As Russia intensifies its assault on Ukraine, Turkey is hardening its criticism of Russia and heeding Kyiv’s calls for support – moves that some analysts suggest could threaten Turkey’s attempts to maintain good ties with both Moscow and Kyiv. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Ukraine and Western states appealed to the international community Monday to support a draft resolution at the United Nations General Assembly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and calling for an immediate cease-fire as Moscow’s forces stepped up their bombardment of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

“We are today at a crucial and historical moment,” European Union Ambassador Olof Skoog told member states on behalf of the 27 EU members. “Too many times in the past the international community has been blind or too slow in front of unfolding tragedies. Entire generations in many places around the world have paid and are still paying the price of inaction. We can’t make the same mistake again: We have to take action.”

The West and Ukraine framed the crisis before the body as an existential threat to the principles of the United Nations, the charter on which it was founded in 1945, and the international rules-based order.

“Now it is time to act, time to help Ukraine, that is paying the ultimate price for freedom and security for itself and of the world,” Ukraine envoy Sergiy Kyslytsya said. “If Ukraine does not survive, international peace will not survive. If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive — have no illusions. If Ukraine does not survive, we cannot be surprised if democracy fails next.”

Uniting for Peace resolution

The General Assembly is meeting under what is known as the Uniting for Peace resolution. It allows special meetings of the entire membership to be called when the U.N. Security Council is deadlocked on an issue and cannot exercise its mandate to maintain or restore international peace and security — in this case, because of Russia’s veto.

Although the council in practice has been divided on many issues, Uniting for Peace has been invoked fewer than a dozen times since it was adopted in 1950, according to the Security Council Report, which tracks U.N. meetings. The last time was 40 years ago, in 1982, concerning Israel.

The debate is likely to continue through Wednesday, as more than 100 countries have asked to take the floor. The United States is scheduled to speak toward the end of the debate, closer to the introduction of a draft resolution strongly condemning the Russian invasion and calling for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Moscow’s troops. Its language mimics the one that Russia vetoed in the Security Council on Friday.

A two-thirds majority of voting assembly members is needed to adopt the resolution.

Russia

Russia’s envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, said Moscow’s actions, which he said were made in self-defense, had been “distorted.” He also tried to paint Moscow’s invasion as a defense of the principles of the U.N. Charter.

“We are protecting ourselves from a nationalist threat, but Russia is also seeking to uphold the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter on the soil of Donbas and Ukraine, ensuring that the main goal of the United Nations is upheld — namely to prevent succeeding generations from a scourge of war,” Nebenzia said.

He denied that Russian troops were targeting civilians.

“We constantly hear lies, fakes about indiscriminate shelling of Ukrainian cities, hospitals, schools, kindergartens,” Nebenzia said. “The Russian army does not pose a threat to the civilians of Ukraine, is not shelling civilian areas.”

China

China was the only major Russian ally to speak Monday morning. The situation has evolved to a point that China does not wish to see, Ambassador Zhang Jun said.

“The Cold War has long ended,” he said. “The Cold War mentality based on bloc confrontation should be abandoned. Nothing can be gained from stirring up a new Cold War, but everyone will stand to lose.”

“It is our consistent and unequivocal position that all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected, and that the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter should be upheld,” the Chinese envoy added.

Other allies, including Syria, Belarus, Venezuela and North Korea, are scheduled to speak during the debate.

Peace talks amid refugee exodus

As delegates took to the podium, Russian and Ukrainian delegations were meeting in a border town in Belarus for the first direct talks to halt the fighting.

“This offers a ray of hope,” Abdulla Shahid, the president of the General Assembly, said. “We pray that these talks will calm down tempers and pave way to peace.”

The U.N.’s Human Rights Office said Monday that more than 400 civilian casualties have been reported, including more than 100 deaths. It said the real figure could be much higher as many reported casualties have yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, civilians continue to flee to safety. The U.N. refugee agency says the numbers are changing by the hour, but already more than a half million people have already crossed Ukraine’s borders, mostly toward Poland.

Some reports have emerged that non-white refugees have encountered difficulty accessing transport to leave and discrimination at the Polish border. Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski said that was not true.

“This is a complete lie and a terrible insult to us,” he said.

The Polish envoy said his government had organized trains to bring the elderly and mothers with children to Poland, sent aid convoys, and prepared hospital beds for the wounded and sick. In the past 24 hours, the first refugee babies had been born in Polish hospitals, he said.

Monday afternoon, the U.N. Security Council will hold another meeting on the situation, this time to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and the High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi are both expected to deliver updates to the council.

France and Mexico are circulating a draft resolution calling for safe and unhindered humanitarian access, which will likely be put to a vote on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Department of State Monday announced it has suspended operations at the U.S. embassy in Minsk, Belarus, and authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency employees and family members at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia’s capital, Moscow.

In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the State Department took the steps due to security and safety issues stemming from “the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine.”

He said the department continually adjusts its posture at embassies and consulates throughout the world based on the local security environment, and the health situation.

Blinken said, “We ultimately have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens, and that includes our U.S. government personnel and their dependents serving around the world.”

Separately, the United States updated its travel advisories for Belarus and Russia to Level 4-“Do Not Travel” status, citing Russia’s military attack on Ukraine. Russia has held troop drills in Belarus, using it as a staging ground to target Ukraine from the north.

Earlier in February, the U.S. embassy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, relocated operations to the western city of Lyiv amid the Russia-Ukraine tensions.

Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Jamie Dettmer also contributed to this report.
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The U.N. Human Rights Council has overwhelmingly approved a request to hold an urgent debate later this week on the crisis in Ukraine stemming from the Russian invasion of that country.

The proposal was approved by 29 countries in the 47-member council. Thirteen countries abstained and five – China, Cuba, Eritrea, Russia and Venezuela, voted against the proposal.

The vote took place after an impassioned plea by Yevheniia Filipenko, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva. She called on the Council to hold Russia accountable for what she called an unprovoked, unjustified attack on her country.

In just four days, she said the toll of destruction in Ukraine has become devastating. She said 352 people, including 16 children, have been killed, and some 1,700 people have been wounded, including 160 children. She said Russian bombing of civilian infrastructure, roads and bridges has left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and water and cut off communities.

“Russian forces attempt to sow panic among the population by specifically targeting kindergartens and orphanages, hospitals, and mobile medical aid brigades, thus committing acts that may amount to war crimes. And Ukraine has filed the case against Russia in the International Court of Justice to bring Russia to account,” said Filipenko.

