Russia Ukraine News Highlights | Ukraine’s priorities at the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey this week will be “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his nation Sunday in his nightly address.
“We are looking for peace, really, without delay,” he said. “There is an opportunity and a need for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey. This is not bad. Let’s see the outcome.” This week, he said, “I will continue to appeal to the parliaments of other countries” to remind them of the dire situation in besieged cities like Mariupol.
He thanked Ukraine’s armed forces, who he said “are holding back the occupiers, and in some areas they are even taking steps forward. Well done.” Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.
He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said that a vote could take place within a few months once Russian troops leave.
Russia quickly banned Zelenskyy's interview from being published. Roskomnadzor, which regulates communications for Moscow, issued the ban Sunday, saying there could be action taken against the Russian media outlets that took part, which included “those that are foreign media outlets acting as foreign agents.”
Zelenskyy responded by saying Moscow was afraid of a relatively short conversation with journalists. “It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic,” he said, according to the Ukrainian news agency RBK Ukraina.
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Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Ukrainian forces retake town south of Sumy from Russia, says US official
The United States assesses that Ukrainian forces have retaken the town of Trostyanets, south of Sumy, from Russian forces, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday. "The Ukrainians are continuing to try to take back ground," the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Reuters)
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | UN to explore possibility of humanitarian truce in Ukraine
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he has directed the world body's aid chief "to explore with the parties involved" the possibility of a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine. Guterres also appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire "to allow for progress in serious political negotiations, aimed at reaching a peace agreement based on the principles of the United Nations Charter." (Reuters)
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Russian billionaire Abramovich, Ukrainian peace negotiators hit by suspected poisoning: Report
Sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning earlier this month after a meeting in Kyiv, the Wall Street Journalreportedon Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.Abramovich, who accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and at least two senior members of the Ukrainian team, were affected, the WSJ report said.
Their symptoms included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, the WSJ report added.
Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators, including Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since improved and their lives are not in danger, WSJ reported.A person familiar with the matter confirmed the incident to Reuters but said Abramovich had not allowed it to stop him working. (Reuters)
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Ukraine president says he spoke to Italian PM, Rome helping with security guarantees
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky saidhe spoke to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi about Kyiv's security concerns, and urged Rome tohelpto create a system that would provide Ukraine security guarantees against any potential act of aggression in thefuture.
"Discussed the course of countering Russian aggression. Thanked for the important defense and humanitarian support. Ukrainian people will remember this. We appreciate Italy's willingness to join the creation of a system of security guarantees for Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on Twitter.
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE Updates | Kyiv mayor says more than 100 war deaths in city, including 4 children
There have been more than 100 deaths in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv since Russia's invasion of its neighbour, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Monday.
In an address to city councillors of Florence, which is twinned with Kyiv, Klitschko said more than 20 corpses could not be identified and four of the victims were children, while another 16 injured children are in hospital.(Reuters)
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine forces retake village outside Kharkiv
Ukrainian forces on Monday recaptured a small village on the outskirts of Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, as Kyiv's forces mount counterattacks against a stalling Russian invasion.Members of the Ukrainian army were clearing and securing destroyed homes in the settlement of Malaya Rohan, about five kilometres (three miles) from Kharkiv, after pushing out Russian forces. AFP journalists saw what appeared to be the bodies of two Russian soldiers in the streets of the village that was largely destroyed by the fighting.The remains of two other soldiers had been thrown into a nearby well."There are Russian corpses all over the place," a Ukrainian soldier told AFP, who said more than two dozen soldiers dispatched to Ukraine by Moscow had been killed in the fight for the hamlet.AFP journalists also observed remnants of several Russian armoured vehicles abandoned in the yards of homes in the village.Ukraine launched its attack on the Russian-controlled village in the middle of last week, but it took several days to rout Moscow's troops hiding in cellars and nearby forests, the military said."Our troops are liberating Malaya Rohan, and this is hugely important because Russian troops are constantly shelling residential areas of Kharkiv from there," the mayor of Ukraine's second-most populated city, Igor Terekhov said earlier.Russian and Ukrainian troops meanwhile have been fighting for several days for control of the neighbouring town of Vilkhivka, a few kilometres further north.Ukrainian officials have also accused the Russian army of using it as a base to shell Kharkiv.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Vladimir Putin does not appear ready to compromise on Ukraine: US official
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not appear ready to make compromises to end the war in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said on Monday as Ukraine and Russia were preparing for their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks."Everything I have seen is he is not willing to compromise at this point," the senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters on condition of anonymity after Ukraine's president sketched out a potential way to end the crisis over the weekend.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia to study video of alleged mistreatment of prisoners, Kyiv questions its veracity
