At a deserted service station on the motorway northeast of Kyiv, a Ukrainian officer warns: “Don’t go any further. The Russians are over there.”

Over the last five days, the Russians have advanced more than 80 kilometres (62 miles) on the northeastern front and are getting close to the Ukrainian capital.

The Ukrainian officer in camouflage points towards the north, where the motorway stretches empty to the horizon between snow-covered fields.

“The Russian tanks are just over there, two kilometres away,” he said, ordering a civilian vehicle to turn round and go back, due to the danger from Russian forces.

“Drive in a zig-zag to avoid their shots,” he advises the driver.

Then he returns to his watch, in charge of around a dozen soldiers whose task it is to pass on information on Russian tanks so that the Ukrainian army can bomb them as soon as they move to break through the lines.

The Russian tanks are stationed just a few kilometres away from Kyiv’s city limits.

Last Saturday, the Russians were about 80 kilometres further up this road, on a level with the city of Chernihiv.

This advance along the motorway from the north brings Russian tanks just to the east of Kyiv, heightening fears that they could soon encircle the capital.

Russian tanks are also just a few kilometres from the city to its northwest.

In the surrounding villages, there are few cars on the road and they drive with utmost caution in what is now frontline territory.

Source: AFP

Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday agreed on a day-long ceasefire around a series of evacuation corridors to allow civilians to escape the fighting. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Moscow vowed to respect the truce from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm around six areas, including regions near Kyiv, in Zaporizhzhia in the south, and some parts of Ukraine’s northeast.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is no longer transmitting data to the UN’s atomic watchdog, the agency said Tuesday. More than 200 technical staff and guards remain trapped at the site, working 13 days straight since the Russian takeover.

US President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of oil from Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The UK also said they would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

The UN said the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 surged past 2 million.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “fight to the end” in a virtual speech to UK lawmakers that earned him a standing ovation. “We will not give up and we will not lose,” he said.

Source: France 24

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, invoking the wartime defiance of British prime minister Winston Churchill, vowed Tuesday (March 8) to “fight to the end” in a historic virtual speech to UK lawmakers.

“We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost, in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets,” he said.

Here are the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine:

Evacuations begin

Ukraine begins evacuating civilians from the northeastern city of Sumy under a deal with Moscow to set up humanitarian corridors out of cities besieged by Russian forces.

Dozens of buses ferry the evacuees to the city of Lokhvytsya, around 150 kilometres to the southwest in Ukrainian-held territory.

Kyiv had rejected a previous proposal to evacuate Ukrainians to Russia as a publicity stunt.

Ceasefire

Moscow announces a ceasefire in the five cities worst-hit by the fighting: Chernihiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Sumy.

Previous such cessations of fire collapsed at the weekend, with both sides trading blame.

21 killed in Sumy

At least 21 people, including two children, were killed in air strikes on Sumy on Monday night, hours before the evacuations began.

Thousands attempt to board packed trains out of Odessa, Ukraine’s main port which is also bracing for attack.

People to rush to board trains out of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, which is bracing for attack

People to rush to board trains out of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, which is bracing for attack BULENT KILIC AFP

Two million refugees

The UN says the number of people fleeing the war now tops two million.

Poland alone has received 1.2 million people.

Zelensky slams unkept ‘promises’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounces what he calls unkept “promises” by the West to help protect Ukraine.

“It’s been 13 days we’ve been hearing promises, 13 days we’ve been told we’ll be helped in the air, that there will be planes, that they will be delivered to us,” he complains.

China’s Xi urges restraint

Chinese President Xi Jinping urges “maximum restraint” over Ukraine but stops short of condemning the Russian invasion in a video summit with the leaders of France and Germany.

‘Call Russia’

A group of Lithuanians launch a bid to get Russians abroad to call 40 million of their compatriots and tell them what is happening in Ukraine.

Russia has severely restricted reporting of the war on its territory.

Shell quits Russia

Energy giant Shell says it will stop purchasing Russian crude oil and shut down its operations in the country.