The Russian ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, accused Ukraine of committing multiple atrocities against people living in Ukraine’s southeastern Donetsk and Lukansk regions. He speaks through an interpreter.

Gatilov said, ”Before us we have nothing other than the usual attempt of Kyiv to distract attention, the attention of the international community away from what they have been doing for nearly eight years now, which is the targeted destruction of completely innocent people in Donetsk and Lukansk—women, children and the elderly.”

Since 2014, more than 14,000 people in Donetsk and Luhansk have been killed in fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the two rebel republics a week ago.

Western governments condemned this action. They said Putin’s decision to send so-called peacekeepers to safeguard the sovereignty and independence of this separatist region was a pretext to invade Ukraine.

The Human Rights Council opened a five-week session Monday. It has decided to hold the urgent debate on the “situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression” on Thursday.

This follows a three-day high-level segment with the participation of heads of state and other dignitaries from more than 140 countries.
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Russia’s future in the World Cup teetered on a knife-edge Monday after FIFA plans to allow them to play on neutral territory were dismissed as “unacceptable” by rivals, plunging the qualifying process for football’s showpiece event into chaos.

Governing body FIFA warned that they were considering the ultimate sanction against Russia as punishment for their bloody invasion of Ukraine.

However, after three days of silence, they stopped short and ordered Russia to play home internationals at neutral venues where their national flag and anthem would be banned.

Russian teams would be known as the Football Union of Russia.

FIFA said dialogue with other sports organizations to determine additional measures “including potential exclusion from competitions” would continue.

However, within minutes of the announcement, the Polish FA insisted they would not play Russia in a scheduled World Cup play-off, regardless of the venue.

“Today’s FIFA decision is totally unacceptable,” tweeted Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza.

“We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will NOT PLAY with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is.”

Poland is due to play in Moscow on March 24 with the winners to host either the Czech Republic or Sweden five days later.

The draw for the World Cup finals, to be staged in Qatar in November and December, is on April 1.

Sweden and the Czech Republic followed suit.

“We have previously made it known that we do not want to face Russia under these circumstances [following the invasion] and this remains the case until further notice,” said Swedish FA president Karl-Erik Nilsson.

‘Displeased’ with FIFA

He added he was “displeased” with FIFA’s decision.

The Czech FA added: “There will be no change in the Czech national team’s standpoint.”

In response, FIFA said in a statement that it had “taken good note of the positions expressed via social media by the Polish Football Association, the Football Association of the Czech Republic and the Swedish Football Association.”

“FIFA will remain in close contact to seek to find appropriate and acceptable solutions together,” it said.

French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet led calls on Sunday for Russia to be kicked out of the World Cup.

“The world of sport, and especially football, cannot remain neutral. I certainly would not oppose the expulsion of Russia,” Le Graet told Le Parisien newspaper.

France are the World Cup holders after winning the 2018 tournament which was hosted by Russia.

The English FA said their national teams would not play any games against Russia “out of solidarity with Ukraine and to wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities being committed by the Russian leadership.”

The Welsh FA said they too would join a boycott as it “stands in solidarity with Ukraine and feels an extreme amount of sadness and shock to the recent developments in the country.”

‘Football Stands Together’

European governing body UEFA on Friday stripped the Champions League final from Saint Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena on May 28 and switched it to the Stade de France in Paris.

At Wembley on Sunday, Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson carried flowers in Ukraine’s yellow and blue colors before kick-off in the League Cup final.

Both teams stood for a minute’s applause, while a scoreboard message in yellow and blue blazed “Football Stands Together” and Liverpool and Chelsea fans were seen with Ukraine flags.

One banner in blue and yellow read “You’ll never walk alone” in reference to Liverpool’s terrace anthem.

Chelsea also said they were “praying for peace” after owner Roman Abramovich’s decision to hand over control of the Premier League club.

The Russian-Israeli billionaire announced on Saturday that he was handing the “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation. But he will remain as owner.

There was no mention in his statement of the crisis in Ukraine.

Chelsea released a 24-word statement on their website Sunday but omitted any reference to Russia or its president, Vladimir Putin.

“The situation in Ukraine is horrific and devastating,” the statement said. “Chelsea FC’s thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine. Everyone at the club is praying for peace.”

It is understood that Abramovich, who allegedly has links to the Kremlin, took the decision to step aside in order to protect Chelsea from reputational damage as the war rages in Ukraine.

Sporting anger wasn’t just limited to football.

In Cairo, Ukraine on Sunday withdrew from the world fencing championships to avoid facing Russia, downing their swords and displaying protest signs saying “Stop Russia! Stop the war!” and “Save Ukraine! Save Europe.”

Swimming’s governing body FINA cancelled the world junior championships in Russia due to take place in August and said no other events will be held in the country “if this grave crisis continues.”

Swimming Australia on Monday welcomed the cancellation and said it would be boycotting all competitions in Russia.
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Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in the post-Soviet era.

The Russian currency plunged about 30% against the U.S. dollar Monday after Western nations announced moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and to restrict Russia’s use of its massive foreign currency reserves. The exchange rate later recovered ground after swift action by Russia’s central bank.  

People wary that sanctions would deal a crippling blow to the economy have been flocking to banks and ATMs for days, with reports in social media of long lines and machines running out.  

Moscow’s department of public transport warned city residents over the weekend that they might experience problems with using Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay to pay fares because VTB, one of the Russian banks facing sanctions, handles card payments in Moscow’s metro, buses and trams.  

A sharp devaluation of the ruble would mean a drop in the standard of living for the average Russian, economists and analysts said. Russians are still reliant on a multitude of imported goods and the prices for those items are likely to skyrocket. Foreign travel would become more expensive as their rubles buy less currency abroad. And the deeper economic turmoil will come in the coming weeks if price shocks and supply-chain issues cause Russian factories to shut down due to lower demand.  

“It’s going to ripple through their economy really fast,” said David Feldman, a professor of economics at William & Mary in Virginia. “Anything that is imported is going to see the local cost in currency surge. The only way to stop it will be heavy subsidization.”

The Russian government will have to step in to support declining industries, banks and economic sectors, but without access to hard currencies like the U.S. dollar and euro, they may have to result to printing more rubles. It’s a move that could quickly spiral into hyperinflation.  

