Russia-Ukraine War: Next Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey on March 28-30

Ukraine informed the IAEA today that the technical staff of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant had not been relieved, almost a week after the last rotation.

Ukraine informed the IAEA last night that a nuclear research facility had been targeted by further fire, without it being possible to assess the damage at this time. The nuclear materials present are subcritical and the radioactive stock is low.
 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law restricting the reporting on troop and military equipment movement unless such information has been announced or approved by the military general staff. 

The state news agency Ukrinform reported Sunday that the law calls for potential prison terms of three to eight years for violations. 

The law bans “unauthorized dissemination of information about the direction, movement of international military assistance to Ukraine, the movement, movement or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations of Ukraine, committed in a state of martial law or a state of emergency,” Ukrinform said.
 

The next round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to take place in Turkey on March 28-30, according to reports.

Ukraine needs just one per cent of aircraft and tanks that are stationed in NATO countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, accusing Kyiv's Western allies of being indecisive in terms of military assistance to Ukraine.

"Only 1 per cent of all NATO aircraft and 1 per cent of all NATO tanks, 1 per cent - we are not asking for more," Zelenskyy said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel.

In his speech to 27 European leaders released on Friday, Zelenskyy criticized Hungary for refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons and not allowing the transfer of arms through Hungarian territory.

Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on Friday that Kyiv was "very disappointed" with the NATO summit held earlier this week because it expected the alliance would show more courage and exert additional measures to counter Russia.

In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent Republics". Russia maintains that the aim of its special operation is to "demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the goal is to protect the people of Donbas, "who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years." (ANI/Sputnik)

France’s top diplomat is warning that the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol is becoming a “second Aleppo,” the Syrian commercial capital that in 2016 saw widespread Russian-backed destruction.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday told the Doha Forum, a policy conference in Qatar, that Russia’s “siege warfare” against Ukrainian cities should induce “collective guilt.”

“Civilian populations are slaughtered, annihilated, the suffering is horrible,” said a visibly angry Le Drian.

When asked whether he agreed with President Joe Biden’s remark in Warsaw that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power, he said only that diplomacy with both sides remained a French priority.

Le Drian said French President Emmanuel Macron was trying to avert the worst in Ukraine through talks with both the Ukrainian and Russian presidents. A ceasefire remains the most pressing task, he added, so that parties can move onto thornier topics like Ukraine’s security guarantees and a possible neutral military status.

Le Drian said the world is “at a tipping point" as the war continues to spiral, adding, “This is a crisis that affects us all.”
 

A growing number of Ukrainians are desperate to get out of the besieged city of Mariupol fearing the ongoing military conflict. 

According to the rebel self-proclaimed Donetsk government and the Russian Emergency Ministry, around 50 tents were set up on the territory of the Bezimenne settlement.  

According to the rebel officials, several hundred of people arrived in the village from Mariupol. 

According to the separatist authorities, refugees get food and humanitarian aid. Furthermore people can be evacuated to camps on the territory of the Russian Federation after filling up paperwork, if they want it according to the separatist authorities. 

"All the houses, everything is destroyed. People get their water under attacks. It's scary" Volodymyr, from Mariupol said.

The settlement of Bezimenne in eastern Ukraine was taken under the control of rebel forces in 2014. 
 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday distanced himself from U.S. President Joe Biden's comments about Russian president, urging efforts to de-escalate tensions.

Macron, who has spoken several times to Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks in so far unsuccessful peace-making mediation efforts, is scheduled to speak again with the Russian leader Sunday or Monday.

"We should be factual and ... do everything so that the situation doesn't get out of control," Macron said on France-3 television, when asked about Biden's remark that Putin should leave power.

"I wouldn't use those terms, because I continue to speak to President Putin, because what we want to do collectively is that we want to stop the war Russia launched in Ukraine. Without waging war and without an escalation," Macron said.

He stressed that the U.S. remains an important ally, saying, "We share many common values, but those who live next to Russia are the Europeans."

Macron reiterated his push for a more robust and independent European defence policy, "for ourselves, and not as delegates of the United States or Russia."

