Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is no longer pressing for NATO membership, a delicate issue that was one of Russia's stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor.
"I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that...NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine," he said in a television interview.
Later in the day, the US banned Russian oil imports in its latest punishment for Russia for invading neighbouring Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine began evacuating civilians from Sumy today after Russia opened humanitarian corridors. Ukrainian and Russian officials today agreed to establish corridors in capital Kyiv and four other cities to move out civilians.
Here are the Highlights on Ukraine-Russia Conflict:
The United States believes that a Polish offer to deliver Mig-29 fighter jets to a US air base in Germany with a view to sending them to Ukraine is not "tenable," the Pentagon said Tuesday. (AFP)
Poland is willing to hand its Mig-29 fighter jets to the United States, the foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday, under a reported scheme that would see the planes given to Ukraine. (AFP)
The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was halted over Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "dead," a senior US official said Tuesday, appearing to douse any hopes that the multi-billion-dollar gas venture could have a future. (AFP)
Poland's decision to put all its MiG-29 fighter jets at the disposal of the United States was "a surprise move" by Warsaw, the U.S. State Department's No. 3 diplomat said on Tuesday, after Ukraine asked European countries to provide aircraft to help it fight Russia's invasion. (Reuters)
Coca-Cola is suspending its business in Russia, the soft drinks giant announced Tuesday, as corporations and Western governments penalize Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Coffee chain Starbucks said Tuesday that it would halt operations in Russia -- the latest fallout in the corporate world over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Western governments, sporting organizations and big companies have curtailed ties with Russia or dealt it punishing sanctions over the internationally condemned attack on its neighbor. (AFP)
Moscow has announced a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine for Wednesday morning to carry out the evacuation of the civilian population, Russian news agencies reported.
"From 10:00 MSK (0700 GMT) on March 9, 2022, the Russian Federation is declaring a 'regime of silence' and is ready to provide humanitarian corridors," a cell of the Russian defence ministry charged with humanitarian operations in Ukraine said Tuesday. (AFP)The United Nations' tourism body said on Tuesday it would vote in the coming days to temporarily suspend Russia's membership in the organisation due to the country's invasion of Ukraine.
The executive council of the Madrid-based World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) met on Tuesday to make the unprecedented decision to call for a vote on a country's membership, it said in a statement.(Reuters)
At least 27 civilians have been killed in attacks by Russian forces on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian regional police official Serhiy Bolvinov said on Tuesday. Overall, 170 have been killed across Kharkiv region since the start of Russia's invasion on February 24, including five children, he said in an online post. (Reuters)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Netherlands counterpart Mark Rutte on Tuesday as the two leaders discussed the ongoing situation in war-hit Ukraine and shared their concerns over the continuing humanitarian situation there. The PMO in a statement said PM Modi, in the telephonic conversation, reiterated India's consistent appeal for cessation of hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. He welcomed the ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine, and hoped for an early resolution to the crisis. (PTI)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, invoking the wartime defiance of British prime minister Winston Churchill, vowed Tuesday to "fight to the end" in a historic virtual speech to UK lawmakers.
The New York Times on Tuesday announced its editorial staff was pulling out of Russia over Moscow's punitive new media law, following other outlets that have withdrawn over safety concerns. "Russia's new legislation seeks to criminalize independent, accurate news reporting about the war against Ukraine," the New York Times organization said in a statement. (AFP)
The Russian armed forces have destroyed almost 900 Ukrainian tanks and other armoured vehicles since the start of what Russia calls a "special military operation" on February 24, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday. They have also downed 84 drones, it added. The ministry said that after the end of the agreed "silent regime" around the strategic port city of Mariupol on Tuesday, an offensive was renewed there by the forces of the pro-Russian Donetsk region. (Reuters)
The BBC said it would resume English-language broadcasting from Russia from Tuesday evening, after suspending its reporting as it examined tough new media laws. "After careful deliberation we have decided to resume English-language reporting from Russia this evening after it was temporarily suspended at the end of last week," it added. (AFP)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia's stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbour.
British MPs on Tuesday gave a standing ovation for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky before he gave a historic virtual address to the House of Commons. The embattled president spoke to MPs as part of his diplomatic push for more Western action against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. "We have all been fighting for our country," he said. (AFP)
President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of Russian oil on Tuesday, in the administration's most far-reaching action yet to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine. Read here.
