Russian Invasion of Ukraine
This major incident page is created to record in summarized format the Russian attack on Ukraine, which began on 24th February following the announcement of a Military Operation earlier in the day. The page highlights those issues and actions relevant to, and undertaken by Portugal in response. The information comes from multiple sources both in Portugal, overseas including directly from in Ukraine itself.
This page is for situation reports wef 5th March at 1800 hrs.
Reports to 28th February can be read here.
Reports from 28th February to 5th March can be read here
SITUATION REPORT 0800 HRS WEDNESDAY 9TH MARCH 2022
At least one person died and 14 were injured in Okhtirka, a town in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine. The numbers were advanced by the governor of the region. For about two hours, buildings, a museum, the train station and some shopping centers were bombed. The city is without electricity, water and sanitation system failures. The Sumy region has been one of the hardest hit by Russian bombing.
This Tuesday, through the humanitarian corridors agreed between Kiev and Moscow, 5,000 people managed to leave the Sumy area, including almost 2,000 foreign students. The city’s governor says the humanitarian corridor that opened on Tuesday is set to continue on Wednesday
The Russians launched three missiles at Boryspil: two were shot down and the third hit a military unit. A bus carrying refugees from Makarov near Kyiv came under fire, and people were walking 4 kilometres under shelling with children in their arms. (KI)
The UK has 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. The UK’s assessment also said Russian forces had failed to make any significant breakthroughs in fighting northwest of Kyiv. (Aljezeera)
Maxar Technologies has released new satellite images of Ukraine, recording the latest advance of Russian troops. In particular, one of the photos shows a damaged bridge across the Irpin River west of Kyiv in northern Ukraine. Another photo shows armoured vehicles moving northeast of Antonov Airport near Gostomel. (See photo)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it no longer receives data from the Chernobyl nuclear material monitoring system. “The Director General noted that the remote transmission of data from the guarantee monitoring systems installed at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been lost,” the organization said in a statement.
NATO – Ukraine President Zelensky in an interview with the American channel ABC, said yesterday that he understands why the Atlantic Alliance is not prepared to accept Ukraine and guarantees that he will not insist on joining. He also admitted to discussing the issue of separatist territories, as long as he does so directly with Vladimir Putin. (ABC)
The UK has unveiled new sanctions against Russia which will give ministers powers to detain Russian aircraft in the UK, make it a criminal offence to fly or land there, and prevent all UK exports of aviation or space technology to Russia. (BBC)
The US rejected an offer by Poland to send all of its Soviet-made Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via an American airbase in Germany. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, “the prospect of fighter jets at the disposal of the government of the United States of America departing from a US/Nato base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire Nato alliance”. (BBC)
The Ukrainian Parliament majority Sluha Narodu Party has proposed to sign a new security guarantee agreement for Ukraine with the US, Turkey, and Russia instead of NATO membership, Ukrayinska Pravda news website has reported. “The alliance is not ready to admit Ukraine over the course of at least the next 15 years and has made this clear,” the Sluha Narodu (Servant of the People) party announced. Therefore, it said, it was time to discuss concrete security guarantees with Russia. By signing the agreement, Sluha Narodu suggested “Russia will be under a legal obligation to recognise Ukrainian statehood and refrain from threatening the Ukrainian people and its government,” Ukrayinska Pravda reported.
For the first time in history, Japan has supplied weapons to Ukraine. A special board delivered bulletproof vests, helmets and more. (KI)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday of “special measures” to provide guarantees for the Russian economy and authorizing the government to ban exports of products and raw materials. The “special measures” are taken to “ensure the security of the Russian Federation and the uninterrupted operation of the industry” and will be in effect until December 31, 2022, according to Russian news agencies.
The decree prohibits “the export outside the Russian Federation” of products and (or) raw materials that will be specified in a list to be approved by the Russian government in the next two days. These measures do not apply to “products and (or) raw materials exported from Russia and (or) imported into the country by citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign nationals and stateless persons, for personal use”.
SITUATION REPORT 1800 HRS TUESDAY 8TH MARCH
UKRAINE CHANGES VIEWS ON NATO MEMBERSHIP
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbour.
In another apparent nod aimed at placating Moscow, Zelensky said he is open to “compromise” on the status of two breakaway pro-Russian territories that President Vladimir Putin recognized as independent just before unleashing the invasion on February 24. “I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that…NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview aired Monday night on ABC News. (ABC)
MILITARY OPERATIONS
Belarus has regrouped its forces and deployed some of them to the Ukrainian border near the city of Brest and the village of Aleksandrovka in Gomel Oblast, the General Staff said on March 8. Russia is already using Belarusian territory to move its troops to Ukraine and launch missiles.
At least 21 civilians, including two children, were killed in a Russian air strike on a residential street in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy late on Monday, the regional prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. The bodies were recovered by emergency services early on Tuesday in searches that are ongoing, it said.(ET)
Russian troops destroy central hospital in Izyum Kharkiv. Volodymyr Matsokin, a deputy mayor of Izyum, said on March 8 patients had to make their way out of the ruins. Russian and Ukrainian troops are currently fighting for control of Izyum, a strategic stronghold on the way to the Donbas.
