Here are the latest updates on the war in Ukraine:
Ukraine could declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia to ensure peace “without delay,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Talks between the two countries are set to begin in Turkey this week. The mayor of Mariupol said on Monday that all civilians must be evacuated from the besieged city of Ukraine in order to escape a humanitarian catastrophe. 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.
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Video: Civilians clear rubble from school hit by rockets in Kharkov
Teachers, parents and older students gathered on Sunday (March 27th) to clear rubble and debris after a school rocket struck in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine. Reuters 8:50 a.m. ET
The EU wants to end the gold passport plans, it targets Russians
The European Commission on Monday urged EU member states to end gold passport schemes that allow wealthy people to buy the bloc’s citizenship and urge them to consider whether Russian Kremlin-linked oligarchs or supporters of the war in Ukraine should to be deprived of citizenship rights previously granted. The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against Cyprus and Malta in 2020 over their gold passport designs, and the Russian war in Ukraine has focused more on the issue. The Commission has warned that some Russian or Belarusian citizens among the 877 people targeted by property seizures and travel bans imposed since 2014 or supporting the Russian invasion of its neighbor may have acquired EU citizenship or in the Schengen area through them. systems. The EU executive arm said countries should now consider withdrawing gold passports issued to such individuals. In addition, he recommended the immediate removal of residence permits issued under an investment program to Russian or Belarusian citizens who support the war or are subject to sanctions. – The Associated Press 7:43 a.m. ET
China Says US Should Take Beijing Concerns Over Punishment of Economic Sanctions Against Russia
China, which has what it calls a “borderless” partnership with Moscow, has strongly opposed the sanctions, saying they would worsen the global economic outlook without ending the conflict. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a daily news release on Monday that China and other nations believe that “people of all countries have no responsibility to pay for geopolitical conflicts and games of great power.” “The problem now is not who wants to help Russia circumvent sanctions, but that normal economic and trade relations between countries, including China, and Russia have been damaged for no reason,” Wang said. “We urge the United States to take into account China’s concerns when dealing with Ukraine and its relations with Russia, and not to undermine China’s legitimate rights and interests in any way,” Wang said. – The Associated Press 6:40 a.m. ET
Biden’s remarks on Putin’s end are ‘worrying’, Kremlin says
US President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland, on March 26, 2022. EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / Reuters The Kremlin said Monday that US President Joe Biden’s remark that Vladimir Putin could not stay in power was a wake-up call, a measured response to a public outcry from the United States to end Putin’s 22-year rule. “In the name of God, this man can not stay in power,” Biden said at the end of his speech to a crowd in Warsaw on Saturday. He saw Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a battle in a much wider conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. The White House sought to clarify Biden’s remarks, and the president said Sunday that he had not called for a change of regime. Asked about Biden’s comment, which received little coverage on Russian state television, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said: “This is a statement that is certainly worrying.” “We will continue to monitor the US president’s statements more closely,” Peshkov told reporters. Putin has served as Russia’s top leader since Boris Yeltsin resigned in 1999. The Kremlin says Putin is a democratically elected president and that the Russian people – not the United States – decide who leads Russia. Biden’s remarks threatened to provoke accusations from top Russian officials that the United States wanted to overthrow Putin. -Reuters 6:06 a.m. ET
Kremlin says Russia-Ukraine talks may begin in Turkey on Tuesday
The Kremlin said peace talks between Russia and Ukraine could begin in Turkey on Tuesday and that it was important to hold them face-to-face, following what he described as a lack of significant progress in the negotiations so far. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed by telephone on Sunday that Istanbul should host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Turkey said talks could start on Monday, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said that was unlikely as negotiators would arrive in Turkey only on Monday. “While we can not and will not talk about progress in the talks, the fact that they will continue to take place in person is important, of course,” Peshkov told reporters in a teleconference. “We have a policy of not disclosing information about the talks, which we believe could only harm the negotiation process.” Peshkov added that no significant progress had been made in the talks themselves or in the idea of a possible meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Unfortunately we can not see real achievements or achievements (in the talks) so far,” he said. -Reuters 5:51 a.m. ET
The mayor of Mariupol demands the evacuation of all citizens
Damaged cars are seen in front of an apartment building that was damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 27, 2022. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / Reuters The mayor of Mariupol said on Monday that all civilians must be evacuated from the besieged Ukrainian city in order to escape a humanitarian catastrophe. Mayor Vadym Boichenko said 160,000 civilians were still trapped in the southern port city of the Azov Sea without heating or electricity after weeks of Russian bombing. He said 26 buses were waiting to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, which usually has a population of about 400,000, but Russian forces did not agree to give them a safe passage. He did not say where they were waiting. “The situation in the city remains difficult. “People are beyond the line of humanitarian catastrophe,” Boychenko told national television. “We must completely evacuate Mariupol.” He added: “The Russian Federation is playing with us. “We are in the hands of the invaders.” Read the whole story –Reuters 5:39 a.m. ET
Ukraine seeks peace “without delay” in talks, Zelensky says
Ukraine could declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia to ensure peace “without delay”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of another round of talks between the two sides – although he said only one-on-one meeting with the leader of Russia could end the war. In an interview with independent Russian media, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine’s priority is to secure its sovereignty and prevent Moscow from splitting it. However, he added: “Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state – we are ready to achieve it.” Zelensky has suggested so much in the past, but rarely so strongly. Russia has long urged Ukraine to abandon any hope of joining NATO’s Western alliance, which Moscow sees as a threat. Zelensky said the issue of neutrality, which would keep Ukraine out of NATO or other military alliances, should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after the withdrawal of Russian troops. “We have to reach an agreement with the president of the Russian Federation and in order to reach an agreement, he has to leave on foot… and come to meet me,” he said in an interview. Russia has banned its media from publishing. In an overnight speech to his nation, Zelensky said Ukraine was seeking peace “without delay” in talks due to begin this week in Turkey. – The Associated Press 5:30 a.m. ET
China’s ambassador to US says of all stakeholders in Ukraine, only China has Russia’s ear
Qin Gang’s comments on the Phoenix television channel, which has close ties to China’s ruling Communist Party, come as Beijing’s tacit support for Moscow comes under increasing scrutiny from Washington and others. China has refused to criticize, or even refer to, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He has also strongly opposed the punishment of economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West. Qin said China was in a unique position to help resolve what he called a “crisis” peacefully. “Right now, all stakeholders are in serious conflict with Russia except China. “Only China has the ear of Russia,” Qin said in an interview with the channel’s “Talk With World Leaders” program on Sunday. Qin blamed NATO expansion on the East for provoking Russia. “Russia is being deceived by NATO over its expansion to the east. “She feels threatened and cramped,” said Chin. While Beijing claims to be impartial in the conflict, Chinese state media have repeated Moscow’s false and unsubstantiated allegations. Phoenix itself has received attention for integrating a reporter with Russian troops that has created a steady stream of reports in favor of Moscow. -Reuters
