Russia and Ukraine to continue talks after brief pause


Firefighters worked at the scene of an apartment building after it caught on fire from artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday.

© Felipe Dana Firefighters worked at the scene of an apartment building after it caught on fire from artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday.

Two weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops have faced resistance from Ukrainian forces as they threaten major cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv and drive millions of Ukrainian residents to flee to neighboring countries.

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  March 15, 2022  

Russian state TV employee fined after storming news broadcast with anti-war sign — 1:42 p.m.

By The Associated Press

An employee of Russian state television who interrupted a live news program by protesting the war in Ukraine was ordered to pay a fine by a Russian court Tuesday.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee of the Russian Channel 1, walked into the studio during Monday’s evening news show with a poster saying “no war” and “Russians against the war.” In a video recorded before her action, Ovsyannikova said that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian. She urged Russians to join anti-war protests and said that “Russia is the aggressor country and one person, Vlaidmir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression.”

Ovsyannikova spent the night in police custody, and Moscow’s Ostankino District Court on Tuesday ordered Ovsyannikova to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles (about $270) on charges of organizing unsanctioned actions for her call to take part in demonstrations against the war.

Biden to meet with NATO and EU leaders — 1:34 p.m.

By The Associated Press

White House says Biden will meet with NATO and EU leaders in Brussels next week in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Moscow to withdraw from Council of Europe — 1:20 p.m.

By The Associated Press

The Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow is withdrawing from the Council of Europe.

The ministry said it handed a formal notice about Russia’s decision to leave the continent’s leading human rights organization to the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić on Tuesday. It said the move followed the Council of Europe’s decision to suspend Russia’s membership that was taken on Feb. 25.

The ministry charged that the Council of Europe has become an instrument of exerting pressure on Russia and alleged that it has been heavily influenced by NATO and the European Union. It said in a statement that its withdrawal from the Council of Europe wouldn’t impact human rights and freedoms in the country, which officials said are safeguarded by the Russian constitution.

Russia’s invasion has sparked widespread allegations of war crimes, as hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been killed and numerous residential areas have been targeted by Russian troops.

China says sanctions against Russia shouldn’t affect them — 12:55 p.m.

By The Washington Post

China wants to avoid being impacted by US sanctions over Russia’s war, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, in one of Beijing’s most explicit statements yet on American penalties that are contributing to a historic market selloff.

“China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China,” Wang said in a phone call Monday with Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares to discuss the war in Ukraine. “China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

Concerns are growing among investors that Chinese companies will face US sanctions after American officials said Russia requested military and financial assistance from Beijing. The US warned European allies that Russia asked China for armed drones in late February as it was beginning its invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fox News journalist killed in Ukraine while reporting on war, colleagues say — 11:50 a.m.

By Christina Prignano, Globe staff

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has been killed while working for the network in Ukraine, according to his colleagues.

Zakrzewski was killed in the same attack that injured correspondent Benjamin Hall, Fox anchor John Roberts said on Twitter Tuesday.

”I worked with Pierre many times around the world. He was an absolute treasure. Sending our most heartfelt prayers to Pierre’s wife and family,” Roberts said in the tweet.

Hall was reported hospitalized on Monday after being injured outside Kyiv, according to Fox. His condition was not clear on Tuesday.

The news of Zakrzewski’s death comes just days after the death of filmmaker and photographer Brent Renaud, a 2019 Nieman Foundation fellow at Harvard University, who was killed while reporting in Irpin on Sunday.

Maine port prohibits Russian ship from docking — 11:43 a.m.

By The Associated Press

A Russian vessel carrying 8,000 tons of a petroleum-derived product was denied a request to dock at the easternmost tip of the US.

The ship’s operator asked on March 3 to dock in Eastport, Maine, after being turned away from a port on the St. Lawrence Seaway by the Canadian government following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Eastport ultimately rejected the short-notice request from the ship.

“For a myriad of reasons, it was not in our best interest to entertain the vessel,” Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority, said Tuesday.

The Fesco Ulis, which is classified as a general cargo ship, was operating under the Russian flag and was carrying a petroleum product called solid pitch, which is used in manufacturing.

Zelensky says Ukraine can’t join NATO — 10:54 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says the country realizes that it can’t join NATO.

Speaking Tuesday to representatives of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Zelensky said that “we heard for years about the allegedly open doors” of NATO, but “we have already heard that we won’t be able to join.” He added that “it’s the truth we must recognize, and I’m glad that our people are starting to realize that and count on themselves and our partners who are helping us.”

The JEF may consist of Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway.

Zelensky again urged Western allies to provide Ukraine with warplanes.

France offers asylum to viral anti-war activist — 10:44 a.m.

By The Associated Press

President Emmanuel Macron said France is offering protection from the French embassy and asylum to the anti-war activist who interrupted a news program on Russia’s state television, holding a poster protesting the war in Ukraine.

An independent human rights group that monitors political arrests identified the woman as Marina Ovsyannikova. The group, OVD-Info, posted on its website that Ovsyannikova, who identified herself as an employee of the station, was taken into police custody.

Macron said he will “propose this solution in a direct and very concrete manner” to Russian President Vladimir Putin in their next phone call. He condemned any detention of journalists and hoped that Ovsyannikova’s situation will be clarified “as soon as possible.”

Macron spoke after visiting on Tuesday a facility housing Ukrainians fleeing war in western France. The country is getting ready to welcome “at least” 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war, he said. Government officials said about 15,000 Ukrainians have arrived in France so far.

Major insulin maker halts new Russian studies — 10:21 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

Eli Lilly & Co. said it has suspended investment, promotional activity, and new clinical trials in Russia, and has stopped exporting nonessential medicines to the country, in response to the war in Ukraine. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker, which is one of the world’s biggest producers of insulin, said in an emailed statement that it will continue to deliver cancer and diabetes medicines to patients in Russia.

Lilly cited a “ethical and moral obligation to help alleviate human suffering and to protect the lives of patients,” while saying it would direct any profit from its sales in Russia to humanitarian relief.

Other top pharmaceutical companies in the US and Europe, including Pfizer and Roche Holding AG, have said they had halted recruitment for studies in Russia, while continuing to send drugs and other health supplies to help those in need.

On March 3, Lilly said it would donate a $7.5 million supply of insulin and $1.8 million supply of baricitinib, which is used to treat complications from COVID-19, to US nonprofits distributing medical supplies across the region. Lilly’s foundation also donated $500,000 to relief efforts.

Tire maker Michelin suspends Russian operations — 9:58 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

French tire maker Michelin is suspending operations in Russia and exports to the country, becoming the latest in a list of companies to halt activities there.

The industrial company’s plant employs about 750 people and manufactures passenger car tires and retreaded truck tires, mainly for the local market, according to a statement Tuesday. “The group remains fully mobilized and will continue to adapt its decisions as the situation evolves,” the statement said.

The manufacturer follows a host of firms — from food and credit card companies to automakers and fashion companies — to pull out of Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Michelin last month warned 2022 would be just as much of a struggle as last year in terms of sourcing supplies due to severe bottlenecks in supply chains and transportation routes.

Zelensky pleads with Europe for more weapons — 9:36 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukraine’s president has told northern European leaders that they could “help yourself by helping us,” as he appealed for more weapons to counter Russia’s invasion of his country.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force via videolink Tuesday, said the Ukrainian military is rapidly using up weapons and other hardware that western nations have shipped to his country. He also appealed for a full trade embargo on Russia, saying sanctions have not been enough to counter the Russian advance. “We have to acknowledge Russia as a rogue state and there has to be a trade embargo with Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “This is something that we need and you need as well, just like the rest of the world, to make sure there is peace in Europe and Ukraine.”