The ruble slide recalled previous crises. The currency lost much of its value in the early 1990s after the end of the Soviet Union, with inflation and loss of value leading the government to lop three zeros off ruble notes in 1997. Then came a further drop after a 1998 financial crisis in which many depositors lost savings and yet another plunge in 2014 due to falling oil prices and sanctions imposed after Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

Russia’s central bank immediately stepped in to try to halt the slide of the ruble. It sharply raised its key interest rate Monday in a desperate attempt to shore up the currency and prevent a run on banks.  

The bank hiked the benchmark rate to 20% from 9.5%. That followed a Western decision Sunday to freeze Russia’s hard currency reserves, an unprecedented move that could have devastating consequences for the country’s financial stability.  

It was unclear exactly what share of Russia’s estimated $640 billion hard currency pile, some of which is held outside Russia, would be paralyzed by the decision. European officials said that at least half of it will be affected.

That dramatically raised pressure on the ruble by undermining financial authorities’ ability to support it by using reserves to purchase rubles.  

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the new sanctions that included a freeze on Russia’s hard currency reserves as “heavy,” but argued Monday that “Russia has the necessary potential to compensate the damage.”

The central bank ordered other measures to help banks cope with the crisis by infusing more cash into the financial system and easing restrictions for banking operations. At the same time, it temporarily barred non-residents from selling the government obligations to help ease the pressure on the ruble from panicky foreign investors trying to cash out of such investments.  

The steps taken to support the ruble are themselves painful since raising interest rates can hold back growth by making it more expensive for companies to get credit.

The ruble sank about 30% against the U.S. dollar early Monday but steadied after the central bank’s move. Earlier, it traded at a record low of 105.27 per dollar, down from about 84 per dollar late Friday, before recovering to 98.22.

Sanctions announced last week had taken the Russian currency to its lowest level against the dollar in history. 
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Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup, the scandal-plagued 2014 Winter Olympics and Gazprom’s sponsorship of the Champions League were powerful tools for the country’s global image and gained Vladimir Putin prestige amongst the Russian population.

However, the Russian president’s decision to invade Ukraine has resulted in destroying the warm global afterglow and experts believe it could cost him dearly internally.

Saint Petersburg has already been stripped of hosting this year’s Champions League final with Gazprom’s reported 40-million-euro ($45 million) a year sponsorship deal with UEFA also in doubt. 

The Russian Formula One Grand Prix has been cancelled and there are calls for the country’s football team to be expelled from the 2022 World Cup play-offs. 

“Sport has always had a tremendous impact on society,” Michael Payne, former head of marketing at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), told AFP. 

“The South African sports boycott over apartheid probably had as much or greater impact than economic sanctions, over forcing regime policy change.”

For Hugh Robertson, Chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), a blanket sports ban could affect Putin’s standing domestically.  

“Sport is disproportionately important to absolutist regimes,” he told AFP. 

“The potential inability to compete would hit Russia hard.”

Payne, who in nearly two decades at the IOC was widely credited with transforming its brand and finances through sponsorship, said Putin risked his standing with his own people. 

“Putin may not care what the rest of the world thinks of him, but he has to care what the Russian people think of him,” said the Irishman.

“Lose their support and it is game over -– and the actions of the sports community has the potential to be a very important influencer towards the Russian people.”

‘A greater good’ 

Prominent Russian sports stars have not been shy in voicing their disquiet over Putin’s invasion.

Andrey Rublev, who won the Dubai ATP title on Saturday, veteran Russian football international Fedor Smolov, United States-based ice hockey great Alex Ovechkin and cyclist Pavel Sivakov, who rides for the Ineos team have all expressed a desire for peace. 

“Russian athletes speaking out to their national fan base, will only serve to further prompt the local population to question the actions of their leadership, and undermine the local national support for the war,” said Payne. 

However, another former IOC marketing executive Terrence Burns, who since leaving the organization has played a key role in five successful Olympic bid city campaigns, has doubts about their impact.

“You are making the assumption that Russian people actually see, read, and hear ‘real news’,” he told AFP. 

“I do not believe that is the case. The Government will portray Russia as a victim of a great global conspiracy led by the USA and the West. 

“It is an old Russian trope they have used quite effectively since the Soviet days.”

Burns says sadly the athletes must also be punished for their government’s aggression.

“I believe that Russia must pay the price for what it has done,” he said.

“Sadly, that has to include her athletes as well. 

“Many people, like me, believed that by helping them host the Olympics and World Cup could somehow open and liberalize the society, creating new paths of progress for Russia’s young people. Again, we were wrong.”

Robertson too says allowing Russians to compete when Ukrainians are unable to due to the conflict is “morally inconceivable.” 

Payne says individual sports have to look at a bigger moral picture than their own potential losses over cutting Russian sponsorship contracts. 

“The sports world risks losing far more by not reacting, than the loss of one or two Russian sponsors.” 

Former British lawmaker Robertson, who as Minister for Sport and the Olympics delivered the highly successful 2012 London Games, agrees. 

“The sporting world may have to wean itself off Russian money,” said the 59-year-old.

“Over the past few days, it has become apparent that political, economic and trade sanctions will hurt the West as well as Russia, but this is a price that we will have to pay to achieve a greater good.”

For Robertson sport could not stand idly by in response to Russia’s invasion. 

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine will impact sport but the consequences of inaction, or prevarication, will be far more serious.” 
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Belarusians voted Monday to allow the country to host nuclear weapons and Russian forces permanently, results showed, part of a package of constitutional reforms that also extended the rule of leader Alexander Lukashenko.

The referendum was held Sunday as the ex-Soviet country’s neighbor Ukraine is under attack from Russian troops and delegations from Moscow and Kyiv are expected to meet for talks on the Belarusian border.

Central Election Commission head Igor Karpenko said 65.16% of referendum participants voted in favor of the amendments and 10.07% voted against, Russian news agencies reported.

According to Karpenko, voter turnout stood at 78.63%. 

To come into force, the amendments need to receive at least 50% of the vote with a turnout of over half the electorate.

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, promised the referendum in the wake of historic protests against his disputed re-election in 2020.

By amending the constitution Lukashenko, 67, follows in the footsteps of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in 2020 oversaw a vote on constitutional changes that made it possible for him to remain in power until 2036.

The constitutional changes also grant immunity to former leaders for crimes committed during their term in office.

Russia is a key ally of Belarus and last week Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine from the north. 

Belarus inherited a number of Soviet nuclear warheads following the break-up of the USSR in 1991, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative think tank, which it then transferred to Russia.

Lukashenko first floated possible changes after a presidential vote in August 2020 sparked unprecedented demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown.

