New Delhi: Two "super powerful bombs" rocked Mariupol on Tuesday as Ukrainian authorities made a fresh attempt at rescuing civilians from the besieged southern port city.
Almost 100,000 people are trapped in the city described by those who managed to escape as a "freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings", Human Rights Watch says.
Kyiv is under curfew until Wednesday morning as Russian troops continue their advance on the capital.
After several rounds of inconclusive negotiations, Russia said that it would like its peace talks with Ukraine to be "more substantial." The Kremlin also said Tuesday that it would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an "existential threat."
So far, a Kremlin-allied tabloid has reported that 9,861 Russian troops have been killed and 16,153 injured in the nearly month-old war, 20 times the official tally.
Here are the Highlights on Russia-Ukraine War:
Mar 24, 2022 04:00 (IST)
Ukraine's Zelensky urges global protests against Russia's war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged citizens around the world to take to the streets to protest Russia's invasion of his country.
"Come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life," Zelensky said in a video address in English. "Come to your squares, to your streets, make yourselves visible and heard."
Mar 24, 2022 03:59 (IST)
Ukraine invasion boosts calls for UK politics to tackle Russian cash
From huge donations to political parties and bids for games of tennis with senior ministers, to nominations for peerages, Russian money in British politics has been a recurrent issue for years.
But the invasion of Ukraine has intensified calls for party finances to be cleaned up.
Anti-corruption activist Bill Browder, formerly a major investor in Russia, said it is not just the ruling Conservative party that is affected.
Mar 24, 2022 03:59 (IST)
Biden arrives in Brussels for crunch summits on Ukraine
US President Joe Biden arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for crunch summits with European, G7 and NATO allies, expected to focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, pictures on broadcaster CNN showed.
Biden, who will be seeking to rally allies to forge a united response to Moscow, will participate in meetings of NATO, the European Union and G7 Thursday before visiting Poland Friday and Saturday.
Mar 24, 2022 02:08 (IST)
Russian journalist killed in Kyiv shelling
A Russian journalist for the investigative news outlet The Insider was killed when Russian troops shelled a residential neighbourhood in the Ukrainian capital, the outlet said Wednesday, the latest reporter to die in war.
Oksana Baulina, who previously also worked for Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption group, "died under fire in Kyiv" while "filming the destruction" caused by Russian shelling, The Insider said on its website.
Mar 24, 2022 01:11 (IST)
Germany To Send 2,000 More Anti-Tank Weapons To Ukraine: Report
Germany will send 2,000 additional anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help it repel the Russian invasion, a parliamentary source told AFP on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian forces have already received 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger-type surface-to-air missile launchers from the Bundeswehr, the German army.
Mar 24, 2022 00:40 (IST)
In A Tit-For-Tat Move, Russia Expels US Diplomats Amid Ukraine War
Russia on Wednesday said it was expelling US diplomats in retaliation for Washington's move to remove 12 of Moscow's representatives to the UN based in New York.
"On March 23, a note with the list of the American diplomats declared 'persona non grata' was handed to the head of the American diplomatic mission who was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the ministry said in a statement.
Mar 24, 2022 00:03 (IST)
US assesses Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine
The United States has reached the assessment that Russian military forces committed war crimes in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday.
The US top diplomat said last week that he believed Russia was guilty of committing war crimes by attacking civilians in Ukraine -- echoing a statement by President Joe Biden who has branded his counterpart Vladimir Putin a "war criminal."
On Wednesday Blinken said the US government -- after "documenting and assessing" evidence that civilians had been deliberately targeted during the month-long invasion -- had now made a determination.
"Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine," Blinken said in a statement.
Mar 23, 2022 17:14 (IST)
Ukraine says talks with Russia 'difficult'
Kyiv said Wednesday that talks with Russia to end nearly one month of fighting were encountering "significant difficulties" after Moscow accused the United States of hindering peace efforts.
"The negotiations are continuing online. They are proceeding with significant difficulties because the Ukrainian side has clear and principled positions," Ukraine's lead negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak told reporters in written comments.
Mar 23, 2022 15:30 (IST)
Ukraine president asks Japan to step up sanctions pressure on Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Japan on Wednesday to increase sanctions pressure on Russia by introducing a trade embargo on Russian goods.
Addressing the parliament in Tokyo via video link, Zelensky thanked Japan for leading the way among Asian countries in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and introducing sanctions.
Mar 23, 2022 15:02 (IST)
Nearly 239,000 refugees from Ukraine in Germany so far
Nearly 239,000 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded in Germany so far, the German Interior Ministry said.
Federal police said 238,932 people - mostly women, children and the elderly - have arrived from Ukraine as of Wednesday, according to the ministry.
Mar 23, 2022 15:01 (IST)
Poland says 45 Russian diplomats are suspected spies
Poland's counter-espionage service ABW has identified 45 Russian diplomats as suspected spies and called on the foreign ministry to expel them, its spokesman said on Wednesday.
"The internal security agency has drawn up a list of 45 people working in Poland under the cover of diplomatic activities," ABW spokesman Stanislaw Zaryn told reporters, accusing the suspects of targeting Poland.
He said the list of suspects had been transferred to the foreign ministry, tweeting that "ABW is requesting that they be expelled from Polish territory".
The ABW "has detained a Polish national on suspicion of espionage for the Russian secret services," the spokesman added on Twitter.
Mar 23, 2022 14:46 (IST)
US Republicans want higher defense spending, citing Ukraine and China
A group of 40 US Republican members of the Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services Committees urged President Joe Biden to include a 5% increase above inflation for defense spending in his proposal for the fiscal 2023 U.S. budget.
Biden is expected to announce his budget next week.
"As you prepare your fiscal year 2023 budget for submission to Congress, we strongly encourage you to reject the approach you took last year when you proposed to cut defense spending below the rate of inflation," the lawmakers wrote in the letter, made public on Wednesday.
Mar 23, 2022 14:21 (IST)
Putin's offensive in Ukraine 'stuck', says German chancellor
Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has stalled despite the daily assaults inflicted by his troops, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, insisting that Kyiv can "count on our help".
"Putin's offensive is stuck despite all the destruction that it is bringing day after day," Scholz said, adding that the Russian leader "must hear the truth" that not only is the war destroying Ukraine, "but also Russia's future".
Mar 23, 2022 13:55 (IST)
Russian forces struck Ukrainian arms depot with long-range weapons, says defence ministry
Russia's Defence Ministry on Wednesday said Russian forces had hit a Ukrainian arms depot outside the country's northwestern city of Rivne on Tuesday, destroying an arsenal of weapons and equipment.
The ministry said it had struck the depot using high-precision, long-range weapons fired from the sea.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the report.
Mar 23, 2022 13:33 (IST)
Putin ally says the US is trying to destroy Russia
One of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's closest allies said on Wednesday that the United States aimed to humiliate, divide and ultimately destroy Russia, and vowed the country would never allow that to happen.
Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, said such a plan - if ever achieved - could have catastrophic results for the world.
"Russia will never allow such a development," he said in a message posted on Telegram.
Mar 23, 2022 13:29 (IST)
Nine humanitarian corridors agreed for Wednesday, says Ukraine's deputy PM
Agreement has been reached to try to evacuate civilians trapped in Ukrainian towns and cities through nine "humanitarian corridors" on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Signalling no agreement had been reached with Russia to establish a safe corridor from the heart of Mariupol, where about 100,000 people are trapped and suffering starvation, she said people wishing to leave the besieged port city would find transport in nearby Berdyansk.