Macron said he will talk with Putin about a proposed humanitarian corridor for Mariupol also discussed with Turkey and Greece.

Russian authorities have blocked the website of German newspaper Bild, part of their efforts to control the message on Ukraine.
Communications and media regulator Roskomnadzor said Sunday it blocked Bild’s website at prosecutors' request.

Instagram and Facebook were already blocked in Russia after Roskomnadzor said they were being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers. Russian authorities also have shut access to foreign media websites, including BBC, European news network Euronews, the U.S. government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Latvia-based website Meduza.

Bild says it has been putting Russian-language reports on Russia’s war in Ukraine and its slide toward “totalitarian dictatorship” on its website, and parts of its live video broadcasts have been subtitled in Russian. It noted that it also has a Russian-language Telegram channel.

Bild editor-in-chief Johannes Boie said the decision to block its website in Russia “confirms us in our journalistic work for democracy, freedom and human rights.”

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief says that Russia could try to break Ukraine in two. Kyrylo Budanov said in remarks released by the Defense Ministry on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has realized “he can’t swallow the entire country” and would likely try to split the country under “the Korean scenario.” That's a reference to the decades-old division between North and South Korea.

Budanov said that “the occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine.” He pointed to Russian attempts to set up parallel government structures in occupied cities and to bar people from using the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia.

Budanov predicted that Ukrainian resistance will grow into “total” guerrilla warfare, derailing Russia’s attempts.
 

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy gave an interview to Russian journalists for the first time since the war began.  The media promise to publish the entire conversation uncensored by this evening, Meduza reported.

Pope Francis on Sunday stepped up his pleas for negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine, warning that humanity must eliminate war or war will wipe out humanity.  

Francis told the public in St. Peter's Square that more than a month after Ukraine was invaded by Russia, "this cruel and senseless war" continues, representing "a defeat for all."

Once again, the pope didn't cite Russia by name as the aggressor in the February 24 invasion. 

He concluded: "Humanity must understand that we have reached the moment to abolish war, to cancel it from the history of man, before the war cancels man from history."
 

A manager at a UNESCO world heritage site in Kyiv says bombings in the capital are being felt in the landmark building and could threaten its foundations.

“We and the landmark feel the vibrations,” said Vadim Kyrylenko, an engineer who now is the most senior on-site manager at the St. Sophia Cathedral. 

“It’s a minimal threat but we feel it. If there would be a strike nearby as I say it would be a point of no return for our landmark because it is very fragile and vulnerable," he said.

Kyrylenko, is the Deputy General Manager and Conservator at the Cathedral. 

He said that since the beginning of the war, the landmark, similar to all other historical landmarks across Kyiv, shut its doors to visitors.

The only people inside the church were museum employees and engineers working maintenance.

The construction of the Cathedral dates back nearly 1,000 years to the dawn of Christianity in the region and it is religiously significant to both Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches.

UNESCO has called for its protection.

St. Sophia's was built under Prince Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century and modelled after the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), the spiritual and architectural heart of Christian Orthodoxy. 
 

Pope Francis has stepped up his pleas for negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine. Francis told the public in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that “this cruel and senseless war” continues after more than a month, representing “a defeat for all.” 

He lamented that parents are burying their children, and “the powerful decide and the poor die.” Once again, he didn’t cite Russia by name as the aggressor. 

Referring to reports that about one-half of all the children in Ukraine have been displaced by the conflict, Francis said that “war doesn’t just devastate the present but also the future of society.” 

The pontiff reiterated his condemnation of war as barbarous and sacrilegious. He said that “humanity must understand that the moment has come to abolish war, to cancel war from the history of man before it cancels man from history.”

A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine says that his region wants to hold a vote on joining Russia. Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said Sunday that it could hold a referendum “in the nearest time” asking voters whether they support making the region part of Russia.

Russia has supported the separatist rebels in Luhansk and the neighboring Donetsk regions since an insurgency erupted there in 2014 shortly after Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Moscow recognized their independence on Feb. 21 and then cited their call for military assistance to launch the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

In talks with Ukraine, Moscow has urged it to acknowledge Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Pasechnik’s statement could herald a shift in the Russian position.
 