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian investigators would look into a video circulated on social media that purported to show Ukrainian forces mistreating captured Russian soldiers. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the video, which he said contained "monstrous images", needed to be legally assessed and for those who took part in what he described as torture to be held responsible. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the video cited by the Kremlin. The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond directly to Peskov's comments although senior officials had earlier portrayed the video as a fake. "Currently, no one can confirm or deny the veracity of this video. It's not known where it's happening, or who the participants are," military spokesperson Oleksander Motuzyanyk said. He referred Reuters to comments made by Valery Zaluzhny, the chief commander of Ukraine's armed forces, before Peskov announced the Russian investigation into the video. "The enemy produces and shares videos with the inhuman treatment of alleged 'Russian prisoners' by 'Ukrainian soldiers' in order to discredit the Ukrainian Defence Forces," Zaluzhny said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ex-separatist leader calls Russian attack on Ukraine a mistake
One of the architects of the Moscow-backed separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine eight years ago said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a mistake, in comments that show the Kremlin cannot count on support from all pro-Russian opponents of Kyiv. Alexei Alexandrov was one of the leaders of a movement in 2014 to reject Kyiv's rule and create an autonomous pro-Moscow territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, triggering a war against Ukrainian government forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia attacked Ukraine last month in part to protect the separatist territory from Kyiv, though Western states say that is a pretext for an unprovoked land grab. In an interview with Reuters last Friday, Alexandrov said: "All this could have been resolved earlier, mainly through diplomatic means and perhaps an insignificant use of force. But that was not done, and that is a mistake on all sides." He said that because Moscow failed to negotiate a settlement with Kyiv guaranteeing autonomy for the Donbas and rights for its residents, by the start of this year armed conflict became unavoidable. Alexandrov said Moscow had, over many years, failed to grasp how to deal with Ukraine, whose rulers he said were set on crushing the identity of the Russian-speaking community in eastern Ukraine, an allegation that Kyiv and its allies deny. "Moscow's reaction was always late, and never got to grips with the situation," he said. "That was a mistake, and we are reaping the consequences now in blood, and multiple victims on both sides."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukrainian refugees should be distributed across EU, Berlin says
Germany on Monday urged a more even distribution of Ukrainian refugees within the European Union after millions of people fled to the 27-nation bloc since Russia launched its invasion of the country on February 24. "We need to more actively distribute refugees within the EU and show solidarity by taking in refugees," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters as she arrived for a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels. Faeser added Berlin was not at aiming at fixed quotas but rather an index linked to the number of refugees already being hosted compared to the population size of each country.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine war ends Sri Lanka-Russia flights
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka's national carrier on Monday ended direct flights to Russia -- the crisis-hit island's biggest source of tourists -- because of the Ukraine war.It was the only operator of direct connections and the move is a major blow to Sri Lanka's hopes of reviving its pandemic-battered tourism industry and earning foreign exchange to import food, fuel and medicines, which are in short supply.Sri Lankan Airlines said it was stopping the Colombo-Moscow route with immediate effect, blaming prohibitive insurance rates after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.In addition, international sanctions on Russian banks made it impossible for its Moscow office to repatriate its earnings, a spokesman told AFP.No Russian airline operates directflights between the two countries.Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948.Out of the 82,300 foreign tourists who visited the country in January, about 13,500 or 16.4 percent were Russians, followed by 11,750 Indians and 7,770 Ukrainians.Sri Lankan Airlines operated three flights a week to the Russian capital until fighting broke out last month and had reduced the frequency to two.Travel agents said Colombo-Moscow airfares on alternative Middle Eastern carriers spiked after the Sri Lankan Airlines decision.The airline said its pullout was due to "operational restrictions that are outside of the airline's control" and promised to refund those with flight bookings."We are closely monitoring the situation and we want to resume flights on this sector as soon as possible," an airline official told AFP. "Commercial factors forced us to halt the flights."The collapse of the leisure sector soon after the pandemic broke out in 2020 saw Sri Lanka lose more than four billion dollars in tourism revenue. Russia is also a key buyer of Sri Lanka's tea, the main export commodity.The country is gripped by shortages of food and fuel as commercial banks have run out of dollars to finance essential imports.Colombo has said it will seek an IMF bailout as the country's foreign currency reserves had hit $2 billion at the end of February, compared to $7.5 billion two years ago.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 160,000 remain in Mariupol, mayor says
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne has quoted the mayor of Mariupol as saying that around 160,000 people remain in the besieged port city, and that a humanitarian catastrophe would ensue if more evacuations are not possible. Vadym Boychenko said Monday that Russian forces were preventing civilians from evacuating from the city and had been turning back some who tried to make it out.The city, which had a pre-war population of more than 400,000, has seen some of the worst conditions since Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February24. Russian forces have pounded the city, and scores of civilians have been unable to escape, with no access to essentials and cut off from communication with the shelling of cell, radio and TV towers
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russian demand for gas payment in rubles 'not acceptable' to G7: Berlin
The Group of Seven most industrialised nations on Monday dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand to pay for gas in rubles, with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck saying the bid showed Putin had his "back against the wall"."All G7 (energy) ministers agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements," said Habeck, whose country holds the G7 presidency. "Payment in rubles is not acceptable and... we call on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin's demand."Putin would not have made the demand if he didn't feel he had his "back against the wall", Habeck added.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia expels three Slovakian diplomats: Ministry
Moscow is expelling three Slovakian diplomats, Russia's foreign ministry said Monday, in a tit-for-tat move after Bratislava expelled three Russian diplomats for espionage earlier this month.The Russian ministry said it had summoned Slovakia's ambassador to Moscow and told him three diplomats were now persona non grata "as a retaliatory measure".