He claimed a sixth term in the vote and imprisoned leading opposition figures, while his main rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was forced to seek refuge in neighboring Lithuania.

The amendments would reinstate presidential term limits — previously ditched by Lukashenko — to two five-year terms, but they would only apply to the next elected president.

Were Lukashenko to put himself forward as a candidate for re-election in 2025, he could remain in power for an additional 10 years.

Tikhanovskaya’s office in Lithuania has hit out at the vote, saying that a sweeping crackdown on any dissenting voices since the 2020 election made any real discussion of the proposals impossible.
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FIFA drew a swift backlash from European nations for not immediately expelling Russia from World Cup qualifying Sunday and only ordering the country to play without its flag and anthem at neutral venues under the name of its federation — the Football Union of Russia.

Protesting against FIFA’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland said it would still refuse to play the country in a World Cup playoff semifinal, which is scheduled for March 24.

“Today’s FIFA decision is totally unacceptable,” Polish football federation president Cezary Kulesza tweeted. “We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will NOT PLAY with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is.”

 

The unanimous ruling by the FIFA Bureau, featuring the six regional football confederation presidents, said the Russian flag and anthem can’t be associated with the team playing as “Football Union of Russia (RFU).”

“FIFA will continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, UEFA and other sport organizations to determine any additional measures or sanctions,” FIFA said in a statement, “including a potential exclusion from competitions, that shall be applied in the near future should the situation not be improving rapidly.”

The decision adopts the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling before the invasion of Ukraine, punishing Russia’s cover-up of the investigation into state-sponsored doping. It meant the Russians had to compete at the last two Olympics as the ROC team. FIFA had stalled implementing the ban on Russia competing under the country’s name until a potential qualification for the World Cup.

The winner of the Russia-Poland playoff is due to host Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 to decide who advances to the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar.

Swedish federation president Karl-Erik Nilsson, the senior UEFA vice president, told the website Fotbollskanalen that he was not satisfied with the FIFA decision with a “sharper stance” expected. The Czechs said the FIFA compromise did not change their decision not to play Russia.

FIFA said it had engaged with the three associations and would remain in “close contact to seek to find appropriate and acceptable solutions together.”

Separately, the English Football Association announced that its national teams would refuse to play Russia for the “foreseeable future.” Russia has qualified for the Women’s European Championship which is being hosted by England in June.

The English FA said the decision was taken “out of solidarity with the Ukraine and to wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities being committed by the Russian leadership.”

The RFU’s president is Aleksandr Dyukov, who is chief executive of a subsidiary of state-owned energy giant Gazprom and also sits on the UEFA executive committee.

In France, the football federation president Noël Le Graët told the Le Parisien daily Sunday that he was leaning toward excluding Russia from the World Cup.

“The world of sport, and in particular football, cannot remain neutral,” said Le Graët, who sits on the ruling FIFA Council and has recently been a close ally of the governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino.

A strict reading of FIFA’s World Cup regulations would even make the Polish, Swedish and Czech federations liable to disciplinary action and having to pay fines and compensation if they wouldn’t play Russia.

In 1992, however, FIFA and UEFA removed Yugoslavia from its competitions following United Nations sanctions imposed when war broke out in the Balkans.  

The FIFA Bureau, which is chaired by Infantino, includes UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine entered a fourth day on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin temporarily lost his most senior official position in world sports. The International Judo Federation cited “the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine” for suspending Putin’s honorary president status.

The Russian president is a keen judoka and attended the sport at the 2012 London Olympics.

There was an abrupt resignation Sunday from the Russian who is president of the European Judo Union, with Sergey Soloveychik referencing the “heartache that we see the people in brotherly countries die” but backing his country.

“No one doubts that my heart belongs to judo,” he said. “But it is equally true that it belongs to my homeland, Russia. We, judoka, must always be loyal to our principles.”

In Putin’s other favorite sport, ice hockey, Latvian club Dinamo Riga withdrew Sunday from the Russian-owned and run Kontinental Hockey League citing the “military and humanitarian crisis.”
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U.S. citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately on commercial flights, the State Department said Sunday, citing an increasing number of airlines canceling flights and countries closing their airspace to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

“U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available,” said a security alert dated Feb. 27 on the website of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

It has asked U.S. citizens to have “a contingency plan that does not rely on U.S. government assistance.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two, has unleashed a barrage of Western reprisals, with U.S. and European governments imposing sanctions on Russian banks and financial institutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the attack a “special operation” through which he aims to demilitarize Moscow’s southern neighbor.

The State Department has kept its travel advisory for Russia at “Level 4: Do Not Travel.” On Feb. 20, the U.S. embassy in Moscow had advised Americans in the country to have an evacuation plan, citing the threat of attacks in Moscow and along the Russian border with Ukraine.
…

Thousands of people are fleeing war in eastern Ukraine for the relative safety of its western border with Poland, only to find that a punishing new ordeal awaits.

By Sunday afternoon, an unmoving line of cars, buses and trucks stretched for 35 km (22 miles) from the border crossing at Shehyni, all packed with people and belongings, all waiting their turn to squeeze through the overburdened border checkpoint to Poland.

Hundreds of other people headed for the border on foot, trudging along the highway’s trash-strewn verge in sub-zero temperatures with children, pets and whatever possessions they had the strength left to carry.

“Last night we moved 100 meters,” said Anastasia Dymtruk, 31, who had slept in her car for three nights along with her friend’s family, who she was ferrying to safety.

“It is unimaginable that this is happening to my country, to my people,” said Dymtruk, an English teacher from Lutsk, in northwestern Ukraine. “It’s a mess.”

There was a disproportionate number of women and children among the crowds. Ukrainian men aged 18-60 are forbidden to leave the country in case they are needed for its defense.

Among those walking toward Poland were Valerie Marenchika and her daughters, aged 9 and 7. The younger one wept inconsolably.

It had taken her two days to get here from Kyiv – an eight-hour drive in normal times. “There’s a lot of bombing there,” she said. “It wasn’t safe for my family anymore.”

Marenchika’s husband had remained in Kyiv. “He stayed to help the people. And if he has to, he will fight.”

She planned to stay with her sister in Poland.

‘Difficult To Keep Quiet And Calm’

By late afternoon the temperature plunged and a hail storm began. Amid the anxiety and exhaustion there was stoicism and kindness.

Volunteers had set up stalls to serve up hot soup and tea, or handed out snacks and other supplies. One woman cut up sausages and bread on a blanket laid on the bonnet of her white Mercedes.

