Tag: Ukraine invasion

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Zelensky confirms he’s in Kiev

Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine.(photo:Facebook)

Zelenksy’s video message came hours after the third round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended without any significant developments….reports Asian Lite News

 In his latest address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he’s still in Kiev and not hiding as Russia’s war on his country has continued for the 13th day.

In the video posted on his Facebook page late Monday night, Zelensky shows the views of the city from his office in the heart of the capital city.

“I stay in Kiev. On Bankova Street. I’m not hiding. And I’m not afraid of anyone. As much as it takes to win this Patriotic War of ours,” the President added.

Zelenksy’s video message came hours after the third round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended without any significant developments.

The talks lasted for nearly three hours at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the Belarus-Poland border, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who also heads Moscow’s delegation, said although discussions continued on political and military aspects, it however remained difficult and was too early to talk about something positive.

He added that the Russian side “brought a large set of documents, including specific agreements, but the Ukrainian side could not sign them on the spot and took all these documents back home for study”.

Medinsky added that the two sides addressed the issue of civilian evacuation.

As the military invasion continued for the 13th day on Tuesday, Russian attacks have prevented civilians to evacuate from cities currently under fire.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine.(photo:Facebook)

In the port city of Odessa, where Russian troops are quickly gaining ground, explosions were heard in the early hours of Tuesday, reports the BBC.

Deemed a key strategic target for Moscow, Ukrainian forces in Odessa claimed to have hit one of the Russian fleet causing significant damage.

Daily curfews begin at 7 p.m. in the city, and air raid sirens were heard for more than an hour on Monday, with warnings that Russian ships were repositions themselves in preparation for an attack, said the BBC.

As a result of Russia’s invasion that began on February 24, currently there are more than 742,000 people across Ukraine without access to electricity, according to the Foreign Ministry in Kiev.

The Ministry said on Monday that the Russia-backed Donetsk region in the east is the hardest hit, where over 233,000 are “completely disconnected”.

Some 238,000 Ukrainians are also without gas, it added.

The Ministry further claimed that “active hostilities have caused new power grid damage and outages”.

ALSO READ: Turkey to broker peace between Russia, Ukraine 

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Fleeing Indians face racism at Ukrainian borders

Amit Lath, vice-president of the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce, claimed that even women have been beaten up, either held up for days or not permitted to leave Ukraine at the border posts….reports Ashish Ray

Both the BBC and CNN reconfirmed on Saturday that Indians in Ukraine attempting to cross over into Poland have been facing racial abuse from Ukrainian security forces. There have been persistent reports of this nature for over a week now.

Amit Lath, vice-president of the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce, claimed that even women have been beaten up, either held up for days or not permitted to leave Ukraine at the border posts.

While the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkin, toured the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries in eastern Europe on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman disclosed that the two nations were talking through certain channels.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed at a news briefing: “We are maintaining certain channels of a dialogue with the United States.”

He was answering a question on the current state of relations between Russia and the US following sanctions imposed by Washington and a tense relationship in general between them as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There was no ratification of this from Washington.

Claims of casualties vary widely between the two directly warring countries in the Russia-Ukraine outbreak of hostilities in what is really a battle between Russia and the West for strategic advantage on the security front.

In Moscow, Major General Oigor Konashenkov of the Russian defence ministry maintained that Russian armed forces have struck over 2,000 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities up to Saturday morning, according to the Russian news agency, TASS.

Konashenkov is reported to have said: “Overall, some 2,037 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities were hit during the operation. They included 71 command posts and communication centres of the Kiev forces; S-300, Buk and 9K33 Osa missile systems as well as 61 radar stations.”

He further stated that some 66 aircraft were hit on the ground and 16 aircraft in the air, while as many as 708 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 74 multiple rocket launchers, 261 field artillery and mortars, 505 units of special military vehicles as well as 56 unmanned aerial vehicles were also destroyed.

The Russian Defense Ministry insisted that Russian troops were not targeting Ukrainian cities; and limiting themselves to incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. Even if this is true, there has apparently been collateral civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, after Russia Today was banned in the European Union, Britain and the United States, the Kremlin has retaliated by yanking western counterparts like BBC and CNN in Russia. US social media platform Facebook is also no longer available in Russia.

ALSO READ: Sputnik vaccine production to slow down amid Ukraine crisis

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Russia declares partial ceasefire in Ukraine

In the first several days since the start of the military offensive in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of people have sought safety in Poland.(photo:Twitter/@Refugees)

The humanitarian corridors will allow the exit of civilians from the two cities, the Ministry said, without disclosing how many days the ceasefire will remain in place, reports Asian Lite news

Russia on Saturday declared a temporary ceasefire in the two southern Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha to facilitate the evacuation of civilians via humanitarian corridors, the Defence Ministry in Moscow announced.

The ceasefire went into effect from 10 a.m. (about 1.30 p.m. IST), reports Xinhua news agency.

Photo taken on March 1, 2022 shows armed personnel in Donetsk. (Photo by (Victor_Xinhua_IANS)

As was agreed by the Ukrainian side, the humanitarian corridors will allow the exit of civilians from the two cities, the Ministry said, without disclosing how many days the ceasefire will remain in place.

During their second round of peace talks on Thursday, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed on the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians and on a temporary cessation of hostilities along the evacuation routes.

In Ukraine, head of the Donetsk region’s military administration, Pavlo Kirilenko has confirmed the temporary ceasefire and said that his administration is currently working on the details of the evacuation, the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, the Mariupol City Council said the ceasefire will last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and evacuations started at 11 a.m.

It added that the route of the corridor is from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, a city to the west.

The Council further said that buses will leave three locations in the city, and private transport will also be allowed to travel along the designated route.

While it urged drivers to make full use of all the space they have in their vehicles, the Council said that travelling away from the agreed route is strictly forbidden, the BBC reported.

In response to the ceasefire announcement which came on the 10th day of Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in a statement: “Mariupol is not streets and houses… It is its residents.

“Under the conditions of constant, ruthless shelling from the occupiers, there is no other choice but to give residents…the opportunity to safely leave Mariupol.”

ALSO READ: If Ukraine falls, Europe falls, warns Zelenskyy

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UK vows quicker sanctions against Russian oligarchs

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (No 10 Downing Street)

The UK government is amending the law to make it easier to introduce sanctions against Russian oligarchs, after criticism the UK was acting too slowly, it was reported.

According to BBC report, the ministers are tabling amendments to the Economic Crime Bill which are designed to allow the UK to align with penalties imposed by allies in the EU and US.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said foreigners trying to launder money in the UK would have “nowhere to hide”. But Labour accused the government of making a “U-turn under pressure”.

Ministers have already imposed asset freezes on individuals and companies with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the invasion of Ukraine nine days ago.

But opposition parties have said the government needs to do more to tackle wealthy Putin allies who store large amounts of money in London.
The bill, which has cross-party support, is expected to be fast-tracked through Parliament on Monday, the BBC report said.

Asserting that the United Kingdom stands with Ukraine, Johnson on Friday said that his thoughts remain with all those affected in the conflict.

PM Johnson tweeted, “Four years ago our country was rocked when Russian military intelligence deployed a chemical weapon on Salisbury’s streets. My thoughts remain with all those affected and I pay tribute to the tireless efforts of all those involved in the response to this despicable attack.”

He further said, “Nations across the world, including Ukraine, stood with us then. Today we stand with Ukraine in doing everything we can to ensure Putin’s barbaric venture ends in failure.”

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of United Nations, said in a tweet today, “The UN is working 24/7 to scale up the capacity to deliver life-saving support to people desperate for protection and shelter in Ukraine & neighbouring countries. We are fully committed to staying and delivering for everyone affected by this deadly conflict.”

This comes against the backdrop of Russian forces launching military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised Ukraine to help with military aid to fight Russia.

