LIVE: Ukranian 'nationalists' derailing evacuations, alleges Putin

Ukrainian officials said that the continuous Russian shelling has derailed efforts to evacuate civilians from areas affected by fighting

4:37 PM

Ukraine does not know what's happening at occupied nuclear plants, says energy minister

The Ukrainian authorities do not know what the radiation levels are at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as they have not heard about what is happening there since it was seized by Russian troops, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Wednesday.

 

He said Ukraine also had no control over what was happening at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where it said 400 Russian troops were stationed.

 

4:10 PM

Operation Ganga: India evacuated citizens as well as citizens of Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, says Goyal

3:47 PM

Russia says not trying to 'overthrow' Ukraine govt, 'some progress' made in talks: Report

3:33 PM

NSE co-location case: Former NSE member Anand Subramanian sent to 14-days judicial custody by a CBI court

3:32 PM

Russia says it prefers to achieve Ukraine goals via talks

Russia will achieve its goal of ensuring Ukraine's neutral status and would prefer to do that through talks, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

 

Moscow's aims do not include overthrowing the Kyiv government and it hopes to achieve more significant progress in the next round of talks with Ukraine, Zakharova told a briefing, adding that Russia's military operation was going strictly in line with its plan.

 

3:27 PM

Mumbai police detain BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and others for protest march demanding Malik resignation

2:31 PM

IEA says it's ready to bring more oil to markets

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is ready to bring more oil to the markets by releasing additional stocks, its head Fatih Birol said on Wednesday, adding that the IEA would also come up with an action plan to "reduce oil in a hurry". "The IEA last week (...) has decided to release our oil stocks, we have a lot of stocks (...) This was an initial response (...) if there is a need we can bring more oil to the markets," Birol said at an energy conference in Paris, according to Reuters.

1:34 PM

US-led NATO to blame for tension between Russia and Ukraine: China

Moves by US-led NATO have pushed tension between Russia and Ukraine to a "breaking point", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday. At a daily news briefing, he urged the United States to take China's concerns seriously and avoid undermining its rights or interests in handling the Ukraine issue and ties with Russia.

12:17 PM

Ukraine's air defences successful against Russian jets: UK

Britain on Wednesday said Ukraine's air defences were having success against Russian jets, likely preventing Russia from controlling the airspace. "Ukrainian air defences appear to have enjoyed considerable success against Russia's modern combat aircraft, probably preventing them achieving any degree of control of the air," the Ministry of Defence intelligence update posted on Twitter said.

12:06 PM

Ukraine must hold off Russia's attack to prevent victory claim: Official

Ukraine must hold off Russia's attack for the next seven to 10 days to deny Moscow claiming any sort of victory, said a senior government official, as more than 2 million refugees fled the biggest assault on a European country since World War Two. Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said Russia was desperate for at least some kind of victory, citing the cities of Mariupol or the capital Kyiv as the most likely targets.

11:14 AM

Oil prices firm after USA's Russia ban

Oil prices firmed on Wednesday over fears of a potential supply shock as the United States banned Russian oil imports, and amid signs that some buyers are already shunning them. Brent crude futures were up $2.91, or 2.27%, at $130.89 a barrel at 0520 GMT, after jumping 3.9% the previous day, said Reuters.

10:52 AM

Air alert declared for Kyiv

An air alert has been declared in and around Kyiv, with residents urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible, reports AP.

10:24 AM

Russia offers safe passage for Ukrainians to flee battered cities

Russia said it is ready to provide humanitarian corridors on Wednesday for people fleeing Kyiv and four other Ukrainian cities, as the number of refugees created by the biggest assault on a European country since World War Two surpassed 2 million.

9:49 AM

World Bank official says oil price hikes to slash growth for big importers

Persistent high oil prices prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine could cut a full percentage point off the growth off large oil-importing developing economies like China, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey, a World Bank official has said. Indermit Gill, the bank's Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, said in a blog posting that the war will deal further setbacks to growth for emerging markets already lagging in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling with a range of uncertainties from debt to inflation, Reuters reported.

 

9:25 AM

IMF board to consider $1.4 bln in funding for Ukraine

The International Monetary Fund's executive board is poised to approve on Wednesday $1.4 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine to help it respond to Russia's invasion, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said. Georgieva told a forum hosted by the Financial Times that the funding came on top of $700 million disbursed to Ukraine by the IMF in December, and $2.7 billion in emergency reserves it received as part of an IMF allocation in August.