Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– 100,000 trapped in Mariupol –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says almost 100,000 people are still trapped in the ruins of Mariupol, after more than 7,000 escaped on Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch describes the southern city as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings”.
– US hindering talks: Russia –
Russia accuses the US of seeking to hinder Moscow’s talks with Ukraine to try turn the tide of the war in Ukraine’s favour.
“The talks are tough, the Ukrainian side constantly changes its position. It’s hard to avoid the impression that our American colleagues are holding their hand,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells students in Moscow.
A Ukrainian negotiator says the talks are encountering “significant difficulties”.
– Poland expels Russian diplomats –
Poland says it has expelled 45 Russian diplomats for espionage, an allegation dismissed as baseless by Russia’s ambassador to Poland.
“We are dismantling the Russian special services network in our country,” Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski tweets.
– ‘Putin’s offensive stuck’: Scholz –
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says “Putin’s offensive is stuck” and urges Moscow to “immediately” stop the fighting, saying it is not only destroying Ukraine but “Russia’s future”.
The Pentagon says it believes as much as 10 percent of Russian forces committed to Ukraine may have been knocked out in just four weeks of fighting and that Russian forces “have struggled with logistics and sustainment.”
– Aid for war-hit European firms –
The EU gives member states the nod to offer limited subsidies and cheap loans to companies impacted by the war in Ukraine or sanctions imposed on Russia.
“We need to mitigate the economic impact of this war and to support severely impacted companies and sectors,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager says.
– Russia waves nuclear option –
Russia would use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an “existential threat,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says in a CNN interview.
The comments came when he was asked if he was “convinced or confident” that President Vladimir Putin would not use the nuclear option in the Ukrainian war.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says Moscow’s rhetoric is “dangerous” and “not the way a responsible nuclear power should act.”
– Zelensky raps UN –
In his latest video addresses to foreign lawmakers Zelensky criticizes the United Nations, saying it has failed to ensure global security.
“Neither the United Nations nor the UN Security Council have functioned,” he tells Japan’s parliament, calling for a “new, preemptive tool that can actually stop invasions.”
– New Western sanctions –
More sanctions against Russia and the tightening of existing measures will be announced Thursday when President Joe Biden meets European allies in Brussels, US officials say.
Biden will attend summits with NATO, the G7 group and the European Council before flying to Poland.
– Over 3.6 million flee –
More than 3.6 million Ukrainians have now fled the country following Russia’s invasion, the United Nations says. More than 10 million have been displaced from their homes.
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