Putin change to Russia’s nuclear stance an ‘unacceptable’ escalation, says US, as rouble set to crash on Monday in wake of global sanctions
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‘We left our dad in Kyiv’: young Ukrainian boy in tears after fleeing capital – video
Families in Ukraine are being torn apart with many women and children having no choice but to leave their husbands and fathers behind after Ukrainian authorities ordered men aged 18-60 to stay and fight Kremlin forces.
'We left Dad in Kiev and dad will be selling things and helping our heroes, our army, he might even fight,' Mark Goncharuk, a young boy choking with tears, said as he and his relatives fled the capital.
As missiles fell on Ukrainian cities, nearly 400,000 Ukrainian civilians, mainly women and children, have fled into neighbouring countries.
• This video was amended on 28 February 2022 to correct an error in Reuters wires copy.
- Russia-Ukraine war latest news: Russian tank column heading towards Kyiv – live updates
- Putin signals escalation as he puts Russia’s nuclear force on high alert
Putin signals escalation as he puts Russia’s nuclear force on high alert
Deterrence order given as Zelenskiy says Ukraine delegation will meet Russian officials at Belarus border
Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to put Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in the latest signal from the Russian leader that he is prepared to resort to the most extreme level of brinkmanship is his effort to achieve victory in Ukraine.
The US accused Putin of “totally unacceptable” escalation and made clear that it would keep up its support of Ukraine and punitive measures on Russia. With the EU also announcing unprecedented new measures against Moscow, it was clear that Putin’s assault on Ukraine had failed to yield the quick victories he had anticipated but had instead rallied a concerted western response that was potentially devastating for Russia’s economy.
Continue reading...Moscow braces for rouble to crash at least 25% as new sanctions hit
Russian currency expected to plunge in first day’s trading since Swift ban and ECB says state-owned Sberbank subsidiaries are set to collapse
Moscow is bracing for economic panic when markets open on Monday morning, with the value of the rouble expected to plummet at least 25% after the US and European Union announced unprecedented sanctions over the weekend.
Those measures targeted the Russian central bank, which has intervened to prop up the value of the rouble following Vladimir Putin’s order to invade Ukraine. They also marked the first time Russian banks have been excluded from the Swift international payments system.
Continue reading...Two top Russian billionaires speak out against war
Oleg Deripaska and Ukrainian-born Mikhail Fridman call for peace, as activities come under threat from sanctions
Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have become two of the country’s first leading businesspeople to speak out against Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Fridman, who is one of Russia’s richest men, controls private equity firm LetterOne and was a founder of Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private bank. In a letter to his employees he called for an end to the “bloodshed”.
Continue reading...UK considers banning Russian ships from British ports
The NS Champion oil tanker, majority-owned by the Russian state, is due to berth in Orkney on Tuesday
The UK government is considering restricting Russian ships from using British ports after it emerged that a Russian-owned oil tanker is due to dock in Orkney this week.
The NS Champion, operated by Sovcomflot, a large shipping company majority-owned by the Russian state, is due to berth at Flotta oil terminal in Orkney on Tuesday to collect crude oil.
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...Thousands gather in cities across the UK in support of Ukraine
Trafalgar Square a sea of blue and yellow as demonstrators protest against brutal Russian invasion
Thousands of people gathered in cities across the UK for at times highly emotional rallies in support of Ukraine as the country defended itself against the brutal Russian invasion.
In London, Trafalgar Square was a sea of blue and yellow as protesters voiced anguish and despair at Russian president Vladimir Putin’s assault on the eastern European country.
Continue reading...EU to ban Russian state-backed channels RT and Sputnik
Ursula von der Leyen says stations will ‘no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war’
The EU has announced it will ban the Russian state-backed channels RT and Sputnik in an unprecedented move against the Kremlin media machine.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union. So we are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”
Continue reading...Russian strategic slips lift Ukrainian morale, but should not obscure broader picture
While the botched assault on Hostomel and the failure to take Kharkiv have surprised some commentators, these are but the opening salvos
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has so far been curiously uncoordinated, even haphazard, in its first four days – prompting fears that Kremlin may adopt more brutal and deadly methods to achieve victory at a higher cost.
Military analysts have been surprised by what they see as repeated errors, perhaps reflecting Vladimir Putin’s mistaken belief that Ukrainians had an underlying affinity with Russia and would simply acquiesce in the fall of Volodymyr Zelenskiy once Moscow’s troops rolled in.
