MARIUPOL - A planned mass evacuation of civilians from Mariupol is aborted as Russia continues shelling the key southern city, BBC reported on Saturday.
Attacks are continuing, Ukrainian officials say, despite a ceasefire designed to allow thousands of people to leave.
Civilians have also been unable to escape the nearby city of Volnovakha Protests have broken out in Kherson - the only big city to have been captured by Russia so far. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has warned the West he would regard any no-fly zone over Ukraine as an act of war.
Ukraine’s President has condemned Nato for ruling out a no-fly zone. Western leaders say they don’t want to make the situation worse. In the meanwhile, The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol was to evacuate residents Saturday after invading Russian forces declared a temporary ceasefire to open a corridor for civilians to flee one of the war’s fiercest battles.
Russia had blockaded the strategic city, which proudly resisted a siege by Moscow-backed rebels during a 2014 conflict only to find itself again a target, and cut off electricity, food, water and heating in the dead of winter.
The evacuation will be seen as a prelude to a final assault by Russian forces that, if successful, would see their invading army pushing north from occupied Crimea link up with their force from the east and win control of Ukraine’s coast on the Sea of Azov.
After the Russian defence ministry declared a ceasefire to allow “humanitarian corridors” out of Mariupol and neighbouring Volnovakha, Mariupol officials announced on social media that the city’s 450,000-strong population could begin to leave by private transport from 0900 GMT.
The siege of Mariupol came as more Russian forces inched closer to the capital Kyiv, encountering stiff resistance and shelling civilian areas in the western suburbs and the northern town of Chernihiv, where there have been heavy civilian casualties in recent days.
A group AFP of reporters who visited the town on Saturday saw scenes of devastation -- despite Moscow’s insistence that it is not targeting civilian areas -- and fears are rising in Kyiv that the capital will suffer the same fate once Russian missile artillery is deployed within range.
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov alleged that Russia had changed its tactics after encountering tough Ukrainian resistance that had defeated its apparent plan to quickly storm major cities and overthrow President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government.
“Yes, the enemy has advanced in some directions, but it controls only a small area. Our defenders are repelling and ousting the occupiers,” he said, in a Facebook post.
“The aggressor comprehensively and actively uses its air and missile potential. Aviation of all kinds bombards cities, towns and civilian infrastructure,” he said, dubbing the Russian army “cowardly” and only able to attack “children, women, unarmed civilians.”
Since President Vladimir Putin’s army invaded on February 24, Russia has pummelled Ukrainian cities, killed hundreds of civilians and even assaulted Europe’s largest atomic power plant, sparking fears of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
Moscow has seized two key cities in its 10-day-long invasion, Berdiansk and Kherson on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast.
But capturing Mariupol would represent a bigger prize for Russian forces as it would deal a severe blow to Ukraine’s maritime access and connect troops coming from annexed Crimea and the Donbas.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said late Friday that Moscow was waiting for a third round of talks with Ukraine in Belarus, and one of Kyiv’s negotiators said it hoped to hold them this weekend.
“The third leg could take place tomorrow or the day after, we are in constant contact,” Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Friday.
In a hospital in the Ukrainian capital, wounded soldiers told AFP of their grim battle against the Russian advance, and vowed to return to the frontline.
“We were on reconnaissance and came across an enemy column that had made a breakthrough,” said Motyka, 29, who was hit by shrapnel on his right side.
“We fought them and killed their soldiers on foot, but they showered us with mortar fire.”
Zelensky was to appeal to Washington for more assistance Saturday. He will address the US Senate as some lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to take tougher measures, including banning Russia’s oil imports.
Box
London Ukraine demo demands ‘Stop Putin, stop the war’
AGENCIES
LONDON
Hundreds of people protested in London on Saturday demanding an end to Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine, praying for peace amid a host of blue and yellow national flags.
The large crowd gathered on the central Trafalgar Square, singing the national anthem while draped in Ukrainian flags and calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “terrorist”.