EVACUATIONS
Civilians are being evacuated from two devastated areas of Ukraine after Russia agreed to pause attacks. A convoy of buses and cars carrying mostly foreign students left the northern city of Sumy, while dozens of people left Irpin near Kyiv. Previous evacuations have failed, with Russia accused of shelling routes. The UN says more than two million people have now fled Ukraine since Russia (BBC)
NO FLY ZONE
The group of 27 US foreign policy leaders urged the U.S. to impose a limited no-fly zone over Ukraine starting with protection for humanitarian corridors, Politico reported. Among others, the list includes Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO; Ben Hodges, former commander of the U.S. army in Europe; and John Herbst, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
SANCTIONS
The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The draft sanctions were adopted by the EU executive on Tuesday morning and will be discussed by EU ambassadors at a meeting starting at 1400 GMT, one source said. The draft package will ban three Belarusian banks from the SWIFT banking.
Due to its war on Ukraine, Russia has become the most sanctioned in the world, according to a New York-based sanctions watch list site. Castellum.AI said that sanctions were first imposed by the US and its allies on Russia on February 22 a day after President Vladimir Putin declared the two Ukrainian rebel regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as “independent states”. After Russia announced its military operations against Russia on February 24, hundreds more sanctions followed. The site said that 2,754 sanctions were already in place against Russia before February 22 and 2,778 additional were imposed in the days following the assault, bringing the total to 5,532.
McDonald’s has announced it will temporarily close all restaurants and pause all operations in Russia. The fast-food chain is hugely popular in Russia, with around 850 stores and 62,000 employees. McDonald’s had been facing growing criticism for not following many other food and drinks brands by pulling out of the country after the invasion of Ukraine.
NUCLEAR RESEARCH
The European Organization for Nuclear Research will not include Russia in new research programs. Russia will now lose its observer status in the organization. Additionally, CERN will promote Ukrainian scientific activity in the field of high-energy physics, the official statement reads. (KI)
UKRAINE CONNECTION TO EU POWER SYSTEM
The Ukrainian power system can be connected to the EU within a week. Ukraine expects to join the European energy system ENTSO-E within a week, the synchronization process is in its final stages. This was stated by Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, the press service of the Ministry of Energy. “Technical preparations for the synchronization are nearing completion. It should be completed within the next few days. We expect our accession to take place in the next week,” the minister said.
WAR CRIMES
German Prosecutor General Peter Frank has opened an investigation into Russia’s use of cluster munitions, shelling of residential buildings, gas pipelines and nuclear waste disposal sites, and alleged hit lists of Ukrainians, the Spiegel reported.
OIL IMPORTS
US President Joe Binden is expected to ban imports of Russian oil into the United States this Tuesday. The announcement should be made this afternoon and is part of the actions planned by the White House to “hold Russia responsible for the unjustified war against Ukraine”, says the agency and news France press.
Meanwhile BP and Shell, which also announced it would stop buying Russian oil, said, however, that they wouldn’t be able to immediately disentangle themselves from the country due to long-term contracts and the difficulty of finding alternative supplies. (
The UK government is to phase out Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.
This transition period will give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports – which make up 8% of UK demand, it said.
It echoes a similar proposal from Washington, where President Biden is set to announce a complete US ban on Russian oil, gas and coal imports.
ATTACKS ON REFUGEES
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced this Tuesday that Russian forces may be deliberately attacking civilians trying to flee the military attack on Ukraine.
“Targeting civilians is a war crime and is totally unacceptable,” he added, referring to the “devastating” humanitarian impact of the Russian invasion. Stoltenberg said that “there are very credible reports of civilians being attacked while trying to flee”.
CHERNOBYL
More than 100 workers and 200 Ukrainian guards have been stranded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant for nearly two weeks. Invading Russian troops were able to control the installations on the first day of the conflict and have been holding all personnel kidnapped. The atmosphere at the nuclear power plant is calm and employees have continued to carry out their tasks, reports the BBC. However, food starts to run out and, as the days go by, the situation becomes increasingly worrying and tense.
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS TO VATICAN
It’s been reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has spoken with the Vatican. Lavrov apparently laid out Russia’s position on Ukraine and expressed hope for another round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, to “seek agreement on the key problems underlying the crisis in order to stop hostilities”, Russia’s foreign ministry reports. On Sunday the Pope said the war was leading to “death, destruction and misery” when he addressed crowds in St Peter’s Square. Meanwhile, Lavrov is due to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba for talks in Turkey on Thursday.
RUSSIAN EMBASSY LISBON
The Russian Embassy building in Lisbon was lit up with the colours of the Ukraine flag on Monday night, following an anti-war demonstration, an action that had an impact on social media.
SITUATION REPORT 0800 HRS TUESDAY 8TH MARCH
Ukraine’s military has just given its latest update on the Russian invasion, saying that “the enemy is continuing an offensive operation. On Day 13 of the Russian assault, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said that – as of 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT) on 8 March – Ukrainian troops were continuing to defend in the southern, eastern and northern sectors. The capital Kyiv as well as the northern city of Chernihiv were still in Ukrainian hands. It added that the country’s air defences were successfully repulsing missile and air strikes, adding that, but the pace of advance of Russian troops has slowed significantly”.
