthrough
New talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv on a status for Ukraine outside of NATO lifted hope on Wednesday for a potential breakthrough after three weeks of war. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations were becoming "more realistic", while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was "some hope for compromise". The Kremlin said the sides were discussing status for Ukraine similar to that of Austria or Sweden, both members of the European Union that are outside the NATO military alliance. Ukraine's chief negotiator said it would give Kyiv binding international security guarantees to prevent future attacks. Though the war still ground on with Ukrainian civilians trapped in cities under Russian bombardment, the signs of compromise sent relief through global financial markets. Shares in Germany - Russia's biggest energy market - were up 3.4%. Three weeks into the invasion, Russian troops have been halted at the gates of Kyiv, having taken heavy losses and failed to seize any of Ukraine's biggest cities in a war Western officials say Moscow thought it would win within days. Ukrainian officials had expressed hope this week that the war could end sooner than expected. Talks were due to resume on Wednesday by video link for a third straight day, the first time they have lasted more than a single day. "The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said in a video address overnight. Later on Wednesday, he said Ukrainians must fight to "defend our state, our life, our Ukrainian life," but he also emphasised negotiations for "a just but fair peace for Ukraine, real security guarantees that will work."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia says any Putin-Zelenskiy meeting should be to seal deal
Russia said on Wednesday there were no obstacles to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but that such a meeting would only take place to seal a specific agreement. "There are no obstacles to the organisation of such a meeting with the understanding that it would not be just for its own sake; it would have to seal concrete agreements which are currently being worked out by the two delegations," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters. Lavrov said the delegations were meeting via video conference.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls on U.S. Congress for more Russia sanctions, defense aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the U.S. Congress on Wednesday for further military assistance to help protect the skies over Ukraine and for further sanctions against Russia including the withdrawal of all USbusinesses. "Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people," Zelenskiy said in a video address to lawmakers.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelensky shows US lawmakers graphic video of war
US lawmakers watched a moving video of the destruction caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the US Congress on Wednesday.As somber music played in the background, the short video showed ruined buildings and injured civilians including children, with the final frame showing the words "close the sky" in an appeal for a no-fly zone.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelensky invokes 9/11 in address to US Congress on 'terror' in Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine compared the horror of Russia's war in his country to Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks in an address to the US Congress on Wednesday."This is a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for 80 years," Zelensky said."Remember Pearl Harbor, terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you," he said, recalling the air raid that brought the United States into World War II."Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, in battlefields," he said. "Our country experienced the same every day."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 175,000 refugees from Ukraine registered so far in Germany
Some 175,000 refugees from Ukraine have registered in Germany so far, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.The number could be even higher because there is no obligation to register, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit told a regular news conference on Wednesday.Chancellor Olaf Scholz would discuss the situation with the leaders of Germany's 16 states on Thursday, added Hebestreit.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | UK PM lands in Riyadh for Russia, oil talks: embassy
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates Wednesday, an embassy official said, on a tour to lobby Gulf leaders to pump more oil.Johnson was in the energy-rich Gulf to press key producers Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to do more to calm world markets after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.He becomes one of the few Western leaders to visit Riyadh since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Czech prime minister: Ukraine above all needs more weapons
Ukraine above all needs more supplies of weapons to defend itself against Russia's invasion, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Wednesday after returning from a visit to Kyiv. He said his delegation - which also included the prime ministers of Poland and Slovenia - also discussed sanctions, weapons and humanitarian aid, as well as possible future diplomatic steps with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation".
