Russian and French Presidents Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed the state of negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv on the phone, the Kremlin press service reported.

“Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed the state of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives. In this context, the main approaches of the Russian side to the development of possible agreements were outlined,” the report said.

The Russian President noted that during the war in Ukraine, the Russian armed forces were doing everything possible to save the lives of civilians, including organizing humanitarian corridors for their safe evacuation.

“At the same time, attention is drawn to the numerous war crimes committed daily by the security forces and Ukrainian nationalists, in particular the massive rocket and artillery attacks against towns in Donbass,” he said. added the Kremlin.

It should be noted that the leaders agreed to stay in touch.

According to BFMTV, citing the Elysee Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was extremely concerned about the situation in Mariupol. The French leader again demanded an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

According to the TV channel, the conversation lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Kyiv: Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense shot down a missile in Kiev and its wreckage fell on a residential area destroying a five-story building.

Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the head of the Interior Ministry, confirmed seeing the missile being shot down and the wreckage falling in Kiev, near Kurenivka.

Vitalii Klitschko, mayor of Kiev said the wreckage of the missile fell on the road. One person was killed and six were injured, two of whom were taken by ambulance.

An empty tram was completely destroyed. Windows were smashed, balconies of nearby houses and commercial premises on the ground floor were damaged, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

Earlier reports indicated that Russia was not ruling out taking “full control” of major cities of Ukrainethe Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The Russian Armed Forces do not reject taking ‘full control’ of major Ukrainian cities to ensure maximum security for citizens.”

Peskov also says that at the start of the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave orders “not to immediately attack cities, including Kiev”, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

The reason for this was “the deployment of weapons by militants in the cities”. It’s unclear what that meant, although Russia claims it is “demilitarising Ukraine”, ie destroying these weapons.

Earlier, an artillery shell hit a nine-story building in Kiev’s Obolon district, killing two people.

Ukrayinska Pravda reported that the building was partially destroyed between the ground floor and the second floor, and that a fire broke out on the second and third floors.

There were three casualties and 17 people rescued from the rubble.

An airstrike on the town of Okhtyrka in northeastern Ukraine in the Sumy region on Monday killed at least 3 civilians.

Pavlo Kuzmenko, mayor of Okhtyrka said: “Okhtyrka – its residential area, its residential houses – was shelled at night. At least 3 people died, others have not yet been found. Behind me, houses are burning.”

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PANDESAL forum moderator Wilson Lee Flores texts me: “Gud pm. Hi, China’s top journalist will be interviewing you this Thursday noon to noon at the Kamuning Bakery Café. Topics on the Ukraine crisis and its impact on the Asia…” The subject was dear to my heart, as evidenced by my two columns from last week: “Pushed against the wall, did Putin have any other choice? So while I limited my attendance at the regular event, being picky about what to discuss, I thought Wilson’s invitation was worth attending.

Turns out the main course of the day was a breakdown of election campaign pleas from some leftists I wouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole again – the Gabriela party slate, for example, having been exposed by the Group of national work to end Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) Vice President Hermogenes Esperon Jr. as a legal front organization of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army funded from abroad and therefore a no-no for that the Electoral Commission (Comelec) was accredited as a candidate but, for some rather dubious reason, had nevertheless been qualified for the election. Thus, the accreditation of Gabriela on the party list can only explain what people generally perceive as great corruption within Comelec. For this reason, I have this personal crusade underway to abolish Comelec, since I do so, no good elected official can come out of an electoral process that is bad.

Anyway, I did not come to the forum for this agenda, but to share the discussion on the Ukrainian crisis with Chinese journalists and members of a newly formed think tank, Philippine Asian Century Strategic Studies Inc. (Phil-Acssi), Herman Tiu Laurel, Anna Malindog-Uy and Ado Paglinawan.

