Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of dropping bombs on Ukrainian cities despite negotiations to end the conflict between the two parties occurring at the same time. Zelenskiy also accused Russia of committing war crimes in Kharkiv and said his country had applied to join the European Union
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Russian rocket strikes kill ‘dozens’ in Kharkiv as Kyiv-Moscow talks begin
Negotiations come as western nations agree to send advanced arms to Ukraine and rouble enters free fall
Russian rocket attacks killed “dozens” of people in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv as officials from both countries met for ceasefire talks, with Moscow facing unprecedented western sanctions that it said had created “a new economic reality”.
The Élysée Palace said after a call between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin that the Russian president had said he was “willing to commit” to ending attacks on civilians and civil infrastructure while the talks were taking place.
Continue reading...Ukraine conflict leads EU to rid itself of Russian sacred cows
Analysis: Images of war, US and UK allies and Volodymyr Zelenskiy have all helped create a new political necessity
A bonfire of EU shibboleths on the economy, conflict, finance, energy supply, migration, and even the bloc’s future shape and size, has been lit by the conflict raging in Ukraine.
Battlefield images, the leadership of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has framed the war as being between European democracy and brute bullying power, and the challenge of coordinating with UK and US allies who are pushing for more while having less to lose, has created a new political necessity.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president appeals for EU membership and urges Russian soldiers to leave – video
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appealed to the European Union to allow Ukraine to gain membership immediately under a special procedure, as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces.
'Our goal is to be with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal. I'm sure that's fair. I am sure we deserved it,' he said in a speech shared on social media
Continue reading...Ukrainian president sceptical of upcoming meeting with Russia – video
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet without preconditions at Pripyat in Belarus. The Ukrainian president revealed that he was not confident that any progress would come from the meeting, but said he would do everything he could for the Ukrainian people
Continue reading...Ukraine appeals for foreign volunteers to join fight against Russia
President Zelenskiy issues call to arms to foreign nationals in battle against ‘Russian war criminals’
Ukraine’s embattled president has issued a call to foreign nationals who are “friends of peace and democracy” to travel to the country to fight against the Russian invasion.
The appeal from Volodymyr Zelenskiy, published on the Ukrainian presidency’s website early on Sunday, said the Ukrainian armed forces were in the process of setting up a foreign legion unit for international volunteers.
Continue reading...Fighting on streets of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, as west bars Russian banks from Swift
Russian troops enter key city after attacks on oil facilities as western allies agree to block major Russian banks from international payment system
The war in Ukraine intensified on Sunday, as Russian troops entered the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and Vladimir Putin unleashed a wave of attacks on airfields and fuel facilities.
Kharkiv residents were urged to stay indoors by governor Oleg Sinegubov, who said “there has been a breakthrough in light equipment including in the central part of the city”. A nine-storey building was reportedly hit, with one woman killed.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy and Johnson welcome move to cut off Russian banks from Swift – video
The US, Canada and key European countries, including Germany, have agreed to remove ‘selected Russian banks’ from the Swift international payments system. UK prime minister Boris Johnson welcomed the move, saying: 'More countries are joining the call of the UK to use Swift … to tighten the economic ligature around the Putin regime'. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that cutting off some Russian banks will 'effectively block Russian exports and imports’. The move was welcomed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. ‘This is billions and billions of losses for Russia, a tangible price for this vile invasion of our country,’ he said
Continue reading...Armed with hammers and pistols, Ukrainians wait at barricades for the Russians
At makeshift checkpoints, motley crews of citizens vow to do everything in their power to halt the Russian advance
The barricade started as a few men waiting nervously in the road on Friday, and grew gradually over the course of Saturday. By the afternoon, this modest attempt to stop a Russian advance on the capital of Ukraine was complete: sandbags, wooden crates and bricks piled high, with a blue-yellow national flag flying above them.
The motley crew had no illusions about the level of resistance they would be able to offer to one of the world’s most ruthless and technologically advanced armies, but like thousands in and around Kyiv they were determined to do what they could anyway. “I practised shooting yesterday and I came out here today for my first shift. I’ll be honest, I’m terrified,” said Alexander, 50. He was brandishing a US-made Remington shotgun he said a friend had acquired for him.
Continue reading...Putin shunned by world as his hopes of quick victory evaporate
Russian troops facing fierce resistance as Germany abandons its postwar military stance to supply arms to Ukraine
Vladimir Putin was facing growing international isolation and the prospect of pariah status on Saturday night as long-term allies dramatically turned against him following the invasion of Ukraine, and western nations planned further decisive military and financial action against Moscow.
As his hopes of a quick victory evaporated in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and armies of citizen volunteers, Russia’s president was deserted by his key ally, China, and had his ultimatum demanding Kyiv’s surrender defiantly brushed aside by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy stands defiant in face of Russian attack
Analysis: Ukraine’s president has won over critics with his courage and resilience as his country fights for survival
He looked gaunt and unshaven after another sleepless night under Russian attack and bombardment. But Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, struck a defiant tone in a video address on Saturday morning. “I’m here,” he said simply. And he was – in the centre of Kyiv, three days on from Vladimir Putin’s invasion, unbowed and going nowhere.
