Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy during a rambling speech from Moscow, while a promised cease-fire in the port city of Mariupol collapsed amid scenes of terror in the besieged town.
The struggle to enforce the temporary cease-fire in Mariupol and the eastern city of Volnovakha showed the fragility of efforts to stop the fighting across Ukraine as the number of people fleeing the country reached 1.4 million just 10 days after Russian forces invaded.
Ukrainian officials said Russian artillery fire and airstrikes had prevented residents from leaving before the agreed-to evacuations got underway.
Putin accused Ukraine accused Ukraine of sabotaging the effort and claimed the actions of Ukraine's leadership called into question the country's future as an independent state.
(Read More LIVE coverage here)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine, AP reported.
The two spoke by phone on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
China has broken with the U.S., Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. China says that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected, but that sanctions create new issues and disrupt the process of political settlement.
"Mariupol Mayor: Russia blockades city, denies humanitarian corridor. According to Mayor Vadym Boychenko, the city has been left without water and electricity, while 400,000 city residents are held hostage by the Russians," reports The Kyiv Independent
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2022
A special flight, carrying 182 Indian civilians from #Ukraine, reaches Mumbai from Bucharest in Romania#OperationGanga pic.twitter.com/d7rDPXrUSt
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2022
The International Committee of the Red Cross has expressed worry that Russian attacks being carried out in densely populated areas are imperiling children, the sick and the elderly. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
The current crisis in Ukraine will have consequences for the whole world, including for Russia-India relations, and the extent of its impact cannot be envisaged now, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Saturday. At the same time, he said India can take advantage of the situation to bolster economic ties with Russia as Moscow's Western partners have refused to cooperate with it. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
As many as 21 Indian sailors on board a merchant ship are stuck for quite some time at the Port of Mykolaiv in war-hit Ukraine but all of them are "safe" and in "regular contact" with their families and the ship manning agency, according to the agency founder and CEO Sanjay Prashar. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Nur Hassan, a student from Kaliachak in Malda, recalled how he along with 50 other students from India, had to hire a bus on March 1 from his institute in Kyiv to reach the Romanian border after undergoing numerous checks by the Ukrainian army. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
They returned to their home towns, heaving a sigh of relief and thanking their stars that they managed to come out of Ukrainian city Kharkiv amid heavy shelling by the Russian forces. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
As evacuation from the shelling-battered city remains a challenge for Indian authorities, the students said they could no longer cope with the nail-biting cold, depleting food supplies and having to melt snow to get drinking water. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Indian envoy to Ukraine Partha Satpathy on Saturday said no stone will be left unturned for the safe evacuation of Indian students from the conflict-stricken eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy as he hailed the unparalleled strength and fortitude displayed by the young citizens in dealing with the adversities. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
As the West condemns Russia, President Vladimir Putin has vocal supporters in China, where the ruling Communist Party tells its people they are fellow targets of US-led harassment. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
The move by Russia's biggest state-owned airline comes after the country's aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, recommended that all Russian airlines with foreign-leased planes halt both passenger and cargo flights abroad. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Aeroflot, Russia’s flagship carrier, has announced that it will halt all international flights except to Belarus starting March 8.
As per Ukrainian President Zelensky, around 16,000 foreign fighters are expected in Ukraine. About 200 of mercenaries from Croatia have already entered the country through Poland and joined uncontrollable nationalist units in the South East of Ukraine, says Russian Embassy.
Nine-two students from Jharkhand have returned home so far from war-torn Ukraine, an official at the State Migrant Control Room said on Saturday. Chief Minister Hemant Soren met some of the returnee students and enquired about their well-being.
A group of 137 Indian students stranded in Ukraine reached Gujarat, their home state, on Saturday, officials said here. It took the tally of those who have returned to the state from the war-hit country to 752.
Union Civil Aviation Ministry says 11 evacuation flights with 2,200 Indians will arrive on Sunday.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said the evacuation effort was stopped because the city of Mariupol remained under fire on Saturday. (READ MORE)
UPD?
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 5, 2022
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"I am sure that soon we will be able to tell our people: come back! Come back from Poland, Romania, Slovakia and all other countries. Come back because there is no threat anymore," Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Facebook post.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday intensified a crackdown on media outlets and individuals who fail to hew to the Kremlin line on Russia's war in Ukraine, blocking Facebook and Twitter and signing into law a bill that criminalizes the intentional spreading of what Moscow deems to be “fake” reports. (READ MORE)
India on Saturday said it is "deeply concerned" about the Indian students stuck in the eastern Ukranian city of Sumy and strongly asked both Russia and Ukraine through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire for their safe exit from the conflict zone.
The European Union said it had joined members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in suspending Russia and Belarus from the Council's activities.