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Eastern Europe helps Ukrainian refugees with school places, jobs
Thousands more refugees from Ukraine crossed into Eastern Europe on Wednesday, where authorities are providing food, social services and school places to help people rebuild their lives away from war. Three weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there are some signs the exodus is slowing although tens of thousands of people are arriving daily in what has become Europe's fastest growing refugee crisis since World War Two. More than 3 million people have left Ukraine so far, data from the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) showed. The frontline states - Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova - have been providing help to drive, feed or house refugees. In Poland, which has taken nearly 2 million people from Ukraine, authorities on Wednesday began issuing national identification numbers to the refugees so they can access social services and benefits, and more easily find jobs. Renata Podolecka, headteacher of elementary school number 318 in Warsaw, said 21 children from Ukraine had been enrolled in grades one through seven, giving them a chance to continue their education cut short by the war. "We have children who came here with nothing, only the clothes on their backs," she said. "So we buy them underwear, socks, shoes, a school starter kit. Besides that of course crayons, writing utensils. Books they get for free just like all of our kids."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Head of Russia's Yandex resigns after being hit by EU sanctions
The head of Russia's tech giant Yandex, Tigran Khudaverdyan, has resigned after being placed on a list of European sanctions."Tigran Khudaverdyan has stepped down with immediate effect from his positions as Executive Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Yandex," the company said in statement released Tuesday. Yandex -- dubbed the "Russian Google" -- is registered in the Netherlands and has European, UK and US subsidiaries. But the bulk of its business is in Russia and Russian-speaking countries.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine president says any peace deal must offer security guarantees
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that peace negotiations must lead to a fair deal for Ukraine that includes reliable security guarantees that protect it from future threats. "We can and must fight today, now. We can and must defend our state, our life, our Ukrainian life. We can and must negotiate a just but fair peace for Ukraine, real security guarantees that will work," he said in a video address.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelenskyy centre stage: Facing Congress, pleading for help
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the US Congress, the actor-turned-wartime leader's latest video speech as he uses the West's great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russia's crushing invasion.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Olympic medallist who fled Belarus forced into exile again as Ukraine attacked
After bolting to Ukraine to escape political persecution in her native Belarus, Olympic swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia never thought she would again be forced to flee, this time to save her family from Russian attack. Herasimenia, a three-time Olympic medallist, found herself among thousands of Ukrainians massing at the border with Poland as Russian troops advanced on Kyiv. On the second day of the Russian invasion last month, Herasimenia and her husband, Olympic swimmer Yauhen Tsurkin, scrambled to pack some belongings and set off on a 12-hour car ride to the Polish border with their young daughter and Herasimenia's mother. With explosions resounding in the background as they inched along congested roads, Herasimenia reassured her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, telling her it was only thunder. "Of course I had to make something up because how do you explain to a child that war has started?" Herasimenia, who is now in Warsaw with her family, told Reuters.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia faces debt payment amid default fears
Russia is due to make an interest payment on its foreign debt Wednesday as sanctions over the Ukraine conflict have raised concerns that Moscow could default.Moscow would face its first default in decades if it fails to make $117 million (107 million euros) in interest payments on two dollar-denominated bonds.Sanctions over Russia's operation in Ukraine have targeted $300 billion of its foreign currency reserves held abroad.Without access to these funds, concern has mounted that Russia could find itself forced to default.Indicating an intent to pay, the finance ministry announced earlier this week it had sent a payment order for "a total of $117.2 million."Finance Minister Anton Siluanov denied on Monday that Russia would not be able to make the payments and accused the West of pushing the country towards an "artificial default".
