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'
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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.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war latest news: Zelenskiy asks Putin for direct talks after Macron tells Russian president he is making a ‘major mistake’ – live
Ukrainian president tells Russian leader direct talks are ‘only way to stop this war’; French president tells Russian president ‘you are lying to yourself’
- Kremlin denies planning to institute martial law in Russia
- French warn ‘worst is to come’ after Macron call with Putin
- UK widens sanctions to Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov
- Father mourns son as civilian victims continue to mount
- Tell us: how have you been affected by the situation in Ukraine?
A compilation of video footage taken by those currently in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson show Russian troops patrolling the city streets.
Kherson’s mayor, Igor Kolykhaiev, confirmed Russian forces had landed in the city in a Facebook post written about 10pm on Wednesday.
Continue reading...London Stock Exchange suspends 27 Russian listings; wheat prices soar to 14-year high – business live
- European shares drift lower as Moscow stock exchange stays closed for fourth day
- IoD: no longer tenable for Brits to sit on boards of Russian firms
- France seizes yacht linked to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin
- Severstal directors resign a day after Mordashov quits Tui board and shifts Nordgold stake to his wife
- Russian airlines shut out of UK insurance market
- Introduction: Oil prices at nine-year peak
- Ukraine live updates
The drinks giant Diageo, which makes Smirnoff vodka and Guinness, has paused exports to Russia and Ukraine. A spokesperson told Reuters:
Our priority is the safety of our people in Ukraine and the wider region.
The Institute of Directors expresses its solidarity with Ukraine and its people, who are facing intolerable suffering.
Although directors owe legal duties to the companies on whose boards they serve, they should also feel a stronger moral duty to uphold the fundamental values of freedom and democracy. We believe that it is no longer tenable for British directors to be involved in governance roles in the Russian economy. Therefore, we hope that they will now question the viability of their mandates in Russian and Belarusian companies.
Continue reading...Ukrainians block Russian troops from nuclear plant in Enerhodar – video
Crowds of Ukrainians formed a barrier on Wednesday between Russian forces and a nuclear plant in the city of Enerhodar, blocking their advance. Footage shared on social media by a Ukrainian official shows people – some holding Ukrainian flags – assembled in front of and around barricades of cars, trucks, tires and sandbags. Enerhodar is home to Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe
- Russian forces surround Ukraine’s biggest nuclear plant, sparking UN concerns
- Ukraine-Russia crisis: latest updates
Germany seizes Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s $600m superyacht – report
Hamburg authorities seized the 156-metre Dilbar as yachts belonging to five other Russian billionaires headed to the non-extradition Maldives
Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news
German authorities have reportedly seized the $600m superyacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov in a Hamburg shipyard.
Usmanov was on a list of billionaires to face sanctions from the European Union in response to Russia’s 24 February invasion of Ukraine. It came as the French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said it had seized a yacht linked to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat.
Continue reading...ICC launches war crimes investigation over Russian invasion of Ukraine
International criminal court inquiry has been expedited by unprecedented number of countries backing move
A war crimes investigation has been launched into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after an unprecedented number of countries backed the move and Boris Johnson called the military intervention “abhorrent”.
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court (ICC), said he would begin work “as rapidly as possible” to look for possible crimes against humanity or genocide committed in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Russian and Belarusian athletes banned from Winter Paralympics after U-turn
Paralympic Committee reverses its original decision after threats of boycott over Ukraine conflict
A revolt among competing nations has forced the International Paralympic Committee to reverse its original decision and ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from this week’s Winter Games.
On Wednesday the IPC had said that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to take part in competition in Beijing, under a neutral banner and with no place on the medal table. Less than 24 hours after the announcement, however, the president of the IPC, Andrew Parsons, announced a u-turn following protests and a threat of a boycott from national participating committees (NPCs).
Continue reading...London Stock Exchange suspends trading in 27 firms with strong links to Russia
Energy and banking giants Gazprom and Sberbank plus EN+, Lukoil and Polyus among firms
The London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in 27 companies with strong links to Russia, including energy and banking giants Gazprom and Sberbank.
The LSE said it was moving to block trading in the companies, which also include EN+, Lukoil and Polyus, with immediate effect “in light of market conditions, and in order to maintain orderly markets”.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day eight
A week after invasion of Ukraine launched, ICC confirms it is gathering evidence of possible war crimes
Russian forces are in control of the local government building in the Black Sea port of Kherson, according to its mayor, Igor Kolykhaiev, although there are conflicting reports about the status of the strategically important city.
More heavy explosions were reported in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and second city, Kharkiv, overnight and on Thursday morning after Russian missile strikes.
A second round of talks is reportedly set to take place today. A Russian negotiator said a ceasefire was on the agenda, but Ukraine has said Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before any progress can be made.
More than one million people have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded the country last week, the head of the United Nations refugee agency has said.
The international criminal court (ICC) is opening an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine and has begun collecting evidence after 38 countries formally referred reports of atrocities, the largest referral it has ever received.
The Russian advance on Kyiv has been delayed by “staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion” and is still more than 30km from the centre of the city, Britain’s defence ministry said.
The UN nuclear watchdog has voiced concern after Russian forces claimed to have surrounded Ukraine’s biggest atomic plant and called for its workers to be left alone to do their jobs.
