200,000 kids among Ukrainians forcefully taken to Russia, says Zelenskyy

 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country. They include children from orphanages, children taken with their parents and those separated from their families. The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation on Wednesday, which was International Children’s Day.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would punish those responsible but first it would show Russia on the battlefield that Ukraine cannot be conquered, that our people will not surrender and our children will not become the property of the occupiers. Zelenskyy said 243 children have been killed so far in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing, adding that it could be more as his government doesn’t have a full picture of the situation in areas occupied by Russian troops…Read More

Ukraine, UK sign preferential trade deal; abolish import duty, tariff quota

 “Ukraine and the UK have legally enshrined the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade by signing an agreement,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency

Ukraine and the UK have signed an agreement on the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas, the Ukrinform news agency said, citing the Ukrainian Economy Ministry. “Ukraine and the UK have legally enshrined the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade by signing an agreement,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The preferential trade agreement, which will be in place for 12 months, is set to boost the exports of high value-added goods from Ukraine, including flour, grain, dairy products, poultry, tomato paste, honey, corn, wheat, juices, mushrooms and sugar. Last month, the European Union decided to abolish tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian industrial goods and foods…

Ukraine, UK sign preferential trade deal; abolish import duty, tariff quota

 “Ukraine and the UK have legally enshrined the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade by signing an agreement,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency

Ukraine and the UK have signed an agreement on the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas, the Ukrinform news agency said, citing the Ukrainian Economy Ministry. “Ukraine and the UK have legally enshrined the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade by signing an agreement,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The preferential trade agreement, which will be in place for 12 months, is set to boost the exports of high value-added goods from Ukraine, including flour, grain, dairy products, poultry, tomato paste, honey, corn, wheat, juices, mushrooms and sugar. Last month, the European Union decided to abolish tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian industrial goods and foods…

Russians leave contaminated Chernobyl; Ukraine braces for renewed attacks

 Russian troops left the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site early Friday after returning control to the Ukrainians, authorities said.

Russian troops left the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site early Friday after returning control to the Ukrainians, authorities said, as eastern parts of the country braced for renewed attacks and Russians blocked another aid mission to the besieged port city of Mariupol. Ukraine’s state power company, Energoatom, said the pullout at Chernobyl came after soldiers received significant doses of radiation from digging trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone around the closed plant. But there was no independent confirmation of that.

The exchange of control happened amid growing indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover to regroup, resupply its forces and redeploy them for a stepped-up offensive in the eastern part of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian withdrawals from the north and center of the country were just a military tactic to build up forces for new powerful attacks in the southeast…

Ukraine, Russia conduct first prisoner swap since Moscow waged war on Kyiv

 Ukraine and Russia have conducted the first prisoner swap since Moscow waged its war on Kiev on February 24, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said here

Ukraine and Russia have conducted the first prisoner swap since Moscow waged its war on Kiev on February 24, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said here Ten Ukrainian prisoners-of-war held by the Russian military were released in exchange for 10 Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces, Xinhua news agency quoted Vereshchuk as saying in a Facebook post. Besides, Ukraine handed over 11 civilian Russian sailors, who were rescued from a sunken ship near Odessa to Russia in exchange for 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors, she added. “Under terms of exchange, the rescue ship itself will also be returned to Ukraine and will be sent to the port in Turkey.”…

Ukraine crisis: Zelensky warns of World War III, if talks with Russia fails

 The humanitarian situation in Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Mariupol continued to worsen as thousands of civilians were estimated to be killed in the city since the beginning of hostilities

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that if “negotiations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin fail then “that would mean that this is a third World War.” “I’m ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war,” reported CNN. “I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War,” he added.

The humanitarian situation in Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Mariupol continued to worsen as thousands of civilians were estimated to be killed in the city since the beginning of hostilities, even as Russian and Ukrainian forces trade charges over who is to blame for the deplorable situation. Russia’s defence ministry has consistently levelled charges of serious human rights violations on the Azov battalion of the Ukrainian armed forces. The Azov battalion has been alleged to consist of “neo-Nazi” Ukrainian nationalist elements…Ukrain Crisis

Acclaimed filmmaker Brent Renaud killed by Russian troops in Ukraine

Brent Renaud, an acclaimed filmmaker who travelled to some of the darkest and most dangerous corners of the world for documentaries, died after Russian forces opened fire on his vehicle in Ukraine

Brent Renaud, an acclaimed filmmaker who travelled to some of the darkest and most dangerous corners of the world for documentaries that transported audiences to little-known places of suffering, died Sunday after Russian forces opened fire on his vehicle in Ukraine.