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Oil sinks over China demand fears, as stocks rise on Ukraine talks
World oil prices dived Monday as Shanghai's phased Covid lockdown reignited fears over Chinese energy demand.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil and Europe's London Brent crude both dropped more than five percent in value.Stock markets however mostly rose, with traders hoping for progress in ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, though gains were tempered by the Shanghai lockdown that also stoked concern over strained supply chains.The Japanese currency meanwhile tanked to a near seven-year dollar low at 125.09 yen on Tokyo's loose monetary policy."Oil prices started this week trading lower after news of the lockdown in the financial hub of Shanghai shook markets with prospects of further economic slowdowns and supply chain issues," said XTB analyst Walid Koudmani."Oil benefited recently from the uncertainty surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict and as more countries considered banning Russian imports -- but as many began to price in such an event, attention has turned to recent Covid-19 developments in the world's second economy."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | South Africa skates on diplomatic thin ice over Russia-Ukraine war
A month into the war in Ukraine, South Africa, one of the few African countries wielding diplomatic influence outside the continent, has stuck its neck out, adamantly refusing to condemn Russian aggression.Pretoria says it would rather be neutral and allow negotiations toend the conflict.On Thursday it sponsored a resolution at the UN General Assembly, calling for the provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but avoided mentioning Russia's role in the conflict. That resolution was rejected. Pretoria had abstained from voting on another resolution that demanded an immediate halt to the Russian onslaught.Earlier this month, South Africa was one of the 17 African countries to abstain from voting on another UN resolution calling on Russia to cease fire.Back home fiery debates on South Africa's position on the war rage on.President Cyril Ramaphosa, an experienced conflict mediator, says he won't be swayed into adopting an "adversarial" position, yet blames NATO for Moscow's invasion."The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from among its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region," he told parliament recently.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia wants deal clarified before talks begin
Russia's foreign minister says the presidents of Russia and Ukraine could meet for talks only after the key elements of a potential deal are negotiated. Sergey Lavrov said Monday that the meeting is necessary once we have clarity regarding solutions on all key issues.Lavrov's comments follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement that he's ready to discuss Ukraine's neutrality and security guarantees with Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure peace without delay. Zelenskyy added that only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader could end the war. Russian and Turkish negotiators are set to hold another round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday to try to draft an agreement.Speaking in an online interview with Serbian media, Lavrov alleged that Ukraine only want to imitate talks while Russia needs specific results that would be secured by the countries' leaders.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Nearly 3.9 million people flee Ukraine: UN
Nearly 3.9 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion a month ago, UN figures showed Monday, with the flow continuing to slow.The UN refugee agency,UNHCR, said 3,862,797 Ukrainians had fled the country -- an increase of 41,748 from Sunday's figures.Around 90 percent of them are women and children, it added.Of those who have left, 2.2 million have fled forneighbouringPoland, while more than half a million have made it to Romania. Nearly 300,000 have gone to Russia.Before the crisis began a month ago, EU member Poland was home to around 1.5 million Ukrainians.In total, more than 10 million people -- over a quarter of the population in regions under government control before the February 24 invasion -- are now thought to have fled their homes, including nearly 6.5 million who are internally displaced.Ukraine's refugee crisis is Europe's worst since World War II.The UN children's agency, UNICEF, said Thursday that 4.3 million children -- more than half of Ukraine's estimated 7.5-million child population -- had been forced to leave their homes.It puts at some 1.5 million the number of those children who have become refugees, while another 2.5 million are displaced inside their war-ravaged country, it said.The number leaving daily has fallen well below 100,000 per day, and even 50,000 in recent days, even as living conditions in Ukraine worsen.The figures do not include citizens ofneighbouringstates who have left Ukraine to return home.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | PSG star Keylor Navas takes in Ukrainian refugees
Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas is hosting around 30 Ukrainian refugees who fled their country following the Russian invasion, the Ligue 1 leaders confirmed on Monday.Spanish publication Sport revealed the 35-year-old Costa Rican international had adapted his home so they could stay with him.His wife Andrea Salas had posted in several different languages on social media outlets messages from charities willing to "help lots of children with their mothers, or youngsters on their own, who arrived with just the clothes that they were wearing".