“When the last Ukrainian soldier falls, Putin will come for you ladies and gents,” read a giant banner.
“I’m Ukrainian and I still have some family and friends in Ukraine,” said Olena Marcyniuk, 36, at the protest with her children aged 14 months and nine years.
“We need to keep on reminding everyone, we need to stay united to support our country,” she told AFP, with a Ukrainian flag around her waist and on her pram.
“Maybe somehow (we can) get through to Russia as well that the world is for Ukraine and that it needs to start acting to stop the war.”
She said much of her family had fled but that her uncle stayed in Kyiv to “fight for the city”.
Papal nuncio to Great Britain Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti led a prayer, saying “Today we are all Ukrainians.”
“Stop Putin, stop the war,” read a placard.
“My mother and my step-dad and all my friends are in (eastern Ukrainian city) Sumy where they’ve been bombed, shelled for the last two days,” said Natalya Courtney, 41.
“At this moment I’m actually waiting for my mother to reply to me to find out if she’s okay,” said the school finance manager.
“It’s just important for me that we win this war and get our freedom back... it’s just horrific,” she said as rain began to fall.
“We’re doing all we can to help with sending money, collecting parcels, collecting medical aid for soldiers, so whatever we can, but it’s just really, really stressful, very upsetting.”
She called for NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, something the West has refused to do for fear of escalating the conflict.
“Just help us help us to win the war on the ground because it’s the shelling of innocent civilians, children, women, elderly people... It’s just a massacre.”
Blinken pledges more aid for Ukraine refugees
AGENCIES
RZESZÓW
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Poland Saturday for its open embrace of hundreds of thousands of fleeing Ukrainians and said Washington was preparing to set aside another $2.75 billion for the humanitarian crisis.
“The people of Poland know how important it is to defend freedom,” he said after talks with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Rzeszow, near the border with Ukraine.
“Poland is doing vital work in response to this crisis.”
He said the White House was seeking $2.75 billion (2.51 billion euros) to provide support for those fleeing Ukraine, and countries that accept them, after Russia began its invasion on February 24.
Speaking next to Blinken, Rau said Poland would remain open to refugees.
“Russia’s aggression in Ukraine caused a humanitarian crisis of an unimaginable scale,” said Rau.
“Our priority is organizing effective aid to hundreds of thousands, and soon to be millions of refugees.”
Rau also pledged not to discriminate between refugees of different nationalities, after reports circulated in Washington that Africans and others fleeing from Ukraine were being impeded at the border with Poland.
He accused Russian forces of committing “war crimes” by shelling in residential areas.
Blinken arrived in Poland on Saturday for talks with officials on cooperation on defense and humanitarian support related to the conflict.
More than 780,000 people have fled Ukraine into Poland since the invasion began on February 24.
Including other neighbouring countries, more than a million have left Ukraine and a million more are estimated to be displaced within the country.
After meeting with Blinken in Rzeszow, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for tougher sanctions against Russia saying they should be “hitting Vladimir Putin’s war machine”.
Morawiecki called for all Russian banks to be excluded from the SWIFT payment system and said asset freezes “should be as extensive as possible”.
Blinken is visiting key allies in Europe to demonstrate Washington’s support for their security and shore up Western unity against Moscow.
He will travel next to Moldova, which has also experienced an inflow of Ukrainians, and the three Baltic states, particularly concerned about Russia.
Blinken spent Friday in Brussels in meetings with counterparts at NATO and the European Union to discuss putting more pressure on Russia and add support for refugees.
“The Kremlin’s attacks are inflicting an ever increasing toll on civilians there. Hundreds if not thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, many more wounded,” he said in Brussels Thursday.
“More than a million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries,” he said, pledging more support from Washington.
Erdogan to urge Putin to ‘end war immediately’
AGENCIES
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will urge his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a call today (Sunday) to “end this war immediately” after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Turkish leader’s spokesman said.
“The president will convey to him the message that we have repeated from the start: end this war immediately, give the ceasefire and negotiations a chance, establish a humanitarian corridor and carry out evacuations,” Ibrahim Kalin told the private NTV broadcaster Saturday.
