Russia-Ukraine crisis: Zelenskyy says Russian forces scuppering civilian evacuations

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Zelenskyy says Russian forces scuppering civilian evacuations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday accused the Russian army of scuppering the evacuation of civilians through humanitarian corridors agreed after talks with Moscow.

"There was an agreement on humanitarian corridors. Did that work? Russian tanks worked in its place, Russian Grads (multiple rocket launchers), Russian mines," Zelenskyy said in a video posted on Telegram.

The Ukrainian leader said Russian forces mined the road chosen to bring food and medicine to the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.

Russia's expectations from talks with Ukraine 'not fulfilled'; Fourth round of talks to take place very soon

Russia, Ukraine delegations end third round of conflict talks

At least 13 killed in shelling on Ukrainian industrial bakery: Rescuers

At least 13 people were killed on Monday when shelling hit an industrial bakery in Makariv, around 50 kilometres west ofUkraine's capital Kyiv, Ukrainian rescue services said.

Rescuers posted a message on Telegram saying around 30 people were within the area of the bakery at the moment of the shelling. The message was deleted shortly afterwards with no further details provided.

A view shows a residential building damaged by recent shelling during Ukraine-Russia conflict in Kharkiv

Reuters Photo

War damage to Ukraine infrastructure as of Sunday reached $10 billion: Minister

Russian forces doing everything to evacuate Indian citizens from Sumy: Putin assures Modi

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his forces are doing everything to evacuate the stranded Indian citizens, mostly students, from the war-torn eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, according to his office.

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Injured Indian national Harjot Singh is assisted off the aircraft after being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine upon his arrival at Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad

Credit: PTI Photo

India's UN vote swayed by dependence on Russia, says UK

British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Monday India had a level of dependency on Russia which might go some way to explain its decision to abstain on a vote at the United Nations to deplore Russia over Ukraine.

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Russia-Ukraine talks begin

Russian tanks firing at airport in Mykolayiv: Governor

Russian forces continuing to fire missiles at Kyiv, Mariupol: Ukraine Foreign Ministry

Ukraine delegation arrives at Belarus-Poland border for talks with Russia: agencies

A Ukrainian delegation on Monday arrived in Belarus for talks with representatives from Russia for a third round of talks on the conflict in Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian delegation arrived at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (a national park on the Poland-Belarus border) in two helicopters for talks with Russia," TASS state news agency reported.

Moscow-Kyiv talks to focus on humanitarian corridors: Russian negotiator

Over 900 communities in Ukraine without any light, water, heating: Presidential adviser

Russian negotiator reaches Belarus for talks, awaits Ukrainian delegation

Amend constitution, reject claims to enter any bloc: Russia tells Ukraine on NATO

Russia can halt operations at any moment if Ukraine meets Russian conditions

Russia demands protection of diplomatic missions in France, alleging attack

A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry on Monday demanded France protect Moscow's representative offices in the country, alleging an attack had occurred at a building used by a Russian government agency in Paris.

"We demand that the French authorities ensure the proper security of our official institutions," wrote Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, on Telegram.

Two more flights expected to bring back 400 Indians tomorrow: Ministry of Civil Aviation

Tomorrow, 2 special Civilian flights are expected to operate from Suceva, bringing in more than 400 Indians back home: Ministry of Civil Aviation (ANI)

1,314 Indians flown home so far today by 7 civilian flights: Ministry of Civil Aviation

Under #OperationGanga to rescue Indian citizens, 1314 Indians have been airlifted today by 7 spl civilian flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. With this, more than 17,400 Indians have been brought back since the spl flights began on 22nd Feb: Ministry of Civil Aviation (ANI)

Ukraine has not complied with all agreement allowing humanitarian corridors: Russian govt

Russia-Ukraine talks to begin at 5:30 PM IST: Belarus media

600 Indian citizens still stranded in Sumy: V Muralidharan

Explained | Why Russia is centred on capturing Mariupol

After three ceasefires by the Russian army and failed evacuation efforts—with shelling during ceasefires cited as the reason for failures—Russia continues to be determined to seize Mariupol.