Much of what reaches the country about the war in Ukraine comes from the Western media and therefore must advance the concerns of Western powers. There is nothing wrong with that. Charity begins at home, as they say. What’s wrong is when we take the hook, line and sinker of Western media, so to speak. In this case, we behave as one with the West, which we are not.

As I pointed out in my last two columns, the war in Ukraine is not a war between Russia and Ukraine, but between Russia and the United States and the tandem of NATO, with the Ukraine only as a battlefield. It is the encirclement of the United States and NATO over the past two decades that has troubled Russia and Ukraine’s application for NATO membership must strike Russia as the only remaining move to its ultimate conquest by Western powers. What was there to do for Russia but strike or perish?

As various interviews show, Russian President Vladimir Putin did his best to avoid a confrontation with the United States and NATO. As early as 2020, he indeed offered to apply to join the alliance, but the offer was rejected. So from that moment he said, “If you can’t accept our covenant, don’t make enemies of us. The problem is that the United States and NATO surrounded Russia, gaining the alliance of neighboring countries, Romania, Poland, the Baltic States, until Ukraine offered to complete the maneuver of the Western pincers by asking for NATO membership. In addition to this maneuver, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty (INFT), which would allow it to deploy nuclear weapons anywhere in NATO countries; if Ukraine turns to NATO, the United States could position nuclear missiles capable of hitting Russia in 7-10 minutes, and in the case of hypersonic missiles, 5.

“We have made it very clear that NATO’s further eastward expansion is unacceptable,” Putin said in an interview. So, realizing that Ukraine’s membership would allow NATO to complete this expansion, what can Putin do but hit Ukraine first? This is a basic move in warfare.

Most analysts overlook this attitude of Putin as a necessary given in the Ukrainian crisis. All they see is a war waged by a powerful country against a weak country. They gobble up Western media histrionism by portraying Ukrainian civilians pitting bare physical guts against Russian armed troops and armored vehicles. First of all, where is the Ukrainian army in this regard? Why does he allow Ukrainian civilians to bear the brunt of the battles for them? And why does Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tolerate this act which smacks more of cinema than science of war. You are attacked by columns upon columns of Russian troops, why send civilians to fight them? Western media proliferates with, say, motherhood under attack. It’s part of the story. The other part, mostly untold, is that Ukrainian troops, fighting the attacking Russian forces, take up firing positions in the hospital. So what do you expect Russian soldiers to do, not retaliate even if they get shot? It’s the war. The first act of a country’s military is to ensure the safety of its civilians. Judging by Western media accounts, in Ukraine the first act of the army seems to be hiding behind civilians. And when civilians are affected, do you mourn war crimes?

President Putin had posed the question very clearly: “I am addressing the Ukrainian military. Do not let the neo-Nazis, these banderites (Ukrainian nationalists) use your children, your wives and your old people as human shields. It will then be easier for us to reconcile with you than with a band of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have settled in Kiev (Kyiv) and have taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage.

One of the facts of the Ukrainian crisis is President Putin’s passionate determination to bring this war to, in his words, a “logical end”. Here is a man born and raised during the rise and fall of the once mighty Russian Empire. Now that he finds himself at the helm of this reborn empire and once again entrenched in a dominant position in the world order, he is not ready to once again give up his newfound glory. If Ukraine must be recaptured to safeguard that empire’s protection against the insatiable Western lust for world domination, then let war settle the matter.

How could Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky live up to this magnificent Putin obsession? The best he seems able to do is hole up in his dungeon and endlessly complain about NATO’s inaction in the face of his desperate call for the imposition of a no-fly zone over of Ukraine to prevent Russian bombardment. Clearly, in pushing Ukraine to join, NATO had only been assessing Russia’s ultimate ability to repel its continuing aggression since the partition of the vast territory of the Soviet Union into 1991. With Russia responding resolutely now with what is effectively a war of self-defense, NATO realizes that it cannot afford a frontal confrontation and therefore must leave Ukraine to fight Russia alone.