As of 9 a.m. on March 8 and since the invasion on Feb. 24, Ukraine’s military destroyed 1,036 armoured personnel carriers, 474 vehicles, 303 tanks, 120 artillery systems, 60 fuel tanks, 56 multiple launch rocket systems, 80 helicopters, 48 aircraft, 27 anti-aircraft warfare systems, 7 unmanned aerial vehicles, and 3 boats.
Civilian casualties have continued to mount as Russian military forces shelled various cities in Ukraine throughout the night and early hours of the morning, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES).
In Zhyotymyr, west of Kyiv, a fire at the oil depot in Chernyakhiv was extinguished in the early hours of the morning. In the eastern city of Sumy, aerial bombardment destroyed residential houses and set an apartment building ablaze. One woman was reported injured and nine people were killed, including two children (BBC)
In Mykolaiv in the south of Ukraine, several fires in residential areas had broken out. Four civilians were killed in the assault and five others were rescued from the rubble before being rushed to hospital.
In Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, Russian shelling set nine floors and 27 apartment units of a residential building on fire – a blaze that took rescuers more than four hours to extinguish. At least four people were killed. (BBC)
Russia has announced plans for another ceasefire in Ukraine, saying Moscow will open humanitarian corridors to let civilians in besieged Ukrainian cities evacuate in the direction of their choice. Vassily Nebenzia’s announcement at the United Nations Security Council on Monday came after Ukraine rejected an earlier Russian plan that proposed evacuation routes mostly to Russia and its ally, Belarus.Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the UN, said Russian forces will observe the new ceasefire at 10am Moscow time (07:00 GMT) on Tuesday and open humanitarian corridors leading away from the cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol.
More than 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled to Central Europe since Russia invaded their country on February 24. (See latest map)
On Monday, Russia warned it might close off its main gas pipeline to Germany if the West went ahead and banned Russian oil. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said such a move would lead to “catastrophic consequences” for global supply and lead to the oil price doubling to $300 a barrel. The US has been exploring a potential ban with allies as a way of punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But Germany and the Netherlands rejected the plan on Monday. The EU gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia, and has no easy substitutes if supplies are disrupted.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will give an historic virtual address to the House of Commons chamber at 5pm today. The leader will be beamed in on TV screens in the chamber. It is an extremely rare accolade not normally offered to world leaders, who normally deliver addresses to both Houses of Parliament outside the chamber, such as in Westminster Hall.
Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that a new nuclear research facility producing radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications had been damaged by shelling in the city of Kharkiv, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The national nuclear regulator said the incident did not cause any increase in radiation levels at the site.
The United States announced on Monday that over 500 US troops would be deployed in Europe to reinforce NATO’s flank including Poland, Romania, Germany and Greece.
The multinational technology corporation IBM has suspended all its business in Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, CEO Arvind Krishna said.
Zara, H&M, Ikea suspended their sales on the Russian market overnight, lowering the iron curtains in the various shopping centers of the Russian capital.
FIFA on Monday announced that it will suspend the contracts of foreign players currently tied to Ukrainian and Russian clubs for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
The World Bank said its executive board on Monday approved a $723 million package of loans and grants for Ukraine, providing desperately needed government budget support as the country battles a Russian invasion.
The executive of the Chamber of Coimbra approved today, a motion that determines the suspension of the twinning agreement with the Russian city Yaroslavl, due to the war in Ukraine.
SITUATION REPORT 1800 HRS MONDAY 7TH MARCH
OPERATIONS
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has issued an intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It says military strikes have been carried out in and around the country’s capital of Kyiv, as well as the cities of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Mariupol. Russian troops are also advancing from Kherson towards Mykolayiv, where shelling has continued and Ukraine claims to have retaken a regional airport.
Russian forces have stepped up their shelling of Ukrainian cities in the centre, north and south of the country, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. “The latest wave of missile strikes came as darkness fell,” he said on Ukrainian television. Arestovich described a “catastrophic” situation in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, where efforts to evacuate residents failed. Evacuations also failed in Mariupol in the south and Volnovakha in the east because of the shelling.
Oleksandr Markushyn Mayor of Irpin says Russian forces continue to shell the town. He says Ukrainian forces have repelled attacks by Russian forces who have pulled back to the edge of the town.
KREMLIN DEMANDS ON UKRAINE
Russia has said that it can stop operations at “any moment” if Ukraine meets Russian conditions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Ukraine must recognise Crimea as Russian, and Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. In addition to this, Ukraine must amend its constitution and reject claims to enter any bloc (like NATO for example).
He adds that Russia will finish the “demilitarisation” of Ukraine, and if these conditions are met Russian military action will “stop in a moment”. The Kremlin spokesman insists that Russia is not seeking to make any further territorial claims on Ukraine.
CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE
United Nations: 1,207 civilian casualties of Russia’s war in Ukraine, 406 people killed and 801 injured. Most casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including heavy artillery, multi-launch rocket systems, missile and air strikes.
