Here are the latest updates on the war in Ukraine:
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Sunday that 1,119 civilians had been killed and 1,790 wounded since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief says Russia could try to split Ukraine in two. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed the West for a lack of courage as his country struggles to stem the tide of Russian aggression, calling on fighter jets and tanks to defend themselves in a conflict that has led to a war of attrition. Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken says the United States is not trying to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite strong condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian authorities have blocked the website of the German newspaper Bild as part of their efforts to control the message about Ukraine.
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Next round of Ukraine-Russia talks to be held in Turkey, Ukrainian negotiator says
The next round of face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkey on March 28-30, Ukrainian negotiator David Arahamia said on social media on Sunday. Ukraine has described previous talks with Russia, which began after Russia’s invasion last month, as “very difficult”. – Reuters 10:55 a.m. ET
Ukraine urges Red Cross not to open office in Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Ukraine has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross not to open a planned office in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, saying it would legalize Moscow’s “humanitarian corridors” and the abduction and deportation of Ukrainians. The ICRC chief said on Thursday after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that an agreement was needed between the Russian and Ukrainian armies so that civilians could be properly evacuated from war-torn Ukraine. Russian media reported that the head of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, had asked Russia to facilitate the opening of a Red Cross office in Rostov-on-Don. Mykhailo Radutskyi, chairman of the public health committee in the Ukrainian parliament, called on the Red Cross to change its plans. “The Commission calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross not to legalize ‘humanitarian corridors’ in the territory of the Russian Federation, and not to support the abduction and deportation of Ukrainians,” Radutsky said in a statement. – Reuters 10:25 a.m. ET
Why some foreign fighters – including Canadians – abandoned plans to fight for Ukraine
Paul Hughes arrived in Ukraine from Calgary on March 4 with plans to join the International Territorial Defense Legion. He became disillusioned with the group and ended up founding a humanitarian organization called Helping Ukraine Grassroots Support (HUGS). ANTON SKYBA / The Globe and Mail Foreign fighters flocking to war zones are not new, but they usually operate in an informal capacity or as mercenaries. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took the unusual step of actively recruiting foreigners by calling on “citizens of the world” to take part in the fight against the Russians. It has created the international legion as a special branch of the Territorial Defense Force, a predominantly civilian operation, and the government has estimated that some 20,000 people from more than 50 countries have registered. Although it is difficult to verify the numbers, there is no doubt that thousands of willing warriors from Canada and elsewhere have joined the Ukrainian cause and provided crucial support on the battlefield. But some foreign fighters also found the experience frightening and dangerous. – Paul Waldiein Lviv 10:10 a.m. ET
The death toll in Ukraine has risen to 1,119, according to the UN
Specialists transport a woman, who was injured in the bombing of an apartment building, to an ambulance, as her husband is nearby, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 26, 2022. GLEB GARANICH / Reuters The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Sunday that 1,119 civilians had been killed and 1,790 wounded since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine. About 15 girls and 32 boys, as well as 52 children whose gender is still unknown, were among the dead, the United Nations said in a statement covering the period since the start of the war on February 24 and at midnight on March 26. The actual death toll is expected to be significantly higher, the agency said, with reports of delays in some areas where heavy fighting is taking place and many reports still need to be confirmed. This was especially true around the besieged southern port of Mariupol, as well as Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Izium in the Kharkiv region, Popasna and Rubizhne in the Luhansk region, and Trostianets in the Sumy region, the United Nations said. Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by wide-ranging explosive devices, including heavy artillery bombardment and multi-launcher missile systems, as well as rocket-propelled grenade and air bombardment, the United Nations said. – Reuters 9:35 a.m. ET
Russia blocks the German newspaper’s website
A man takes a copy of the German newspaper “Bild” from a stack in a newspaper shop in Berlin, June 22, 2012. THOMAS PETER / Reuters Russian authorities have blocked the website of the German newspaper Bild as part of their efforts to control the message about Ukraine. The communications and media regulator Roskomnadzor said on Sunday that it had blocked Bild’s website at the request of prosecutors. Instagram and Facebook had already been blocked in Russia after Roskomnadzor said they were being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers. Russian authorities have also blocked access to foreign media sites, including the BBC, the European-funded European news network Euronews, the government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, the German television station Deutsche Welle and the website. Meduza based in Latvia. Bild reports that it publishes on its website Russian-language reports on Russia’s war in Ukraine and its slide into “totalitarian dictatorship”, while some of the live videos have been subtitled in Russian. He noted that he also has a Telegram channel in Russian. Bild editor-in-chief Johannes Boyd said the decision to block its website in Russia “confirms our work in democracy, freedom and human rights”. – The Associated Press 9:00 a.m. ET
Russia may try to divide country, says Ukrainian military intelligence chief
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief says Russia could try to split Ukraine in two. Kyrylo Budanov said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had realized that he “could not swallow the whole country” and would probably try to divide the country according to the “Korean scenario”. This is a reference to the decades-old division between North and South Korea. Budanov said that “the occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and put them against an independent Ukraine.” He noted Russia’s efforts to establish parallel government structures in occupied cities and to ban people from using the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia. Budanov predicted that the Ukrainian resistance would turn into a “total” guerrilla war, derailing Russia’s efforts. – The Associated Press 8:45 a.m. ET
Macron cool in Biden’s comments on Putin, focuses on de-escalation
French President Emanuel Macron gestures to the media after a summit of European Union leaders amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Brussels, Belgium, March 25, 2022. JOHANNA GERON / Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron has distanced himself from US President Joe Biden’s comment that Vladimir Putin “can not stay in power”. It urges efforts to de-escalate tensions. Macron, who has spoken several times with the Russian president in hitherto unsuccessful peace efforts, is set to speak with Putin again on Sunday or Monday. “We have to be realistic and κάνουμε do everything we can to keep the situation under control,” Macron told France-3 television on Sunday when asked about Biden’s remarks. Macron said: “I would not use these terms, because I continue to talk to President Putin, because what we want to do collectively is that we want to stop the war that Russia started in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.” . He emphasized that the US was a key ally, adding that “we share many common values, but those who live next to Russia are the Europeans.” Macron said he would talk to Putin about a proposed humanitarian corridor to the besieged city of Mariupol, which was also discussed with Turkey and Greece. – The Associated Press 8:35 a.m. ET
US does not seek regime change despite Biden’s harsh remarks, Blinken says
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, March 27, 2022. POOL / The Associated Press Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken says the United States is not trying to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite strong condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Blinken spoke a day after President Joe Biden said of Putin during a speech in Warsaw: “For God’s sake, this man can not stay in power. “In a press conference in Jerusalem, Blinken said that Biden’s view was that Putin could not be authorized to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else.” He said the United States had repeatedly said that “we do not have a strategy for regime change in Russia or anywhere else on this issue.” “In this case, as in any case, it depends on the people of that country. “It’s in the hands of the Russian people,” Blinken said. – The Associated Press 8:10 a.m. ET
