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Singapore has outlined details of the financial measures it will impose on Russia, after it announced on Monday that it would take the rare step of imposing sanctions.
In a statement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:
We will impose financial measures targeted at designated Russian banks, entities and activities in Russia, and fund-raising activities benefiting the Russian government. Digital payment token service providers are specifically prohibited from facilitating transactions that could help to circumvent these financial measures. These measures apply to all financial institutions in Singapore, including banks, finance companies, insurers, capital markets intermediaries, securities exchanges and payment service providers.
The statement describes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “a gross violation of international law”. It is the first country in Southeast Asia to impose sanctions.
Full details of the measures are on the ministry website.
Updated
The Washington Post’s media reporter says the paper will no longer include staff names on stories produced by reporters in Russia, to protect their safety.
Some internal news: In response to Putin’s threats against reporters in Russia, the @washingtonpost will remove bylines and datelines from stories produced by our journalists in Russia. Goal is to ensure staff’s safety.
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) March 5, 2022
Been around a while. Never seen anything like this.
This is in response to a new law imposed in Russia that threatens jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading “fake news” about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
The law has prompted several global news organisations to suspend reporting in the country, including the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Company and Bloomberg News. CNN and CBS News said they would stop broadcasting in Russia.
The port city Mariupol has been “blockaded” by Russian forces, according to its mayor, AFP reports.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko has perviously warned the city has no water, heat or electricity and that supplies of food are running out. He has asked for military assistance and for a humanitarian corridor to allow the safe evacuation of some of the city’s 400,000 residents.
If Russia were to control the city, this would help it to build a land corridor between Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, and Russian-backed regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
In a message posted to the mayor’s Telegram account, he said:
For now, we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade...
Our priority is the establishment of a ceasefire so that we can restore vital infrastructure and set up a humanitarian corridor to bring food and medicine into the city.
Updated
Here are images from across Ukraine’s towns and cities, taken on Friday.
More than 1.2 million people have fled from Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February. The UN Refugee Agency believes a similar number are displaced but remain within the country’s borders.
Updated
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN has said that Russian forces are now “20 miles and closing from Ukraine’s second largest nuclear facility”, warning that imminent danger continues.
.@USAmbUN Linda Thomas-Greenfield: "Mr. Putin must stop this madness, and he must stop it now. Cooler heads must prevail. Russian forces are now 20 miles and closing from Ukraine's second-largest nuclear facility. So, this imminent danger continues." pic.twitter.com/iB9ycxGgdk
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 4, 2022
“We narrowly avoided a disaster last night,” she said, referring to Russia’s recent attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, about 140 miles (225 km) west of Mariupol.
“The international community must be unanimous in demanding Russia’s forces stop their dangerous assaul,” she said.
Updated
Samsung has become the latest company to suspend shipments to Russia, Bloomberg reports.
In a statement, the company said: “Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted and our priority is to ensure the safety of all our employees and their families.” The company is also donating $6 million, including $1 million in consumer electronics products, to humanitarian efforts in the region, according to Bloomberg.
Microsoft has also suspended all sales and services to Russia, while Apple has suspended sales of iPhones, and restricted other services.
A Sky News crew has been evacuated back to the UK from Ukraine after journalists were shot during an ambush by a suspected Russian “death squad”.
The team of five were attacked while out in a car, after unsuccessfully trying to visit the town of Bucha near Kyiv.
Chief correspondent with Sky News, Stuart Ramsay, along with camera operator Richie Mockler were shot – Ramsay in the lower back while Mockler took two rounds in his body armour.
Hello, Rebecca Ratcliffe here in Bangkok, taking over from my colleague Dani.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the US Senate on Saturday during a Zoom call that is scheduled for 9.30am Eastern Time. The call has been requested by Zelenskiy.
Here is AFP’s report
As the war in Ukraine intensifies, some US lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take a tougher stance against Russia, such as by suspending imports of its oil.
The White House has ruled this out so far, fearing it might cause rising oil prices to go up even more and hurt US consumers stung by record inflation.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called for “somebody in Russia” to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky himself is strongly urging NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine to halt bombing raids but the Biden administration has ruled this out, fearing it might lead to an all-out war between the West and Russia, although some US lawmakers support the creation of such a zone.
Updated
Zelenskiy says Nato has given “green light for further bombing of Ukraine" by ruling out no-fly zone
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has critisized Nato for refusing to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying the decision has given “the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian towns and villages”.
“All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity,” the Ukrainian president said in an emotional nighttime address.
Nato warned on Friday that imposing a no-fly zone could provoke full-fledged war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia. “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,” Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato chief, 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.”
Zelenskiy said Nato countries have created a narrative that a no-fly zone would provoke Russia’s aggression against Nato. “This is the self-hypnosis of those who are weak, insecure inside, despite the fact they possess weapons many times stronger than we have,” he said.
He also praised Ukrainians for their resistance against Russia’s invasion: “We are warriors of light,” he said. “The history of Europe will remember this forever.”
Updated
The war in Ukraine is shaking markets, slowing economic growth and sending European stocks sinking.
From Reuters:
Data showing a vibrant U.S. jobs market strengthened the dollar and spurred commodity prices higher, but the war in Ukraine overshadowed the blowout report as the euro plunged on the worsening outlook for slower European economic growth.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 3.8% as job growth surged in February, a bright spot for an economy that faces mounting headwinds from rising inflation, tighter monetary policy by the Federal Reserve and geopolitical tensions.
The euro tumbled below $1.10 for the first time in almost two years and hit a fresh seven-year low against the safe-haven Swiss franc as Russian forces seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and fighting raged elsewhere in Ukraine.
European stocks sank to near one-year lows, with the pan-regional STOXX 600 index sliding 3.56% to increase losses for the week to 7% - its worst weekly decline since the depths of a pandemic-fueled sell-off in March 2020.
The Metropolitan police’s war crimes team is assisting in the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The Met is tasked with carrying out “any UK enquiries into war crimes and core international crimes”, it said Friday, and is “appealing for anyone in the UK who may have direct evidence of war crimes”.
“Officers are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may themselves have witnessed or been the victim of any war crimes in Ukraine at any time from 21 November 2013 onwards,” the Met said.
Investigators are seeking out people who have a direct link to relevant information, rather than the general public submitting social media posts or media reports.
“This could be in the form of direct messages, images or videos that friends or relatives here in the UK have been sent by those in Ukraine. Or it could be somebody who was previously in Ukraine and who may have witnessed or even been a victim of a war crime and has since travelled to the UK,” said Richard Smith, the head of the Met’s counter terrorism command.
Several leading luxury brands, including Hermes, the Cartier owner Richemont, LVMH, Kering and Chanel, announced they will temporarily close stores and halt business operations in Russia.
“Given our increasing concerns about the current situation, the growing uncertainty and the complexity to operate, Chanel decided to temporarily pause its business in Russia,” the French luxury fashion house said in a post on LinkedIn.
More from Reuters:
Luxury giant LVMH, which owns such brands as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, TAG Heuer and Bulgari among others, will close its 124 boutiques in Russia from Sunday but will continue to pay the salaries for its 3,500 employees in the country, a spokesperson told Reuters.
French multinational Kering, whose brands include brands as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Boucheron among others, has two shops and 180 employees, which the company will continue to support.
While affluent Russians are keen consumers of luxury goods, analysts say the proportion of luxury sales generated from Russian nationals is small compared to the industry’s main growth engines, China and the United States.
Richemont, which also owns Dunhill, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Piaget, and Van Cleef & Arpels among other brands, has around a dozen directly operated stores, mostly in Moscow. It said in a statement it had suspended commercial activities in Russia on March 3 after stopping Ukraine operations on Feb. 24, the day Russia launched its invasion.
Senior US military leaders haven’t spoken with their Russian counterparts since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, officials said Friday.
From Reuters:
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley had not spoken with their counterparts.
Prior to Russia’s invasion, both Austin and Milley had spoken with their counterparts.
Updated
A 43-year-old father and resident of Kyiv spoke to the Guardian about how life has changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began a week ago.
My son’s a very brave boy. He’s trying not to cry. He’s trying to help. But every time the siren sounds from outside the window, and we have to run downstairs to the shelter again, I can see he’s scared. But he doesn’t panic.
That day I was standing with a neighbour outside in our yard. Suddenly we heard gunshots from automatic rifles close by. Later I read the news via Telegram that Russian troops were trying to infiltrate the city. It said they were liquidated.
At the moment you hear gunfire, you’re not afraid – you don’t have time to be afraid, you just have to get your son to safety in the car park. The shock comes a little later, when you realise you could have been killed.