At least 13 civilians have been killed in an air raid on a bread factory in the town of Makariv, on the outskirts of Kyiv, according to local emergency services. The services said five people had been rescued from the building’s rubble, adding that about 30 people were believed to have been at the factory before the attack. (Aljezeera)
Russian shelling already damaged or destroyed 202 schools, 34 hospitals, more than 1,500 residential buildings in Ukraine. Source: Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration.
REFUGEES
Number of Ukrainian refugees hits 1.7 million
More than 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country into central Europe since Russia invaded, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said. Poland – which has the largest Ukrainian community in the region – has received more than one million Ukrainian refugees since the conflict began.
A total of 1,735,068 civilians have so far crossed the border into central Europe – with most of them women and children as men have been conscripted to stay in Ukraine to fight. Earlier today, the European Union warned it could see as many as five million refugees if Russia’s attack continues. (Sky News)
On line map shows lines on Ukraine border in real time. The map was created by the Customs Service. It recommends choosing checkpoints on the border with Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova as they are less busy compared to Poland.
EVACUATIONS
The mayor of Ukrainian town of Irpin, near Kyiv, says the evacuation of civilians are proceeding. Oleksandr Markushyn told Ukrainian media that today’s evacuation was peaceful and about 1,000 people were taken to safety.
A new Russian plan for a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine allowing civilians access to certain humanitarian corridors has been criticised – with the UK calling it “cynical beyond belief” and Ukraine branding it “immoral”. Under Moscow’s proposal, civilians fleeing Ukraine’s capital Kyiv would be offered safe passage to Russia’s ally Belarus, while those in Kharkiv will have a corridor leading only to Russia itself. (BBC)
SUPPORT
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has signed a decree allowing NATO troops to be deployed in western Hungary and weapons shipments to cross its territory to other NATO member states. The change of government policy forced by the Ukraine crisis was announced on Monday in the official gazette despite a close relationship with Russia. (Aljezeera)
UK announces further £175m of support for Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been speaking at a press conference alongside Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and Dutch premier Mark Rutte. He says the United Kingdom will give £175m of aid to Ukraine, saying it takes the UK’s total commitment to nearly £400 million. (BBC)
NEGOTIATIONS
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have agreed to meet in Turkey’s coastal Antalya province, according to their Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. Ukraine arrives for third round of talks with Russia. The meeting will take place on 10th March 2022
It’s being reported by local news agencies that the Ukraine and Russian delgation are undergoing a third round of talks – after two previous sittings failed to make any progress toward peace. The talks started at 1600 hrs.
It is understood the focus of the talks will once again be humanitarian corridors – to allow Ukrainian civilians to escape from military action as heavy Russian shelling of city centres continues in the south and the east of the country.
EU TO DISCUSS UKRAINE MEMBERSHIP
EU to discuss Ukraine’s membership bid this week. European Union leaders will discuss Ukraine’s application to join the 27-nation bloc in the coming days, EU Council President Charles Michel has said. “The EU’s solidarity, friendship and unprecedented assistance for Ukraine are unwavering. We will discuss Ukraine’s membership application in coming days,” Michel tweeted. (ALJEZEERA)
The meeting will also discuss applications from Maldova and Georgia.
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
The Hague | International Court of Justice holds public hearings today 7th March in the case concerning “allegations of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russia)”
ARRESTS IN RUSSIA
Russia detained more than 5,000 people protesting President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine in dozens of cities Sunday — an unprecedented number as Moscow clamps down on anyone opposing the Kremlin’s military assault on the country. OVD-info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 5,016 people in 60 cities during the anti-war protests. That is an unprecedented number for a single day and far higher than arrests made during a wave of protests.
TRADE
The US and European allies are exploring banning imports of Russian oil, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, and the White House coordinated with key congressional committees moving forward with their own ban. Europe relies on Russia for crude oil and natural gas but has become more open to the idea of banning Russian products in the past 24 hours, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters news agency. (Aljezeera)
LATVIA
Latvia’s Foreign Minister has called for a permanent contingent of troops from the United States to be stationed in his country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Looking at the most recent developments we would be very happy about the permanent presence of US forces here in Latvia,” Edgars Rinkevics told a joint news conference in Riga alongside his US counterpart Antony Blinken. “We have no illusions about Putin’s Russia anymore, we don’t really see any good reason to assume Russia might change its policy,” he added.
SITUATION REPORT 0800 HRS MONDAY 7TH MARCH 2022 (OVERVIEW)
The report of overnight developments up to 0800 hrs today, plus 24 hrs up to 1800 hrs yesterday, summarized under various headings, can be downloaded here:
The governor of the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv confirmed, earlier this Monday, the news that reported Russian bombing. In a message posted on Facebook, Oleksandr Senkevych wrote that Russian troops hit residential buildings and shared a video of an apartment block on fire. Vadym Denysenko, advisor to interior minister of Ukraine, said that the Russian forces used Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers to shell the city.