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PM Modi stresses importance of getting Indian students out of Sumy at the earliest to Putin

Prime Minister Modi stressed the importance of safe evacuation of Indian citizens from Sumy at the earliest. President Putin assured Prime Minister Modi of all possible cooperation in their safe evacuation: GoI sources (ANI)

PM speaks to Putin over phone call, urges him to hold direct talks with Ukraine

PM Modi spoke on the phone to Russian President Putin. The phone call lasted for about 50 min. They discussed the evolving situation in Ukraine. President Putin briefed PM Modi on the status of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian teams: GoI Sources(ANI)

A Russian delegation has departed for Belarus where it will meet Ukrainian negotiators for the third round of talks about ending hostilities, the Sputnik Belarus news outlet reported.

Ukraine denounces and denies Russia's claims of genocide in the strongest terms: Ukraine agent in ICJ

Kyiv rejects Moscow-proposed corridors to Belarus, Russia: Govt

Russia is absent here because it is fightinng in a battlefield: Ukraine representative at ICJ

Ukraine is not committing genocides, it is Russia and its government that is committing genocides: Ukraine representative at ICJ

Russia's president Putin lies and Ukranians die: Ukraine representative at ICJ

Women living in tunnels for safety, children are being born in these tunnels, hospitals are being destroyed: Ukraine representative at ICJ

Russian assault has caused 1.5 million Ukranians to flee the country, many more internally displaced: Ukraine's agent at ICJ

Russia, Ukraine to square off at ICJ: Hearing begins

International Court of justice begins hearing Ukraine case asking to issue an emergency ruling requiring Russia to stop its invasion

Ukraine will square off with Russia at the UN's top court on Monday, with Kyiv asking judges in The Hague to order Moscow to immediately halt its invasion.

Kyiv lodged an urgent case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on February 27, saying that Russia had illegally justified its war by falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Ukraine alleges that it is Russia that is planning "acts of genocide" in the offensive launched by President Vladimir Putin on February 24.

Ukraine crisis: 448 Karnataka Students evacuated under Operation Ganga, 236 still stranded

As Ukraine officials described a “catastrophic” situation during failed evacuation efforts in Kyiv's suburbs, officials from both sides also planned a third round of talks Monday.

Ukraine said on Monday a Russian proposal on humanitarian corridors was "completely immoral" after Moscow suggested it would allow people to flee Ukrainian cities provided they exited to Belarus or Russia.

A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian citizens should be allowed to leave their homes through Ukrainian territory, and accused Russia of deliberately hampering previous evacuation attempts.

"This is a completely immoral story. People's suffering is used to create the desired television picture," the spokesman said in a written message. "These are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine."

The European Union has asked the U.N. nuclear watchdog to safeguard Ukraine's nuclear plants, two of which are now under Russian control, and mobilise international help in case of an emergency, according to a letter seen by Reuters

Russian forces have seized Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe' biggest, and the spent-fuel and radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl, next to the now defunct power plant where the world's worst nuclear accident happened in 1986.

Russia's rouble tumbled to a fresh record low in thin offshore trade with local markets closed for trading until at least Wednesday.

The rouble weakened to 130.9338 to the dollar after closing at 121.037 on Friday, according to Refinitiv data. On the EBS trading platform, the rouble softened to as low as 140.00 against the dollar.

Bid/offer spreads were between 10 and 15 cents, pointing to an increasingly illiquid market.

Evacuation of Indians from Sumy to begin soon: Reports

Grateful for the support to the Ukrainian people: Zelenskyy after call with PM Modi

China's Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine "as soon as possible", Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, as he praised his country's friendship with Russia as "rock solid".

China has refused to condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine or call it an invasion while asking Western countries to respect Russia's "legitimate security concerns."

China's Foreign Minister says Russia Beijing's 'most important strategic partner' amid refusal to condemn Ukraine war

Students return from Kyiv to Mangaluru

Credit: Special Arrangement

Students from Kyiv return to Mangaluru

Clatan Osmand, who had sought shelter in Slovokia on March 2, landed at Mangaluru International Airport on Monday. Clatan had left for Kyiv in Ukraine in December to pursue medicine. Credit: Special Arrangement

Beijing willing to 'carry out necessary mediation' on Ukraine crisis: foreign minister

Congress "gravely concerned", releases statement on Ukraine crisis

The Congress party is alarmed and distressed over the escalation of military conflict in Ukraine. The loss of innocent lives, widespread destruction, mass exodus of people and the aggravated human sufferings is unacceptable.

We remain gravely concerned about the safety of thousands of Indian students and citizens trapped in war zones.

The Congress party earnestly appeals for an immediate end to all hostilities and the creation of geographically defined humanitarian corridors for safe evacuation respected by both sides.