More of Mike’s first-person account from Jem Bartholomew:
Updated
CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia. A spokesperson for the news channel said on Friday it would cease broadcasting “while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward,” Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News said it would temporarily suspend the work of its journalists inside Russia in response to a new law passed by Putin the outlet says “criminalises independent reporting in the country”.
“We have with great regret decided to temporarily suspend our news gathering inside Russia,” John Micklethwait, the Bloomberg editor-in-chief, said. “The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country.”
The BBC announced earlier today it would temporarily halt its news operation in Russia due to the new law, as has the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Updated
Journalists with Sky News were violently ambushed in Ukraine on Monday as they attempted to return to Kyiv. Harrowing footage published by the outlet on Friday shows an explosion and then a barrage of bullets hitting the team’s vehicle before they flee into a nearby warehouse.
Bullets cascaded through the whole of the car, tracers, bullet flashes, windscreen glass, plastic seats, the steering wheel, and dashboard had disintegrated. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were later told by the Ukrainians that we were being ambushed by a saboteur Russian reconnaissance squad. It was professional, the rounds kept smashing into the car - they didn’t miss ... We knew we had to get out to survive, but the incoming fire was intense.
One journalist took two rounds to his body armour, and another was wounded. The team has since returned to the UK.
Read correspondent Stuart Ramsay’s full account here
Updated
Canada’s Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) said today that they will be temporarily suspending reporting from Russia, citing a new law passed by Putin today where those intentionally spreading “fake” news could face jail time.
Here’s the statement published by CBC on the matter:
CBC/Radio-Canada is very concerned about new legislation passed in Russia, which appears to criminalize independent reporting on the current situation in Ukraine and Russia.
In light of this situation and out of concern for the risk to our journalists and staff in Russia, we have temporarily suspended our reporting from the ground in Russia while we get clarity on this legislation.
We join other media in standing up for a free press and unimpeded access to accurate, independent journalism in Ukraine and Russia.
Our journalists have been doing vital work to bring all elements of this story to Canadians and people around the world. We are proud of their professionalism and determination and we will continue to support their work.
Updated
Italian police have seized a yacht owned by Alexey Mordashov, once the richest man in Russia before being blacklisted by the European Union, said a source familiar with the matter to Reuters.
ROME, March 4 (Reuters) - Italian police have seized a yacht owned by Alexey Mordashov, the richest man in Russia before being blacklisted this week by the European Union following Moscow's attack on Ukraine, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) March 4, 2022
The 215ft yacht, “Lady M,” was sequestered in the northern Italian port of Imperia, confirmed the source.
A second yacht owned by billionaire Gennady Timchenko, who also has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, is being blocked in Imperia and will be impounded shortly, the source added.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III posted a statement to Twitter summarizing his recent talks with Polish defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak about Russia’s war on Ukraine:
I spoke today with Polish Defense Minister [Mariusz Błaszczak] on our collective efforts to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense and to support Ukraine. I commend Poland’s extraordinary efforts, along with those of other Allies and partners, to help the Ukrainian people. #WeAreNATO
I spoke today with Polish Defense Minister @mblaszczak on our collective efforts to strengthen @NATO’s deterrence and defense and to support Ukraine. I commend Poland’s extraordinary efforts, along with those of other Allies and partners, to help the Ukrainian people. #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/JEf8Sa7DeG
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) March 4, 2022
Russia is not cooperating on proposed humanitarian corridors in Kherson, says Ukrainian officials, reports the Washington Post’s David Stern, Adela Suliman, and Adam Taylor:
Local officials in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson said Friday that Russia is not living up to its side of the bargain on proposed “humanitarian corridors,” even as supplies of food and other necessities begin to dwindle in the region.
Leaders from Ukraine and Russia announced Thursday they had agreed to temporary cease-fires to support “humanitarian corridors” for civilians to be evacuated and so food and medicine could be delivered. But local Ukrainian officials in the Kherson region say that the Russian military is not working with them and is instead pushing a plan to distribute its own aid unilaterally.
Regional governor Gennady Laguta wrote on Facebook on Friday that the “occupiers” had not given the go-ahead to send humanitarian aid to the Kherson region through the proposed corridor. Laguta said that Ukrainian authorities had readied 19 trucks, but they were not yet being allowed to go in. The Russians “say that they will provide humanitarian aid themselves,” Laguta wrote.
In his own message to Facebook, Kherson Mayor Ihor Kolykhaev said that the agreement was not helping the city. “Despite yesterday’s agreements at the highest level, in practice,” Kolykhaev wrote, “all this is not yet working.”
“But, judging by everything, ‘good liberators’ are preparing to bring their ‘rescue’ to Kherson. First they brought the situation to a critical point, and then heroically they will save us,” Kolykhaev wrote, referring to Russia.
Read the full article here (paywall).
British prime minister Boris Johnson said in an interview today that he saw a “close analogy” between Russian president Vladimir Putin and late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who was charged with war crimes, reports Agence France-Presse.
Here are Johnson’s full comments from an interview he did with El País:
[Interview question]: You said in the House of Commons that Putin is a war criminal. Should the West aspire to put this war criminal in front of an International court, like Milosevic or the Nuremberg trial?
[Johnson’s answer] What I certainly believe is that there is a close analogy between Putin’s behavior and the last years of Slobodan Milosevic. It’s very interesting that both leaders had been in power for a long time, both increasingly autocratic, both seeking to shore up their domestic position, and found a great nationalist cause. Slobodan Milosevic identified the birthplace of Serbian nationalism, indeed the Serbian nation, in Kosovo Poljie, and he inspired his people with this misbegotten idea that it needed to be rescued and liberated. There’s a very close sort of analogy between that catastrophic mistake, and what the president of Russia has been saying about Kyiv and the origins of Russian religion and culture and civilization and his objectives in Ukraine. When it comes to the International Criminal Court, that’s a matter for them. There would have to be the gathering of evidence. If there is evidence of the use of illegal munitions, cluster bombs, barrel weapons, this clearly will have to be brought to the Netherlands.
Read the full interview here.
Updated
Poland has arrested a Spanish journalist on suspicion of being a Russian spy who was planning to “go to Ukraine in order to continue his activity,” Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Friday.
The suspect, identified as an “agent of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU)”, is currently detained in Przemysl - near Poland’s border with Ukraine on Sunday night, ABW said in a statement.
The note released by the Police said he was of Russian origin.
ABW said the man carried out operations to benefit Russia and travelled in Europe and elsewhere under the cover of being a journalist.
His lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, told Reuters he had not yet been able to contact his client. He tweeted earlier that his client had been charged with espionage and was being held in Rzeszow prison.
Spain’s foreign ministry said it had been informed by Polish authorities of the charges but could not provide any details. It said it would offer consular assistance.
“Before his detention, he was planning to go to Ukraine in order to continue his activity,” said Spain’s foreign ministry.
More on Russia’s ongoing online censorship: following a ban on Twitter in Russia, Youtube also appears to be blocked throughout the country.
From NEXTA news:
⚡️⚡️⚡️According to globalcheck, YouTube is being blocked in #Russia pic.twitter.com/3nCNOI7KLT
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 4, 2022
Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor has restricted access to Twitter, confirmed Tass news agency today.
Experts are weighing in on the recent ban that is sending the country into almost complete online isolation as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues.
From CNN’s Senior Global Affairs analyst Bianna Golodryga:
And there goes Twitter in Russia. The country has been disconnected from the world. In one week a nation of 145m- hermetically sealed. With barely any objection from Putin’s Duma. They approved his “special operation” in Ukraine and his massive repression and censorship at home.
And there goes Twitter in Russia. The country has been disconnected from the world. In one week a nation of 145m- hermetically sealed. With barely any objection from Putin’s Duma. They approved his “special operation” in Ukraine and his massive repression and censorship at home. https://t.co/d8nuYUuJj4
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) March 4, 2022
From ABC foreign correspondant James Longman:
I’m still able to access Facebook and Twitter in Russia. It may take time for code to trickle through, I don’t know. But for now full access. Announcing a ban on something is one thing, making sure it happens is another.
I’m still able to access Facebook and Twitter in Russia. It may take time for code to trickle through, I don’t know. But for now full access. Announcing a ban on something is one thing, making sure it happens is another.
— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) March 4, 2022
Earlier today, Russia also blocked Facebook across the country, another example of online censorship that was met with stark criticism from Western countries.
