Summary
- Ukrainian authorities say Russia is not observing a temporary ceasefire that was agreed in two cities
- The ceasefire was designed to let civilians leave Mariupol and Volnovakha
- But Ukrainian authorities say attacks are continuing, and the evacuation is postponed
- Mariupol – a key southern port – has been besieged by Russian forces for days
- Russia is “highly likely” to have encircled four key cities – Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Mariupol, the UK says
- Earlier, Ukraine’s president condemned Nato leaders for ruling out a no-fly zone over his country
- The no-fly zone would aim to stop Russian warplanes – but the West says it does not want to escalate
- More than 1.2m people have fled Ukraine since the invasion began, the UN says
(14:06 GMT)
Blinken speaks with Chinese FM: State Dept
US Secretary of State Blinken spoke with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi about “Moscow’s premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war against Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Secretary noted the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the basic principles of freedom, self-determination and sovereignty,” read the statement.
“He underscored that the world is acting in unison to repudiate and respond to the Russian aggression, ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price,” it added.
(13:34 GMT)
‘Great sense of panic’
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from the side of the road about 30km (19 miles) south of Zaporizhzhia, said locals in the area reported Russian shelling only about 10km (6 miles) away.
“Many of the villagers are absolutely terrified. They say the situation has deteriorated dramatically since that ceasefire failed,” he said, referring to the partial ceasefire declared earlier in the day in Mariupol and Volnovakha.
“There was heavy shelling this morning,” he added, noting it was not possible to confirm whether “it was either incoming or outgoing.
“But certainly there is a great sense of panic here.”
(12:52 GMT)
Hundreds rally in Kherson against Russian forces
Hundreds of people have rallied in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to protest against the Russian occupation there.
As protesters took to the streets, local media reported that some armed men fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd.
A video distributed by Ukraine’s Defense Forces showed people waving Ukrainian flags and chanting “Kherson is Ukraine.”
(12:49 GMT)
Russia caps individuals’ money transfers abroad: Kommersant
Russia’s central bank has capped the amount of money Russians can send to family and relatives abroad at $5,000 per month, the Kommersant newspaper has reported, citing a letter from the regulator.
The Russian authorities have taken a series of measures to curb capital outflows amid Western sanctions.
(12:48 GMT)
Poland won’t recognise territorial changes that follow aggression: Rau
Poland will not recognise any territorial changes brought about by “unprovoked, illegal aggression”, Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau has said following talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
(12:46 GMT)
Poroshenko calls on West for Ukraine no-fly zone
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on the West to provide his country with more weapons to fight Russian invasion forces.
He was speaking during a visit to Ukrainian troops who were helping civilians from the outskirts of the capital Kyiv to reach the city centre to be evacuated by train. The troops guided civilians across a river where a bridge had been destroyed by the fighting.
Poroshenko also demanded that Putin be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for launching the invasion, and reiterated calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
(10:58 GMT)
Nearly every building in Volnovakha damaged or destroyed
Russian fighter jet shot down near Volnovakha
Ukrainian military handout / ReutersCopyright: Ukrainian military handout / Reuters
Ukraine says it shot down a Russian fighter jet near Volnovakha on FridayImage caption: Ukraine says it shot down a Russian fighter jet near Volnovakha on Friday
We’ve heard a lot in the last week about the brutal shelling and blockade of Mariupol, a port city of around 450,000 people.
But the small city of Volnovakha – where a temporary ceasefire has also been agreed – has not been in the news much, despite also experiencing heavy fighting.
It’s a city of just 25,000 people located halfway between Mariupol and Donetsk.
Residents there told the Guardian that nearly every building had been destroyed or damaged by Russian forces.
The local MP, Dmytro Lubinets, said the fighting was so intense that dead bodies lay uncollected.
On Saturday, Lubinets confirmed the ceasefire and gave details of the agreed evacuation route which ends at the city of Pokrovsk.