The 50-year-old Little Rock, Arkansas, native was gathering material for a report about refugees when his vehicle was hit at a checkpoint in Irpin, just outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said the area has sustained intense shelling by Russian forces in recent days.

Renaud was one of the most respected independent producers of his era, said Christof Putzel, a filmmaker and close friend who had received a text from Renaud just three days before his death. Renaud and Putzel won a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University journalism award for “Arming the Mexican Cartels,” a documentary on how guns trafficked from the United States fueled rampant drug gang violence.

Indian student fighting Russians in Ukraine wants to return, says family

 A 21-year-old Indian aerospace engineering student in Ukraine, reportedly fighting against the Russian troops, has expressed his desire to return home, his family said

A 21-year-old Indian aerospace engineering student in Ukraine, reportedly fighting against the Russian troops, has expressed his desire to return home, his family said. R. Sainikesh’s family who lives in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, has told media that they had found he wanted to return when they talked to him.

In 2018, Sainikesh joined the National Aerospace University in Kharkiv and since then he had been there. Following the fighting, he had joined the Georgian National Legion, a paramilitary group helping Ukrainian soldiers, to fight against the Russians. As his father Ravichandran asked what he was doing in war-torn country and why he was not coming back, Sainikesh said that he wished to be back in his country and stay with him family. Recently, intelligence officials contacted the family of the student after which they came to know that Sainikesh was fighting against Russia….

As Russia attacks Ukraine, China eyes Indo-Pacific: Australian intelligence

 A “troubling new strategic convergence” between Beijing and Moscow has developed and the risk of “major power conflict” had grown since Russia invaded Ukraine, Australia’s intelligence chief said

A “troubling new strategic convergence” between Beijing and Moscow has developed and the risk of “major power conflict” had grown since Russia invaded Ukraine, Australia’s intelligence chief said on Wednesday. Andrew Shearer, director general of the Office of National Intelligence, said China’s President Xi Jinping appears to be planning to dominate the Indo-Pacific region and use it as a base to overtake the United States as the world’s leading power.

The comments reinforce warnings that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has met near-universal condemnation by the West, may spread into a regional or global conflict. This week Australian Prime Minister called on liberal democracies to stop an “arc of autocracy” reshaping the world.

“We’re going to have to work much harder to maintain the liberal quality of the rules-based order in Europe and here in the Indo-Pacific region,” Shearer said at a conference hosted by the Australian Financial Review. “We see a leader who’s really battening down and hardening his country for this struggle to overtake the United States as the world’s leading power,” he added, referring to Xi. “The base camp … is to establish primacy in the Indo-Pacific region.”…Russia Ukraine Conflict

Western ban on oil imports will double price to $300 a barrel: Russia

 A Western ban on Russian oil imports may more than double the price to $300 a barrel and prompt the closure of the main gas pipeline to Germany, Moscow warned on Monday

A Western ban on Russian oil imports may more than double the price to $300 a barrel and prompt the closure of the main gas pipeline to Germany, Moscow warned on Monday, as talks on Ukraine hardly advanced amid efforts to agree on civilian safe passage. Russia’s invasion, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, has created 1.7 million refugees, a raft of sanctions on Moscow, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Sieges and the bombing continued as Kyiv rejected possible humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus, but said some limited progress had been made on agreeing logistics for the evacuation of civilians. Moscow would give the residents of the Ukrainian cities of Sumy and Mariupol the choice of moving elsewhere in Ukraine on Tuesday, setting a deadline in the early hours for Kyiv to agree, Russian news agencies reported.

Seeking to ratchet up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the United States said Washington and its European allies were considering banning Russian oil imports. Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008. “A rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market,” said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, saying the price could more than double to over $300 per barrel.

Queen Elizabeth shows support for Ukraine, makes donation to aid victims

 Prior to Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall had an emotional meeting with Ukrainians in London.

Amid the deepening crisis in Ukraine, British Queen Elizabeth II has come out in support of the victims. According to People, the 95-year-old monarch has recently made a donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine appeal to help civilians affected by Russia’s military operation. The update about Queen’s donation was shared on DEC’s Twitter handle. “Many thanks to Her Majesty The Queen for continuing to support the Disasters Emergency Committee and for making a generous donation to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal,” the organization said.