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | SriLankan Airlines suspends flights to Moscow
Sri Lanka's national carrier SriLankan Airlines on Monday suspended its flights to Moscow until further notice, citing operational restrictions that are outside of the airline's control following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The airline maintained two weekly flights between Colombo and Moscow.SriLankan Airlines announces the suspension of operations between Sri Lanka and Moscow, Russia with effect from today (March 28) due to operational restrictions that are outside of the airline's control," the airline said in a statement. The restrictions are in the form of international financial and aircraft insurance limits which have been imposed on Russia due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and directly impact SriLankan Airlines' flight operations to Russia, it said.Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines will cease operations to Moscow until further notice, the statement said. The airline said that it will continue to monitor the situation in Russia, and hopes to restart operations once conditions improve. Several other global airlines have recently suspended flights to Russia due to sanctions imposed on the country. Russia's civil aviation sector has been crippled by crippling sanctions imposed by the US-led West following its invasion of Ukraine last month.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine warns of Mariupol's desperate plight ahead of peace talks
Ukraine warned on Monday the humanitarian crisis in the pulverized city of Mariupol was now "catastrophic", while signalling grounds for compromise ahead of new face-to-face peace talks with Russia in Turkey.About 20,000 Ukrainians have been killed in Russia's month-old invasion and 10 million have fled their homes, according to Kyiv, and several cities are still coming under withering bombardment.After an apparent retreat in Moscow's war aims to focus on eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence said Russia could be bent on carving up the country into two entities like Korea.Russia has de-facto control over the southern peninsula of Crimea that it annexed in 2014, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in the eastern Donbas region.In the Lugansk city of Rubizhne, one person was killed and another wounded by overnight Russian bombardment, according to regional Ukrainian officials.Further west near the capital Kyiv, Andrii Ostapets was determined to get back into his village of Stoyanka to bring food to his neighbours -- and to his cats, if still alive -- despite the threat of Russian snipers."We saw people killed, we saw burnt down houses, we lived through hell" when Russia occupied Stoyanka, the 69-year-old private museum owner told AFP, a week after fleeing the village. But Ukrainian soldiers were pushing back the invaders at the village, Ostapets said. "The Russians have no chance to stay alive -- they can either surrender or die."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia says 45 of its diplomats expelled by Poland have left the country
Russia's ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev, said on Monday that 45 Russian diplomats expelled by Poland have now left the country, TASS news agency quoted him as saying. Poland last week expelled 45 Russian diplomats suspected of working for Russian intelligence, accusations Moscow has dismissed as baseless.
Russia ukraine news LIVE Updates | Heineken exits Russia in wake of Ukraine war
Dutch brewer Heineken on Monday joined the foreign business exodus from Russia over the war in Ukraine, saying it was "deeply saddened" to see the conflict intensify.The beer company, which employs 1,800 people in Russia, had already halted the sale and production of its Heineken brand in Russia, and suspended new investments and exports to the country earlier this month.Hundreds of Western firms have closed shops and offices in Russia since the war started, a list that includes famous names such as Ikea, Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs and MacDonald's."We are shocked and deeply saddened to watch the war in Ukraine continue to unfold and intensify," Heineken said in a statement."Following the previously announced strategic review of our operations, we have concluded that Heineken's ownership of the business in Russia is no longer sustainable nor viable in the current environment," the statement said."As a result, we have decided to leave Russia."Heineken said it would aim for an "orderly transfer" of its business to a new owner in compliance with international and local laws and would not take any profit from the transaction, which will cost the company 400 million euros ($438 million) in exceptional charges.