The US, Canada and European allies agreed to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT which means Russian banks won’t be able to communicate securely with banks beyond Russia’s borders. President Putin has also signed a decree on special economic measures against the US and its allies. (with inputs from ANI)

ALSO READ: BBC temporarily halts reporting in Russia

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Singapore sanctions big Russian banks over Ukraine invasion

Along with the Central Bank of Russia, the sanctions targeted four Russian banks: VTB, Vnesheconombank, Promsvyazbank and Bank Rossiya, reports Asian Lite News

Singapore has introduced sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and some other Russian banks as well as imposed restrictions on the exports to the country over the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Singaporean Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“Financial institutions in Singapore will be prohibited from the following: … entering into transactions or arrangements, or providing financial services that facilitate fund raising by: the Russian government; the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; any entity owned or controlled by them or acting on their direction or behalf. The prohibitions apply to buying and selling new securities, providing financial services that facilitate new fund raising by, and making or participate in the making of any new loan to the above entities,” the ministry said in a statement.

Photo taken on March 1, 2022 shows armed personnel in Donetsk. (Photo by (Victor_Xinhua_IANS)

The sanctions targeted four Russian banks: VTB, Vnesheconombank, Promsvyazbank and Bank Rossiya.

“In order to constrain Russia’s capacity to conduct its war in Ukraine and cyber aggression, all permit applications to Russia involving (a) all items on the List of Military Goods under the SGCO; and (b) all category codes under Category 3 – Electronics, Category 4 – Computers and Category 5 – Telecommunications and “Information Security” on the List of Dual-Use Goods under the SGCO will be rejected,” the statement added. (ANI/Sputnik)

ALSO READ: ‘If Ukraine falls, Europe falls’

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Business India News

As Ukraine crisis hits sunflower oil imports, markets pin hopes on mustard

Oil industry bodies demanded the government to ensure soya solvent plants are working at full capacity as the Ukraine conflict affects the imports…reports Asian Lite News

Banking on abundant mustard production expected this year, an apex edible oil industry body has said the Russia-Ukraine war is likely to have little impact on domestic edible oil rates even as international prices have gone up. It, however, demanded that the government ensure soya solvent plants are working at full capacity.

There is some uncertainty and prices of some of the edible oils have gone up by $200 in the international market. India imports sunflower seeds from Ukraine as imports are relatively cheaper even when India’s sunflower seed production ranges between 60,000-75,000 tonnes.

As per the government data, the all India retail prices for sunflower seeds oil on March 2 was 159.07 per kg compared to Rs 158.06 on March 1; Rs 156.66 (February 28); Rs 152.54 (February 27) and Rs 152.3 (February 26). The prices for retail one week back, one month back and one year back was Rs 151.08, Rs 149.42 and 149.47 respectively.

The comparative wholesale prices were Rs 15,357.69 per quintal on March 2 compared to Rs Rs 15,291.27 on March; Rs 15,108.29 on February 28; Rs 14,791.29 (February 27) and Rs 14,673.88 (February 26). The prices for wholesale one week back, one month back and one year back were Rs 14,497.07, Rs 14,171.46 and Rs 14,517.91 respectively.

Chairman of the Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT), Suresh Nagpal, said, “(Even when) edible oil is not coming from Ukraine, thankfully, in India, we have stocks available for 40-45 days.”

“This year, India is expecting record mustard production. This will play an important role in meeting the edible oil deficit. After March 15, 3 to 4 lakh tonnes of mustard oil will be available per month,” Nagpal said.

COOIT also has demanded the government to ensure soya solvent plants are working at full capacity. “The government needs to provide some kind of incentive for export in soya DOC so that plants start working at full capacity,” he added.

Since a month now, the government has specified a stock limit for edible oils. It is 30 quintals for retailers, 500 quintals for wholesalers, 30 quintals for retail outlets of bulk consumers, i.e., big chain retailers and shops and 1,000 quintals for its depots. Processors of edible oils would be able to stock 90 days of their storage capacities.

For edible oilseeds, the stock limit is 100 quintals for retailers, 2,000 quintals for wholesalers. Processors of edible oilseeds would be able to stock 90 days production of edible oils as per daily input production capacity. Exporters and importers have been kept outside the purview of this Order with some caveats, the Ministry said.

