Thursday, March 28

Civilian casualties and environmental catastrophes – the latest from Ukraine


Fighting raged overnight, prompting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to release another rallying call to fellow Ukrainians.

Reports have also emerged during the early hours of this morning of Russian forces targeting cities and gas and oil depots, as well as a fresh wave of sanctions on the invading country that are due to kick into force this weekend.

After another eventful night, here are the latest developments the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Zelenskyy: Russian ‘revenge’ has signs of ‘genocide’

After another torrid night of fighting, Zelenskyy has again emerged in the early morning to issue a rallying call to his people and the world.

The Ukrainian president says that the Russians are exerting “revenge” and that they are deliberately choosing tactics designed to hurt people. This includes attacking civilian areas with no military infrastructure and even ambulances.

He said that the invasion has signs of a genocide – a word the Kremlin has used when speaking about Ukraine’s actions in Donbast.

Zelenskyy warns that the invading forces are planning to target Ukrainian cities even more, despite Russians claims that they are directing their forces towards military infrastructure.

A six-year-old boy in the capital is thought to be the youngest casualty of the war between Ukraine and Russia, with at least 198 Ukrainians killed in the fighting so far.

Zelenskyy went on to call on the UN Security Council to strip Russia of its voting rights.

A Ukrainian soldier walks past debris of a burning military truck, on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine
A Ukrainian soldier walks past debris of a burning military truck, on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine

Foreign Sectary Liz Truss says UK is looking at how to help Ukrainian refugees

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Liz Truss has said the UK is looking at what it can do to help Ukrainians fleeing the country.

Speaking on Sky News this morning, the Foreign Sectary went on to urge the Russians not to escalate the conflict.

She warned that the conflict in Ukraine could roll on for “several years”, due to the size of the Russian forces and the dogged nature of their opposition.

Local residents running to catch an evacuation train in Ukraine
Local residents running to catch an evacuation train in Ukraine

Truss said the UK had a “hit list” of oligarchs that it was targeting, and that Europe needed to ween itself off Russian gas.

Officials warn of “environmental catastrophe” as oil and gas depots burn

Officials have warned of an “environmental catastrophe” after a gas pipeline in Kharkiv and oil depot in Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, where blown up overnight.

Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection urged residents close to the pipeline to cover their windows with damp cloth or gauze.

A similar warning was issued to people in the Kyiv region because of thick smoke from the oil depot blaze.

Meanwhile, the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine continues normally and the pipeline has not been damaged by any blasts, Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator said on Sunday.

Earlier, Ukrainian officials had said Russian troops blew up a gas pipeline in the northeastern region of Kharkiv but it was unclear if the affected section was part of a transit pipeline or a regional distribution network.

Ukrainians refuse to negotiate with Russians in Belarus after missile attack

Zelenskyy has said Ukraine will not enter negotiations with Russia at talks in Belarus.

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This morning the Kremlin said a delegation has arrived in Homel, Belarus for talks with their Ukrainian counterparts.

Zelenskyy said: “If there had been no aggressive action from your territory, we could talk in Minsk… other cities can be used as the venue for talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

“Of course we want peace, we want to meet, we want the war to end. Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku – we’ve offered them to the Russians.

“Any other city would suit us, too – in a country, from whose territory missiles are not launched at us. This is the only way negotiations can be honest and can really end the war.”

Boris Johnson praises Ukrainians for “fighting heroically”

Boris Johnson has praised Ukrainians for “fighting heroically” as allies unveiled new measures to hit Russia’s financial system and Liz Truss said the Foreign Office was preparing a “hit list” of oligarchs to sanction.

Mr Johnson also said the West is “tightening the economic ligature” around Russia, with Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union together announcing selected Russian banks would be excluded from the Swift global payments system.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson meeting military personnel at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to thank them for their ongoing work facilitating military support to Ukraine and NATO
Prime Minister Boris Johnson meeting military personnel at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to thank them for their ongoing work facilitating military support to Ukraine and NATO

They said they would be imposing “restrictive measures” to prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves “in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions”.

After talking by telephone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mr Johnson said the West had to do everything possible to change the “very heavy odds” against Ukraine in its struggle against Moscow’s forces.

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Fresh sanctions for Russia to pile pressure on Putin

Western leaders have imposed fresh sanctions on Russia to pile pressure on Vladimir Putin as they call for him to end the war in Ukraine.

It comes as a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said Ukrainian forces were repelling Russian troops advancing on Kyiv.

Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union announced selected Russian banks would be excluded from the Swift global payments system.

In a joint statement, leaders of those nations vowed to crackdown on so-called golden passports that let wealthy Russians connected to Putin’s government “become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems”.

Further support has also been promised by Germany, after they announced they will be sending 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles directly to Ukraine.

Elon Musk’s Starlink system providing internet to Ukraine

Elon Musk says his satellite-internet service Starlink “is now active” in Ukraine and more of its dishes are “en route” following a request for help from the country’s deputy prime minister.

Mykhailo Fedorov earlier tweeted to the Tesla and SpaceX founder, saying: “Elon Musk, while you try to colonise Mars – Russia tries to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space – Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.”

The South Africa-born technology billionaire replied some hours later: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”

Starlink is a space-based system of some 2,000 satellites that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world, with the company referring to its dishes as terminals.



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