Russia ukraine news LIVE Updates | Kremlin says Joe Biden's comments on Putin 'alarming'
The Kremlin on Monday expressed concern after US President Joe Biden called the Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "butcher" over his military operation in Ukraine."This is a statement that is certainly alarming," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow will "continue closely monitoring" statements of the US president.
Russia ukraine news LIVE Updates | Kremlin says Russia-Ukraine talks could start in Turkey on Tuesday
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone call on Sunday for Istanbul to host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Turkey said the talks could begin as early as Monday, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that was unlikely as the negotiators would only be arriving in Turkey on Monday. Peskov told reporters that no progress had been made on the idea of a potential meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He also said that the talks had so far failed to yield any substantive progress or breakthroughs.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine says pausing civilian evacuations, citing Russian 'provocations'
Ukraine said Monday it was pausing evacuations of civilians from war-scarred regions of the country because intelligence reports suggested invading Russian troops were planning attacks on humanitarian routes. "Our intelligence has reported possible provocations by the occupiers on routes of humanitarian corridors. Therefore, for reasons of public safety, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia-China relations at strongest level ever, says Sergei Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said Russia's relations with China were at their strongest level ever, at a time when Western nations are seeking to isolate Moscow with unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine. Beijing has repeatedly voiced opposition to the sanctions, insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with Russia, and has refused to condemn Moscow's actions in Ukraine, but the government is wary of Chinese companies running afoul of sanctions.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukrainian, Russian negotiators to begin peace talks on Monday
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators will begin peace talks in Istanbul later on Monday, a senior Turkish official said, without elaborating. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call on Sunday for Istanbul to host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine says Russian forces are regrouping but are unable to advance
Russian forces are regrouping but are unable to advance anywhere in Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Monday. She said Russian forces were trying to reinforce positions they already hold and were trying to break through the defences of Kyiv but had no hope of capturing the capital. "As of today, the enemy is regrouping its forces, but they cannot advance anywhere in Ukraine," she told a briefing, without providing evidence of the Russian troop movements.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Mariupol mayor fears humanitarian catastrophe, says city must be completely evacuated
The southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and must be completely evacuated, its mayor said on Monday. Mayor Vadym Boichenko said about 160,000 civilians were trapped in the city without power. Twenty-six buses were waiting to evacuate civilians but Russian forces had not agreed to give them safe passage, he said. "The Russian Federation is playing with us," he said. Russia denies targeting civilians and blames Ukraine for the repeated failure to agree on safe corridors for trapped civilians.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Heineken exits Russia in wake of Ukraine war
Dutch brewer Heineken announced on Monday it was pulling out of Russia, becoming the latest Western firm to exit the country in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Following the previously announced strategic review of our operations, we have concluded that Heinken's ownership of the business in Russia is no longer sustainable nor viable in the current environment," the beer company said in a statement.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | UAE energy chief doubles down on OPEC alliance with Russia
The United Arab Emirates' energy minister doubled down Monday on an oil alliance with Russia that's helped buoy crude prices to their highest in years as Moscow's war on Ukraine rattles markets and sends energy and commodity prices soaring. The minister said Russia, with its 10 million barrels of oil a day, is an important member of the global OPEC+ energy alliance.
“And leaving the politics aside, that volume is needed today,” Suhail al-Mazrouei said. “Unless someone is willing to come and bring 10 million barrels, we don’t see that someone can substitute Russia.” Led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, the alliance has the capacity to increase oil output and bring down crude prices that have soared past $100 a barrel.
The United States, European nations, Japan and others have been calling on Gulf Arab oil producers to do more to help bring down prices. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid an in-person visit this month to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where he raised the issue. Al-Mazrouei described the OPEC+ alliance as one that is here to stay and shot down any suggestion that the UAE would strike out on its own and increase production unilaterally.
“Staying together, staying focused, and not allowing politics to kick in to this organization ... we always believe that whatever we do as countries when it comes to production and to this work, it needs always to stay out of politics,” al-Mazrouei added. The OPEC+ alliance has stuck with their plan for gradual oil production increases based on a deal struck during the height of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns when producers made deep cuts to output to make up for plummeting demand for fuel. Higher oil prices have been good for oil producing economies. Despite efforts at diversification, Gulf Arab states continue to rely heavily on energy exports to fuel their economies.
Al-Mazrouei also used his speech at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum in Dubai to press for greater investment in oil and gas, even as his country moves toward cutting emissions within the UAE’s borders and commits to its pledge of net-zero by 2050. In apparent criticism of NATO policy, the minister said Russia's war in Ukraine — which he described as a crisis — needs diplomacy to be resolved and “not by pouring more weapons into the situation because basically the people are going to be the victim.”