More than 30 people detained at anti-war rallies in Russia

Over 30 people have been detained at anti-war rallies, with many being beaten up.

(NEXTA)

China-Russia friendship still 'rock-solid', says Chinese foreign minister

PM sought continued support from the Ukraine government in ongoing efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals from Sumy

PM Modi spoke to the Ukrainian President. Modi thanked President Zelensky for the help extended by the Ukraine government in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine.

The phone call lasted for about 35 minutes. The two leaders discussed the evolving situation in Ukraine. PM appreciated the continuing direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.

The corridor from Kyiv will lead to Russian ally Belarus, and civilians from Kharkiv will only have a corridor leading to Russia. Corridors from Mariupol and Sumy will lead both to other Ukrainian cities and to Russia.

The corridors will opened at 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) from the capital Kyiv as well as the cities of Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy and are being set up at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron, the ministry said.

According to maps published by the RIA news agency, the corridor from Kyiv will lead to Russian ally Belarus, and civilians from Kharkiv will only have a corridor leading to Russia. Corridors from Mariupol and Sumy will lead both to other Ukrainian cities and to Russia.

Those who want to leave Kyiv will also be able to be airlifted to Russia, the ministry said, adding it would use drones to monitor the evacuation.

Ukraine will ask the United Nations' top court on Monday to issue an emergency ruling requiring Russia to stop its invasion, arguing that Moscow's justification for the attack is based on a faulty interpretation of genocide law: Tolo News citing Reuters

The corridors, which will also be opened from the cities of Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy, are being set up at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron and in view of the current situation in those cities

The Russian military will hold fire and open humanitarian corridors in several Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv at 1000 Moscow time (0700 GMT) on Monday, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's defence ministry as saying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has an unusual new partner in his campaign to defend his country — Global Citizen, the international nonprofit fighting extreme poverty.

Zelenskyy and Global Citizen on Sunday released the first of what they hope will be daily calls to action for the nonprofit's millions of members, as well as its governmental, corporate and philanthropic partners.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone today

Rupee hits lifetime low, bond yields spike tracking oil

The Indian rupee hit a lifetime low in opening deals on Monday as a sharp surge in global crude oil prices threatened to push up imported inflation and widen the country's trade and current account deficits.

The partially convertible rupee was trading at 76.92/93 per dollar, after touching 76.96, its weakest level ever. It had closed at 76.16 on Friday.

The benchmark 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.86%, up 5 basis points on the day.

Oil prices soared more than 6%, touching their highest since 2008 on Monday after the United States and European allies mull a Russian oil import ban while delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled tight supply fears.

Sensex tanks 1,453.51 points to 52,880.30 in opening trade; Nifty plunges over 400 points to 15,831.85

Russia scrambles to contain Ukraine sanctions fallout: At ministries and banks, there is growing concern over economic fallout that has seen giant international companies flee Russia and questions raised over the health of the banking sector

Oil shock risks becoming RBI's nightmare

The surge in edible and crude oil prices are bound to feed into headline inflation, which has already breached the upper tolerance limit of the Reserve Bank of India’s 2 per cent-6 per cent target range. While the RBI has blamed supply side shocks for the spike, higher prices will nevertheless eat into disposable incomes of consumers, the backbone of the economy that has yet to fully start spending after the pandemic.

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DH Toon | Indian students 'Atmanirbhared' in Ukraine

ICJ will hold public hearings in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine vs Russia) on March 7th and 8th

Ukrainian refugee, 11, crosses Slovak border alone

An 11-year-old boy from Ukraine has crossed the border into Slovakia with just a plastic bag, a passport and a telephone number written on his hand, Slovak police said Sunday. "He came all alone from Zaporizhzhia because his parents had to stay in Ukraine," police spokeswoman Denisa Bardyova told AFP.

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TikTok suspends posting of new videos from Russia

Social media giant TikTok announced Sunday it is suspending the posting of all video content from Russia in order to keep its employees safe and comply with the country's new "fake news" regulations.

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Netflix joins western companies in suspending services in Russia

Russian forces restrict access to external communication, block access to mobile networks and internet at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: IAEA

Harjot Singh, an Indian national who sustained multiple bullet injuries in Kyiv, Ukraine, reaches Poland border

PM Modi to speak to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy today

Ukrainian forces were also defending Odesa, Ukraine's largest port city, from Russian ships, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. Russian troops took control of the southern port city of Kherson last week.

