Tag: conflict

Italy PM urges more action on Russia oligarchs, central bank

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Tuesday urged tougher action against Russian oligarchs and more pressure on Russia’s central bank over the invasion of Ukraine. The European Union on Monday added top Kremlin-linked oligarchs and President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman to its sanctions blacklist. More wide-sweeping measures, including prohibiting transactions with Russia’s central bank, have helped send the Russian economy into turmoil. Italy, the eurozone’s third largest economy, “is ready for further […]

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More than 660,000 refugees flee Ukraine: UN

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — More than 660,000 refugees have fled the conflict in Ukraine to seek shelter in neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said Tuesday. “We have now over 660,000 refugees who have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries in the past six days alone,” spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo told reporters in Geneva. “The numbers are exponentially increasing… At this rate, the situation looks set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.” © Agence France-Presse

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‘Bombs everywhere’: Israelis flee Ukraine

LOD, Israel (AFP) — A repatriation flight from Romania carrying Israelis evacuated from Ukraine landed at Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on Tuesday to the teary relief of waiting relatives. Badr Tawil, 23, a student who fled Ukraine’s under-fire second city Kharkiv, said he had escaped chaos. “We just woke up once and we heard the sounds around us. Bombs everywhere. So we decided to leave, just to leave Ukraine,” he said. Israeli Foreign […]

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UK warns Putin could be tried for war crimes

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UK government warned Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commanders in Ukraine could face prosecution for war crimes, as indiscriminate shelling hit one city under invasion. The shelling of Kharkiv has destroyed a school and, according to its mayor, killed at least 11 civilians. The front pages of British newspapers carried photographs of two young girls killed by Russian attacks in Ukraine and the words of a […]

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Chechnya leader says his fighters killed in Ukraine

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – The strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said Tuesday that Chechens have been killed in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Kadyrov, a former rebel-turned-Kremlin-ally, has given his backing for President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, sending his notorious fighters to the country. “Unfortunately, there are already losses among the natives of the Chechen Republic. Two died, six more were injured to varying degrees,” Kadyrov said on Telegram. Kadyrov, in charge of Russia’s […]

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China starts evacuating citizens from Ukraine: reports

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has started evacuating its citizens from Ukraine, state media reported Tuesday, amid fears for their safety due to the invasion by Beijing’s ally Russia but also reports of resulting hostility from angry Ukrainians. Some 600 Chinese students were evacuated Monday from Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported, citing the Chinese embassy in the Ukrainian capital. They travelled by bus to neighbouring Moldova […]

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Russia invasion convoy masses near Ukraine capital

by Dave CLARK with Ola CICHOWLAS in Moscow Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) – A huge Russian military convoy was massing on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital Tuesday as fears grew the invading forces were set to launch devastating assaults aimed at taking control of Kyiv and other major cities. Satellite images showed a long build-up of armoured vehicles and artillery starting 29 kilometres (18 miles) north of the city, as Moscow defied mounting global […]

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Ukraine crisis stretches Indian ‘neutrality’ to the limit

by Aishwarya KUMAR Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left India’s traditional balancing act between Moscow and the West looking wobblier than ever, with experts saying New Delhi has few good diplomatic options. Last week India abstained on a UN Security Council resolution deploring Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine, winning praise from Moscow for its “independent and balanced position”. But while New Delhi hoped this would be seen as neutrality, […]

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NASA exploring ways to keep ISS afloat without Russian help: official

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – NASA is exploring ways to keep the International Space Station in orbit without Russian help, but doesn’t see any immediate signs Moscow is withdrawing from the collaboration following the invasion of Ukraine, a senior official said Monday. Kathy Lueders, who heads the agency’s human spaceflight program, told reporters on a call that operations on the research platform were proceeding “nominally” and “we’re not getting any indications at a working […]

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Russia shells Ukraine’s Kharkiv as pressure on Moscow bites

by Serguy BOBOK with Dave CLARK in Kiev and Anna SMOLCHENKO in Moscow Agence France-Presse KHARKIV, Ukraine (AFP) – Russia shelled the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv as it pressed on with its invasion Tuesday, defying mounting global pressure that saw a war crimes probe opened against Moscow, sanctions smash its economy and FIFA ban it from the World Cup. After their first talks since the war started failed to secure a breakthrough Monday, Russia continued […]

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Vast Russian army convoy spotted north of Kyiv

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – A huge Russian military convoy stretching some 40 miles was spotted Monday by a US satellite imaging company just north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which has already repulsed several assaults. Satellite photos provided by Maxar, a US company, showed that the convoy — which had been massing since Sunday — had mushroomed to more than 40 miles of military vehicles. It said the column covered the entire stretch […]

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US expels 12 Russian UN staff for ‘espionage activities’

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States said Monday that it was expelling 12 members of Russia’s UN mission from America for being “intelligence operatives,” prompting a furious response from Moscow, which denounced what it called a “hostile move.” A spokeswoman for the US mission to the UN said those ordered to leave had “abused their privileges of residency in the United States by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our […]

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