Zelensky also repeated his frustration with NATO over its refusal to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine as he addressed JEF leaders meeting Tuesday in London. The United Kingdom-led JEF is a grouping of 10 north Atlantic countries designed to react quickly to international crises. It includes NATO members such as Britain and the Baltic states, as well as non-NATO countries such as Sweden and Finland.

Slovaks charge 2 with spying for Russia’s military service — 9:04 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Slovak authorities have broken a Russian spying network that was operating on Slovak territory, officials said on Tuesday. Stefan Hamran, the country’s chief police officer said four Slovak nationals have been detained in the case with two of them facing spying and bribery charges. Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic said the two face up to 13 years in prison if tried and convicted. “We’re talking about serious cases,” Lipsic said. “It’s about a long term, paid cooperation with the Russian military intelligence service” (known as GRU).

The two are accused of seeking out and gathering highly sensitive, strategic and classified information about Slovakia, its armed forces and NATO and handed them over to undercover GRU officers who were based at the Russian Embassy in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, in exchange for money, Hamran said. He said such a case has not been known in Slovakia before. Lipsic said the suspects received tens of thousands euros (dollars) from the Russian spies. “The information the Russian intelligence service was looking for also involved Ukraine,” Lipsic said. He didn’t elaborate at a news conference in Bratislava. Officers from Slovakia’s National Criminal Agency and the country’s Military Intelligence service joined forces to investigate the case.

Tuesday’s move came a day Slovakia’s Foreign Ministry announced it was expelling three Russian diplomats following its assessment of information from the country’s intelligence services on possible spying and bribery. The ministry said the diplomats have 72 hours to leave the country. It said their activities violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.T he ministry said it has also strongly urged the Russian Embassy to make sure the activities of its diplomats were in line with the convention, which both countries are obliged to do.

One of the two charged men was pro-rector and the head of the Security and Defense Department at the Armed Forces Academy in the northern town of Liptovsky Mikulas. The officials identified him as Pavel B., and said he had secret contacts with four GRU officers dating to 2013. The other one, identified as Bohus G., was working for a leading pro-Russian conspiracy website known as Hlavne spravy. He cooperated with the Russians at least from April 2021 and was using his contacts with a former assistant of a lawmaker in the Slovak Parliament and a former member of the Slovak spy service known as SIS, officials said. The officials said the two confessed their guilt. The investigation is continuing.

British government to raise import duties on vodka, Russian products — 7:53 a.m.

By The Associated Press

LONDON — The British government says it will raise import duties on vodka and other Russian products and ban the export of luxury goods to Russia.

The measures announced Tuesday are the latest round of economic sanctions designed to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The U.K. Department for International Trade said in a statement the measures are designed to hamper Putin’s war machine by depriving Russia of the preferential tariff treatment it receives from membership in the World Trade Organization.

Russian and Belarusian products ranging from vodka and white fish to iron, oil seeds and grain will face additional import tariffs of 35%.

“Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rules-based international system it does not respect,’’ U.K. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said.

In addition, the U.K. said it would join with other Group of Seven industrialized countries to ban the export of luxury goods, including luxury vehicles, high-end fashion and works of art, to Russia. The ban will ensure that members of the elite who have profited under Putin are “deprived of access” to such products, the department said.

British website pairing households with Ukrainian refugees crashes due to surge in interest — 7:53 a.m.

By The Associated Press

LONDON — Britain’s government says almost 89,000 households have signed up to a program to provide a home for Ukrainian refugees, with so much interest that the registration website crashed within the first few minutes of its launch.

Britain launched its “Homes for Ukraine” program Tuesday. It allows Britons to host a named person from Ukraine for a minimum of six months in their own homes or in rent-free separate housing. In exchange, the government will pay each sponsor 350 pounds ($456) a month.

Officials said there will be no limit on how many Ukrainians can enter the U.K. under the program.

Britain’s government had come under heavy criticism for responding too slowly to the Ukraine refugee crisis, with many of those trying to flee to the U.K. saying they were held up or turned away because of cumbersome paperwork.

More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine — 6:58 a.m.

By The Associated Press

The International Organization for Migration says more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian invaded last month.

The new milestone also indicated that some 157,000 third-country nationals — people who aren’t Ukrainian — were part of the outflow in what U.N. officials have called the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said at a U.N. news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the totals were compiled from figures provided by national authorities.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, which provides a more detailed count than the IOM though based on similar data, has reported that more than 1.8 million of the refugees were in Poland.

UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said some 300,000 had moved on from there to Western Europe and noted that the vast majority of those fleeing have been women and children.

China defends its position on Ukraine war — 6:27 a.m.

By The Associated Press

China insists that its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “impartial and constructive.”

The Chinese government is also repeating its accusations that the U.S. is spreading misinformation over reports Beijing has responded positively to a Russian request for military supplies.

Speaking to reporters at a daily briefing Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused the U.S. of “immoral and irresponsible” conduct by spreading misinformation.

“What the U.S. should do is to deeply reflect on the role it has played in the development and evolving of the Ukraine crisis and do something practical to ease the tension in Ukraine,” he said, in a nod to China’s contention that Russia was provoked by NATO’s expansion and threats to its security.

The Biden administration is increasingly concerned that China is using the Ukraine war to advance Beijing’s long-term interests in its global competition for influence with the United States.

China has refused to criticize Russia over its invasion and the ensuing war, or even to refer to the conflict as such. In keeping with Russian preferences, Zhao referred to the war as the “Ukraine issue.” Beijing also opposes sanctions on the Russian economy.

Russia soccer player with family in Ukraine refuses call up to national team — 6:25 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Russian soccer player Artem Dzyuba has declined a call-up to the national team because he has family in Ukraine, which has been invaded by Russian forces.

The 33-year-old forward is the joint top scorer of the Russian men’s national team and is its former captain.

Russian coach Valery Karpin said in a statement on the Russian Football Union website Tuesday that “in connection with the difficult situation in Ukraine, where many of his relatives live,” Dzyuba had asked him to be excused from the national team for family reasons.

Russia called up 27 players Tuesday for a national team training camp as it challenges a ruling by FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, barring it from playing international games.

Russia was set to host Poland on March 24 for a World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal. Poland cited the war in refusing to play against Russia, with FIFA and European soccer authority UEFA later banning Russian national and club teams from their international competitions.

Ukraine TV tower attack death toll rises to 19 — 6:02 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Local authorities say the number of people killed in a Russian rocket attack on a TV tower in western Ukraine has risen to 19.

The Rivne regional government posted on its Facebook page Tuesday that 19 people were killed and nine were injured in the strike on the TV tower in Antopol, a village outside the city of Rivne.

The village is only about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the border of NATO member Poland and comes as Russia presses its invasion of Ukraine.

Initial casualty reports had put the death toll from Monday’s TV tower attack at nine.

‘People are dying’: Ukrainian firefighter describes trying to save lives during Russian attack — 6:00 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Outside a Kyiv apartment block hit by overnight Russian shelling, a young firefighter took a moment to rest Tuesday. He sat on the ground, tears falling.

He described rescuing a woman and her daughter and fighting through a flaming corridor before facing a problem with his equipment that forced him to leave.

“It’s very difficult. Yesterday we extinguished one fire, today another, it is very difficult,” said the firefighter, who would give only his first name, Andriy.

“People are dying, and the worst thing is that children are dying,” he told The Associated Press at the scene. “They haven’t lived their lives and they have already seen this. This is the worst.”

