White House rejects Ukraine’s appeal, saying implementing a no-fly zone could draw the US into war with Russia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for a no-fly zone to stop Russian bombardment, but the White House says the US is not considering such a move.
ICC prosecutor says he plans to launch an investigation into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
High-level talks between Kyiv and Moscow end with no agreement except to keep talking.
US, UK, EU, Canada imposed sanctions on Russia’s central bank.
The civilian death toll now stands at 352 people, including 14 children, Ukraine’s health ministry says.
More than 520,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, the UN says.
FIFA and UEFA suspend Russia from international football.
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Here are the latest updates:
Australia commits $50m in support of Ukraine
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison says his government will provide Ukraine with $50m to help fend off the Russian invasion.
“The overwhelming majority of that … will be in the lethal category,” he said “We’re talking missiles, we’re talking ammunition, we’re talking supporting them in their defense of their own homeland in Ukraine and we’ll be doing that in partnership with NATO.”
Diplomats accuse UAE of ‘dirty deal with Russia’
Diplomats say the United Arab Emirates (UAE) abstained from two votes on UN Security Council resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to win Moscow’s support for an arms embargo on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. A Security Council diplomat told Reuters news agency that UAE made a “deal with the devil” to secure Russia’s support.
“UAE’s two abstentions on Ukraine bought the Russian yes vote,” the diplomat said. Another diplomat told AFP: “We are very angry with the Emirates and convinced they made a dirty deal with Russia” that links the Houthis and Ukraine.
Both the UAE and Russia denied a deal was made on voting.
Disney halts film releases in Russia
Disney says it is suspending the release of its films in theaters in Russia after Moscow’s assault on Ukraine “Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming ‘Turning
Red’ from Pixar,” the US entertainment giant said in a statement.
Putin stripped of taekwondo black belt
World Taekwondo has stripped Russian President Vladimir Putin of his honorary taekwondo black belt over his country’s invasion of Ukraine. It added that it would join the International Olympic Committee is banning the Russian flag and anthem at its events.
World Rugby suspends Russia, Belarus
Rugby’s world governing body is suspending Russia and Belarus from all international rugby “until further notice”. It also suspended Russia’s membership indefinitely.
“World Rugby reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine and the facilitation of this action by Belarus,” the body said.
Blinken ‘assures Ukraine of more sanctions and weapons’
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has offered Kyiv more support in the form of sanctions and weapons. “In our call, Secretary Blinken affirmed that the U.S. support for Ukraine remains unfaltering,” Kuleba said on Twitter.
“I underscored that Ukraine craves for peace, but as long as we are under Russia’s assault we need more sanctions and weapons. Secretary assured me of both. We coordinated further steps.”
Ukraine says Russia used a vacuum bomb
Oksana Markarova, Kyiv’s ambassador to the US, says Russia had used a vacuum bomb in Ukraine on Monday.
Also known as a thermobaric bomb, the weapon uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, typically producing a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than that of a conventional explosive.
“They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention,” Markarova said after a meeting with US legislators. “The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large.”
Source: Al-Jazeera