The Turkish leader will also seek talks “at the leaders’ level” between Russia and Ukraine that could take place in Turkey, Kalin added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed hope Friday for a meeting with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkey on March 11-13.
Cavusoglu’s invitation was welcomed by Russia’s ambassador at the United Nations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, who described a possible meeting of the two ministers as a “good idea”, Turkish media reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed he would attend the forum, Cavusoglu said.
“We think that these meetings will have a positive impact. In particular, a meeting at the leaders’ level could prevent the war causing greater destruction,” Kalin said.
NATO member Turkey finds itself in a delicate balancing act, with close ties to Ukraine and Russia.
Kalin described Russia’s conditions for the conflict’s end as “unrealistic” but said “negotiations and diplomacy exist for that” reason.
“We have good relations at the same time with Ukraine and Russia. We can’t give up on either.”
Ukraine says radiation levels around captured nuclear power plant “unchanged”
KIEV, March 5 (Xinhua/APP) --:The radiation levels around the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remain unchanged, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration Olexandr Starukh said Saturday on Facebook.
“As of 7:00 a.m. (GMT 0500) on March 5, 2022, the radiation level in the territory of Zaporizhzhia region remains unchanged and does not pose a threat to the life and health of the population,” Starukh wrote on Facebook.
Separately, the head of the Donetsk military-civilian administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook that a temporary ceasefire has been declared in certain areas in Donetsk and the evacuation of citizens from the city of Mariupol through a humanitarian corridor would begin at 11:00 a.m. local time (GMT 0900).
Ukraine says Mariupol evacuation delayed by Russian ceasefire violations
Kyiv, March 5 (AFP/APP):Officials in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian forces, said they were delaying an evacuation of the civilian population, accusing Moscow’s troops of breaking a ceasefire.
“Due to the fact that the Russian side does not adhere to the ceasefire and has continued shelling both of Mariupol itself and its environs and for security reasons, the evacuation of the civilian population has been postponed,” city officials said in a statement on social media.
Mariupol, a southern city of about 450,000 people on the Azov Sea, was scheduled to begin the evacuations at 0900 GMT, after Russian forces agreed a ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the fighting.
“We ask all Mariupol residents to disperse and head to places where they can shelter. More information about the evacuation will be posted soon,” municipal officials wrote.
“At the moment, negotiations are underway with Russia to establish a ceasefire and ensure a safe humanitarian corridor,” the statement added.
UK citizens urged to leave Russia if not ‘essential’ to stay
London, March 5 (AFP/APP):The UK government on Saturday told British nationals to consider leaving Russia if their presence is not essential amid ongoing tensions over the war in Ukraine.
“If your presence in Russia is not essential, we strongly advise that you consider leaving by remaining commercial routes,” the Foreign Office website said.
With tit-for-tat sanctions hitting airlines, the government said it may not be possible to fly directly to the UK, or via EU countries, but that travelling via the Middle East or Turkey may be possible.
Previous advice to Britons was not to travel to Russia “due to the lack of available flight options to return to the UK, and the increased volatility in the Russian economy.”
Ukraine’s Zelensky to address US Senate
Washington, March 5 (AFP/APP):Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, leading his country’s battle against the Russian invasion, will address the US Senate on Saturday, a US legislative aide said.
Zelensky will speak to senators via Zoom in the morning Washington time at the request of Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine intensifies, some US lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take a tougher stance against Russia, such as by suspending imports of its oil.
The White House has ruled this out so far, fearing it might cause rising oil prices to go up even more and hurt US consumers stung by record inflation.
Zelensky himself is strongly urging NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine to halt bombing raids but the Biden administration has ruled this out, fearing it might lead to an all-out war between the West and Russia, although some US lawmakers support the creation of such a zone.
UN Security Council to meet Monday on humanitarian crisis in Ukraine: diplomats
United Nations, United States, March 5 (AFP/APP):The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered in Ukraine by the Russian invasion, diplomats said Friday.