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine rejects Austria, Sweden neutrality model
Ukraine on Wednesday rejected proposals pushed by Russia for it to adopt a neutral status comparable to Austria or Sweden, saying talks with Moscow to end fighting should focus on "security guarantees"."Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. Consequently, the model can only be 'Ukrainian' and only on legally verified security guarantees," its top negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said in comments published by President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine says Russian warships fire missiles
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.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia and Ukraine both play up compromise as peace talks set to resume
Russia and Ukraine both emphasised new-found 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 by force. 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. Three weeks into the invasion, Russian troops have been halted at the gates of Kyiv, having taken heavy losses and failed to seize any of Ukraine's biggest cities in a war Western officials say Moscow thought it would win within days. Ukrainian officials have expressed hope this week that Moscow was coming to terms with its failure to topple the Kyiv government and its lack of fresh troops to keep fighting. Talks were due to resume on Wednesday by video link for what would be a third straight day, the first time they have lasted more than a single day, which both sides have suggested means they have entered a more serious phase. "The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said in a video address overnight.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Kremlin says Sweden, Austria could be models for Ukraine neutrality
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Ukraine becoming a neutral state with a status comparable to Sweden and Austria is being discussed at talks with Kyiv and would be a "compromise"."This is an option that is being discussed now and that can be considered as a compromise," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | NATO allies wary on call for Ukraine 'peace mission'
NATO allies refused Wednesday to back a Polish call for the alliance to send an armed peace mission to Ukraine, but vowed to keep supplying arms despite threats from Moscow.Poland's Vice Premier, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, suggested a peacekeeping deployment in Ukraine to provide humanitarian aid during a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.But NATO defence ministers were wary over the idea as they arrived in Brussels for urgent talks on Russia's war against its neighbour. "I'm afraid we're still in too early stages to talk about that," said Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren."First we have to have a ceasefire. We have to see a withdrawal from Russia. There has to be some kind of agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and I think the talks are still going on."She added: "It's always good to think about what comes after that, but first, we need to achieve that."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | British PM meets Saudi, UAE leaders as war roils oil prices
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson began lobbying Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to pump more oil to calm markets roiled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine as he met the Gulf states' leadership on Wednesday.Johnson arrived in Abu Dhabi for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and was then due to fly to Riyadh as the West seeks to end its dependency on Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine.His visit, as oil prices seesaw in extreme volatility, coincides with fresh condemnation of Saudi Arabia's human rights record after 81 men were put to death in a mass execution on Saturday.Johnson will also meet de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he becomes one of the few Western leaders to visit Riyadh since the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | ICRC president arrives in Kyiv for five-day mission
Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has arrived in Kyiv on a planned five-day visit to Ukraine to insist on greater humanitarian access and protection of civilians, the organisation said on Wednesday. "After enormous suffering by the civilian population and after our intensive virtual conversations with the Russian and Ukraine governments, I find it utterly important that we have person-to-person contacts, that we are able to go in-depth into the understanding of neutral, independent and impartial humanitarian work, and that our licence to operate in the country is fully understood by the authorities," Maurer said in a statement that added he continued his regular humanitarian dialogue with government officials in Moscow as well. Maurer had told Reuters this month that he was "cautiously positive" the ICRC would gain access to Ukrainian and Russian prisoners held in the context of the conflict.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Oil rises back above $100, Russia-Ukraine talks limit gain
Oil rose almost 3% on Wednesday, back above $100 a barrel, recovering from a decline in the previous session as concern eased about slowing demand in China, although signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks limited gains. Ukraine's president said the positions of Ukraine and Russia were sounding more realistic, but more time was needed. Russia's foreign minister said some deals with Ukraine were close to being agreed. "Fears of a supply disruption have been tempered by tentative signs of progress in ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. "That said, an end to hostilities still seems like a long way off." Brent crude rose $2.55, or 2.6%, to $102.46 a barrel by 0923 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added $1.34, or 1.4%, to $97.78 a barrel. Oil pared more gains after the International Energy Agency in a monthly report cut its oil demand forecast for 2022. A day earlier, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries held its forecast steady. Crude settled below $100 on Tuesday, the first time since late February. Trading has been volatile since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, with prices hitting a 14-year high on March 7, but Brent has since fallen nearly $40 a barrel.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine talks difficult, slow, but Russia wants peace
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 on 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.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovv says neutrality for Ukraine being seriously discussed
Russia said on Wednesday that peace talks with Ukraine were not easy but that there was some hope of reaching a compromise and that neutrality for Ukraine was being seriously discussed."The negotiations are not easy for obvious reasons," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said told RBC news. But nevertheless, there is some hope of reaching a compromise.""Neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees," Lavrov said.Ukraine has also made cautious positive statements on peace talks. It says it is willing to negotiate to the end the war, but will not surrender or accept Russian ultimatums.Lavrov said key issues included the security of people in eastern Ukraine, the demilitarisation of Ukraine and the rights of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine.Announcing the invasion on February24, President Vladimir Putin blamed the United States for threatening Russia by enlarging the NATO military alliance eastwards into Russia's backyard.Putin said there was no option but to launch the military operation because Russian-speaking people in Ukraine had been subjected to genocide by "nationalists and neo-Nazis" since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine says it launches counteroffensives against Russian forces
Ukraine's armed forces are launching counteroffensives against Russian forces "in several operational areas," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "This radically changes the parties dispositions," he added, without giving details. Reuters was unable immediately to verify his comments.