“We are deeply concerned about this and concerned about the threat on freedom of speech in the country,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
(Reuters) - Russia's decision to block Facebook is part of a broader effort to choke off information to its citizens, the White House said
— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 4, 2022
"We are deeply concerned about this and concerned about the threat on freedom of speech in the country," spokesperson Jen Psaki said
Russia bans Twitter
This just in: Russia has banned Twitter throughout the country, according to Interfax news agency.
This story is developing- more details to come.
Putin signed a bill into law today that introduces jail terms of up to 15 years for people publishing “fake news” about the Russian army as Russia moves forward with its invasion of Ukraine, reports Agence France-Presse.
The bill, which was adopted by lawmakers earlier on Friday, sets out jail terms of varying lengths and fines against people who publish “knowingly false information” about the military, with harsher penalties to hit when dissemination is deemed to have serious consequences.
Putin also signed a bill that would allow fines or jail terms of up to three years for calling for sanctions against Russia with Moscow facing harsh economic penalties from Western capitals over the invasion.
The past year has seen an unprecedented crackdown on independent and critical voices in Russia that only intensified after the start of the invasion.
Russia’s media watchdog said Friday it had restricted access to the BBC and other independent media websites and blocked social media giant Facebook.
Two news outlets said they will stop reporting on Ukraine to protect their journalists, while the BBC announced a halt of its operations in Russia.
Russian media have been instructed to only publish information provided by official sources, which describe the invasion as a military operation.
State-controlled broadcasters have meanwhile reinforced government narratives about nationalism in Ukraine and Moscow’s claim that Ukrainian soldiers are using civilians as human shields.
The US is currently weighing options if it decides to cut consumption of Russian energy, said the White House.
From Reuters:
The Biden administration is looking at options if it were to decide to cut U.S. consumption of Russian energy, White House economic adviser Cecilia Rouse said on Friday, adding that the United States does not import much Russian oil.
“What’s really most important is that we maintain (a) steady supply of global energy,” Rouse told reporters at a White House news briefing, adding that the administration was “considering a range of options that we could take right now” if needed.
Summary
It is 9:20 pm in Ukraine. Here’s where we stand now:
- Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, was seized by Russian forces on Friday, after an attack that started a fire close to one of its six reactors. No release of radiation was reported, but Ukrainian officials said workers had not been able to check all the safety infrastructure in the wake of the attack.
- An emergency of the UN security council was summoned following the attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the world narrowly averted a “nuclear catastrophe” and condemned Russia’s actions as “reckless” and “dangerous”.
- Seven people were killed, including two children, after a Russian air strike hit a rural residential area in the Kyiv region on Friday, Ukrainian police said. Police said the strike hit the village of Markhalivka, around 6 miles from the southwestern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.
- The Ukrainian city of Mariupol has no water, heat or electricity and is running out of food after coming under attack by Russian forces for the past five days, its mayor said in a televised appeal. He called for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the south-eastern port city.
- Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg warned the days to come are “likely to be worse”, calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “the worst military aggression in Europe for decades”. But he stressed Nato was a “defensive alliance” and not seeking a war with Russia.
- Nato foreign ministers discussed a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine but agreed that Nato planes should not operate over Ukrainian airspace, Stoltenberg said. He also said Nato had evidence Russia was using cluster bombs.
- Russia’s parliament passed a law imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” information about the armed forces. Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper said it will remove material on Russia’s military actions in Ukraine from its website.
- The BBC is temporarily suspending the work of all its journalists and staff in Russia. BBC director general Tim Davie said the new legislation appeared to “criminalise the process of independent journalism”.
- Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor said it had decided to block access to the Facebook network in Russia. It added that there had been 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media by Facebook since October 2020.
- More than 1.2m people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February, the UN said, including about half a million children.
- The UN human rights council overwhelmingly voted to create a top-level investigation into violations committed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with 32 members of the 47-seat council in favour and only Russia and Eritrea voting against.
Updated
UK foreign secretary Liz Truss posted a statement to Twitter following an announcement today that the UK will be bolstering sanctions against Russia.
From foreign secretary Liz Truss:
We have shown Putin that his invasion has consequences. In addition to one of the world’s biggest sanctions packages against Russia, we are ratcheting up pressure by introducing emergency legislation to go faster and harder on Putin’s enablers.
They will have nowhere to hide.
We have shown Putin that his invasion has consequences. In addition to one of the world’s biggest sanctions packages against Russia, we are ratcheting up pressure by introducing emergency legislation to go faster and harder on Putin’s enablers.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) March 4, 2022
They will have nowhere to hide.
Compared to other countries and the EU, the UK has sanctioned the second-lowest number of entities since the Russian invasion, according to a visual by Bloomberg:
Comparing the #RussiaSanctions (from Bloomberg) pic.twitter.com/qmCtZ2nUr8
— Dave Keating (@DaveKeating) March 4, 2022
The UK is “bolstering” its package of sanctions against the Kremlin with “new powers in our arsenal to go further and faster”, Boris Johnson said.
The UK prime minister said the changes will “ramp up the pressure on those criminal elites trying to launder money on UK soil”, ensuring they have “nowhere to hide”, PA news agency reports.
The amendments to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill will “help streamline the current legislation so we can respond even more swiftly and effectively to the current crisis in the way we sanction individuals”, the Foreign Office said.
The FCDO said the provisions will allow the UK to align more rapidly with the individual designations imposed by allies such as the US, Canada and the EU.
The changes also include shortening the length of time foreign owners of UK property will be given to declare their true identity under a new register of overseas entities, from 18 months to six months.
Criminal penalties for non-compliance are set to increase from fines of up to 500 per day to up to 2,500 per day under a further amendment.
About 100 people could still be trapped under rubble after a missile attack hit a large apartment block in Borodyanka, a small town 60km north-west of Kyiv, Ukraine’s state emergency service said.
A spokesperson for the service told CNN that “about 100 people may be trapped under the rubble” in Borodyanka after the attack on Thursday but “it is impossible to give a more precise figure at the moment.”
Rescuers do not have access to these people due to the constant shelling. We are ready to evacuate people as soon as there is an agreement on a ‘green corridor.
Updated
Thousands of people living in the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine are unable to evacuate because of ongoing shelling by Russian forces, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations said.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Russia of lying about its takeover of the country’s biggest nuclear power plant.
Russia’s defence ministry has blamed the overnight attack at the site of the Zaporizhzhia plant on Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a “monstrous provocation”. Its account has directly contradicted Ukraine’s version of events.
Ukraine has said Russian forces attacked the plant in the early hours of Friday, setting an adjacent five-storey training facility on fire.
G7 foreign ministers issued a joint statement saying Russia would face further “severe sanctions” for its invasion of Ukraine, Daniel Boffey writes.
We will continue to impose further severe sanctions in response to Russian aggression, enabled by the Lukashenko regime in Belarus.
We urge Russia to stop its attacks especially in the direct vicinity of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
Speaking in Brussels following a meeting of western foreign ministers, Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said they had been given an update via videolink by Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.
They are shelling residential housing, schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructures,
Borrell told reporters:
It looks like they want to destroy Ukraine.
Updated
Russia blocks Facebook
Russia’s state regulator Roskomnadzor said it had decided to block access to the Facebook network in Russia.
❗️ Роскомнадзор принял решение о блокировке доступа к сети Facebook в России
— РИА Новости (@rianru) March 4, 2022
Russian state-owned news agency Ria said the country’s media watchdog had decided to block access to the social media platform.
It added that there had been 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media by Facebook since October 2020
Updated
International students trapped in a Ukrainian town near the Russian border have made desperate appeals for evacuation, as the number thought to be stranded in Sumy has risen to between 1,200 and 1,500, Lisa O’Carroll and Emmanuel Akinwotu report.
One student interviewed by Indian TV on Friday begged for immediate help, saying they were running out of food and water.
Please take some immediate action or else we will die for sure.
Earlier this week, it emerged that 500 foreign students were stuck in the city, including almost 400 Nigerians, three Irish students and pupils from Rwanda, Lebanon and Tanzania.
Indian media are reporting that there are between 700 and 1,000 more. Aashik Hussain Sarkar, an Indian medical student, said they witnessed a massive bomb in Friday:
Please evacuate us immediately. More than 1,000 Indians are waiting.
One student told the Indian network NDTV they had been waiting on the street for buses to take them to the border when a loud explosion occurred and they rushed to the bunker under their student apartment block. Sumy was still under Ukrainian control, according to the students.
A student said:
Right now there is no electricity. There is shortage of water. When we heard that bombardment sound, we just took our passport and we ran into the bunkers. We were really so scared. This time the noise was really really extreme.
We were waiting for a military pass to the border for one-and-a-half hours and at this last moment we heard this noise and we were shifted in here. Now the current situation is the Ukrainian government is now allowing us to travel to the border.
