29, March 2022
War in Ukraine: Latest developments 0
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
23, April 2022
War in Ukraine: Latest developments 0
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