In an update on the war, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces referred to the "high intensity of hostilities" but did not say where fighting was heaviest. Ukrainian officials also made clear that the death toll was rising from the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The emergency service in Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv region said on Wednesday that at least 500 residents of the city of Kharkiv have been killed.
Prosecutor General said on Iryna Venediktova said on Facebook that 103 children have been killed so far in the war. Russian forces have struck more than 400 educational establishments and 59 of them have been destroyed, she said. The governor of the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine said there was no electricity in the region's main city, Chernihiv, or in some other settlements in the area. But Governor Viacheslav Chaus said Ukraine's armed forces "are powerful and inflict powerful blows on the Russian enemy every hour."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | No way' Ukraine joining NATO soon: British PM Boris Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Ukraine is not going to join NATO “any time soon,” after the country’s president acknowledged Ukraine would not become part of the Western military alliance. President Vladimir Putin has long depicted Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia, something the alliance denies. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine realized it could not join NATO, his most explicit acknowledgment that the goal, enshrined in Ukraine’s constitution, was unlikely to be met.
It came as Russia and Ukraine held a new round of talks, with Zelenskyy saying Wednesday that Russian demands were becoming “more realistic.” On Wednesday, Johnson — one of the most vocal Western supporters of Ukraine — said “the reality of the position” is that “there is no way Ukraine is going to join NATO any time soon.” But he said the decision had to be for Ukraine to make.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | World Court to rule on emergency measures in Ukraine vs Russia case
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to rule Wednesday on emergency measures sought by Ukraine in a case against Russia, including an order for Moscow to stop its military campaign. The decision by the top United Nations court, also known as the "World Court", will be read out in The Hague's Peace Palace at 4 p.m. local time (1500 GMT). Although the court's rulings are binding, it has no direct means of enforcing them and in rare cases, countries have ignored them, in the past.
Ukraine filed its case shortly after Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24, saying that Russia's apparent justification, that it was acting to prevent a genocide in Eastern Ukraine, is unfounded. At the hearings, Ukraine said there is no threat of genocide in Eastern Ukraine, and the U.N.'s 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries have signed, does not allow an invasion to prevent one.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the invasion as a "special military action" needed "to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide" - meaning those whose first or only language is Russian - in eastern Ukraine. Russia said it skipped World Court hearings on March 7 "in light of the apparent absurdity of the lawsuit".
However, Moscow did file a written document with the court saying the ICJ should not impose any measures. Russia argued that Putin's use of the word "genocide" does not automatically imply that it is basing its actions on the Genocide Convention. Without a dispute over the interpretation of the treaty, the court has no jurisdiction, Russia argued. In an urgent situation the court can order emergency measures in a matter of days, even before it decides on whether it has jurisdiction in a case. That usually takes many months, while decisions on the actual merits of a case takes years.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Prosecutor general says 103 children have been killed in war in Ukraine
The Ukrainian prosecutor general said on 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 could not immediately verify the information.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | NATO begins planning to reset military posture on eastern flank
NATO is set to tell its military commanders on 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 on Tuesday. "Ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term, in all domains."