Prior to Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall had an emotional meeting with Ukrainians in London. The conflict began escalating after Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 announced the military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen”, and since then thousands of Ukrainians, both civilians and troops, have been killed….

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Another Indian student shot in Kyiv, hospitalised

 The students are currently fleeing the war-torn country Ukraine and trying to reach the border of Poland for their safe return to India.

An Indian student has been hospitalised after he was shot with a bullet in the capital city of Ukraine, a few days after an Indian student lost his life in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Speaking exclusively to ANI, Minister of State (MoS) for Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) General VK Singh revealed the information at Poland’s Rzeszow airport on Thursday.

“A student from Kyiv was reported to have been shot and was immediately admitted to the hospital in Kyiv,” General (retd) Singh told ANI.”The Indian embassy had earlier cleared on the priority that everyone should leave Kyiv. In the event of war, the gun bullet does not look at anyone’s religion and nationality,” he added. The students are currently fleeing the war-torn country Ukraine Crisis and trying to reach the border of Poland for their safe return to India. Four Union Ministers, Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen (Retd) VK Singh — are overseeing the evacuation efforts in the countries adjoining Ukraine….

Russian troops have control of Ukraine port city Kherson, says mayor

 The Mayor of Kherson, a key port city in southern Ukraine, on Thursday claimed that Russian troops have seized control, making it the first major city to be taken by Moscow

The Mayor of Kherson, a key port city in southern Ukraine, on Thursday claimed that Russian troops have seized control, making it the first major city to be taken by Moscow as it continued to wage it war on Kiev for a seventh straight day. In a Facebook post, Mayor Igor Kolykhaev said that Russian forces were now in control of Kherson and that the troops had forced their way into the city council building and imposed a curfew on residents, reports the BBC. Kolykhaev urged Russian soldiers not to shoot at civilians, saying there were no Ukrainian forces in the city, which is located on the banks of the Dnieper River and has a population of over 280,000 people.

He further called on residents to follow conditions set by Russian forces in order to “keep the Ukrainian flag flying” The conditions include observing a strict curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.; only going out in groups of two at most; allowing only cars carrying food, medicine and other supplies to enter Kerson; and driving at a minimum speed. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started on February 23, several key cities, including the capital Kiev and Kharkiv, have come under heavy shelling and bombing, claiming the lives of thousands of civilians…Russia Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine crisis: Economic dangers from Russia's invasion ripple across globe

 Even before Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, the global economy was straining under a range of burdens: Surging inflation, tangled supply chains, tumbling stock prices

Moscow’s war on Ukraine and the ferocious financial backlash it’s unleashed are not only inflicting an economic catastrophe on President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The repercussions are also menacing the global economy, shaking financial markets and making life more perilous for everyone from Uzbek migrant workers to European consumers to hungry Yemeni families. Even before Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, the global economy was straining under a range of burdens: Surging inflation. Tangled supply chains. Tumbling stock prices. The Ukraine crisis both magnified each threat and complicated the potential solutions.

We are actually in uncharted territory,” said Clay Lowery, executive vice president at the Institute of International Finance, a trade group of global banks. We know there are consequences that we cannot predict.” For now at least, the damage to the overall global economy appears to be relatively slight, if only because Russia and Ukraine are not economic powerhouses. Important as they are as exporters of energy, precious metals, wheat and other commodities, the two together account for less than 2 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product…Read More

UP to ensure free travel of students arriving from Ukraine to their homes

 The Indian government is continuously evacuating students who were stranded in Ukraine via neighbouring countries

 

Uttar Pradesh government will make arrangements to facilitate that all students hailing from the state and evacuated from Ukraine reach their respective homes safely and free of cost from Delhi Airport, said Avnish Awasthi, additional chief secretary (Home).

Awasthi while speaking to ANI said, "All the students of Uttar Pradesh arriving from Ukraine will reach their homes safely from Delhi and the full cost will be borne by the UP government." The Indian government is continuously evacuating students who were stranded in Ukraine via neighbouring countries, he said. Awasthi added, "The Home Department and other departments of UP have been given the responsibility of ensuring their (evacuated) students' security.

Ukraine crisis: Indian student killed as Russia intensifies attack

 Govt steps up evacuation efforts; all Indians have left Kyiv: Foreign secy

The first Indian to become collateral damage in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, originally from a small village in Karnataka’s Haveri district, was killed in intense shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday. As the Russian army closed in on Kyiv, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine sent a message to all Indians to get out of the capital immediately, by any means possible. About 400 students who were living near the Indian Embassy were successfully sent to Romania and were on their way home.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday, announced that the Indian Air Force would be deployed for evacuations in addition to commercial aircraft. He also spoke to Naveen’s father, who alleged that the government did nothing to reach out to stranded Indian students in Kharkiv. After the meeting on the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said all Indian nationals had left Kyiv.d.

