LIVE: Russia – Ukraine invasion latest news
16.05: Ukrainian delegation arrived for talks with Russia in Belarus – The Ukrainian delegation of negotiators has arrived by helicopter for talks with the Russian side in Belarus, Russian state news agency TASS said on Thursday, citing its reporter on the ground.
The #Ukrainian delegation flew to #Belarus for negotiations with the #Russian delegation. pic.twitter.com/Sgzp0vTBKz
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 3, 2022
15.55: Sanctions on Russia, energy prices hurting German economy – Sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion in Ukraine and higher energy prices resulting from the conflict will slow Germany’s economy recovery, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Thursday, pledging support for businesses hurt by the crisis.
15.45: Ukraine regional governor says nine killed after Russian air strike hits two schools – At least nine people have been killed and four wounded after a Russian air strike hit two schools and private houses in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region on Thursday, governor Viacheslav Chaus said in an online post.
15.12: Ukraine fears Russia is preparing ‘false flag’ attack near border – Ukraine fears Russia may be preparing to stage a so-called false flag operation near the Ukraine-Russia border to suggest Ukraine has attacked a Russian village, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter on Thursday.”Worrying reports: Russians might have pointed multiple rocket-launching systems in the Russian border village of Popovka towards their own territory. Knowing the barbaric nature of Russian actions we fear a false flag operation,” he said.
15.10: Putin tells Macron Russia will achieve its goals in Ukraine – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the goals of Russia’s operation in Ukraine – its demilitarisation and neutral status – will be achieved in any case, the Kremlin said. Putin said that any attempts by Kyiv to delay negotiations would results in Moscow adding more items to its list of demands.
14.55: Cargo ship sinks off Odessa after explosion, crew members missing – The Estonian-owned cargo ship Helt sunk on Thursday off the Ukrainian port of Odessa after an explosion, the vessel’s manager said.Two crew members were in a life raft at sea while four others were unaccounted for, Igor Ilves, managing director of Tallinn-based manager Vista Shipping Agency, told Reuters.
14.45: Amsterdam Hermitage museum breaks ties with famed Hermitage in St. Petersburg – The Amsterdam Hermitage, a museum of Russian art in Amsterdam that assembled its collection in cooperation with the famed State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, said on Thursday it was “severing ties” with Russia. “Due to our carefully built relationship … we had access to one of the world’s most famous art collections that we could use to complement our exhibitions,” the Dutch museum said in a statement.It said it had tried to remain politically neutral but “the recent attack by Russia on Ukraine means that neutrality is no longer tenable”.
14.36: Škoda and Volkswagen leave Russia – “Against the backdrop of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, VWGroup decided to stop car production in Russia until further notice. The export of cars to Russia will also be stopped immediately,” VWGroup said in a statement
Škoda and Volkswagen leave #Russia
“Against the backdrop of Russia’s attack on #Ukraine, VWGroup
decided to stop car production in Russia until further notice. The export of cars to Russia will also be stopped immediately,” VWGroup said in a statement. pic.twitter.com/429QIJofO6— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 3, 2022
14.33: Fitch and Moody’s cut Russia’s credit rating – Fitch and Moody’s cut Russia’s credit rating to “junk.”Rating agencies slashed Russia’s credit rating by six notches as a result of the Western sanctions.
⚡️Fitch and Moody’s cut Russia’s credit rating to “junk.”
Rating agencies slashed Russia’s credit rating by six notches as a result of the Western sanctions.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 3, 2022
14.25: Russia’s RT says: UK is attempting to curtail media freedoms – Russia’s state-funded RT television channel said on Thursday that it had long stopped expecting any legitimacy or reason in Britain’s attempts to curtail media freedoms. “We have long stopped expecting any legitimacy or reason in the UK’s attempts to curtail media freedoms,” Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor in chief, told Reuters. “Now it seems it has forgotten Brexit and is seeking to force influence over the rest of Europe too.”
14.08: Ukraine-Russia talks to start soon, focus on humanitarian corridors – Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations will begin in Belarus at about 1400 GMT and Kyiv plans to discuss setting up humanitarian corridors before moving on to other issues, Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia said on Facebook.
⚡️ Ukraine, Russia to hold new round of peace talks.
According to Vladimir Medinsky, assistant to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the second round of negotiations will take place on March 3 in Belarus, close to the Polish border.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 3, 2022
13.47: Crypto exchange Binance says will not accept cards of sanctioned Russian banks – Cryptocurrency exchange Binance on Thursday said cardholders of sanctioned Russian banks would not be able to use them on their platform and confirmed that sanctioned individuals have had their access restricted. Some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges are staying put in Russia, breaking ranks with mainstream finance in a decision that experts say weakens Western attempts to isolate Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.
