Europe sent a powerful symbol of solidarity with Ukraine on Friday, when Brussels backed Kyiv’s bid for EU candidate status, even as Russia shelled frontline Ukrainian cities and cut back gas supplies to the West.

With the European Commission’s backing, Ukraine could now be added to the list of countries vying for EU membership as early as next week, when member state leaders meet at their Brussels summit.

All 27 EU leaders will have to agree to the candidacy, but the heads of the European Union’s biggest members — France, Germany and Italy — already gave their full-throated support to the idea on Thursday, on a trip to a war-torn suburb of Kyiv.

Then on Friday, the European Commission gave the executive’s formal backing to the bid, and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made her position clear by donning a striking jacket in Ukraine’s national colours.

“We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us for the European dream,” she said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately welcomed the decision as a “first step on the EU membership path that’ll certainly bring our victory closer”.

He thanked von der Leyen for the commission’s “historic decision” and said he expected that EU leaders would give Ukraine a “positive result” at the June 23 to 24 summit.

Once Ukraine joins the EU candidates’ list — alongside several countries in the western Balkans — it could still take years to meet all the formal membership requirements, even if Kyiv prevails in the war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wore Ukrainian national colours to announce that the EU executive backs Kyiv’s bid for candidate status

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wore Ukrainian national colours to announce that the EU executive backs Kyiv’s bid for candidate status Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD AFP

“Yes, Ukraine should be welcomed as a candidate country — this is based on the understanding that good work has been done but important work also remains to be done,” von der Leyen said.

And in the meantime, the fighting continues, with Russian forces bombarding Ukrainian pockets of resistance in frontline Severodonetsk, including civilians holed up in a chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city.

And Moscow turned up the pressure on the Western allies, sharply reducing flows of natural gas in its pipelines to Western Europe, driving up energy prices.

‘Die for the dream’

France’s network provider said it had not received any Russian gas by pipeline from Germany since June 15, and Italy’s Eni said it expected Russian firm Gazprom to cut its supplies by half on Friday.

Several European countries, including Italy and Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs and, as the West sides with Ukraine, Moscow is cutting supplies.

Berlin and Rome have rejected Russia’s argument that technical issues have caused the drop in supplies, arguing that state-owned Gazprom’s move is political.

The day before the EU Commission’s announcement the French, German, Italian and Romanian leaders had travelled to Kyiv to send a powerful symbol of support to Ukraine

The day before the EU Commission’s announcement the French, German, Italian and Romanian leaders had travelled to Kyiv to send a powerful symbol of support to Ukraine Sergei SUPINSKY AFP

But western Europe is sweltering in a heatwave and energy prices are already soaring, adding to runaway inflation and industrial action in several economies.

The situation is, of course, more stark in Ukraine itself, where Russian troops have occupied a swathe of the south and east of the country during the 113-day war, including much of the Donbas region.

“The humanitarian situation across Ukraine — particularly in the eastern Donbas — is extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate rapidly,” the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.

The statement said the situation is “particularly worrying in and around Severodonetsk” — where bloody battles have raged for weeks.

‘God’s will’

Severodonetsk is in the Lugansk region, where governor Sergiy Gaiday called for a ceasefire, stating hundreds of civilians were trapped in the besieged Azot chemical plant in the city.

“It is now impossible and physically dangerous to get out of the plant due to constant shelling and fighting. There are 568 people in the shelter, including 38 children,” he said.

Gaiday said earlier this week that around 10,000 civilians remained in the city, which is controlled mostly by Russian forces.

In the frontline Donbas village of Adamivka near the city of Sloviansk, a community of Orthodox nuns have seen a rocket hole blasted into the wall of their well-tended garden.

Under near-constant bombardment by Russian forces, Sister Anastasi and a group of other black-clad nuns and pilgrims live day-to-day, praying for deliverance.

“We are all alive, yes. No one has left. This is our home,” she said quietly, her face framed by a black veil, as shells crashed in the distance.

“We trust in God’s will, in God’s help, in the help of all the saints and the Holy Virgin. This is our home, we have nowhere else to go.”

At least two people were killed and 20 injured in a Russian strike on a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the local governor said.