#UkraineCrisis | Several students are still stuck in Kharkiv. We left Ukraine on March 1st amid bombing & shelling. After crossing the Poland border Indian govt provided us help, says Pratyush Chaurasia who escaped from Kharkiv and reached Rzeszow in Poland pic.twitter.com/O0GY3QzJvM
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2022
An Air India Express flight from the Hungarian capital Budapest carrying 183 Indian nationals stranded in war-torn Ukraine landed in Mumbai on Saturday morning, the airline said. Air India flight IX 1604 with 182 passengers and one infant landed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 11 am.
We are deeply concerned about Indian students in Sumy, Ukraine. Have strongly pressed Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire to create a safe corridor for our students.
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) March 5, 2022
The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday said that it was deeply engaged in ensuring the safe evacuation of Indian citizens from the city conflict-ridden Kharkiv.
????????We are doing everything we can to evacuate hundreds of foreign students from the Sumy city. #Sumy is now on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe due to indiscriminate Russian shelling. Ukraine is doing its best to save and secure people.#StopRussianAggression
— MFA of Ukraine ???????? (@MFA_Ukraine) March 5, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a federal law broadening sanctions for violating the rights of Russian citizens to all foreigners and stateless persons, the Kremlin said.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday told the Himachal Pradesh assembly that 309 people from the state have been evacuated from war-torn Ukraine so far. Speaking during the budget session, the chief minister said 149 students from the state are still stuck there.
At night there was a powerful explosion near #Chernihiv. pic.twitter.com/6bcRVJoQFz
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 5, 2022
Payments company PayPal Holdings Inc shut down its services early on Saturday in Russia, citing "the current circumstances," joining many financial and tech companies in suspending operations there after the invasion of Ukraine.
Olena and five colleagues left Kyiv after three nights in a bomb shelter, the thuds of explosions reverberating. They arrived in Hungary on Thursday after a harrowing, three-day flight. (READ MORE)
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who is currently in Slovakia as a part of Operation Ganga, on Friday called on the prime minister of the Slovak Republic and conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message of gratitude for the help extended in evacuating of Indian nationals from Ukraine.
Birthday of an Indian student, Kartik was celebrated at a camp on Romanian border yesterday. pic.twitter.com/wGWAEC6tx1
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2022
Following the imposition of harsh economic sanctions from the west, Russia would be looking towards Chinese commitment for assistance in resolving its fast-approaching economic hardship. Analysts say Ukraine's conflict will show the world whether confessions of both leaders are legitimate, or these relations are rather transactional.
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said all efforts are on to evacuate people from the state, who are stranded in besieged cities like Kharkiv and Kyiv in Ukraine, and that his administration is in constant touch with Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Embassy there.
Russian forces bomb military hospital in town of Irpin, just outside capital Kiev as shelling intensifies in region pic.twitter.com/3h8b6DsP3V
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 5, 2022
An AirAsia India evacuation flight from Suceava in Romania carrying 170 Indian evacuees from Ukraine landed at Delhi early morning on Saturday, an airline official said. This was the first such flight operated by the Bengaluru-based budget carrier under 'Operation Ganga,' a central government initiative to bring back Indian citizens from war-torn Ukraine.
Mariupol's mayor Vadim Boychenko said Saturday that the city was under "blockade" by Russian forces after days of "ruthless" attacks. (READ MORE)
?? A #Russian airstrike on the village of #Markhalevka near #Kyiv killed six people, including a child. pic.twitter.com/Eu97ZaMsab
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 5, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has slammed NATO's decision not to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that the Russian military is doing everything to ensure the peaceful evacuation of foreign nationals stranded in Ukraine. (READ MORE)
France will propose to its partners specific steps to safeguard five main Ukrainian nuclear facilities based on the criteria by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Elysee Palace said on Friday.
After days of "ruthless" attack, Mariupol is under a "blockade" by Russian forces, said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko on Saturday, according to a media report. Ukraine's port city of Mariupol, with a population of 450,000 people, is of strategic importance to Russian forces, as by taking Mariupol, they can complete a land corridor that would link Crimea with southern Russia.
Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, air raid alerts were issued on Saturday morning in Chernihiv and Sumy.
South Korean tech giant Samsung is suspending shipments of all of its products to Russia, media reports say.
"Due to the current geopolitical developments, shipments to Russia have been suspended," reads a statement from an unnamed Samsung representative, via Samsung's generic PR email address. "We continue to actively monitor this complex situation to determine our next steps."
According to The Verge, Samsung is also making donations to humanitarian efforts.
An AirAsia India evacuation flight from Suceava in Romania carrying 170 Indian evacuees from Ukraine landed at Delhi early morning on Saturday, an airline official said.