Euphemism of the day award goes to China's ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun: "The Ukrainian crisis is undergoing complex changes."
— Julian Borger (@julianborger) March 4, 2022
World 'narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night', says US envoy to UN
The world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe overnight when a fire broke out during a Russian seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the US ambassador to the United Nations said.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia’s actions were “reckless” and “dangerous”.
By the grace of God, the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night. We all waited to exhale as we watched the horrific situation unfold in real time.
The attack overnight reflected a “dangerous new escalation” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she said, warning that “imminent danger” persisted, citing Russian troops whom she said were 20 miles from Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility.
Russia’s attack last night put Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at grave risk.
It was incredibly reckless and dangerous. And it threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe.
She demanded assurances from Moscow that such an assault will not happen again.
Updated
Microsoft has joined Apple in suspending product sales in Russia, Dan Milmo reports.
The US tech firm provides the software behind more than a billion devices worldwide, as well as providing cloud computing services and being a major player in gaming through the Xbox.
Microsoft said it would “suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services” in Russia, but declined to elaborate on how the policy would be applied.
Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia,
Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a blog post.
On Tuesday Apple said it halted sales of its products in Russia, while social media companies including Facebook owner Meta have blocked Russian state-owned media services across Europe.
Microsoft also said it has also taken action over harmful cyberattacks against the Ukrainian state.
Since the war began, we have acted against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations,
Smith’s blog said.
A video filmed in the Ukrainian town shows crumpled shops, buildings blackened by fire, and a road strewn with debris.
Residents say the barrage of shelling, rocket assaults and airstrikes since the start of the war have damaged or destroyed nearly every building in Volnovakha.
The US state department has reportedly urged US embassies in Europe not to share a tweet posted by the US embassy in Kyiv calling the attack on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant by Russia a war crime, CNN reports.
Earlier today the US embassy in Kyiv said attacking a nuclear power plant is a war crime after Russian forces seized Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant on Friday in heavy fighting in southeastern Ukraine, triggering global alarm.
CNN has reviewed an “urgent” message from the US state department to all US embassies in Europe telling them not to retweet the US Embassy Kyiv’s tweet.
All – do not/not retweet Embassy Kyiv’s tweet on shelling of the facility being a possible war crime.
If you have retweeted it – un-retweet it ASAP.
The message is an indication that the US government may not be endorsing the war crime allegation made by the embassy, the news channel writes.
Seven people were killed, including two children, after a Russian air strike hit a rural residential area in the Kyiv region on Friday, Ukrainian police have said.
Police said the strike hit the village of Markhalivka, around 6 miles from the southwestern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov shared a photo of Markhalivka, where he claimed three children had died as a result of a Russian attack.
Markhalivka village near Kyiv. Destroyed by Russian terrorists. At least 5 people are dead, 3 among them are children.
— Rustem Umerov (@rustem_umerov) March 4, 2022
These are the consequences of not closing the sky over Ukraine.
Today this is a question of emergency. #ClosetheSkyoverUkraine pic.twitter.com/tclPHnf42V
Siguen matando a civiles: 5 (3 chicos) por bombazos rusos que destruyeron 8 casas del pueblo de Markhalivka, distrito de Fastiv, región de #Kiev (info y fotos gob Ucrania 🇺🇦) #UkraineUnderAttaсk pic.twitter.com/aYQrHJcd6A
— Elisabetta Piqué (@bettapique) March 4, 2022
Updated
Here’s more on the impact of new Russian legislation that could jail anyone found to be intentionally spreading “fake” news.
Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper said it will remove material on Russia’s military actions in Ukraine from its website because of censorship.
The newspaper, whose editor Dmitry Muratov was a co-winner of last year’s Nobel peace prize, said it would remove all of its war coverage due to the threat of criminal prosecution its journalists and readers could face.
In a statement, Novaya Gazeta would continue to report on the consequences that Russia is facing, including a deepening economic crisis and the persecution of dissidents.
Military censorship in Russia has quickly moved into a new phase: from the threat of blocking and closing publications (almost fully implemented) it has moved to the threat of criminal prosecution of both journalists and citizens who spread information about military hostilities that is different from the press releases of the Ministry of Defense.
There is no doubt that this threat will be realised.
The newspaper said it could not risk the freedom of its staff but also could not ignore its readers’ desire for it to continue working, even under military censorship. It would therefore remove materials “on this topic” from its website and social networks.
We continue to report on the consequences that Russia is facing: the developing economic crisis, the rapid decline in living standards, problems with access to foreign medicines and technologies, and the persecution of dissidents, including for anti-war statements.
‼️Дорогие друзья
— Новая Газета (@novaya_gazeta) March 4, 2022
Военная цензура в России перешла к угрозе уголовного преследования как журналистов, так и граждан, которые распространяют информацию о боевых действиях, отличную от пресс-релизов Минобороны.
Поэтому мы удаляем материалы на эту тему.
👉 https://t.co/myi4Slcgz7 pic.twitter.com/4QwSTX6Znn
Updated
BBC temporarily suspending its news operation in Russia after new law carries jail threat
The BBC is temporarily suspending the work of all its journalists and staff in Russia after Russian authorities passed new legislation making the spread of “fake” information an offence punishable with fines or jail terms.
On Friday, Russia’s parliament passed a law imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military. They also imposed fines for public calls for sanctions against Russia.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused the west of spreading false information in an attempt to sow discord among the Russin people.
BBC director general Tim Davie said the new legislation appeared to “criminalise the process of independent journalism”.
It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.
Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.
He continued:
The safety of staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs. I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism.
We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services. Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine.
For more detail and reaction to this you can follow our UK live blog:
Updated
Footage shared on social media shows the aftermath of a Russian strike in the city of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv.
A large block of flats is seen with severe structural damage and windows blown out, and people are heard screaming.
Russian forces were driven out of the Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv after attacking it on Friday, regional authorities said.
Some fighting continued around the outskirts of the Black Sea port city, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said.
It comes after the governor said Russian troops had entered Mykolayiv for the first time this morning. “Let’s not get nervous,” he said in a video statement shared online.
Governor of Mykolayv: most of RU machinery destroyed and kicked out of the city. There are some still on the outskirts, but we are cleaning them up. #StandWithUkraine️ pic.twitter.com/ULW07IzSJI
— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) March 4, 2022
The Ukrainian city of Mariupol has no water, heat or electricity and is running out of food after coming under attack by Russian forces for the past five days, its mayor said in a televised appeal.
Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, said called for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the south-eastern port city.
We are simply being destroyed.
Earlier this afternoon, a senior US official told reporters that Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control, though Russian troops are continuing to advance and bombard the city, causing utility outages.
Updated
The US is committed to doing everything needed to stop the war in Ukraine, secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
Blinken praised the EU for “historic” steps it has taken against Russia:
We are faced together with what is President Putin’s war of choice: unprovoked, unjustified, and a war that is having horrific, horrific consequences for real people. For mothers, fathers. For children. We see the images on TV, and it has to stop.
Standing alongside the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Blinken added:
We’re committed to doing everything we can to make it stop. So the coordination between us is vital.
Updated
The Pentagon has established a new hotline with Russia’s ministry of defence to prevent “miscalculation, military incidents and escalation” in the region as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine advances, a US official told Reuters on Thursday.
The US says it has no troops in Ukraine but it and Nato allies in Europe are worried about potential spillover, including accidents, as Russia stages the largest assault on a European state since the second world war.
The US and its allies are also channeling millions of dollars’ worth of weaponry to Ukraine’s armed forces, which are using the arms against Russian troops, despite Moscow’s warnings against foreign interference.
“The Department of the Defence recently established a de-confliction line with the Russian ministry of defence on March 1 for the purposes of preventing miscalculation, military incidents, and escalation,” a senior US defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirming a move first reported by NBC.
Updated
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons gave one of the most political speeches at an Olympics and Paralympics opening ceremony for decades, as he opened the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics saying: “I want – I must – begin with a message of peace as the leader of our organisation. I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now. The 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate.”
Throwing away decades of tradition of only making guarded comments at such events, Parsons continued: “The Olympic Truce for peace during the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a UN resolution. It must be respected and observed, not violated. At the IPC we aspire to a better and more inclusive growth, free from discrimination, free from hate, free from ignorance, and free from conflict.” He finished his speech by almost bellowing the word “Peace”.