Ministers will also hear from their Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov, who is expected to plead for more weapons from individual NATO countries, as Russian attacks on Ukraine's cities continue and the Russian military seeks control of Kyiv. "We have to continue to show in action our support to Ukraine," British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said as he arrived at the NATO meeting.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO. Although it has repeatedly said it wants to join to benefit from its protection, Kyiv said on Tuesday it understood it does not have an open door to NATO membership and was seeking other types of security guarantees. Russian missiles hit a Ukrainian base near the border with NATO member Poland on March 13, bringing the invasion right up to NATO's doorstep. Those missiles were from Russia, the United States has said, underscoring Moscows ability to hit NATOs eastern allies. The United States has also warned of undefined consequences for Moscow if Russia were to launch a chemical attack in Ukraine.
NATO, founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the Soviet Union, is not treaty-bound to defend Ukraine. But it must defend its 30 allies. However, diplomats say NATO wants to avoid directly stating their plans, or what would trigger their "Article 5" collective defence pledge, saying "strategic ambiguity" is also a defensive instrument against any Russian aggression.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Train station targeted in Ukraine refugee hub near Mariupol
Russian forces on Wednesday targeted the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia, where thousands of refugees are taking shelter after escaping the besieged port city of Mariupol, regional officials said. "Civilian objects have been bombed for the first time in Zaporizhzhia," the regional governor Alexander Starukh wrote on the Telegram social media platform.
"The rockets landed in the area of the Zaporozhye-2 railway station," he added, specifying that there were no casualties. The city of Zaporizhzhia is the first safe port of call for those fleeing Mariupol. Many then head to the country's west, to Poland or other bordering countries. Mariupol is facing a humanitarian catastrophe according to aid agencies, since heavy bombardment has left some 400,000 inhabitants with no running water or heating, and food running short.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Fresh blasts hit Kyiv as Russia steps up attacks
Several explosions rocked Kyiv early Wednesday, according to AFP journalists in the city, with emergency services saying two residential buildings were damaged and two people wounded. The blasts came as Russia intensifies attacks on the Ukrainian capital, which was placed under curfew late Tuesday due to what its mayor called a "difficult and dangerous moment".
At least three loud explosions were heard just after dawn in the western part of the city, and thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky. "Two residential buildings were damaged in an overnight bombardment in the central part of Kyiv, Shevchenkivskyi district. Two people reported wounded, 35 evacuated," the Ukrainian state emergency service said on Telegram.
Images released by the emergency services showed the top corner of one building had been partially destroyed, while the other had damage and scorch marks to its roof and upper part. It was not possible to immediately visit the scene as journalists are restricted from moving around the city during the curfew, which lasts until Thursday morning.
At least four people were killed and 40 injured in a Russian strike that set a building on fire in Kyiv's Sviatoshynsky district on Tuesday. Several other buildings were also hit. Nearly three weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces hemming in Kyiv on two sides have stepped up their attacks, with many in the capital fearing a full-on assault could come soon. Battles continue to rage in cities like Mariupol, Kharkhiv and Mykolaiv, as well as in suburban towns just outside Kyiv.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | At least 500 Kharkiv city residents killed so far in war with Russia
The emergency service in Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv region said on Wednesday that at least 500 residents of the city of Kharkiv have been killed since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. Reuters was unable immediately to verify the information. Russia denies targeting civilians.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 20,000 residents have left Mariupol in private cars so far, Ukrainian official says
About 20,000 civilians have managed so far to leave the besieged port city of Mariupol in private cars, Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said on Wednesday. Mariupol residents have been trapped in the city by Russian shelling without heating, electricity and running water for most of the past two weeks, Ukrainian officials say. At least 200,000 are in urgent need of evacuation, according to official Ukrainian estimates earlier this week.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | ECB puts Russians in EU, even residents, under scanner
European Union regulators have told some banks to scrutinise transactions by all Russian and Belarusian clients, including EU residents, to ensure that they are not used to circumvent Western sanctions against Moscow, three sources told Reuters. The instructions from European Central Bank (ECB) supervisors mean tens of thousands of Russians and Belarusians resident in the EU face intense surveillance by their banks, which are on alert for big payments and deposits as well as new credit applications, the sources familiar with the matter said.
