The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Wednesday nearly 6,000 Russians had been killed in the first six days of Moscow’s invasion, and that the Kremlin would not be able to take his country with bombs and airstrikes. He condemned a missile strike on Babyn Yar, a Holocaust memorial in Kyiv, saying: 'It is beyond humanity'
• Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news
Continue reading...Russian missiles continued to hit administrative and residential buildings in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv. A video released by Ukraine's ministry of emergency situations shows firefighters attempting to put out a fire burning in the regional headquarters of the ministry of internal affairs in Kharkiv
• Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news
Continue reading...One day a man in a tan mac and a comb-over appeared at my family’s door. I have no idea how he found me but he had an exciting proposition
I grew up in a modest, family hotel on the Dutch coast. The scenes of my boyhood were of German seaside tourists, drunken men and women at the bar, wedding receptions, and bingo nights in the function room. We slaved all year round – my father at the kitchen stove, my mother serving, cleaning the hotel rooms, and caring for three children. Books passed me by so it was an anomaly that, at the age of 12, I found myself attending a grammar school in Haarlem that churned out politicians, artists and writers.
I was embarrassed about my non-intellectual origins. Each morning, when my classmates’ fathers drove their expensive cars to solicitors’ offices, banks or ministries, my father would don his cook’s uniform. One day, when I was 14, I went to our village library. After I’d filled out the membership card, a woman said: “And now you can choose three books!” I snatched three off the shelf. The thinnest was First Love, by Ivan Turgenev. From the start, the words struck me like a hammer-blow. I was drawn in by the language and the 19th-century Russian world that the writer evoked. I’d become a reader.
Continue reading...‘Open-source intelligence community’ is already collecting and studying video and photo evidence
Six days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, there is mounting evidence that its military is committing war crimes with deadly attacks on civilians and the use of cluster munitions.
Eliot Higgins, the founder of the investigative journalism site Bellingcat, said there was evidence of Russia causing “civilian harm”, including through the use of “cluster bombs in civilian areas”, from credible video and stills of the conflict.
Continue reading...Russia intensifies bombardment of cities as Ukraine’s president insists Moscow will not be able to take his country with bombs and air strikes
Researchers are gathering evidence of possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
My colleague, Dan Sabbagh, reports that an ‘open-source intelligence community’ is already collecting and studying video and photo evidence that Russia’s military is committing war crimes with deadly attacks on civilians and the use of cluster munitions.
Continue reading...Heavy fighting in Kharkiv after Russian paratroopers land, as Biden warns Putin ‘will pay’ for invasion
Ukraine’s besieged cities have come under more heavy bombardment after Russian commanders facing fierce resistance intensified their shelling of urban areas.
As US president Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that he would “pay a price” for his aggression, the Russia leader’s forces have shown no sign of stopping an assault that has included strikes on the capital Kyiv and rocket attacks in the second city of Kharkiv, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people.
Continue reading...Oksana Markarova appears moved as she thanks attendees, while US president condemns Putin’s ‘tyranny’
Oksana Markarova, the ambassador of Ukraine to the US, was given a standing ovation at the US Capitol on Tuesday nightduring Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address to Congress.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the early part of Biden’s speech, as the president condemned Vladimir Putin’s “tyranny” and announced he would ban Russian aircraft from US airspace.
Continue reading...Caritas says most of the children will come from heavily hit eastern Ukraine amid fears ‘humanitarian catastrophe approaching fast’
The Catholic charity Caritas Poland says it will take in 2,000 children from Ukrainian orphanages, with the first group of 300 arriving on Wednesday.
“Our eastern neighbours are talking about a humanitarian catastrophe that is approaching fast,” charity director Marcin Iżycki said.
Continue reading...Several cities are under heavy bombardment again and several are encircled, according to the UK, as Joe Biden attacks Putin in his State of the Union address
Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine are coming under more bombardment in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the Russian military steps up its offensive and moves forces closer towards the capital.
Four people have been killed after homes in the city of Zhytomyr west of Kyiv were hit by a cruise missile apparently aimed at a nearby airbase, Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the interior minister, said on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv has also been under more heavy bombardment after at least 11 people were killed on Tuesday. A video taken in the city shows wrecked residential buildings with no windows, and fallen trees and power lines, in the aftermath of bombing.
Kharkiv and the southern cities of Kherson and Mariupol, are likely now encircled by the Russians, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
Thousands of Ukrainians are trying to leave Kyiv, our correspondent in Kyiv reported, as Russia’s defence ministry warned residents to leave as it plans to strike targets in the Ukrainian capital. The UN says more than 680,000 people have already fled the city.
Russia’s military move on Kyiv has stalled as its forces struggle with basic logistics challenges, including shortages of food and fuel, with some units appearing to be gripped by low morale. US official also claim that some Russian troops are sabotaging their equipment and surrendering rather than fighting.
Joe Biden’s will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to warn Vladimir Putin that he cannot divide the west and that dictators should “pay a price for their aggression”, according to a pre-release of parts of his speech.
The IMF and the World Bank have condemned the Russian action in Ukraine and the “horrifying” suffering of people there. The organisations pledged a $3bn package of support for the country.
Apple has said it will pause all product sales in Russia, heeding requests from Ukrainian officials to take action against the country in response to its invasion.