Source: AFP

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Macron, Scholz, Draghi in Kyiv

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visit Kyiv for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Macron says their visit to Kyiv and its battle-damaged suburb of Irpin aims to send “a message of European unity” with Ukraine, which is seeking EU membership.

Scholz says they want to ensure the country gets military, financial and humanitarian aid “for as long as necessary”.

Macron has been criticised for stressing the need not to “humiliate” Russia.

He, Scholz and Draghi have worked to maintain contact with President Vladimir Putin.

10,000 civilians trapped in eastern city

The governor of the eastern Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, says around 10,000 civilians, out of a pre-war population of 100,000, remain trapped in the city of Severodonetsk, where intense fighting has raged for weeks.

The city is the biggest in the Lugansk region that has not fallen to Russian forces.

The three bridges into the city have been destroyed, cutting off key escape routes.

Moscow says Ukraine on Wednesday blocked the evacuation of civilians from a chemical plant where Ukrainian forces are holding out.

“Kyiv authorities cynically scuppered the humanitarian operation”, the Russian defence ministry said.

$1 bn more in US weapons

US President Joe Biden announces a new $1 billion worth of arms and ammunition for Ukraine.

The package includes more artillery, coastal anti-ship defence systems and ammunition for artillery and advanced rocket systems that Ukraine is already using.

Kyiv says it is outgunned in the fight for its industrial heartland of Donbas and appealed to Western allies for greater military aid.

Xi assures Russia of Chinese support

Chinese President Xi Jinping assures Putin of Beijing’s support on “sovereignty and security” during a call, according to state media.

China is “willing to continue to offer mutual support (to Russia) on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reports Xi as saying.

China has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Russia by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv.

Japanese airline ditches Z logo

Japan’s Zipair budget airline ditches its Z logo for fear of it being read as a sign of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The letter Z has become a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion after being spotted on Russian tanks and military uniforms in Ukraine.

It has since appeared on cars, clothing and on billboards across Russia, as well as on social media.

UK rocket launcher delivery soon

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Britain will soon deliver multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine in response to its request for more heavy weapons.

The US too has promised to send multiple-launch rocket systems and medium-range ammunition.

Ikea reduces Russian activities

Swedish furniture giant Ikea says it will “scale down” its activities in Russia and Belarus, after putting them on hold following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Businesses and supply chains across the world have been heavily impacted and we do not see that it is possible to resume operations any time soon,” Ingka Group, which manages the majority of Ikea’s stores, says in a statement.

Source: AFP

A first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a controversial UK policy was cancelled on Tuesday in an embarrassing blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.

The number of those due to be put on the flight had dwindled from an original 130 to seven on Tuesday and finally none thanks to a last-minute ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

British Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was disappointed that “legal challenge and last-minute claims” meant the plane did not take off but vowed to pursue the heavily criticised policy.

“We will not be deterred,” she said in a statement.

“Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now.”

The grounding was thanks to an ECHR ruling that at least one of the asylum seekers should stay in Britain as there were no guarantees for his legal future in Rwanda.

Patel called the ECHR intervention “very surprising” and vowed that “many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next”.

The flight cancellation is an embarrassment for Johnson’s Conservative government, after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss insisted the Kigali-bound plane would leave, no matter how many people were on board.

“There will be people on the flights and if they’re not on this flight, they will be on the next flight,” Truss told Sky News earlier Tuesday.

The ECHR issued an urgent interim measure to prevent the deportation of an Iraqi man booked on the flight as he may have been tortured and his asylum application was not completed.

The Strasbourg-based court said the expulsion should wait until British courts have taken a final decision on the legality of the policy, set for July.

British newspapers from across the political spectrum expressed outrage at the eleventh-hour reversal and the government’s handling of the affair.

The conservative Daily Mail and Daily Express placed the blame in the hands of “meddling judges in Strasbourg”, expressing anger at what they called the “abuse of the legal system”.

The left-leaning Daily Mirror, meanwhile, slammed the government’s “cruel farce” and the “chaos” the policy had provoked.

‘All wrong’

Rights group Care4Calais tweeted that the same measure could be applied to the others set to be transported to Rwanda.

Truss said the policy, which the UN refugee agency has criticised as “all wrong”, was vital to break up human-trafficking gangs exploiting vulnerable migrants.

