People evacuate as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Irpin, Ukraine March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A warehouse storing frozen products is seen on fire after shelling, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the village of Kvitneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 12, 2022. REUTERS
A column of smoke rises from burning fuel tanks that locals said were hit by five rockets at the Vasylkiv Air Base, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
U.S. Army soldiers from B Company, of the Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, are loaded into a transport plane bound for Europe for their deployment launched in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe
Mar 11, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Fans show support for Ukraine at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Local residents cook food outside a residential building which was damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
A tank with the letters "Z" painted on it is seen in front of a residential building which was damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Local residents carry food and water in a residential area of the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Local residents are seen near an armoured vehicle with the letter "Z" painted on its side in a residential area of the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show a willingness to end a war with Ukraine during a call on Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a French presidency official said.
The French and German leaders reiterated their call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine as a condition for full negotiations, the official said.
The call came amid reports that the eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha has been completely destroyed following the Russian invasion but fighting continues for territory there to prevent a Russian encirclement, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Saturday.
A true picture of the economic damage caused is also emerging, with most Ukrainian businesses having stopped operating since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy's economic adviser previously estimated that the Russian invasion had already caused more than $100 billion of damage.
Zelenskiy also said around 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion.
Speaking at a news briefing, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams had started discussing concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums.
He said the West should be more involved in negotiations to end the war but welcomed efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, and said he had suggested to Bennett holding talks in Jerusalem.
The Indo Daily: From TV President to Ukraine’s Wartime Leader – Who is Volodymyr Zelensky?
Russian forces have shelled a mosque in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where more than 80 adults and children, including Turkish citizens, have taken refuge, Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Ukraine has accused Russia of refusing to allow people out of Mariupol, where a blockade has left hundreds of thousands trapped. Russia blames Ukraine for the failure to evacuate people.
"The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) in Mariupol was shelled by Russian invaders," the foreign ministry said in a tweet. "More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey."
It did not say if there were any people killed or wounded.
Moscow has denied targeting civilian areas in what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian occupying forces are planning to stage a "pseudo" referendum in the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson to create a breakaway region, the deputy head of the local council said on Saturday.
"The creation of the (republic) will turn our region into a hopeless hole without life or a future," Sergey Khlan said in a post on social media.
Russian forces captured Kherson following the start of an invasion on February 24, but pro-Ukraine protesters have taken to the streets in the city to protest the invasion force.
Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russian troops are suffering great losses and their biggest in decades.
In his latest TV address, the Ukrainian President said Russia’s army suffered its biggest losses in decades.
“The Russian troops are suffering great losses,” he said.
“We could even now talk about the greatest blow to the Russian troops in tens of years.”
He added 31 Russian tactical groups had been rendered incapable of combat.
Zelensky said Ukraine was upholding a ceasefire along key humanitarian routes from besieged Mariupol as he pleaded with Russia to do the same.
Elsewhere in his address, the president called for the release for the mayor of Melitopol who he claimed has been kidnapped by Russian forces.
“They have transitioned into a new stage of terror, in which they try to physically liquidate representatives of Ukraine’s lawful local authorities,” Mr Zelensky said in a video address.
Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, posted a video on the social media site Telegram which he said showed a group of armed men carrying mayor Ivan Fedorov across a square.
Also, Zelensky said the country was working with the European Commission to fast track Ukraine’s EU membership.
It comes as war in Ukraine entered its 17th day.
The “bulk” of Russian forces are approaching Kyiv - just 25km (15 miles) away, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.
Damage
Ukrainian officials accused Russia damaging a cancer hospital and several residential buildings in the southern city of Mykolaiv with shelling from heavy artillery.
The hospital’s head doctor, Maksim Beznosenko, said several hundred patients were in the hospital during the attack but that no one was killed. The assault damaged the building and blew out windows.
Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on Mykolaiv, located 470 kilometres (292 miles) south of Kyiv, in an attempt to encircle the city.
Ukrainian and Western officials earlier accused Russia of shelling a maternity hospital in the southern city of Mariupol on Wednesday. Three people died in that attack.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Friday of kidnapping the mayor of the city of Melitopol, equating it to the actions of “ISIS terrorists.”