The Russian army has agreed to comply with the ceasefire and create humanitarian corridors in several Ukrainian cities, Reuters news agency reports, citing Interfax. These humanitarian corridors will be implemented in Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, and should be operational from 10:00 (Moscow time). (Reuters)
Ukrainian defence officials claim that their forces have re-taken the eastern city of Chuhuiv. In an operational update posted to Facebook on Sunday night, Ukraine’s General Staff said that Kyiv’s forces had seized the city from Russian troops and had inflicted heavy losses on Moscow’s forces during the battle. (BBC)
Poland’s border guard agency announced that more than 922,000 refugees have crossed the border from Ukraine since February 24, when Russia launched an invasion of that country.
U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel wrote on Twitter on March 6 that she, along with her colleagues from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., has written calling on Interpol to suspend Russian membership and access to Interpol systems. “Russia’s actions are a direct threat to the safety of individuals and to international law enforcement cooperation,” Patel wrote.
NATO delivered 17,000 anti-tank weapons in 6 days to Ukraine. The weapons are part of a vast airlift that U.S. & European officials describe as a desperate race against time, to get tons of arms into the hands of Ukrainian forces while their supply routes are still open. (NYT)
Russia has fired around 600 missiles and deployed 95% of its amassed troops in Ukraine (Kyiv Independent)
New Zealand prepares sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Targeted at strategically important individuals and firms, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on March 7. New Zealand has thus far been restricted in its ability to do so, due to it not having an independent sanctions law, and the law will be voted on by parliament this week, Ardern said. (Kyiv Independent)
CNN reports citing RIA news agency. Their departure follows a request that 12 Russian U.N. diplomats withdraw from the U.S. by March 7. According to Ambassador Richard Mills, the diplomats were removed due to actions that were “not in accordance with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats.” (CNN)
KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers suspend operations in Russia and KPMG has over 4,500 partners and staff in Russia and Belarus. PwC has 3,700 partners and staff in Russia and has operated in the country for 30 years.
Video-sharing site TikTok and streaming giant Netflix have limited and cut their services respectively in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. TikTok said it had suspended live streaming and new content from its platform as it assesses tough new laws to crack down on “fake news” about Russia’s armed forces. Netflix said it was pulling out in protest at the invasion.
Hackers Anonymous announced the hacking of Russian streaming services and state TV channels. “Hacker group Anonymous today hacked Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi (such as Netflix) and live TV channels (broadcast – ed.)” Russia 24 “,” Channel One “,” Moscow 24 “to broadcast footage of the war with Of Ukraine “. Source: Anonymous on Twitter
Asian stock markets opened lower today, at a time when oil and gold prices continue to rise. The Hong Kong stock market plunged more than 3%, haunted by the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the global economy. Mainland Chinese markets also fell, but less: the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell by 0.26% and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange by 0.53%. The Tokyo Stock Exchange opened lower, with the main index, the Nikkei, losing 3.46%.
The price of oil has increased by more than 10 dollars per barrel. Brent, Europe’s benchmark oil, briefly rose more than $10 to nearly $130 a barrel. The price of US crude rose almost nine dollars to more than 124 dollars a barrel.
SITUATION REPORT 18.00 HRS SUNDAY 6TH MARCH 2022 HRS
MILITARY OPERATIONS
Shelling has intensified in cities including Mariupol and Kharkiv today (Sky News)
An airport was “completely destroyed” in Vinnytsia a city located in west-central Ukraine, located about 257 kilometres southwest of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, by eight Russian rocket strike. One reported dead. (Photo below) (Local Twitter)
Russia dropped powerful 500kg bombs on residential areas of the city of Chernihiv overnight;
Vladimir Zhoga, commander of the Ukrainian separatist ‘Sparta’ battalion, was killed in action in the city of Volnovakha, near Donetsk. The information was advanced by the newspaper Le Figaro, citing the report on Twitter by Casus Belli, a strategic analysis group. The tweet claims that Zhoga’s death was confirmed by the president of the self-proclaimed republic of Dontesk, Denis Pushilin.
Ukrainians fleeing the town of Irpin just outside Kyiv were caught in shelling by Russian forces on Sunday and forced to dive for cover, Reuters witnesses said. Irpin, 16 miles (25km) north-west of the capital, has seen intense fighting in recent days. Russia’s military is closing in on Kyiv, home to around 3.4 million people before the invasion sparked a mass exodus of civilians. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian security official quoted by Sky News said that Russia is currently gathering its forces to encircle the city of Dnipro. The same source added that the Russian war command is turning its attention to the southern side of Ukraine, with the aim of cutting the country’s links to the Black Sea. (Sky News)
Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia’s military operation will only be stopped if Ukraine “stops fighting” and if Russia’s demands are met. Thus, the Russian head of state hopes that Ukrainian negotiators will adopt a “more constructive approach and take into account reality”, said a Kremlin spokesman.
Eight Russian aircraft shot down – While Russian attack planes and helicopters, equipped with missiles and machine guns, fly over several cities in Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers chose to wait until they were able to defend themselves, a technique with which, in the last 24 hours, they managed to shoot down at least eight Russian planes.
