Nearly 84,000 children were among the civilians taken ‘hostage’ by Russia, Ukraine said
Biden says Nato ‘will respond in kind’ if Putin uses chemical weapons
Ukraine has accused Moscow of “forcibly deporting” over 400,000 civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia to pressure Kyiv into conceding defeat.
Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s ombudsperson, said 402,000 people, including 84,000 children, had been taken against their will into Russia, where some may be used as “hostages”.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden said Nato will “respond in kind” if Russian leader Vladimir Putin uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Speaking after a Nato meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the US president added: “The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use”.
Mr Biden said Nato was “more united” than it had ever been as the alliance agreed to double its defences by moving 40,000 troops to its eastern flank in light of the Russian invasion.
Earlier, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, confirmed four new battlegroups will be sent to Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania – in addition to four others in the Baltic countries and Poland.
He also pledged military aid, including additional weapons. It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, via video link, asked for “one per cent” of Western allies’ weapons.
Australia sanctions Putin ally Lukashenko, Russian media employees
The Australian government on Friday imposed sanctions on Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko and members of his family, according to the foreign ministry.
The Pacific nation also slapped sanctions on 22 employees of the Russian media.
“The Australian government has also imposed new sanctions on 22 Russian propagandists and disinformation providers, including senior editors from Russia Today, the Strategic Culture Foundation, Inforos and NewsFront,” the statement said.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 05:30
Russia accused of abducting over 400,000 Ukrainians
Ukraine has accused Moscow of “forcibly deporting” over 400,000 civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia to pressure Kyiv into conceding defeat.
Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s ombudsperson, said 402,000 civilians, including 84,000 children, had been taken against their will into Russia, where some may be used as “hostages”.
“We have information that the Russian occupiers are forcibly deporting our citizens from Mariupol, Volnovakha, Stanytsia Luhanska to the Russian Federation,” she said.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 05:14
Russia fires missiles at Ukraine military unit
Russian forces on Thursday night fired two missiles at a Ukrainian military unit on the outskirts of Dnipro, the fourth-largest city in the country.
According to regional emergency services, the strikes destroyed buildings and set off two fires. The casualties, if any, are still being established.
Dnipro is located on the west of the regions along the Russian border that have been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 04:37
US says Ukraine likely conducted successful attack against Russian ships
The US on Thursday said Ukraine likely conducted a successful attack against Russian ships in Berdyansk port on the Sea of Azov.
A defence official told CNN that it was unclear what type of weapon was used to carry out the attack.
Earlier in the day, Ukraine said it destroyed the Orsk, a landing ship docked at the Berdyansk port, which was capable of carrying 20 tanks.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 04:34
Chernobyl workers at risk due to Russian shelling: UN nuclear watchdog
Workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were at risk due to continued Russian shelling of checkpoints in the city of Slavutych, Ukrainian officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Several people working at the now-defunct plant live in the city which is located outside the Exclusion Zone that was established following the 1986 nuclear catastrophe.
The IAEA, in a statement on Thursday, said the shelling was endangering “the homes and families of those operational personnel that ensure the nuclear and radiation safety” of the plant.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 04:03
Zelensky calls for peace in night-time address to Ukraine
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday night that the country “must move toward peace” as it marked one month since the start of the Russian invasion.“It is already night. But we are working,” he said.
“The country must move toward peace, move forward. With every day of our defence, we are getting closer to the peace that we need so much. We are getting closer to victory. We can’t stop even for a minute. For every minute determines our fate, our future, whether we will live,” he added.
He reported on his conversations that day with leaders of Nato and European Union countries gathered in Brussels, and their promises of even more sanctions on Russia.
“We need to look for peace,” he said. “Russia also needs to look for peace”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 03:50
Biden says US will welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing war
US president Joe Biden on Thursday said up to 100,000 Ukrainians feeling the war was welcomed to seek refuge in his country.
“We’re focused on reuniting families and providing refuge to those in harm’s way,” he said.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar25 March 2022 03:32
Russia now ‘more of a burden’ to China – Pentagon
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made it more of a strategic burden on China, a senior Pentagon official said late on Thursday.
“I do think that there’s a degree to which what Putin has done in Ukraine makes Russia much more of a strategic burden for Beijing than it was six weeks ago or six months ago,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said.
In February, China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership, backing each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.
Adam Withnall25 March 2022 02:55
US calls for Mexico ‘solidarity’ in supporting Ukraine
The US ambassador to Mexico spoke to Mexico’s lower house of Congress on Thursday, urging politicians there to join the United States in supporting Kyiv against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It comes a day after Ken Salazar’s Russian counterpart encouraged Mexico to defy “Uncle Sam”.
“The Russian ambassador was here yesterday making a lot of noise about how Mexico and Russia are so close. This, sorry, can never happen. It can never happen,” Salazar said.
“We have to be in solidarity with Ukraine and against Russia.”
“I remember very well that during the Second World War there was no distance between Mexico and the United States, both were united against what Hitler was doing,” he added.
In May 1942, Mexico’s Congress approved a formal resolution of war against the Axis powers, about half a year after the United States declared war on Germany.
Salazar’s comments came after Russia’s ambassador to Mexico, Viktor Koronelli, addressed lawmakers at a newly inaugurated “Mexico-Russia friendship committee” on Wednesday.
“On the orders of Uncle Sam, Mexico will never answer ‘Yes, Sir’” Koronelli said, drawing applause from some legislators.
During his appearance, Russia’s ambassador repeated his government’s position that it is conducting a “special military operation” to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, whose president is Jewish.
“Russia did not begin this war, it is finishing it,” Koronelli said.
Ukraine and Western allies call this a baseless pretext for a war of choice that has raised fears of wider conflict in Europe.
Adam Withnall25 March 2022 02:21
75 civilians have been killed in Kyiv, says Klitschko
ICYMI: A total of 75 civilians have now died in Kyiv since the start of the war, the city’s mayor has said.
Vitali Klitschko added that another 307 people had been injured in the capital over the past four weeks.
Graeme Massie25 March 2022 01:57
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