LIVE: Ukraine says Russian forces kill seven civilians in evacuation convoy

The Ukrainian intelligence service said the seven, including one child, were killed as they fled the village of Peremoha and that ''the occupiers forced the remnants of the column to turn back'

2:32 PM

US independent agency calls on White House to get Russia expelled from Interpol: Reports

An independent United States government agency, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for Russia's expulsion from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) due to the country's invasion of Ukraine, CNN reported on Saturday.

 

The letter was reportedly sent on Friday and was addressed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

 

"We urge you to use the US position in Interpol (and in particular Interpol's Executive Committee and its Advisory Group on Financial Matters) to make it clear that any failure to act against Russia's abuse of Interpol will have grave consequences for the U.S. contribution to Interpol's budget and Interpol's legal immunities in the United States," the letter, directed to Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, read.

 

2:30 PM

Putin-Zelenskyy meeting possible after 'positive developments' in Russia-Ukraine negotiations

A meeting between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelenskyy is 'conceptually possible' but under certain conditions, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on Friday.

 

The Kremlin spokesman however made it clear that the negotiators should first 'do their job' before the meeting.

 

'Russia's position is no secret, it has been formulated and brought to the attention of Ukrainian negotiators. We are waiting to receive their clarifications,' the Russian media quoted Peskov as saying.

 

While Peskov was briefing the media about the latest developments, Putin told Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in a meeting at the Kremlin that there are 'certain positive developments' in the ongoing negotiations with Ukraine in Belarus, three rounds of which have already taken place.

 

'I will certainly inform you about the situation in the Ukrainian direction and, above all, about how the negotiations are going now, which are now being held almost on a daily basis. There are certain positive developments there, as our negotiators reported to me. I will tell about all this in more detail,' the Russian President told Lukashenko.

1:17 PM

German ambassador slams Russia; says India would make ties as per its history, neighbourhood

India would make alliances according to its history and neighbourhood, but as a general principle allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to do what he is doing in Ukraine is "dangerous" for all, German Ambassador to India Walter J Lindner has said.

 

He also called out the United Nations for its "outdated" Security Council structure and said India, the voice of 1.3 billion people, should be there as a permanent member.

 

"Every country has its own right and its own reasons to make a decision, whether abstention, vote in favour or against, no problem with this," Lindner told PTI at the sidelines of the 15th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).

 

"India of course would make their own alliances according to their history and neighbourhood, we are just saying as a general principle it would be dangerous to allow Putin what he is doing."

1:01 PM

Russians forces push toward Kyiv, keep up with siege of other cities

Russian forces appeared to make progress from the northeast in their slow fight toward Ukraine's capital, while tanks and artillery pounded places already under siege with shelling so heavy that residents of one city were unable to bury the growing number of dead.

 

In past offensives in Syria and Chechnya, Russia's strategy has been to crush armed resistance with sustained airstrikes and shelling that levels population centers.

 

That kind of assault has cut off the southern port city of Mariupol, and a similar fate could await Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine if the war continues. Read on...

12:18 PM

Meta-Russia standoff worsens, firm says won't tolerate 'Russophobia'

As Russia considers designating Meta as an extremist organisation for applying its policies to speech in the context of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the social network has said that its decision is temporary, taken in "extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances".

 

In a rare move, Meta has allowed posts with violent speech toward Russian soldiers on Facebook and Instagram in specific countries, including calls for harm or even death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Read on...

11:20 AM

Russia claims about US biological warfare labs in Ukraine taking root in US

Russia's baseless claims about secret American biological warfare labs in Ukraine are taking root in the US too, uniting Covid-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon adherents and some supporters of ex-President Donald Trump.

 

Despite rebuttals from independent scientists, Ukrainian leaders and officials at the White House and Pentagon, the online popularity of the claims suggests some Americans are willing to trust Kremlin propaganda over the US media and government.

 

Like any effective conspiracy theory, the Russian claim relies on some truths: Ukraine does maintain a network of biological labs dedicated to research into pathogens, and those labs have received funding and research support from the US. Read on...

11:08 AM

Instagram's Adam Mosseri condemns Russian decision to block social network

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has condemned the Russian decision to block the social network over Meta's decision to allow publication of calls for violence against Russian soldiers and Russians in the context of the military operation in Ukraine.