In view of the facts, the United States and NATO are showing themselves to be faithful to their word not to engage Russia militarily in Ukraine. All the United States and NATO are prepared to do is impose economic sanctions which, in any event, infuriates Putin even more, retaliating with growing determination to take on Ukraine once for all. Zelenskyy’s oft-repeated statement to fight to the last Ukrainian is purely theatrical. He would do his best for his nation and his people by shedding his illusory cinematic pretensions and executing his only remaining honorable recourse, as did Emperor Hirohito who, in 1945, after America’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which razed the cities and killed some 200,000 Japanese and wounded many more, went on the radio announcing Japan’s final surrender in World War II:

“Furthermore, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, causing many innocent victims. If we continue to fight, it will only result not only an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also that would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.”

The key for Zelenskyy to end the war is, in the previous quote, to substitute “Ukraine” for “Japanese nation”. Putin had made a sincere offer to settle the problems with the Ukrainian army. First of all, wasn’t Ukraine once part of Russia?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday reiterated his call for the United States and other countries to pave the way for Soviet-era fighter jets to supplement his military and to impose a no-fly zone over his country, while expressing confidence in President Biden’s ability to do so.

The United States is looking for ways to meet Ukraine’s demand for fighter jets and replenish Poland’s arsenal if it hands over Soviet-era planes to its embattled neighbor.

In an interview, Mr. Zelensky told ABC News via a government interpreter that his country lacked air supremacy, noting the bombardment of civilian infrastructure with Russian missiles. He said he shared that view with Mr. Biden during a call on Monday.

While Mr Biden and other leaders have said creating a no-fly zone would force allies to fire on Russian planes, Mr Zelensky focused on the need to shoot down Russian missiles that , according to him, hit civilian infrastructure.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has rejected requests for a no-fly zone, saying it would risk war with Russia, an outcome that Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened if NATO members enter. the dispute.

He suggested that the question of whether Mr. Putin deliberately targets civilians is irrelevant: “Why should I care? The result is the same.”

Russia would not stop at Ukraine, he warned, but would continue to threaten other democratic countries.

“We are a place in Europe, a place of freedom, a zone of freedom,” he said. “When the limits of rights and freedoms are violated and trampled on, then you must protect us. Because we’ll come first, you’ll come second.

He confirmed reports that he had been offered safe passage out of the country if the situation deteriorated further, but said he would stay, noting that he is Ukraine’s democratically elected leader.

“I’m sure Ukrainians are ready to face Russia all their lives,” he said, noting the civilians who fought back against Russian forces.

“We are going to endure, and even if they come to all our cities, there will be an insurrection, an insurrectional war,” he said. “No one will give up our independence.”

Finally, Mr. Zelensky addressed the American public in English, saying that while Americans often talk about freedom, the example of Ukrainians resisting the Russian invasion demonstrated the meaning of freedom.

“We are not far from you,” he said. “If you see and understand how we feel… how we fight all enemies for our freedom, support us.

The meeting comes at a critical time in the war, as Russian forces encircle major cities and Ukraine reels in a humanitarian crisis. Russian and Ukrainian diplomats are continuing bilateral talks, but several diplomatic overtures by third parties, including efforts by French President Emmanuel Macron, have stalled.

Israel is in a unique position to potentially barter a deal, or at least send messages between Western allies Russia and Ukraine, given its alliance with the United States, its quiet cooperation with Russia in Syria and its shared cultural ties with Ukraine. Mr. Bennett and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are the only two Jews in the world to head national governments.

Mr. Bennett’s office said in a statement on Saturday evening that the meeting with Mr. Putin lasted about three hours and took place “in coordination and with the blessing of the US administration”. In addition, the statement added, Mr. Bennett was working in coordination with Germany and France and was “in permanent dialogue with Ukraine”.

There was no immediate information on the results of the meeting. A spokeswoman for Mr. Bennett said he spoke with Mr. Zelensky after his meeting with Mr. Putin.