US President Joe Biden's message of support to Ukraine and condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin was warmly welcomed by Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland on Sunday. 

"I agree with President Biden, because Putin is a terrible person, he is a killer," said Tatjana Kostiuk, 17, a student from Kyiv. 

"He's killing Ukrainians, he is killing his own people, so I think the faster he will go away the better."

Biden delivered a forceful and highly personal condemnation of Putin on Saturday in Warsaw. 

After calling Putin a "butcher" during a visit to a refugee center on Saturday afternoon, Biden later that evening said: "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." 

It was a dramatic escalation in rhetoric that the White House found itself quickly walking back. Before he even left Poland, aides were clarifying that Biden wasn't calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.

"I'm very pleased with Biden's speech. He is one of the only world leaders who cares for our security," said Irena Kovalska, 60.

"All the other leaders, Germany, France, they say one thing and they do something else."
 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. is not trying to topple Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite its harsh condemnations of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Blinken spoke a day after President Joe Biden said of Putin during a speech in Warsaw: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

At a news conference in Jerusalem, Blinken said Biden’s point was that “Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else.”

He said the U.S. has repeatedly said that “we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia, or anywhere else for that matter.”

“In this case, as in any case, it’s up to the people of the country in question. It’s up to the Russian people,” Blinken said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday tried to soothe the fears of Israel and its Gulf Arab allies ahead of the expected renewal of global powers’ international nuclear deal with Iran.

Blinken made the comments shortly before joining his counterparts from Israel and four Arab countries at a special gathering where the Iranian nuclear deal was expected to top the agenda.

"We are both committed, both determined that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon."Blinken told a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. 

The Biden administration has been working to renew the 2015 nuclear deal, which placed curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. With support from Israel, the Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018, causing it to unravel.

Although Iran has since raced ahead with its nuclear program, Israel and Gulf Arab countries are deeply concerned about restoring the original deal. 

Israel fears it does not include enough safeguards to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. 

Both Israel and its Gulf allies also believe that relief from economic sanctions will allow Iran to step up its military activities across the region, including support for hostile militant groups.

Blinken said the U.S. believes that restoring the nuclear deal “the best way to put Iran's nuclear program back in the box that it was in”.

Proxy leader says Russian-occupied parts of Luhansk Oblast may be annexed by Russia. On Sunday, Leonid Pasichnyk, the head of Russia’s proxies in the region, said that a referendum on the annexation may be held soon. Earlier this week, Kremlin said that it has completed Phase 1 of its military operation and would not shift focus to the Donbas region.  At present, proxy leaders hold 93% of Luhansk and 54% of Donetsk. 

US State Secretary Antony Blinken who is on a trip to the Middle East said Sunday that the White House has no strategy of regime change for Russia. His remarks came after US President Joe Biden was slammed by Kremlin for saying that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.” Speaking in West Jerusalem, the US official also asserted that civilians were bearing the brunt of the Russian invasion. 

“I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” Blinken said during a visit to Jerusalem. “As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia - or anywhere else, for that matter,” he added.

The Interior Ministry of Ukraine has said that the Russian military used prohibited cluster ammunition container of the type "Tornado-S" on the residential sector of Krasnogorovka, Donetsk region. "The enemy fired from Tornado-S multiple rocket launchers at a residential neighbourhood of Krasnohorivka. Russian troops used banned cluster munitions. The munitions fell in the middle of the streets of the private sector. Currently, the police have surrounded the dangerous area," the ministry said in a statement. West has warned that Kremlin has switched to attrition warfare and could use nuclear weapons as it continues to suffer huge losses.

The Russian military on Sunday confirmed strikes on fuel depots on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and outside of Kyiv, saying it had targeted fuel supplies for Ukrainian troops. At least 5 people were reported to be injured in the Lviv attacks, prompting the Mayor to say that the strikes were a warning to US President Joe Biden. 

"On March 26, high-precision long-range air-launched weapons destroyed a large fuel base near the city of Lviv, which provided fuel for Ukrainian troops in the western regions of Ukraine, as well as near Kyiv," Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing Sunday.

