Russia’s war in Ukraine: Latest developments
Servicemen of the Ukrainian Military Forces go on a position in the Lugansk region on March 11, 2022. AFP
KYIV — Here are the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine:
Russia encircling Kyiv
Russian forces advance ever closer to the capital from the north, west and northeast. Russian strikes also destroy an airport in the town of Vasylkiv, south of the city.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says Kiev is already effectively “under siege” as the army and volunteers prepare to defend the city, street by street.
US authorizes $200 million military aid
US President Joe Biden authorises $200 million in additional military equipment for Ukraine. Washington has already authorised $350 million of military equipment — the largest such package in US history.
Ukraine says Russians shot 7 evacuees
Russian troops shot at a group of women and children evacuees leaving a village near Kyiv, killing seven, one of them a child, Ukraine’s military intelligence service says.
Article continues after this advertisement1,300 Ukrainian troops killed
“Around 1,300” Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky says, the first time he has given a toll for Ukraine’s forces. Russia said on March 2 it had lost 498 soldiers, but Zelensky says it is closer to 12,000.
Article continues after this advertisementAt least 579 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, the UN says.
French, German appeal to end siege
The leaders of France and Germany urge Russian President Vladimir Putin in a call to end the more than week-long siege of the port of Mariupol. Residents have been trapped without running water and power for 11 days and there are reports of people starving.
The mayor says more than 1,500 civilians have been killed. Corpses are lying uncollected in the streets.
Mayor abducted
Ukrainian lawmakers say Russian soldiers have abducted the mayor of the southern city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.
A senior official publishes a video showing soldiers escorting a man from a building, his head apparently covered in a black bag. Zelensky asks France and Germany to help secure his release.
Zelensky says Moscow taking different approach
In a media briefing, Zelensky says the approach being taken by Moscow is in contrast to earlier talks at which Moscow only “issued ultimatums” and that he is “happy to have a signal from Russia” after President Vladimir Putin said he saw “some positive shifts” in their dialogue.
Russian engineers at nuclear plant
Russian engineers arrive to measure radiation at a Ukrainian nuclear plant, the seizure of which has sparked international alarm, officials say.
Cancer hospital hit
A cancer treatment hospital and an eye clinic suffer damage in bombardments of the city of Mykolaiv, near the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa, a few days after a maternity hospital in Mariupol was shelled.
Ukraine claims a mosque where about 80 civilians, including some Turkish nationals, were sheltering in Mariupol was shelled but a person staying there denies the report, saying the bomb fell 700 metres away.
Amsterdam’s Orthodox clergy split from Moscow Patriarch
The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, announce they are splitting from the Moscow church because of threats to them over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Space station in jeopardy
The head of Russian space agency Roscosmos warns that Western sanctions could cause the International Space Station to crash.
Dmitry Rogozin says the sanctions are affecting supplies to the Russian part of the station, which corrects the station’s orbit.
Abramovich disqualified
The Premier League board disqualifies Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club after the Russian billionaire was placed under Western sanctions.
Abramovich has already announced his intention to sell the club.
No ‘World War III’
US President Joe Biden again rules out any direct intervention by the United States to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, warning that such conflict pitting the NATO alliance against the Kremlin “is World War III”.
Bio-weapons claims rejected
Western countries reject Russian claims that the United States and Ukraine researched using bats to conduct biological warfare. Britain’s ambassador to the UN says the claims are “utter nonsense”.
2.5 million flee
More than two and a half million people have fled the “senseless war” in Ukraine, the UN says — more than half to Poland.
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