The Israeli government has tried to maintain good relations with Russian and Ukrainian leaders during the current crisis, and Mr. Bennett had previously been invited by Mr. Zelensky to mediate between the parties.

Mr Bennett left Moscow on Saturday evening to travel to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Mr. Scholz was in Israel for a short visit this week and, in a meeting with Mr. Bennett, discussed Israel’s possible role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine.

Mr. Bennett had spoken by phone with Mr. Putin on Wednesday, hours after speaking with Mr. Zelensky, the latest of a few rounds of phone conversations between them.

In a sign of the mission’s urgency, Mr. Bennett, an observant Jew, left Israel Saturday morning over the Sabbath, breaking the religious injunction banning travel. According to Jewish religious law, the sanctity of the Sabbath is superseded by the principle of preservation of human life.

Mr. Bennett was accompanied by Zeev Elkin, Israel’s housing minister, who helped with the translation, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. Mr. Elkin has frequently acted in a similar capacity over the past decade in meetings between Mr. Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mr. Putin.

Mr. Elkin, who is also an observant Jew, was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 1971, when it was part of the Soviet Union, and emigrated to Israel in 1990. Mr. Elkin has a brother who still lives with his family in Kharkiv, where Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting for control.

The Israeli delegation also included the prime minister’s national security adviser, Eyal Hulata, his diplomatic adviser, Shimrit Meir, and his spokesperson, Matan Sidi.

Mr Bennett had faced criticism in recent days, including from Mr Zelensky, for not taking the more vocal side of Ukraine and for refraining from supplying him with material military.

Israeli officials have said Israel must maintain good relations with Russia so that it can continue Israel’s military campaign against entrenching Iran and Hezbollah in Syria, where Russia maintains a significant presence.

They said Israel was also concerned about large Jewish communities in Russia and Ukraine. After Saturday’s meeting at the Kremlin, Mr. Bennett’s office said he also spoke with Mr. Putin about the situation of Israelis and Jewish communities following the conflict in Ukraine.

Saturday’s meeting comes after several requests by Mr. Zelensky, to both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Bennett, to mediate between him and Mr. Putin. The latest request was made in a telephone conversation held on February 25, during which Mr. Zelensky also asked for military equipment. While refusing to send defensive equipment, Mr Bennett agreed to try to mediate between the countries.

Several rounds of phone conversations followed between Mr. Bennett and Mr. Putin, between Mr. Bennett and Mr. Zelensky, and between officials in their teams. Israeli officials believe Israeli mediation had some effect in getting Ukraine to agree to start talks with Russia in Belarus.

Mr. Hulata, Israel’s national security adviser, briefed the White House National Security Council on developments since the telephone conversation with Mr. Zelensky.

Israeli officials said the Kremlin meeting also touched on the progress of talks in Vienna for a return to a nuclear deal with Iran, and Mr Bennett voiced Israel’s opposition to a return to the nuclear deal. ‘OK.

A Chinese-led development bank has suspended all business with Russia and Belarus, a possible sign of the limits of Beijing’s support for Moscow as it faces sanctions and censorship over its war in Ukraine.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said it had suspended all activities related to the two countries in light of “economic and financial developments”.

“Under these circumstances, and in the best interest of the Bank, management has decided that all activities relating to Russia and Belarus are suspended and under review,” the Beijing-based institution said Thursday in a statement. a statement.

The multilateral development bank, which has 105 members worldwide, did not specify the reasons for its decision, but expressed “its thoughts and sympathy to all concerned”.

“Our hearts go out to all who are suffering,” the bank said.

This announcement comes after several Chinese public financial institutions, including the Bank of China, stopped financing transactions involving Russian commodities.

Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis in Hong Kong, said the AIIB’s decision was “symbolic” because the bank has only financed two projects in Russia to the tune of $800 million and none in Belarus.