Other volunteers donned fluorescent vests to direct traffic or stop cars suspected of pushing in, a source of growing agitation for those waiting in line.

“As the time passes it gets more and more difficult to keep quiet and calm,” said Dymtruk, the English teacher.

Abdullah Elkobbi, 21, had just arrived in a town near the border after a 26-hour journey from Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine. He hailed from Marrakesh in Morocco and had studied medicine in Dnipro for three years.

Elkobbi was traveling with 11 other medical students – all Moroccans – and with his two kittens, Stella and Santa, tucked into his coat.

He said Ukrainian solders had told him he could not go to the border. “We’ll stay here tonight and walk to the border in the morning,” he said.

Elkobbi said he was leaving reluctantly. “I love this country,” he said. “I’m so sad that it will be destroyed.”

Mila Liubchenko, 39, an IT manager, fled Kyiv on Saturday after a rocket fell near her 24th-floor apartment, rattling its windows.

She took a train from Kyiv and then a bus, which was now lined up with a dozen others about 3 km from the border.

Liubchenko hoped to make it to Warsaw and then to Paris, for a reunion with her American boyfriend.

She was gloomy about the prospects for Ukraine. “Knowing how (Russian President Vladimir) Putin sees us, we’re in big trouble. There won’t be real peace in our country for years, maybe decades.”
…

From Moscow to Siberia, Russian anti-war activists took to the streets again Sunday to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite the arrests of hundreds of protesters each day by police.

Demonstrators held pickets and marched in city centers, chanting “No to war!” as President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent to be put on high alert, upping the ante in the Kremlin’s standoff with the West and stoking fears of a nuclear war.

“I have two sons and I don’t want to give them to that bloody monster. War is a tragedy for all of us,” 48-year-old Dmitry Maltsev, who joined the rally in St. Petersburg, told The Associated Press.

Protests against the invasion started Thursday in Russia and have continued daily ever since, even as Russian police have moved swiftly to crack down on the rallies and detain protesters. The Kremlin has sought to downplay the protests, insisting that a much broader share of Russians support the assault on Ukraine.

In St. Petersburg, where several hundred gathered in the city center, police in full riot gear were grabbing one protester after another and dragging some into police vans, even though the demonstration was peaceful. Footage from Moscow showed police throwing several female protesters on the ground before dragging them away.

According to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests, by Sunday evening police detained at least 1,474 Russians in 45 cities over anti-war demonstrations that day.

Four days into the the fighting that has killed scores, Putin raised the stakes dramatically on Sunday, ordering the military Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, citing Western countries “taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere” and “top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country.”

The day before, the U.S. and its European allies have warned that the coming round of sanctions could include freezing hard currency reserves of Russia’s Central Bank and cutting Russia off SWIFT international payment system. The unprecedented move could quickly plunge the Russian economy into chaos.

Ordinary Russians fear that stiff sanctions will deliver a crippling blow to the country’s economy. Since Thursday, Russians have been flocking to banks and ATMs to withdraw cash, creating long lines and reporting on social media about ATM machines running out of bills.

According to Russia’s Central Bank, on Thursday alone Russians withdrew 111 billion rubles (about $1.3 billion) in cash.

The anti-war protests on Sunday appeared smaller and more scattered than the ones that took place on the first day of Russia’s attack in Ukraine, when thousands of people rallied in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but their true scale was hard to assess and they seemed to pick up speed as the day went on.

“It is a crime both against Ukraine and Russia. I think it is killing both Ukraine and Russia. I am outraged, I haven’t slept for three nights, and I think we must now declare very loudly that we don’t want to be killed and don’t want Ukraine to be killed,” said Olga Mikheeva, who protested in the Siberian city of Irkutsk.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be hotly debated during the five-week U.N. Human Rights Council session that begins Monday. 

Heads of state and other dignitaries representing more than 140 countries will address the U.N. Human Rights Council over the next three days. Quite unusually, this high-level segment will begin with a consideration of a request from Ukraine to hold an urgent debate on the “situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression.”

The council’s president, Argentinian Ambassador Federico Villegas, told journalists in Geneva that an urgent debate can take place as soon as the 47-member body decides to do so.

“And has to make a decision according to the rules of procedure, which is a consensus or a vote with a majority of positive votes over negative votes. … We had the most recent, I am sure you are very much aware in 2020, Belarus was an urgent debate, and the killing of George Floyd was also an urgent debate,” he said.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said he hoped the council would immediately address the issue if war broke out, noting the council has the capacity to help prevent war crimes.

“With respect to Ukraine, I do not see it is the council’s role to try to stop a war. That is the Security Council. But if war breaks out the council is really the leading venue to address how the war is fought and… if there are large-scale war crimes then it is the council’s role to spotlight the war crimes with the aim of deterring them,” he said.

During the session, the council will consider more than 100 reports dealing with issues such as torture, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary detention. The human rights records of some 50 countries in all regions will be examined. They include Myanmar, North Korea, Syria, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Human rights organizations are pressuring U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet to present a long-awaited report on China’s incarceration of more than a million Uyghurs in internment camps in Xinjiang province.

The United States, France, and Lithuania have denounced Beijing’s wide-scale repression of Uyghurs as a genocide. China vigorously denies these accusations.
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Fears are mounting that Russian forces will turn more to targeting critical civilian infrastructure and mount indiscriminate shelling as the defenders of Kyiv maintain their resistance and hold ground despite redoubled Kremlin efforts to subjugate Ukraine’s capital.

Some critical civilian infrastructure has already been hit and the Ukrainian military said it intercepted a missile heading for a nearby dam, which if breached could have caused major flooding of low-lying districts near the Dnieper River.

Russian forces also targeted a radioactive waste disposal site in Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities say.

“I think today we’ve seen a shift in Russian targeting towards critical civilian infrastructure, greater use of MLRS [multiple rocket launchers], and artillery in suburban areas,” tweeted Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at CNA, an American defense research organization.

“Unfortunately, my concern that this was going to get a lot more ugly and affect civilians is starting to materialize,” he added.

In the dam incident, the Ukrainian military said it managed to shoot down a Russian missile heading toward the Kyiv Reservoir dam Saturday.

“If the dam is destroyed, the flood will lead to catastrophic casualties and damage, including flooding of residential areas in Kyiv and the suburbs,” the Infrastructure Ministry said on Telegram.