Boeing is suspending “major operations” in Moscow, as well as “parts, maintenance, and technical support services for Russian airlines”. Ford and the British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover have also suspended operations, along with Nike.
The US and 30 countries have agreed to release 60m barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilise global energy markets, the US department of energy said on Tuesday, as oil prices surged to a seven-year high. It came after Brent crude oil rose 7% on Tuesday to $104.97 a barrel.
The Russian rouble has fallen again in early trading on Wednesday to hit 109.2 to the dollar. Stocks on Wall Street suffered another day of losses amid the jitters over Ukraine.
Video released by Ukraine's State Emergency Service on Tuesday shows a rescue operation following a Russian missile strike in northern Ukraine. The video shows clouds of smoke and rescue workers digging through debris in Zhytomyr.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that four people were killed when homes in Zhytomyr were hit by a Russian cruise missile apparently aimed at a nearby air base.
Bombed and menaced by an unchecked Putin since 2015, Syrians hope the tide might be finally turning
When a Russian air raid in north-western Syria killed 34 Turkish troops, Ankara’s revenge quickly followed. But, instead of targeting the forces of Vladimir Putin, whose jets had caused the carnage, Turkey sent armed drones towards the Syrian army, pulverising hundreds of pieces of weaponry and killing scores of troops – all as Russia watched on blithely.
In the years since Putin intervened in Syria in 2015 to save the regime of Bashar al-Assad there had been countless examples of Russian attacks on civilian sites – schools, bakeries and hospitals – all of which had met meek responses from global leaders and drawn scant attention from war crimes prosecutors.
Continue reading...Mobile-phone video shows wrecked residential buildings with no windows, and fallen trees and power lines, in the aftermath of strikes that killed at least 11 people in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city on Monday.
Kharkiv’s regional administration chief said artillery had pounded residential districts. The city has been the target of some of the worst aerial attacks since Ukraine was invaded by Russian forces
The coordinated decision, only the fourth in the International Energy Agency’s history, comes as Russia continues Kyiv siege
The United States and 30 countries have agreed to release 60m barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilise global energy markets, the US Department of Energy said on Tuesday, as oil prices surged to a seven-year high.
The move, ahead of Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to Congress, failed to calm fears about supply disruption from the Ukraine crisis and sanctions against Russia. US stock markets fell sharply even after the news.
Continue reading...Unarmed people in Ukraine have been filmed attempting to stop Russian vehicles with their bodies in a string of defiant acts.
In the south-eastern city of Melitopol people pushed on Russian military vehicles with their bare hands, while in the north-east Kupyansk residents jumped on a Jeep with Russian markers to fight the Russian occupation.
There were reports of fierce shelling in the northern city of Chernihiv, where people were filmed singing the Ukrainian national anthem and standing in front of tanks
Continue reading...Chinese foreign minister says Ukrainian counterpart asked for help to find diplomatic solution
China has signalled its willingness to play a mediator role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as the war entered its sixth day.
In his first phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, since the outbreak of the war, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Tuesday that Beijing “laments” the outbreak of the conflict and is “extremely concerned” about the harm to civilians, according to a Chinese readout.
Continue reading...Chris Bryant says UK moving too slowly to impose sanctions on people allegedly linked to Vladimir Putin
An MP has claimed that the Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich, is hastily selling UK properties to avoid potential financial sanctions.
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and head of the parliamentary standards committee, said the government was moving too slowly on imposing sanctions on those with alleged links to Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Pundits and officials turn to ‘mythbusting’ as evidence of Ukraine destruction undermines official line
Russian state television talkshows are describing videos of missiles striking Ukrainian cities and reports of Russian soldiers killed in action as “fakes”, as the country’s media try to account for photos and video emerging from Ukraine that contradict official reports of the invasion.
The “mythbusting” is one of the adjustments that TV propaganda shows have had to make as evidence of the growing destruction in cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv makes it increasingly difficult for the government to present the fiction of a concentrated offensive in the Donbas region.
Continue reading...Thousands of people trying to escape Ukraine capital amid fears that large-scale attack is imminent
The piercing screams of children mingled with the barking of traumatised dogs and the shouts of soldiers desperately trying to maintain order, as the 14.07 to Ivano-Frankivsk pulled into Kyiv’s central station.
There was a crowd of thousands on platform one, surging towards the blue carriages and desperate to secure a prized place on a ride westwards out of the Ukrainian capital. Most people would not be able to board.
Continue reading...Five people have been killed and several wounded in a Russian attack on a TV tower in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, according to reports.
Two explosions were heard in the Borshchahivka and Dorohozhychi areas, said the news agency Interfax-Ukraine, knocking several channels off air.
The incident was first reported on social media by the Ukrainian interior ministry adviser, Anton Herashchenko, moments after Russia warned Kyiv residents to evacuate military and intelligence infrastructure
Continue reading...Analysis: convoy estimated to be 40 miles long raises fears of siege tactics and escalating civilian casualties
In the satellite image, the trees of the forest just north of the Ukrainian village of Rudnya-Shpylivska – population 107 – appear as if you could brush them with your hand.
Before last week, this hamlet was almost too small to notice, a place that cars would speed past on the P02 highway, those trees a blur.
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