While EU sanctions against Moscow exempt people holding temporary or permanent EU residence permits, they place some restrictions on access by Russian nationals to banking services, including preventing banks from accepting deposits above 100,000 euros ($110,000) from Russian nationals or entities. The ECB move brings even EU residents under heightened scrutiny and would make it harder for them to operate bank accounts, with one of the sources saying some were already facing restrictions in Spain. This follows Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin describes as a special operation to demilitarise and "deNazify" the country.
The ECB is checking that banks which it supervises "have in place the necessary arrangements to adhere to the sanctions", including with regards to transactions and relationships with clients, but it has not issued any guideline beyond the EU's rules, a spokesperson for the Frankfurt-based central bank said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | US steps up aid to Ukraine as pressure builds to halt Russia
The United States is set to unveil a fresh round of security assistance to Ukraine Wednesday, a White House official said, as Western leaders faced mounting pressure to stop Russia's bombardment of civilians and peace talks made halting progress. The official said President Joe Biden will on Wednesday unveil another $800 million worth of military aid, expected to include more of the anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles that have helped slow Russia's three-week-old invasion to a crawl.
The package will bring "the total (aid) announced in the last week alone to $1 billion," said the official. The move will coincide with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's landmark virtual address to the US Congress -- when he is expected to intensify pleas for NATO allies to intervene directly to stop Russian attacks. In a late-night video message, Zelensky urged his beleaguered compatriots to fight on against Russia's vastly larger military, even as he suggested the conflict would end in a negotiated settlement.
"All wars end with an agreement," he said, pointing to a "difficult" but "important" ongoing round of talks between representatives from Kyiv and Moscow. "Meetings continue," he added. "As I am told, positions during the talks now sound more realistic. But we still need time, so the decisions are made in the interest of Ukraine."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Peace talks more 'realistic', says Ukraine president; Joe Biden to visit NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday peace talks were sounding more realistic but more time was needed, as Russian air strikes killed five people in the capital Kyiv and the refugee tally from Moscow's invasion reached 3 million. Moscow has not captured any of Ukraine's 10 biggest cities following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.
Ukrainian officials have raised hopes the war could end sooner than expected, possibly by May, saying Moscow may be coming to terms with its failure to impose a new government by force and running out of fresh troops. "The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said in a video address on Wednesday, ahead of the next round of talks.
In a hint of a possible compromise, Zelenskiy said earlier Ukraine was prepared to accept security guarantees from the West that stop short of its long-term goal of joining NATO. Moscow sees any future Ukraine membership of the Western alliance as a threat and has demanded guarantees it will never join. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks. "The work is difficult, and in the current situation the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive."
Russia calls its actions a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies call this a baseless pretext for a war of choice that has raised fears of wider conflict in Europe. U.S. President Joe Biden will make his first visit to Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine to discuss the crisis with NATO allies next week, the White House said. Biden will attend a NATO leaders meeting at the military alliance's headquarters in Brussels on March 24. Biden is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, a White House official said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Uncertainty for Russian tourists in Turkey hotspot as war rages
With its shimmering azure waters, secluded coves and golden sands, Turkey's Mediterranean coast is a destination beloved by Russian tourists, nearly five million of whom visited last year. But many visitors currently on holiday in the area now fear they will be unable to return home because of extensive Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Restrictions on card payments and flight operations have also raised fears of a slump in Russian tourism to Turkey, a key source of revenues for Ankara. Holidaymaker Margarita Sabatnikaya, 31, says her vacation plans have been thrown into doubt and that she fears being stranded. "We have come here for a holiday with our children. It's unclear when we'll return to Russia, by which plane," she said.
Sabatnikaya said that she wanted to continue her holiday but her bank cards had stopped working. "It's unclear how to stay here and how to survive," she said. While flag carrier Turkish Airlines says flights to and from Russia will "continue for the moment", no frills carrier Pegasus has suspended its services leaving its customers desperate to rebook elsewhere.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Top UN court to rule on Ukraine invasion
The UN's top court is set to rule Wednesday on Ukraine's urgent request for Russia to immediately halt its invasion, with Kyiv claiming that Moscow falsely accused its pro-Western neighbour of genocide to justify the war. The International Court of Justice will hand down its judgement at 1500 GMT in The Hague after Ukraine filed an urgent application shortly after Russia's attack on February 24.
Ukraine accuses Russia of illegally trying to justify its war by falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Kyiv wants the court to take provisional measures ordering Russia to "immediately suspend the military operations." "Russia must be stopped, and the court has a role to play in stopping that," Ukraine's representative Anton Korynevych told the ICJ.
The hearing on Wednesday comes as the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine topped three million and Russian forces step up strikes on residential buildings in Kyiv. At the same time, both Ukraine and Russia say progress is being made in talks on ending the fighting. Russia snubbed hearings on March 7 and 8, arguing in a written filing that the ICJ "did not have jurisdiction" because Kyiv's request fell outside of the scope of the 1948 Genocide Convention on which it based its case.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russian fighting intensifies in Kyiv suburbs
A plume of smoke was seen rising up over western Kyiv on Wednesday morning after shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv, obliterating the top floor and igniting a fire, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergencies agency. The neighboring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without elaborating.
Russian forces have intensified fighting in Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, the head of the Kyiv region Oleksiy Kuleba said Wednesday. He said Russian troops are trying to cut off the capital from transport arteries and destroy logistical capabilities even as they plan a wide-ranging attack to seize Kyiv.
Twelve towns around Kyiv are without water and six without heat. Russia has occupied the city of Ivankiv, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Kyiv, and controls the surrounding region on the border with Belarus, Kuleba said. Across the Kyiv region, he said, “Kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing.”
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Joe Biden to announce $800 million in new security aid to Ukraine: US official
US President Joe Biden will announce $800 million in new security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, a White House official said, the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to deliver a speech to the US Congress. The announcement brings "the total (aid) announced in the last week alone to $1 billion," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. Zelensky is set to renew his appeals for more aid in his virtual address to Congress, as some lawmakers press the White House to take a tougher line over Russia's invasion.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Decisions China makes regarding Russia will be watched closely: US
The decisions China makes regarding Russia are going to be watched by the world, the White House has said, amid reports that Beijing is trying to help Moscow either militarily or economically in its war against Ukraine. “We are watching closely. The world is watching closely, and our national security adviser was clear. There will be consequences should they violate our sanctions,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday in response to a question.
“The decisions that China makes are going to be watched by the world. But in terms of any potential impacts or consequences, we’ll leave those to private diplomatic channels at this point,” Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference. She was asked what qualified as helping Russia evade sanctions when it comes to China.
“During the lengthy conversation that our national security adviser had with his counterpart, he reiterated our one-China policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, three communiques and six assurances, and underscored concerns about Beijing’s coercive and provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait, which is, of course, our position publicly, but is also something that he took the time to reiterate during this conversation,” Psaki said.
“There are a range of sanctions we obviously have in place. And we watch, of course, if there’s a violation of those. And we also watch if there is support provided for the military invasion of another country. I don’t have any assessment of that to provide you today,” she said in response to the question. On what measures were on the table if China was found to be helping Russia either militarily or economically in the war, Psaki said the US is going to have those conversations directly with China and the Chinese leadership, and not through the media at this point in time. “I would note that when our national security adviser was having his meeting yesterday, he was very direct about the consequences. He made clear we’re going to be watching closely, made clear that it’s not just us. The decisions that China makes are going to be watched by the world,” Psaki said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Group of Seven to hold meeting over Russia, Japan Finance Minister says
The Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations will hold an online meeting after 1200 GMT to discuss Russia's actions in Ukraine, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Wednesday. Suzuki, who made the comment in parliament, did not specify whether the meeting would be held among G7's financial leaders or other representatives.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelenskyy centre stage: Facing US Congress, pleading for help
Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyrZelenskyywill address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, the actor-turned-wartime leader's latest video stop as he employs the West's great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russia’s crushing invasion.Zelenskyy'slivestreamedaddress into the U.S. Capitol will be among the most important in a unique and very public strategy in his fight to stop Russia.
Invoking Winston Churchill and Hamlet last week, he asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is “to be or not to be.” On Tuesday, he appealed to “Dear Justin” as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Trudeau. Appearing in his now trademark army green T-shirt,Zelenskyycalled on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine's membership — and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.
“It was a man showing leadership while at the same time keeping his calm in the toughest of circumstances," said Dutch Prime Minister MarkRutteabout the address to the Europeans. "I have to say, it had an enormous impact on all the leaders.” Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war,Zelenskyyhas used his public campaign to help ensure a global spotlight that might have faded amid the coronavirus pandemic and fatigue after the end of the long U.S. war in Afghanistan.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 20,000 evacuate besieged port in Ukraine as Kyiv is hit
Ukraine said it saw possible room for compromise Tuesday in talks with Russia, while Moscow's forces stepped up their bombardment ofKyiv, and an estimated 20,000 civilians fled the desperately encircled port city of Mariupol by way of a humanitarian corridor. The fast-moving developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground came on the 20th day of Russia's invasion, as the number of Ukrainians fleeing the country amid Europe's heaviest fighting since World War II eclipsed 3 million.
A top Ukrainian negotiator, presidential adviserMykhailoPodolyak, described the latest round of talks with the Russians, held viavideoconference, as “very difficult and sticky" and said there were “fundamental contradictions” between the two sides, but added that “there is certainly room for compromise.” He said the talks will continue Wednesday. Earlier in the day, another aide to Ukrainian PresidentVolodymirZelenskyy,IhorZhovkva, struck a more optimistic note, saying that the negotiations had become “more constructive” and that Russia had softened its stand by no longer airing its demands that Ukraine surrender.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 90% of Ukrainian population could face poverty in protracted war: UNDP
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 U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) said on Wednesday. Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, said that his agency was working with the Kyiv government to avoid a worst case scenario of the economy collapsing. It aimed to provide cash transfers to families to buy food to survive and keep them from fleeing while propping up basic services.
"If the conflict is a protracted one, if it were to continue, we are going to see poverty rates escalate very significantly," Steiner told Reuters. "Clearly the extreme end of the scenario is an implosion of the economy as a whole. And that could ultimately lead to up to 90% of people either being below the poverty line or being at high risk of (poverty)," he said in a video interview from New York.
The poverty line is generally defined as purchasing power of $5.50 to $13 per person per day, he added in a video interview from New York. Before Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, an estimated 2% of Ukrainians lived below the $5.50 line, he said. Ukraine's top government economic adviser Oleg Ustenko said last Thursday that invading Russian forces have so far destroyed at least $100 billion worth of infrastructure and that 50% of Ukrainian businesses had shut down completely.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine war may lead to rethinking of US defence of Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and his push to upend the broader security order in Europe may lead to a historic shift in American thinking about defence of the continent. Depending on how far Putin goes, this could mean a buildup of U.S. military power in Europe not seen since the Cold War. The prospect of a bigger U.S. military footprint in Europe is a remarkable turnaround from just two years ago.
In 2020, President Donald Trump ordered thousands of American troops out of Germany as part of his argument that Europeans were undeserving allies. Just days after taking office, President Joe Biden stopped the withdrawal before it could start, and his administration has stressed NATO's importance even as Biden identifies China as the main long-term threat to U.S. security. Then came Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
We are in a new era of sustained confrontation with Russia, says Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and former deputy secretary-general of NATO. He argues that the United States, in cooperation with NATO allies, will need to establish a more muscular stance to deal with a more threatening Russia. That is especially so in Eastern Europe, where Russia's proximity poses a problem for the three Baltic nations that are former Soviet states. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was flying to Europe on Tuesday for his second recent round of Ukraine consultations at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
