By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
More than 1.7 million have fled Ukraine: UN
More than 1.7 million people have so far fled the war in Ukraine, according to he United Nation’s refugee agency, as thousands more stream across the borders.
A total of 1,735,068 civilians, mostly women and children, have crossed the border into Central Europe as of Sunday, the UNHCR said.
Poland has received more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees since the conflict began on February 24. The European Union could see as many as 5 million Ukrainian refugees if Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine continues, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said.
Nearly 100 percent of pre-staged Russian forces in Ukraine: US official
Russian President Vladimir Putin has now deployed into Ukraine nearly 100 percent of the more than 150,000 forces that he had pre-staged before the invasion, a senior US defence official had said.
That’s our best estimate right now,” the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Twelve days after starting its invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have largely stalled north on Kyiv and still do not control the skies over Ukraine, increasingly relying on missile and artillery strikes.
Ruble plunges to new record low against the dollar
The Russian Ruble has plunged even further against the dollar, hitting record lows, as talk grows over possible sanctions against Russian energy. The US dollar/Russian Ruble is currently trading at around 155, meaning $1 is worth 155 rubles.
Before the conflict with Ukraine began, it was trading between 70 to 80 rubles to the dollar. On Monday’s lows, the Russian ruble has lost 90% of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.
The ruble has plunged as the West brings in tough economic sanctions and the Russian government introduced capital controls to try and stop the flow of money out of Russia.
Third round of talks ends
Ukraine’s negotiator has said talks with Russia aimed at opening humanitarian corridors have yielded some progress on evacuation logistics, but none that significantly improves the broader situation.
The two sides will continue talks on a ceasefire, Mykhailo Podolyak said in a video statement.
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said it was too early to speak of any positive outcomes. “Our expectations from negotiations were not fulfilled. We hope that next time we will be able to take a more significant step forward,” he said in televised remarks.
EU to start examining Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova membership bids
EU nations have agreed to start examining membership bids submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
The ex-Soviet states last week rushed to file applications to join the bloc after the Kremlin launched its attack on Ukraine.
The move by the 27 member states is the first step in the bloc’s process for deciding whether to allow new members to join, which can last for years.
Boeing suspends buying titanium from Russia
Boeing Co says it has suspended buying titanium from Russia, despite there being no sanctions yet on VSMPO-Avisma, the world’s largest producer.
Russia’s VSMPO-Avisma said in a statement said it “regrets” the suspension of contracts with its long-term American partner.
Boeing said in a statement that “our inventory and diversity of titanium sources provide sufficient supply for airplane production.”
A third round of Ukraine-Russia talks is set for 9 a.m. ET
The third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is scheduled to get underway Monday at 4 p.m. Ukraine time (9 a.m. ET), Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.
Russian state news agency TASS reported Sunday that Russian negotiator Leonid Slutsky had also confirmed that the talks would take place on March 7.
The location for this event has not been disclosed. The first round of talks, on February 28, and the second set, on March 3, both took place in Belarus.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will meet Thursday in Antalya, Turkey, the Russian foreign ministry confirmed.
NATO is looking at more permanent deployment in the Baltics, says Blinken
NATO is looking at further expanding its presence in Eastern Europe with more permanent positions being considered in the Baltic countries, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Monday.
“We’re continuing to do that now including with the deployment of additional forces, including American forces here to Lithuania, F-35 fighters, various pieces of important equipment, all of which is being deployed here (and) deployed to the other states in the Baltics,” Blinken said at a news conference in the Lithuanian capital city Vilnius.
Speaking alongside Lithuanian Foreign Minister Garbrielius Landsbergis, Blinken continued: “At the same time, we’re continuously reviewing within NATO our defense posture, including looking at questions of extending the deployment of forces, looking at questions of more permanent deployments.
“All of that is under regular review and we’re engaged with NATO allies in doing just that.”
He reiterated the US and allies’ commitment to NATO’s Article 5, which deems an attack on one country is an attack on all.
“If there is any aggression anywhere, on NATO territory on NATO countries, we the United States, all of our allies and partners will take action to defend every inch of NATO territory. It’s as clear and direct as that,” he said.
Paris denies asking Putin for evacuation routes to Belarus, Russia
Emmanuel Macron did not ask Putin to open humanitarian corridors from Ukrainian cities to Russia and Belarus, the French President’s office has said in a rebuttal of claims made by the Kremlin.
Moscow announced the proposed escape routes from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy after Putin and Macron spoke by telephone on Sunday. It said the move was taken in response to a “personal request” by the French leader.
But the Elysee Palace told the AFP news agency that no such request was made.
Macron instead insisted on “the respect of international humanitarian law, the protection of civilian populations and the supply of aid, “a French presidency official, who asked not to be named, said.
Indian PM urges Putin to hold direct talks with Zelenskyy: Report
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Putin to hold direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to an Indian government source quoted by the Reuters news agency.
Modi and Putin spoke by phone on Monday, according to the source.
“Prime Minister Modi urged President Putin to hold direct talks with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, in addition to the ongoing negotiations between their teams,” the source said.
Where do Russia’s proposed humanitarian corridors lead?
Moscow’s suggested exit routes largely lead to Russia and Belarus. The details, according to Russia’s defence ministry, are as follows:
- There is one exit route from the capital, Kyiv, which leads to Gomel, in southeastern Belarus.
- There is one exit route from Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, which leads to Belgorod, in southeast Russia.
- There are two exit routes from Sumy, also in northeastern Ukraine. One leads to Poltava, in Ukraine. The other leads to Belgorod.
- There are two exit routes from Mariupol, in Ukraine’s southeast. One leads to Rostov-on Don, in Russia. The other leads to Zaporizhzhia, in Ukraine.
Russia shuns Ukraine war hearing at UN court
Moscow has declined to send a delegation to the UN’s top court for a hearing into Ukraine’s request for its judges to order Russia to halt its invasion.
“The court regrets the non-appearance of the Russian Federation in these oral proceedings, “International Court of Justice (ICJ) President Joan Donoghue said at the start of proceedings.
The Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, Alexander Shulgin, wrote to the court and “indicated that his government did not intend to participate,” she said.
Ukraine has asked the ICJ, based in The Hague, to order Russia to “immediately suspend the military operations “Moscow launched on February 24.