Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– ‘Last chance’ to leave East –
A Ukrainian official warns residents in the east that they have a “last chance” to flee before a major Russian offensive expected in the region.
“These few days may be the last chance to leave,” says Sergiy Gaiday, governor of the Lugansk region, where the city of Severodonetsk is coming under sustained artillery and rocket fire.
The head of the neighbouring Donetsk region vows to also step up evacuations.
– UN rights body suspension –
The UN General Assembly votes Thursday on suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council as punishment for invading Ukraine.
Russia has warned that expelling it from multilateral forums will make dialogue even more difficult.
– New plea for weapons –
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calls on NATO members to provide Kyiv with all the weaponry it needs to fight Russia.
“My agenda is very simple. It has only three items on it. It’s weapons, weapons, and weapons,” Kuleba tells journalists at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
– Hungary ‘helping’ Putin –
Ukraine accused its neighbour and Kremlin-ally Hungary of appeasing Russian aggression and undermining EU unity on sanctions in the wake of Viktor Orban’s reelection as prime minister.
Orban says he is prepared to pay for Russian gas in rubles, a demand of Putin’s that was rejected by the West. Orban has also offered to host peace talks.
– ‘Major war crimes’: Biden –
US President Joe Biden denounces the killing of Ukrainian civilians in the town of Bucha allegedly by Russian troops as “major war crimes”.
Ukrainian officials warn other areas may have suffered worse, including nearby Borodianka.
“Locals talk about how planes came in during the first days of the war and fired rockets at them from low altitudes,” Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky tells local media.
– French anger over tweet –
The French government summons Russia’s ambassador to Paris in protest after his embassy posted a photo on Twitter claiming to show a Ukrainian “film set” used to stage civilian killings in Bucha.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian calls the tweet “obscene”.
– Shell faces $5bn hit –
British energy giant Shell says its exit from Russia could cost it up to $5 billion (4.6 billion euros) in the first quarter of the year.
Shell announced it was selling its stakes in joint ventures with Russian state energy giant Gazprom shortly after the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine.
– Putin daughters sanctioned –
The United States announces sanctions on two of Putin’s daughters, saying family members are known to hide the Russian president’s wealth.
It also declared “full blocking” sanctions on Russia’s largest public and private financial institutions, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, and says all new US investments in Russia are now prohibited.
The EU is also looking to add Putin’s daughters to its sanctions blacklist.
The UK also adds new energy and banking sanctions and bans new British investments in Russia.
– Marathon bars Russians, Belarusians –
Organisers of the Boston Marathon say Russian and Belarusian runners will be barred over the invasion of Ukraine.
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