US will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine: Biden

 Biden’s remarks came during the first State of Union address delivered by him to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday (local time).

While extending support to Kyiv in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, US President Joe Biden has reiterated that his country will not deploy troops in Ukraine against the Russian forces. Biden’s remarks came during the first State of Union address delivered by him to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday (local time). Condemning Russia’s “premeditated attack” in Ukraine, Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundation of the free world.

He further said that the NATO alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II and the US stands with Ukraine in the ongoing conflict. However, Biden added that the US will not have boots on the ground in the ongoing war. “Let me be clear — our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine,” he said. Biden clarified that the US troops were deployed to Europe not to fight in Ukraine, “but to defend our NATO allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west.”…Read More

Putin miscalculated Ukraine, 'ran into wall of strength': Joe Biden

 The annual speech to Congress gave Biden a platform to highlight his agenda, reassure fretful Americans and seek to boost his sluggish poll numbers

U.S. President Joe Biden led a standing ovation for the embattled Ukrainian people on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech that he rewrote to assail Russian President Vladimir Putin for what he called his “unprovoked and premeditated invasion” of Ukraine. “Let each of us if you’re able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world,” Biden said. Often polarized along partisan lines, Democrats and Republicans rose to applaud their support for Ukraine, many waving Ukrainian flags and cheering in the chamber of the House of Representatives at Biden’s first formal State of the Union speech.

In a deviation from his prepared remarks, Biden said of Putin: “He has no idea what’s coming.” Biden was looking to reset his presidency after a first year in office marked by rapid economic growth and trillions of dollars in new programs, but beset by the highest inflation in 40 years and a lingering coronavirus pandemic.

The annual speech to Congress gave Biden a platform to highlight his agenda, reassure fretful Americans and seek to boost his sluggish poll numbers amid dire warnings his fellow Democrats could face losses in November congressional elections. For the first time in months, members of Congress were not required to wear masks in the chambers to guard against the pandemic, a sight that could provide helpful optics for the president….Read More

Ukraine crisis: 6 students return to Gujarat's Rajkot from war-torn country

 According to students, they had to travel for more than seven hours to reach the airport in Romania, from where they were brought to Mumbai in Air India special flights.

Six students studying in Ukraine returned to Rajkot after landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport– Mumbai on Sunday evening. The six of them are students at a University in Chernivtsi, which is 40 km from the Romania border, which is to the west of the war-torn country. According to students, they had to travel for more than seven hours to reach the airport in Romania, from where they were brought to Mumbai in Air India special flights.

Rajkot District Collector Arun Mahesh Babu welcomed these students. Speaking to reporters, Babu said, “We have a list of 45 students, who are stranded there. We are in frequent touch with them. We will be able to bring them back.” “We were safe in our university. But we were evacuated from the country because the government there wanted to accommodate their citizens affected due to war,” a student said.

Happy Bhalani, a Ukraine-returnee, recalled her horrifying five days which she spent in the country. She said, “When we heard explosion for the first time on February 23, we all were scared. It was a horrifying experience. The university arranged bus transport to Romania border and from there the officials took us to the airport in the same bus. After a drive of seven hours, we embarked on to an Air India flight to Mumbai.

Germany's move to help Ukraine with weapons signals a historic shift

 Germany’s decision to send anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to Ukraine leaving its long-held refusal to export weapons to war zones is a historic break with its post-World War II foreign policy

Germany’s stunning decision to send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine abandoning its long-held refusal to export weapons to conflict zones is nothing less than a historic break with its post-World War II foreign policy. “A new reality,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it in an uncharacteristically rousing speech on Sunday to a special session of parliament. The typically low-key Chancellor Scholz said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine required a dramatically different response from Germany than in the past.

“With his invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, President Putin created a new reality,” Scholz told the Bundestag, his speech repeatedly greeted by applause, particularly his condemnations of the Russian leader. “This reality demands a clear answer. We’ve given one.” Scholz said Germany is sending anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine. He also said the country is committing 100 billion euros (USD 113 billion) to a special fund for its armed forces and will raise its defence spending above 2 per cent of GDP, a measure on which it had long lagged…Read More