World
Russians pressure Ukrainian cities as fighting continues
Kyiv residents awoke Wednesday to an air raid alert urging them to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible over fears of incoming Russian missiles, while the strategic port city of Mariupol remained encircled as a humanitarian crisis grew.
Kyiv regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba issued the air raid alert saying there was a “threat of a missile attack” on the Ukrainian capital. “Everyone immediately to shelters,” he said, later lifting the alert as the all-clear was given.
For days, as Moscow’s forces have laid siege to Ukrainian cities, the fighting has thwarted attempts to create corridors to safely evacuate civilians.
Air raid alerts are common, though irregular, keeping people on edge. Kyiv has been relatively quiet in recent days, though Russian artillery has pounded the outskirts.
Kuleba said the crisis for civilians was growing in the capital, with the situation particularly critical in the city’s suburbs.
“Russia is artificially creating a humanitarian crisis in the Kyiv region, frustrating the evacuation of people and continuing shelling and bombing small communities,” he said.
Read: Ukraine war highlights internal divides in Mideast nations
Across the country, thousands of people are thought to have been killed, both civilians and soldiers, in nearly two weeks of fighting. Russian forces have seen their advances stopped in certain areas — including around Kyiv — by fiercer resistance than expected from the Ukrainians.
But Russian troops have advanced deep along Ukraine’s coastline in what could establish a land bridge to Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.
The city of Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian soldiers for days and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the encircled city of 430,000.
Corpses lie in the streets of the city, which sits on the Asov Sea. Hungry people break into stores in search of food and melt snow for water. Thousands huddle in basements, trembling at the sound of Russian shells pounding this strategic port city.
“Why shouldn’t I cry?” Goma Janna demanded as she wept by the light of an oil lamp below ground, surrounded by women and children. “I want my home, I want my job. I’m so sad about people and about the city, the children.”
Tuesday brought no relief: An attempt to evacuate civilians and deliver badly needed food, water and medicine through a designated safe corridor failed, with Ukrainian officials saying Russian forces had fired on the convoy before it reached the city.
Mariupol, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, is in a “catastrophic situation.”
In other developments in the Russian invasion:
— Poland offered to give all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S., apparently agreeing to an arrangement that would allow them to be used by Ukraine’s military. But Pentagon press secretary John Kirby later said the plan is not “tenable” and raises serious concerns for the NATO alliance. He said the U.S. would discuss it further with Poland.
Read: Air alert declared in Kyiv as fighting continues
— U.N. officials said that 2 million people have now fled Ukraine.
— Russia’s economic isolation deepened as U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports and Shell said it will no longer buy oil and natural gas from the country. Also, Adidas and McDonald’s said they are suspending their operations in Russia.
For days, as Moscow’s forces have laid siege to Ukrainian cities, attempts to create corridors to safely evacuate civilians have stumbled amid continuing fighting and objections to the proposed routes. Ukraine has rejected Moscow’s offers of corridors that lead civilians to Russia or its ally Belarus.
The Russian military has denied firing on convoys and charged that the Ukrainian side is blocking evacuation efforts.
One evacuation did appear successful Tuesday, with Vereshchuk saying that 5,000 civilians, including 1,700 foreign students, had been brought out via a safe corridor from Sumy, an embattled northeastern city of a quarter-million people where overnight strikes killed 21, including two children.
Natalia Mudrenko, the highest-ranking woman at Ukraine’s U.N. Mission, told the Security Council that the people of Mariupol have “been effectively taken hostage,” by the siege. Her voice shook with emotion as she described how a 6-year-old died shortly after her mother was killed by Russian shelling. “She was alone in the last moments of her life,” she said.
Authorities in Mariupol planned to start digging mass graves for all the dead. The shelling has shattered buildings, and the city has no water, heat, working sewage systems or phone service.
Theft has become widespread for food, clothes, even furniture, with locals referring to the practice as “getting a discount.” Some residents are reduced to scooping water from streams.
With the electricity out, many people are relying on their car radios for information, picking up news from stations broadcast from areas controlled by Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists.
Ludmila Amelkina, who was walking along an alley strewn with rubble and walls pocked by gunfire, said the destruction had been devastating.
“We don’t have electricity, we don’t have anything to eat, we don’t have medicine. We’ve got nothing,” she said, looking skyward.
Xi holds virtual summit with leaders of France, Germany
Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.
Xi pointed out that the combined impact of major global changes and the pandemic, both unseen in a century, has brought multiple global challenges that need to be addressed through global cooperation.