Prices have also risen as Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest oil producer, faces continued cross-border attacks by neighboring Yemen's Houthi rebels who have used drones and missiles to target the kingdom's oil facilities. Saudi Arabia has said it will not bear any responsibility for any shortage in oil supplies due to the attacks. Despite U.S. condemnation of the Houthis and U.S.-supplied anti-missile systems for Saudi Arabia, relations between the Biden administration and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman remain tense and there has been no direct call between the two since the U.S. president took office.
“We’ve been living in a roller coaster, seeing the prices going up and down,” al-Mazrouei acknowledged. He gave no indication that OPEC producers plan to change course but noted that “we are in an environment where everyone is saying raise your production.” “We definitely at this time need all available resources,” he said, slamming efforts to pull back from investments in oil and gas.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Turkey could be among countries to offer Ukraine security guarantees: Kyiv
Turkey is among countries that could offer Kyiv security guarantees as part of any deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday. "Turkey is among those countries that could become guarantors of our security in the future," Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, said ahead of peace talks scheduled between Kyiv and Moscow in Turkey. Kyiv has said it wants legally binding security guarantees that would offer Ukraine protection from a group of allies in the event of a future attack.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukrainian official says he expects no major breakthrough at peace talks
A senior Ukrainian official said ahead of talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Turkey that he did not expect any major breakthrough. "I don't think there will be any breakthrough on the main issues," interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said on Monday.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates
| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country's sovereignty and territorial integrity are "beyond doubt" ahead of the next round of in-person talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Turkey this week. As the deadly Russian offensive rolls on into its second month, Zelensky said in a video address, "Our goal is obvious: peace and the restoration of normal life."
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates
| The war in Ukraine will slow down economic growth in Croatia this year and will lead to higher inflation due to rising energy and grain prices, Boris Vujcic, the governor of the Croatian National Bank said. Zelensky repeated earlier statements that the question of neutrality must be decided in a national referendum, after a Russian withdrawal. At present, the aspiration to join Nato is part of the country’s constitution.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia shifts focus to try to grind Ukraine's army in east
With its aspirations for a quick victory dashed by a stiff Ukrainian resistance, Russia has increasingly focused on grinding down Ukraine's military in the east in the hope of forcing Kyiv into surrendering part of the country's territory to possibly end the war. The bulk of the Ukrainian army is concentrated in eastern Ukraine, where it has been locked up in fighting with Moscow-backed separatists in a nearly eight-year conflict. If Russia succeeds in encircling and destroying the Ukrainian forces in the country's industrial heartland called Donbas, it could try to dictate its terms to Kyiv and, possibly, attempt to split the country in two.
The Russian military declared Friday that the “first stage of the operation” had been largely accomplished, allowing Russian troops to concentrate on their "top goal — the liberation of Donbas.” Many observers say the shift in strategy could reflect President Vladimir Putin’s acknowledgment that his plan for a blitz in Ukraine has failed, forcing him to narrow his goals and change tactics amid a disastrous war that has turned Russia into a pariah and decimated its economy.
U.S. and British officials also have noted that Moscow has increasingly focused on fighting the Ukrainian forces in the east while digging in around Kyiv and other big cities and pummeling them with rockets and artillery. The chief of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said Sunday the change of focus could reflect Putin’s hope to break Ukraine in two, like North and South Korea, and enforce “a line of separation between the occupied and unoccupied regions.” “He can’t swallow the entire country,” Budanov said, adding that Russia appears to be trying “to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine.”
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia, Ukraine set for face-to-face peace talks
Russia and Ukraine will restart face-to-face peace negotiations on Monday, amid warnings that the situation in the besieged city of Mariupol was now "catastrophic". President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the resumption of over-the-table talks, saying they must bring peace "without delay" and signalling a willingness to compromise on the most sensitive topics.
The two sides have not met in person in weeks, but will hold three days of talks in Istanbul from Monday, according to David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian negotiator, lawmaker and Zelensky ally. Several rounds of talks have already failed to end the war sparked by the Russian invasion, which is now in its second month. About 20,000 people have been killed, according to Zelensky, 10 million have fled their homes and despite Russian military setbacks, several cities are still coming under withering bombardment.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine war threatens food supplies in fragile Arab world
Layal Aswad was already exhausted by Lebanon’s devastating two-year economic collapse. Now, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends food and energy prices soaring even further, she finds herself struggling to put food on the table for her family of four. “Even bread is not something we take for granted anymore,” said the 48-year-old housewife, standing recently in a supermarket aisle in front of gallons of cooking oil whose prices had risen to an all-time high.
From Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen, millions of people in the Middle East whose lives were already upended by conflict, displacement and poverty are now wondering where their next meals will come from. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which countries in the Middle East rely on to feed millions of people who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of other grains and the sunflower seed oil that is used for cooking.
Even before the war in Ukraine, people in countries across the Middle East and North Africa were not getting enough food to eat. Now with trade disruptions spurred by the conflict, more commodities are becoming either unaffordable or unavailable. “Put simply, people cannot afford food of the quality or quantity that they need, with those in conflict- and crisis-affected countries ... at greatest risk,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa Director at Human Rights Watch.
A similar set of circumstances led to a series of uprisings starting in late 2010 known as the Arab Spring, when skyrocketing bread prices fueled anti-government protests across the Middle East, noted Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. “When prices jump, and poor people cannot feed their families, they will be on the streets,” Georgieva remarked Sunday at the Doha Forum, a policy conference in Qatar.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates
| Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, predicted that Russia was aiming to split Ukraine into Western and Eastern blocs, similar to how North and South Korea were independently recognized following the Korean War, as ongoing negotiations with Russia have so far failed to reach a conclusion.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates
| Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams plan to meet in Turkey this week with the conflict in its second month and big differences remaining on terms for a potential cease-fire deal.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Japan to revise foreign exchange law to end crypto loophole for sanctions on Russia
Japan will revise its foreign exchange law to prevent Russia from evading Western financial sanctions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine through cryptocurrency assets, top government officials said on Monday. The government will submit a revision of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act to the current parliament session to strengthen protections against potential sanction-busting by Russia through digital assets, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in a press conference.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also called for the law to be amended in a Monday parliament session, where he stressed the need for coordinated moves with Western allies after attending last week's Group of Seven summit in Belgium. A finance ministry official told Reuters discussions were under way about the proposed amendment, saying he could not provide further details.
The revision "presumably enables the government to apply the law to crypto-asset exchanges like banks and oblige them to scrutinise whether their clients are Russian sanction targets," said Saisuke Sakai, senior economist at Mizuho Research and Technologies. Following the invasion of Ukraine, the Japanese government has slapped asset-freeze sanctions on more than 100 Russian officials, oligarchs, banks and other institutions. Japan has also banned high-tech exports and revoked the most-favoured nation trade status for Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation".
Earlier this month, Japan's financial regulatory body demanded about 30 crypto exchanges in the country not to conduct asset transactions with sanction targets. A legislative revision is a stronger step to implement such regulations. According to economist Sakai, Kishida's government probably developed the legal revision plan given Western authorities' stricter rules on the subject, as well as high Japanese public support for sanctioning Russia.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine says Russian forces near Chernobyl could pose new radiation threat
A senior Ukrainian official accused Russia on Sunday of "irresponsible" acts around the occupied Chernobyl power station that could send radiation across much of Europe, and urged the United Nations to dispatch a mission to assess the risks. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russian forces were "militarising" the exclusion zone around the station, site of the world's worst civil nuclear accident in 1986.
Russian forces, she said, were transporting large amounts of old and badly maintained weapons, creating a risk of damaging the containment vessel constructed around the station's wrecked fourth reactor. And Russian forces were preventing firefighters from bringing under control large numbers of fires in the zone. "In the context of nuclear safety, the irresponsible and unprofessional actions of Russian servicemen present a very serious threat not only to Ukraine but to hundreds of millions of Europeans," Vereshchuk said on her Telegram account.
"We therefore demand that the U.N. Security Council adopt immediate measures to demilitarise the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl station as well as dispatching a special mission to eliminate the risks of any repeat of the Chernobyl accident resulting from the actions of Russian occupying forces," she said. Vereshchuk said damage to the containment vessel, built with European financing, would "inevitably lead to the release in the atmosphere of a considerable amount of radioactive dust and contamination not only in Ukraine but also in other European countries".
Russia, she said, was "ignoring these risks" by continuing to transport weapons in areas near the station. Reuters could not immediately verify Vereshchuk's claims on the ground. Russia has previously denied that its forces have put nuclear facilities inside Ukraine at risk. The fire and explosion in 1986 in Chernobyl's fourth reactor sent radiation wafting as far away as Britain and Spain. Thousands of deaths have been linked to the aftermath of the accident and the radiation it released.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine insists on territorial integrity as talks loom
With peace talks between Russia and Ukraine set to take place in Turkey this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy insisted on the territorial integrity of his country after earlier suggesting he was ready for a compromise. Zelenskiy said in his video address to the Ukrainian people late on Sunday that in talks due to take place in Istanbul his government would prioritise the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine.