Water experts say if the dam north of the city is breached, it could trigger a cascade effect, causing other key dams to fail. There are even concerns that a nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhya, about 550 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, could be affected.

Russian forces Saturday targeted an oil depot southwest of the city at Vasylkiv as Ukrainian forces repulsed a Russian assault on the capital.

Local authorities say Ukrainian forces are battling saboteurs and Russian special operations forces units who have infiltrated the capital. The Ukrainian government has reported 198 civilian deaths, including children, since the Russia’s invasion, but they caution the numbers could be higher. Ukrainian authorities say at least 1,200 civilians have been injured.

Six people, including a 7-year-old girl, were killed in Russian shelling in Okhtyrka, in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine, Governor Dmitry Zhivitsky said Sunday. And in the south of the country the Russian military launched drones strikes in Odessa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, head of the regional administration.

The Ukrainian military says it has inflicted heavy losses on Russia, saying its forces have managed to destroy 16 warplanes, 18 helicopters, 102 tanks, 504 armored vehicles and a Buk-1 missile system. They estimate they have killed 3,000 Russian soldiers and captured 200. VOA is unable to vouch for the accuracy of the claims.

Sunday morning the Ukrainians blew up a bridge on the northwest of Kyiv to try to hinder Russian forces.

Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told reporters that while a Russian delegation had arrived in Gomel in Belarus for peace talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected a Russian offer of talks in Belarus on Sunday. Podolyak said Zelenskyy is open to negotiations elsewhere — the Ukrainians have suggested Warsaw, which is being refused by the Russians.

Zelenskyy described the fighting overnight in Kyiv and across the country as “brutal” in a statement Sunday. He said Russian occupying forces are “attacking civilian areas” where there is no military infrastructure. He said Russia is now “attacking everything,” including ambulances.

As worries mounted in Kyiv of a shift in Russian targeting from mainly military infrastructure, locals Sunday reported fierce street fighting in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, where overnight shelling of residential districts preceded the entry of Russian ground forces.

Despite the Russian breach of Kharkiv, local Ukrainian commanders say they will continue to resist.

“There has been a breakthrough in light equipment including in the central part of the city,” Oleg Sinegubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, announced, urging local residents to stay in shelters. He said Russian troops were still being blocked amid heavy fighting.

As in Kharkiv and Kyiv, so too elsewhere in the country defiance remains high — with resistance symbolized for many by a video posted on social media showing a Ukrainian civilian in Bakhmach in northern Ukraine attempting to stop a Russian tank by pushing against it.

In the video, the man first climbs on to the tank before jumping down and attempting to push it back, after that he kneels in front in a desperate bid to stop its advance. VOA cannot confirm the authenticity of the video, nonetheless it is one of many posted that Ukrainians point to as inspirational.

Ukrainian forces have notched up some significant successes. Zelenskyy aides confirmed that a convoy of Chechen special operations forces was intercepted near Hostomel and wiped out. Ukrainian forces have downed a cruise missile fired by a Russian Tu-22 strategic bomber from the territory of Belarus, Valery Zaluzhny, chief commander of the armed forces, said Sunday.

For civilians in cities and towns under siege — and even in towns unaffected directly by the fighting — getting basic goods and staples is becoming increasingly difficult. Many stores have closed, and supplies are difficult for owners to maintain. Village stores seem better supplied, being able to stock up with local produce, as witnessed by this VOA correspondent.

Seventy-two hours since the Russian invasion, Western experts estimate 80% of the country is still in Ukrainian hands, with around half of the forces Russian leader Vladimir Putin deployed along Ukraine’s borders now in action.

Franz-Stefan Gady, an analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank in London, says the Russians are having to throw in more second-echelon units because “Ukrainian forces by and large are fighting orderly delaying actions; morale remains very high; air-defenses still operational; air force remains active.”

He says Ukraine’s mechanized forces are managing to mount counterattacks and that a race is on for Ukrainian forces to beat an orderly retreat from the East, where the bulk of Ukrainian forces have been deployed, to cross the Dnieper River and establish fresh defensive positions where possible. The Russian tactic seems to be to avoid losing contact with major Ukrainian units and to encircle major cities, as they are trying to do with Kyiv, and probe for weaknesses.

He, too, worries about the likelihood of mounting civilian casualties.

“Expect very heavy fighting and a noticeable increase in Russian ground-based mass fires to break Ukrainian resistance. This will be absolutely devastating for the civilian population, if caught in crossfires,” he tweeted.

The U.N. Refugee Agency said Sunday that more than 200,000 Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries. Tens of thousands more are waiting on Poland’s borders to enter, with many more trying to make it across the country, as witnessed by this VOA correspondent during a journey from Kyiv to Lviv that took two days.

As blasts and explosions echoed around Kyiv, Zelenskyy, wearing olive green military-style clothing, assured residents of the capital that he remains with them.

“I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,” he said. “Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this,” he added.

The country’s 44-year-old leader also said the country’s steadfast resistance has “derailed” a Russian plan to establish a puppet state in Ukraine. 
…

Russian troops continued to battle Ukrainian defense forces and citizen soldiers for control of Kyiv, the capital, and other cities Sunday, the fourth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sunday Russian troops entered Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where they encountered heavy resistance.

Ukraine’s top prosecutor, Iryna Venediktova, said the Russian forces have been unable to take Kharkiv, about 40 kilometers from the Russian border. She said a fierce battle is underway, according to The Associated Press.

Early Sunday the Ukrainian president’s office reported an explosion in Kharkiv and said Russian forces had blown up a gas pipeline.

The explosion could cause an “environmental catastrophe,” it said, urging residents to cover their windows with damp cloth or gauze and to drink plenty of fluids.

There are also reports of shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which has been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would enter peace talks with Russia but has ruled out meeting with a Russian delegation in Belarus, where Russia has already sent officials for talks.

Zelenskyy said Belarus is unacceptable because Russia has used it to launch attacks on Ukraine.

Western allies are responding to Zelenskyy’s call for help. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday his country will send Ukraine 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles “as quickly as possible,” and the French presidential office said France will send defensive weapons and fuel.

“The anti-war coalition is working,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, meanwhile, has posted a notice on Twitter inviting foreign nationals to join in Ukraine’s battle against Russia.

 

Lines of vehicles clogged Ukraine’s borders as refugees continued to leave the country. The United Nations Refugee Agency said Sunday more than 200,000 had fled, half of them to Poland, and up to 4 million could flee if the situation worsens.