Record numbers of migrants have made the perilous Channel crossing from northern France, heaping pressure on the government in London to act after it promised to tighten borders after Brexit.

British media said some 260 people attempting the crossing in small boats were brought ashore at the Channel port of Dover by 1200 GMT on Tuesday.

More than 10,000 have crossed since the start of the year.

‘Shames Britain’

Legal challenges in recent days had failed to stop the deportation policy, which the two top clerics in the Church of England and 23 bishops described as “immoral” and “shames Britain”.

“They (migrants) are the vulnerable that the Old Testament calls us to value,” Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell wrote in a letter to The Times.

“We cannot offer asylum to everyone, but we must not outsource our ethical responsibilities, or discard international law—which protects the right to claim asylum.”

It was reported last weekend that Queen Elizabeth II’s heir, Prince Charles, had privately described the government’s plan as “appalling”.

But Truss said: “The people who are immoral in this case are the people traffickers trading on human misery.”

In Kigali, government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told reporters it was an “innovative programme” to tackle “a broken global asylum system”.

“We don’t think it is immoral to offer a home to people,” she told a news conference.

Johnson has told his senior ministers the policy was “the right thing to do”.

‘Value for money’

Truss said she could not put a figure on the cost of the charter flight, which has been estimated at upwards of £250,000 ($303,000).

But she insisted it was “value for money” to reduce the long-term cost of irregular migration, which the government says costs UK taxpayers £1.5 billion a year, including £5 million a day on accommodation.

In the Channel port of Calais, in northern France, migrants said the risk of deportation to Rwanda would not stop them trying to reach Britain.

Moussa, 21, from the Darfur region of Sudan, said “getting papers” was the attraction. “That’s why we want to go to England,” he said.

Deported asylum seekers who eventually make the 4,000-mile (6,500-kilometre) trip to Kigali will be put up in the Hope Hostel, which was built in 2014 to give refuge to orphans from the 1994 genocide of around 800,000 mainly ethnic Tutsis.

Hostel manager Ismael Bakina said up to 100 migrants can be accommodated at a rate of $65 per person a day and that “this is not a prison.”

The government in Kigali has rejected criticism that Rwanda is not a safe country and that serious human rights abuses were rife.

But Rwandan opposition parties have questioned whether the resettlement scheme will work given high youth unemployment rates.

Source: AFP

Russian forces said Sunday they had struck a site in western Ukraine storing large amounts of weapons supplied by the United States and European countries, as the battle intensified for the key eastern city of Severodonetsk.

The strike on the town of Chortkiv, a rare attack by Russia in the relatively calm west of Ukraine, left 22 people injured, the regional governor said. Meanwhile the situation in Severodonetsk was “extremely difficult”, after the Russian army destroyed a second bridge into the city and was heavily bombarding the last one, regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said.

Away from the battlefield, the head of the European Commission on Saturday promised it would provide a clear signal by the end of next week on Ukraine’s bid to become a candidate to join the European Union. “Ukraine has achieved a lot in the past ten years and much still needs to be done. Our opinion will reflect this carefully,” Ursula von der Leyen said after a surprise trip to the capital Kyiv.

Despite reservations among some member states, EU leaders are expected to approve the bid at a summit later his month, although with strict conditions attached. “The challenge will be to come out of the (EU) council with a united position, which reflects the enormity of these historic decisions,” von der Leyen said as she travelled back to Poland.

Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability has been laid bare by Russia’s February 24 invasion, which has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing and reduced swathes of the country to rubble. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that it was a “decisive time”.

“Russia wants to ruin European unity, wants to leave Europe divided and wants to leave it weak. The entirety of Europe is a target for Russia. Ukraine is only the first stage in this aggression,” he said.

Extremely difficult  

The United States and EU have sent weapons and cash to help Ukraine fend off the Russian advance, alongside punishing Moscow with unprecedented economic sanctions. Russia’s defence ministry said the strike on Chortkiv destroyed a “large depot of anti-tank missile systems, portable air defence systems and shells provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and European countries”.

Regional governor Volodymyr Trush said that four missiles fired from the Black Sea had partially destroyed a military installation in the town, about 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the border with Romania, on Saturday evening. Residential buildings were also damaged and 22 people were hurt, all of them — including seven women and a 12-year-old — taken to hospital, he said in a Facebook post.