Russia keeps up attack in Mariupol

Civilians trying to leave Kyiv and the nearby town of Irpin also came under fire from Russian forces. Mortar shells fired at a battered bridge used by people fleeing the fighting killed a mother and her two children, as well as a family friend helping them leave.

Mariupol, across the country from Kyiv, is a key objective in the Russians’ effort to cut Ukraine off from the Sea of Azov and create a land bridge to Crimea. Residents are facing increasingly dire conditions in the city, which has been deprived of food, heat and electricity for days as Russian forces shell the town.

Although Russia had announced a temporary pause in fighting in some combat zones to allow civilians to flee, its continued shelling around evacuation paths made the notion of a cease-fire all but meaningless. And away from the front lines, the Russians were continuing to target civilian areas.

Unable to assure global peace, the UN Security Council is consigned to a watchdog role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with little else to do but set more urgent sessions this week on the crisis.

After five meetings since Russia's invasion of its eastern European neighbor on February 24, the 15-member council will gather again on Monday for two sessions on humanitarian aid -- one public and one behind closed doors.

In less than a week, the United States and NATO have pushed more than 17,000 antitank weapons, including Javelin missiles, over the borders of Poland and Romania, unloading them from giant military cargo planes so they can make the trip by land to Kyiv, t

So far, Russian forces have been so preoccupied in other parts of the country that they have not targeted the arms supply lines, but few think that can last.

Oil prices soared and shares sank in hectic trading on Monday as the risk of a U.S. and European ban on Russian product and delays in Iranian talks triggered what was shaping up as a major stagflationary shock for world markets.

The euro extended its slide, hitting parity against the safe haven Swiss franc, and commodities of all stripes were on the rise as the Russian-Ukraine conflict showed no sign of cooling.

What happened so far: 10 points

1. Fighting stopped about 200,000 people from evacuating the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol for a second day in a row on Sunday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered. The ceasefire plan collapsed, as it had on Saturday, with each side blaming the other. "They're destroying us," Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko told Reuters in a video call, describing the city's plight before the latest evacuation effort failed. "They will not even give us an opportunity to count the wounded and the killed because the shelling does not stop."

2. Most people trapped in the port city are sleeping underground to escape more than six days of near-constant shelling by encircling Russian forces that has cut off food, water, power and heating supplies, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

3. In a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Putin said he was ready for dialogue to end the fighting but that any attempt to draw out talks would fail, according to the Kremlin.

4. The civilian death toll from hostilities across Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion on Feb. 24 stood at 364, including more than 20 children, the United Nations said on Sunday, adding that hundreds more were injured.

5. The civilian death toll from hostilities across Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion on Feb. 24 stood at 364, including more than 20 children, the United Nations said on Sunday, adding that hundreds more were injured.

6. The invasion has drawn widespread condemnation around the world, sent more than 1.5 million Ukrainians fleeing from the country, and triggered sweeping Western sanctions against Russia aimed at crippling its economy.

7. The Biden administration said on Sunday it was exploring banning imports of Russian oil, despite concerns the move would drive prices even higher.

8. "War is madness, please stop," Pope Francis said in his weekly address to crowds in St Peter's Square, adding "rivers of blood and tears" were flowing in Ukraine's war.

9.

On Sunday, more companies cut ties with Russia: American Express Co, Netflix Inc., accounting giants KPMG and PwC, and video sharing app TikTok.

But Chinese firms so far are staying put.

10. Kyiv renewed its appeal to the West to toughen sanctions and also requested more weapons, including Russian-made planes. Putin says he wants a "demilitarised", "denazified" and neutral Ukraine, and on Saturday likened Western sanctions "to a declaration of war".

Gold rose to more than $2,000 in Asian trade on Monday morning as investors fled to the safe-haven commodity over fears about the impact of the Ukraine war on the global economy.

The precious metal hit a peak of $2,000.86 an ounce, its highest level since September 2020.

Brent oil prices leapt to almost $140 per barrel on Sunday, the highest it has been since 2008, as traders fretted over the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Special flight carrying 160 Indian students evacuated from Ukraine reaches Delhi

More than 1.5 million people flee Ukraine war

More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, according to the latest UN data on Sunday.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had recorded 1,534,792 refugees on its dedicated website by 1335 GMT, almost 166,000 more than the previous count on Saturday. (AFP)