“Even though most cross-border lending from China to Russia may take place with political banks, this is yet another example that China cannot unconditionally support Russia as it would weigh its own benefits and costs of any move. geopolitics,” Ng told Al Jazeera.

“The withdrawal of the AIIB shows that the pressure of global financial sanctions on Russia has become more apparent in supranational organizations,” Ng added.

Development of Sino-Russian relations

China and Russia have grown increasingly close in recent years, often aligning themselves against perceived interference by the United States and its allies.

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin said the friendship between their countries had “no limits” and no “prohibited” areas of cooperation.

Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, refrained from participating in a United Nations resolution calling on Putin to withdraw his forces, and expressed opposition to “all unlawful unilateral sanctions”.

Last month, Chinese customs authorities lifted import restrictions on Russian wheat, an industry worth around $7.9 billion a year, fueling speculation that the Chinese market could become a a key economic lifeline for the beleaguered Russian economy, which faces unprecedented international isolation.

The two sides have also stepped up energy cooperation, including signing a 30-year contract last month for Russia to supply gas to China through a new pipeline.

Despite deepening ties, Beijing is widely seen as reluctant to openly violate sanctions, which could put it at risk of being cut off from Western export markets and the U.S. dollar-centric international financial system.

China’s trade with Russia stood at $146.9 billion in 2021, about a tenth of its combined trade with the United States and the European Union.

Tim Harcourt, chief economist at the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Technology Sydney, called the AIIB’s decision significant “even given the little work done in Russia” by the development bank.

“It shows that China is moving away from Russia and the ‘limitless partnership’ between Xi and Putin,” Harcourt told Al Jazeera.

However, Peter Lewis, a former investment baker who runs a consultancy firm in Hong Kong, questioned whether the AIIB’s decision suggested a weakening of Beijing’s support for Moscow, saying the bank had an obligation to make sound financing decisions independent of its shareholders.

“Beijing will present this as an independent decision made by the AIIB for financial stability and prudence purposes,” Lewis told Al Jazeera. “However, I am sure that Beijing is increasingly alarmed by what is happening in Ukraine and that there are frantic discussions going on with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But this decision by the AIIB does not reflect really that.

China’s Xi launched the AIIB in 2016 as an alternative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, financial institutions seen as dominated by Western interests. China is the AIIB’s biggest shareholder, with 31% of the bank’s $20 billion paid-up capital.

Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, announced his decision regarding Mr Gergiev and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in a press release stating that termination of the contract was the only option available.

Mr Gergiev’s abrupt dismissal, three years before his contract expires, was the biggest setback for the conductor, who has been the target of widespread anger and condemnation in recent days for its long history of supporting Mr. Putin and his Strategies.

Officials in Munich said Mr Gergiev, who had served as conductor since 2015, failed to respond to a request by Mr Reiter on Friday to condemn the ‘brutal war of aggression’ of Mr Putin by Monday or be fired.

The press release states that “with immediate effect, there will be no more concerts by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra” under the direction of Mr. Gergiev.

Mr. Reiter said in his statement that “I would have expected him to reconsider and revise his very positive assessment of the Russian leader. He did not do it.

Mr. Gergiev did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Zurich Opera director Andreas Homoki noted that Ms Netrebko had issued a statement over the weekend in which she said she opposed the war.

“We view this statement as a positive development and note that she cannot distance herself further from Vladimir Putin,” Homoki said in the statement. “As a matter of principle, we do not consider it appropriate to judge the decisions and actions of citizens of repressive regimes based on the perspective of those living in a Western European democracy.”

But he went on to note that the opera’s “decisive condemnation” of Mr Putin and his actions was “not consistent with Anna Netrebko’s public position”.

He said Ms Netrebko had decided not to sing in upcoming performances and had released a statement saying, “Now is not the time for me to make music and perform. So I decided to take a step back from performance for now. This is an extremely difficult decision for me, but I know my audience will understand and respect this decision.