After a brief pause, he went back into the fiery building.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government announced new aid and evacuation efforts amid Russia’s invasion, starting Tuesday morning along nine corridors around the country including the Kyiv region.

Boris Johnson blames Russian oil ‘addiction’ — 4:56 a.m.

By The Associated Press

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday underscored his drive for energy independence, saying the West’s failure to wean itself from Russian oil and natural gas after the annexation of Crimea paved the way for the invasion of Ukraine.

Western countries made a “terrible mistake” in returning to normal economic relations with Russia after the Crimean incursion and becoming even more dependent on Russian energy exports, Johnson wrote in a front page article in The Telegraph newspaper.

“And so when (Vladimir Putin) finally came to launch his vicious war in Ukraine, he knew the world would find it very hard to punish him. He knew that he had created an addiction,” he said. “That is why he feels able to bomb maternity hospitals. That is why he is emboldened enough to launch indiscriminate assaults on fleeing families.”

Ending the world’s dependence on Russian energy will starve Putin of cash, Johnson said as he made the case for the U.K. government’s plan to phase out imports of oil and gas from Russia by the end of this year.

To replace Russian energy and cut carbon emissions, the U.K. must expand production of wind power, and invest in other forms of renewable energy including solar, tidal, geothermal and hydroelectric power plants, Johnson said. The U.K. must also reverse the “historic mistake” of moving away from nuclear energy, he said.

Russia may install a pro-Moscow government in Kherson, Britain’s defense ministry says — 4:54 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Britain’s defense ministry says Russia may be planning to install a pro-Moscow government in Kherson, a Ukrainian city it has occupied, as it attempts to assert “political control” over areas of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense says Russia “may seek to stage a ‘referendum’ in Kherson in an attempt to legitimize the area as a ‘breakaway republic’ similar to Donetsk and Luhansk and Crimea.”

U.K. Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly said any attempt at local referendums would “be another attempt to put a veneer of credibility on what is an unacceptable, unjustified illegal invasion.”

In an intelligence update, the defense ministry says protests have been held against occupying Russian forces in the cities of Melitopol, Berdyansk and Kherson, where troops fired warning shots at demonstrators on Monday.

It says Russia has reportedly installed its own mayor in the southern city Melitopol following the alleged abduction of his predecessor on Friday, and the mayor of another city, Dniprorudne, has also reportedly been abducted by Russian forces.

Leaders travel to Kyiv in EU show of support — 4:10 a.m.

By The Associated Press

The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are traveling on Tuesday to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital which is currently under fire, on a European Union mission to show support for Ukraine as Russia’s invasion intensifies.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet: “The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence.”

He will be joined by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is Polish the deputy prime minister for security but also the conservative ruling party leader.

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine edged closer to central Kyiv on Tuesday, with a series of strikes hitting a residential neighborhood in the capital as the two countries planned a second day of talks.

Russian strikes hit apartment building in Kyiv — 2:09 a.m.

By The Associated Press

A series of Russian strikes hit a residential neighborhood of Ukraine’s capital on Tuesday, igniting a huge fire and frantic rescue effort in a 15-story Kyiv apartment building. At least one person was killed and others remain trapped inside.

The Ukrainian military said in a statement that the strikes were artillery strikes. They hit the Svyatoshynskyi district of western Kyiv, adjacent to the suburb of Irpin that has seen some of the worst battles of the war.

Flames shot out of the apartment building as firefighters rescued people from ladders. Smoke choked the air.

A firefighter at the scene confirmed one person died and that several have been rescued alive but others are still inside as rescuers try to reach them.

Russian forces also stepped up strikes overnight on the northwest suburbs of Irpin, Hostomel and Bucha, the head of the Kyiv region Oleksiy Kuleba said on Ukrainian television.

Russian forces also renewed efforts Tuesday to capture the important port city of Mariupol in the south, and unleashed new artillery strikes on downtown Kharkiv in the east, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Facebook.

Japan freezing assets of more Russian political tycoons — 2:08 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Japan’s government is freezing the assets of 17 more Russian politicians tycoons and their relatives to step up sanctions and pressure Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine.

The list of sanction targets include 11 members of the Russian parliamentary chamber of Duma, banker Yuri Kovalchuk and his relatives, as well as billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, chairman of Renova Group, according to a statement jointly issued by the foreign, finance and trade ministries.

The move brings the number of Russians targeted by Japan’s asset freezes to 61.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Tuesday the additional steps were taken “in order to stop Russia’s invasion (of Ukraine) as soon as possible.”

Matsuno said Japan will cooperate with other Group of Seven nations and other international community to respond appropriately in case of further sanctions.

Japan has previously imposed sanctions against Russian central bank, seven private banks, and Russian and Belarusian individuals and groups. Tokyo also imposed an export ban to Russia of items including high technology equipment that may be used for military purposes.

Russia pounds away at Ukraine as two sides plan more talks — 12:42 a.m.

By The Associated Press

A narrow diplomatic path stayed open as Ukraine and Russia planned another round of talks and Moscow’s forces pounded away at cities across the country, including the capital, in a bombardment that deepened the humanitarian crisis.

Shortly before dawn on Tuesday, large explosions thundered across Kyiv while Russia pressed its advance on multiple fronts.

Elsewhere, a convoy of 160 civilian cars left the encircled port city of Mariupol along a designated humanitarian route, the city council reported, in a rare glimmer of hope a week and a half into the lethal siege that has pulverized homes and other buildings and left people desperate for food, water, heat and medicine.

  March 14, 2022  

UN says women pay highest price in conflict, now in Ukraine — 11:59 p.m

By The Associated Press

Women and girls pay the highest price in all crises and conflicts from Myanmar and Afghanistan to the Sahel and Haiti, and “the horrifying war in Ukraine now joins that list,” the head of the U.N. women’s agency said Monday.

Undersecretary-General Sima Bahous told the opening session of the Commission on the Status of Women’s annual meeting that with every passing day the war is damaging the lives, hopes and futures of Ukrainian women and girls.

And, she added, the fact that it is between “two wheat and oil producing nations threatens food security and access to essential services the world over” and “this, too, will impact women and girls the hardest.”

Russia and Ukraine to continue talks Tuesday — 10:59 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations will continue Tuesday.

Speaking in a video address, Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian delegation did good work during Monday’s talks. He didn’t provide further details.

He said he spoke Monday to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as part of efforts to “quickly end the war” and achieve “honest peace.” Bennett, who has sought to mediate a peaceful settlement, also spoke Monday to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Our brave defenders continue to inflict devastating losses on Russian troops. Soon the number of downed helicopters of Russia will reach hundreds of units. They have already lost 80 warplanes. Hundreds of tanks and thousands of other units of equipment. In 19 days, the Russian army has lost more in Ukraine than in two bloody and years-long wars in Chechnya.

Posted by Володимир Зеленський on Monday, March 14, 2022

Zelenskyy hailed a Russian state TV employee who interrupted the main evening news program on Russian Channel 1 by running into a studio with a poster against the war in Ukraine. The employee was later arrested by police.

The Ukrainian president again addressed the Russian soldiers, urging them to stop fighting and saying: “I’m offering you a chance to survive.”

In a bid to shore up the economy badly battered by the war, Zelenskyy announced a plan to sharply reduce taxes for business.

UN chief: Ukraine war hitting poor country reliant on wheat — 10:11 p.m.