CASUALTIES
According to indicative estimates of Ukraine’s military, Russia also lost 285 tanks, 985 armoured fighting vehicles, 109 artillery pieces, 50 MLRS, 21 anti-aircraft warfare, 44 planes, 48 helicopters, 447 cars, 2 speedboats, 60 fuel tankers, and 4 UAVs.
EVACUATION ATTEMPTS
Pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine’s National Guard have accused each other of failing to establish a humanitarian corridor out of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol today, the second time the sides attempted to arrange it.
Ukraine 24 television showed a fighter of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard who said Russian and pro-Russian forces that have encircled the port city of about 400,000 continued shelling the areas that were meant to be safe. The Interfax news agency cited an official of the Donetsk separatist administration who accused the Ukrainian forces of failing to observe the limited ceasefire. The separatist official said only about 300 people have left the south eastern city.
LOGISTICS
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that 20,000 foreigners from 52 countries have applied to join Ukraine’s military. (KI)
The U.S. and Poland are working together to provide Polish Russian-made warplanes to Ukraine and replenish Poland with U.S.-made jets, according to NBC’s source in the White House.
Volunteers Drone Force – Ukrainian drone enthusiasts are risking their lives by forming a volunteer drone force to help their country repel the Russian invasion. “Kyiv needs you and your drone at this moment of fury!” read a Facebook post from the Ukrainian military, calling for citizens to donate hobby drones and to volunteer as experienced pilots to operate them. (Ukrainian Military)
According to the National Guard of Ukraine, 100,000 Ukrainians have joined the newly established volunteer branch of the Armed Forces since Russia began its all-out war against Ukraine. (KI)
NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS
The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Russian forces are tightening their grip on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, Ukraine’s largest, that they seized last week. Staff at the nuclear power plant continue to operate it, but management is now under the orders of the commander of the Russian forces that seized it last week, the UN nuclear watch.
DISCUSSION FRENCH PRESIDENT AND VLADIMIR PUTIN
President Emmanuel Macron’s call to Vladimir Putin on Sunday had one main objective, which was to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants in Ukraine. Furthermore, it was important to convey to President Putin your concerns and demands in humanitarian and political terms so that he can finally commit to a negotiation that puts an end to Russian operations,” a source from the Elysee told reporters.
Vladimir Putin replied that he “has no intention” to attack Russian nuclear power plants, having shown himself willing to continue to comply with the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency and rejecting that Russian forces attacked the Zaporizhia nuclear plant this week.
The terms of the end of the invasion were enumerated again by Vladimir Putin throughout this one-hour and 45-minute conversation, including the de-Nazification of Ukraine, with the Kremlin leader also repeating that his objectives will be achieved “either through negotiations or through of war”.
POPE FRANCIS
Pope Francis has rejected Russia’s claim that the country is carrying out “a special military operation” in Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians are being affected by war. Rivers of blood and tears flow in Ukraine. This is not just a military operation, but a war that is leading to death, destruction and misery,” he said.
CHINA
In a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the minister called on the U.S., NATO, and the EU to “pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s continuous eastward expansion on Russia’s security,” according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs published by CNN on March 5.
COMMUNICATIONS
Russia is urging its citizens to switch to domestic smartphone AYYA T1 after Apple announced its decision of pausing all product sales in the country in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. Refusing to use the iPhone, Russian State Duma deputies Maria Butina and Denis Maidanov are now urging their fellow parliamentarians to use AYYA T1 smartphones developed by local company Smartecosystem, a subsidiary of the Scale Research Institute, part of the Rostec state corporation. (Times of India)
THE ARTS
The Bolshoi Theatre’s music director and principal conductor Tugan Sokhiev has announced his resignation, saying he felt under pressure due to calls to take a position on the Ukraine conflict. The Russian said in a statement he was resigning “with immediate effect” from his post at the Moscow theatre, as well as his equivalent position at France’s Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.
TRANSPORTATION
Invasion of Ukraine has sparked tensions in Europe’s lorry parks – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reportedly seen Russian and Belarusian drivers become subject to hate from their counterparts from Ukraine and elsewhere. According to one German news website, some drivers from Russia and Belarus are even being blocked from entering lorry parks. Drivers from all of the countries involved in the conflict also fear that they will not be able to return home due to border restrictions and sanctions.
TRAVEL
Canada’s foreign ministry is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Russia, and has told Canadian citizens there that they “should leave while commercial means are still available”.
HEALTH
Hospitals across Ukraine are facing threats of supply shortages as the number of wounded grows, said Alex Wade, an emergency co-ordinator with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to the BBC. “The situation is incredibly worrying and is certainly getting more worrying by the day,” Wade said on BBC’s Newshour earlier today. “There are ruptures in what hospitals need to support their patients.”
DETENTIONS IN RUSSIA
More than 3,500 people have been detained at protests across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to data provided by Russian authorities.
Russia’s interior ministry said 1,700 people had been detained in Moscow, 750 in St Petersburg and 1,061 in other cities. The OVD-Info protest monitoring group said it had documented the detention of at least 2,578 people in 49 different cities.