With a view to keep prices in check and also check the rise in prices of domestic edible oils due globally hike, the Centre had reduced the agri-cess for Crude Palm Oil (CPO) from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent with effect from February 12.

The second Advance Estimates released on February 16 have, for oilseeds, have estimated Rapeseed and Mustard production at 11.46 MT. Earlier in November, 2021 too, the Department of Food & Public Distribution had said that to control prices of edible oils the government had rationalised import duties on palm oil, sunflower oil and soybean oil, futures trading in mustard oil on NCDEX was suspended and stock limits were imposed too.

ALSO READ: Ukraine offers condolences on death of Indian student 

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Russia-Ukraine truce talks begin in Belarus

High-level delegations from both sides arrived at the venue on the banks of the Pripyat River to attempt a negotiated settlement in the ongoing crisis….reports Asian Lite News

Negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine to resolve the ongoing conflict between the two countries began in the Gomel region of Belarus here on Monday.

High-level delegations from both sides arrived at the venue on the banks of the Pripyat River to attempt a negotiated settlement in the ongoing crisis.

According to the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian delegation includes the Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the head of the parliament faction of the Servant of the People party, and a deputy foreign minister. The Russian delegation is led by former Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.

“Immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from Ukraine will be the key issues at the talks,” the office of the Ukrainian president informed.

“Since [there are] dead Ukrainian citizens, dead Ukrainian soldiers every hour of the conflict, we are certainly interested in reaching some agreements as quickly as possible. These agreements must be, of course, in the interests of both parties,” Medinsky said before the beginning of the meeting.

The Ukrainian side had refused to negotiate in Belarus earlier on Sunday, even as the Russian delegation arrived in the country. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for negotiation in any other country but Belarus saying, “At the moment, we’re saying no to Minsk. Other cities can be a place to meet. Of course, we want peace, we want to meet, we want the war to end. Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku, we have suggested all that to Russia. And any other city will do… in a country, from whose territory the rockets are not flying. This is the only way that the talks can be honest and can really put an end to the war.”

Later on the same day, the Ukrainian side agreed to send a delegation to Belarus after Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko had a phone call with President Zelenskyy.

Earlier today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus tweeted the pictures of the venue saying, “In Belarus, everything is ready to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Waiting for delegations to arrive.”

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted on Sunday to call for an emergency special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. The meeting of the UNGA is scheduled to be held today at 8:30 PM IST.

The UNSC too is scheduled to convene later in the day (1:30 AM IST on Tuesday).

Russia has been facing immense criticism, especially from the western countries over its recent actions in Ukraine. A number of countries including the US, UK, France and Germany among others have applied fresh rounds of sanctions on Russia. (ANI)

ALSO READ: 400 Russian hitmen in Ukraine with order to kill Zelensky

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Next 24 hours crucial for Ukraine, says Zelensky

Pic credits IANS

According to the latest development, a Ukrainian delegation arrived at the place for talks with the Russian side in the Gomel region in Belarus on Monday…reports Asian Lite News

The next 24 hours will be crucial for Ukraine’s fight with Russia, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday during a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson said he would do all he could to help ensure defensive aid from Britain and other allies reached Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported citing the National News Agency of Ukraine (Ukrinform).

Meanwhile, the regional government said that the city Berdyansk in southern Ukraine had been seized by Russian troops on Monday morning.

The Ukrainian army on Monday informed that the situation in Kiev was still under its control.

According to the latest development, a Ukrainian delegation arrived at the place for talks with the Russian side in the Gomel region in Belarus on Monday, Sputnik reported.

ALSO READ: 400 Russian hitmen in Ukraine with order to kill Zelensky

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UK sanctions Putin, Lavrov

The new sanctions, which are targeted personally at Putin and Lavrov, will see any UK-based assets frozen immediately and UK companies will be barred from providing goods, services or assets to them in future, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be hit with an assets freeze as part of the UK’s punitive sanctions regime to degrade Russia’s economy and military infrastructure, the UK government has announced.