In 2014 in Sochi, the Ukrainian Winter Paralympics team had staged a symbolic protest, sending only one athlete to the opening ceremony to represent them as Russian troops invaded the Crimean peninsula. Eight years later, with their country again under attack from Russia, the scene was very different. Maksym Yarovyi carried in his nation’s flag ahead of a full delegation, whose arrival in China had been fraught, while the Russian delegation announced that they would be leaving China rather than filing an immediate legal appeal over their expulsion.
Microsoft said on Friday it was suspending new sales of its products and services in Russia, becoming the latest major Western company to distance itself from Moscow after the country’s invasion
A string of Western companies, including Nike, Apple, H&M and Ikea had already severed relations with Russia as Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 8th day.
In a statement published on Thursday, Ikea said their decisions to suspend operations will “have a direct impact on 15,000 IKEA co-workers” in Russia.
In addition to suspending new sales, Microsoft said it was also stopping many aspects of its business in Russia in compliance with US sanctions.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed in response have led to dire predictions about the Russian economy. The US bank JPMorgan on Thursday forecasted that the country will face a 35% contraction in the second quarter, as the Russian rouble slumped to new record lows against the dollar.
Attack on nuclear plant is a war crime, says US embassy in Ukraine
The US Embassy in Ukraine said that attacking a nuclear power plant is a war crime after Russia seized a Ukrainian nuclear facility, the biggest in Europe.
“It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant. Putin’s shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear plant takes his reign of terror one step further,” US Embassy Kyiv said in its post.
It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant. Putin's shelling of Europe's largest nuclear plant takes his reign of terror one step further. #TheHague #Zaporizhzhia #StandwithUkraine
— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) March 4, 2022
Russian forces seized Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant on Friday in heavy fighting in southeastern Ukraine, triggering global alarm, but a huge blaze in a training building has been extinguished and officials said the facility was now safe.
Russia’s defence ministry spuriously blamed a fire at the plant on a “monstrous attack” by Ukrainian saboteurs and said its forces were in control, Reuters reported.
Updated
The European Union wants Ukraine to become a member state “as soon as possible”, commissioner Maros Sefcovic told journalists on Friday after a ministers’ meeting.
“It’s time for signalling that the Ukrainian people is one of the European peoples and we want them in as soon as possible”, he said, but added that at the moment the bloc needed to focus on short-term measures linked to the war.
“I think what (...) is the most important now is to help Ukraine in the fight”, he added.
The UN human rights office said it had confirmed 331 civilians have been killed and 675 injured in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on 24 February, adding that the real toll was likely much higher.
The toll, up until midnight on Thursday, rose from 249 in its previous report from a day earlier, Reuters reported.
Among the 331 killed were 19 children, the UN said.
Most of the victims were killed by explosive weapons such as shelling from heavy artillery, multi-launch rocket systems and missile and air strikes, according to the rights office, which has monitors in Ukraine.
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at 11:30am ET (4:30pm GMT) in New York, diplomatic sources said.
The emergency meeting has been called in response to the attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by Russian troops.
The session was requested by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, diplomats told AFP, with the United States, France, Norway, Ireland and Albania joining the call for an urgent meeting.
It will include speeches from an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) official and a UN official.
Updated
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appealed to Russians to stage protests over Russian forces’ seizure of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
A building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was set ablaze during intense fighting, triggering fears of a potential nuclear disaster.
More than 1.2m people have fled Ukraine since invasion started, says UN
More than 1.2m people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February, according to figures by the United Nations.
Around half of a million of those who have fled are youngsters, the UN children’s agency UNICEF estimates.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has projected that more than four million Ukrainian refugees may eventually need protection and assistance.
UNCHR communications chief Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams described the rate of the exodus as “phenomenal”.
We know that there are many more on the move. Also there are possibly equal numbers inside the country that are internally displaced.
Updated
Russia is using cluster bombs in Ukraine, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said.
We have seen the use of cluster bombs and we have seen reports of use of other types of weapons which would be in violation of international law.
Updated
Nato foreign ministers agree not to have 'no-fly zone' over Ukraine, says Stoltenberg
Nato foreign ministers discussed a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine but agreed that Nato planes should not operate over Ukrainian airspace, Stoltenberg said.
Establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine could result in the war spreading to more European countries, the Nato secretary general.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels after a meeting with Nato foreign ministers, he said:
We understand the desperation but we also believe that if we did that (establishing a no-fly zone) we would end up with something that could lead to a fully-fledged war in Europe, involving much more countries.
Allies agreed not to have Nato planes operating in Ukrainian airspace or Nato troops on Ukraine’s territory, he said.
At the same time, we have a responsibility as Nato allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering.
Asked about the attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Nato secretary general said:
The reckless actions around the nuclear power plant last night just highlights the dangers of this war.
War is dangerous and to have military operations conflict fighting going around the nuclear power plant adds to the danger.
Updated
Stoltenberg stressed that Nato is not seeking a war with Russia.
Speaking in Brussels, he said Nato is a “defensive” alliance. “Our core task is to keep our 30 nations safe,” he said.
We are not part of this conflict and we have a responsibility to ensure it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine.
That would be even more devastating and more dangerous, with even more human suffering.
Updated
Nato chief warns days to come 'likely to be worse'
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the days to come are “likely to be worse” with Russian forces expected to bring in heavier weaponry and continue their attacks across Ukraine.
Speaking after an extraordinary meeting of Nato foreign ministers, Stoltenberg described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “the worst military aggression in Europe for decades”.
With cities under siege, schools, hospitals, and residential buildings shelled. Reckless actions around a nuclear power plant last night and many civilians killed or wounded.
The days to come are likely to be worse, with more death, more sufferings, and more destruction.
Updated
Ukraine foreign ministry condemns shelling of Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned the shelling of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and called for the international community to force Russia to withdraw its forces from the plant.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the ministry said the Zaporizhzhya NPP and Chernobyl NPP are currently under the control of Russian armed forces.
As a result of the shelling on the territory of the (Zaporizhzhya) nuclear power plant, a fire broke out, killing and injuring several people. The fire has now been extinguished.
It warned that if the cooling of the nuclear fuel within the Zaporizhzhya plant is disturbed, it could cause radioactive damage and have “irreparable consequences for Europe’s environment”.
Thousands of people – including civilians who are currently unable to evacuate the area near the plant due to ongoing shelling and fighting - would be hurt by this.
The ministry added that it was disappointed by the reaction of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and demanded “clear and decisive action” from the UN atomic agency.
The MFA of Ukraine strongly condemns the shelling and seizure of the Zaporizhzhya NPP site in the town of Energodar by the occupying armed forces of the RFhttps://t.co/TLxzAIUzKg pic.twitter.com/pVptubTKbl
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) March 4, 2022
In addition to the six power units at the Zaporizhzhya NPP, there is a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel on site. Any damage to this facility can lead to nuclear radiation release. A nuclear disaster of this scale may exceed all previous accidents at nuclear power plants
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) March 4, 2022
Updated
UN atomic chief: no release of radioactive material detected
No release of radioactive material has been detected at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after a military projectile hit a nearby building on the site, UN atomic chief Rafael Grossi has said.
Two members of security staff were injured when the projectile struck after the Ukrainian authorities reported an overnight battle with Russian troops near Europe’s biggest power plant.
In an update, Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, said the nuclear power plant continued to be operated by its regular staff.
The safety systems of the plant’s six reactors had not been affected and there has been no release of radioactive material. Radiation monitoring systems at the site are fully functional.
The situation “remains very challenging”, Grossi added, and it has not yet been possible to access the whole site to determine if all systems are fully functional.
I’m extremely concerned about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and what happened there during the night.
Firing shells in the area of a nuclear power plant violates the fundamental principle that the physical integrity of nuclear facilities must be maintained and kept safe at all time.
Updated
The UN human rights council has voted overwhelmingly for a resolution condemning alleged rights violations by Russia in Ukraine and setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate them.
Only Eritrea voted with Russia against the resolution brought by Ukraine, while 13 abstained.
NEWS: 🇺🇳 UN Human Rights Council votes to support a Commission of Inquiry in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
— Rita French 🇬🇧 (@RitaFrenchFCDO) March 4, 2022
Russia’s isolation at the United Nations continues. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/Lfe0jfaOKu
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Yevheniia Filipenko, told the council there was “irrefutable evidence of gross and systematic human rights violations as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russia”.
It is our common duty to ensure accountability by mandating the documentation and verification of Russia’s crimes and identification of those responsible.
I welcome the establishment by the #UN Human Rights Council of the International Commission of Inquiry to investigate facts of Russian war crimes against Ukraine. Evidence will be documented and used in international courts. Russian war criminals will be held accountable.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2022
Updated
Updated
Vladimir Putin has warned Russia’s neighbours “not to escalate the situation” by imposing more restrictions on his country.
