Russia-Ukraine war live updates: gas prices, Russian troops, Russia oil ban, Zelensky, bombing in Kyiv, NATO… | Latest news – AS USA

Russian invasion of Ukraine: headlines

– US will ban Russian oil imports as Biden imposes tough new sanctions against the Kremlin

– Humanitarian corridors opened as civilians evacuate Sumy and Irpin

– Ukraine accuses Russians of continuing to shell civilians leaving Mariupol

– Over 400 civilians killed since Russia invaded Ukraine – UN

– At least 21 civilians killed in Sumy air strike late on Monday, officials say

– Number of refugees to leave Ukraine set to reach 2m on Tuesday, UN says

– Ukraine war has caused “Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since WWII” – NATO chief

– Ukraine President Zelenskyy to address UK parliament on Tuesday

– Russian troops dying in “large scales” and “getting more desperate” – UK defence secretary

– EU reportedly preparing new sanctions package against Russia

What you need to know about the conflict

– Russia’s demands for ending Ukrainian invasion

– Explaining Russia’s motives for controlling Ukrainian nuclear power plants

– How can I support the refugees fleeing war in Ukraine?

– Zelenskyy, Zelensky or Zelenskiy? Why spelling is important to Ukrainians

– How long can Russia fight in Ukraine?

Related news articles:

McDonalds temporarily closes all 850 Russian stores

McDonald’s has announced it will temporarily close all restaurants and stop all operations in Russia, for the time being. The company was encountering criticism for remaining to operate in the country.

The fast-food chain is hugely popular in Russia, with around 850 stores and 62,000 employees.

I am addressing you as a citizen, as a president of a big country, with a dream… You didn’t want to lose your country when Nazis wanted to take your country. And you had to fight for Britain… We will fight to the end at the sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.

UK follows US in imposing sanctions on Russian oil

Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK’s Business & Energy Secretary, has confirmed that the country will be phasing out the use of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2022. Nations around the world have sought to impose tough sanctions on President Putin for the invasion of Ukraine but in Europe, which is reliant on Russia for around one-third of its fossil fuel needs, there has been a real reluctance to restrict oil and gas.

This move marks the next stage of the global response to Russia, and one that could turn up the pressure of Putin. 

Renewed calls in the US for a ‘limited no-fly zone’

For much of the last week President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on foreign powers to help impose a no-fly zone above Ukraine which would prevent Russia from using aircraft above Ukrainian soil. However world leaders have refused to do so, fearing that any military actions taken against Russian aircraft could escalate the war and bring the prospect of a nuclear war closer to reality. 

But it may be possible to use a no-fly zone over the areas designated as ‘humanitarian corridors’ by Russia. After another round of peace talks on Monday it was announced that specific routes would be kept clear for civilians, but numerous reports suggest that that has not been the case. 

WORLD NEWS

Ukrainian kickboxing champion killed in Russian invasion

Reports from Ukraine have confirmed that Ukrainian kickboxer Yevhen Zvonok has been killed in a Russian air strikes on Chernihiv, a city among the most heavily bombarded in the country. The 22-year-old was already a Ukrainian champion and world silver-medallist but decided to join the Ukrainian armed forces to help defend against the Russian invasion. 

Read more

US NEWS

Biden to announce ban on Russian oil imports: will it affect the price of gasoline in the US?

President  Biden is set to announce a ban on Russian oil imports as he looks to ramp up the economic sanctions against the Kremlin. In recent days Russian forces have continued to launch indiscrimminate attacks on Ukrainian cities as they bombard major cities. 

In response Biden will hope that the ban on Russian oil will make the war unsustainable for President Putin but it will come at a considerable cost to consumers in the US. The cost of gasoline reached a new record on Monday and news that oil imports will become scarcer will likely cause the price to increase further in the coming days. 

Read more

Biden will ban the importation of Russian oil, Bloomberg reports

The US has inposed some of the toughest sanctions of any nation against Russia, but President Biden had been reluctant to ban the importation of Russian oil for fear that it would send gasoline prices even higher than they currently are. However the White House stance appears to have shifted and multiple sources are now reporting that the Biden will announce a new ban on Russia-produced oil at 10:45am (ET) today. 

This is possibly the most serious sanction imposed on the Kremlin to date, but it will come at a cost for the US. Crude oil is a key component in the production of gasoline and this ban on the importation of Russian oil will therefore make gasoline more expensive to produce. 

