Russia Ukraine Conflict Updates: The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is under the bombardment from Russian forces, the city’s mayor said in a televised interview on Friday, reported Reuters. “As of today, 48 (of the city’s) schools have been destroyed,” said Mayor Ihor Terekhov. On the other hand, US President Joe Biden is expected to announce that the US along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, will move to revoke “most favoured nation” trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. This is according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported AP. Biden will also call for an end to normal trade relations with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. This would be the latest move by the US and its allies to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the largest war in Europe since World War Two.
The UN Security Council will meet on Friday at Russia’s request to discuss what Moscow claims are “the military biological activities of the U.S. on the territory of Ukraine,” reported AP. The allegations have been repeatedly denied by the Joe Biden administration.
ALSO READ: Destroy pathogens in health labs to prevent disease spread, WHO tells Ukraine
Without providing any evidence, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had earlier claimed that Ukraine was running chemical and biological weapons labs with the support of US. White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Russia’s claim “preposterous”. “This is all an obvious ploy by Russia to try to justify its further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” Psaki had said on twitter, further adding, “Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them.”
Britain’s Deputy Ambassador, James Kariuki, told the council on Thursday that “the parallels” between Russia’s action in Ukraine and its actions in Syria “are clear.” “Regrettably, the comparison also extends to chemical weapons, as we see the familiar specter of Russian chemical weapons disinformation raising its head in Ukraine,” he said, as per AP report.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a threat to world peace. We condemn this invasion which is a challenge to the rules-based system. Canada stands against authoritarianism and with democratic Ukraine now and in the future: Canadian Minister of Intl Trade, Mary Ng (ANI)
The United Nations is not aware of any 'biological weapons program' in Ukraine, the U.N. disarmament chief told a Security Council meeting on Friday, but warned that the possibility of an accident at Ukraine nuclear power plants was 'growing by the day.' Speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting requested by Russia, to discuss Moscow's claims, presented without evidence, of U.S. "biological activities", Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said situations like the war in Ukraine required strengthening of the international ban on biological weapons. (Reuters)
The United States will revoke Russia's 'permanent normal trade relations' status: US President Joe Biden (ANI)
Global farm commodities trader Cargill Inc said on Friday it was scaling back its business activities in Russia and has stopped investments in the country, but would continue to operate "essential" food and animal feed facilities there. Agriculture firms have been slower than oil companies and retailers to announce they are curtailing Russian operations following Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which has been near universally condemned around the world. (Reuters)
Russia is trying everything possible to drag Belarus into its 16-day war against Ukraine, said Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Yevheniy Yenin in a televised interview on Friday. "We also understand that the Belarusian government has been doing everything possible to avoid joining this war," Yenin added. Belarus has served as a staging post for Russian troops, missiles, and aircraft throughout the war, but Belarusian forces have not had any direct involvement. (Reuters)
The UK government on Friday sanctioned 386 members of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, for their support for the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent in the lead up to the current conflict. The new sanctions will ban all those listed from travelling to the UK, accessing assets held within the UK and doing business in the country, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said. (PTI)
Russia says Ukraine has only agreed 2 of 10 humanitarian corridors proposed by Russia and none to Russia – RIA cites defence ministry (Reuters)
The Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara said on Friday there are 86 Turkish citizens sheltering in a mosque in the besieged southern Ukrainian port of Mairupol, as Russian forces continue shelling the city. Citing local authorities, the embassy said Russian forces had been shelling the city, including the mosque, since the early morning hours. It said 34 of the Turkish citizens hiding there were children. Turkey's Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment. Turkey has been helping its citizens leave Ukraine via buses and trains since Russia's invasion began. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said 13,719 citizens had been evacuated. (Reuters)
Ukraine interior ministry adviser says situation in Mariupol city is critical (Reuters)
Ukraine air force says Russian aircraft fired at Belarussian settlement on the border with Ukraine in "false flag attack" (Reuters)
The sweeping economic sanctions on Russia - the second largest producer of crude oil - following its invasion of Ukraine late last month can cull global and domestic growth along with the added pains of higher inflation and currency depreciation, RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra has said. And if the war lingers on, it can even lead to deglobalisation and even a recession, he added. The ongoing war has only added a whole new dimension to the outlook, and in fact, a weighty downside, Patra said in a lecture at the industry lobby IMC this evening. And the results are for all to see: market volatilities, bleeding currencies, runaway inflation and current account deficits, he said. (PTI)
Ukraine's ambassador urged Israel on Friday to step up its support for Ukraine by sanctioning Moscow, accepting more Ukrainian refugees and sending defence equipment. Israel has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sent humanitarian aid, but has maintained contacts with Moscow, with which it coordinates strikes in Syria and which has influence in international nuclear talks with Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 5 and has also spoken several times with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an effort to mediate between the sides. In a briefing, Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk told reporters in Tel Aviv that Israel did not have "exclusivity" in the mediation process, adding: "Saying that 'we are mediators, that's why we have to be neutral to both parties' - that's not the name of the game." "What we expect from Israel at the moment, the government, (is) to join the sanctions of their allies, including but not only the U.S. and European Union," he said, speaking in English. (Reuters)
Ukraine's president says his country's military forces have reached “a strategic turning point,” while Russia's president says there are “certain positive developments” in talks between the warring countries. Neither leader explained clearly what they meant, however. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday: “It's impossible to say how many days we will still need to free our land, but it is possible to say that we will do it because ... we have reached a strategic turning point.” He didn't elaborate. He said authorities are working on 12 humanitarian corridors and trying to ensure needy people receive food, medicine and basic goods. He spoke on a video showing him outside the presidential administration in Kyiv, speaking in both Ukrainian and Russian about the 16th day of war. Meanwhile, in Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin said there have been positive developments in talks between the warring countries, but he didn't offer any details about what those developments were. (AP)
Ukraine must sow as many crops as possible this spring, despite the Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday. "This spring, as much as any spring, we must make a full-fledged sowing campaign. As much as possible," Zelenskiy said in a televised statement. "Because it's about life. About our life. About our future," he added. Ukraine is a major global producer and exporter of grain and vegetable oils, but officials and farmers expect a decline in the 2022 harvest and exports due to the war. Ukraine's agriculture producers' union said earlier on Friday farmers were likely to reduce the area sown to sunseed, rapeseed and corn this year, replacing them with cereals - buckwheat, oats and millet. (Reuters)
The mayor of Odesssa said on Friday Russian forces could soon surround his southern Ukrainian port city on three fronts. Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov suggested Russian forces would seek to advance from territories they have occupied in Ukraine's Mykolaiv region towards Moldova's separatist-controlled Transdniestria region, where Russian troops are based. Such a move could cut Odessa off from the rest of Ukraine. "Also, we think that while this is happening, Russian landing ships could surround us from the sea," Trukhanov added. (Reuters)
Ukraine Presidential adviser says no new Russian advances over last 24 hours (Reuters)
Five Indian students are still stuck in the south Ukrainian city of Kherson and have urged the Centre to evacuate them, according to an activist based in Rajasthan's Bundi. Charmesh Sharma claimed that the students, who have taken refuge inside a building amid a fierce Russian military offensive, got in touch with him via WhatsApp and narrated their plight. Sharma has written to the office of the president, prime minister and Union minister of External Affairs, urging them immediately take steps to airlift the five stranded Indian students. The five Indian students who are trapped in the Ukrainian city are Vadi Vivek and Milan Domadiya, both from Jamnagar in Gujarat, Tannu and Simran Kaur from Haryana's Rohtak and Arokia Raj from Tamil Nadu. (PTI)
Sweden's main scenario is to receive 76,000 Ukrainian refugees in coming months in the wake of Russia's invasion, Sweden's Migration Agency said on Friday. The agency said the forecast was uncertain and presented three scenarios that ranged from 27,000 to 212,000 refugees from now until June. Sweden is in the process of preparing sports halls, warehouses and exhibition centres to house new immigrants. (Reuters)
Russia has requested a meeting of the UNSC today to discuss its claims of biological weapons in Ukraine. (ANI)
Under Operation Ganga almost 20,000 Indians have been brought back in over 90 special flights from the Ukraine borders. On Friday, the more students returned on a special flights carrying around 600 Indian students which landed at the Hindon Indian Air Force Base earlier today. These students were evacuated through a humanitarian corridor, from the war torn Ukrainian city of Sumy. The students used the humanitarian corridors to reach the borders of Poland from where they boarded the special flights to India. Sources while confirming the return of the students from Sumy to Financial Express Online, indicated that “Operation Ganga’’ maybe be drawing to an end. READ FULL STORY HERE
The U.N. human rights office said on Friday it had received "credible reports" of several cases of Russian forces using cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine, adding that indiscriminate use of such weapons might amount to war crimes. The U.N. agency has dozens of monitors in the country and more are expected to arrive once a commission established by the Geneva-based Council to probe possible war crimes is operational. It has confirmed at least 549 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, although says the real figure is likely higher. "Due to their wide area effects, the use of cluster munitions in populated areas is incompatible with the international humanitarian law principles governing the conduct of hostilities," spokesperson Liz Throssell told journalists in Geneva. (Reuters)
Stellantis will move its current Russian van production to western Europe and freeze plans for more investments in the country as a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine, CEO Carlos Tavares said on Friday. In this context "new investments in Russia are not on the table," Tavares said during a Q&A session with reporters organised by Mobility TV World. The world's fourth largest carmaker said on Thursday it had suspended all exports and imports of vehicles with Russia, where it operates a van-making plant in the city of Kaluga, in partnership with Mitsubishi. (Reuters)
International food and feed prices could rise by between 8% and 20% as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, triggering a jump in the number of malnourished people around the world, the U.N. food agency said on Friday. In a preliminary assessment on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said it was not clear if Ukraine would be able to harvest crops during a protracted conflict, with uncertainty also surrounding Russian food exports. FAO said Russia was the world's largest exporter of wheat, while Ukraine was the fifth largest. Together, they provide 19% of the world's barley supply, 14% of wheat, and 4% of maize, making up more than one-third of global cereal exports. (Reuters)
There are certain positive shifts, negotiators on our side tell me," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, adding that talks continued "practically on a daily basis": Reuters
The Kerala Government on Friday said it would provide necessary assistance to the state students repatriated from war-torn Ukraine to recover their lost certificates and valuables and continue their studies. Special efforts would be taken under the leadership of NORKA, the state government's Non-Resident Keralite welfare agency, to coordinate these activities and an amount of Rs 10 crore is being earmarked for this purpose, Finance Minister K N Balagopal said while presenting the Budget for 2022-23. (PTI)
Russian authorities have put Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh on an international wanted list and are seeking that she be sent to jail, a Russian police database showed on Friday. Yarmysh left Russia last year after a court imposed 18 months of restrictions on her freedom of movement for breaching COVID-19 safety rules. Russian authorities have cracked down hard on the opposition, and many of Navalny's most prominent allies have left Russia rather than face restrictions or jail at home. (Reuters)
UKRAINE EMERGENCIES SERVICE REPORTS NO CASUALTIES FROM AIR STRIKE ON PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL AS PATIENTS WERE IN BASEMENT SHELTER (Reuters)
All Ukrainian nuclear power stations are operating stably but staff in the Zaporizhzhia plant that was captured by Russian forces are facing psychological pressure, the Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said on Friday. Radiation levels at all plants had not changed, it said. "Employees of the station are under strong psychological pressure from the occupiers, all staff on arrival at the station are carefully checked by armed terrorists," it said, referring to the Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia. "All this negatively affects work and endangers nuclear and radiation safety." (Reuters)
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is under relentless bombardment from Russian forces, the city's mayor said in a televised interview on Friday. "As of today, 48 (of the city's) schools have been destroyed," said Mayor Ihor Terekhov. The city has a peacetime population of about 1.4 million. (Reuters)