After the cancellations were announced on Tuesday, Ms Netrebko posted a photo on instagram of herself with Mr. Gergiev smiling after a concert. In a separate message, she said: “As I said, I am opposed to this senseless war of aggression and I call on Russia to end this war now, to save us all. We need peace now.

The Metropolitan Opera has made no announcement regarding Ms. Netrebko’s performance. appearances scheduled for this spring, but Peter Gelb, its chief executive, said in an interview on Tuesday that “the Met maintains its position that artists who support Putin will not be permitted to perform at the Met.” Before the Met performed Verdi’s “Don Carlos” on Monday night, the company sang the Ukrainian national anthem.

The rapid events showed how quickly arts organizations around the world have established close ties with Russia’s most prominent cultural ambassadors since Mr Putin’s invasion began on Thursday.

Mr Gergiev had lost a number of engagements in the days that followed, but the loss of his leading position at the head of a major European orchestra suggested far more serious ramifications for his international career.

It’s a stunning turnaround for Mr Gergiev, whose busy schedule and regular engagements with many of the world’s leading concert halls and opera houses have led the Bachtrack website, which collects music performance statistics classic, to proclaim it the busiest conductor in several recent seasons.

Mr Gergiev is a prominent supporter of Mr Putin, endorsing his re-election and performing at concerts in Russia and abroad to promote his policies. The two have known each other since the early 1990s, when Mr. Putin was a civil servant in St. Petersburg and Mr. Gergiev began his tenure as head of the Mariinsky, then called the Kirov.

Mr. Putin played a significant role in Mr. Gergiev’s success, funding the Mariinsky Theater, where Mr. Gergiev serves as general and artistic director.

His international commitments began to dry up last week when Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra pulled him from a series of performances. On Sunday, Mr Gergiev’s manager announced he was ending his relationship with his client.

Director Marcus Felsner said in a statement that it had become impossible to defend Mr Gergiev, whom he described as “one of the greatest conductors of all time, a beloved visionary artist and admired by many of us, who will not, or cannot, publicly end their longstanding support for a regime that has come to commit such crimes.

On Monday, the fallout continued, with the Verbier Festival in Switzerland saying he had demanded and accepted the resignation of Mr. Gergiev as musical director of the festival orchestra. (The festival also said it would ban other artists who had shown support for Mr. Putin’s actions and would return individual donations under sanctions from Western governments.)

The Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland, where Mr. Gergiev served as Honorary President, also noted on Monday that he had resigned from his post after being asked to do so. The Philharmonie de Paris, a performing arts complex in France, announced that it was canceling two concerts in April with Mr. Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra. And the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland noted he canceled two performances in August with M. Gergiev and the Mariinsky.

“Given Russia’s acts of war in violation of international law, we send a clear signal of solidarity to the Ukrainian people,” Michael Haefliger, the festival’s executive and artistic director, said in a statement.

Shortly after the mayor of Munich announced his decision on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany – another major concert hall – said it had also canceled future engagements. by M. Gergiev. Several other institutions are considering similar moves, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan.

Alex Marshall contributed reporting.

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military has started using banned phosphorus ammunition in the outskirts of Kyiv near the Gostomel airfield, currently controlled by the Russian military, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman told media on Sunday. , Igor Konashenkov.

“Unable to stop the offensive of the Russian forces, the Ukrainian army began to use phosphorus ammunition on a large scale near the Gostomel airfield on the outskirts of Kiev. They fire 122-millimeter shells from howitzers D-30 and missiles for BM-21 Grad several Soviet-made launchers,” Konashenkov said.

“The use of such ammunition is prohibited under the third protocol of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons,” Konashenkov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised morning address on February 24 that he had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help from the leaders of the Donbas republics. He stressed that Moscow has no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories. The only goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces do not attack cities, as its main targets are military infrastructure. The civilian population is not in danger, the Ministry of Defense said.

KYIV, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Russian forces attacked oil and gas facilities in Ukraine, causing huge explosions, officials said on Sunday, as Western allies prepared new sanctions, including banning major Russian banks of the main global payment system.