US sees ‘viable Ukrainian resistance’

“We continue to believe, based on what we have observed, that this resistance is greater than what the Russians expected … particularly in the north parts of Ukraine,” a U.S. Defense Department official told reporters Saturday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence.

A senior U.S. defense official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence, said Russian forces had unleashed a barrage of more than 200 ballistic and cruise missiles since the invasion began, most of them targeting the Ukrainian military.

“They’re meeting more resistance than they expected,” the U.S. official said.

Amnesty International said Russia may have committed war crimes with its invasion of Ukraine, showing “blatant disregard for civilian lives by using ballistic missiles and other explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said in a statement.

Russian claims

Russian officials countered Friday that their forces had made solid progress in what they described as an effort to eliminate a terrorist threat.

 

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov claimed Saturday that since the start of Russia’s attack, its military had hit 821 Ukrainian military facilities, 87 tanks and other targets.

Konashenkov claimed the Russian military has taken full control of the southern city of Melitopol, 35 kilometers inland from the Azov Sea coast and said Russia-backed separatists have made significant gains in the eastern region of Donbas.

On the ground in Ukraine

Western officials cautioned that the situation was fluid and noted that things could change rapidly. They now estimate that half of the 190,000 Russian troops along the Ukrainian border had entered the fighting.

At least 198 Ukrainians have been killed in the invasion, including three children, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency, which cited Ukraine’s Health Ministry. It was unclear whether the figure included only civilian deaths.

Ukraine said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, while Russia did not disclose casualty figures.

Small anti-war protests continued in several Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Russian independent human rights media project OVD-Info reported that more than 489 people had been detained.

National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin, VOA Refugee Correspondent Heather Murdock in Kyiv, Jamie Dettmer in Lviv, Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine and VOA’s Wayne Lee contributed to this report.

Also some information in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
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The United Nations Security Council is due to vote Sunday to call for a rare emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which would be held on Monday, diplomats said.

The vote by the 15-member council is procedural so none of the five permanent council members – Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States – can wield their vetoes. The move needs nine votes in favor and is likely to pass, diplomats said.

Only 10 such emergency special sessions of the General Assembly have been convened since 1950. The request for a session on Ukraine comes after Russia vetoed on Friday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow’s invasion. China, India and UAE abstained, while the remaining 11 members voted in favor.

The General Assembly is expected to vote on a similar resolution following several days of statements by countries in the emergency special session, diplomats said. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but carry political weight.

The United States and allies are seeking as much support as possible to show Russia is internationally isolated.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in March 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. The resolution, which declared invalid a referendum on the status of Crimea, received 100 yes votes and 11 against. Two dozen countries didn’t vote and 58 abstained.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, telling him the world body plans to “enhance humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine,” a U.N. spokesperson said.

“He informed the President that the United Nations would launch on Tuesday an appeal to fund our humanitarian operations in Ukraine,” the U.N. spokesperson said in a statement.

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said Friday that more than $1 billion will be needed for aid operations in Ukraine over the next three months as hundreds of thousands of people are on the move after Russia invaded its neighbor.
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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EST:

 

2:11 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that Russian troops have entered Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, and there’s fighting in the streets.

1:44 a.m.: Protesters rallying in support of Ukraine pray in Australia.

1:12 a.m.: A show of support outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.

12:41 a.m.: Oil tanks burn after a massive explosion near Kyiv. CNN has video.

12:05 a.m.: A BBC reporter talks to women making Molotov cocktails in a park in Ukraine.

12:01 a.m.: Protests continue in Australia.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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In a sea of blue and yellow flags and banners, protesters around the world showed their support for the people of Ukraine on Saturday and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv, punish Russia and avoid a broader conflict.

Several hundred people marched through heavy rain in Sydney chanting “Ukraine will prevail,” while protesters in Tokyo called for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations Security Council.

Thousands of people were in the streets in Europe, with protesters – including many Ukrainians living abroad – in London, Nicosia, Berlin, Athens, Helsinki, Madrid and Milan draping themselves in flags and holding “Stop the war” placards.

“You look at the people gathered here and everybody is scared … We had peace for 80 years and all of a sudden, war is back in Europe,” said Stefan Pischel, among a crowd of some 2,500 in Munich’s Karlsplatz square.

A rally that organizers estimated to number 20,000 people was held in the Swiss capital of Bern. The Ukrainian flag flew over the seat of the city council.

Some called for the Swiss government to take tougher action against Russia and President Vladimir Putin, who said he ordered the “special military operation” not to occupy territory but to destroy Ukraine’s military capabilities and capture what the Kremlin regards as dangerous nationalists.

In Istanbul, Ukrainians living in Turkey sang their national anthem and held banners with images of bloody handprints.

“My family is in Kyiv region, and they are attacking Kyiv today. I don’t know what to do, what to think. I am calling them every 10 to 15 minutes,” a protester who gave her name as Victoria said.

“I hope the whole world will … just stand up and do something to protect our families.”

‘Not alone’

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the square in front of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, carrying signs such “Make Ukraine a member of NATO now” and “Say no to Putin.”

“I’m here because I’m extremely ashamed for my country of birth,” said Valery Bragar, a native Russian who has lived in Switzerland for 15 years and is now a Swiss citizen.

The protests come on the heels of other demonstrations around the world in the past days. In Latin America, protesters joined rallies on Friday in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru, chanting “Long live Ukraine.”

In Russia too, anti-war campaigners have defied warnings from the authorities to voice their anger. Police on Thursday detained more than 1,600 Russian protesters.

In Sydney, some speakers demanded the government expand sanctions against Moscow and ban Russian citizens from visiting Australia, while others called for NATO to step in.

“I want more economic sanctions on Russia, I want military help for Ukraine,” said Katarina, a protester who gave only her first name. “I want more action, more concrete action and less words. It’s too late for diplomacy right now.”

Several hundred Russian, Ukrainian and Japanese protesters gathered in the busy Shibuya shopping district in central Tokyo, many with their children and holding Ukrainian flags, chanting “Stop the war” and “Stop Putin” in Japanese and English.

“I just want to say, ‘Putin stop this, regain your sanity’,” said Hiroshi Sawada, a 58-year-old musician.

In India, some of the anger was directed toward NATO and the West. “The kind of aggression we are witnessing in Ukraine has been forced by U.S. through NATO, and also the Russian military forces who have entered Ukraine. Both are responsible for this situation,” student activist Neha said at a protest in New Delhi.
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After telling Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop” on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt proceeded to frustrate Bayern Munich in their Bundesliga game until substitute Leroy Sané scored late for the league leaders.

