Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– Zelensky warns Berlin of new ‘Wall’ –
A day after pleading with US Congress to send more help to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky warns German lawmakers that Russia is building a new “Wall” in Europe, evoking the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.
Zelensky has been on a virtual tour of Western parliaments, each time receiving a standing ovation from MPs for his war-time leadership.
– 21 killed near Kharkiv –
Russian forces shell a school and cultural centre, killing at least 21 people and wounding 25 in the town of Merefa outside Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, local prosecutors say.
– Mariupol theatre attack –
Authorities in Ukraine’s Mariupol say they are clarifying information on possible victims of the Russian shelling of a theatre sheltering civilians a day earlier.
Ukrainian officials said more than 1,000 civilians had been sheltering in a basement bomb shelter beneath the theatre, and that Russian shelling was continuing.
– 30,000 flee Mariupol –
The Mariupol authorities say around 30,000 people have fled the besieged port city, adding that “80 percent of residential housing was destroyed”.
– Biden-Xi talks –
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says President Joe Biden will warn Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when he speaks to him on Friday of retaliation if Beijing provides military aid to Russia.
– ExoMars mission suspended –
A Russian-European mission to land a rover on Mars has been suspended due to the sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its “tragic consequences”, the European Space Agency says.
– War hits global growth –
The fallout from the war in Ukraine could cut global growth by over one percentage point over the coming year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says.
– No default –
Russia’s finance ministry says it has made interest payments on two foreign bonds, quashing fears of a debt default as the country reels from unprecedented Western sanctions.
– Kyiv rocket kills one –
One person is killed and three injured when a downed rocket hits an apartment block, emergency services say, bringing to at least seven the number killed in Kyiv since Monday.
The capital, which emerged from a 35-hour curfew, is hemmed in by Russian forces striving to encircle it as part of their slow-moving offensive.
– Peace talks –
At ongoing peace talks, officials in Kyiv say Russia has agreed to nine humanitarian corridors for fleeing refugees, including one out of Mariupol.
– Ukraine calls on Turkey –
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has asked Turkey to be a guarantor of any future deal with Russia, along with the UN Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany, Ankara’s top diplomat says.
– ‘War criminal’ –
US President Joe Biden brands Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the first time. The Kremlin quickly punches back, calling the comment “unacceptable and unforgivable”.
Blinken accuses Russia of committing war crimes by attacking civilians in Ukraine.
The Group of Seven most industrialised nations warns perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine “will be held responsible”.
– Chechen strongman sends volunteers –
A thousand Chechen volunteers are on their way “to take part in the special operation of denazification and demilitarisation of Ukraine” Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov says.
– Stakhovsky takes up arms –
Retired Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky, who in 2013 knocked defending champion Roger Federer out of Wimbledon, exchanges his racket for a rifle, vowing to defend Kyiv “to the end” against Russian forces.
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