Russia-Ukraine conflict, Day 8: Top 10 developments today

Meanwhile, over 7,000 Russian servicemen have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while hundreds have been taken prisoner including senior officers, military adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Russia too reported its military casualties for the first time since the invasion began, saying nearly 500 of its troops have been killed and almost 1,600 wounded.

Here are the top 10 updates on the Russia-Ukraine issue today:

🔴  Ukraine’s state emergencies agency says that at least 22 civilians have been killed in a Russian strike on a residential area in the city of Chernihiv, a city of 280,000 in Ukraine’s north. It said the casualties could be higher as rescuers are continuing to look through debris for more bodies. The development comes even as talks between Russia and Ukraine are underway in Belarus.

🔴 The International Criminal Court prosecutor has launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide amid a rising civilian death toll and widespread destruction of property during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the probe late Wednesday night after dozens of the court’s member states asked him to take action. After informing the court’s judges of his decision to open an investigation that covers all sides in the conflict, Khan said, “Our work in the collection of evidence has now commenced.”

🔴 Russian shelling and attacks on civilian populations killed 34 civilians in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region in the past 24 hours between March 2-3, the emergency services said Thursday. Separately, the governor of the Ukraine-controlled eastern Donetsk region said the port city of Mariupol, one of the first targets of the Russian invasion, was without electricity or water supplies.

🔴 On Wednesday, the United Nations resolution reprimanding Moscow was supported by 141 of the assembly’s 193 members, a symbolic victory for Ukraine that increases Moscow’s international isolation. “More is at stake even than the conflict in Ukraine itself,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters after the vote. “This is a threat to the security of Europe and the entire rules-based order.” India abstained on the resolution and reiterated that differences can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

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🔴 The Indian government on Thursday countered Russia’s claims that Indian students are being held hostage in Ukraine, saying that they were in constant touch with all nationals and haven’t received any such report yet. “We have not received reports of any hostage situation regarding any student. We have requested support from the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

🔴 A Western intelligence report said senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to senior Biden administration officials and a European official.

🔴 Ukraine and Russia are expected to start another round of peace talks on Thursday, according to Deutsche Welle (DW). On Wednesday, Russia’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the Russian delegation was waiting in southwestern Belarus, and that Ukrainian representatives were on their way. Medinsky also told Rossyia 24 broadcaster that Russian soldiers created a “safety corridor” for the Ukrainian delegations. The talks are expected on the ceasefire. The two sides met for their first round of talks on Monday, but the meeting produced no tangible results.

🔴 Russian forces laid siege to two strategic Ukrainian seaports Wednesday and pressed their bombardment of the country’s second-biggest city, while the huge armoured column threatening Kyiv appeared stalled outside the capital.

🔴 Russia also said there will be no impact of the Western sanctions against it on the supply of S-400 missile systems to India. At a media briefing, Russian Ambassador-designate Denis Alipov also referred to a bilateral mechanism to do business in national currencies.

🔴 The United Nations estimated that a million refugees have evacuated from Ukraine to neighbouring countries like Poland and Hungary by the seventh day of Russia’s assault. According to news agency AP, the UN’s tally accounts for over 2 per cent of Ukraine’s population, which was pegged at 44 million by the World Bank at the end of 2020. The international organisation also warned that over 4 million more people may leave the country, its projections showed.