 Russian designer cancelled

Russian designer Valentin Yudashkin, who designed the Russian army’s uniforms, has his show at Paris Fashion Week cancelled for his failure to condemn the war.

World Bank cash for Ukraine

The World Bank approves an additional $489-million package for Ukraine, to be made available immediately.

Foreign footballers can leave Russia

Foreign footballers and coaches working in Russia and Ukraine will be allowed to temporarily suspend their contracts and move elsewhere, FIFA announces.

Source: AFP

The Russian army announced Monday that it would open several humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. Russian forces pummelled Ukrainian cities from the air, land and sea, with warnings they were preparing for an assault on the capital Kyiv, as terrified civilians failed for a second day to escape besieged Mariupol.

A civilian disaster is growing in Ukraine as attempts to evacuate residents of besieged port city Mariupol failed for a second consecutive day.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that Russian forces are preparing to bombard Odessa, the historic port city on the Black Sea coast.

More than a million refugees have crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland since Russian troops invaded on February 24, Polish border guards said on Sunday. The UN said earlier on Sunday that more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine, open humanitarian corridors and sign a peace agreement, his office said.

The United States is considering sending planes to Poland if Warsaw decided to send fighter jets to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Zelensky said on Sunday he spoke by phone with his US counterpart Joe Biden to discuss financial support and sanctions against Russia.

Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow are set to hold a third round of negotiations on Monday.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered in Ukraine by the Russian invasion and discuss a possible draft resolution.

Washington has seen “very credible reports” that Russia has committed war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine, particularly in attacking civilians, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

Reported by France 24

Here are the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine:

Fierce battles

Ukraine’s military says it is fighting “fierce battles” with Russian forces on the edge of the southern city of Mykolaiv, which controls the road to the country’s biggest port Odessa in the west.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Russia is preparing to bombard the historic city near the Romanian and Moldovan borders.

Chernihiv pummelled

Dozens of civilians are being killed in the battle for Chernihiv in the north, with those who remain in the city living in craters or among the ruins. AFP has witnessed scenes of devastation.

Mariupol evacuation fails again

Attempts to evacuate civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol — which has neither power nor water — fail for a second day.

The Red Cross describes “devastating scenes of human suffering” in the battered Sea of Azov port.

Deadly and indiscriminate

The Russian push on Kyiv is becoming more deadly and indiscriminate despite Moscow’s denials that it is targeting civilian areas. People are fleeing the towns of Bucha and Irpin as they are pounded by air strikes.

Airport destroyed

A barrage of Russian missiles destroy Vinnytsia airport in central Ukraine, Zelensky says.

Refugee crisis: fastest since WWII

Ukraine is the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, says the UN. More than 1.5 million people have fled into neighbouring countries since Russia invaded on February 24.

Polish jets deal

The United States says it is working on a deal with Poland to supply Ukraine with fighter jets that its pilots are trained to fly.

Zelensky had pleaded with former Warsaw Pact countries in eastern Europe to give Ukraine Russian-made warplanes.

Russia limits essential food sales

Russian shops are told to limit sales of essential foodstuffs to counter black market speculation as Western sanctions bite.

1,100 held at Russia protests

More than 1,000 people are held across Russia after new protests against the war in Ukraine, bringing to 10,000 the number arrested since the invasion began, according to a monitor.

Zelensky’s plea to US

Zelensky phones President Joe Biden after pressing US lawmakers for an embargo on Russian oil imports. The White House is against a ban for fear of driving up prices.

Putin: Ukraine could cease to exist

Russian President Vladimir Putin warns Ukraine it may cease to exist as a state if leaders “continue to do what they are doing”.

He also says countries imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered combatants, while equating sanctions with a declaration of a war.

Visa and Mastercard ban

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard refuse to do business with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine but Russian banks say they will use China’s UnionPay system.

Macron, Erdogan call Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold separate telephone talks with Putin, with Turkey calling for an “urgent general ceasefire”.