 

Following the controversial statements of Meta, the Russian authorities decided to block Instagram starting from Monday.

 

"On Monday, Instagram will be blocked in Russia. This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world as ~80% of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. This is wrong," Mosseri wrote on his Twitter page. Read on...

10:50 AM

US accuses Russia of using UN council for 'disinformation'

The United States accused Russia of using a UN Security Council meeting Friday for "lying and spreading disinformation as part of a potential false-flag operation by Moscow for the use of chemical or biological agents in Ukraine.

 

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia was playing out a scenario put forth in the council last month by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that President Vladimir Putin would "fabricate allegations about chemical or biological weapons to justify its own violent attacks against the Ukrainian people."

10:50 AM

Technicians start repairing damaged power lines at Chernobyl Nuclear Plant site

Ukraine authorities have told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines in an attempt to restore electricity supplies to the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant that were entirely cut a few days ago, said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

 

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities have reported that the repairing work began on the evening of March 10 and they had also repaired one section but off-site electrical power was still down, indicating there was still damage in other places. The repair efforts would continue despite the difficult situation outside the NPP site.

10:43 AM

Russia to restrict access to Instagram on March 14

The Russian government announced that it would block Instagram after parent company Meta said it would allow calls for violence against Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukrainian invasion.

 

The Russian government's communication agency announced it would block Instagram in Russia beginning on March 14, in response to Facebook's decision to temporarily allow users in some countries to call for violence against President Vladimir Putin, reports Vox.com.

 

"On the basis of a demand by the general prosecutor's office, access to Instagramawill be limited on the territory of the Russian Federation," Russia's state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement.

 

Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, called it "wrong" to cut off 80 million users in the country.

10:21 AM

Amidst economic uncertainties, China analysts hopeful of economic growth

Chinese analysts have expressed hope for economic growth in the country even as China faces increased uncertainties in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, increased oil prices, and continued tensions with the west, a media report said.

 

The comments come in the wake of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's briefing on Friday at the conclusion of the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress, the highest legislative body of China.

 

Chinese Premier Li had laid out the economic growth target of China in the forthcoming year and briefed the media on the challenges for achieving the desired growth rate.

 

"A growth rate of about 5.5 per cent is high-standard stability, which is an improvement. It's not easy to achieve, and has to be supported by relevant macro-economic policies," Li said.

10:03 AM

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleges Russia kidnapped mayor

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Friday of kidnapping the mayor of the city of Melitopol, equating it to the actions of "ISIS terrorists."

 

"They have transitioned into a new stage of terror, in which they try to physically liquidate representatives of Ukraine's lawful local authorities," Zelenskyy said in a video address Friday evening.

 

Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, posted a video on the social media site Telegram which he said showed a group of armed men carrying the mayor, Ivan Fedorov, across a square.

9:45 AM

Russia-Ukraine war: Russian warplanes, artillery widen attack, hit industry hub

Russia's airplanes and artillery widened their assault on Ukraine on Friday, striking airfields in the west and a major industrial hub in the east, as Moscow's forces tried to regroup from recent losses and their onslaught fast reduced crowded cities to rubble.

 

American defense officials offered an assessment of the Russian air campaign, estimating that invading pilots are averaging 200 sorties a day, compared with five to 10 for Ukrainian forces, which are focusing more on surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and drones to take out Russian aircraft.

 

New commercial satellite images appeared to capture artillery firing on residential areas between Russian forces and the capital.

 

The images from Maxar Technologies showed muzzle flashes and smoke from the big guns, as well as impact craters and burning homes in the town of Moschun, outside Kyiv, the company said.

9:22 AM

Ukraine repairing damaged power lines to Chernobyl: IAEA

Ukraine has told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines in an attempt to restore external electricity supplies to the Russian-controlled Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) that were entirely cut off earlier this week, Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the Vienna-based UN agency, said.

 

"Ukraine's regulatory authority said work that began on the evening of March 10 had succeeded in repairing one section, but off-site electrical power was still down, indicating there was still damage in other places" a statement posted on the IAEA's website on Friday quoted the Director General as saying.

 

The statement added that repair efforts would continue despite the difficult situation outside the plant.

9:06 AM

Russia-Ukraine war: Biden, Zelenskyy assess Ukraine situation, to ramp up sanctions against Russia