Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said a Russian proposal to evacuate civilians out of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy is not an acceptable option as the humanitarian corridors mostly lead to Russian cities.
Earlier on Monday, Russia proposed six humanitarian corridors. Three of them exited to Russian cities, one to Belarus and two to central and southeastern Ukraine.
Vereshchuk called on Russia to agree to a cease-fire from Monday morning to allow Ukrainians to evacuate toward the western Ukrainian city of Lviv instead.
Ukraine received Russia’s proposal early on Monday morning after French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vereshchuk told a televised briefing.
“I hope that French President Emmanuel Macron understands that his name and sincere desire to help… in reality is being used and manipulated by the Russian Federation,” she said.
Russia declines to attend UN top court hearing on invasion
Russia failed to send an envoy to attend a hearing at the UN’s top court, the head judge said.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is hearing an injunction Ukraine has sought against Russia under the UN Convention against Genocide. The United Nations court is tasked with settling disputes between two countries.
Kyiv wants the UN judges to classify the Russian attack as genocide and at the same time reject Moscow’s claim that Ukraine was committing genocide against the Russian minority in the east of the country.
The Kremlin’s lawyers were expected to vehemently reject the case as Russia denies the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague. Moscow argues that since no genocide is being committed by Russia, there is no case and therefore no court that would have jurisdiction.
Moscow proposes 6 humanitarian corridors, most lead to Russia
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Moscow was opening six humanitarian corridors around Ukrainian cities:
- From Kyiv to Gomel, southeastern Belarus
- From Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine
- From Mariupol to Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia
- From Kharkiv to Belgorod, southern Russia
- From Sumy to Belgorod
- From Sumy to Poltava, central Ukraine
“Detailed information about the humanitarian corridors was given to the Ukrainian side in advance,” Konashenkov said.
Ukrainian officials have so far said the proposed routes were unacceptable.
Iryna Vereshchuk, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, said Russia’s proposal to evacuate Ukrainian citizens to Russian territory was “ridiculous” and “cynical.”
Up to 5 million Ukrainian refugees expected, says EU’s Borrell
As many as 5 million Ukrainians could flee their country if Russia continues with its military assault, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has said.
“We must prepare to receive around 5 million people … We must mobilize all the resources of the EU to help those countries receiving people,” he told reporters in Montpellier, France, ahead of a meeting of EU development ministers.
“We will need more schools, more reception centers, more of everything,” he said.
Borrell also said the EU would review aid spending in countries that have either given diplomatic support to Russia during the invasion or failed to criticize its actions.
Are Russian forces in Ukraine a threat to Moldova?
Vladimir Solonari, a Moldovan-American professor at the University of Central Florida, told DW that the fall of Odesa would pose a “very big” risk for Moldova and Romania.
“Moldovan forces will not be able to resist the Russians at all,” he said.
The separatist region of Transnistria, that shares a long border with Ukraine and has close relations with Moscow, could also pose a threat. Russian forces could enter that region “without any fight,” Solorani explained.
He also said that their recent renewed request for independence may have been a ploy. “It could be a first step — they’ve asked to leave Moldova and because they haven’t received a response, they could request unification with Russia.”
“This is a real danger… If Russian troops occupy Odesa, they will get to Tiraspol [the capital of Transnistria] very quickly,” he added.
Solonari believes the Russians “will find a pretext or they will just enter without any pretext.”
He has also changed his mind about Moldova uniting with Romania — the two countries share cultural similarities — saying “before, I wasn’t in favor of unification, for many reasons, but now I would prefer it, as a means of security.”
Ukraine: Russia’s corridors proposal ‘completely immoral’
Ukraine has slammed Russia’s proposal on humanitarian corridors as “completely immoral,” as several of the suggested routes by Moscow exited to Belarus or Russia.
“This is a completely immoral story. People’s suffering is used to create the desired television picture,” a spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, according to Reuters news agency.
The spokesperson also accused Russia of deliberately hampering previous evacuation attempts.
According to Reuters, Oleksiy Arestovich, an advisor to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said negotiations with Moscow on establishing humanitarian corridors were ongoing. However, Arestovich said they were unlikely to be set up as long as Russian forces were trying to advance.
China says Russia relations are still ‘rock solid’
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized China’s “rock-solid” friendship with Russia and said the prospects for cooperation between the two countries are very broad.
At a press conference explaining Beijing’s position on the conflict, Wang called on both sides to settle disputes by peaceful means, through dialogue and negotiation, and “respect and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”
China has offered to act as a mediator in the conflict and denounced trade and financial sanctions against Russia.
The Chinese Red Cross will provide humanitarian help to Ukraine, Wang added.
Poland: Over 1 million refugees arrived from Ukraine
The Polish Border Guard has said more than 1 million refugees have arrived from Ukraine to Poland since the Russian invasion started on February 24.
It added that traffic on the Polish-Ukrainian border was increasing, with 42,000 people crossing Monday morning.
UK intelligence: Russia trying to reduce Ukrainians’ access to news
The British Defence Ministry said in an intelligence update that Russia is seeking to restrict access to reliable news sources in Ukraine.
“Russia is probably targeting Ukraine’s communications infrastructure in order to reduce Ukrainian citizens’ access to reliable news and information,” it said on Twitter.
“Ukrainian internet access is also highly likely being disrupted as a result of collateral damage from Russian strikes on infrastructure.”
DW Correspondent Nick Connolly said internet access was “gone” in Mariupol, adding that it was “the real psychological difference” to other places in Ukraine, where internet connections were still present.
“Previously people were in difficult situations, but at least they had those communication links out, could find out what’s going on outside, could talk to their relatives and friends and give them a message that they were okay,” he said.
“Without that, people are getting a lot more nervous.”
Russia announces another cease-fire for humanitarian corridors
The Russian Defense Ministry said forces will stop firing at 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 UTC) to allow civilians to evacuate, according to the Interfax news agency.
Moscow said it will open humanitarian corridors in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy. Evacuation routes published by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, citing the Defense Ministry, show that civilians will be able to leave to Russia and Belarus
Those who want to leave Kyiv will also be able to be airlifted to Russia, according to the ministry.
The move comes at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, the ministry said.
There has initially been no confirmation from the Ukrainian side
On Saturday and Sunday, Russia had declared a temporary cease-fire that could have established humanitarian corridors out of two cities. However, it failed to materialize, as Ukrainian officials halted the evacuations and accused Russian forces of violating the truce.
Meanwhile, Russia blamed Ukraine for the failure of past attempts. In the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement on Monday, it said it would use drones to monitor the evacuation and “attempts by the Ukrainian side to deceive Russia and the whole civilized world… are useless this time.”
Mariupol evacuation halted as ceasefire broken
DW Correspondent Nick Connolly said Ukrainians believe that such announcements are “just Russia stalling, trying to win time with negotiations.”
Russian forces have so far had several logistical issues, Connolly said. “They didn’t think Ukraine will put up so much of a fight.”
As Ukrainian and Russian officials are expected to hold further talks on Monday, Connolly said, “The suspicion here in Kyiv is that the Russians are negotiating in bad faith just to win time to keep on fighting.”
Ukraine armed forces: Russian troops to storm Kyiv
The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a Monday bulletin that Russian troops were preparing to storm Kyiv.
The statement said that Russian troops were aiming to take full control of Irpin and Bucha, two cities on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Russian troops were “trying to provide a tactical advantage to reach the eastern outskirts of Kyiv through the Brovarsky and Boryspil districts,” according to the bulletin.
Interior Ministry advisor Vadym Denysenko said on Ukrainian television that a “fairly large amount of Russian military equipment and Russian troops are concentrated at the approaches to Kyiv,” as cited by Ukrayinska Pravda.
“We understand that the battle for Kyiv is a key battle which will be fought in the coming days.
Ukrainian reservists get married at Kyiv checkpoint
Two Ukrainian reservists have got married at a Kyiv checkpoint.
The bride and groom wore military uniforms during the ceremony.
Groom Valerii Filimonov told DW that they decided get married because “we live in challenging times and you never know what’s going to happen to you tomorrow.”
“That’s why it’s better to do it sooner than later.”
Donning military uniforms instead of a wedding dress and tuxedo, these Ukrainian reservists tied the knot at a Kyiv checkpoint. pic.twitter.com/vlcM1xhHEN
— DW News (@dwnews) March 7, 2022
Ardern said that the government will pass a bill this week which will allow for extensive sanctions on those associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The bill could also ban the entry of Russian ships and aircraft into New Zealand waters or airspace.
Ukraine and Russia to meet for negotiations
Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet for a third round of negotiations, which both sides said could take place on Monday.
The location and exact time of the talks were initially unclear.
The two delegations last met in Belarus for two rounds of peace talks and agreed to put in place humanitarian corridors to allow evacuation from Mariupol and Volnovakha.
The attempt to evacuate Mariupol failed on Sunday, and Russia and Ukraine both blamed each other for the collapse of the cease-fire.
Russian gymnast sports pro-invasion insignia at medals podium
The International Gymnastics Federation asked for disciplinary proceedings to be opened against Ivan Kuliak after the Russian gymnast sported an insignia linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kuliak wore a shirt with the letter “Z” on it as he accepted a bronze medal on Sunday. The “Z” has been seen painted on Russian tanks and vehicles in Ukraine.
Kuliak stood next to Ukraine’s Kovtun Illia, who was the gold medalist.
Belarusian and Russian gymnasts will be banned from future competitions starting from Monday, a measure decided on before Kuliak received his bronze medal.
Blinken: US and allies discuss banning Russian oil imports
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States and its European allies were exploring banning imports of Russian oil.
Meanwhile, the White House coordinated with congressional committees developing their own ban.
US House of Representatives explores banning Russian oil imports
US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the House of Representatives was discussing legislation to further isolate Russia from the global economy.
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Measures explored by the House include banning the import of Russian oil and energy products in to the US.
Pelosi added that Congress intended to enact $10 billion (€9.2 billion) in aid for Ukraine this week.
Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Sunday
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that more than 20,000 people from 52 countries had volunteered to fight in Ukraine.
Supplying weapons to the other side ‘is part of the game’
Ukrainian authorities said that Russian forces increased the shelling of a number of Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mykolaiv.
The Ukrainian presidential office said that several hundred thousand Ukrainians must be evacuated immediately, adding that the situation in several dozen towns in eight regions was catastrophic.
The first days of the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video statement that current sanctions imposed on Russia are not sufficient
According to a statement by Russian NGO OWD-Info, more than 4,400 people were arrested throughout Russia amid anti-war protests on Sunday. This included 2,035 people in Moscow and 1,150 in St. Petersburg. In total there were anti-war protests in some 60 cities across the country.
Poland’s border guard said over a million refugees from Ukraine have crossed the Polish border. UN refugee chief Fillippo Grandi said that 1.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the invasion begun almost two weeks ago, with those not entering Poland fleeing to Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania.