Britain said today it would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of this year, in line with an expected announcement by the United States following the invasion of Ukraine. "This transition will give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports -- which make up 8.0 percent of UK demand," Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted. (AFP)
A group of Gandhian organisations held a demonstration against the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war in Delhi today, hoping for the violence to stop. Scores of individuals -- some of them holding posters that read 'No to War' -- also joined the demonstration as they staged a sit in on a road stretch near Raj Ghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. (PTI)
Moscow said on Tuesday that Ukrainian authorities had endorsed only one civilian evacuation route from areas affected by fighting out of 10 that were proposed, including five towards territory controlled by Kyiv, the Interfax news agency reported. The Russian defence ministry said 723 people had been evacuated through the Sumy-Poltava corridor, including 576 Indian nationals, in a first convoy. (Reuters)
The US Defense Department told lawmakers today it estimates between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Moscow's nearly two-week-old invasion of Ukraine. Asked at a House Intelligence Committee hearing how many Russian troops have died to date in the military operation, Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, director of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, said "somewhere between two (thousand) and 4,000." Berrier did add however that the estimate is considered "low confidence" because it was put together using a combination of intelligence sources and open source data. (AFP)
US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said today that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to be deterred and may escalate the assault on Ukraine, despite setbacks in Ukraine and economic hardships resulting from international sanctions. "Our analysts assess that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate," she told a House of Representatives hearing on global threats. (Reuters)
Three adults were killed and three children wounded when an anti-personnel mine exploded under their car on a road in the Chernigiv region north of Kyiv, Ukraine's ombudsman said Tuesday. It is believed to be the first time during the conflict that civilians have been killed by a landmine, ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova told AFP. She stressed that using anti-personnel mines against civilians is barred by international law. (AFP)
Russian police arrested at least 100 people at protests against the invasion of Ukraine today, the OVD-Info monitoring group said, adding that detentions were still continuing. There was no immediate comment from the police. More than 5,000 people were arrested in anti-war protests on Sunday. (Reuters)
A second convoy of evacuees left the Ukrainian city of Sumy through a "humanitarian corridor" created under a temporary ceasefire agreement with Russia on Tuesday, Ukraine's deputy presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. Earlier on Tuesday, regional authorities said the ceasefire had mostly held, allowing a first wave of evacuation of civilians including 1,000 foreign students. (Reuters)
The European Parliament is set to approve on Wednesday a report urging the EU to ban golden passport schemes by 2025 and immediately stop the issuance of visas and passports to rich Russians in exchange for investments. The move follows Russia's invasion of Ukraine which has triggered global sanctions of unprecedented severity against Moscow, with targets including a number of powerful and wealthy Russians seen as close to President Vladimir Putin. (AFP)
The Spanish public prosecutor's office said today it had opened a probe into possible "serious violations of international humanitarian law by Russia in Ukraine". The aim is to "determine the criminal nature" of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the office said in a statement, just hours after Germany's federal prosecutors opened a probe into suspected war crimes by Russian troops. (AFP)
Russia will not use any conscript soldiers in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. "I emphasize that conscript soldiers are not participating in hostilities and will not participate in them. And there will be no additional call-up of reservists," Putin said in a televised message to mark International Women's Day. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett today about Bennett's efforts to act as an intermediary with Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv has voiced frustration with Israel's refusal to provide defensive aid to Ukraine against Russia but has welcomed its role as a go-between. "Thanked for Israel's mediation efforts. Discussed ways to end the war and violence," Zelenskiy said in a tweet. (Reuters)
The UK government today said it was setting up a visa centre for Ukrainian refugees in northern France, after confusion and anger that some were being turned away. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told parliament a "pop-up" site would be located in Lille, some 70 miles (110 kilometres) from Calais where scores of Ukrainians have flocked. (AFP)
A temporary ceasefire mostly held around the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, allowing civilians including around 1,000 foreign students to be evacuated through a humanitarian corridor, the regional governor said. Convoys of 20-30 private cars were leaving in waves, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said in televised comments. (Reuters)
Energy giant Shell said today it would withdraw from its involvement in Russian gas and oil, including an immediate stop to purchases of crude from the country. The UK-based company also issued an apology for buying a cargo of Russian crude oil last week and said it would shut its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in the country. Shell said it'd withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons "in a phased manner, aligned with a new (UK) government guidance" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil," it said in a statement. (AFP)
The advance of Russian forces in Ukraine has slowed significantly and Ukrainian forces are counter-attacking in some areas, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Tuesday. "The tempo of the enemy's advance has slowed considerably, and in certain directions where they were advancing it has practically stopped," he told a televised briefing. "The forces that continue to advance, advance in small forces." (Reuters)
Russian forces are bombing civilian infrastructure and homes in Ukraine's northern region of Zhytomyr, and carried out air strikes on two oil depots on Monday evening, Governor Vitaliy Bunechko said in televised comments on Tuesday. He gave no further details. (Reuters)
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities in Ukraine have increased rapidly in recent days and warned the country is running short of vital medical supplies. The UN agency on Monday confirmed at least nine people had died in 16 attacks on healthcare facilities since the start of a Russian invasion on February 24. It did not say who was responsible. (Reuters)
German sportswear group Adidas is temporarily closing its stores in Russia and shut its online shop, joining a growing list of companies suspending their activities following the invasion of Ukraine. Adidas said in a statement late Monday that it would "suspend the operations of our stores and our e-commerce site in Russia until further notice" but continue to pay its employees. (AFP)
Chinese President Xi Jinping today described the situation in Ukraine as worrying and called for "maximum restraint," saying the priority should be preventing the situation there from spinning out of control, Chinese state media reported. Xi, speaking at a virtual meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the three countries should jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. (Reuters)
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday denounced what he called unkept "promises" by the West to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks.