The strategically important Sea of Azov port city of Mariupol is reportedly surrounded by Russian troops.
Police in Moscow detained two women and five children holding a poster outside the Ukraine embassy that said “No to war”.
More than 350 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 injured, according to Ukraine’s emergency service. Transport facilities, hospitals, kindergartens and homes have been destroyed, it said.
Ukraine claimed nearly 7,000 Russian troops had been killed in the first six days of Moscow’s invasion. Moscow said 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine since the start of its campaign, its first statement on casualties.
The UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly to deplore Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces, with 141 of the 193 member states voting for the resolution on Wednesday.
The US has accused Russia of launching a “full war on media freedom and the truth” by blocking independent news outlets and preventing Russians from hearing news of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s central bank has imposed a 30% commission on foreign currency purchases by individuals on currency exchanges.
Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from the Winter Paralympic Games for their countries’ roles in the conflict, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said, in a reversal of its previous stance.
Born in war: Kyiv’s maternity ward under siege – video
The basement of a Kyiv hospital is now the maternity ward, where expecting and new mothers bring new life into a world violently upended by a Russian military invasion.
Alina Shinkar is 32 weeks pregnant with her first child. She was admitted to one of Kyiv’s maternity hospitals two weeks ago because of pregnancy complications. 'I woke up on the 24th of February, at 5 o’clock in the morning from the hit, that I heard. The explosion. And then I heard women started to cry and scream. The war started.'
- Russia-Ukraine war latest news: 1m refugees have fled since invasion – live
- Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day eight
Russian controls imposed in Ukrainian southern city Kherson – video
Russian troops took control of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson after forcing their way into the council building, the mayor said in an update. In a Facebook post written about 10pm on Wednesday, Kherson’s mayor, Igor Kolykhaiev, said: 'There were armed visitors in the city council today. My team and I are peaceful people, we had no weapons or aggression on our side.' The development followed conflicting claims over whether Moscow had made its first major gain by taking over a significant Ukrainian city.
Continue reading...Ukraine war: Putin prompts fears that ‘the worst is yet to come’
Moscow aims to take ‘full control’ of Ukraine capital by diplomatic or military means, according to France
Vladimir Putin has told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv’s “refusal to accept Russia’s conditions” means he will continue to pursue his war in Ukraine, the Élysée Palace has said, adding: “We expect the worst is yet to come.”
As the number of refugees fleeing the conflict passed 1 million and Russian forces, backed by heavy shelling, advanced on cities and key ports in the south and east, Russia’s president said in a 90-minute call to his French counterpart he was “prepared to go all the way”, the French official said.
Continue reading...Russian forces surround Ukraine’s biggest nuclear plant, sparking UN concerns
Nuclear watchdog chief pleads with invading troops to allow workers to carry on ‘providing safety and monotoring radiation’ at Zaporizhzhia
The UN nuclear watchdog has voiced concern after Russian forces claimed to have surrounded Ukraine’s biggest atomic plant, and called for its workers to be left alone to do their jobs.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the Russian government had informed the agency that its troops had taken control of the area around the Zaporizhzhia plant in south-eastern Ukraine, the second biggest in Europe, housing six of the country’s 15 reactors.
Continue reading...‘What the hell was that?’: large explosions reported over Kyiv – video
A series of explosions were reported in Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday following Russian airstrikes. At least four explosions were reported in Ukraine’s capital around 3am, not long after Ukraine’s state special communications service had issued an alert saying: “Air alarm, Kyiv!” CBS reporter Charlie D'Agata had just finished a cross when a bright flash and large boom happened behind him
Continue reading...Ukraine authorities say seized Russian tanks don’t need to be declared on tax form
Corruption-fighting body urges citizens to ‘continue to defend the motherland’ while easing any concerns about ‘significant changes in the property status’
It’s not often that tax can lift people’s spirits but Ukrainian authorities may have done just that, assuring citizens that any Russian military equipment they seize won’t need to be declared for tax purposes.
“Have you captured a Russian tank or armoured personnel carrier and are worried about how to declare it? Keep calm and continue to defend the motherland!” Ukraine’s National Agency for the Protection against Corruption (NAPC) said, according to the Ukraine arm of the Interfax news service.
Continue reading...Moscow police detain children laying flowers at Ukrainian embassy – video
Footage has been posted on social media showing a group of children detained by Moscow police after demonstrating against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a video posted to Facebook by Alexandra Arkhipova, a young girl is seen in tears holding a woman’s hand from behind bars.
Thousands of people in cities across Russia have been defying police threats and staging protests against the invasion of Ukraine.
- Moscow police detain children for laying flowers at Ukrainian embassy
- Russian activist, 77, detained by police while protesting against Ukraine war
Russian pensioner ‘who survived siege of Leningrad’ arrested for protest against Ukraine war – video
Yelena Osipova, an elderly activist who is said to have survived the infamous wartime siege of Leningrad, was marched away by a group of police in St Petersburg while she protested against the war in Ukraine. Thousands of people have been defying police threats and staging protests across Russia. Authorities have a low tolerance for demonstrations and marches, and attending them can have serious consequences including fines, arrests and even imprisonment
- ‘Ukrainians are our friends’: the young Russian anti-war protesters defying Putin – video
- Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates