A charred military vehicle is seen on a road, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, near the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region (Reuters)Russia Ukraine Crisis Highlights: Four people were killed when homes in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr were hit on Tuesday by a Russian cruise missile apparently aimed at a nearby air base, Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said on his Telegram channel.
Russian defence ministry said that it was planning to launch “high precision strikes” in Kyiv and asked its residents to leave. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the defence ministry said that Russia was preparing to launch “high-precision strikes” against the “Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the 72nd Center for Information and Psychological Operations (PSO)” in Kyiv. “We urge Ukrainian citizens involved by Ukrainian nationalists in provocations against Russia, as well as Kyiv residents living near relay stations, to leave their homes,” the statement said.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Indian student lost his life in the shelling in Kharkiv. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated, “With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.We convey our deepest condolences to the family,” he tweeted. The student has been identified as Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, 20, from Karnataka. He was a fourth-year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University.
🗞️Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️
More than 70 Ukrainian servicemen were killed by a Russian rocket attack and dozens of civilians have died in “barbaric” shelling, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday, as a huge Russian military convoy approached the capital Kyiv. The Indian embassy in Kyiv, in an advisory issued Tuesday, asked Indians asked to leave Kyiv urgently through ‘any means available’. The UN has said that at least 102 civilians, including seven children, have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. Meanwhile, an embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its ties to the West by applying to join the European Union, a largely symbolic move for now.
People attend an anti-war protest outside the Russian Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, on Saturday. (Photo: Reuters)
This live blog is closed. Follow latest updates here.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says his government will not impose any economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The president often cites a guiding principle of nonintervention in foreign affairs.
He said Tuesday that “we want to maintain good relations with all the world's governments, and we want to be in a position to be able to speak with all parties to the conflict.” Russian investment in Mexico is estimated at some $132 million and the bilateral trade at more than $2.4 billion. (AP)
Four people were killed when homes in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr were hit on Tuesday by a Russian cruise missile apparently aimed at a nearby air base, Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said on his Telegram channel. (Reuters)
U.S. payment card firms Visa Inc (V.N) and Mastercard Inc have blocked multiple Russian financial institutions from their network, complying with government sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Visa said on Monday it was taking prompt action to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions, adding that it will donate $2 million for humanitarian aid. Mastercard also promised to contribute $2 million. (Reuters)
The European Union is speaking to U.S. counterparts about extending a ban on Russian flights, it said on Tuesday, as it gave more details of the EU's closure of airspace to Russian aircraft imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Airlines already face potentially lengthy blockages of key east-west flight corridors after the EU and Moscow issued tit-for-tat airspace bans. Washington has not ruled out similar action.
United Airlines and United Parcel Service (UPS) (UPS.N) said on Tuesday they had suspended flying over Russian airspace, joining other major U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and American Airlines. (Reuters)
The UK government has launched an urgent review into how to reduce Britain's exposure to Russian gas imports and energy companies following the Ukraine's invasion, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng met the heads of some of Britain's biggest energy groups on Friday as part of the review, which energy industry leaders said would require a close examination of ties between Russia's Gazprom and the public and private sectors in Britain, the report added. (Reuters)
Russian forces escalated their attacks on crowded urban areas Tuesday, bombarding the central square in Ukraine's second-biggest city and Kyiv's main TV tower in what the country's president called a blatant campaign of terror.
“Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed after the bloodshed on the square in Kharkiv.
Ukrainian authorities said five people were killed in the attack on the TV tower, which is a couple of miles from central Kyiv and a short walk from numerous apartment buildings. (AP)
The United States said Tuesday it is expelling a Russian “intelligence operative” working for the United Nations in addition to the 12 members of the Russian Mission to the United Nations whose expulsions were ordered Monday for engaging in espionage. (AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an immediate cease-fire between the Russian and Ukrainian forces.
“Our call to both Russia and Ukraine is: let the firing stop as soon as possible, let Russia and Ukraine make a beautiful contribution to peace,” Erdogan said Tuesday during a joint news conference with Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, on Tuesday.
He however, urged the EU to “show the same sensitivity” toward Turkey. The country is a candidate to join the EU but its accession talks have been stalled over a number of issues, including the country's democratic backtracking.
“Are you going to bring Turkey's (application) on the agenda when someone declares war on it and attacks?” Erdogan said. (AP)
First flight out of Budapest in Hungary with Indian students is also ready for departure.
It is an Indigo airline flight with Minister Hardeep Puri overseeing the evacuation. Some students on this flight had been stranded at the Ukraine side of the land border with Poland for a day.
They were taken taken by a bus to the Hungarian border of Ukraine on Monday.
A batch of Indians being evacuated by an Indigo airlines flight from Warsaw to New Delhi shortly. This is the first repatriation flight that will take off from Poland; most Indians on board faced a tough time exiting Ukraine at Shehyni check point since Friday.
When it comes to international affairs in India, Turkey’s complex relations with Russia don’t often get widespread attention. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rapid developments in Europe, that is changing, particularly because of Turkey’s geographical location. But how can Turkey closing its waters to Russia’s navy impact the war in Ukraine? Neha Banka explains
More than half a million refugees have fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries since Russia invaded on February 24, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. (Graphics by Reuters)
In September last year, Sheriff Tiraspol scripted one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history when his lowly side beat 13-time UCL winners Real Madrid. Six months later, with his country reeling in war after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last week, Yuriy Vernydub has thrown the coaching suit to the back-burner for military fatigue. Read more
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before talks about a ceasefire can begin, Reuters reports. He also urged NATO members to impose a no-fly zone to stop the Russian air force.
All Indian nationals have left Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.
At a media briefing, Shringla said he has conveyed to envoys of Russia and Ukraine India's demand for 'urgent safe passage' for all Indian nationals stuck in Kharkiv and other conflict zones. He said at a high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis, PM Narendra Modi expressed deep anguish over the loss of life of an Indian citizen in Kharkiv. 'We remain very concerned over the situation in Kharkiv, Sumy and other conflict zones,' Shringla said. 'Over the next three days, 26 flights have been scheduled to bring back Indian citizens,' he said.
Shringla said a C-17 IAF aircraft is expected to fly out at 4 am on Wednesday to Romania to repatriate our citizens. He further said that the body of the Indian student who died in Kharkiv has been taken to morgue in medical university in the city. (PTI)
Five killed in Russian strike on Kyiv TV tower, reports AFP quoting official. Ukrainian TV channels have stopped broadcasting several minutes ago. (Photo: Ukraine NOW/Telegram)
President of the European Council Charles Michel on Tuesday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and conveyed his condolences over the death of an Indian student in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Michel said the European countries are wholeheartedly helping evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine, asserting that the world must unite in defence of international law.
In the first Indian casualty in the war in Ukraine, the medical student from Karnataka's Haveri district was killed in intense shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a native of Chalageri, was studying at a medical college in Ukraine. "I expressed my condolences to @PMOIndia for the loss of life of an Indian student in #Kharkiv today due to indiscriminate Russian attacks against innocent civilians," he said on Twitter.
The EU official said the attacks on Ukraine is aimed to "destroy multilateralism and cause pain and suffering". (PTI)
The UN's refugees chief is warning that many more vulnerable people will begin fleeing their homes in Ukraine if Russia's military offensive continues and further urban areas are hit.
Filippo Grandi told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that his agency has so far recorded 677,000 people fleeing from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, with about half of those currently in Poland.Queues along the border are now tens of kilometers (miles) long and some people are having to wait days to cross.
“It is likely that if the military offensive continues and urban centers are hit one after the other, that we will see more and more people with less resources, with less connections, more vulnerable in every respect,” he said.
Grandi criticised instances where non-Ukrainians fleeing the country had reportedly suffered discrimination, but said this did not appear to be the result of government policies. UN humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths said shelling and bombing have already damaged water pipes, electricity lines, basic services. "Hundreds of thousands of families are without drinking water," he said.(AP)
An Indian student lost his life in Russian shelling on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Tuesday. As Russians stepped up the onslaught, more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, even as a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened Kyiv.
Russians on Tuesday threatened ‘high-precision strikes’ on Kyiv, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an emotional speech addressing the European Parliament, urging European leaders to “prove that you are with us”. He added that the “light will win over darkness”. Here are top developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Russian forces have attacked a television tower in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, potentially disrupting its signal, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko says. (Reuters)
Russian punk band Pussy Riot's founder Nadezhda ‘Nadya’ Tolokonnikova has launched 10,000 NFTs of the Ukrainian flag to help Ukraine after Moscow launched an attack on its neighbour.
European stock markets sagged and oil jumped back above $100 a barrel as markets struggled with massive uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine (Reuters)
As Russia stepped up its military offensive in Ukraine, China on Tuesday said that Moscow’s “legitimate security demands” ought to be taken seriously and properly addressed for a political settlement to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
Refusing to criticise Russia’s military action, which has entered a decisive phase with thousands of Russian troops massed on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called for a “political settlement that accommodates both sides’ legitimate security concerns, achieves common security in Europe and promotes Europe’s lasting peace and stability”. Read more
European Union officials are speaking with their United States counterparts about extending the current airspace bans imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, a senior EU official said on Tuesday.
Airlines are bracing for potentially lengthy blockages of key east-west flight corridors after the European Union and Moscow issued tit-for-tat airspace bans. Washington has not ruled out similar action in response to what Russian President Vladimir Putin has called 'a special military operation.'
'Yes, there are discussions with the U.S. on what measures they will adopt,' the official told reporters, adding that it was too early to assess the impact of the bloc's airspace ban. Global supply chains, already hit hard by the pandemic, face increasing disruption and cost pressure by the closure of the skies which will affect over a fifth of air freight. Hardest hit are likely to be Russian carriers, which make up approximately 70% of the flights between Russia and the EU, the official said. (Reuters)
The United States is looking closely at whether war crimes were committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and engaging with partners around the world on the issue, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
There have been "a range of reports that are horrifying about barbaric tactics, whether it's cluster bombs or other tactics that we've seen that could be classified as a war crime," Psaki said in an interview with Fox News Channel. "We will be closely watching and assessing exactly that question." (Reuters)
Russian defence ministry has warned Kyiv residents to leave. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the defence ministry said that Russia was preparing to launch “high-precision strikes” against the “Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the 72nd Center for Information and Psychological Operations (PSO)” in Kyiv. “We urge Ukrainian citizens involved by Ukrainian nationalists in provocations against Russia, as well as Kyiv residents living near relay stations, to leave their homes,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a high-level meeting this evening on the Ukraine crisis, his fourth since Sunday, official sources said.
The meeting comes as the situation in the war-hit country worsened, with one Indian student also losing his life in shelling in Kharkiv as Russian troops advanced deeper into Ukraine. Modi has asserted that his government's top priority is to ensure safety and evacuation of Indian students. (PTI)
"I extend my deepest condolences on the death of Indian student Naveen Shekharappa who was killed in shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Earlier shelling and bombings happened on military sites but now also happening in the civil areas," says Dr Igor Polikha, Ambassador of Ukraine to India.
As Russia’s offensive enters Day 6, Ukraine puts up strong resistance. See full gallery here
Moments after the news of the death of an Indian student, Naveen SG, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv city trickled in, his friend, who is also stranded in the same city, said Naveen had postponed his plan to travel to India Monday and was supposed to fly back Wednesday so that his juniors are not left behind in the war-torn country.
Naveen’s friend Amit Vaishyar, who’s a year senior to the former, spoke to the media and said, “A team took the risk to travel towards the Hungarian border Monday and left. Naveen suggested waiting and taking along juniors as they are less than a year old in Ukraine. It was his idea to leave Kharkiv Wednesday morning.” Both Naveen and Vaishyar are from Karnataka. Read more
A round-up of events on day six of Russia's invasion of Ukraine--watch video:
Addressing the European Parliament via a video call, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday delivered an emotional speech, urging European leaders to “prove that you are with us” and added that “light will win over darkness”.
“We are just fighting for our land and for our freedom. And believe me, despite the fact that all the big cities of our country are now blocked, no one will enter our freedom and state. Do prove that you are with us. Do prove that you will not let us go. Do prove that you are indeed Europeans. And then, life will win over death and light will win over darkness,” he said. Read more
Among the biggest hurdles for the 182 Indian students who were repatriated from Ukraine on Tuesday morning was perhaps the freezing temperature which plunged to nearly -5 degree Celsius at the Ukraine-Romania border while they anxiously waited to cross over from Hlybots’kyi in the war-torn country to Suceava city in Romania.
“The worst part was the 34-hour wait at the Romanian border. I could not eat, drink or sleep. The temperature was -3 to -5 degrees Celsius. There was no food except the coffee and bread given by Ukrainians. There was no toilet or place to sleep. At one point, I thought of returning to my university as we were not allowed to cross the border and my health was getting affected. I saw some girls falling unconscious,” said Dinanath Rai (21) from Bihar. Read more
EU has disconnected key Russian banks from SWIFT. The union will also ban the transaction of Russia’s Central Bank to "turn off the tap on Russia’s and Putin’s war," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says, "In these days, independent Ukraine is facing the darkest hour. At the same time the Ukrainian people are holding up the torch of freedom for all of us, they are showing immense courage… They are defending their lives, but they are also fighting for universal values and they are willing to die for them. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people are our true inspiration.”
She adds, “This is a watershed moment for our union. We cannot take our security and the protection of people for granted. We have to stand up for it. We have to invest in it. We have to carry our fair share of the responsibility."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chair a high-level meeting on the Ukraine-Russia crisis at 6 pm today (ANI)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a standing ovation after his address at European Parliament, said, "We're fighting for our land & our freedom despite the fact that all our cities are now blocked. Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians." he said.
Britain said on Tuesday it had passed a law that would ban all ships that have any connection to Russia from entering its ports.
Britain had said on Monday that it wanted all ports to refuse entry to ships that were Russian flagged, registered or controlled while it drew up new legislation.
"We've just become the first nation to pass a law involving a total ban of all ships with any Russian connection whatsoever from entering British ports," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter. (Reuters)
Russia's top security official Dmitry Medvedev responded on Tuesday to comments by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire promising to wage an economic and financial war against Russia.
"Today, some French minister has said that they declared an economic war on Russia. Watch your tongue, gentlemen! And don't forget that in human history, economic wars quite often turned into real ones," Medvedev, a former Russian president, wrote on his Twitter account (@MedvedevRussiaE).
Earlier on Tuesday Le Maire told France Info radio that "we are going to deliver a total economic and financial war against Russia," over its invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)
At least 136 civilians have been killed, including 13 children, and 400 have been injured since the Russian invasion began, United Nations human rights office says.
Addressing the European parliament via a video call, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, “Without you, Ukraine is going to be lonely. We have proven our strengths. We are exactly the same as you. So, prove that you are with us. Prove that you will not let us go. Prove that you indeed are Europeans and that life will win over death, and light will win over darkness.”
No one from the Indian Embassy reached out to stranded Indian students in Kharkiv in Ukraine, where a Karnataka native pursuing medicine was killed in shelling amid a Russian military offensive, the victim's father alleged on Tuesday.
Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar from the district was killed when he stepped out of his bunker to exchange currency and fetch some food, his uncle Ujjanagouda claimed. The victim's residence in Chalageri in this district slipped into gloom upon receiving the news of their child killed in the faraway European nation, with a large number of people thronging the house to console the bereaved family.
The boy's father Gyanagoudar complained that no one from the Indian embassy reached the students stuck in Kharkiv, which is witnessing hostilities. His family members said Naveen was in the fourth year of his course in the Kharkiv medical college.
Ujjanagouda said Naveen along with others from Karnataka was stuck in a bunker in Kharkiv. He had gone out in the morning to exchange currency and to fetch some food when he was caught shelling happened, in which he was killed instantaneously. On Tuesday when he rang up his father, Naveen said there was no food and water in the bunker, Ujjanagouda stated. (PTI)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda at the Lask Air Base in central Poland for talks on the eastern flank's security, as Russia wages war on Ukraine, just across Poland's eastern border.
Stoltenberg and Duda shook hands early Tuesday at the 32rd Tactical Air Base in Lask, where Polish and NATO fighter jets are based, including F-16s. The United States recently reinforced the eastern flank of NATO's territory with some 5,000 additional troops. (AP)
Ukraine’s foreign ministry releases a video of children in a bunker in Kyiv singing the city’s anthem.
Reacting to the death of the Indian student in Kharkiv, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says, “Received the tragic news of an Indian student Naveen losing his life in Ukraine. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. I reiterate, GOI needs a strategic plan for safe evacuation. Every minute is precious.”