Furthermore, he also confirmed a separate strike on Lviv Saturday, saying cruise missiles had targeted the workshops of the Lviv radio repair plant, which he claimed carried out the overhaul and modernization of Ukrainian weapons systems. 

Israel and US, on Saturday, held a joint briefing on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Speaking in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that his country condemns the invasion and has been providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the first day of the war. “As we stand here, Israeli medical teams are risking their lives at their field hospital to provide services to Ukraine. Israel continues to provide trucks of supply and assist refugees.

Russian military has lost 16,600 personnel and 582 tanks since the invasion began on February 24, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said. 1,664 armoured personnel vehicles, 52 anti-aircraft warfare systems, 7 boats, 4 mobile SRBM systems were amongst other losses of the Kremlin troops. This comes as western intelligence reports stated that Russians were struggling to cope up with combat losses and bolstered Ukrainian resistance which was now preventing their advances towards Kyiv.

As Russian troops continue to launch military attacks, Ukrainian authorities shared a video of kangaroos being rescued from an Eco-park in Kharkiv. Shared on Twitter by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the clip showed a small group of Kangaroos being transported to a safe zone. Their enclosures were repeatedly shelled by Russian Armed Forces, officials said. Previously, they had shared a video from a residential area in Kharkiv showcasing the extent of damage by Russian attacks.

Mariupol mayor, on Saturday, said that 20,000-30,000 residents were forcibly evacuated from the besieged city to Russia and Russian-occupied areas. As of now, authorities have evacuated nearly 60,000 people from Mariupol to Ukraine. Meanwhile, speaking to UNIAN, Mayor Vadym Boichenko confirmed that 50 % of the city’s total 540,000 population has successfully left. 

Sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, oligarchs, banks and other institutions could be lifted if Russia's forces withdraw, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Saturday. However, she said that there could always be “snapback sanctions” if the Kremlin attacks again. Speaking to Sunday Telegraph, Truss added that a special  “negotiation unit” had been set up at the British Foreign Office to aid possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

On Saturday, Russian missiles struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, just 60 kilometres from the Polish border. Ukrainian authorities said that the strike lead to at least 5 people getting injured. The timing of the attacks, only the third on west Ukrainian targets since the war began, and the closest to Lviv’s city centre and its residential areas, was clearly designed to send a message to the White House.

Amid the ongoing war, several explosions were reported from Lviv- almost 70 km away from where the US President Joe Biden had held a closed-door meeting with his Polish counterparts at Poland's Presidential Palace. Reacting to the incident, Lviv's Mayor, Andriy Sadovy, has questioned the timing of Biden's visit and said, "The aggressor want to say hello to President Biden." 

Russian troops appear to be concentrating their effort to attempt the encirclement of Ukrainian forces directly facing the separatist region in the east of the country, British Intelligence said. It added that Kremlin troops were advancing from the besieged city of Mariupol in the South and Kharkiv in the north. However, the overall battlefield remains static due to Ukrainian counterattacks, the report said. This comes as Russia announced the completion of Phase 1 of its military operation in Ukraine.

Amid the ongoing war, another Russian general, Lt Gen Yakov Rezantsev, was killed in a strike near the southern city of Kherson, BBC reported citing Ukraine's defence ministry. He was the commander of Russia's 49th combined army. Notably, he was the seventh top military official who was killed in Ukraine and the second lieutenant general.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked western powers to deliver planes and tanks as Russian troops shift their focus on the separatist-held Donbas region. In his nightly address on Saturday, the actor turned politician also questioned Europe and US if they were afraid of Vladimir Putin? His remarks came as Russian troops have adopted attrition warfare and have increased shelling on besieged cities as well as Kyiv suburbs. 

“Who runs the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it still Moscow because of intimidation?” he said.

Ukraine’s Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk has said that Russia forcibly removed 40,000 Ukrainian refugees in "an unknown direction" through "quasi-humanitarian corridors". Accusing Moscow of abducting people, she emphasized that the aforementioned evacuation of people wasn’t coordinated with Ukrainian authorities. Her remarks came as Kremlin announced that it would continue to operate and promote its rescue corridors across the world.