World Bank issues huge relief package for Ukraine

Global powers continue to offer financial aid for Ukraine in the face of sustained attacks by the Russian military. While western powers have declined to send troops to fight in Ukraine, they are offering a considerable financial boost for the ailing nation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the World Bank, an international financial institution providing support for low- and middle-income nations, for making over $700m of “emergency financing” available to Ukraine. 

Russians accused of shelling humanitarian corridor from Mariupol

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has accused Russia of continuing to shell an evacuation route opened up out of the port city of Mariupol.

At least 21 civilians killed in Sumy air strike on Monday, officials say

At least 21 civilians, including two children, were killed in a Russian air strike on a residential street in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy late on Monday, the regional prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The bodies were recovered by emergency services early on Tuesday in searches that are ongoing, it said.

(Reuters)

Poland has taken in over 1.2m refugees

According to the United Nations, the breakdown of where Ukrainian refugees have gone so far is:

Poland: 1,204,403

Other European countries: 210,239

Hungary: 191,348

Slovakia: 140,745

Russia: 99,300

Moldova: 82,762

Romania: 82,062

Belarus: 453

(Figures correct as of 12 noon CET/6am ET on Tuesday)

2m have fled Ukraine – UN

Two million refugees have now fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the country on 24 February, the United Nations says.

According to a UN tally at 1:20pm ET, 2,011,312 refugees had left Ukraine.

“Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War” – NATO chief Stoltenberg

Speaking from Latvia on Tuesday, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to “Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War”.

Stoltenberg added that Russian forces may be guilty of “totally unacceptable” war crimes in Ukraine, amid “credible reports” of civilians being fired upon as they seek to evacuate.

“The Ukrainian people and armed forces have inspired the world with their courage, but President Putin’s assault continues and the humanitarian impact is devastating,” Stoltenberg said. “Many civilians have been killed or wounded and two million people have fled Ukraine.

“This is Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since the Second World War. There are very credible reports of civilians coming under fire as they try to evacuate. Targeting civilians is a war crime and it’s totally unacceptable. We need real humanitarian corridors that are fully respected.

“We made clear for months that President Putin would pay a high price for renewed aggression against Ukraine and this price is exactly what he is paying now. Russia has been hit with severe and unprecedented sanctions and their total isolation on the world stage. Allies are helping Ukraine to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence, stepping up with billions of euros’ worth of support and opening their borders and providing aid for refugees.

“The suffering we now see in Ukraine is horrific. It affects us all. And we have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine. That would be even more dangerous, destructive, and even more deadly. The situation could spiral out of control.”

Russia’s Lavrov sets out stance on Ukraine to Vatican counterpart in call

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov set out Moscow’s position on the conflict in Ukraine to Vatican State Secretary Pietro Parolin in a call on Tuesday, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

In connection with the concern expressed by Parolin about the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov “outlined the principled Russian position regarding the causes and goals of the special military operation being carried out in Ukraine”, the ministry said.

Both parties expressed hope that a fourth round of talks between Moscow and Kyiv would be held as soon as possible to “seek agreement on the key problems underlying the crisis in order to resolve it and stop hostilities”, the ministry added.

(Reuters)

“Ukraine is under huge threat, the world is under huge threat”

Ukrainian former boxer Wladimir Klitschko, the brother of fellow ex-boxer and current Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, has spoken of the “huge threat” on Ukraine and the world posed by Russia’s “senseless” invasion of the country.

Klitschko added: “There’s no sides to choose: we’re on the right side. This is our home, this is our country.”

“On the ground it is clear that the Russian army is trying to attack, and planning the attack, on the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv,” he told CNN on Tuesday. “Obviously our defences are standing together against this Russian aggression and senseless war where children, civilians are getting killed.

“And not to forget: Ukraine is under huge threat, and the world under huge threat. We cannot count days, weeks, not even hours, minutes. The shooting is constant. In the city of Kyiv, when you go to bed, you hear the explosions and launching of the rockets to defend the city as well as landing from bullets to rockets, here on the city of Kyiv. So this pressure is enormous and gigantic. Pressure on us, Ukrainians, but we stand together against this Russian aggression.

“Ukraine is the most peaceful country, which never started any attacks and if we’re talking about any military equipment that Russia doesn’t like us to receive, that is to defend ourselves. So our children, women, men, who will be stopped being killed by the Russian army. There’s no sides to choose: we’re on the right side. This is our home, this is country, and I’m proud to be Ukrainian.”

Humanitarian corridor opened from Mariupol

Nexta has reported that the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Iryina Vereschuk, says a humanitarian corridor has been opened out of Mariupol to evacuate civilians from the port city.

“I’m not hiding. And I’m not afraid of anyone”

In a video address on Monday night, Ukraine President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s “not hiding” and “will stay in Kyiv”.

“Monday is a hard day,” Zelenskyy said, speaking from his office in Kyiv. “There is a war in the country. Now every day is Monday. Now I will say one thing: I will stay here. I will stay in Kyiv. On Bankova Street.

“I’m not hiding. And I’m not afraid of anyone. As much as it takes to win, this patriotic war of ours.”

Zelenksyy is due to give a statement to the UK parliament later on Tuesday. Speaking via video link, he is expected to renew calls for the introduction of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

See also: What is a no-fly zone and why hasn’t NATO initiated one?

(Translation of Zelenskyy’s comments via BBC)

Zelenskyy to make “historic” address to UK parliament

Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy is to address the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the UK parliament, via video link on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy is to read a statement at 5pm GMT (12 noon ET).

“Every parliamentarian wants to hear directly from the president, who will be speaking to us live from Ukraine, so this is an important opportunity for the House,” Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House, said in a statement.

“Thanks again to our incredible staff for working at pace to make this historic address possible.”

(Photo: AFP)

EU to sanction more Russian oligarchs, Belarus banks over Ukraine invasion – sources

The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The sanctions, to be discussed by EU ambassadors on Tuesday at a meeting starting at 2pm GMT (9am ET), will ban three Belarusian banks from the SWIFT banking system and add several oligarchs and Russian lawmakers to the EU blacklist, which already includes many, the sources told Reuters.

The new sanctions package also bans exports from the EU of maritime technology to Russia, and provides guidance on the monitoring of cryptocurrencies to avoid their use to circumvent EU sanctions, the sources said.

(Reuters)

Number of refugees to reach 2m today – UN

Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, says the number of refugees to have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine is set to reach the two-million mark on Tuesday. Speaking to the French media outlet France Inter, Grandi described this as a “frightening figure”.

Grandi added that a second wave of more vulnerable refugees can be expected to start leaving Ukraine if the war continues: “We will start seeing people that have no resources and no connections.”

Russia “has built itself a trap” – UK defence secretary

The UK’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, says Russian troops are dying in “large scales” and “getting more desperate” due to “appalling leaders, appalling leadership and appalling plans.”

Russia has “built itself a trap” with its invasion of Ukraine, Wallace added.

“It’s not going particularly well for the Russians,” Wallace told Sky News on Tuesday. “It’s day 13, way off their timetable. There are a lot of casualties – we’ve seen the indiscriminate shelling, which has obviously killed numerous civilians.

“We’ve also recognised that probably the biggest single casualty so far in the war are Russian military soldiers, who are being let down by appalling leaders, appalling leadership and appalling plans. And now you see them literally at large scales, dying.

“And that’s something that will be interesting in the Kremlin. Whether they will admit to each other the failure of their aggressive and illegal invasion of Ukraine. We’ve seen the column is still stuck north of Kyiv. There are reports of overnight of Ukrainian special forces destroying over 20 Russian helicopters on the ground.

“And I think we can see that the Russians are having real logistic problems. So that affects morale, they’re not getting through, they’re getting more desperate and you can see they’re getting more desperate because they’re shelling more and more innocent people just trying to even get out of humanitarian corridors, as we saw yesterday.

“I think this goes right to the heart of the challenge for Russia, which is Russia has built itself a trap and it’s sent itself in, the international community is uniting against them and now we see the devastation that they’re leaving behind.”

Evacuations out of Sumy and Irpin underway, officials say

Ukraine began evacuating civilians from the northeastern city of Sumy and from the town of Irpin near the capital Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.

The evacuations began after Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to establish ‘humanitarian corridors’ to allow civilians out of some towns and cities besieged by Russian forces.

“As of 09:30 (0730 GMT), more than 150 people have been evacuated and (evacuation) activities are underway,” said Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region.

Russia opened humanitarian corridors on Tuesday so that people can be evacuated from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, the Interfax news agency quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying.

The defence ministry added that Russian forces in Ukraine had introduced a “silent regime” from 0700 GMT, Interfax reported.

Ukraine on Monday rejected Russian proposals to evacuate Ukrainians to Russia or Belarus.

(Reuters)

Russian invasion of Ukraine: live updates

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is now in day 13. According to officials, humanitarian corridors have today been opened out of the cities of Sumy and Irpin, to allow civilians to evacuate. Throughout the day, we’ll bring you the latest news on that, and the other major developments in the crisis.