Ukraine President Zelenskyy states Russia became a “terrorist state” the moment they launched a rocket directed at Kharkiv, reports The Kyiv Independent. “Launching a rocket at the central square of Kharkiv is an outright, undisguised terror. After that, Russia became a terrorist state. No one will forgive. Nobody will forget,” he said.
Union MoS Meenakashi Lekhi states, “Government has set up 24x7 control centres to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine through border crossing points with Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovak Republic.”
The Indian student killed in Kharkiv shelling has been identified as Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, 20, from Karnataka. He was a fourth-year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University in Kharkiv.
“Naveen was shot dead around 10.30 am Ukrainian time today. He was standing in the queue before a grocery shop when the Russian army fired at people. We have no information about his body. None of us was able to visit the hospital, probably where it is kept now,” said Sridharan Gopalakrishnan, who was Naveen’s hostel mate. Read more
An Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday morning, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated. “With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.We convey our deepest condolences to the family,” he tweeted.
Google said Tuesday that it is blocking the YouTube channels of Russia's state-owned medias RT and Sputnik across Europe with immediate effect.
The mayor of Ukraine's Mariupol said on Tuesday morning the southern port city was under constant shelling that had killed civilians and damaged infrastructure, as Russia started day six of its invasion. The city lost power after constant attacks, reported AFP.
'We have had residential quarters shelled for five days. They are pounding us with artillery, they are shelling us with GRADS, they are hitting us with air forces,' Vadym Boichenko said in a live broadcast on Ukrainian TV.
'We have civilian infrastructure damaged - schools, houses. There are many injured. There are women, children killed.' (Reuters)
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya welcomes stranded Indians at Delhi Airport, reports news agency ANI.
Kharkiv region head Oleg Synegubov said Tuesday that Russian missile attacks hit the centre of Ukraine's second-largest city, including residential areas and the regional administration building, as Moscow started day six of its invasion.
Synegubov said Russia launched GRAD and cruise missiles on Kharkiv but that the city defence was holding. "Such attacks are genocide of the Ukrainian people, a war crime against the civilian population!" he said.
Wearing a flak jacket and a helmet, Synegubov said in a video posted on social media Tuesday morning that it was too early to know the number of casualties. (Reuters)
Russia's advance on Kyiv has made little progress in the past 24 hours due to logistical difficulties and the army has increased its use of artillery north of the capital, a British military intelligence update said.
"The Russian advance on Kyiv has made little progress over the past 24 hours probably as a result of continuing logistical difficulties," the British defence ministry said in a military intelligence update.
"Russian forces have increased their use of artillery north of Kyiv and in vicinities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv. The use of heavy artillery in densely populated urban areas greatly increases the risk of civilian casualties."
"Russia has failed to gain control of the airspace over Ukraine prompting a shift to night operations in an attempt to reduce their losses," it said. (Reuters)
Global supply chains, already hit hard by the pandemic, are facing further disruption and cost inflation as airspace closures after Russia's invasion of Ukraine affect the air freight industry.
Transport between Europe and north Asian destinations like Japan, South Korea and China has become particularly problematic due to reciprocal airspace bans that bar European carriers from flying over Siberia and Russia airlines from flying to Europe.
Asia-North America cargo routes are expected to be less affected than European routes, analysts say, because many carriers already use Anchorage, Alaska as a cargo hub and stopover point. (Reuters)
The city of Kharkiv is again under fire as air raid sirens went off and an explosion struck Independence Square in the centre of the city, said Ukraine-based news website The Kyiv Independent.
Controversial statements made by news anchors and papers, primarily from the West, while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine was called out by the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) as “orientalist” and “racist”.
The body cited examples of “racist” news coverage that “ascribes more importance to some war victims over others”. (Read more)
A day later, D’Agata issued an apology on air, saying that he “regrets” speaking in that way. AlJazeera anchor Peter Dobbie, too, has been criticised on social media and cited by AMEJA for his remarks saying, “These are not obviously refugees trying to get away from the Middle East…or North Africa. They look like any European family that you’d live next door to.” AlJazeera’s PR team apologised for his remarks over Twitter.
The Russian army on the outskirts of southern Ukrainian city Kherson, reported news agency AFP, citing the city's mayor.