Europe

Putin threatens Ukraine ‘statehood’ as Moscow sanctions tighten

by Dave CLARK Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the existence of Ukrainian statehood as his army’s invasion of the neighbour faces stiff resistance Sunday and his economy is increasingly asphyxiated by sanctions. In the latest efforts to freeze Moscow out of the world economy, US-based card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced they will suspend operations in Russia, while world leaders vowed to act over the intensifying onslaught. “The current (Ukrainian) authorities must understand that […]

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Israel PM meets Putin on Ukraine in ‘risky’ diplomatic gamble

by Ben Simon Israel’s premier stepped into the role of mediator Saturday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine intensified, holding a three-hour meeting at the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin before calling Ukraine’s president and flying to Berlin. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s sit-down with Putin was the first by a foreign leader since the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine last week, and came after Kyiv had asked Israel to launch a dialogue with Moscow. Bennett has so […]

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Visa, Mastercard suspend operations in Russia

Card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced Saturday they will suspend operations in Russia, the latest major US firms to join the business freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. “Noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment,” Mastercard said it had “decided to suspend our network services in Russia.” Visa, for its part, said that “effective immediately” it would “work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease […]

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Any countries imposing no-fly zone over Ukraine party to conflict: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that any country imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered by Moscow to have entered the conflict, while threatening his ex-Soviet neighbour’s continued existence. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded with the West to support a no-fly zone as his besieged country resists Moscow’s invasion, but allies have so far ruled out such a move, fearing it would escalate into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia. Putin […]

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Ukraine’s Zelensky says held phone call with Biden

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he spoke by phone with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Sunday to discuss financial support and sanctions against Russia as his country faces an intensifying onslaught. “As part of the constant dialogue, I had another conversation with @POTUS,” Zelensky tweeted. “The agenda included the issues of security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.” Hours earlier, the Ukrainian leader had addressed US lawmakers by […]

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Ukraine steps up pleas for warplanes and other military aid

by Paul HANDLEY Ukraine on Saturday urged the West to amp up military assistance to the besieged country, including warplanes, as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated warnings against NATO. “The highest demand that we have is in fighter jets, attack aircraft, and air-defense systems,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a small group of journalists on the Poland-Ukraine border. “If we lose the skies, there will be much more blood on the ground,” he said […]

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Blinken arrives in Poland near border with Ukraine

  Rzeszów, Poland (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Poland on Saturday for talks with officials as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees pour into the country to escape the conflict. The most senior US official to visit Poland since the war began, Blinken will hold talks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Rzeszow, near the border with Ukraine. More than 780,000 people have fled […]

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Russians pack trains into Finland as sanctions bite

  by Sam KINGSLEY Agence France Presse HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — It’s one of the few remaining routes from Russia to the EU: trains to Finland are packed with Russians fearful that now is their last chance to escape the impact of Western sanctions. After two years of pandemic, the 6:40 am from St Petersburg was full of largely Russian passengers as it pulled into Helsinki station on Thursday. “We decided with our families to […]

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Ceasefire to let Mariupol residents evacuate: Russian defence ministry

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s defence ministry announced a ceasefire Saturday to allow residents of two Ukrainian cities that were surrounded by Russian forces, including the strategic port city of Mariupol, to evacuate. “Today, March 5, from 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), the Russian side declares a regime of silence and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha,” it said. The ministry clarified that the location of the […]

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Russian forces seize Ukraine nuclear plant

  KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian forces seized control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant on Friday after a battle with Ukrainian troops that caused a fire and fears of a catastrophic accident. The Ukrainian nuclear regulator said that the fire had been extinguished and no radiation leak had been detected, with site staff still able to work at the Zaporizhzhia site. “The Zaporizhzhia NPP site has been seized by the military forces of the […]

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Russians pack trains into Finland as sanctions bite

by Sam KINGSLEY Agence France-Presse HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) – It’s one of the few remaining routes from Russia to the EU: trains to Finland are packed with Russians fearful that now is their last chance to escape the impact of Western sanctions. After two years of pandemic, the 6:40 am from St Petersburg was full of largely Russian passengers as it pulled into Helsinki station on Thursday. “We decided with our families to go back […]

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