Speaking at a government meeting broadcast today, the Russian president said:
There are no bad intentions towards our neighbours. I would also advise them not to escalate the situation, not to introduce any restrictions. We fulfil all our obligations and will continue to fulfil them.
Russia did not see “any need” to “aggravate or worsen” relations with other countries, he continued.
All our actions, if they arise, they always arise exclusively in response to some unfriendly actions, actions against the Russian Federation.
Updated
Ukraine’s culture ministry has called for closing the skies over Ukraine because Russian forces are “destroying Ukrainian cultural sites”.
Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukraine’s minister of culture and information policy, said most of Putin’s “war crimes” in his country had been “committed from the air”, according to a statement by the ministry.
Russia’s missiles and planes are deliberately destroying historic centres of big cities. Putin wants to destroy Europe’s heritage and culture, wipe it from the face of the earth.
The statement warned:
A mad dictator threatens to destroy St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a Unesco church built in the 11th century.
Hundreds of innocent victims, the total destruction of churches, cathedrals and museums – is the price of the still opened sky over Ukraine.
Hello, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong with you as we unpack all the latest developments on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Otaci is a Moldovan border town, on the opposite side of the Dniester River lies the Ukrainian city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi.
As refugees spill over the bridge that links the two, local people are rallying together to provide them with warm food, shelter, internet and free onward travel in cars and taxis.
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February, more than 1 million people have fled across the closest borders. The conflict could result in the “largest refugee crisis this century”, the UN refugee agency has warned, with up to 4 million people fleeing the country in the coming weeks and months.
So far, more than 98,000 refugees have entered Moldova, Europe’s poorest country.
Updated
Summary
The time in Ukraine is 1.05pm. Here is a roundup of the main stories from the day so far:
- A fire broke out in a training building outside a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Friday after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities said.
- After burning for at least four hours amid reports Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency services confirmed the blaze was extinguished at 6.20am local time.
- The power plant has reportedly been seized by Russian military forces, according to regional authorities.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in “full 24/7 response mode” due to the “serious situation” unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
- However, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm provided reassurance surrounding the Zaporizhzhia power plant reactors, saying there was no elevated radiation readings near the facility and the plant’s reactors are “protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down”.
- Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, made a fresh appeal to Europe for help following the attack on the nuclear plant. He said: We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.”
- Nato’s secretary general Jens Stontenberg has said the attacks by Russia on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the largest in Europe – highlight the “recklessness” of Vladimir Putin’s war.
- Forty-seven people were killed in Russian airstrikes on a residential district of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Thursday, regional authorities said.
- Russia’s communications watchdog has restricted access to several foreign news organisations’ websites including the BBC and Deutsche Welle for spreading what it described as ‘false information’, amid friction about reporting on Ukraine.
-
Russian forces continue to control both local and regional government buildings in the strategically important Black Sea port of Kherson, local authorities said. Russian forces appeared to be moving to cut Ukraine off from the sea via its key southern ports, claiming the capture of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol.
- Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv. While a US defence official suggested it appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that an estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping and waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on the capital.
-
Vladimir Putin is “at risk” of ending up in prison for war crimes carried out by his Russian forces in Ukraine, the British justice secretary said on Friday.
- The Russian parliament has passed a law that makes it a criminal offence to spread “fake” information about its armed forces.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for now. I’ll be back at 2pm but my colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly.
Updated
The UK Home Office has rejected suggestions that immigration minister Kevin Foster refused to appear before a parliamentary committee to discuss the growing refugee crisis.
The home affairs committee has urged him to rethink “given the urgency of the situation”.
In a statement, it said:
Parliamentary under-secretary of state for immigration and future borders, Kevin Foster MP, has declined an invitation from the home affairs committee to give evidence on the UK’s response to the Ukraine refugee crisis.
The committee had issued the invitation to understand what the UK was doing to provide support and refuge to people leaving Ukraine following the invasion by Russia. It is estimated that 1 million people have been displaced by the conflict.
Given the urgency of the situation, the committee has asked the minister to reconsider.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
Home Office ministers are busy responding to the situation in Ukraine at this critical time, including helping reunite thousands of families in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme.
Minister Foster has not refused to attend but asked for a later date given this urgent work.
Updated
Following the news that the BBC has been blocked in Russia, the outlet has been quick to remind people it can be accessed via the ‘dark web’.
The BBC linked to an article from 2019 on Twitter that helps users access its content in restricted countries.
BBC News is available on the dark web in Ukrainian and Russian: https://t.co/KdCPfTTO7P
— BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) March 4, 2022
However, if it is already blocked for the user, the Twitter page also provides some direct links for “dark web” access to its news website.
BBC News in Ukrainian: https://t.co/LWFaVOAdov
— BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) March 4, 2022
BBC News in Russian: https://t.co/EUXDJLsZMs
— BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) March 4, 2022
Updated
Russia’s communications watchdog has restricted access to several foreign news organisations’ websites including the BBC and Deutsche Welle for spreading what it described as ‘false information’, amid friction about reporting on Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly complained that western media organisations offer a partial – and often anti-Russian – view of the world while failing to hold their own leaders to account for devastating foreign wars such as Iraq and corruption, Reuters reported.
The watchdog said on Friday it had blocked the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and other media outlets, Interfax news agency reported.
The BBC said it would not be deterred. “Access to accurate, independent information is a fundamental human right which should not be denied to the people of Russia, millions of whom rely on BBC News every week,” it said.
“We will continue our efforts to make BBC News available in Russia, and across the rest of the world.”
Some users in Russia could not access the BBC’s website on Friday.
Updated
Following the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant the director general of the International Atomic Energy Authority, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said on Friday that he has offered to travel to the Chernobyl site to facilitate a negotiation between Ukraine and Russia.
The aim would be to agree a framework to guarantee safety of nuclear plants during the conflict, including how to ensure the physical integrity of sites, maintaining power, safety monitoring systems and that staff at sites are able to fulfil duties. Both sides are considering the proposal.
“The situation continues to be extremely tense and challenging,” said Grossi. He added:
The physical integrity of the plant has been compromised with what happened last night. we are fortunate that there was no release of radiation and the integrity of the reactors themselves were not compromised.
I have indicated to both the Russian Federation and Ukraine my availability and disposition to travel to Chernobyl as soon as possible.
Updated
Two experts have offered some reassurance that the military activity at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is unlikely to cause a major nuclear incident.
Dr Mark Wenman, reader in nuclear materials at Imperial College London, said:
The Zaporizhzia nuclear plant has six VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor units producing 20% of Ukraine’s electricity.
The plant is a relatively modern reactor design and as such the essential reactor components are housed inside a heavily steel reinforced concrete containment building that can withstand extreme external events, both natural and man-made, such as an aircraft crash or explosions.
The reactor core is itself further housed in a sealed steel pressure vessel with 20cm thick walls. The design is a lot different to the Chernobyl reactor, which did not have a containment building, and hence there is no real risk, in my opinion, at the plant now the reactors have been safely shut down.
Prof Tom Scott, at the University of Bristol, UK said:
Shelling nuclear power plants is against the Geneva conventions and this is obviously very worrying. The good news is that radiation levels around the plant are reportedly normal and five of the six reactors are now turned off, with one still operating.
The reactors are all pressurised water reactors and hence don’t have graphite cores which could set on fire as per Chernobyl. Their inherent safety design should mean they are naturally quite resilient to any external perturbations and hence I am not overly concerned that inadvertent damage could cause a major nuclear incident.
However, it would be more concerning if the reactors were being deliberately targeted to induce a nuclear incident.
Updated
Ahead of a busy day of diplomacy in Brussels, Nato’s secretary general Jens Stontenberg has said the attacks by Russia on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the largest in Europe – highlight the “recklessness” of Vladimir Putin’s war.
He said:
We condemn the attacks on civilians and overnight we have also seen the reports about the attacks against a nuclear power plant. This just shows the recklessness of this war and the importance of ending it.
And the importance of Russia withdrawing all its troops and engaging in good faith in diplomatic efforts.
British foreign secretary Liz Truss is in Brussels for a meeting of Nato ministers and later she will join EU foreign ministers who are also hosting Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken, Canada’s foreign minister Mélanie Joly and Stoltenberg.
Updated
Russia’s defence ministry has sought to blame an attack at the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Ukrainian saboteurs.
Ukraine said Russian forces attacked the plant in the early hours of Friday, setting an adjacent five-storey training facility on fire, in an incident that provoked international condemnation of Moscow, a week into its invasion of Ukraine.
