The conflict in Ukraine continues on Monday, with several attacks between both sides taking place over the course of Sunday night. There have already been many casualties on both sides during Russia‘s military operation in Ukraine and, throughout the day, we’ll keep you updated with the latest developments from Kyiv and across the country in this Russia-Ukraine live blog.
16:52 GMT: More explosions near Kyiv
Several large detonations were heard around 6:40 p.m. local time Monday to the east of the Kyiv’s city center as Russian and Ukrainian talks have ended in Belarus.
They were the largest explosions heard so far and they were followed by the sound sirens going off across the city.
16:39: GMT Russia to be isolated from sports events due to Ukraine conflict
The International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international events, including the FIFA World Cup. The committee called to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”
The decision opened the way for FIFA to exclude Russia from the World Cup ahead of qualifying playoff on March 24. FIFA was in talks with European soccer body UEFA on the details of suspending Russia’s national and club teams
The Olympic body’s call also applied to athletes and official from Belarus, which has abetted Russia’s invasion by allowing its territory to be used to station troops and launch military attacks.
16:30 GMT: European Space Agency: Unlikely to work with Russia
The European Space Agency had planned a joint mission with Russia to Mars this year is now “very unlikely” to happen due to sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. The agency said in a statement that it was assessing the consequences of sanctions for its cooperation with Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.
The launch was already postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak and technical problems. The mission’s goal was to put a lander on Mars to determine if there was ever any life there.
16:20 GMT: United Nations to send food assistance to people fleeing Ukraine
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an emergency operation to provide food assistance to people within Ukraine and in neighboring countries receiving refugees.
“We are deeply concerned for the impact of hostilities on the lives and livelihoods of civilians,” Margot van der Velden, WFP’s Director of Emergencies, said in a statement. As food supplies are running low and grocery store shelves are almost empty in Kyiv, the organization is calling for $570 million USD in order to provide support to the victims of this conflict.
16:03 GMT: Bulgarian Defense Minister fired for not describing Ukraine invasion as war
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov fired Defense Minister Stefan Yanev on Monday for his reluctance to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a war.
“My defense minister cannot use the word operation instead of the word war. You cannot call it an operation when thousands of soldiers from the one and the other side are already killed,” Petkov said in a televised statement.
15:53 GMT: French president Macron holds separate calls with president Putin and president Zelenskyy
French President Emmanuel Macron held separate phone calls with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and afterwards with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to help come to an agreement and end the conflict.
Putin “confirmed his willingness” to do so, Macron’s office said, but Ukraine said its second-largest city was coming under attack from heavy Russian shelling even as negotiations between the nations were underway at the border of Belarus.
The three mandataries have agreed to have further calls in the near future.
15:40 GMT: Switzerland joins Russia sanctions
Switzerland announced on Monday it will break its neutrality and emit sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. The implemented sanctions would match those of the EU, of which Switzerland is not a member.
15:30 GMT: UN General Assembly meets to discuss Ukraine invasion
The United Nations General Assembly is meeting now as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing. General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid of Maldive called once more for a ceasefire and urged the involved parties to come to a “meaningfully and rapidly de-escalate” situation.
15:01 GMT: AT least 1 dead and 44 injured in Kharviv
Ukrainian authorities say the latest shelling of the city of Kharkiv has left one female civilian dead and at least 44 people have been wounded in fighting in Ukraine’s second-largest city and that seven of them died in hospitals.
Among the wounded there are 15 servicemen and 16 civilians, according to the city council in a news statement.
Ukrainian social networks featured videos showing residential quarters hit by a series of powerful explosions amid fighting with Russian forces. This in spite of Russian authorities denying targeting residential areas.
14:15 GMT: New curfew time
The new curfew in Kyiv will last from 20:00 until 07:00 local time. People will only be able to walk the streets to seek shelter in case of air raid sirens. In turn, to move around the city by car is only allowed with a special permit.
13:45 GMT: Stop war? Ukrainian bank receives aid for arms
The National Bank of Ukraine has received 33 million dollars in support for the armed forces. Previously, the bank had opened a special account where Ukrainians and foreigners can donate money to support the army.
13:00 GMT: Kosovo seeks to capitalise on Ukraine war
Kosovo have asked the United States to set up a permanent military base in the county and to speed up their integration into NATO. The request has been sparked by Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
Already, the United States has over 600 soldiers in Kosovo as part of a NATO ‘peacekeeping’ mission.
12:15 GMT: Spartak set to be eliminated from Europa League
UEFA are set to expel Spartak Moscow from the Europa League in response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
This means that RB Leipzig, the team that knocked out Real Sociedad in the playoff tie, will advance directly to the quarter-finals, scheduled to be played on April 7 and 14.
11:30 GMT: 16 Ukrainian children have been killed
Ukraine’s president says 16 Ukrainian children have been killed and another 45 have been injured in the Russian invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message Monday that “every crime, every shelling by the occupiers bring our partners and us even closer.”
10:45 GMT: Ruble plunges
The ruble plunged to a record low of less than 1 U.S. cent and most global stock markets declined Monday after Western nations moved to block some Russian banks from a global payments system.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused markets to swing wildly, given the vast potential economic impact, especially on inflation and energy supplies.
10:00 GMT: Ukrainian boxing legend joins the cause
Boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic champion and former world champion in three different weight groups, has joined the Belgorod-Dnistrovsky Territorial Defense Battalion in Ukraine to try to stop the Russian invasion. In a photo shared on his Facebook page, the boxer poses armed and in military clothing near Odessa.
09:40 GMT: Russia dominates Ukraine’s airspace
Russia has claimed today that it controls all of Ukraine’s airspace and that yesterday it shot down a Ukrainian Air Force fighter plane and destroyed four other aircraft on the ground.
“Russian aviation has conquered control of the airspace over the entire territory of Ukraine,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a press appearance. In addition to reporting the loss of five aircraft by Ukraine, Konashenkov said that Russian forces destroyed eight Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile launchers and several radars.
09:00 GMT: EU bans Russian media
In a controversial move that puts into question Europe’s view on freedom speech and media, the EU has banned Russian state-owned media on the continent. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
“The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war. We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” she wrote on Twitter.
08:00 GMT: Belarus votes to give up non-nuclear status
Belarus have voted to approve constitutional reforms that will allow the country to host nuclear weapons in a show of support for neighbours Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“If you [the West] transfer nuclear weapons to Poland or Lithuania, to our borders, then I will turn to Putin to return the nuclear weapons that I gave away without any conditions,” Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko said.
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