(10:58 GMT)
Impossible to evacuate amid continued shelling – Mariupol deputy mayor
More now from Mariupol’s deputy mayor – who says they have decided to move citizens back, and stop the evacuation, as it’s not safe on the streets.
Serhiy Orlov tells the BBC there’s continuous shelling in Mariupol, and along the agreed evacuation route, near the city of Orikhiv.
“It’s not safe to go by this road because of these fights,” he says.
The Ukrainian government is already speaking to Russian officials about the breach of the ceasefire, he says, and negotiations are ongoing.
(10:38 GMT)
Evacuation of Mariupol has been postponed
The evacuation of civilians from Mariupol has been postponed, according to the Mariupol city council. It says the Russian side has not been observing the temporary ceasefire in place.
It says residents should disperse and find places of shelter, and that more information will be given soon.
A few minutes ago the city’s deputy mayor told the BBC that Mariupol was still being shelled, and there are also reports that fighting is ongoing near the end of the evacuation route.
(10:28 GMT)
Zaporizhzhia, a city ‘preparing for siege itself’: Correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reporting from Dnipro said there are three points in Mariupol where buses are gathering for people to get on board, to take them to the city of Zaporizhzhia, located at least 300km (186 miles) to the north of Mariupol.
“Zaporizhzhia is a city that can only really be described as preparing for siege itself – tank traps, checkpoints, thousands of civil defence volunteers in and around the city,” Stratford said.
“We know there are Russian forces around an hour, even less than that, south of Zaporizhzhia.
“This corridor that is being set up will take people across country, we understand, northwest through rural areas.”
(10:20 GMT)
Foreign students fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine hope to return
Zahony, Hungary – In the early morning at Zahony train station near the Hungary-Ukraine border, trains arrive every few hours from the Ukrainian city of Chop.
Among those disembarking from the dark blue trains, which pull into the Hungarian border town every few hours, are hundreds of students, many of them from countries such as Nigeria, India, Egypt and Morocco, who have spent the last years studying in Ukraine.
(10:15 GMT)
Erdogan to speak to Putin on Sunday: Spokesperson
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will speak to Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Sunday to discuss the war in Ukraine, spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has said, adding Turkey was ready to help resolve the crisis.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Kalin repeated Turkey’s offer to host talks between Ukraine and Russia and called for an immediate halt to fighting, and reiterated that Turkey could not abandon ties with either Moscow or Kyiv.
(10:12 GMT)
Kremlin says the West is behaving like bandits
The Kremlin has said the West is behaving like bandits but that Russia was far too big to be isolated as the world is much larger than just the US and Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that if the US imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy exports then it would roil energy markets.
(10:10 GMT)
Ukraine will import gas from Poland from March 6
Ukraine from March 6 will be able to import gas from Poland, including gas from Polish LNG terminals, Ukrainian state-run gas transit system operator has said.
The two transit operators agreed on the introduction of guaranteed capacity for gas imports and “this allows the physical import of gas from Poland, including from the LNG terminal, on a guaranteed basis”, Ukrainian company said on social media.
Ukraine, one of Europe’s biggest gas consumers, has not imported gas from Russia since 2015 and buys it in Europe.
(10:02 GMT)
Rate of Russian strikes has relented: UK Defence Ministry
The rate of Russian strikes in Ukraine has been lower over the past 24 hours than in previous days, according to a briefing from the UK Defence Ministry.
The “overall rate of Russian air and artillery strikes observed over the past 24 hours has been lower than in previous days,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Ukraine continues to hold Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol and there have been reports of street fighting in Sumy, it said.
“It is highly likely that all four cities are encircled by Russian forces,” the update said.
(09:51 GMT)
Italy’s foreign minister and Eni CEO fly to Qatar for energy talks
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio is flying to Qatar with the head of energy group Eni to discuss energy cooperation in light of the Ukraine crisis, the ministry has said.