SITUATION REPORT 0800 HRS SUNDAY 6TH MARCH 2022
More than 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched an invasion into Ukraine on February 24, the Ukrainian armed forces’ general staff said. (BBC)
The Ukrainian military said Russian forces continue to focus on Kyiv while moving ahead with assaults on Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and the creation of a land corridor with Crimea, in its latest operational report. The report said aircraft from airports in Belarusian territory were involved in air strikes on military and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and Zhytomyr.
British military intelligence said Russian forces were targeting populated areas in Ukraine but that the strength of resistance was slowing their advance. (Aljezeera)
The Ukrainian army warns that Russian forces want to seize the dam of a key hydroelectric power station south of the capital, Kyiv. In a report issued early on Sunday, the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia planned to seize the dam of the Kaniv hydroelectric power station, located some 150km (93 miles) south of Kyiv on the Dnieper River.
Authorities in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol said an evacuation of civilians planned for Saturday had been postponed as Russian forces encircling the city were not respecting an agreed ceasefire. More than 200,000 people are besieged there
The humanitarian situation in south eastern city of Mariupol is extremely “dire” with huge displacement of people, the International Committee of the Red Crocc (ICRC) warned, adding that many people are stranded in shelters without food, water or electricity.(Aljezeera)
US-based think tank and policy research organisation, the Institute for the Study of War, released a report saying Russian forces in Ukraine may have entered a possibly brief operational pause as they prepare to resume operations against Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolayiv, and possibly Odesa in the next 24-48 hours.
The US is reportedly in discussions with Poland on the possibility of Poland providing more fighter jets to Ukraine with the US potentially agreeing to backfill Poland’s fleet of fighter planes if Warsaw decides to transfer its used MiG-29s to Ukraine, four US officials told POLITICO. (Guardian)
US-based credit card giants Visa and Mastercard announced they will suspend their Russian business operations.
A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster delivered critical military equipment and medical supplies to Ukraine, recently released images from the Australian defence force reveal.
SIUATION REPORT FRIDAY 18.00 HRS 5TH MARCH
CASUALTIES
According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Defence Ukraine up to today Ukraine has destroyed 39 Russian aircraft; 269 tanks; 3 drones; 2 vessels; 945 personnel carriers 105 artillery pieces, 69 rocket/missile launchers and inflicted around 10,000 Russian military casualties.
Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky, commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed in fighting in Ukraine earlier this week, the AP reports. His death was confirmed by a local officers’ organization in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, (AFP)
At least 351 Ukrainian civilians died and 707 were injured following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the balance sheet released today by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Between 04:00 on 24 February and 00:00 on 4 March, the High Commission recorded 1,058 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 351 dead and 707 wounded,” the report said.
According to the United Nations, the majority of civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a “wide area of impact”, through heavy artillery, rocket launches and air strikes. However, the real numbers “are considerably higher, especially in recent days”, admits the UN in the document released today, explaining that the data indicated by the organization are smaller due to the lack of information from “some places where intense hostilities and many details about the victims are still awaiting verification”. The human rights body uses a rigorous methodology and only counts the victims it can confirm, he adds.
RUSSIAN TROOPS OCCUPY A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL
Kyiv’s governor announced, quoted by Reuters that Russian troops had taken over a psychiatric hospital in Borodyanka, with 670 people inside. Oleksiy Kuleba warns that the hostages are “running out of water and medication”. “These people with special needs need constant help,” he warned him. (Reuters)
CYBER ATTACKS
PEACE TALKS
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet again on Monday, advances Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya, quoted by Reuters. The next round of negotiations takes place after, this Saturday, the Russians violated the ceasefire for the evacuation of civilians and humanitarian corridors, agreed with Ukraine.(Reuters)
US TRAVEL TO RUSSIA
A new directive from the US State Department has urged its citizens living or traveling in Russia to leave the country. Authorities warn of difficulties in raising money and xenophobia on the part of Russian citizens.
REFUGEES/HUMANITARIAN
The number of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine could soon exceed 1.5m people, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). “This is the fastest moving refugee crisis we have seen in Europe since the end of World War Two,” the UNHCR’s head told Reuters news agency. Around 1.3m people have already fled their homes since the invasion began.
Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is doing everything in its capability to evacuate hundreds of foreign students from Sumy city. “We are doing everything we can to evacuate hundreds of foreign students from the Sumy city. #Sumy is now on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe due to indiscriminate Russian shelling. Ukraine is doing its best to save and secure people,” the ministry said in a Tweet. India has raised concerns over the Indian students stranded in Sumy following the Ukraine crisis. (ET)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday visited a crossing on Poland’s border with Ukraine where hundreds of thousands of people have been fleeing from advancing Russian forces. Blinken also visited a cavernous Polish holding centre with around 3,000 refugees and said Washington was preparing to set aside another $2.75 billion (2.5 billion euros) for the humanitarian crisis.