It was a rare attack in western Ukraine, with the east and south of the country having borne the brunt of Russian firepower. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the region of Lugansk.

“The situation in Severodonetsk is extremely difficult,” said Lugansk governor Gaiday on Sunday, adding that by attacking the bridges, Russian forces wanted to cut off the city completely. “Most likely, today or tomorrow, they will throw all reserves to capture the city and also possibly in other directions to cut and fully control the road” southwest to Bakhmut. He said the Azot chemical plant was being shelled, with fighting around the area.

About 800 civilians have taken refuge in the plant’s bunkers, according to the tycoon whose company owns the facility.

Crisis and famine

The war has caused a spike in the global prices of energy — Russia is a major producer of oil and gas — and basic food stuffs. Before the war, Russia and Ukraine produced 30 percent of the global wheat supply, but grain is stuck in Ukraine’s ports and Western sanctions have disrupted exports from Russia.

Addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday, Zelensky warned of an acute food crisis, adding that the “shortage of foodstuffs will inexorably lead to political chaos”. Also Saturday, Gaiday cited reports of Russians loading trucks with Ukrainian wheat and taking it to Russian-controlled areas.

At the summit, Zelensky urged international pressure to end the blockade, speaking to delegates including Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, who on Sunday reiterated Beijing’s position on the crisis. “On the Ukrainian crisis, China has never provided any material support to Russia,” he said, adding that it supported peace negotiations and hoped “NATO will have talks with Russia”.

The sanctions against Moscow have hit the Russian economy, and also caused major Western brands to leave the country, with US fast-food chain McDonald’s selling its businesses there. Its iconic restaurant on Moscow’s Pushkin Square — where the very first McDonald’s opened its doors to long queues and great fanfare in January 1990 — was set to reopen Sunday under new ownership.

It was named “Vkusno i tochka” (“Delicious. Full Stop”), Oleg Paroyev, the boss of the new group, told a press conference. Separately, Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom announced that the connection between the Zaporizhzhia plant, now part of Russian-held territory in the south, and the UN’s nuclear watchdog had been restored after a month and a half.

The Russian shelling of the plant — the largest in Europe — had sparked international outrage and fears over Ukraine’s 15 operational reactors. Energoatom said the Russians had cut off the mobile phone operator at the site on May 30, but the connection with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had finally been restored on Friday.

The IAEA said this week it was planning to visit the Zaporizhzhia plant to carry out essential safety work. However, Energoatom said that such a trip would legitimise Russia’s control of the site, and said a visit would only be possible once Ukraine regained control.

Source: AFP

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Mariupol evacuation

Ukraine will make a new attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, the devastated port city now largely controlled by Russian forces, from noon on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says.

“Today we will again try to evacuate women, children and the elderly,” Vereshchuk says on Telegram.

UN chief to meet Putin, Zelensky

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine next week after a stop in Moscow to confer with President Vladimir Putin, UN says.

Guterres will see Zelensky and Ukraine’s foreign minister on Thursday, two days after visiting Moscow.

Russia breaks silence on sunken cruiser

Russia reveals that one crew member died and 27 were missing after the Moskva missile cruiser sank last week, Moscow’s first admission of the losses following the tragedy.

“As a result of a fire on April 13, the Moskva missile cruiser was seriously damaged due to the detonation of ammunition,” the defence ministry says in a statement.

Thales accusation

A senior Ukrainian official accuses French defence electronics company Thales of violating European sanctions and selling Russia equipment that was used to kill civilians fleeing recent fighting outside Kyiv, claims strongly denied by the company.

“A family was trying to escape but was killed by Russian murderers,” tweets presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak. “Killed, as it is now proved, with French weapons sold in circumvention of sanctions in 2015.”

Russia jails opposition leader

Russian authorities declare opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza a “foreign agent” and order his pre-trial detention for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian army amid its military campaign in Ukraine.

Moscow’s Basmanny district court orders that the 40-year-old Kremlin opponent be held in jail until June 12.

US meeting on Ukraine long-term security

The Pentagon invites 40 allies to meet in Germany next week to discuss Ukraine’s longer-term security needs.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says defence ministers and senior generals of 20 countries, NATO and non-NATO members, have already accepted the invitation for the Tuesday meeting in Germany.