The trip follows a visit by the two to Algeria on Monday, where they sought an increase in gas supplies from the North African country as Europe steps up its efforts to tap alternative flows.
(09:49 GMT)
US, Germany, Netherlands to deploy more military in Lithuania: Defence minister
Germany will deploy air defence capabilities to Lithuania and the US will send a troop battalion armed with tanks, Lithuania’s defence minister has said.
The deployments, which are also due to include more troops from the Netherlands, are separate to troops coming for military exercises Lithuania is set to host in March, Arvydas Anusauskas told reporters.
The deployments and exercises will increase the total number of foreign NATO troops in Lithuania to 4,000 by end-March from 3,000 now, the minister said.
Lithuania had asked NATO to add more troops and equipment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(09:35 GMT)
Russia, Belarus discuss humanitarian corridors: RIA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has discussed with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei plans to set up humanitarian corridors that would allow foreigners to leave Ukraine, RIA news agency cited Belarus’ foreign ministry as saying.
(09:34 GMT)
Russian forces are not observing full ceasefire on Mariupol evacuation route: City council
The city council of Ukraine’s Mariupol city has said Russian forces are not observing an agreed ceasefire along the whole length of a planned route for the evacuation of civilians that was due to take place on Saturday.
“We are negotiating with the Russian side to confirm the ceasefire along the entire evacuation route,” it said in a statement.
(09:13 GMT)
Motor racing-Haas F1 terminates contract with Russian racer Mazepin: Team
Russian Nikita Mazepin will not race in Formula One this season after US-owned Haas has said it has terminated the driver’s contract.
The team also ended its title sponsorship deal with Russian potash producer Uralkali, owned by Mazepin’s father.
(08:44 GMT)
Russian central bank allows exporters not to sell FX earnings
Russia’s central bank has told the country’s exporters they need not sell foreign currency earnings on Saturday as the Moscow Exchange is closed.
Russia told companies on February 28 they must convert 80 percent of their foreign currency revenues on the domestic market, part of measures to support the rouble currency after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow.
(08:37 GMT)
EU suspends Russia and Belarus from Council of Baltic Sea States
The EU has said it had joined members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in suspending Russia and Belarus from the Council’s activities.
“This decision is a part of the European Union’s and like-minded partners response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the involvement of Belarus in this unprovoked and unjustified aggression,” it said.
“The EU agrees with the other members of the CBSS (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden) that the suspension of Russia and Belarus will remain in force until it is possible to resume cooperation based on respect for fundamental principles of international law,” it said.
(08:22 GMT)
‘No other option but to… leave Mariupol safely’: Mayor
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko has said “there is no other solution” but to allow residents to leave the city safely, “given that our hometown is constantly under ruthless fire from the occupiers”.
“This is not an easy decision, but, as I have always said, Mariupol is not its streets or houses. Mariupol is its population, it is you and me,” Boychenko was quoted as saying in a statement.
(08:18 GMT)
‘Fill vehicles as much as possible’: Mariupol city hall on evacuation
Mariupol city council has said in a statement that civilians will be able to proceed towards the city of Zaporizhzhia and will be able to use specially arranged bus routes as well as their own cars.
“A huge request to all drivers leaving the city, to contribute as much as possible to the evacuation of the civilian population – take people with you, fill vehicles as much as possible,” the statement said on social media.
The announcement said the evacuation would last over several days to allow the entirety of the civilian population to exit the city.
In the statement, city officials told residents leaving in private vehicles that it was “strictly prohibited” to go off course from the evacuation routes.
(08:06 GMT)
More than 66,200 Ukrainians have returned from abroad to fight: Minister
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that 66,224 Ukrainian men have returned from abroad to join the fight against Russia’s invasion.
“That’s how many men returned from abroad at this moment to defend their country from the horde. These are 12 more combat and motivated brigades! Ukrainians, we are invincible,” Reznikov said in an online post.