By The Associated Press

The United Nations chief warned Monday that Russia’s war on Ukraine is holding “a sword of Damocles” over the global economy, especially poor developing countries that face skyrocketing food, fuel and fertilizer prices and are now seeing their breadbasket “being bombed.”

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that “Russia and Ukraine represent more than half of the world’s supply of sunflower oil and about 30 percent of the world’s wheat” and that “grain prices have already exceeded those at the start of the Arab Spring and the food riots of 2007-2008.”

He told reporters that 45 African and least developed countries import at least one-third of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, and 18 of them import at least 50%. These countries include Egypt, Congo, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, he said.

Hundreds escape besieged Mariupol. Tens of thousands remain trapped — 9:52 p.m.

By New York Times

Hundreds of people escaped the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol by car Monday, according to the local government, even as a convoy of vehicles carrying food, water and medicine slowly tried to find a safe path through the battle raging around the city.

Relatives of those still living in Mariupol said fleeing seems to offer the best, and perhaps only, chance for survival.

“I do not believe the humanitarian convoy will be a big help,” said Olexander Kryvoshapro, a humanitarian activist whose parents are in Mariupol. “Too many people are still there. And this once beautiful, big and constantly developing city is now completely destroyed. It is not possible to live there anymore. All people need to be evacuated.”

An estimated 400,000 people are trapped in the city, which is entering its second week without heat, food or clean water. Attempts to reach the city and evacuate people have failed day after day amid heavy fighting. The convoy on its way Monday was carrying 100 tons of relief supplies, officials said.

Russia has been laying siege to the city, a major industrial hub on the Azov Sea, creating a humanitarian catastrophe that led the International Committee of the Red Cross to issue an urgent appeal for a cease-fire to assist the hundreds of thousands of people with no access to clean water, food or heat.

China sees at least one winner emerging from Ukraine war: China — 8:15 p.m.

New York Times

The war in Ukraine is far from over, but a consensus is forming in Chinese policy circles that one country stands to emerge victorious from the turmoil: China.

After a confused initial response to Russia’s invasion, China has laid the building blocks of a strategy to shield itself from the worst economic and diplomatic consequences it could face, and to benefit from geopolitical shifts once the smoke clears.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has avoided criticizing President Vladimir Putin of Russia, but he has also tried to distance China from the carnage. His government has denounced the international sanctions imposed on Russia but, so far at least, has hinted that Chinese companies may comply with them, to protect China’s economic interests in the West.

Xi reached out to European leaders last week with vague offers of assistance in negotiating a settlement, even as other Chinese officials amplified Russian disinformation campaigns meant to discredit the United States and NATO.

On Monday, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with a top Chinese official in Rome, and warned that the United States had “deep concerns” about Beijing’s growing alignment with Russia.

In the end, China’s leadership has calculated that it must try to rise above what it considers a struggle between two tired powers and be seen as a pillar of stability in an increasingly turbulent world.

“This means that as long as we don’t commit terminal strategic blunders, China’s modernization will not be cut short, and on the contrary, China will have even greater ability and will to play a more important role in building a new international order,” Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, who has advised senior officials, wrote after the invasion in a widely circulated article.

Protesters occupy London house linked to Russian oligarch — 6:56 p.m.

New York Times

On Monday, among the embassies dotting London’s Belgrave Square, a Ukrainian flag hung from a window of one of the white stucco mansions. Another banner hanging from the balcony below read, “This property has been liberated.”

A group of people in balaclavas sat on the balcony, dangling their feet, waving at a small group of supporters as police surrounded the area.

On Sunday night, the group broke into the house to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The home is one of the addresses of the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is on the sanctions list of the U.S. Treasury Department.

“You occupy Ukraine, we occupy you,” a flyer for the initiative from the self-described anarchists read, adding that the mansion, which belonged to a “Russian oligarch, complicit of Putin’s invasion,” would host Ukrainian refugees.

Video: Refugees reach 2.8 mln as Russia strikes hit west Ukraine (Reuters)

Refugees reach 2.8 mln as Russia strikes hit west Ukraine

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Fox News reporter injured while reporting outside Kyiv — 4:47 p.m.

Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall was injured while reporting outside of Kyiv on Monday and was hospitalized, the network said.

Hall is a Washington-based correspondent who covers the U.S. State Department for Fox News, where he has worked since 2015.

“We have a minimal level of details right now, but Ben is hospitalized and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information as the situation quickly unfolds,” Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a message to Fox employees.

Fox’s John Roberts read Scott’s statement about Hall on the air at Fox.

Watch: Russian news broadcast interrupted by person holding anti-war sign — 4:42 p.m.

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The live main evening news program on Russia’s state television was briefly interrupted Monday by a person who walked into the studio holding a poster against the war in Ukraine.

The OVD-Info website that monitors political arrests identified the woman who interrupted the broadcast on Channel 1 as Marina Ovsyannikova. The website said Ovsyannikova was detained and taken into police custody.

OVD-Info posted a video in which Ovsyannikova identified herself as an employee of Channel 1 and spoke against the war.

“What is going on now is a crime,” she said. “Russia is an aggressor country and Vladimir Putin is solely responsible for that aggression.”

Closing prices for crude oil, gold, and other commodities — 3:44 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Benchmark US crude oil for April delivery fell $6.32 to $103.01 a barrel Monday. Brent crude for May delivery fell $5.77 to $106.90 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline for April delivery fell 14 cents to $3.17 a gallon. April heating oil fell 14 cents to $3.28 a gallon. April natural gas fell 6 cents $4.66 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold for April delivery fell $24.20 to $1,960.80 an ounce. Silver for May delivery fell 86 cents to $25.30 an ounce and May copper fell 11 cents to $4.52 a pound.

The dollar rose to 118.11 Japanese yen from 117.34 yen. The euro rose to $1.0957 from $1.0910.

Russian military says it will carry out strikes to knock out Ukrainian military industries — 3:10 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said Monday that the Russian forces will “take measures to incapacitate enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex involved in production and maintenance and repair of weapons.” He urged workers of those plants and residents of nearby areas to leave “potentially dangerous zones.”

Konashenkov’s statement came hours after Ukrainian authorities said two people were killed when the Russian forces struck the Antonov aircraft-making plant on the outskirts of Kyiv, sparking a large fire. The Russian military also said that it will continue to target any foreign fighters who have come to Ukraine.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the Russian forces will show “no mercy for mercenaries wherever they are in the territory of Ukraine.”

‘I wish this war would end’: Ukrainian refugees reach 2.8 million — 2:23 p.m.

By The Associated Press

As Russia’s war in Ukraine becomes a grim new reality for millions of Ukrainians, the tens of thousands who make the increasingly treacherous journey toward safety each day in the European Union are left with no sense of when, or if, they’ll ever return home.

More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion, according to the UN refugee agency, the vast majority seeking refuge in Poland, which has taken in more than 1.7 million refugees in the last 19 days.

Biden may travel to Europe for Ukraine deliberations — 1:36 p.m.

By The Associated Press

The White House is weighing the possibility of President Joe Biden traveling to Europe in the coming weeks for face-to-face talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to three US officials familiar with the deliberations.

The prospective trip is yet to be finalized. One possible destination for the meetings would be Brussels, which is the headquarters for NATO, one of the officials said Monday. Another official said the White House was looking at Biden visiting NATO headquarters on March 24, with other potential stops in Europe.

All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as none was allowed to comment publicly.

Biden’s potential trip would follow Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to the eastern flank NATO countries of Poland and Romania last week to discuss with leaders there the growing refugee crisis in eastern Europe sparked by the Russian invasion. The trip would underscore the Biden administration’s support for NATO allies. NBC News first reported that the discussions for a potential Biden trip are underway.