After this public session, the 15 members of the council will confer behind closed doors to discuss a possible draft resolution, a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP.
This latter meeting has been proposed by Mexico and France, who are pushing a draft that calls for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and protection of civilians.
But it has run into obstacles, namely a warning from the United States that it will not support such a draft unless it states explicitly that Russia has caused the humanitarian crisis, another diplomat told AFP.
France originally wanted a vote last Tuesday but it did not happen.
Now, diplomats say France has shifted and in light of US criticism is no longer pushing for a vote as quickly as before.
Any draft resolution that criticizes Russia by name is doomed because Russia has veto power on the Security Council.
Europe’s far right in quagmire over Ukraine war and Putin links
Berlin, March 5 (AFP/APP):Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has plunged far-right movements across Europe into an identity crisis, as they struggle to square their loyalty to Vladimir Putin with the public’s overwhelming solidarity with Kyiv.
From Germany to France to Italy, extremist groups have condemned the assault, but some have in the same breath championed President Putin’s line of blaming the West for triggering the conflict in the first place.
“When someone attacks, it is clear that we must be on the side of the one that was attacked,” said Matteo Salvini of Italy’s far-right Northern League, who has in the past openly declared his admiration for Putin.
France’s Marine Le Pen has also joined the chorus of condemnation of Russia violating international law.
Openly denouncing the violence in Ukraine is in sync with the rest of the political spectrum and, most important, in line with pro-Ukrainian public opinion, said Hajo Funke, political scientist at the Free University of Berlin.
But that’s where the similarities end.
When it comes to an analysis of the responsibilities of the war, far-right parties appear to be singing from Putin’s hymn sheet.
- NATO to blame? -
Alice Weidel, head of Germany’s far-right AfD party, has denounced the “historical failure” of the West, accusing it of offering Ukraine a perspective of joining NATO rather than pushing for the country to be a neutral buffer nation between the alliance and Russia.
Likewise, Eric Zemmour, another far-right candidate in France’s presidential elections in April, charged that while “Putin is the guilty one, those responsible are in NATO which has not stopped expanding”.
Zemmour had in 2018 said he wished there could be a “French Putin” in France.
The parties are aligned with “the Russian position that the conflict should not be attributed exclusively to Vladimir Putin but rather to a great extent to the West”, Wolfgang Schroeder of the University of Kassel told AFP.
Kyriakos Velopoulos of the small nationalist Greek Solution party also rejects the West’s argument that Russia had sparked an unprovoked war as it was never under threat.
“Then what is NATO doing on (Russia’s) borders?” he retorted.
“The way I see it, Russia didn’t have much of a choice,” said Dutch extremist Thierry Baudet of the Forum for Democracy formation, drawing fire from other parties which accused him of disseminating Russian propaganda.
At the same time, with public opinion overwhelmingly against Putin, far-right figures who over the years cultivated close links with the Kremlin chief are seeking to distance themselves.
- Contradictions -
Today’s Putin is “not the one” who received her in Moscow in 2017, Le Pen said, after she came under heavy fire over a photo immortalising their meeting that features in election campaign leaflets printed ahead of the war.
“The European far right is trapped between its own radical and neo-fascist ideology, which they share with Putin,” and the risk of losing its influence in public opinion, said Funke.
The stakes are particularly high for Le Pen and Zemmour in the run-up to France’s April elections, as opinion polls show they could scoop about a third of the votes.
In another apparent contradiction, several deeply anti-migrant parties like Le Pen’s National Rally, Germany’s AfD, Spain’s Vox and a splinter of FPOe in Austria have said they were open to welcoming Ukrainian refugees.
Yet the far-right parties could still find resonance with the public as the salvo of unprecedented economic sanctions imposed on Russia ricochets on Western allies.
Germany on Thursday acknowledged that it expects a “big impact” on its economy.
“In the long term, it is not impossible that the AfD benefits,” said Schroeder, noting that the party which has morphed from an anti-euro outfit to an anti-immigrant party could still re-position itself as the “protector of the common man”.