This was the first such flight operated by the Bengaluru-based budget carrier under 'Operation Ganga,' a central government initiative to bring back Indian citizens from war-torn Ukraine.
An AirAsia India flight from Sauceva in Romania via Dubai landed at Delhi Airport at 4 am Saturday morning with 170 Indian evacuees from Ukraine, the official said.
The passengers were received by the Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on their arrival in India, said the official.
Russia declares ceasefire in Ukraine from 06:00 GMT to open humanitarian corridors for civilians, reports Russia's media outlet Sputnik
At a logistics expo in London this week, Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominated discussions, rather than interest in the latest package-tracking devices or how to kick-start the sector after the coronavirus pandemic.
A week of fighting has forced many companies to suspend operations out of Ukraine as well as Russia, as world governments began imposing tough financial sanctions.
Now there are fears the conflict could cause more disruption to the sector and hinder recovery from the pandemic, which battered world supply chains.
Efforts to bring back Naveen Shekharappa's (an MBBS student who died in shelling in Ukraine) body is in progress. We're in touch with the Indian embassy, also spoke to External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar on the matter: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai pic.twitter.com/zpxNzd383h
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2022
Russia has informed the UN Security Council that Russian buses are ready at crossing points to go to the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Sumy to evacuate Indian students and other foreign nationals who are stranded there, amidst the raging conflict in the East European country.
The 15-nation Council held an emergency session on Friday, called by Albania, France, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, following Russia's attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe.
During the meeting, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that the Russian military is doing everything to ensure the peaceful evacuation of foreign nationals stranded in Ukraine.
He alleged that Ukraine nationalists were keeping over 3,700 Indian citizens "by force" in Kharkiv and Sumy cities of eastern Ukraine.
The Russian envoy said that the checkpoints are equipped to provide temporary accommodation, space for rest, and hot food. There are also mobile medical stations with a stock of medications.
Air raid alert in Kyiv. Residents should go to the nearest shelter: Ukraine's The Kyiv Independent
Amid the ongoing evacuation of Indian medical students from Ukraine, National Medical Commission (NMC) allows Foreign Medical Graduates with incomplete internships due to compelling situations like the Covid-19 and war, to apply to complete internships in India if they clear FMGE.
Amid the ongoing evacuation of Indian medical students from #Ukraine, National Medical Commission (NMC) allows Foreign Medical Graduates with incomplete internships due to compelling situations like the Covid19 & war...to apply to complete internships in India if they clear FMGE pic.twitter.com/tqxeCNPdYy
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2022
Russia has fired more than 500 missiles in the week since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Russia is launching all different types of missiles at a rate of about two dozen per day, a Pentagon official said.
Russia has fired more than 500 missiles in the week since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Russia is launching all different types of missiles at a rate of about two dozen per day, a Pentagon official said.
Formed in a fury to counter Russia's blitzkrieg attack, Ukraine's hundreds-strong volunteer "hacker" corps is much more than a paramilitary cyberattack force in Europe's first major war of the internet age.
It is crucial to information combat and to crowdsourcing intelligence. "We are really a swarm. A self-organizing swarm," said Roman Zakharov, a 37-year-old IT executive at the center of Ukraine's bootstrap digital army.
His group's inventions run from software that lets anyone on the planet with a smartphone or computer participate in distributed denial-of-service attacks on official Russian websites to bots on the Telegram messaging platform that block disinformation, let people report Russian troop locations and offer instructions on assembling Molotov cocktails and basic first aid.
To limit Russian air strikes on Kiev and other cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has begged NATO to establish a no-fly zone over his country. But for now, that is a red line for the transatlantic alliance, of which Ukraine is not a member.
"The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter planes into Ukraine's airspace, and then impose that no fly zone by shooting down Russian planes," the alliance's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said.
"If we did that, we'll end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe, involving many more countries and causing much more human suffering. So that's the reason why we make this painful decision."
G7 countries promised Friday to impose "tough new sanctions" on Russia, and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to " increase the extraordinary pressure we're already exerting."
But there is not much room for maneuver. The US had promised before the invasion to "start at the top of the escalation ladder and stay there," and have kept their word.
Together with their European allies, they have decreed unprecedented sanctions against the Russian financial system and the oligarchs close to the Kremlin, banned exports of crucial technologies and imposed an air blockade.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an attack on not only this country, but also on the security of Europe, US President Joe Biden has said.
Earlier in the day, Biden spoke with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to discuss their countries' response, and those of allies, to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including ongoing efforts to impose severe consequences on Russia.
"And we agreed it's not only an attack on Ukraine, it's an attack on the security of Europe and on global peace and stability," Biden said in the Oval Office of the White House.