‘Things are growing worse by the hour’: Mass. Congress members weigh in on how US could help Ukraine — 1:21 p.m.

By Gal Tziperman Lotan, Globe Staff

Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s virtual speech to members of the US Congress Wednesday, representatives from Massachusetts spoke of possible paths to aide for the country, which has been fighting off an invasion from Russian troops for about two weeks.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said the US approach, of leaning heavily on economic sanctions to discourage an invasion that “could escalate into full-scale world war,” is somewhat novel.

“The economic sanctions for the first time ever involve countries all around the world, and have cut Russia off from the formal banking system,” Warren said, speaking at a news conference near the Lower Neponset River. “This is extraordinary. Nothing like this has happened before.”

Pope Francis criticizes war in Ukraine — 12:46 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Pope Francis says the war in Ukraine shows that those in power have not learned from the harsh lessons of previous wars over the past century.

The Vatican has responded to the Russian invasion by sending a cardinal to visit refugees. The cardinal visited last week with some of those who have taken refuge in Hungary. He is scheduled to visit with others in Slovakia on Wednesday before heading to Ukraine, the Holy See said.

In a speech at the Vatican on Monday, the pope said regional wars, especially that in Ukraine, demonstrate that “those who rule the destinies of peoples still haven’t absorbed the lessons of the tragedies of the 20th century.”

A day earlier, in his strongest condemnation yet of the war, the pontiff said no strategic reason could justify Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Oil falls to $100 with Ukraine-Russia talks and China lockdowns — 11:44 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

WTI crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since March 1 as negotiations between Ukraine and Russia appeared to grow more substantive and China imposed a lockdown on an entire province to stem the spread of COVID.

Futures in New York fell more than 8 percent to a low of $99.76, trading inside a $10 range Monday. West Texas Intermediate has swung more than $35 this month. Brent fell to near $104 a barrel. A further round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials focused on discussing a potential ceasefire with an immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees, Ukraine negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said.

Russia and Ukraine’s Monday peace talks conclude — 11:18 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said talks with Russia concluded for the day Monday but will resume on Tuesday.

The two countries held negotiations by video link for the first time on March 10 in what is considered the fourth round of talks after three largely fruitless meetings held in person on the Belarusian border.

“A technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until tomorrow,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter. “Negotiations continue.”

He said earlier that “communication is being held, yet it’s hard.”

Zelensky to deliver virtual address to Congress — 10:17 a.m.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver an address via video to the U.S. Congress as the Russian war on his country intensifies.

Zelensky will speak on Wednesday to members of the House and Senate, the Democratic leaders announced.

”The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday.

Congress recently approved $13.6 billion in emergency military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

”We look forward to the privilege of welcoming President Zelensky’s address to the House and Senate and to convey our support to the people of Ukraine as they bravely defend democracy,” the leaders said.

Next round of Russia-Ukraine talks commences — 8:44 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Negotiators for Russia and Ukraine hold new round of talks as 19-day war grinds on. There is fighting nears Kyiv.

Silicon Valley tries to disentangle itself from Russian money — 8:41 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

Fort Ross Ventures looks like a typical venture capital firm. It was created about seven years ago in Silicon Valley with a focus on funding young companies. The founders named it after the first Russian settlement in the US, a nod to their heritage and to one of the firm’s largest backers, Moscow-based Sberbank PJSC.

Today, Russia is waging an unpopular war against Ukraine, and Sberbank is subject to crippling sanctions by Western nations. The other investors whose money is tied up in Fort Ross Ventures are, naturally, “very concerned,” said Victor Orlovski, a founder and managing partner at the firm.

Investors “are calling and asking, ‘Victor, what do we do?’” Orlovski said. “My answer is simple: If an investor becomes toxic, we will immediately isolate them from the other pool of investors.”

In recent weeks, global businesses have rushed to dump Russian holdings, and are ceasing operations in the region. But for venture firms that have accepted funds from Russian investors, de-linking from the country is a thornier imperative. Rubles may be part of a much larger fund, and in some cases, may already have been committed to startups. And because so many family offices of Russia’s wealthy are based offshore, it’s not immediately obvious what cash came from an oligarch. Many VCs aren’t required to disclose who their investors are, so it’s hard to know which investors and startups are awash in Russian money

Cheap Russian oil makes India scout for payment workarounds — 8:28 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, is studying ways to buy Russian crude available at a steep discount as more and more customers shun the nation’s supplies following the war in Ukraine.

The South Asia nation is considering workarounds that would allow it to purchase cheaper oil from Russia through a mechanism that circumvents international sanctions, according to government officials familiar with the matter. India is consulting its central bank, exporters and Russian authorities for rupee payments benchmarked to US dollars for buying the oil, the officials said, asking not to be identified citing rules. A finance ministry spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Restricted financing for purchases of Russian commodities is pushing the energy producer to offer buyers some financing flexibility on its cargoes, including use of open credit or paying for cargoes with other currencies such as yuan in China. Cheaper Russian crude can help India, which is facing a major inflationary shock from oil’s rally to over $130 a barrel.

India wants to use a smaller state-run bank such as UCO Bank or one with minimum exposure to the curbs imposed by the U.S. and European nations to handle the payments process, the officials said. It has used similar methods while trading with Iran previously. Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak discussed energy cooperation in a phone call with India’s Oil Minister Hardeep Puri. Russia sees prospects for raising crude oil exports to India, a statement from the Russian government cited Novak as saying.

There are discussions underway on issues relating to availability, insurance, freight, and payment arrangement for Russian oil, Puri told Indian lawmakers on Monday.

Red Cross: Ukraine war is ‘nothing short of a nightmare’ — 8:26 a.m.

By The Associated Press

A top Red Cross official calls war in Ukraine ‘nothing short of a nightmare’ as it seeks safe passage for those fleeing.

European banks take steps to insulate computer systems in Russia — 8:22 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

European banks operating in Russia are preparing to separate those business from their main computer systems to reduce their vulnerability to cyber attacks following the invasion of Ukraine. Commerzbank AG is preparing to cut off its Russian unit from its system and already has the ability to rapidly sever the connection through what’s internally known as “kill switch,” people familiar with the matter said. Deutsche Bank is transferring essential information technology tasks from the country to other locations, another person said. BNP Paribas already cut off staff in Russia from its systems, Reuters reported.

Officials for the banks declined to comment. The people familiar asked for anonymity to discuss internal matters. Cyber warfare has become a major concern in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particularly at banks, which rely on massive IT infrastructure to conduct business. Deutsche Bank has seen “increased cyber attacks” since the start of the war, it said it in its annual report published Friday. Societe Generale SA is asking staff for extra vigilance in online communications, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News.

While the two German banks plan to exit Russia, that process will take time, leaving them exposed for now. Deutsche Bank has a big tech center in Russia with about 1,600 staff. Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that the lender is “proactive” on cyber risks emerging in the country. It took steps in the years before the invasion to reduce cyber risks at the unit, including by getting rid of external staff, von Moltke said in the interview.

Apart from seeking to insulate the Russian units, many lenders have increased the general internal alert level for IT threats and asked staff to be vigilant. They’ve also set up teams to work on contingency plans and stress-tested their IT infrastructures.

Bayer says next crop supplies to Russia will depend on peace — 8:17 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

Bayer AG, the agriculture giant, suspended advertising and investments in Russia and said crop supplies for the 2023 growing season will depend on the country “returning to a path of international diplomacy and peace.”