Attacks are continuing, Ukrainian officials say, despite a ceasefire designed to allow thousands of people to leave.
Civilians have also been unable to escape the nearby city of Volnovakha Protests have broken out in Kherson - the only big city to have been captured by Russia so far. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has warned the West he would regard any no-fly zone over Ukraine as an act of war.
Ukraine’s President has condemned Nato for ruling out a no-fly zone. Western leaders say they don’t want to make the situation worse. In the meanwhile, The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol was to evacuate residents Saturday after invading Russian forces declared a temporary ceasefire to open a corridor for civilians to flee one of the war’s fiercest battles.
Russia had blockaded the strategic city, which proudly resisted a siege by Moscow-backed rebels during a 2014 conflict only to find itself again a target, and cut off electricity, food, water and heating in the dead of winter.
The evacuation will be seen as a prelude to a final assault by Russian forces that, if successful, would see their invading army pushing north from occupied Crimea link up with their force from the east and win control of Ukraine’s coast on the Sea of Azov.
After the Russian defence ministry declared a ceasefire to allow “humanitarian corridors” out of Mariupol and neighbouring Volnovakha, Mariupol officials announced on social media that the city’s 450,000-strong population could begin to leave by private transport from 0900 GMT.
The siege of Mariupol came as more Russian forces inched closer to the capital Kyiv, encountering stiff resistance and shelling civilian areas in the western suburbs and the northern town of Chernihiv, where there have been heavy civilian casualties in recent days.
A group AFP of reporters who visited the town on Saturday saw scenes of devastation -- despite Moscow’s insistence that it is not targeting civilian areas -- and fears are rising in Kyiv that the capital will suffer the same fate once Russian missile artillery is deployed within range.
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov alleged that Russia had changed its tactics after encountering tough Ukrainian resistance that had defeated its apparent plan to quickly storm major cities and overthrow President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government.
“Yes, the enemy has advanced in some directions, but it controls only a small area. Our defenders are repelling and ousting the occupiers,” he said, in a Facebook post.
“The aggressor comprehensively and actively uses its air and missile potential. Aviation of all kinds bombards cities, towns and civilian infrastructure,” he said, dubbing the Russian army “cowardly” and only able to attack “children, women, unarmed civilians.”
Since President Vladimir Putin’s army invaded on February 24, Russia has pummelled Ukrainian cities, killed hundreds of civilians and even assaulted Europe’s largest atomic power plant, sparking fears of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
Moscow has seized two key cities in its 10-day-long invasion, Berdiansk and Kherson on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast.
But capturing Mariupol would represent a bigger prize for Russian forces as it would deal a severe blow to Ukraine’s maritime access and connect troops coming from annexed Crimea and the Donbas.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said late Friday that Moscow was waiting for a third round of talks with Ukraine in Belarus, and one of Kyiv’s negotiators said it hoped to hold them this weekend.
“The third leg could take place tomorrow or the day after, we are in constant contact,” Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Friday.
In a hospital in the Ukrainian capital, wounded soldiers told AFP of their grim battle against the Russian advance, and vowed to return to the frontline.
“We were on reconnaissance and came across an enemy column that had made a breakthrough,” said Motyka, 29, who was hit by shrapnel on his right side.
“We fought them and killed their soldiers on foot, but they showered us with mortar fire.”
Zelensky was to appeal to Washington for more assistance Saturday. He will address the US Senate as some lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to take tougher measures, including banning Russia’s oil imports.
Box
London Ukraine demo demands ‘Stop Putin, stop the war’
AGENCIES
LONDON
Hundreds of people protested in London on Saturday demanding an end to Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine, praying for peace amid a host of blue and yellow national flags.
The large crowd gathered on the central Trafalgar Square, singing the national anthem while draped in Ukrainian flags and calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “terrorist”.
“When the last Ukrainian soldier falls, Putin will come for you ladies and gents,” read a giant banner.