Continue reading...Putin’s nuclear posturing requires west to tread extremely carefully
Challenge for Nato is to maintain support for Ukraine while making clear Russian leader has way out of crisis
Successive generations have experienced what it is like to feel the shadow of nuclear annihilation loom over their daily lives, from the Cuban crisis of 1962, to the missile standoff in Europe in the 1980s. This is shaping up to be our turn.
“I’ll be honest – I’m nervous,” Pavel Podvig, one of the world’s leading experts on Russian nuclear forces, said after Vladimir Putin declared a “special mode of combat duty of the deterrence forces”.
Continue reading...‘A watershed moment’: EU shuts down airspace to Russia and finances weapons for Ukraine – video
For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to a country under attack, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said, as she announced the bloc's commitment to supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia.
The EU will also shut down its airspace for any and all Russian aircraft and in another unprecedented step ruled it would ban Russian-state backed television channels RT and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, so that the Kremlin media machine 'will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union'
- Russia-Ukraine latest
- Russian airlines to be banned from most European airspace
- Germany to set up €100bn fund to boost its military strength
Republican Tom Cotton refuses four times to condemn Trump on Ukraine
- Stephanopoulos tries repeatedly to prise comment from him
- Trump hints at 2024 presidential bid in CPAC speech
- Russia-Ukraine war latest news: follow live updates
The Republican senator Tom Cotton refused four times on Sunday to condemn or even comment on Donald Trump’s repeated praise for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
“If you want to know what Donald Trump thinks about Vladimir Putin or any other topic,” Cotton told ABC’s This Week, “I’d encourage you to invite him on your show. I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians. They can speak for themselves.”
Continue reading...People gather around the world to show solidarity with Ukraine – video
Thousands of people have gathered in cities around the world to show their support for Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion. More than 100,000 gathered in Berlin bearing signs reading 'stop the war', 'Putin's last war' and 'we stand with Ukraine'. From Tel Aviv to Tbilisi, demonstrators have let their disgust at Vladimir Putin's actions be known as the conflict continues to escalate
- Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news
- Kharkiv governor claims Russian troops repelled from city
- Ukraine appeals for foreign volunteers to join fight against Russia
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 after Russian tanks enter Ukrainian city – video
Scenes from Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, show Ukrainian soldiers fighting on street corners with rocket-propelled grenades. Other videos show an alleged Russian convoy that was stopped by Ukrainian soldiers, tanks driving through residential areas and various missile fragments stuck in ground near residential buildings
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin puts Russian nuclear forces on high alert – video
The Russian president has ordered his military to put the country’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert in response to 'aggressive statements' by Nato countries
Continue reading...Scholz announces €100bn rise in German defence spending after Russia’s Ukraine invasion – video
Germany departed from longstanding policy again on Sunday with chancellor Olaf Scholz announcing the government would invest more than 2% of GDP in the military from its 2022 budget. He praised Russians who protested against the invasion for their bravery
Continue reading...Hundreds of thousands of refugees flee Ukraine as fighting escalates – video
People are fleeing to Ukraine's borders with EU countries as they try to escape the invasion from Russia. The UN refugee agency is warning that as many as 5 million Ukrainians could leave
- Charities and opposition parties urge UK to do more for Ukrainian refugees
- Russia-Ukraine latest: Russian troops enter Kharkiv amid reports of fierce resistance – live updates
Russia-Ukraine war latest news: US condemns Putin’s nuclear deterrence order; rouble crashes as markets open – live updates
Vladimir Putin said nuclear move came after aggressive statements by Nato countries; satellite images show ground forces heading to capital; Ukrainian president says two sides to meet on Belarus border
- Moscow braces for market meltdown Monday as new sanctions hit
- Fighting on streets of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city
- Swift action at last brings meaningful sanctions against Putin
- Russia’s war in Ukraine: complete guide in maps, video and pictures
- Ukraine appeals for foreign volunteers to join fight against Russia
- How Ukrainian defiance has derailed Putin’s plans
Ukrainians are waking for the fourth day since Russia invaded and words of defiance are dominating social media this morning.
“It’s another morning in Ukraine and Russia still can’t advance in Kyiv,” Illia Ponomarenko, defence reporter at the Kyiv Independent writes.
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