The German company, which also sells prescription medicines, said it had to separate between non-essential products and life-saving ones that it will keep providing.

“Withholding essential health and agriculture products from the civilian populations — like cancer or cardiovascular treatments, health products for pregnant women and children as well as seeds to grow food — would only multiply the war’s ongoing toll on human life,” Bayer said Monday in a statement on its website.

The company said it has already provided essential inputs to farmers in Russia for the 2022 growing season to alleviate additional pressure on the global food system. But for the next season, it plans to monitor the political situation and decide “depending on Russia, stopping its unprovoked attacks on Ukraine and returning to a path of international diplomacy and peace.” Bayer has about 700 employees in Ukraine and is donating health products like antibiotics to help patients there.

Pregnant mother whose photo showed tragedy of maternity hospital bombing in Ukraine dies with her baby — 6:21 a.m.

By The Associated Press

A pregnant woman and her baby have died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth. Images of the woman being rushed to an ambulance on a stretcher had circled the world, epitomizing the horror of an attack on humanity’s most innocent.

Ukrainian presidential adviser says the latest round of talks with Russia will start soon — 6:01 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian presidential adviser says the latest round of talks with Russia is due to start imminently

Podolyak said in a video message from Kyiv posted on Twitter that talks would begin within minutes.

Unlike earlier negotiations held on the Belarus border, Monday’s talks will be via video link.

It will be a “hard discussion,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter. “Although Russia realizes the nonsense of its aggressive actions, it still has a delusion that 19 days of violence against (Ukrainian) peaceful cities is the right strategy.”

Fighting continued Monday on the outskirts of Kyiv — 5:45 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Fighting continued Monday on the outskirts of Kyiv, to the west, northwest, east, and northeast, the Ukrainian president’s office said Monday. Regional officials are preparing more evacuations from the targeted areas.

Air raid alerts sounded in cities and towns all around the country overnight, from near the Russian border in the east to the Carpathian Mountains in the west.

Airstrikes hit residential buildings near the important southern city of Mykolaiv, as well as in the eastern city of Kharkiv, and knocked out a television tower in the Rivne region in the northwest, the president’s office said. Explosions rang out overnight around the Russian-occupied Black Sea port of Kherson.

Three airstrikes hit the northern city of Chernihiv overnight, and most of the town is without heat. Several areas haven’t had electricity in days. Utility workers are trying to restore power but frequently come under shelling.

The government announced plans for new humanitarian aid and evacuation corridors, although ongoing shelling caused similar efforts to fail in the last week.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday its forces had advanced — 5:40 a.m.

By The Associated Press

The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday its forces had advanced 11 kilometers (7 miles) over the past 24 hours, and reached five towns north of Mariupol.

In a video statement, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov did not elaborate on the advances, or comment on the humanitarian corridors or the crisis in Mariupol.

As Ukraine war rages, Israel grapples with the fate of oligarchs — 4:25 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Israel is grappling with how to deal with dozens of Jewish Russian oligarchs as Western nations step up sanctions on businesspeople with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A worried Israeli government has formed a high-level committee to see how the country can maintain its status as a haven for any Jew without running afoul of the biting sanctions targeting Putin’s inner circle.

Russian forces fired artillery strikes on suburbs — 2:03 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Russian forces fired artillery strikes on suburbs northwest of Kyiv overnight and targeted points east of the capital, the head of the Kyiv region said Monday.

A town councilor for Brovary east of Kyiv was killed in fighting there, regional administration chief Oleksiy Kuleba said on Ukrainian television. He also reported strikes overnight on the northwest towns of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel, which have seen some of the worst fighting in Russia’s stalled attempt to take the capital.

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Monday morning that Russian troops have not made major advances over the past 24 hours despite expanding strikes to the west.

Ukrainian forces are targeting Russian bases, targeting their logistical abilities, the general staff said in a statement on Facebook marking the 19th day of the war.

The general staff accused Russian forces of setting up firing positions and military equipment in churches and other civilian infrastructure so that Ukrainian forces can’t fire back. The accusation could not be immediately verified, though Associated Press reporters have seen Russian armored vehicles in residential areas.

An artillery strike hit a nine-story apartment building in the Obolonsky district of northern Kyiv on Monday morning, destroying apartments on several floors and igniting a fire. The state emergency agency, which released images of the smoking building, said no casualties have been reported so far.

  March 13, 2022  

Black Day’ after Russian attack — 11:55 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said it is a “black day” after Russia shelled a military base in the western part of his country.

Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday that Russia fired 30 rockets at the Yavoriv military base. He said the attack killed 35 people and injured 134 injured others.

The base is less than 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Polish border. Zelenskyy said he had given Western leaders “clear warning” of the danger to the base. He asked NATO leaders again to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. He warned “it is only a matter of time” before Russian missels fall on NATO territory.

Military analysts say the U.S, Britain and their European allies are unlikely to impose a no-fly zone because they believe it could escalate the war in Ukraine into a nuclear confrontation between NATO and Russia.

Zelensky vows to keep negotiating with Russia — 9:37 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will continue negotiating with Russia and is waiting for a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a meeting with Putin. But so far, his requests have gone unanswered by the Kremlin. Zelenskyy said Sunday during his nightly address to the nation that his delegation has a “clear task” to do everything to ensure a meeting between the two presidents.

Zelenskyy said talks are held daily between the two countries via video conference. He said the talks are necessary to establish a cease-fire and more humanitarian corridors. He said those corridors have saved more than 130,000 people in six days.

The humanitarian convoy to the besieged city of Mariupol was blocked Sunday by Russian forces. Zelenskyy said they would try again Monday.

Anti-war protests across Europe, small rallies in Russia — 7:38 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Tens of thousands of people rallied Sunday in cities across Europe to protest against Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, with small vigils taking place in Russia as well despite a crackdown by authorities against such demonstrations.

German trade unions called a protest in Berlin, where sunny weather boosted the turnout. The march led from the city’s Alexanderplatz — a large square named after Russian Tsar Alexander I — to a site near the Brandenburg Gate.

Many participants carried flags in the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine, while others bore banners reading “Stop the War” and “Peace and Solidarity for the people in Ukraine.”

UK vs. oligarchs: ‘The gloves are now off’ — 5:55 p.m.

By New York Times

On Friday, the day after Britain blacklisted seven prominent Russian oligarchs, residents of the wealthy London borough of Kensington and Chelsea rolled a washing machine overflowing with fake pound notes in front of a multimillion-dollar town house belonging to the family of the president of Azerbaijan.

It was a camera-ready stunt that made a serious point: For Britain to be successful in curbing the flood of dirty money — a phenomenon some call the “London laundromat” — it needs to go further than imposing sanctions on highly visible Russians like Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of the Chelsea soccer club.

The Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, is one of hundreds of wealthy foreigners who have exploited Britain’s lax regulations to amass property and other assets, often under a web of offshore companies that disguise their ownership. Others have parlayed their fortunes into gilt-edged social status, endowing revered British cultural and educational institutions, or donating money to the Conservative Party.

Targeting these figures will be even more challenging than going after boldface names like Abramovich, whose ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia are longstanding and well documented. But the protesters in Kensington said such an effort was crucial if Britain genuinely wanted to rid itself of the taint of dirty money.

‘I’m writing this post now and crying’: Russians bid farewell to Instagram before midnight ban — 3:28 p.m.

By The Washington Post

The tears were flowing Sunday among Russia’s airbrushed Instagram influencers, who begged their followers in farewell posts to join them on alternative social media platforms, as Russian authorities prepared to shut down the U.S.-owned social network at midnight.

Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, officially banned Instagram on Friday and gave Russian users a 48-hour grace period to say goodbye to the popular app, initiating the forced exodus.

In its announcement of the move, the Russian regulator cited a decision by parent company Meta to allow posts calling for violence against Russians on Instagram and Facebook. The U.S. company made an exception to its policy against inciting violence, so long as the posts represented political expression against Russian forces invading Ukraine. Meta said calls for violence against ordinary Russian citizens would remain prohibited.

Red Cross: Besieged Mariupol needs cease-fire — 2:58 p.m.

By The Associated Press

The Red Cross is warning of a “worst-case scenario” for hundreds of thousands of civilians in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol unless the parties agree to ensure their safety and access to humanitarian aid.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, said in a statement said Sunday that residents of Mariupol “have endured a weeks-long life-and-death nightmare.”

The Geneva-based humanitarian agency said hundreds of thousands of people in the city are “facing extreme or total shortages of basic necessities like food, water and medicine.”

“Dead bodies, of civilians and combatants, remain trapped under the rubble or lying in the open where they fell,” the ICRC added. “Life-changing injuries and chronic, debilitating conditions cannot be treated. The human suffering is simply immense.”

The Red Cross called on the parties to agree on the terms of a cease-fire, routes for safe passage, and to ensure the deal is respected. It offered to act as a neutral intermediary in negotiations.

Ukraine says Chernobyl power line restored — 1:31 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Ukraine says it has restored a broken power line to the Chernobyl power plant, the scene of a nuclear meltdown in 1986, which is held by Russian troops.

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that “heroes” from the national power grid company managed to restore the connection. The power is used to run pumps which keep spent nuclear fuel cool to prevent radiation leaks.

Ukraine said Wednesday that power had been cut to the site and that there was enough diesel fuel to run on-site generators for 48 hours. The International Atomic Energy Agency played down concerns, saying it saw little risk of the pools containing the spent fuel overheating even without electricity.

Belarus said Thursday it had set up an emergency power line to Chernobyl from its nearby border.

In a Kyiv basement, 19 surrogate babies are trapped by war but kept alive by nannies — 12:31 p.m.

New York Times

Down a dusty stairwell, hidden from the shelling that has become the grim background noise of Ukraine’s capital, Ludmila Yashenko fusses with the babies. There are 19 of them, sleeping or cooing in neatly arranged cribs, fed regularly from tubs of baby formula.

The kitchen has a sterilizer for bottles, while the nursery has a changing station stocked with diapers. Yashenko and other nannies bounce the babies on their laps and straighten their bibs, even as they watch television, wide-eyed, to learn the latest news from the war.

Death and destruction are rampant in Ukraine, but in this basement there is new life, if also new problems.

American videographer’s death in Ukraine is ‘a huge loss’ to journalism — 11:48 a.m.

John Hilliard, Globe Staff

An American journalist who was a 2019 Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University fellow was killed Sunday while reporting on the refugee crisis unfolding in Ukraine, according to media reports.

Brent Renaud, 50, was killed in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, according to the New York Times, which cited Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation, mourned Renaud’s death in Ukraine.

“It’s a huge loss to us personally, and to journalism more broadly,” Lipinski said in an interview Sunday morning. “Brent was a brilliant videographer and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.”

From Rhode Island, a bond between a granddaughter and her grandmother, separated by Putin’s war — 11:25 a.m.

Alexa Gagosz, Globe Staff

One of Inna Walker’s finest memories was walking barefoot in the dewey grass with her babusya on early summer mornings. The Ukrainian horizon, which could be seen for miles, would open further as the sun rose, whisking away the night’s dark sky. As a child, her feet would warm when they hit the dirt road, babusya’s hand wrapped around hers.

Walker opened her eyes, welling with tears after recounting the memory. That was decades ago, she said, and during a peaceful time. Now, she sits on the couch in her quiet living room in East Providence, as her 98-year-old grandmother, Grunya Sheptitchka, and her mother, Valentina “Valya” Molchan, 71, a retired operating room nurse, are sheltering in place in a one-bedroom apartment in southern Ukraine.

Base attacked in western Ukraine has been a hub for foreign militaries — 11:15 a.m.

New York Times

The base outside Lviv, Ukraine, that was attacked by Russian forces early Sunday was a key link between Ukraine’s armed forces and Western militaries before the war — and has become an important logistics hub and training center for foreign fighters since Russia’s invasion began.

A Ukrainian military official said that up to 1,000 foreign fighters were training at the base — the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, which is also known as the Yavoriv military complex — as part of the new International Legion that Ukraine has formed to help fight Russia.

Before the war, troops from the United States, Britain, Canada, Poland, Latvia and other Western allies trained Ukrainian forces there, starting in the 1990s. One of the buildings that was hit in the attack was in an area where American, Canadian and other foreign military instructors had stayed before the invasion, according to a broadcast journalist for the U.S. Army who covered multinational training at the base.

Dozens of soldiers from the Florida Army National Guard had been training Ukrainian troops at the base as part of a NATO mission until Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered them to leave the country last month, days before the Russian invasion.

The base has also trained troops for peacekeeping operations that Ukraine has participated in, often as part of United Nations missions elsewhere in Europe and in Africa. Since the war began, Ukraine has recalled those peacekeepers, including a helicopter unit that had been deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Brent Renaud, an American journalist, is killed in Ukraine — 10:42 a.m.

New York Times

Brent Renaud, an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed in Ukraine on Sunday while reporting in a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

Renaud, 50, had worked for a number of American news and media organizations in the past, including HBO, NBC and The New York Times. Ukrainian authorities said he was killed in Irpin, a suburb that has been the site of intense shelling by Russian forces in recent days, but the details of his death were not immediately clear. Ukrainian officials said another journalist was wounded as well.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said in a statement that Renaud “paid with his life for attempting to expose the insidiousness, cruelty and ruthlessness of the aggressor.”

Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine, kills 35 — 7:06 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Waves of Russian missiles pounded a military training base close to Ukraine’s western border with NATO member Poland, killing 35 people. The strike followed Russian threats to target foreign weapon shipments that are helping Ukrainian fighters defend their country against Russia’s grinding invasion.

More than 30 Russian cruise missiles targeted the sprawling training facility that is less than 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the closest border point with Poland, according to the governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region. Poland is a key location for routing Western military aid to Ukraine.

Israel’s foreign minister is condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — 7:04 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Israel’s foreign minister is condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling on Moscow to halt its attacks and end the conflict.

Yair Lapid’s criticism Sunday is among the strongest that has come from Israeli officials since the war began. His remarks set him apart from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has stopped short of condemning Russia.

Israel has walked a fine line in its response to the crisis. Bennett has voiced support for the Ukrainian people and the country has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine. But Israel relies on Russia for security coordination in Syria, where Russia has a military presence and where Israeli aircraft have frequently struck enemy targets over recent years. Bennett has been attempting to mediate between the Kremlin and Ukraine.

Lapid made his remarks in Bucharest, Romania, where he met his Romanian counterpart.

The office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General says 85 children have been killed since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine — 6:49 a.m.

By The Associated Press

The office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General says a total of 85 children have been killed since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

More than 100 more have been wounded, the office said. Officials also said that bombings and shelling have damaged 369 educational facilities in the country, 57 of which have been completely destroyed.

Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine, kills 9 — 5:15 a.m.

By The Associated Press

At least nine people were killed and 57 wounded when a Russian airstrike hit a military training base in western Ukraine close to the Polish border, a local official said Sunday.

