A fire has broken out in Europe’s largest nuclear power plant located in Zaporizhzhia, according to an announcement from plant employees and the mayor of the nearby town of Enerhodar. Andriy Tuz, a spokesperson for the plant appeared on Telegram saying, 'There is a real threat of a nuclear danger at the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire at the energy blocks of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.'
Continue reading...Category Archives: Ukraine
Ukraine war: drone footage shows how explosions destroyed town of Borodyanka – video
Drone footage filmed months apart shows the scale of destruction at Borodyanka, a small town 60km north-west of Kyiv.
The video on the left was filmed in August 2021, while the video on the right – shot 3 March 2022 – shows smoke rising from a residential building destroyed by the shelling as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues
Continue reading...Sumy: more than 500 international students trapped in Ukrainian town battered by shelling
Students, mostly Nigerian, stranded in town 40km from the northeast border which has become a war zone
More than 500 international students are trapped in Sumy, a town 40km from Ukraine’s northeast border which has been battered by days of shelling by Russian forces.
Most of the students are Nigerian, while others are from Ghana, Ethiopia, Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ireland, India, Lebanon and Turkey. They have all suddenly found themselves stranded in a war zone.
Continue reading...‘We can influence morale’: Polish ambassador last to remain in Kyiv
As his EU counterparts leave for western city of Lviv and home, Bartosz Cichocki wants to keep up spirits in capital
Some members of Kyiv’s diplomatic corps have moved to the western city of Lviv, others have crossed the border and are working from neighbouring countries, while most havebeen evacuated back home.
But inside the Polish embassy compound in the centre of an eerily quiet Kyiv, the ambassador Bartosz Cichocki is still at work.
Continue reading...Kremlin denies planning to institute martial law in Russia
Thousands of Russians flee country as rumours spread government is preparing clampdown
The Kremlin has said it is not planning to institute martial law in Russia as rumours have spread that the government is preparing for a clampdown tied to its invasion of Ukraine.
Thousands of Russians have begun fleeing the country amid unsourced reports that the borders could close as soon as this weekend after an extraordinary session of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, scheduled for Friday.
Continue reading...Concern mounting over huge Russian military convoy outside Kyiv
Speculation that massive column of Russian vehicles and troops may be regrouping for assault on capital
Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv, amid a lack of fresh information about its position and the threat it poses.
While a US defence official suggested it appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that an estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping, and potentially waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on Kyiv.
Continue reading...Drone footage shows devastated town near Kyiv – video
Drone footage shows debris and destroyed buildings as well as burnt-out Russian military vehicles in Borodyanka, a small town 60km north-west of Kyiv.
Smoke can be seen pouring out of a residential building destroyed by the shelling and several houses appear to be heavily damaged in the fight as well as Russian military vehicles
Continue reading...Kherson: Russian army moves to cut Ukraine’s access to sea
Russian forces claim capture of city and also tighten siege of Mariupol as large amphibious taskforce threatens Odesa
Russian forces appeared to be moving to cut Ukraine off from the sea on Thursday via its key southern ports, claiming the capture of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol, as a large amphibious taskforce threatened Odesa to the west.
With the Russian naval assault in the south spreading, a second merchant ship – the Estonian-owned carrier Helt – was hit and sunk after a Bangladeshi-owned cargo ship had been hit by a projectile that killed one of its crew.
Continue reading...‘No to war!’: Russian protesters defy Putin – video report
Thousands of people in cities across Russia have been defying police threats and staging protests against the invasion of Ukraine. Authorities have a low tolerance for demonstrations and marches, and attending them can have serious consequences including fines, arrests and even imprisonment
Continue reading...Roman Abramovich’s funds for war victims will not only go to Ukrainians
- Chelsea owner has pledged to help ‘all victims of the war’
- Sources leave open possibility of assistance for Russians
Roman Abramovich’s plan to use the sale of Chelsea to donate funds to victims of the war in Ukraine is not solely intended for Ukrainians, raising the prospect of money going to Russian soldiers or to their families.
Abramovich confirmed on Wednesday that he wants to sell Chelsea and the Russian oligarch said that all net proceeds – understood to be the money from any sale minus legal fees – would be used “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”. The phrasing left open the possibility of the money not being entirely reserved for Ukrainians hurt, bereaved or otherwise affected by the Russian invasion of their country.
Continue reading...Russian strike caught on dashcam in Chernihiv, Ukraine – video
A missile appeared to hit a residential building in central Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, in footage captured on a dashcam. The state emergency service of Ukraine said an oil depot in Chernihiv was also on fire after being hit by a shell
Continue reading...Ikea closes all stores and factories in Russia amid exodus of western firms
Top brands from M&S to Apple, Jaguar Land Rover, Expedia and Coca-Cola are suspending operations
Ikea has temporarily closed all stores and factories across Russia in a move affecting 15,000 workers, becoming the latest in a swathe of western firms to halt operations in the country since it invaded Ukraine.