US President Joe Biden said via Twitter on March 26 that “the people of Ukraine can count on the United States to meet its responsibility” to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. The US leader capped his 4-day long visit to Europe by meeting Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw. He also gave a blunt, personalized speech in Warsaw wherein he called for Putin’s ousting from power.

Turkish troops, on Saturday, “neutralized” a “mine-like” object that was located on the northern entrance of the Bosporus Strait. The sighting followed a warning that naval mines laid at the entrances of Ukrainian ports could break free in bad weather and float across the black sea. Notably, the Bosphorus Strait is one of the busiest maritime trade routes in the world.  Last year some 38,500 ships passed through the Bosphorus, which links the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

Residents of Chernihiv now fear that it could become the "next Mariupol" as Russians continue to block the city's connection to the rest of the country. The city has been under siege for days now. On Wednesday, Kremlin forces blasted a bridge over Desna River which connected it to Kyiv. Later, on Friday, multiple artillery shelling destroyed the remaining pedestrian bridges, making them impassable for citizens. Meanwhile, bombardments continue. 

“In basements at night, everyone is talking about one thing: Chernihiv becoming (the) next Mariupol,” 38-year-old resident Ihar Kazmerchak, a linguistics scholar told AP.

(Images: AP)

Amidst accusations of abducting Ukrainian refugees, Russia has said that it will continue to open and operate humanitarian corridors in every direction. In a statement, Kremlin asserted that it will not only inform Ukrainian about but also the whole world about it. The statement comes as the Zelenskyy administration said that Russians were forcefully relocating Ukrainian into the Russian federation. 

Ukraine’s embattled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a constructive conversation with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on Saturday wherein he informed his counterpart about the course of counteraction to Russian aggression. Both the leaders also discussed the critical humanitarian situation in Ukrainian cities and villages. “We have to stop the humanitarian catastrophe together!,” Zelenskyy wrote following the conversation.

Capping his four day long trip to Europe, US president Joe Biden on Saturday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin and summoned a call for liberal democracy and a durable resolve among Western nations in the face of a brutal autocrat. Speaking in Poland, Biden also called for the removal of Putin from the Presidential office saying, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” The US leader had first created controversy after he had labelled Putin as a “butcher” last year.

Following intense combat operations, the Ukrainian military has been able to liberate Poltavka, Malynivka. On March 26, Ukrainian forces launched successful counterattacks against Russian troops, ousting them from the temporarily-occupied villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Heavy fighting occurred in both villages, reported Kyiv Independent. 

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that over 5,200 people have been evacuated successfully from war zones. Addressing media reporters, she revealed that 10 humanitarian corridors have been successful in rescuing trapped Ukrainians. In a separate report, Kyiv Independent said that 4,000 people were able to leave besieged port city of Mariupol.

IAEA is monitoring developments after Ukraine informed, on Saturday, that Russian forces had seized Slavutych, where many staff of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant live. In a discreet report, Interfax News stated that at least 3 people have been killed by the invaders. The governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, had earlier announced the capture in an online post.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency is closely monitoring the situation in a Ukrainian city where many people live who work at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) after the country’s nuclear regulator today informed the IAEA it had been seized by Russian forces, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

Russian attacks on Kharkiv Saturday have damaged a Holocaust memorial, the Ukrainian Parliament said. "Is this what occupiers call to fight against Nazism," they questioned. Notably, Putin had announced that one of the prime reasons for his attack on Ukraine was what he called denazification of the ex-soviet state. 

On Saturday, Ukraine’s Institute of Mass Media (IMI) reported that Russian troops have committed 148 crimes against journalists and media since the conflict began on February 24. As per IMI, Russians have killed 5 journalists, captured 6 others while their attacks wounded 7 other media personalities. It also reported 19 incidences of cybercrimes by Russians. Notably, Elon Musk recently revealed that there have been multiple hacking attempts at his Starlink satellites.

Russian army, which has now switched to attrition warfare, fired at a nuclear facility in Kharkiv, once again threatening the security of the European continent. As of now, the extent of the damage has not been revealed by the Ukrainian authorities. “It is currently impossible to estimate the extent of damage due to hostilities that do not stop in the area of the nuclear installation," said Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate.