LIVE: Ukranian 'nationalists' derailing evacuations, alleges Putin

10:59 PM

Britain not seeking a humanitarian no-fly zone in Ukraine: Truss

Britain is not seeking to provide a no-fly zone over humanitarian corridors in Ukraine and is instead looking to help it defend itself from Russia's invasion, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Wednesday.

 

"The reality is that setting up a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. And that is not what we are looking at," Truss said at a news conference in Washington, when asked if one could be introduced over a humanitarian corridor.

 

"What we are looking at is making sure that the Ukrainians are able to defend their own country with the best possible selection of anti-tank weapons and anti-air defence systems."

 

10:47 PM

Ukraine asks Turkey, Kazakhstan and others to refuse Russian payment system

Ukraine's central bank on Wednesday asked central banks in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan to suspend all transactions with cards of Russia's Mir payments system.

 

In a statement, it said it had asked the banks to stop accepting Mir cards in their ATMs and to make it impossible to use these cards in e-commerce and person-to-person transfers.

 

"This appeal comes amid the urgent need to scale up global financial pressure on the aggressor country as it proceeds with its assault on Ukraine," the statement said.

10:43 PM

'Nationalists' derailed evacuations: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Ukrainian “nationalists” for hampering the evacuation of civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities.

 

The Kremlin said that Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine in Wednesday's phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with a “special emphasis given to the humanitarian aspects.” It said that Putin told Scholz about Russian “efforts to organise humanitarian corridors for civilians to exit areas of fighting and attempts by militants from nationalist units to hamper safe evacuation of people.” 

 

Ukrainian officials said that the continuous Russian shelling has derailed efforts to evacuate civilians from areas affected by fighting. 

10:32 PM

UAE favors oil production increase: Report

The United Arab Emirates favors an oil production increase and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher output, CNN and the Financial times reported on Wednesday, citing a statement from the UAE's ambassador to Washington.

 

"We favor production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels," Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba said, the FT reported.

10:25 PM

Russia may be using unguided, 'dumb' bombs in Ukraine war: US official

The United States has seen indications that Russia's military is bombing Ukraine using so-called "dumb" bombs that are not precision-guided and would have limited ability to hit targets precisely, a senior US defense official said on Wednesday.

 

"We do have indications that the Russians are in fact dropping some dumb munitions," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that the United States was observing "increasing damage to civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties."

 

The comments came shortly after Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of bombing a children's hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol. Russia denies targeting civilians.

10:24 PM

Russia says almost 180,000 people fled Ukraine to Russia: Interfax

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that nearly 180,000 people had been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

 

The ministry added that the operation to open up humanitarian corridors to remove Ukrainian civilians and foreigners from combat zones "did not bring the desired results, through Kyiv's fault" and the situation faced by civilians in the city of Mariupol had reached a "catastrophic scale".

 

Both sides have accused each other of violating ceasefires that would allow the evacuation of civilians from combat zones.

10:24 PM

UK's Johnson condemns reported Mariupol hospital attack

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday there were few things more depraved than the targeting of vulnerable and defenceless people, after Ukraine accused Russia of bombing a children's hospital in the port city of Mariupol.

 

"There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless," Johnson said on Twitter.

 

"The UK is exploring more support for Ukraine to defend against airstrikes and we will hold Putin to account for his terrible crimes."

10:03 PM

Ukraine says 1,170 civilians have been killed in Mariupol since Russian invasion

At least 1,170 civilians have been killed in Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol since the start of the Russian invasion, a Ukrainian state information agency said on Wednesday, citing figures from Mariupol's deputy mayor.

 

"At least 1,170 people have been killed and 47 were buried in a mass grave today," deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov was quoted as saying. "People are without water, heat, electricity, gas, residents are melting snow to drink."

9:52 PM

Russian annual inflation up 9.15% in February

Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 9.15% in February from 8.73% in January, its highest in seven years, official statistics showed, with prices soaring further on a weakening rouble amid Western sanctions imposed over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 

According to the Rosstat data released on Wednesday, prices on nearly everything from bread to gasoline have spiked, with cost of sugar and cereals such as buckwheat - top products that Russians stockpile - showing some of the biggest increases of 20.6% and 18%, respectively.

 

Yet the biggest cost rise was in construction materials such as wallpaper and bathroom tiles, with prices spiking by 22.5%, indicating an increased demand to finish renovation projects amid booming costs for imported goods as the rouble was falling.

9:50 PM

Covid-19: Karnataka reports 181 new cases, 2 deaths in the last 24 hours

9:27 PM

Mayor of Ukraine's Kharkiv says Russians forces are regrouping there

Russian forces appear to be regrouping near the eastern city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Wednesday, describing the situation as very tense.

 

Speaking on live television, Terekhov said Russian shelling on the city was ongoing.

9:27 PM

Russia largely failed to respect civilian evacuation plans: Ukrainian official

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said Russia had largely failed on Wednesday to respect agreements to allow civilians to be evacuated from towns and cities through humanitarian corridors.

 

Evacuations took place from the cities of Sumy and Enerhodar, but not from the regional capital of Kharkiv and only partially in areas in the Kyiv region, he said on television.

9:21 PM

Civilian casualties climb in Ukraine but likely many more: UN

The UN human rights office said on Wednesday that it had verified 1,424 civilian casualties since the Ukraine conflict began two weeks ago - 516 killed and 908 injured - but believed the real figures were "considerably higher".

 

The civilian toll rose from 1,335 casualties that it reported on Tuesday - 474 civilians killed and 861 injured - since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.

 

Most civilian casualties were caused by explosive weapons including shelling and missile and air strikes, it said on Wednesday. Updated casualty figures from the towns of Volnovakha, Mariupol and Izium were still being corroborated amid allegations of hundreds of civilian casualties, it added.

 

Russia has denied targeting civilians in its assault on Ukraine.

9:16 PM

Ukraine says Russian air strike hit hospital in Mariupol

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky accused Russia on Wednesday of carrying out an air strike on a hospital in the southern port city of Mariupol in which he said children were among people "under the wreckage."

 

Mariupol's city council said the hospital had been destroyed. It said it did not know any casualty figures but added: "The destruction is colossal."

 

The reports could not immediately be verified by Reuters.

 

Russia has denied targeting civilians in its assault on Ukraine.

8:57 PM

PM Modi speaks to Hungarian leader Orban on Ukraine situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban on the Ukraine crisis, with the two leaders agreeing on the need to ensure an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomacy and dialogue, the PMO said.

 

Modi also conveyed his warm thanks to Orban and hid government for facilitating the evacuation of more than 6,000 Indian citizens through the Ukraine-Hungary border.

8:32 PM

Mariupol says children's hospital destroyed by Russian bombing

A children's hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been destroyed by Russian air strikes, the city council said in an online post on Wednesday.

 

"The Russian occupying forces have dropped several bombs on the children's hospital. The destruction is colossal," it said, adding that it did not yet know any casualty figures.

 

The report could not immediately be verified by Reuters.

 

Russia has denied targeting civilians in its assault on Ukraine.

 

8:25 PM

PM Modi chairs a meeting to review Covid-19 situation and public health response

8:05 PM

McDonald's says Russia store closures to cost $50 mn per month

McDonald's Corp said on Wednesday the temporary closure of its 847 stores in Russia will cost the fast food chain about $50 million a month.

 

The company said on Tuesday it would temporarily close all of its restaurants in Russia including its iconic Pushkin Square location, increasing pressure on other global brands to pause operations in the country following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

 

7:35 PM

NMC removes the fixed upper age limit for appearing in NEET-UG examination

7:29 PM

Germany certainly not sending warplanes to Ukraine, says Scholz

Germany will certainly not send warplanes to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday after the United States rejected an offer by Poland to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 jets to a U.S. base in Germany.

 

"We have provided all kinds of defence materials and .. have sent weapons that we have told you about but it is also true that we have to consider very carefully what we do concretely, and definitely warplanes are not part of that," said Scholz at a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

 

Asked about whether Germany was categorically opposed to a ban on Russian energy imports, Scholz said he had for several months been working on reducing the country's dependency on fossil fuel imports. "There are many technical questions to be addressed," he said.

 

7:29 PM

PM Modi to visit Gujarat on March 11 and 12, he will address Gujarat Panchayat Mahasammelan: PMO

7:01 PM

IAEA says no critical impact on safety after power loss at Chernobyl

The loss of power at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine does not have any critical impact on safety, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Heat load of spent fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sufficient for effective heat removal without need for electrical supply," the IAEA said in a statement.

 

6:36 PM

MCD election: 'Not postponing, if unification of municipal corporations happens may have to examine situation'

5:54 PM

Putin to meet government on Thursday on ways to minimise sanctions impact

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting with members of his government on Thursday and the main topic will be measures to minimise the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy, the Kremlin said in a statement.

 

5:53 PM

EU imposes sanctions on more Russians, adds Belarus banks to list

The European Union said on Wednesday it was stepping up sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including targeting more Russian individuals and adding banks in Moscow's ally Belarus.

 

The 27-nation bloc was blacklisting 160 more Russian parliamentarians and oligarchs, was banning exports of maritime navigation technology to Russia and was including crypto-assets under its punitive measures, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

 

The EU was also targeting the banking sector in Belarus, where Russia has amassed troops it used to attack Ukraine.

 

5:40 PM

We are further tightening sanctions responding to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine: EU president

5:01 PM

Kremlin says United States has declared economic war on Russia

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the United States had declared economic war on Russia and that Moscow would think seriously about what to do after US.

 

President Joe Biden imposed a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports.

 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had been, is and would be a reliable energy supplier and pointed out that energy flows continued.

 

"But you see the bacchanalia, the hostile bacchanalia, which the West has sown - and that of course makes the situation very difficult and forces us to think seriously," Peskov said.

 

"The United States definitely has declared economic war against Russia and is waging this war," he said.

5:00 PM

Russia says it skipped World Court case because Ukraine suit is 'absurd'

Russia did not attend a World Court hearing in a lawsuit brought by Ukraine seeking to halt hostilities on its territory because of the "absurdity" of the suit, Russia's foreign ministry said on Twitter on Wednesday, its first public statement on the matter.

 

Russia did not attend hearings on Monday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is the U.N.

court for resolving disputes between nations.

 

Ukraine argued that Russia had wrongly tried to justify its invasion on false assertions that it was attacking in self defence to prevent genocide.

 

Russia's tweet said it had not attended "in light of the apparent absurdity of the lawsuit".

 

4:58 PM

AAP will emerge as a major national political force: Raghav Chadha

4:48 PM

Ukraine nuclear firm warns of radiation risk after power cut at occupied Chernobyl plant

Radioactive substances could be released from Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant because it cannot cool spent nuclear fuel after its power connection was severed, Ukraine's state-run nuclear company Energoatom said on Wednesday.

 

Work to repair the connection and restore power to the plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops, has not been possible because fighting is under way, it said.