A column of smoke rises from burning fuel tanks that locals said were hit by five rockets at the Vasylkiv Air Base, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A column of smoke rises from burning fuel tanks that locals said were hit by five rockets at the Vasylkiv Air Base, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
“They have transitioned into a new stage of terror, in which they try to physically liquidate representatives of Ukraine’s lawful local authorities,” Zelenskyy said in a video address Friday evening.
Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, posted a video on the social media site Telegram which he said showed a group of armed men carrying the mayor, Ivan Fedorov, across a square.
Russian forces captured the southern port city of Melitopol, with a population of 150,000, on February 26.
The prosecutor’s office of the Luhansk People’s Republic, a Moscow-backed rebel region in eastern Ukraine, said on its website that there was a criminal case against Fedorov. The prosecutor’s office accused Fedorov of “terrorist activities” and of financing the nationalist militia Right Sector to “commit terrorist crimes against Donbass civilians.”
U.S. Army soldiers from B Company, of the Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, are loaded into a transport plane bound for Europe for their deployment launched in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe
U.S. Army soldiers from B Company, of the Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, are loaded into a transport plane bound for Europe for their deployment launched in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe
The office said it was looking for Fedorov and called for anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact them.
Authorities have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol, saying that 1,582 people had been killed in the 12 days since the siege began.
“There is a humanitarian catastrophe in the city and the dead aren’t even being buried,” Mariupol’s mayor’s office said in a statement Friday, calling for Russian forces to lift the siege.
Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of shelling evacuation routes and preventing civilians from escaping the city of 430,000 people.
Mar 11, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Fans show support for Ukraine at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Fans show support for Ukraine at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Chernobyl
Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines at the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant in an effort to restore power supplies, the UN nuclear agency said.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said that Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, was knocked off the power grid, with emergency generators supplying backup power.
The Ukrainian nuclear regulator said Friday that workers repaired one section of the lines, but there still appears to be damage in other places, the IAEA said. Repair efforts would continue despite “the difficult situation” outside the plant, which was taken by Russian forces early in the invasion, it said.
The Ukrainian regulator said additional fuel was delivered for generators, but it remains important to fix the power lines as soon as possible. The IAEA reiterated that the disconnection “will not have a critical impact on essential safety functions at the site.”
The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog said that it still isn’t receiving data from monitoring systems installed to monitor nuclear material and activities at Chernobyl, but transmission from the Zaporizhzhia plant — Ukraine’s biggest, which Russian forces seized last week — has been restored after being lost earlier this week.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö spoke in a phone call Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine.
A tank with the letters "Z" painted on it is seen in front of a residential building which was damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
A tank with the letters "Z" painted on it is seen in front of a residential building which was damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Niinistö's office said in a statement that he informed Putin that he, earlier in the day, had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that Zelenskyy was prepared to talk directly with Putin.
The statement said Niinistö called for an immediate ceasefire and the safe evacuation of civilians, but also spoke to Putin about the security of nuclear energy facilities in Ukraine.
Niinisto is one of the few Western leaders who has kept a regular dialogue with Putin ever since the Finnish leader took office in 2012.
War crimes
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has opened an online portal to gather evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, as he renewed his call to combatants to abide by the laws of war.
Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a written statement Friday that he is “closely following the deeply troubling developments in hostilities.” There have been reports in recent days of Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian towns and cities, including the deadly strike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol earlier this week.
Khan notes in a written statement that “if attacks are intentionally directed against the civilian population: that is a crime. If attacks are intentionally directed against civilian objects: that is a crime. I strongly urge parties to the conflict to avoid the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas.” He says there is no legal justification or excuse “for attacks which are indiscriminate, or which are disproportionate in their effects on the civilian population.”
Khan also said that two more of the global court’s member states, Japan and North Macedonia, have formally requested him to investigate in Ukraine, bringing the number of so-called state party referrals to 41.
Local residents carry food and water in a residential area of the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Local residents carry food and water in a residential area of the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
The information will bolster evidence gathered by an investigative team Khan sent to the region last week to begin gathering evidence.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine is an ICC member state, but Kyiv has recognized the court’s jurisdiction, allowing Khan to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is underlining the importance of keeping in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but is stressing that “we will not make decisions for the Ukrainians.”
Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, who has spoken frequently with the Russian leader, together spoke to Putin on Thursday. After a European Union summit on Friday, Scholz said “it is absolutely necessary that we do not let the thread of talks break.”
The Elysee said Friday that Macron and Scholz would speak again with Putin on Saturday.
Scholz stressed that he and Macron are consulting closely among themselves and with the Ukrainian leadership — and that a cease-fire is the top priority. Scholz said it’s good that there are talks, but they shouldn’t just drag on while “weapons every day destroy people’s lives, buildings, infrastructure and dreams.”
The chancellor said that there is “one very clear principle: we will not make decisions for the Ukrainians. They must know themselves what from their point of view is the right thing for their country in this threatening situation.”
Prague City Hall has started readying temporary accommodation for a surge in refugees from Ukraine after the Czech capital ran out of housing options for them.
The government estimates that up to 200,000 refugees — 55pc of them children — have arrived in the Czech Republic, a European Union and NATO member that doesn’t border Ukraine. About 25pc of the refugees entering the country have gone to Prague.
Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib has asked the heads of 22 city districts to prepare at least 100 beds each in school gyms and also provide food for the refugees there.
Hrib compared the current situation in Prague to Germany facing the waves of refugees during a European migrant crisis in 2015-16.
“The difference is that Germany had months to react, we have just days,” Hrib said. “The demand for accommodation in Prague is enormous and by far surpasses what we can offer.”
Deployment
US soldiers are continuing to deploy to Europe, joining thousands already sent overseas to support NATO allies amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
About 130 soldiers from the 87th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade gathered Friday at Hunter Airfield in Savannah, Georgia and departed on a chartered flight.
The soldiers are in addition to the estimated 3,800 soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division who deployed recently from nearby Fort Stewart.
A division commander said that soldiers are being told to prepare for about six months overseas. The Pentagon has ordered roughly 12,000 total service members from various US bases to Europe.
Local residents cook food outside a residential building which was damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Local residents cook food outside a residential building which was damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
The soldiers’ mission is to train alongside military units of NATO allies in a display of force aimed at deterring further aggression by Russia. The Pentagon has stressed US forces are not being deployed to fight in Ukraine.
Sanctions
YouTube announced Friday that it has begun blocking access globally to channels associated with Russian state-funded media. It had previously blocked them — specifically RT and Sputnik — across Europe.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, announced the move in a Twitter post and said that while the change is effective immediately, “we expect our systems to take time to ramp up.”
YouTube also said it was now removing content about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that violates its policy that “minimizes or trivializes well-documented violent events.” The Kremlin refers to the invasion as a “special military operation” and not a war.
YouTube previously paused YouTube ads in Russia. Now, it is extending that to all the ways it makes money on the platform in Russia.
Local residents are seen near an armoured vehicle with the letter "Z" painted on its side in a residential area of the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Local residents are seen near an armoured vehicle with the letter "Z" painted on its side in a residential area of the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Ukraine’s digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, predicted in his Telegram channel that the Kremlin would soon move to block YouTube in Russia. “It’s a question of time.”
Russia’s communications and media regulator says it's restricting national access to Instagram because the platform is spreading “calls to commit violent acts against Russian citizens, including military personnel.”
The regulator, called Roskomnadzor, took the step Friday as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier on Friday, Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said in a statement tweeted by its spokesman Andy Stone that it had “made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules on violent speech, such as ‘death to the Russian invaders’.”
The statement stressed that the company “still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”
Meanwhile, Italian police have seized a superyacht from Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the prime minister's office said on Saturday, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The 143-metre Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of €530m ($578 million), has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, the government said.
Designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany, the vessel is the world's biggest sailing yacht, the government said.
Melnichenko owned major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK. The companies said in statements on Thursday that he had resigned as a member of the board in both companies and withdrawn as their beneficiary, effective Wednesday.
Last week Italian police seized villas and yachts worth €143m from five high-profile Russians who have been placed on the sanctions list.Read full story
The police operations were part of a coordinated drive by Western states to penalise wealthy Russians linked to President Vladimir Putin.