But in comments made to Russian journalists earlier in the day Zelenskiy adopted a different tone, saying Ukraine was willing to assume neutral status and compromise over the status of the eastern Donbas region as part of a peace deal. In the video call that the Kremlin pre-emptively warned Russian media not to report, Zelenskiy said any agreement must be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum.
"Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it," he added, speaking in Russian. Even with talks looming, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was aiming to seize the eastern part of Ukraine. "In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine," he said, referring to the division of Korea after World War Two. Zelenskiy has urged the West to give Ukraine tanks, planes and missiles to help fend off Russian forces.
In a call with Putin on Sunday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed to host the talks and called for a ceasefire and better humanitarian conditions, his office said. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators confirmed that in-person talks would take place. Top American officials sought on Sunday to clarify that the United States does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, after President Joe Biden said at the end of a speech in Poland on Saturday that Putin "cannot remain in power".
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine pleads for help, says Russia wants to split nation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea. Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to help defend his country from Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.
Speaking after U.S. President Joe Biden said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power — words the White House immediately sought to downplay — Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.
“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”
Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said. He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said a vote could take place within a few months of the troops leaving.
Russia quickly banned the interview from being published. Roskomnadzor, which regulates communications for Moscow, issued the ban Sunday, saying there could be action taken against the Russian media outlets that took part, which included “those that are foreign media outlets acting as foreign agents." Russian-based outlets appeared to comply with the ban although the interview was published abroad.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine pleads for help, says Russia wants to split nation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea. Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to help defend his country from Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.
Speaking after U.S. President Joe Biden said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power — words the White House immediately sought to downplay — Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.
“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”
Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said. He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said a vote could take place within a few months of the troops leaving.
Russia quickly banned the interview from being published. Roskomnadzor, which regulates communications for Moscow, issued the ban Sunday, saying there could be action taken against the Russian media outlets that took part, which included “those that are foreign media outlets acting as foreign agents." Russian-based outlets appeared to comply with the ban although the interview was published abroad.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelenskyy discusses upcoming talks with Russia
Ukraine’s priorities at the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey this week will be “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his nation Sunday in his nightly address. “We are looking for peace, really, without delay,” he said. “There is an opportunity and a need for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey. This is not bad. Let’s see the outcome.”
This week, he said, “I will continue to appeal to the parliaments of other countries” to remind them of the dire situation in besieged cities like Mariupol. He thanked Ukraine’s armed forces, who he said “are holding back the occupiers, and in some areas they are even taking steps forward. Well done.” Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.
He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said that a vote could take place within a few months once Russian troops leave. Russia quickly banned Zelenskyy's interview from being published. Roskomnadzor, which regulates communications for Moscow, issued the ban Sunday, saying there could be action taken against the Russian media outlets that took part, which included “those that are foreign media outlets acting as foreign agents.” Zelenskyy responded by saying Moscow was afraid of a relatively short conversation with journalists. “It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic,” he said, according to the Ukrainian news agency RBK Ukraina.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | A moment of silence, and a plea, for Ukraine at Oscars
A tribute that started with words from the Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis ended with the Academy Awards fading to black about midway through Sunday’s show from Los Angeles, with a plea for anyone watching to do whatever possible to send help to those in the war-torn nation. “Recent global events have left many of us feeling gutted,” Kunis said as she took the stage, part of her remarks to introduce Reba McIntyre’s performance of the Oscar-nominated song “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days.”
“Yet when you witness the strength and dignity of those facing such devastation, it’s impossible to not be moved by their resilience,” Kunis continued. “One cannot help but be in awe of those who find strength to keep fighting through unimaginable darkness.” That’s when McIntyre took the stage, dressed in a black gown, for her performance. The balance between celebrating art while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rages on has been a delicate one for the Oscars. Sean Penn has openly campaigned for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — a former actor — to speak at the ceremony. Some arrived for the Oscars wearing blue-and-gold ribbons, an obvious show of support since those are the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
When McIntyre’s song ended, a large video screen hovering over the stage displayed a tribute and a plea as the 30-second moment of silence began. “We’d like to have a moment of silence to show our support for the people of Ukraine currently facing invasion, conflict and prejudice within their own borders,” read the screen. “While film is an important avenue for us to express our humanity in times of conflict, the reality is millions of families in Ukraine need food, medical care, clean water and emergency services. Resources are scarce and we — collectively as a global community — can do more.” It then ended with a display of the following: “We ask you to support Ukraine in any way you are able. #StandWithUkraine.”