Mariupol forces urged to surrender

Russia’s defence ministry says it is ready for a humanitarian ceasefire at the Azovstal steel plant if Kyiv’s soldiers holed up there surrender.

“All servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces, militants of the national battalions and foreign mercenaries who laid down their arms are guaranteed life, decent treatment in accordance with international law, and the provision of quality medical care,” Putin says, adding: “But the Kyiv regime is not allowing for this opportunity to be used.”

Source: AFP

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Talks begin in Turkey

Russia and Ukraine begin their first face-to-face talks in weeks at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul to try and end the nearly five-week-old war which has killed an estimated 20,000 people.

Welcoming the delegations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says “both parties have legitimate concerns” and urges them to “put an end to this tragedy”.

“The whole world is waiting for good news from you,” he says.

‘We don’t trade sovereignty’

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the “demilitarisation” and “denazification” of Ukraine, that it become a neutral country and that Kyiv recognize the breakaway Donbas region and Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula as no longer part of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says the talks will focus on easing the humanitarian situation. He says there is little room for agreement on Putin’s territorial demands, saying “We do not trade people, land and sovereignty.”

– Evacuations resume –

Ukraine says it is resuming the evacuation of civilians from war-scarred regions after a one-day pause over what it called the threat of Russian attacks.

“Three humanitarian corridors were agreed for today,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says on Telegram.

Key Kyiv suburb recaptured

Ukrainian forces have “liberated” the much fought-over western Kyiv suburb of Irpin, the country’s interior minister says.

Ukraine says Russia is still trying to break through to Kyiv, despite Moscow saying it plans to focus on the Donbas region

But fighting appeared to be continuing around the area, from where Russian forces were attempting to advance towards the capital, AFP journalists report.

Ukraine says Russia is still trying to break through to Kyiv, despite signals from Moscow that it is planning to scale back its offensive to focus on the eastern Donbas region.

Mykolaiv government building hit

A Russian strike has hit the regional government building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, a key port that has been under heavy assault for weeks, the regional governor says.

Governor Vitaly Kim says most people inside the building “escaped miraculously” but several civilians and soldiers are unaccounted for.

– Poisoning report –

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators were targets of a suspected poison attack at peace talks earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ukrainian officials decline to confirm the incident, advising people to follow “only the official information” and warning about “various conspiracy theories”.

Abramovich and the negotiators reportedly developed symptoms including red eyes and peeling skin, though they later recovered.

Wagner group in Ukraine: UK

Britain’s defence ministry says Russia’s Wagner Group has deployed its mercenaries to eastern Ukraine, adding that more than 1,000 fighters are expected to participate in the war after Russian setbacks.

Biden continues damage limitation

US President Joe Biden is again forced to defend his remarks that Putin “cannot stay in power”, saying the comments did not signal a push for regime change but merely expressed his “moral outrage”.

The White House unveils budget plans, including $6.9 billion (6.3 billion euros) in funding for Ukraine and NATO, with another $1 billion towards countering Moscow’s influence.

5,000 dead in Mariupol

A senior Ukrainian official says at least 5,000 people have been buried in the besieged southern city of Mariupol since the invasion began, but that bodies have gone uncollected for the past 10 days amid continuing Russian shelling.

The foreign ministry describes the humanitarian situation in the city as “catastrophic”.

$565 billion hit

Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko says the invasion has cost her country an estimated $564.9 billion, including immediate damage and expected hits to trade and economic activity.

Source: AFP

Zelensky ready for talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready for talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “in any format”.

The Ukrainian leader indicates the status of Russian-occupied Crimea and breakaway Russian-backed statelets in Donbas are up for discussion, adding that any peace deal will be put to a referendum in Ukraine.

Warning on chemical weapons

US President Joe Biden warns Russia will pay a “severe price” if it uses chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

He says Moscow’s claim that the US helped Ukraine develop biological weapons is “a clear sign” President Vladimir Putin is himself considering biological or chemical warfare.

Russia steps up air operations

The Pentagon says Russia is boosting air and sea military operations in Ukraine, flying more than 300 missions in the past 24 hours, in a bid to break Ukrainian resistance.