On the same day, Washington also confirmed that it will sanction Putin and Lavrov “in alignment with the decision by our European allies.” European Union had also announced sanctions targeting the top Russian leadership earlier on Friday.

The new sanctions, which are targeted personally at Putin and Lavrov, will see any UK-based assets frozen immediately and UK companies will be barred from providing goods, services or assets to them in future.

“These new sanctions send a clear message that nothing and no one is off the table,” said Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. “These measures reflect the horror and gravity of what Putin and his regime has done, violating the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation with an illegal and unjustified invasion.”

The latest announcement follows a sweeping package of financial sanctions targeting Russian banks, oligarchs and key strategic businesses, as well as territorial hosanctions and restrictions on sovereign debt announced on Tuesday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (No 10 Downing Street)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said that the United Kingdom will work for as long as it takes to ensure the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is restored, adding that the National flag of Ukraine flies over Downing Street.

“The national flag of Ukraine flies over Downing Street. The United Kingdom will work for as long as it takes to ensure that the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is restored,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a Tweet.

Meanwhile, he pledged that the UK will provide further support to Kiev “in the coming days.”

“The Prime Minister committed to providing further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days,” Johnson’s office said in the readout of the telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning.

According to the statement cited by Sputnik News Agency, Zelensky updated Johnson on the most recent developments in Ukraine and the “terrible developments in Kyiv in the early hours of this morning.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky suggested to Putin that they sit down at the negotiation table amid escalating tensions over Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

“I would like to address the president of Russia once again … let us sit down at the negotiation table to stop people dying,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, Sputnik News Agency reported.

Zelensky urged European countries to demand stoppage of “the war”.
Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia.

The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation’s second-biggest bank.

Co-ordinated with the US, this is the single biggest financial sanction in history. Individuals and companies whose assets are frozen will be unable to undertake any business in the UK or with UK nationals.

As part of the sanctions, Russian companies will be prevented from borrowing on the UK markets, effectively ending the ability of those companies closest to Putin to raise finance in the UK. This is in addition to banning the Russian state itself from raising funds in the UK, as previously announced.

Also, designated banks will be prevented from accessing Sterling and clearing payments through the UK. Banks subject to this measure will be unable to process any payments through the UK or have access to UK financial markets.

Another ban was also imposed on the export of a range of high-end and critical technical equipment and components in sectors including electronics, telecommunications, and aerospace.

ALSO READ: India, China, UAE abstain on Russia resolution

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‘This might be the last time you see me alive’: Zelensky tells allies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.(photo: twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa)

The Ukrainian presidential advisor earlier warned that Russia wants to kill Zelensky if it takes Ukraine’s capital, reports Asian Lite News

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had an ominous warning for his European counterparts in a video conference call on Thursday night, Sky News reported.

According to a journalist at Israel’s Walla News, he told other leaders: “This might be the last time you see me alive.”

The Ukrainian presidential advisor earlier warned that Russia wants to kill Zelensky if it takes Ukraine’s capital.

It’s believed Russia is planning to install a puppet government in Ukraine should it successfully capture Kiev, the report said.

:The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has published pictures of the border service facilities in the Kyiv region that were shot by Russian troops on Thursday Feb. 24, 2022 not long after Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine.(Photo:IANS/Twitter)

A squad of Chechen special forces ‘hunters’ has been unleashed in Ukraine to detain or kill a set of specific Ukrainian officials, Daily Mail reported.

Each soldier was reportedly given a special ‘deck of cards’ with Ukrainian officials’ photos and descriptions on them, a Moscow Telegram channel with links to the security establishment reported, Daily Mail reported.

The list is of officials and security officers suspected of ‘crimes’ by the Russian Investigative Committee, the report added.

It came as Ukraine’s President admitted that he is ‘target number one’ for Russian assassins in his capital, while his family is ‘the number two goal’ for Putin’s hitmen.

The Chechen squad is thought to be in a Ukrainian forest and was allegedly given an ‘order to kill’ if those on the wanted list could not be detained, the report said.

ALSO READ: Russia turning into a rogue state under Putin