Russia Ukraine War News Highlights | 48 Flights under Operation Ganga have landed in India out of which 18 flights landed in last 24 hours, says Govt

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So far 48 Flights under Operation Ganga have landed in India out of which 18 flights landed in last 24 hours. The total number of Indians who returned onboard these 18 flights is around 4000.

In terms of departure points, there'll be 5 flights each from Budapest, 4 from Suceava in Romania (which we mentioned yesterday), 3 from Rzeszow in Poland and 1 each from Warsaw, Bratislava (new departure point), Bucharest and Kosice in Slovakia.

Four tranches of humanitarian aid were sent earlier and today two more tranches were dispatched by IAF flights (Poland, Slovak, Romania). Today one IAF flight carried 6 tonne of material to Romania and second carried 9 tonne material to Slovakia.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has for the first time seen a majority of Swedes in favour of joining NATO, according to a poll, and signs are the political landscape could to change too in a country long known for neutrality. Sweden has not been in a war since 1814 and has built its foreign policy on "non-participation in military alliances." It remained neutral throughout World War Two even as neighbouring Nordic countries were invaded, and during the Cold War. A poll on Friday by Demoskop and commissioned by Aftonbladet newspaper showed 51% of Swedes are now in favour of NATO membership, up from 42% in January. People against joining fell to 27% from 37%. It's the first time such a poll has shown a majority in favour. However, Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said joining NATO was not an easy decision, nor one that could be rushed based on recent events alone. "To change the defence doctrine, that is a very huge decision, so you don't do it overnight and you cannot do it because of opinion polls," he told a news conference in Copenhagen where he met his Danish and British counterparts. However, the Sweden Democrats, the third biggest party in parliament, said on Friday it was reviewing its stance, which could give a majority in parliament to those who wish to join. "We are analyzing the situation now, hour by hour more or less, looking at the NATO issue, looking at other security policy collaborations and what we can do," Aron Emilsson, foreign policy spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats told Swedish Radio. "It is clear that everything is put in a completely different light right now," he said.

Amid a Russian military offensive against Ukraine, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has said that the war is essentially between Russia and the US and NATO with Ukraine being its "theatre". In an article in the forthcoming edition of party mouthpiece People's Democracy, Yechury has called for an immediate ceasefire, and questioned the need for the existence and expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"US imperialism, with its desire to strengthen its global hegemony post cold war confrontation, chose not only to retain the NATO but to further strengthen it and use it for military operations across the world, particularly in Europe and Central Asia. Instead of disbanding, US imperialism hastened the eastward expansion of NATO negating an assurance given to Gorbachev post-USSR dismembering," Yechury wrote. He said that last December, Russia proposed security guarantees between Russia and NATO members suggesting no further NATO expansion, no assault weapons on Russian borders and return to the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, all of which were rejected by the US.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denied that Russian troops were bombing Ukrainian cities, dismissing such information as fake, the Kremlin said Friday. Putin said reports about "the alleged ongoing air strikes of Kyiv and other large cities are gross propaganda fakes," the Kremlin said in a statement.He added that dialogue on Ukraine would be possible only if Russian demands are met. Putin "confirmed that Russia is open to dialogue with the Ukrainian side, as well as with everyone who wants peace in Ukraine. But under the condition that all Russian demands are met," the Kremlin said.These include the neutral and non-nuclear status of Ukraine, its "denazification", recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and of the "sovereignty" of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine. "Hope was expressed that during the planned third round of talks, the representatives of Kyiv will take a reasonable and constructive position," the Kremlin added.The next meeting of delegations from Russia and Ukraine is expected during the weekend, according to one of Kyiv's negotiators.

BBC boss Tim Davie on Friday said the corporation was halting its coverage in Russia, as new legislation passed "appears to criminalise independent journalism"."It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development," he added.

Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their invasion of the country, a U.S. defense official said on Friday. " The Ukrainians still have a significant majority of their air combat power available to them, both fixed wing and rotary wing as well as unmanned systems and surface to air systems," the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.

Russian forces were driven out of the Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv after attacking it on Friday but fighting continued around the city outskirts, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that the country would not send arms to Ukraine after Ukrainian representatives had asked the country's Senate for arms and military assistance a day earlier. "We don't send guns anywhere. We are pacifists," Lopez Obrador said during his regular news conference. On Thursday, Ukrainian representatives sent a letter to the Mexican Senate urging that "only the military and massive support of our allies can help us push back the enemy." Lopez Obrador also reiterated earlier comments that Mexico would not follow many other countries and impose unilateral economic sanctions on Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine. "We will not take any economic reprisals because we want to have good relations with all governments in the world," he said earlier this week. Mexican auto parts maker Nemak has suspended operations in Russia while bread maker Grupo Bimbo and tortilla maker Gruma< GRUMAB.MX> have paused their operations in Ukraine

Washington is committed to doing every needed to stop the war in Ukraine, USSecretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday as he went into a meeting with his EU counterparts praising the bloc for the "historic" steps it has taken against Russia. "We are faced together with what is President Putin's war of choice: unprovoked, unjustified, and a war that is having horrific, horrific consequences for real people. For mothers, fathers. For children. We see the images on TV, and it has to stop," he told reporters in Brussels. "We're committed to doing everything we can to to make it stop. So the coordination between us is vital," he added, standing alongside the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. He said that beyond the risk for Ukrainians, Russia's invasion has also put at risk fundamental principles established after two world wars that are important to keeping peace and security, "principles that President Putin is egregiously violating every single day".