“I’m Ukrainian and I still have some family and friends in Ukraine,” said Olena Marcyniuk, 36, at the protest with her children aged 14 months and nine years.
“We need to keep on reminding everyone, we need to stay united to support our country,” she told AFP, with a Ukrainian flag around her waist and on her pram.
“Maybe somehow (we can) get through to Russia as well that the world is for Ukraine and that it needs to start acting to stop the war.”
She said much of her family had fled but that her uncle stayed in Kyiv to “fight for the city”.
Papal nuncio to Great Britain Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti led a prayer, saying “Today we are all Ukrainians.”
“Stop Putin, stop the war,” read a placard.
“My mother and my step-dad and all my friends are in (eastern Ukrainian city) Sumy where they’ve been bombed, shelled for the last two days,” said Natalya Courtney, 41.
“At this moment I’m actually waiting for my mother to reply to me to find out if she’s okay,” said the school finance manager.
“It’s just important for me that we win this war and get our freedom back... it’s just horrific,” she said as rain began to fall.
“We’re doing all we can to help with sending money, collecting parcels, collecting medical aid for soldiers, so whatever we can, but it’s just really, really stressful, very upsetting.”
She called for NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, something the West has refused to do for fear of escalating the conflict.
“Just help us help us to win the war on the ground because it’s the shelling of innocent civilians, children, women, elderly people... It’s just a massacre.”
Blinken pledges more aid for Ukraine refugees
AGENCIES
RZESZÓW
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Poland Saturday for its open embrace of hundreds of thousands of fleeing Ukrainians and said Washington was preparing to set aside another $2.75 billion for the humanitarian crisis.
“The people of Poland know how important it is to defend freedom,” he said after talks with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Rzeszow, near the border with Ukraine.
“Poland is doing vital work in response to this crisis.”
He said the White House was seeking $2.75 billion (2.51 billion euros) to provide support for those fleeing Ukraine, and countries that accept them, after Russia began its invasion on February 24.
Speaking next to Blinken, Rau said Poland would remain open to refugees.
“Russia’s aggression in Ukraine caused a humanitarian crisis of an unimaginable scale,” said Rau.
“Our priority is organizing effective aid to hundreds of thousands, and soon to be millions of refugees.”
Rau also pledged not to discriminate between refugees of different nationalities, after reports circulated in Washington that Africans and others fleeing from Ukraine were being impeded at the border with Poland.
He accused Russian forces of committing “war crimes” by shelling in residential areas.
Blinken arrived in Poland on Saturday for talks with officials on cooperation on defense and humanitarian support related to the conflict.
More than 780,000 people have fled Ukraine into Poland since the invasion began on February 24.
Including other neighbouring countries, more than a million have left Ukraine and a million more are estimated to be displaced within the country.
After meeting with Blinken in Rzeszow, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for tougher sanctions against Russia saying they should be “hitting Vladimir Putin’s war machine”.
Morawiecki called for all Russian banks to be excluded from the SWIFT payment system and said asset freezes “should be as extensive as possible”.
Blinken is visiting key allies in Europe to demonstrate Washington’s support for their security and shore up Western unity against Moscow.
He will travel next to Moldova, which has also experienced an inflow of Ukrainians, and the three Baltic states, particularly concerned about Russia.
Blinken spent Friday in Brussels in meetings with counterparts at NATO and the European Union to discuss putting more pressure on Russia and add support for refugees.
“The Kremlin’s attacks are inflicting an ever increasing toll on civilians there. Hundreds if not thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, many more wounded,” he said in Brussels Thursday.
“More than a million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries,” he said, pledging more support from Washington.
Erdogan to urge Putin to ‘end war immediately’
AGENCIES
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will urge his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a call today (Sunday) to “end this war immediately” after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Turkish leader’s spokesman said.
“The president will convey to him the message that we have repeated from the start: end this war immediately, give the ceasefire and negotiations a chance, establish a humanitarian corridor and carry out evacuations,” Ibrahim Kalin told the private NTV broadcaster Saturday.