Ukrainian forces were holding back Russian troops advancing towards the capital, Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said as the biggest assault on a European state since World War II entered its fourth day.

Russian missiles have found their mark, including a strike that set fire to an oil terminal in Vasylkiv, southwest of Kiev, the city’s mayor said. The explosions sent huge flames and black smoke into the night sky, online posts showed.

There was also heavy fighting for Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast, where Russian troops blew up a gas pipeline, a Ukrainian state agency said. The gas explosion sent a mushroom cloud into the darkness.

“The enemy wants to destroy everything,” Vasylkiv Mayor Natalia Balasinovich said.

Russian troops then entered Kharkiv, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said on Telegram. Videos posted by him and a state agency showed several military vehicles moving down a street and, separately, a burning tank.

Russian-backed separatists in the eastern province of Lugansk said a Ukrainian missile blew up an oil terminal in the town of Rovenky.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a special military operation on Thursday, ignoring weeks of Western warnings and saying ‘neo-Nazis’ in power in Ukraine were threatening Russia’s security – a charge that Kiev and Western governments call it baseless propaganda.

Reuters witnesses in Kyiv reported occasional explosions and gunfire in the city on Saturday night, but it’s unclear where it came from.

“We resisted and successfully repelled enemy attacks. The fighting continues,” Zelenskiy said in a video message from the streets of Kiev posted on his social media.

A US defense official said Ukrainian forces were putting up “very determined resistance” to Russia’s air, land and sea advance, which has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing west, obstructing the major highways and railways.

The United States and its European partners have said they will also impose restrictions on Russia’s central bank to limit its ability to support the ruble and fund Putin’s war effort.

“We are determined to continue to impose costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies,” said a statement from the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Great Britain and the European Commission. Read more

BAD FOR BUSINESS

After initially hesitating such a move largely due to concerns about the impact on their economies, the allies said they were committed to “ensuring that certain Russian banks are removed from the messaging system SWIFT”.

They did not name which banks would be expelled, but an EU diplomat said around 70% of the Russian banking market would be affected. Read more

The decision – which France’s finance minister had called a “financial nuclear weapon” because of the damage it would inflict on the Russian economy – is a blow to Russian trade and makes it harder for its companies to do business.

SWIFT, a secure messaging network that facilitates fast cross-border payments, said it was preparing to implement the measures.

Sanctions on Russia’s central bank could limit Putin’s use of its more than $630 billion in international reserves, widely seen as protecting Russia from some economic harm.

Google banned Russian state media RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, as Facebook did.

‘DETERMINED RESISTANCE’

The Kremlin said its troops were again advancing “in all directions” after Putin ordered a pause on Friday. The Ukrainian government said there was no break.

Particularly in northern Ukraine, Russian forces “were frustrated by what they saw as very determined resistance,” the US official said, without providing evidence.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said around 3,500 Russian soldiers had been killed or injured. Western officials said intelligence showed Russia was suffering higher losses than expected.

Russia has not released casualty figures and it has been impossible to verify the tolls or the precise picture on the ground.

At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, were killed and 1,115 people injured, Interfax said citing Ukraine’s health ministry.

Interfax later quoted the Donetsk regional administration in eastern Ukraine as saying 17 civilians had been killed and 73 injured by Russian shelling. Moscow says it takes care to avoid civilian sites.

Ukraine, a democratic nation of 44 million people, gained independence from Moscow in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union and wants to join NATO and the EU, goals that Russia opposes.

Putin has said he must eliminate what he calls a serious threat to his country from his smaller neighbor, accusing him of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine – something Kiev and its allies Westerners dismiss it as a lie.

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said more than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Romania.