“Good morning everybody! Ukrainians: there’s a lot of fake information online that I call on our army to lay down arms, and that there’s an evacuation,” he said. “I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state, our territory, our Ukraine, our children. That’s all I have to say. Glory to Ukraine!”
Continue reading...Russian strikes pound Kyiv as Zelenskiy refuses US offer to evacuate
‘We are successfully holding back the enemy,’ says Ukraine’s leader amid fierce fighting around the city
Russian troops continued to press their offensive against Kyiv as well as other cities across Ukraine on Saturday, as residents sought shelter in the capital’s metro system and in basements during a third day of fierce bombardment.
As Russian strikes continued to pound Kyiv, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, refused a US offer to evacuate, insisting he would stay. “The fight is here,” he said as street fighting continued, largely around the edges of the city.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy calls on ‘all friends of Ukraine’ to help fight Russian invasion – video
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has invited Ukraine's 'friends' to join the fight against Russia's assault, adding that weapons would be provided for them. Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian president clarified that Ukraine was not surrendering. 'I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state,' he said in a video posted on social media.
Fierce fighting broke out in Kyiv as Russian forces failed to push their way towards the city centre from multiple directions in the early hours of Saturday
Continue reading...The antisemitism animating Putin’s claim to ‘denazify’ Ukraine | Jason Stanley
The Russian leader’s pretext for invasion recasts Ukraine’s Jewish president as a Nazi and Russian Christians as true victims of the Holocaust
When Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at dawn on Thursday, he justified the “special military operation” as having the goal to “denazify” Ukraine. The justification is not tenable, but it would be a mistake simply to dismiss it.
Vladimir Putin is himself a fascist autocrat, one who imprisons democratic opposition leaders and critics. He is the acknowledged leader of the global far right, which looks increasingly like a global fascist movement.
Continue reading...Russian forces tighten hold on Kyiv in attempt to topple government
Bombing intensifies as Volodymyr Zelenskiy warns ‘This night will be the hardest’
Russian forces have tightened their stranglehold on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and carried out amphibious assaults on the country’s Sea of Azov coast in an attempt to topple the government.
Almost exactly 30 years after the devastating siege of Sarajevo, another major European capital came under heavy bombardment with shells hitting apartment blocks, driving up the civilian death toll. The onslaught of bombing intensified on Friday night, accompanied by artillery rounds and heavy gunfire on the city’s streets.
Ukrainians prepared a last-ditch defence of their capital, with barricades, and called for civilians to arm themselves with molotov cocktails.
According to US estimates, Russia has fired 200 ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukraine, mostly hitting military targets but some landing in residential areas.
As human rights groups accused Russia of war crimes, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court issued a reminder he has jurisdiction to investigate atrocities committed inside Ukraine.
Continue reading...‘We are defending our country alone,’ Zelenskiy tells Ukrainians as Russia approaches Kyiv – video
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pressed Ukraine's allies to do more to help the country defend itself against Russian aggression. The president said western sanctions imposed on Moscow were not enough. He said: 'The most powerful forces in the world watch from afar. Have yesterday’s sanctions persuaded Russia? We see in our skies and feel on the ground that they are not enough'
Continue reading...Fighting reaches Kyiv suburbs as Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies
Air raid sirens wail over capital and heavy gunfire and explosions heard in residential district
Fighting has reached the suburbs and historic centre of Kyiv after a night of Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, as Moscow indicated it was ready to talk and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for international help.
Russian forces advanced to the outskirts of the capital from three sides on Friday while Ukrainian soldiers established defensive positions at key bridges and patrolled in armoured vehicles down the city’s streets watched by anxious residents.
Continue reading...EU, US, UK and Canada announce sanctions targeting Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov
Move is largely symbolic but part of attempt to highlight resolve to stand up to Russia over Ukraine
The EU, the US, the UK and Canada have moved to freeze foreign-held assets of Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, after Europe was accused by Ukraine’s president of failing to act hard and fast enough against Russian aggression.
The initiative is largely symbolic, as the Russian president is unlikely to have identifiable personal wealth abroad, but the move followed recognition that appeals for action from Volodymyr Zelenskiy had to be heard.
Continue reading...‘It’s a grim scene’: hundreds of thousands try to flee Kyiv – video
Hundreds of thousands of people are trying to flee the capital of Ukraine in cars, on foot and on bicycles amid queues of traffic on the road leading out of Kyiv. 'It's a nation on the move, a nation trying to escape Russian aggression,' says Guardian correspondent Luke Harding. Many Ukrainians are fleeing or preparing to flee the country after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, began an invasion
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls on citizens to take up arms for ‘future of Ukraine’ – video
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Ukrainians who were able to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, and said Kyiv would issue weapons to anyone who wanted to use them to defend the country's sovereignty.
Russian forces unleashed an attack on Ukraine on the orders of Vladimir Putin, who announced a 'special military operation' at dawn, amid warnings from world leaders that it could spark the biggest war in Europe since 1945.
Zelenskiy announced after the attack that Ukraine would rupture ties with Moscow
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