The Swedish flatpack furniture company has mothballed its 17 outlets across Russia but said it would keep its Mega shopping centres open to allow access to essential retailers, such as food shops and pharmacies. The news prompted a rush of shoppers at the stores due to close.
Continue reading...Ukraine Airbnbs being booked in effort to get money to residents
People are paying but not staying, as rental platform offers free housing to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees
Members of the public are paying for Airbnb rentals in Ukraine to help get money to residents who are facing extreme financial hardship because of the Russian invasion.
The home rental platform has already moved to offer free housing to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, but members of the public have come up with a novel way to financially help those who either intend to remain or are trapped in the country owing to the conflict.
Continue reading...Putin’s war is a watershed moment for the EU – the days of ‘never again’ are back | Caroline de Gruyter
Suddenly, brutally, the invasion of Ukraine has taken member states back to the founding principle of the European project
Interpreters in the European parliament usually sound so monotonous and mechanical that even well-rested listeners have trouble staying awake. But when the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressed a parliamentary session via video link on Tuesday, something extraordinary happened: the person relaying his words into English was so moved that he audibly fought to hold back his tears. “We’re fighting … just for our land … and for our freedom,” he said, then sniffed, his voice almost breaking as Zelenskiy, wearing a khaki T-shirt in what looked like a bunker, declared: “Despite the fact … that all our cities of our country are now blocked … nobody is going to enter and intervene with the freedom and our country.”
This is just one example among many, of how Vladimir Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine is shaking Europeans to the core. Having long believed that war was impossible on the continent, they are shocked – and embarrassed – that Ukrainians must not only defend their country against Russian aggression, but must also defend democracy, freedom and the right of sovereign states to determine their destiny – the very principles that underpin the European Union.
Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and Foreign Policy
Continue reading...Ukraine-born oligarch Mikhail Watford found dead at home in Surrey
Police say death of businessman who made his fortune in oil and gas is unexplained but not suspicious
A Ukraine-born oligarch has been found dead at his home in unexplained circumstances, Surrey police have said.
Officers are treating the death of 66-year-old Mikhail Watford, who made his fortune in oil and gas after the demise of the Soviet Union, as unexplained. But they said it was not thought to be suspicious.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s refugees: how many are displaced and where will they go?
More than 1 million people have already crossed the border, with numbers set to rise as the Russian invasion intensifies. What has been the response of neighbouring countries?
What is the expected scale of the refugee crisis in Ukraine?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could see the “largest refugee crisis this century”, the UN refugee agency has warned, with up to 4 million people fleeing the country in the coming weeks and months.
Continue reading...Ukraine president says defences are holding against Russian invasion – video
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine is holding its lines of defence against the Russian onslaught. The president says 16,000 foreign troops are arriving in Ukraine to 'defend the liberty and life of us and of everyone'
Continue reading...Europe must be more independent and shore up its defence, says Macron
In TV address French president warns tough economic times are ahead following Ukraine invasion
Emmanuel Macron has warned that Europe must become more independent for its own defence and to ensure energy supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The French president said the conflict had “changed the era” across the continent and that he would be calling a summit of European leaders next week to discuss how to address the “unprecedented challenge” it created.
Continue reading...War-hit families flee to safety as 1m leave Ukraine – in pictures
More than 1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded a week ago, according to the UN, with many leaving via the borders with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova
Continue reading...UK politics live: we must ensure Putin fails, UK foreign secretary says
Latest updates: Liz Truss says Putin must lose in Ukraine as she praises courage of Baltic states
The UK health secretary Sajid Javid has said the NHS must stop using energy supplied by the Russian-owned firm Gazprom, the PA news agency reports.
A senior government source told PA that Javid has been in talks with NHS England over ending the contracts, which are reported by Politico to have been worth 16 million in 2021.
Sajid has spoken with NHSE and been clear that trusts need to stop using Gazprom as a supplier. He has also requested a wider review of any Russian role in supply chains across the health service.
It’s clearly unsustainable for a humanitarian organisation like the NHS to have any commercial links whatsoever with Putin’s murderous regime.
It is time to sanction them all - and freeze their assets, including any property they own in the UK.
These properties should then be used to house any Ukrainian refugees, on a temporary basis, while they await permanent resettlement. Rather than languishing in hotel rooms - or worse, unsuitable barracks, we should be putting Putin’s cronies’ assets to good use.
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