The governor of the Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyi, said Russian forces fired more than 30 cruise missiles at the Yavoriv military range, located 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the city of Lviv and 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Poland.

The assault brought the war closer to the border with Poland. A senior Russian diplomat has warned that Moscow considered foreign shipments of military equipment to Ukraine “legitimate targets.”

The United States and NATO have regularly sent instructors to the range, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, to train Ukrainian military personnel. The facility has also hosted international NATO drills.

Russian fighters also fired at the airport in Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in western Ukraine located 250 kilometers (155.34 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Slovakia and Hungary.

Bus in Italy overturns with refugees — 4:30 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Italian state radio says a bus carrying about 50 refugees from Ukraine has overturned on a major highway in northern Italy, killing a passenger and injuring several others, none of them seriously.

RAI radio said one woman died and the rest of those aboard the bus were safely evacuated after the accident early Sunday near the town of Forli’. It wasn’t immediately clear where the bus was headed.

Some 35,000 Ukrainians refugees who fled the war have entered Italy, most of them through its northeastern border with Slovenia. Forli’ is in the region of Emilia-Romagna, which borders the Adriatic Sea and which so far has taken in some 7,000 refugees.

The accident is under investigation.

Ukraine’s only woman rabbi among the many Jews fleeing war — 3:52 a.m.

By The Associated Press

On her first Shabbat away from the fighting in Ukraine, Rabbi Julia Gris twice led services to welcome the Jewish holy day.

A week earlier, Ukraine’s only woman rabbi had been fleeing the war that scattered her Odesa congregation from Moldova to Romania and Israel. Some stayed behind, braving the Russian shelling.

She first led an online service for those congregants scattered abroad. Then, she officiated one in person for a small group in Poland, taken in by a Christian couple near Warsaw.

Gris lit sabbath candles that she had carried from Ukraine, while her 19-year-old daughter Izolda played the guitar and sang, just as she had during services back home in the her Reform community, Shirat ha-Yam.

Russian forces carried out an air strike on a military range — 1:25 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Russian forces carried out an air strike on a military range near Lviv in western Ukraine, expanding its offensive closer to the border with Poland.

The Russian military on Sunday morning fired eight rockets at the Yaroviv military range 30 kilometers northwest of Lviv, the Lviv regional administration said, without offering any details about possible casualties.

The Yaroviv military range, also known as the Yaroviv International Peacekeeping and Security Center, is located 35 kilometers from Ukraine’s border with Poland.

Since 2015, the U.S. has regularly sent instructors to the Yaroviv military range to train Ukraine’s military. The range has also hosted international NATO drills.

On Friday, Russian forces shelled two airfields in the western cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk, firing more than 10 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

  March 12, 2022  

Klara Uliganich is returning home to Ukraine — 11:45 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Klara Uliganich is returning home to Ukraine after spending nearly three weeks in Hungary as a refugee.

The pensioner says she will go back to her home in Uzhhorod, a city in western Ukraine.

“I got a feeling, it’s hard to put it into words,” she said of her decision while waiting at the railway station in the Hungarian border town of Zahony. “I was born there, that’s my home.”

Her family didn’t want her to return, but she said she was determined to go back.

“I can’t live my life shaking in fear just because the Russians are coming,” she said. “If they come, I’ll be a refugee again, that’s it.”

Hungary, a country of around 10 million people, has taken in around 235,000 refugees from Ukraine as of Saturday, the second-highest number of any other country after Poland, which has received more than 1.5 million refugees.

Zlensky warns against ‘pseudo-republics’ — 9:44 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Russia is trying to create new “pseudo-republics” in Ukraine to break his country apart, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation Saturday.

Zelensk called on Ukraine’s regions, including Kherson, which was captured by Russian forces, not to repeat the experience of Donetsk and Luhansk. Pro-Russian separatists began fighting Ukrainian forces in those eastern regions in 2014.

“The occupiers on the territory of the Kherson region are trying to repeat the sad experience of the formation of pseudo-republics,” Zelenskyy said. “They are blackmailing local leaders, putting pressure on deputies, looking for someone to bribe.”

City council members in Kherson, a southern city of 290,000, on Saturday rejected plans for a new pseudo-republic, Zelenskyy said.

Russia recognized the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic before invading Ukraine in February. Moscow said it had to protect the separatist regions, and is demanding that Ukraine recognize their independence too.

“Ukraine will stand this test. We need time and strength to break the war machine that has come to our land,” Zelenskyy said.

7 Ukrainians die in shelling of refugee convoy — 7:58 p.m.

By The Associated Press

Seven Ukrainian civilians, including a child, died when Russia shelled a humanitarian convoy of refugees and forced them to turn back, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said.

The seven were among hundreds of people who tried to flee the village of Peremoha, 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Kyiv. An unknown number of people were wounded in the shelling, the report added.

Moscow has said it would establish humanitarian corridors out of conflict zones, but Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of disrupting those paths and firing on civilians.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said just nine of 14 agreed-upon corridors were open on Saturday, and that about 13,000 people were evacuated on them around the country.

At least 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion 17 days ago, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Volunteers from Mass. head to Europe to offer aid to Ukrainians displaced by war — 6:35 p.m.

By John Hilliard, Globe Staff

Spurred by the suffering of millions in Ukraine, volunteers from Massachusetts are stepping in to offer care and comfort to people whose lives have been shattered by invading Russian forces.

Dr. Erica Nelson, a physician with the emergency department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will travel to Poland Sunday, and then into the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where she will join medical relief efforts.

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Ukraine war revives anxiety about nuclear conflict — 5:26 p.m.

By Brian MacQuarrie and Maham Javaid, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

Nearly 60 years since the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has put that cataclysmic card back on the table in his war against Ukraine.

Putin has placed his country’s nuclear arsenal, the world’s largest, on high alert. And he has warned the West that joining the war in Ukraine would bring “consequences such as they have never seen in their history,” a not-so-veiled threat of nuclear conflict.

As a result, the specter of nuclear war has entered the national psyche in a way unseen since President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba in response to the discovery of Soviet missiles there. The blockade worked, the missiles were removed, and the crisis eased.

A desperate search for insulin in Kyiv as medicines disappear — 3:54 p.m.

By The Washington Post

The temperature was below freezing and the pharmacy line was way out the door. But Tetyana Dagadaeva could not be deterred.

For days, she and her 11-year-old son, Oleksiy, had been urgently searching for the insulin he needs to survive. With his supply at home dwindling, they soon would have no choice but to flee the country to keep him alive.

After two hours in the biting wind, the wooden door swung open and a woman in a lab coat shouted out the message Dagadaeva had prayed she wouldn’t hear again: They were out of stock.

As war continues to rage across Ukraine, it is disrupting the flow of crucial drugs and medical supplies. When curfews are lifted each morning, residents of cities nationwide rush to queue at pharmacies in hopes they’ll find what they need.

After four decades and $200 billion, the US missile defense system is no match for a Russian nuclear attack — 2:47 p.m.

By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff

With fears running high about a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union in 1983, President Ronald Reagan pitched an idea that seemed to come straight from his years as a Hollywood actor.

“What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant US retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?” he asked in a prime-time address that featured aerial photos of Soviet aircraft and military hardware in Cuba and Nicaragua.

Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative was derided by critics as “Star Wars.” But building off technological advances, the US military has spent more than $200 billion in the nearly four decades since working to make that science fiction a reality. Now, after Russian President Vladimir Putin placed his vast nuclear arsenal on high alert following his invasion of Ukraine, Americans might be wondering what kind of missile defense shield all that money and effort has produced.

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