The Turkish leader will also seek talks “at the leaders’ level” between Russia and Ukraine that could take place in Turkey, Kalin added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed hope Friday for a meeting with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkey on March 11-13.
Cavusoglu’s invitation was welcomed by Russia’s ambassador at the United Nations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, who described a possible meeting of the two ministers as a “good idea”, Turkish media reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed he would attend the forum, Cavusoglu said.
“We think that these meetings will have a positive impact. In particular, a meeting at the leaders’ level could prevent the war causing greater destruction,” Kalin said.
NATO member Turkey finds itself in a delicate balancing act, with close ties to Ukraine and Russia.
Kalin described Russia’s conditions for the conflict’s end as “unrealistic” but said “negotiations and diplomacy exist for that” reason.
“We have good relations at the same time with Ukraine and Russia. We can’t give up on either.”
Ukraine says radiation levels around captured nuclear power plant “unchanged”
KIEV, March 5 (Xinhua/APP) --:The radiation levels around the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remain unchanged, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration Olexandr Starukh said Saturday on Facebook.
“As of 7:00 a.m. (GMT 0500) on March 5, 2022, the radiation level in the territory of Zaporizhzhia region remains unchanged and does not pose a threat to the life and health of the population,” Starukh wrote on Facebook.
Separately, the head of the Donetsk military-civilian administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook that a temporary ceasefire has been declared in certain areas in Donetsk and the evacuation of citizens from the city of Mariupol through a humanitarian corridor would begin at 11:00 a.m. local time (GMT 0900).
Ukraine says Mariupol evacuation delayed by Russian ceasefire violations
Kyiv, March 5 (AFP/APP):Officials in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian forces, said they were delaying an evacuation of the civilian population, accusing Moscow’s troops of breaking a ceasefire.
“Due to the fact that the Russian side does not adhere to the ceasefire and has continued shelling both of Mariupol itself and its environs and for security reasons, the evacuation of the civilian population has been postponed,” city officials said in a statement on social media.
Mariupol, a southern city of about 450,000 people on the Azov Sea, was scheduled to begin the evacuations at 0900 GMT, after Russian forces agreed a ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the fighting.
“We ask all Mariupol residents to disperse and head to places where they can shelter. More information about the evacuation will be posted soon,” municipal officials wrote.
“At the moment, negotiations are underway with Russia to establish a ceasefire and ensure a safe humanitarian corridor,” the statement added.
UK citizens urged to leave Russia if not ‘essential’ to stay
London, March 5 (AFP/APP):The UK government on Saturday told British nationals to consider leaving Russia if their presence is not essential amid ongoing tensions over the war in Ukraine.
“If your presence in Russia is not essential, we strongly advise that you consider leaving by remaining commercial routes,” the Foreign Office website said.
With tit-for-tat sanctions hitting airlines, the government said it may not be possible to fly directly to the UK, or via EU countries, but that travelling via the Middle East or Turkey may be possible.
Previous advice to Britons was not to travel to Russia “due to the lack of available flight options to return to the UK, and the increased volatility in the Russian economy.”
Ukraine’s Zelensky to address US Senate
Washington, March 5 (AFP/APP):Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, leading his country’s battle against the Russian invasion, will address the US Senate on Saturday, a US legislative aide said.
Zelensky will speak to senators via Zoom in the morning Washington time at the request of Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine intensifies, some US lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take a tougher stance against Russia, such as by suspending imports of its oil.
The White House has ruled this out so far, fearing it might cause rising oil prices to go up even more and hurt US consumers stung by record inflation.
Zelensky himself is strongly urging NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine to halt bombing raids but the Biden administration has ruled this out, fearing it might lead to an all-out war between the West and Russia, although some US lawmakers support the creation of such a zone.
UN Security Council to meet Monday on humanitarian crisis in Ukraine: diplomats
United Nations, United States, March 5 (AFP/APP):The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered in Ukraine by the Russian invasion, diplomats said Friday.