Eight dead in mall bombing

At least eight people are killed in the bombing of a shopping centre in northwest Kyiv. The 10-storey building is completely destroyed in the blast. Russia claims the mall was used to store rocket systems.

New Kyiv curfew

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko announces a new curfew for the capital from 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Monday to 7:00 am on Wednesday.

Holocaust survivor killed

Ninety-six-year-old Holocaust survivor Boris Romantschenko is killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv. Romantschenko had survived detention in Buchenwald, Mittelbau-Dora and Bergen-Belsen.

Protesters under fire

Ukraine’s leaders accuse Russian forces of firing on unarmed protesters in the occupied southern city of Kherson. Videos emerge to show residents fleeing flash-bang grenades and bursts of gunfire during the latest demonstration against the Russian invasion.

Red Cross mission

The head of the international Red Cross, Peter Maurer, tells AFP he will travel to Moscow this week for talks on the conduct of the war in Ukraine and efforts to secure visits with detainees.

Russian toll

Kremlin-allied tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda reports 9,861 Russian troops have been killed and 16,153 injured in the nearly month-old war, 20 times the official tally. The figures are quickly removed from its website.

Nearly 3.5 million flee

Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainians have now fled the country following Russia’s invasion, the United Nations says, of the 10 million who have been displaced from their homes.

US-Russia ties near breakdown

Russia summons the US ambassador to Moscow to protest at Biden branding Putin a “war criminal”, saying relations are “on the verge of rupture”.

Facebook, Instagram ban

A Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram as “extremist”, part of the Kremlin’s sweeping efforts to censor news about the war in Ukraine.

Source:  AFP

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

‘Hundreds’ trapped in bombed theatre

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says that 130 people have been saved after the bombing of a theatre in the port city of Mariupol, besieged by Russian forces, but that “hundreds” are still trapped in rubble.

He promises to continue rescue operations in Mariupol “despite shelling” in the southern port city that has suffered vast destruction.

Xi speaks out against war

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks out against conflict during his first call with his US counterpart Joe Biden since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chinese state TV reports.

He says during the nearly two-hour-long call Beijing and Washington should shoulder “our due international responsibilities” for peace and that war is “in no one’s interest”.

Strikes near Lviv airport

Russian forces destroy an aircraft repair plant near Lviv airport but no one was hurt, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi says on the messaging app Telegram.

The western city is just 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the border with NATO member Poland.

Kyiv tower blocks hit

Authorities in the capital Kyiv say one person was killed when a Russian rocket struck residential tower blocks in the northwestern suburbs. They said a school and playground were also hit.

Fighting in Mariupol, Lugansk

Russian troops and their separatist allies are fighting in the centre of Mariupol, the Russian defence ministry says.

Backed by Russian troops, separatists from the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic have also “liberated more than 90 percent of the republic’s territory”, the ministry adds.

One dead, one trapped in Kharkiv

In the eastern city of Kharkiv, Russian strikes demolish the six-storey building of a higher education institution, killing one person and leaving another trapped in the wreckage, officials say.

‘Dire’ situation in east

The UN warns that humanitarian needs are becoming ever more urgent across eastern Ukraine, with a potentially fatal lack of food, water and medicines in besieged cities such as Mariupol and Sumy.

Peace talks ‘stalled’

Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Ukrainian authorities of stalling talks, but added that Moscow is ready to search for solutions as he speaks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns that Russia has not produced “any meaningful efforts” to end the war.

G7 leaders convened

Scholz, as current G7 president, invites the leaders of the world’s top industrialised countries to a meeting on Ukraine as part of EU and NATO summits next week.

UK blocks Russia’s RT channel

Britain’s broadcasting regulator revokes the licence of Russia’s state-funded television channel RT, in the latest international repercussion for Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.

– ‘Extensive’ economic fallout –

The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other top world lenders warn of “extensive” economic fallout from the Ukraine war and express “horror” at the “devastating human catastrophe”.

IEA urges cut in global oil consumption

The International Energy Agency urges governments to urgently implement measures to cut global oil consumption within months following supply fears stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian diplomats expelled

The three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announce the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

3.25 million refugees

More than 3.25 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the United Nations says, with more than two million crossing the Polish border.

Source: AFP