Peace prospects ‘not great’

Israel’s premier Naftali Bennett says the chances of stopping fighting were “not great”, after Kyiv had asked Israel to launch a dialogue with Moscow.

Media blackout

A host of international broadcasters, including the BBC and CNN, say they will stop reporting from Russia because of a new law threatening up to 15 years in jail for “fake news” about its invasion.

Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta says it will also have to stop its reporting of the war.

No ticket out

Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot says it is suspending all its international flights except to Belarus.

Culled from AFP

Russia’s defense ministry announced a temporary ceasefire Saturday to allow residents of two besieged cities, including the strategic port city of Mariupol, to evacuate. Mariupol’s mayor says invading Russian troops have blockaded the city, as Moscow and Kyiv are set to hold new talks over the weekend. Follow our live updates for the latest developments.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered in Ukraine by the Russian invasion and discuss a possible draft resolution.

Invading Russian troops have blockaded the strategic Ukrainian port city Mariupol, its mayor announced Saturday.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold a third round of talks over the weekend as an attack on a nuclear plant in Ukraine triggered widespread condemnations.

The mayor of Mariupol issued a plea for help as water, heating and electricity remained cut in the southern Ukrainian port city. “We are simply being destroyed,” he said.

More than 1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion, the United Nations said, amounting to the swiftest refugee exodus this century.

Source: France 24

Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe Friday after a building at the complex was set ablaze during intense fighting.

Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant spread alarm across world capitals, before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training center, had been extinguished.

Ukraine’s president accused Russia of resorting to “nuclear terror” and seeking to repeat the Chernobyl disaster after saying that Russian forces attacked a nuclear power plant.

Russia’s defense ministry, however, blamed the attack at the site on Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a monstrous provocation.

Earlier, in a video message, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged world leaders to prevent Europe from “dying from a nuclear disaster”.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said there was no indication of elevated radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which provides more than a fifth of the total electricity generated in Ukraine.

Local officials also said that essential equipment at the station was unaffected and radiation levels were normal.

An official at the state enterprise that runs Ukraine’s four nuclear plants said there was no further fighting, the fire was out and Zaporizhzhia was operating normally.

“(Nuclear power plant) personnel are on their working places providing normal operation of the station.”

A video from the plant showed one building aflame, and a volley of incoming shells. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukrainian authorities had assured the IAEA that “essential” equipment were unaffected.

Russia has already taken control of the Chernobyl plant, about 100 km north of Kiev, which has been one of the most radioactive locations on earth since it saw an explosion in its fourth reactor in April 1986.

Financial markets in Asia spiraled out of control as early reports of the incident emerged, with stocks falling and oil prices soaring further.

“Markets are worried about nuclear fallout. The risk is that there is a miscalculation or over-reaction and the war prolongs,” said Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy at OCBC Bank.

Culled from Presstv

Nigeria, South Africa and other African governments scrambled on Monday to help their nationals escape the Russian invasion in Ukraine as reports emerged of racist and unfair treatment of their citizens at border crossings.

African nationals, many of them students, are among hundreds of thousands of people trying to flee into Poland and other neighbours.

Nigeria on Monday urged border officials in Ukraine and elsewhere to treat its citizens equally.

“There have been unfortunate reports of Ukrainian police and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains heading towards the Ukraine-Poland border,” said presidential advisor Garba Shehu in a statement.

“In one video widely circulating on social media, a Nigerian mother with her young baby was filmed being physically forced to give up her seat to another person.”

He said there are also reports of Polish officials refusing Nigerian citizens entry into Poland from Ukraine.

“It is paramount that everyone is treated with dignity and without favour,” said Shehu.

A group of South Africans, mostly students, have been stuck at the Ukrainian-Polish border, the country’s foreign ministry spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said on Twitter.

The South African ambassador to Warsaw was at the site trying to get them through, according to Monyela who on Sunday had said Africans were being “treated badly” at the Polish-Ukraine border.

Poland’s ambassador to Nigeria Joanna Tarnawska dismissed claims of unfair treatment.