The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The sanctions, to be discussed by EU ambassadors on Tuesday at a meeting starting at 1400 GMT, will ban three Belarusian banks from the SWIFT banking system and add several oligarchs and Russian lawmakers to the EU blacklist, which already includes many, the sources told Reuters.
As many as 30 buses are on the way to the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol to collect evacuees via a humanitarian corridor to Ukraine-controlled territory, deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on television on Tuesday. There were signs Russian forces were firing in the direction of a route for humanitarian aid, she added, without providing further details. (Reuters)
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has urged the Russians to continue protesting against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, days after thousands of protesters were arrested at anti-war rallies nationwide. Over 13,500 Russians have been detained at demonstrations against the invasion of Ukraine since President Putin ordered his army to attack its pro-Western neighbour on February 24. (AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address today that a child had died from dehydration in Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol, which has had no water, power or heating supplies for days. "In 2022, from dehydration," Zelenskiy said, likening the crisis linked to Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities to that created by the Nazi invasion during World War 2. The child's death could not immediately be confirmed independently. (Reuters)
The ability to criticise public policy in Russia, particularly its invasion of Ukraine, is narrowing, with some 12,700 people unlawfully detained in anti-war protests, the top UN human rights official Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday. "I remain concerned about the use of repressive legislation that impedes the exercise of civil and political rights and criminalising non-violent behaviour," Bachelet told the Human RIghts Council in Geneva, speaking by video message. (Reuters)
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called today for civilians trapped in active hostilities in numerous areas of Ukraine to be able to leave safely. Pro-Ukrainian activists have been unlawfully detained in the east of their homeland, while people considered pro-Russian have been beaten in Ukraine, she said in a speech to the Human Rights Council, citing reports received by her office. "I repeat my urgent call for a peaceful end to hostilities," Bachelet told the Geneva forum by video message. (Reuters)
The original photo was captured on March 3 at the Przemysl train station in Poland, barely eight miles from the Ukrainian border
All sanctions options against Russia are on the table, but if the European Union imposes sanctions on energy, all EU states must be able to bear the burden, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra, said in Vilnius on Tuesday.
British defence minister Ben Wallace said on Tuesday Britain would support Poland if it decided to provide Ukraine with fighter jets, but warned that doing so might have direct consequences for Poland.
India is a critical ally and it would be "extraordinarily foolhardy" to impose any sanctions on New Delhi under the punitive CAATSA law for its purchase of S-400 missile system from Russia, a top Republican Senator told the Biden administration.
US President Joe Biden has sent a letter of thanks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for joining financial sanctions and export controls against Russia, saying the move sent a strong message of support for Ukraine, Moon's office said on Tuesday.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky today said that he is in Kyiv and is not afraid. The statement comes amid the Russian troops intensifying shelling in several Ukrainian cities. Russian forces are inching closer to the capital Kyiv from the north and west.
A total of 291,081 Ukrainians have fled to Romania since a Russian invasion on Feb. 24, including 29,636 on Monday, border police data showed on Tuesday.
Russia threatened to cut natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as part of its response to sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, a move that could heighten the turmoil in energy markets and drive up consumer prices.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the exodus raises the spectre of a regional health catastrophe on top of the huge toll in death and destruction from the fighting in Ukraine
Britain said that India's stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict was the result of its dependence on Russia and therefore the way forward would be to ensure closer economic and defence ties between India and the UK.
"In order to conduct a humanitarian operation from 12.30 IST on March 8, 2022, Russia declares cease-fire and is ready to provide humanitarian corridors," the Russian embassy in India tweeted.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday said that London and other Western governments are seriously considering sanctions on Russian energy exports in response to the ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
Australia has imposed another round of sanctions against Russia for its "unjustified invasion" of Ukraine and is targeting Moscow's senior military officers, as well as state propagandists spreading "pro-Kremlin disinformation".
FIFA on Monday announced that it will suspend the contracts of foreign players currently tied to Ukrainian and Russian clubs for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
The White House said Monday that a US delegation held weekend talks in Venezuela with the government of President Nicolas Maduro that included a discussion of energy supplies -- as Washington looks for ways to reduce its imports of Russian oil.
Germany will host a virtual meeting of agricultural ministers from G7 countries on Friday to discuss the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on global food security and how to best stabilize food markets, the government said.
The United States announced on Monday that over 500 US troops would be deployed in Europe to reinforce NATO's flank including Poland, Romania, Germany and Greece.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak warned Monday that a ban on Russian oil imports would have "catastrophic" consequences, as Western allies consider further sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine.
Almost two weeks into the Russian invasion of their country, Ukrainian forces have managed to hold up the advance of their foes with resistance that has won plaudits from Western allies.
Raising concern about the worsening situation in Ukraine, India on Tuesday said that the ensuing humanitarian crisis deserves immediate and urgent attention.