US President Joe Biden has approved the release of up to $350 million worth of weapons from US stockpiles, while Germany, in a shift from its longstanding policy of not exporting weapons to areas of war, said it would send anti-tank weapons and surface weapons. air missiles. Read more

Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Aleksandar Vasovic and Natalia Zinets in Kyiv; Alan Charlish in Medyka, Poland; Fedja Grulovic in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania; and Reuters offices; Written by Robert Birsel; Editing by William Mallard

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

With the exception of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Latin America has turned its back on Russia on the invasion of ukrainebut Moscow can keep an ace up its sleeve and surprise with a “symbolic” provocation in the region to challenge United States.

Lately, even as the drums of war beat in Ukraine, Russia has been on a frenzy diplomatic deployment in Latin Americaarea of ​​influence of the United States, in search of allies.

Last week, the Russian President, Vladimir Poutine, received his counterpart Brazilian, Jair Bolsonaroin Moscow, where he had previously met the Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, who even proposed to his country to be a “gateway to Latin America”.

(Due to the public interest in the events between Russia and Ukraine, all of our coverage of this invasion and related actions will be freely available to all EL TIEMPO readers)

(Also read: Ukraine reports increased radiation at Chernobyl after Russians arrive)

But as soon as the tanks arrived in Ukraine on Thursday, both rejected the use of armed force, as have most countries in the region.

Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, isn’t surprised. “The trade relationship with Russia is very limited and the risk of aligning with it is not worth it,” he told AFP.

Putin has three allies in the region – Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua – who have positioned themselves by his side more than anything “for ideological and transactional interests”, he underlines. Christopher Sabatini, researcher at the Chatham House think tank.

On the very day of the start of the invasion of Ukraine, an official Russian delegation, led by the Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Viacheslav Volodin, arrived in Nicaragua to meet the President Daniel Ortegawho a week earlier had discussed economic and military issues with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov.

‘Barking dog, little biter’

Russia, which a month ago threatened military deployment in Cuba and Venezuelaseeks to strengthen “his friendships to show that he is not isolated internationally and complicate the strategic position of the United States by projecting a threat in the region”, he explains. Evan Ellis, Professor of Latin American Studies at the Institute for Strategic Studies at the US Army War College.

that he Kremlin doing “something symbolic is very likely” because he’s said it many times, Ellis says. But “a barking dog, not very biting”, nevertheless specifies the expert, who opts for “something improvised, in order to project a threat, more than substantial or well planned”.

“A certain kind of military provocation or the signing of an agreement to show its ability to project itself militarily in the region,” he explains.

The bloody military offensive in Ukraine has imposed a battery of sanctions on Russia to inflict economic damage “both immediate and long-term”, in the words of US President Joe Biden.

(You might be interested in: Fierce street battles in Kiev, under assault by Russian troops)

With an economy under sanctions severely affecting its oil exports and financial system, “Russia is unlikely to have the resources or the logistical capacity to maintain a significant military presence” in the Americas for long, Ellis said.

China on the prowl

In recent years, Latin America has become politically fragmented, which means that “relations not only with Russia, but also with Chinabe more diverse,” says Sabatini. And the new war “will put these new relations to the test”.

The United States, whose relations with Russia and China are at their lowest points, is balancing itself to strengthen ties in the region while fighting corruption in certain countries, notably in Central America, from which waves of immigrants fleeing misery and they seek a better future.

And the rise in wheat prices, which have reached records not seen since 2008, and in oil prices following the war in Ukraine will be particularly sensitive in these developing countries. Central America and the Caribbean.

“For them, the shortage will likely mean a rise in critical import prices and the risk of rising popular discontent,” Sabatini warns.

(Also: Analysis of how this tension between Russia and Ukraine was reached)

Russia will depend more economically on China, which has long-term goals in Latin America, “like replacing the United States as the main economic partner,” Shifter says.

In this war, Beijing “will maintain a fairly neutral position and examine what its rivals are doing”, he adds.

“He will closely monitor developments in this crisis to take advantage of any US weakness to expand his own influence in the region, which needs a lot of economic support.”

AFP