13.30: UK asks Meta, Tik Tok to prevent access to RT – British culture minister Nadine Dorries said on Thursday she had written to social media company Tik Tok and Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms FB.O to ask if they could prevent access to Russian state-owned television network RT in Britain. “I was very glad to see yesterday that the channel is now officially off air on British televisions after it was shut down and Sky, Freeview and Freesat,” Dorries told parliament. “I’ve written to Meta and Tik Tok asking them to do everything that they can do to prevent access to RT in the UK, as they’ve done in Europe.”
13.15: ICC prosecutor: advance team has left to begin work in Ukraine investigation – An advance team left the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for the Ukraine region on Thursday to start investigating possible war crimes, its top prosecutor told Reuters in an interview. Their departure comes hours after Prosecutor Karim Khan announced he would start collecting evidence as part of a formal investigation launched after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. “Yesterday I formulated a team and today they are moving to the region,” Khan said. Khan said his office would be examining possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by all parties in the conflict.
13.13:-Formula One will not host races in Russia – Formula One will no longer race in Russia after the sport terminated its contract with the promoter of the Russian Grand Prix, it said in a statement on Thursday. The 2022 running of the event, set for September at the Olympic Park in Sochi, had already been cancelled last week after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
13.10 ASEAN urges end to ‘military hostilities’ in Ukraine, no mention of Russia – Foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries on Thursday called for an immediate end to what they called military hostilities in Ukraine and said they believed there was “still room for a peaceful dialogue”. In a statement that made no mention of Russia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said it stood ready to facilitate, in any possible way, peaceful dialogue. It said it was “deeply troubled by the intensifying gravity” of the situation.
13.00: Ukraine foreign minister says Germany will send more weapons – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmyro Kuleba on Thursday said Germany had told Ukraine it would send more weapons to support the fight against invading Russian forces. Kuleba did not say what kind of weapons Germany planned to send or when they would be delivered.
12.55: S.Korea to provide $10 mln humanitarian aid to Ukraine including medical supplies – South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that the country has approved $10 million in emergency humanitarian aid including medical supplies for the Ukrainian people and refugees, the Blue House said in a statement.
12.50: UK unable to prove case for sanctions against Russian oligarchs like Abramovich, Times says – Britain will not be able to sanction Roman Abramovich and other Russian oligarchs for weeks or months because the government has been unable to prove reasonable grounds for designating the businessmen, The Times newspaper reported.
12.45 Ukraine is staging counter-attacks against Russian troops, Ukrainian official says – Ukraine is able to launch counter-attacks against invading Russian forces even as it defends itself, a military adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. “Help to us is increasing every minute and the strength of the enemy is decreasing every minute. We’re not only defending but also counter-attacking,” he said in a televised briefing.
12.31 UK’s Truss: We need to make sure NO Russian bank has access to SWIFT – The West needs to make sure no Russian bank has access to the SWIFT messaging system, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Thursday during a visit to Lithuania.”We worked with the US the EU and G7 to cut off funding for Putin’s war machine, kicking Russian banks after the financial system … we need to go further. We need to make sure no Russian bank has access to SWIFT,” Truss told a news conference.
12.22: Southern port of Mariupol surrounded by Russia, says Ukrainian official – Ukraine’s southern port of Mariupol is surrounded by Russian troops, interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said on Thursday.”The occupiers want to turn it into besieged Leningrad,” he said, referring to Nazi Germany’s siege of the then-Soviet city where about 1.5 million people died during two years of blockade.
12.10: Kyiv city mayor says situation “difficult but under control” – The situation in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv is “difficult but under control”, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Thursday. Klitschko said there were no casualties overnight and that nighttime explosions were Ukrainian air defences striking down incoming Russian missiles. He said a heating system site damaged by Russian shelling on Wednesday would be fixed during the day.
11.50: Russia-Ukraine talks may start within hours – Belta – The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine may start in Belarus at 1200 GMT, Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted chief Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky as saying.
The southern city of Kherson is de facto controlled by the Russian invaders since March 2.
The city mayor said that “for the Ukrainian flag to continue flying over us” he negotiated with the Russian forces several conditions, including:
1. Strict curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 3, 2022
11.45:”We are being destroyed,” Mariupol city council says – Mariupol city council said Russia was constantly and deliberately shelling critical civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian southern port, leaving it without water, heating or power and preventing bringing supplies or evacuating people. “They are breaking food supplies, setting us up in a blockade, as in the old Leningrad,” the council said in a statement.
11.38: Lavrov says he believes some leaders are preparing for war against Russia – Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian state television on Thursday that he believed some foreign leaders were preparing for war against Russia. He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of presiding over “a society where Nazism is flourishing”.
11.35: UK says Russia has deployed thermobaric weapons – Putin has deployed thermobaric weapons systems in Ukraine and London is worried about how broadly they could be used, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday. “How far (Putin) will go, what weapons he will authorise to achieve his ultimate aim, is unknown but we’ve seen the use of massive amounts of artillery. We’ve seen the deployment of thermobaric artillery weapon systems and we worry how broad those could go,” Wallace said during a visit to Estonia.