Poland has received 106,000 refugees from Ukraine in the last 24 hours, according to estimates by the Polish authorities, which are the highest number since the war with Russia began. As of Friday, Poland had welcomed around 650,000 displaced people, making it the main host country for refugees from Ukraine, reports the Spanish news agency EF
JOURNALISM/MEDIA
The BBC is temporarily suspending its journalists’ work in Russia, in response to a new law which threatens to jail anyone Russia deems to have spread “fake” news on the armed forces. BBC Director-General Tim Davie said the legislation “appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism”.
German public television stations ARD and ZDF temporarily suspended their broadcasts in Russia after a law was passed providing for 15 years in prison for broadcasting what Moscow considers “false information”.
Italian public television, RAI, and the news agency Efe decided today to temporarily suspend activity in Russia temporarily suspended the work of its correspondents in Russia, following the passage of a new law that provides for sentences of up to 15 years in prison for broadcasting what Moscow considers “false information”.
The Kremlin defended this Saturday the need for “firmness” in the new law that represses “false information” about the Russian army to face an “information war” that it says is being waged against Russia in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.
EVACUATIONS
Only 400 people were evacuated from Volnovakha. Only 400 people were evacuated from Volnovakha, 60 kilometres north of Mariupol, during a short-lived ceasefire, reports the BBC. The initial plan – if there has been no breach of the ceasefire – was to evacuate around 15,000 civilians this morning, according to Ukrainian officials. (Expresso)
NATO
NATO has nearly doubled the number of military jets on alert across Europe amid concerns that Russia’s reckless flying in international airspace could escalate alongside its war in Ukraine. More than 60 NATO planes are on “high alert” at all times to await possible airspace violations, the alliance said in December. That’s grown to more than 100 combat aircraft now rotating through the sky in shifts. (NATO)
NO FLY ZONE
Vladimir Putin’s televised remarks: he says any country which imposes a no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered to have joined the war in Ukraine. “Any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in an armed conflict by that country,” the Russian president says.
PUTIN’S THREAT TO UK RE SANCTIONS
Russia’s foreign ministry has vowed to impose tough measures against British interests in Russia in retaliation to what it labelled London’s “sanctions hysteria” following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports. It said that Britain had clearly chosen to move towards an open confrontation with Russia, leaving Moscow with no choice but to take measures in response, which “will undoubtedly undermine British interests in Russia”. The measures have not yet been specified. (Reuters)
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
The Russian Foreign Minister says he is not confident about talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Sergey Lavrov says Zelensky’s “statements of constant anger” do not inspire optimism about the fate of negotiations to withdraw the Russian military from Ukraine.
“He recently exploded with accusations against the NATO Council, he was rude, he accused them of inaction (…) He is trying to provoke a conflict between NATO and Russia”, says the minister.
CEASFIRE TO ALLOW REFUGESS TO LEAVE MARIUPOL COLLAPSES
Russia’s defence ministry said no one made use of two humanitarian corridors set up near Ukraine’s cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha on Saturday and accused Ukrainian “nationalists” of preventing civilians from leaving, RIA news agency reported. In remarks that contrasted starkly with comments from Ukrainian officials, the ministry said that the Russian forces had come under fire after it had set up the humanitarian corridors during a partial ceasefire.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today described the situation in Mariupol, where the evacuation of residents has been postponed, as “heartbreaking”, calling on parties to protect civilians in Ukraine, whether or not there is a humanitarian corridor.
AIR TRAVEL
Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot said Saturday that it was suspending all of its international flights beginning March 8, as Moscow faces down waves of Western sanctions over its military incursion in Ukraine.
An Aeroflot statement on the “temporary suspension of all international flights from March 8,” cited new “circumstances that impede the operation of flights,” noting that all domestic routes would continue unchanged as well as flights to neighbouring Belarus.
PEACE TALKS
The Turkish president will ask his Russian counterpart, in a phone call to be made on Sunday, that Vladimir Putin “put an immediate end to the war” and will offer to host negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, his spokesman announced today. “President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] will convey the message that we have been repeating from the beginning: we must end this war immediately, give the ceasefire and negotiations a chance, establish a humanitarian corridor and carry out the evacuations,” said the president. Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin in an interview with the Turkish private channel NTV. Erdogan will also call for talks “at the leadership level” between Russia and Ukraine, which “may take place in Turkey”, said the spokesman.
FINLAND
US President Joe Biden met with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto Friday with the Fins at a crossroads: Whether to move closer to the rest of Europe and the West by trying to join NATO as neighbouring Russia pummels Ukraine. “We agree it’s not only an attack on Ukraine, it’s an attack on the security of Europe,”
Latvia – Nearly 30,000 people gathered this Saturday at the Freedom Monument in the Latvian capital Riga, then headed to the Ukrainian embassy, in solidarity with Ukraine and to condemn the invasion of the country by Russia.
In what was the biggest demonstration in years
PORTUGAL
More than 1,200 lawyers have volunteered to provide ‘pro bono’ legal support to Ukrainians residing in Portugal and refugees, revealed the chairman, saying that there are cases of children and new borns without documents. The president of the Bar Association, Luís Menezes Leitão, delivered today to the ambassador of Ukraine, Inna Ohnivets, a list with 1,207 names of lawyers from all over the country who signed up to help Ukrainian citizens.