A Russian defence ministry spokesman said the nuclear plant was operating normally and the area had been under Russian control since 28 February, Reuters reported.
“However, last night on the territory adjacent to the power plant, an attempt was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to carry out a monstrous provocation,” spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed directly to Russians to stage protests over the seizure of nuclear power infrastructure by Russian troops in Ukraine.
“Russian people, I want to appeal to you: how is this possible? After all we fought together in 1986 against the Chernobyl catastrophe,” he said in a televised address.
Updated
In the UK, the mayor of Salford has written to Michael Gove to ask for help to cut ties with the Russian energy firm Gazprom, warning that “state-owned and/or backed Russian organisations and services are still woven inextricably into the delivery of Local Government services within the United Kingdom”.
Paul Dennett wants his local authority not to have to renew its non-domestic natural gas contract with Gazprom, agreed in June 2020 when the Russian firm far outbid domestic providers.
He says that councils across the country also use Gazprom because it is so much cheaper than other companies and so automatically wins procurement competitions.
Gazprom also provides energy to a number of NHS trusts. On Thursday, the health secretary Sajid Javid began talks with NHS England (NHSE) over ending the contracts, which are reported by Politico to have been worth £16m in 2021.
“Our contract will be up for renewal in June, and I do not wish for public money to be spent towards the income of the Russian state during the present military crisis in Ukraine. However, at present under the current round of sanctions and/or rules, such considerations would seemingly not be considered legally relevant in assessing Gazprom’s suitability for winning the next tendering exercise (or not),” Dennett writes in a letter to Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up.
Dennett says Salford is fully supportive of the government’s stated ambitions to “inflict devastating consequences on President Vladimir Putin and Russia” following Russia’s unprovoked assault on the sovereign nation of Ukraine, using sanctions and other financial measures.
“However, state-owned and/or backed Russian organisations and services are still woven inextricably into the delivery of local government services within the United Kingdom, and at present their involvement in bidding for tenders and contracts is enshrined in UK public procurement regulations for the procurement and tendering of services,” writes Dennett.
He wants Gove to change the law to make it easier for local authorities to break ties with Gazprom and stop Gazprom pitching for replacement contracts, even if it means having to pay more for municipal energy.
Updated
Death toll from airstrikes in Chernihiv rises to 47
Forty-seven people were killed in Russian airstrikes on a residential district of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Thursday, regional authorities said.
It updates an earlier announced death toll of 33 killed, the Reuters news agency reported.
Rescue work had to be suspended on Thursday due to heavy shelling, according to the local emergency services.
Updated
Vladimir Putin is “at risk” of ending up in prison for war crimes carried out by his Russian forces in Ukraine, the British justice secretary said on Friday.
Dominic Raab, who is also deputy prime minister, was asked on Times Radio whether he saw the conflict ending with the Russian president “imprisoned for war crimes”.
He said:
I think it is a very real risk that he must now contemplate.
Beyond his personal situation, every commander operating in Ukraine, or indeed Moscow, when they are faced with illegal orders, whether it is to target civilians or otherwise, attack illegal or unlawful sites, they now know the ICC (international criminal court) is investigating and the chief prosecutor Karim Khan is, I believe, travelling to Ukraine.
They must now know that they face the very real risk of ending up in the dock of a court and, ultimately, in a prison if they follow through on those illegal, unlawful orders.
Updated
Canada wants Nato to discuss all scenarios to isolate Russia, the country’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, said when asked whether the alliance should consider a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
On her arrival at an extraordinary meeting of Nato foreign ministers, Joly said Nato’s red line was to avoid triggering an international conflict, when asked about the no-fly zone, Reuters reported.
But she added: “We want to make sure that scenarios are being discussed”.
Meanwhile, Romania’s foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, said Nato must adapt military posture at its eastern flank to new reality after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have to adapt the posture to the reality, which shows that the Russians troops are in Ukraine and in Belarus, so we need to rethink everything,” he told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels.
Romania will increase its defence spending to 2.5% from 2% of GDP starting with the next fiscal year, he added.
Updated
The Russian parliament has passed a law which makes it a criminal offence to spread “fake” information about its armed forces.
The law, passed by the state Duma in the third and final reading, introduces fines and jail sentences for those who intentionally spread false information about the armed forces that has a serious impact, according to a statement by the lower house.
Those found to have broken the new law by spreading so-called “false information” about the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine face up to three years in prison.
If it is published as part of an “organised group” or uses “false evidence”, the maximum sentence increases to 10 years in prison. If it leads to “serious consequences”, the perpetrators will face up to 15 years in prison.
It is thought this new law will have a huge effect of the ability of people to share information about what is happening in Ukraine, as the Kremlin continues to play down its actions to the Russian population.
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Latvia’s foreign minister has said Nato should “consider all options” when asked about entering direct conflict with Russia.
Edgars Rinkēvičs told the BBC’s Today programme that governments “should not exclude” any recourse to stop the invasion.
Earlier, the programme heard from former Ukrainian prime minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, who said other European countries “don’t understand” the lengths Putin will go to, PA Media reported.
He said leaders from other countries should offer direct military support and “at least to close our skies to protect us from the threat”.
Asked about the comments, Mr Rinkevics said:
I think we should consider all options but we should also understand, let’s say, some Nato policies can be implemented only if those countries that have necessary assets agree on that.
He added that any decision would have to be voted for unanimously. Asked whether Nato may instead be forced to broker an “uncomfortable” settlement with Russia, the minister replied:
Well, I think we must do everything that we can. That’s why I’m saying that we should not exclude any options.
I’m Tom Ambrose and will be bringing you all the latest news over the next couple of hours.
Updated
Russian forces seize huge Ukrainian nuclear plant - reports
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has reportedly been seized by Russian military forces, according to regional authorities.
An update written at 7.30am on the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine’s Facebook page reads:
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is captured by the military forces of the Russian Federation.”
However, the inspectorate says employees are continuing to work on the premises, while operational personnel control the safe condition of the power units.
According to the inspectorate units two and three have been disconnected from the network and and nuclear installations are being cooled down
“Changes in the radiation state for the current time have not been recorded,” the update adds.
However, the potential loss of cooling nuclear fuel could lead to “significant radioactive emissions into the environment” and such an event “may outgrow all previous NPP accidents, including the Chernobyl NPP and Fukusima-Daichi NPP” the authority says, adding that any damage to a reservoir of processed nuclear fuel as a result of the shelling could also lead to radioactive discharge.
Updated
Summary
Here is where we stand so far:
- A fire broke out in a training building outside a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Friday after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities said.
- After burning for at least four hours amid reports Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency services confirmed the fire was extinguished at 6.20am local time. Fighting at the plant has also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in “full 24/7 response mode” due to the “serious situation” unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
- However, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm provided reassurance surrounding the Zaporizhzhia power plant reactors, saying there was no elevated radiation readings near the facility and the plant’s reactors are “protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down”.
- Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, made another appeal to Europe for help following the attack on the nuclear plant. He said: We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.”
- British prime minister Boris Johnson called Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “reckless actions” a danger to the safety of Europe.
- Share prices fell in Asia in the wake of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant fire while the Moscow stock exchange remained closed for the fifth day in a row on Friday.
- Russian forces continue to control both local and regional government buildings in the strategically important Black Sea port of Kherson, local authorities said. Russian forces appeared to be moving to cut Ukraine off from the sea via its key southern ports, claiming the capture of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol.
- Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv. While a US defence official suggested it appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that an estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping and waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on Kyiv.
- In a televised speech, Putin claimed Russian military operations in Ukraine were going according to plan. The president went on to accuse Ukrainian forces of using civilians as “human shields” while providing no evidence.
- Vladimir Putin earlier told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv’s “refusal to accept Russia’s conditions” means he will continue to pursue his war in Ukraine, France’s presidential Élysée Palace has said, adding: “We expect the worst is yet to come.”
Updated
The UK Ministry of Defence has just released its latest intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.
The ministry noted that Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control but has “likely been encircled by Russian forces” while the city’s civilian infrastructure has been subjected to intense Russian strikes.
It also confirmed receiving reports from Ukrainian authorities of a building at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant catching fire after shelling by Russian forces.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 04 March 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 4, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/vHxz2SoCNW
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/zzFeOi729Y
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Meanwhile, the Moscow stock exchange remained closed for the fifth day in a row on Friday as Russian authorities rolled out additional measures to limit the economic impact from imposed sanctions, the Moscow Times reports.
Updated
Share prices fell in Asia today in the wake of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant fire.
Tokyo and Hong Kong faced the steepest falls, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index 2.5% lower and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down by 2.6%. Oil prices rose in Asia morning trade, with Brent crude above $112 a barrel.
Meanwhile, bulls have surged into the US crude oil options market in recent days as futures touch highs not seen in a decade, betting that crude’s rally will persist, according to analysts and exchange data cited by Reuters.
The global oil market was already tight even before Russia invaded Ukraine last week, which has since sent benchmark Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures soaring over 15% to about 10- and 14-year highs, respectively.
Updated
US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc will not pre-emptively ban all Russians from using the platform, chief executive officer Brian Armstrong said in a tweet on Friday.
“We don’t think there’s a high risk of Russian oligarchs using crypto to avoid sanctions,” Armstrong said, adding that “some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed”.
1/ We've been seeing some questions/discussion around whether crypto can be used to avoid sanctions. A few thoughts...
— Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022
Meanwhile, home rental company Airbnb Inc is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus, according to chief executive officer Brian Chesky.
Airbnb is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus
— Brian Chesky 🇺🇦 (@bchesky) March 4, 2022
Updated
Radiation levels at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant unaffected, officials say
Essential equipment at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been unaffected from an earlier fire, with no change in radiation levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said, citing Ukraine’s regulatory authorities.
“The Ukraine regulatory authority said a fire at the site had not affected ‘essential’ equipment and plant personnel were taking mitigatory actions,” it said. “There was no reported change in radiation levels at the plant.”
US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm earlier provided more reassurance surrounding the reactors at the power station, confirming she had spoken with Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko.
In an update posted to Twitter, Granholm said:
We have seen no elevated radiation readings near the facility. The plant’s reactors are protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.”
According to a statement, the IAEE said Ukraine had informed the agency before the fire broke out that a large number of Russian tanks and infantry “broke through the block-post” to the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometres from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP).
I just spoke with Ukraine’s energy minister about the situation at the Zaphorizhizia nuclear plant. Russian military operations near the plant are reckless and must cease. 1/
— Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm) March 4, 2022
#Ukraine tells IAEA that fire at site of #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has not affected “essential” equipment, plant personnel taking mitigatory actions.
— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) March 4, 2022
Updated
Putin's 'reckless actions threaten safety of Europe,' Johnson says
British prime minister Boris Johnson has spoken with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy after news broke about a fire at the nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia, calling Putin’s “reckless actions” a danger to the safety of Europe.
A Downing Street spokeswoman called the situation “gravely concerning”. PA Media reports the spokeswoman said:
Both leaders agreed that Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant.
The prime minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe.
He said the UK would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.
The prime minister said he would be seeking an emergency UN security council meeting in the coming hours, and that the UK would raise this issue immediately with Russia and close partners. Both leaders agreed a ceasefire was crucial.”
I've just spoken to President @ZelenskyyUa about the gravely concerning situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 4, 2022
Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant.
Updated
A charter aircraft carrying Russian foreign nationals was held at the Yellowknife airport in Canada’s Northwest Territories, transport minister Omar Alghabra said in a tweet on Thursday.
“We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine,” Alghabra added.
It remains unclear whether the passengers were transported to their onwards destination.
According to the New York Times, two Russian nationals flying in a private jet that had taken off from Geneva landed in northern Canada this week and were prevented from travelling farther, citing Canadian officials.
Canada announced on Sunday that it would ban Russian aircraft from entering Canadian airspace in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States and the European Union have similar policies in place.
A charter aircraft that carried Russian foreign nationals has been held at the Yellowknife airport. We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.
— Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) March 3, 2022
Updated
Zelenskiy accuses Russia of 'nuclear terrorism'
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy early this morning made appeal to Europe for help following the attack on Ukraine’s nuclear plant.
Europe must wake up now. The largest nuclear station in Europe is on fire. Right now Russian tanks are shelling nuclear units. Those are the tanks that have thermal vision, so they know where they are shelling. They prepared for it.
I address all Ukrainians and all Europeans to all people who know the word Chernobyl who know how much suffering and victims were caused by the explosion at the nuclear station. It was a global disaster. Hundreds of thousands of people fought against its consequences. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated.
Russia wants to repeat it but six times harder.
Europeans, please, wake up. Tell your politicians, Russian troops are shelling [the] Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, the city of Enerhodar. There are 6 energy unit. Six. One unit exploded in Chernobyl.
We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.
Russian propagandists threatened to cover the world with nuclear ashes. Now it’s not a threat. It’s a reality. We don’t know how the fire at the station will end, when an explosion will happen, god willing, it won’t happen. Our guys always kept the station safe, so there were no provocations, so that nobody could seize the station, so that nobody could plant mines at the station then blackmail the whole world with a nuclear disaster.
We must stop Russian troops. Tell your politicians: Ukraine is 15 nuclear units. If there will be an explosion, it will the end to all of us, the end of Europe, the evacuation of Europe. Only immediate action of Europe can stop Russian troops and prevent the death of Europe from the disaster at a nuclear station.”
Терміново! pic.twitter.com/MuXfniddVT
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2022
Updated
Guardian reporters Calla Wahlquist and Donna Lu have compiled an explainer on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with all the details you need to know.
You can read their full report below.
Guardian reporter, Luke Harding, is currently in Lviv, western Ukraine where he says demoralised Russian soldiers tell of their anger at being “duped” into war.
Eight days after Vladimir Putin’s invasion it is clear that a significant number of his servicemen are demoralised and reluctant to fight. Some have given themselves up.
Others have abandoned their vehicles and have set off back towards the Russian border on foot, lugging their weapons and kitbags, videos suggest. These episodes do not mean that the Kremlin will fail in its attempts to conquer Ukraine, as its tactics shift to brutal shelling of civilians.
But low morale among invading troops might be one reason why Russia’s blitzkrieg plan to overwhelm Ukraine appears not to have progressed at the speed Putin would have wanted. The assumption in Moscow was that the operation would be swift and successful. Soldiers were given food and fuel supplies for only two or three days, the videos suggest.
The Kremlin also appears to have had a totally fantastical idea of the reception they would get. Several prisoners of war said they had been assured Ukrainians would welcome them as liberators. Russian forces were expecting flowers and cheers, not bullets and bombs, they said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier accused Russia of nuclear terrorism after a fire burned for several hours at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant early Friday morning.
The shelling of the nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, prompted widespread concern about the safety of Ukraine’s atomic infrastructure.
“We are warning everybody – not a single state apart from Russia has ever shelled nuclear reactors,” Zelenskiy said. “It is the first time in our history, in the history of humankind, that the terrorist state turned to nuclear terrorism.”
Watch the video of Zelenskiy’s remarks below.
Fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant extinguished, no casualties, officials say
Ukrainian emergency services confirmed just a short while ago that a fire which had broken out in the training building of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant was extinguished after a blaze burned for at least four hours throughout early Friday morning.
Ukrainian authorities said the fire was ignited by shelling from Russian forces, claiming Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze.
At 6.20am local time, Ukraine’s State Emergency Services issued an update published to their social media channels:
At 06:20 the fire in the training building of Zaporizhzhya NPP in Energodar was extinguished.”
According to the agency, no casualties have so far been reported.
Fighting at the plant also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.
Updated
Summary
It is 7.20am in Ukraine as Russia’s war enters its ninth day. Here is where the crisis currently stands:
- A fire broke out in a training building outside a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Friday, after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities said.
- After burning for at least four hours amid reports Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency services confirmed the blaze was extinguished at 6.20am local time. Fighting at the plant has also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in “full 24/7 response mode” due to the “serious situation” unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
- However, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm provided reassurance surrounding the Zaporizhzhia power plant reactors, saying there was no elevated radiation readings near the facility and the plant’s reactors are “protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.”
- Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy made another appeal to Europe for help following the attack on the nuclear plant. He said: We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.”
- British prime minister Boris Johnson called Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “reckless actions” a danger to the safety of Europe.
- Russian forces continue to control both local and regional government buildings in the strategically important Black Sea port of Kherson, local authorities said. Russian forces appeared to be moving to cut Ukraine off from the sea via its key southern ports, claiming the capture of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol.
- Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv. While a US defence official suggested it appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that an estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping and waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on Kyiv.
- In a televised speech, Putin claimed Russian military operations in Ukraine were going according to plan. The president went on to accuse Ukrainian forces of using civilians as “human shields” while providing no evidence.
- Vladimir Putin earlier told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv’s “refusal to accept Russia’s conditions” means he will continue to pursue his war in Ukraine, France’s presidential Élysée Palace has said, adding: “We expect the worst is yet to come.”
For any tips and feedback please contact me through Twitter or at samantha.lock@theguardian.com
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