Frankfurt prominently displayed the message “STOP IT, PUTIN!” all around its stadium before kickoff, just one of several pointed messages across the league against Russia’s ongoing invasion of its neighbor.

Sané’s 71st-minute goal was enough for a 1-0 win that stretched Bayern’s lead to nine points before second-place Borussia Dortmund visits Augsburg on Sunday.

Bayern controlled the match but found it difficult to break through against a well-organized Frankfurt team that also had good opportunities through Filip Kostic and Evan Ndicka.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann sent Sané on in the 67th, four minutes before Joshua Kimmich combined with Jamal Musiala and played a through ball for Sané to finally beat Kevin Trapp in the Frankfurt goal.

Trapp had done well to frustrate Bayern’s top goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski, who captained the team in place of the injured Manuel Neuer and wore a blue and yellow captain’s armband in support of Ukraine.

“We condemn the attack on Ukraine and on the lives and homes of innocent people,” the German soccer league said as it suggested clubs observe a minute’s silence before their games. “War is unacceptable in any form and incompatible with our values of sport.”

In Fürth, visiting Cologne and the home team lined up behind a banner in blue and yellow – the colors of the Ukrainian flag – with “STOP WAR” written in English and another message against war in German.

One fan at Union Berlin’s stadium held a sign showing a dove with the word “peace,” another at Leverkusen’s game painted blood on her face, and it seemed fans in all stadiums held Ukrainian flags or made some personal symbol against the war.

Earlier, second-division Schalke played its first game in 15 years without Russian energy giant Gazprom as main sponsor on the team jerseys. The Gelsenkirchen-based club had a 1-1 draw at Karlsruher SC.

Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels produced a brilliant save in injury time to preserve his team’s 2-2 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach also had a goal ruled out in injury time after VAR picked up on a foul before what would have been Matthias Ginter’s late winner.

The home team got off to a terrible start with Jonas Wind scoring in the sixth minute and Sebastiaan Bornauw making it 2-0 in the 33rd for Wolfsburg.

Marcus Thuram pulled one back before the break and was again involved when Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix was sent off in the 70th for preventing the French forward’s clear goal chance with his hand.

Alassane Plea crossed for Breel Embolo to equalize in the 82nd and Casteels prevented worse for Wolfsburg.

Union Berlin bounced back from three games without a win or a goal since experienced forward Max Kruse left for Wolfsburg – with a 3-1 win at home over Mainz.

But the home fans’ patience was tested by a lengthy VAR check before Genki Haraguchi’s opener was allowed in the seventh minute. Sheraldo Becker scored a brilliant curling effort inside the right post in the 56th, then set up Taiwo Awoniyi to seal it in the 75th after Mainz had Dominik Kohr sent off on the hour-mark with his second yellow card in as many minutes. Delano Burgzorg scored a late consolation for the visitors.

City rival Hertha Berlin lost 3-0 at Freiburg to continue its dismal start to the year.

Bayer Leverkusen defeated Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 to consolidate third place, and last-place Fürth fought back to draw with Cologne 1-1.
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The U.S. is revisiting cutting Russia from the global bank-to-bank payment system known as SWIFT, as the next step in a series of escalating sanctions punishing Moscow for the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden initially held back on this crucial step that would isolate Russia on the world stage and have a serious impact on its economy, due to the concerns of European allies. But those concerns appeared to be eroding Saturday as Russian forces moved to encircle the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Ukraine has lobbied for a SWIFT ban on Russia, urging Europe to act more forcefully in imposing sanctions against Moscow. However, some European nations, including Germany, are hesitant to take that step.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Friday for nations to cut off Russia from the SWIFT international bank transfer system “to inflict maximum pain.”

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said “the debate about SWIFT is not off the table, it will continue.”

Putin, Lavrov sanctioned

The United States announced Friday that it would freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following similar steps taken by the European Union and Britain, as nations around the world sought to tighten sanctions against Russia’s government over its invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced the action Friday after EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels unanimously agreed to freeze the property and bank accounts of the top Russian officials.

Britain’s government took the same action Friday, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss writing on Twitter, “We will not stop inflicting economic pain on the Kremlin until Ukrainian sovereignty is restored.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the move by the U.S., the European Union and Britain sends “a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions” by Putin.

Juan González, the National Security Council Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told VOA, the sanctions were designed to apply global pressure on Russia.

“If you see the sanctions on 13 financial institutions, among the largest in Russia, that will have an impact with any government or business that has agreements with these institutions. But also, a lot of this money laundering and governments that operate outside the financial system international will feel the squeeze,” Gonzalez said.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the sanctions against Putin and Lavrov reflect the West’s “absolute impotence” when it comes to foreign policy, according to the RIA news agency.

World leaders are rarely the target of direct sanctions. The only other leaders currently under EU sanctions are Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Agence France-Presse.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the move is “a unique step in history” toward a country that has a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council but said it shows how united EU countries are in countering Russia’s actions.

The EU sanctions against Putin and Lavrov are part of a broader sanctions package that targets Russian banks, oil refineries and Russia’s defense industry.

EU leaders agreed, however, it was premature to impose a travel ban on Putin and Lavrov because negotiating channels need to be kept open.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday the package of banking sanctions the EU has passed would hit Putin’s government harder than excluding Russia from the SWIFT payments system.

“The sword that looks hardest isn’t always the cleverest one,” she said, adding, “the sharper sword at the moment is listing [the] banks.”

In response to the sanctions, Russia has taken its own measures, including banning British flights over its territory, after Britain imposed a similar ban on Aeroflot flights.  

The United States and several allies had imposed a first tranche of sanctions Tuesday, after Putin declared the disputed eastern Ukraine regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states, much as he appropriated Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

President Biden added another round of sanctions on Russia Thursday, hours after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, declaring at the White House after meeting virtually with leaders of the G-7 nations and NATO that “Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences.”

Biden said the new U.S. sanctions, which target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors and include export controls, will “squeeze Russia’s access to finance and technology for strategic sectors of its economy and degrade its industrial capacity for years to come.”

NATO allies, including Britain and the European Union, also imposed more sanctions Thursday, and the effects were felt almost immediately when global security prices plunged and commodity prices surged. Biden acknowledged that Americans would see higher gasoline prices.

Also Friday, an International Criminal Court prosecutor warned that the court may investigate whether Russia has committed any possible war crimes, following its invasion of Ukraine.

“I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Friday in a statement.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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