Noting that China and the EU share much common understanding on promoting peace, seeking development and advancing cooperation, Xi said that we need to shoulder our responsibility to bring more stability and certainty to a turbulent and fluid world.
Xi said it is important for the two sides to enhance dialogue, stay committed to cooperation, and promote steady and sustained progress of China-EU relations.
China's development will create broader space for China-EU cooperation, Xi said, adding that the two sides must, under the principle of mutual benefit and win-win, further deepen green and digital partnerships as well as practical cooperation in various fields.
The two sides need to continue upholding multilateralism and advancing major global agenda, he added.
Macron and Scholz congratulated China on its successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, saying that the world faces many challenges, and each country acting on its own will only make things worse.
Read: Air alert declared in Kyiv as fighting continues
The European side values the important and positive role of China in global affairs, and is willing to engage in close cooperation with China to jointly tackle climate change, public health and other major global challenges, they said.
The two leaders said the European side is ready to work with China for a successful EU-China summit, and to move forward France-China, Germany-China and EU-China relations.
The leaders exchanged views on the key issue of the current situation in Ukraine.
Macron and Scholz shared their assessment and positions on the current situation in Ukraine, saying that Europe is facing the worst crisis since World War II.
France and Germany support reaching a settlement through negotiation and giving peace a chance, they noted.
The two leaders thanked China for its initiative on the humanitarian situation and said the two countries are ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China to promote talks for peace, and prevent further escalation of the situation that may worsen the humanitarian crisis.
Xi stressed that the current situation in Ukraine is worrisome, and the Chinese side is deeply grieved by the outbreak of war again on the European continent.
China maintains that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported, he said.
The pressing task at the moment is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even running out of control, Xi stressed.
China commends the mediation efforts by France and Germany on Ukraine, he said, adding that China will stay in communication and coordination with France, Germany and the EU and, in light of the needs of the parties involved, work actively together with the international community.
Read: Ukraine war highlights internal divides in Mideast nations
Xi emphasized that we need to jointly support the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and encourage the two sides to keep the momentum of negotiations, overcome difficulties, keep the talks going and bring about peaceful outcomes.
We need to call for maximum restraint to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis, Xi said, adding that China has put forward a six-point initiative on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and stands ready to provide Ukraine with further humanitarian aid supplies.
We need to work together to reduce the negative impact of the crisis, Xi said, adding that relevant sanctions will affect global finance, energy, transportation and stability of supply chains, and dampen the global economy that is already ravaged by the pandemic. And this is in the interest of no one.
We need to actively advocate a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, Xi said.
China supports France and Germany in promoting a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework for the interests and lasting security of Europe, and by upholding its strategic autonomy, he said.
China will be pleased to see equal-footed dialogue among the EU, Russia, the United States and NATO, Xi added.
The leaders also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Ukraine war at 2-week mark: Russians slowed but not stopped
Two weeks into its war in Ukraine, Russia has achieved less and struggled more than anticipated at the outset of the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War II. But the invading force of more than 150,000 troops retains large and possibly decisive advantages in firepower as they bear down on key cities.
Moscow’s main objective — toppling the Kyiv government and replacing it with Kremlin-friendly leadership — remains elusive, and its overall offensive has been slowed by an array of failings, including a lack of coordination between air and ground forces and an inability to fully dominate Ukraine’s skies.
The Pentagon on Tuesday estimated that Russia retains about 95% of the combat power it has deployed in Ukraine, accounting for weapons and vehicles destroyed or made inoperable as well as troops killed and wounded. Those losses, while modest at first glance, are significant for two weeks of fighting.
Read: Air alert declared in Kyiv as fighting continues
Two weeks of war have created a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine that has accelerated in recent days. The United Nations estimates that 2 million Ukrainians have fled their country, and the number is expected to grow.
Russia likely has had between 2,000 and 4,000 troops killed thus far, said Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, adding that his agency has “low confidence” in its estimate.
With no sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin backing away, the war appears likely to drag on. CIA Director William Burns told a congressional panel Tuesday that Putin is frustrated and likely to “double down” in Ukraine. He said that could mean “an ugly next few weeks” as the fighting intensifies.
Whether and how the conflict might expand is a major concern in the West, not least because Putin has said he will not tolerate unlimited U.S. or NATO arms supplies to Ukraine. NATO in turn has warned against the Russian conflict spilling over Ukraine’s border into a NATO country like Poland or Romania. Poland on Tuesday offered to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to U.S. control at an air base in Germany, presumably leaving to Washington the question of whether and how to get the planes to Ukraine. The Pentagon quickly shot down the idea, calling it untenable in light of Ukraine’s contested airspace.