Criticism
The UK Government has been condemned by French president Emmanuel Macron for failing to live up to its “grand statements” on helping Ukrainian refugees.
His comments came as the Government intends to further ramp up pressure on the Kremlin.
In an update on Saturday morning, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said fighting to the north-west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv continued, with the bulk of Russian ground forces now about 25 kilometres from its centre.
Elements of the large Russian column north of Kyiv have dispersed, the MoD added, which it said is likely to support an attempt by the aggressors to encircle the city.
Speaking at the end of an EU summit in Versailles on Friday, Mr Macron reportedly criticised Britain’s visa policy which required applicants to make them in person in Brussels or Paris.
According to The Guardian, the French president said this further exacerbated circumstances for those fleeing the war.
He added: “Despite all the grand statements… the British government continued to apply current rules that meant they did not welcome Ukrainian refugees who wanted to reach British soil saying they have to travel hundreds of kilometres in order to apply for a visa.
“I would hope that the Ukrainian men and women who have lived through horror and crossed Europe to reach their families on UK territory will be better treated.”
In response to Mr Macron’s reported remarks, the Home Office pointed to previous comments from Home Secretary Priti Patel, which stated: “We are now making the process quicker and simpler by removing the need to physically visit visa application centres for many of those who are making the perilous journey across Europe.”
On Thursday, Ms Patel announced that from Tuesday people will be able to apply online for a visa and will no longer have to go to a processing centre to give their biometrics.
Tony Stein, chief executive of Healthcare Management Solutions, suggested on Saturday morning that Ukrainian people fleeing the war could find jobs and a place to live through the UK care sector.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “A lot of operators have job-related accommodation. And there must be a way, I think, of putting the two things together and helping some of the refugees coming over, who may well have the skills that we’re looking for… they may be nurses or people who’ve cared before who would be perfectly suited to roles in this country.”
Meanwhile, the Government is intending to further ramp up pressure on the Kremlin with plans to ban exports of luxury goods to Russia in the latest move to isolate Vladimir Putin.
Details of the plans will be set out in the coming days, Downing Street said.
It came as Boris Johnson joined with other G7 leaders on Friday to commit to further increase the pressure on the Russian president’s regime.
The group agreed to take steps to deny Russia “most favoured nation” status on key products, which No 10 said would significantly reduce the ability of Russian businesses to export.
Sharing the news on Friday evening, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UK stood “united with our G7 partners”, and would “continue strengthening our response” to put a halt to Russia’s aggression against its neighbour.
But Labour said the ban on luxury goods “should not have taken this long”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s shadow international trade secretary, said: “Labour has been calling for weeks now for a ban on luxury goods being sent to Russia, so it is welcome that the UK Government have finally listened – but it should not have taken this long.
“We cannot allow Putin, and his cronies in Moscow, to live a Mayfair lifestyle while they kill innocent people in their illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
The announcement followed Britain’s sanctioning of nearly 400 Russian parliamentarians, with ministers seeking to “tighten the screw” on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
Also on Friday, former Tory foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt argued the Russian invasion of Ukraine was “the biggest failure of Western foreign and security policy in our lifetimes”.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said: “It happened because we forgot the most fundamental lesson of the Cold War: the power of deterrence.”
He added: “Instead of peace through strength we caused war through weakness.”
Mr Hunt also suggested the UK should increase spending on “defence, aid and soft power” to at least 4% of GDP over the next decade.
Earlier, the UK’s permanent representative to the United Nations accused Russia of bringing about “wild, completely baseless and irresponsible conspiracy theories”.
It came as the UN security council met at Russia’s request to discuss claims levelled by Moscow about biological activities in Ukraine.
Dame Barbara Woodward said Russia must not be allowed to “abuse its permanent seat” on the council “to spread disinformation and lies”.
Prime Minister Johnson has previously expressed fears Russia is spreading a “fake story” that the US or the Ukrainians have chemical weapons in Ukraine as a pretext for an atrocity.
The Ukraine crisis is expected to be a topic for discussion when Mr Johnson meets Irish premier Micheal Martin for talks on Saturday.
The UK has now sanctioned more than 500 high-value individuals and entities since the invasion of Ukraine began, while Russian aircraft, including oligarchs’ private jets, are banned from the UK.