11.31: Russia’s Lavrov: no doubt that solution to Ukraine crisis will be found – Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian state television on Thursday he had no doubt that a solution to the Ukrainian crisis will be found, but Russia’s dialogue with the West needs to be based on mutual respect.
11.32: Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says defence lines holding against Russian attacks – Ukraine’s defence lines were holding against the Russian attack, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest video on Thursday, adding there had been no respite in Moscow’s shelling of Ukraine since midnight. “We have nothing to lose but our own freedom,” Zelenskiy said, adding Ukraine was receiving daily arms supplies from its international allies.
⚡️Zelensky: Russia’s missile and bomb strikes on Ukrainian cities are a recognition that they have failed to achieve anything significant on our land.
All lines of our defense are preserved, the enemy has no success in any of the strategic directions.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 3, 2022
11.00: Ukrainian diplomats in Moscow moved to Latvia – Ukrainian diplomats formerly based in Moscow arrived in Latvia on Wednesday evening, Latvia’s foreign minister said. “Latvia welcomes Ukrainian diplomats who left Moscow and crossed Latvian-Russian border last night,” minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted on Thursday. Latvia said on Saturday it would give refuge to the diplomats after receiving their plea for help.
10.57: Not clear what Abramovich’s promise to donate Chelsea sale proceeds means – UK minister –Britain’s Damian Hinds security minister said on Thursday he did not understand what the donation of net proceeds from Russian businessman Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea football club to help victims of the war in Ukraine meant.When asked if he understood what the donation of net proceeds meant, Hinds told ITV: “No, because you can define net proceeds in different ways.” When asked about possible sanctions against Abramovich, he said he it would be “neither right nor wise” to comment on individual cases.
10.40: Hungary evacuates 32 people from embassy in Kyiv -minister – Hungary has evacuated 32 people from its embassy in Kyiv, including some Hungarian embassy staff, two journalists, 10 South African and 10 Nigerian nationals, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.
10.26: Russia warns West against further escalation – Ifax – Moscow warned the West against further escalating tensions with it, Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday
10.19: Lithuania prosecutors launch Ukraine war crimes investigation – The Lithuanian prosecutor general’s office said on Thursday it had begun investigating suspected crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. “The investigation was launched with regards to the military aggression in Ukraine,” it said in a statement. The probe will include “military attacks on civilians, doctors, destruction of homes, hospitals, educational institutions and other civilian facilities, which lead to deaths of adults and children,” it said.
10.17: Russia continues contacts with U.S. – Ifax – Moscow is continuing contact with Washington, mostly through embassies, and believes talks with Ukraine in Belarus can produce results, the TASS news agency quoted Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday. At the same time, Ryabkov said he believed the goals of the Russian military operation in Ukraine would be fully achieved.
10.02: China says reports on Chinese-Russian coordination on Ukraine ‘fake news’ – The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday that reports on Chinese and Russian coordination ahead of Russia’s attack on Ukraine are “fake news.” Such practices of diverting attention and shifting blame are “despicable”, said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, at a regular media briefing.
9.56: China says more than 3,000 of its citizens have left Ukraine – More than 3,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine have been safely relocated to neighbouring countries, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily media briefing on Thursday. Unlike many countries, China did not tell its roughly 6,000 citizens in Ukraine to leave the country in the days leading up to last Thursday’s invasion by Russia, announcing evacuation plans soon after it had begun.
9.31|: Liberal Russian radio station dissolved – editor – Ekho Moskvy, a liberal radio station in Moscow, has been dissolved by its board, its editor Alexei Venediktov said, in a move eliminating one of the few remaining liberal media that the Kremlin has tolerated until now. The move came shortly after the prosecutor general’s office demanded that access be restricted to Ekho Moskvy and the TV Rain online news channel because of their coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
9.19: Paralympics-Russian, Belarusian athletes can no longer compete in Beijing Paralympics – IPC
Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be able to compete at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Thursday. “Following a specially convened meeting, the IPC Governing Board has decided to refuse the athlete entries from the RPC and NPC Belarus for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games,” the IPC said in a statement. “This means that para athletes from these respective countries will no longer be allowed to participate in the Games which open on 4 March 2022.”
9.15: France advises its citizens to leave Russia – The French government on Thursday advised French citizens to leave Russia where possible, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
8.47: Hungary will not veto EU sanctions on Russia – Hungary will not veto European Union sanctions against Russia and the unity of the 27-member bloc is paramount amid the war in Ukraine, which Budapest condemns unequivocally, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
8.22: Pro-Russian separatists threaten Ukraine’s Mariupol with strikes – Pro-Russian forces may launch targeted strikes on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol unless Ukrainian forces there surrender, the Interfax news agency quoted Donetsk separatist commander Eduard Basurin as saying on Thursday.