After this public session, the 15 members of the council will confer behind closed doors to discuss a possible draft resolution, a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP.
This latter meeting has been proposed by Mexico and France, who are pushing a draft that calls for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and protection of civilians.
But it has run into obstacles, namely a warning from the United States that it will not support such a draft unless it states explicitly that Russia has caused the humanitarian crisis, another diplomat told AFP.
France originally wanted a vote last Tuesday but it did not happen.
Now, diplomats say France has shifted and in light of US criticism is no longer pushing for a vote as quickly as before.
Any draft resolution that criticizes Russia by name is doomed because Russia has veto power on the Security Council.
Europe’s far right in quagmire over Ukraine war and Putin links
Berlin, March 5 (AFP/APP):Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has plunged far-right movements across Europe into an identity crisis, as they struggle to square their loyalty to Vladimir Putin with the public’s overwhelming solidarity with Kyiv.
From Germany to France to Italy, extremist groups have condemned the assault, but some have in the same breath championed President Putin’s line of blaming the West for triggering the conflict in the first place.
“When someone attacks, it is clear that we must be on the side of the one that was attacked,” said Matteo Salvini of Italy’s far-right Northern League, who has in the past openly declared his admiration for Putin.
France’s Marine Le Pen has also joined the chorus of condemnation of Russia violating international law.
Openly denouncing the violence in Ukraine is in sync with the rest of the political spectrum and, most important, in line with pro-Ukrainian public opinion, said Hajo Funke, political scientist at the Free University of Berlin.
But that’s where the similarities end.
When it comes to an analysis of the responsibilities of the war, far-right parties appear to be singing from Putin’s hymn sheet.
- NATO to blame? -
Alice Weidel, head of Germany’s far-right AfD party, has denounced the “historical failure” of the West, accusing it of offering Ukraine a perspective of joining NATO rather than pushing for the country to be a neutral buffer nation between the alliance and Russia.
Likewise, Eric Zemmour, another far-right candidate in France’s presidential elections in April, charged that while “Putin is the guilty one, those responsible are in NATO which has not stopped expanding”.
Zemmour had in 2018 said he wished there could be a “French Putin” in France.
The parties are aligned with “the Russian position that the conflict should not be attributed exclusively to Vladimir Putin but rather to a great extent to the West”, Wolfgang Schroeder of the University of Kassel told AFP.
Kyriakos Velopoulos of the small nationalist Greek Solution party also rejects the West’s argument that Russia had sparked an unprovoked war as it was never under threat.
“Then what is NATO doing on (Russia’s) borders?” he retorted.
“The way I see it, Russia didn’t have much of a choice,” said Dutch extremist Thierry Baudet of the Forum for Democracy formation, drawing fire from other parties which accused him of disseminating Russian propaganda.
At the same time, with public opinion overwhelmingly against Putin, far-right figures who over the years cultivated close links with the Kremlin chief are seeking to distance themselves.
- Contradictions -
Today’s Putin is “not the one” who received her in Moscow in 2017, Le Pen said, after she came under heavy fire over a photo immortalising their meeting that features in election campaign leaflets printed ahead of the war.
“The European far right is trapped between its own radical and neo-fascist ideology, which they share with Putin,” and the risk of losing its influence in public opinion, said Funke.
The stakes are particularly high for Le Pen and Zemmour in the run-up to France’s April elections, as opinion polls show they could scoop about a third of the votes.
In another apparent contradiction, several deeply anti-migrant parties like Le Pen’s National Rally, Germany’s AfD, Spain’s Vox and a splinter of FPOe in Austria have said they were open to welcoming Ukrainian refugees.
Yet the far-right parties could still find resonance with the public as the salvo of unprecedented economic sanctions imposed on Russia ricochets on Western allies.
Germany on Thursday acknowledged that it expects a “big impact” on its economy.
“In the long term, it is not impossible that the AfD benefits,” said Schroeder, noting that the party which has morphed from an anti-euro outfit to an anti-immigrant party could still re-position itself as the “protector of the common man”.