“Everybody receives equal treatment. I can assure you that I have reports that already some Nigerian nationals have crossed the border into Poland,” she told local media.

She said Nigerians could stay for 15 days. Even invalid documents were being accepted to cross the border and Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, she added.

The Ukrainian embassy in Nigeria could not immediately be reached for comments.

‘Kept outside’

Some Nigerians who made it across the borders described frightening journeys in the dark to reach traffic-packed frontiers where they were made to wait as officials gave priority to Ukrainian women and children.

Stephanie Agekameh, a medical student now in Poland, said officials at the Medyka border crossing were responding first to Ukrainians.

“One of the officers came and told us it’s harder for us foreigners because they have to get in touch with our government in different countries,” she said by text message.

Speaking from Korczowa in Poland, Nigerian managerial sciences student Agantem Moshe, said Ukrainian police had pushed Africans out of the way to make way for women and children.

“From the Polish side it was smooth, they were professionals. In Ukraine, they kept us outside in the cold,” he said.

The UN said that more than half a million refugees from Ukraine had so far crossed into neighbouring countries.

Nigeria’s embassies in Bucharest said it had received 130 Nigerians from Ukraine. Another 74 were accounted for in Budapest, where another 200 were expected on Monday, the foreign ministry said.

Another 52 had arrived in Warsaw with another 23 being processed.

“We assure Nigerians that all hands are on deck and arrangements are being put in place to effectively evacuate our citizens in safety and dignity,” Nigerian official Gabriel Aduda said in a statement.

Ghana’s government said it would meet with parents of students stuck in Ukraine on Tuesday and sent embassy officials to border points to help.

Ivory Coast, which according to state media has 500 nationals in Ukraine, said it was also making arrangements for their evacuation.

Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry said 201 citizens were in the country, most of them students.

It said last week all Kenyans were safe and accounted for but that some were stuck at the Polish border because of visa restrictions.

Nigerian accountant Lukmon Busari was relieved his son, a fourth-year medical student, was already out after waiting for a day on the Polish border.

“Initially they didn’t allow them to move as they gave priority to Ukrainians, to women and children. Eventually they allowed them into Poland,” Busari told AFP by telephone.

“According to him, the Polish authorities did a marvellous job. He left on Thursday and got to the border on Thursday night, and he got into Poland on Friday.”

His son was currently resting in Poland before coming home.

“We are seeing how we can clear a flight for him to come back to Nigeria.”

Source: AFP

Queen Elizabeth II has cancelled two engagements on Thursday after she tested positive for coronavirus at the weekend, Buckingham Palace said.

“The two virtual audiences that had previously been scheduled to take place today will now be rescheduled for a later date,” a spokesman said.

Royal officials announced on Sunday that the 95-year-old head of state had tested positive and had “mild” Covid symptoms, but would continue with “light duties”.

Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, tested positive for the second time since early 2020 on February 10, two days after meeting his mother at Windsor Castle.

The Queen, who is in her record-breaking 70th year on the throne, cancelled similar virtual engagements planned for Tuesday but spoke to Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wednesday.

The monarch and the prime minister hold regular weekly meetings in private. They were conducted by telephone rather than in person due to coronavirus restrictions.

Palace officials said there were no further engagements planned for this week. The latest cancellation will inevitably stoke further fears for her health, given her advanced age.

As a precaution, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip moved to Windsor, west of London, in March 2020 as the global pandemic hit Britain.

The couple, who were married for 73 years, self-isolated with a reduced number of household staff. Philip, 99, died in April 2021, and his funeral was held under virus curbs.

Elizabeth returned to official duties after his death and as restrictions were lifted. But she was forced to slow down on medical advice in October last year.

The palace was forced to confirm that she had an overnight stay in hospital after going in for unspecified tests. Since then her appearances have become rarer.

She held a public engagement at her Sandringham residence in eastern England on February 5 on the eve of the anniversary of her accession to the throne in 1952.

Source: AFP