Russia on Tuesday stepped up its bombardment of the capital city of Kyiv, Ukraine, targeting residential areas and subway stations, where hundreds of Ukrainians have taken shelter. According to reports, the day also saw civilians fleeing the Russian onslaught in thousands of cars from Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor. This is believed to be the biggest evacuation yet from the desperately besieged seaport. Russia’s military onslaught in its pro-West neighbour is in its third week.
Here are the key developments of the day:
> Veteran Fox News video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by fire on Monday on the outskirts of Kyiv, the network said. He was the second journalist to be killed while covering the war in Ukraine in two days.
> Kyiv and Moscow’s representative resumed negotiations, during which discussions were held on ceasefire and troops withdrawal, said Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said his country is pressing Ukraine to drop its bid to join NATO, adopt a neutral status and “demilitarise”.
> Speaking to representatives of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country has realised that it can't join NATO. “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 also said.
> Retaliating to Western sanctions, Russia barred US President Joe Biden, secretary of state Antony Blinken and several other senior officials from entering the country. Among other officials named in the list of 13 were defence secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and others.
{{/usCountry}}> Retaliating to Western sanctions, Russia barred US President Joe Biden, secretary of state Antony Blinken and several other senior officials from entering the country. Among other officials named in the list of 13 were defence secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and others.
{{/usCountry}}> Zelenskyy addressed the Canadian Parliament via video conferencing. During the address, he urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian lawmakers to help enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine and called for greater economic pressure on Russia.
> Russia on Tuesday quit the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg, pre-empting possible expulsion over its attack on its neighbour Ukraine. The group had suspended Russia's membership on February 25, the day after it invaded Ukraine.
> Biden will meet with NATO and EU leaders in Brussels next week in response to Russia's war on Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.
> The European Union banned exports of champagne, luxury cars, apparel to Russia in a fresh set of sanctions, according to a report by news agency AFP.
(With agency inputs)