Some worry that a frustrated Putin could escalate the conflict in dangerous ways. A few days into the war, he invoked the prospect of nuclear war by announcing he had put his nuclear forces on heightened alert, although U.S. officials detected no threatening changes in Russia’s nuclear posture.
“As he weighs an escalation of the conflict, Putin probably still remains confident that Russia can militarily defeat Ukraine and wants to prevent Western support from tipping the balance and forcing a conflict with NATO,” Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told Congress on Tuesday.
Although a detailed picture of the unfolding war is difficult to acquire, American and European officials and analysts say the Russians started slowly and have since been hobbled by a combination of inadequate planning, flawed tactics and possibly an erosion of spirit among troops not ready to fight.
Air alert declared in Kyiv as fighting continues
An air alert was declared Wednesday morning in and around Kyiv, with residents urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible.
“Kyiv region – air alert. Threat of a missile attack. Everyone immediately to shelters,” regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.
Nearly two weeks into the invasion, Russian troops have advanced deep along Ukraine’s coastline. The city of Mariupol, which sits on the Azov Sea, has been surrounded by Russian soldiers for days and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the encircled city of 430,000
Ukraine war highlights internal divides in Mideast nations
In a neighborhood of Iraq’s capital, a gigantic poster of Vladimir Putin with the words, “We support Russia,” was up for few hours before a security force arrived and hurriedly took it down. Then came the security directive: All public displays of Putin’s pictures shall be banned.
In Lebanon, the powerful Hezbollah militia railed against the government’s condemnation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, calling for neutrality.
Such wrangling shows the deep divisions over the Ukraine war in the Middle East, where Moscow has embedded itself as a key player in recent years, making powerful friends among state and non-state actors while America’s influence waned.
Political elites closely allied with the West are wary of alienating Russia or the U.S. and Europe. But other forces — from Shiite militia factions in Iraq, to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and Houthi rebels in Yemen — vocally support Russia against Ukraine.
These groups are considered to be Iran’s boots on the ground in the so-called anti-U.S. “axis of resistance.” Putin won their backing largely because of his close ties with Tehran and his military intervention in Syria’s civil war in support of President Bashar Assad.
Read: Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails
They see Putin as a steady, reliable partner who, unlike the Americans, does not drop his allies. In their circles, they even have an affectionate nickname for Putin — “Abu Ali” — which is a common name among Shiite Muslims and meant to portray a certain comaraderie.
Meanwhile, governments are walking a tightrope.
“Iraq is against the war but has not condemned it nor taken a side,” said political analyst Ihsan Alshamary, who heads the Political Thought Think Tank in Baghdad. Iraq needs to remain neutral because it has shared interests with both Russia and the West, he said.
He said Iran’s allies in the region are outspokenly with Russia “because they are anti-American and anti-West and believe that Russia is their ally.”
Russia has invested up to $14 billion in Iraq and the northern Kurdish-run region, mainly focusing on the energy sector, Moscow’s ambassador Elbrus Kutrashev told the Iraqi Kurdish news agency Rudaw in a recent interview.
Among the major oil companies operating in the country are Russia’s Lukoil, Gazprom Neft and Rosneft.
Iraq also maintains close ties with the U.S., but Western companies have steadily been plotting to exit from Iraq’s oil sector.
Iraq’s strongest move so far came after its central bank advised the prime minister against signing new contracts with Russian companies or payments in light of U.S. sanctions. The decision will impact new Russian investment in the country, but little else, Russian industry officials said.
Last week, Iraq was among the 35 countries that abstained from a U.N. General Assembly vote to demand that Russia stop its offensive and withdraw troops from Ukraine. Lebanon voted in favor, while Syria, where Russian ties run deep, voted against. Iran also abstained.
In Lebanon, an unusually blunt Foreign Ministry statement denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused an uproar and upset the Russians, forcing the minister to clarify that Lebanon did not intend to take sides and would remain neutral.
“They distance themselves and claim neutrality where they want, and they interfere and condemn where they want,” Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Moussawi wrote on Twitter, taking aim at the Foreign Ministry. “What foreign policy does Lebanon follow, and what is Lebanon’s interest in that? Please clarify for us, foreign minister.”
Hezbollah, which also sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Syria to shore up Assad’s forces, has seized on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to portray it as an inevitable result of U.S. provocations and yet another betrayal by the United States of its allies – in this case, Ukraine.
Read: Pentagon says Poland’s jet offer for Ukraine ‘not tenable’
In Syria, where Russia maintains thousands of troops, billboards proclaiming, “Victory for Russia” popped up in areas of Damascus this week. In opposition-held areas, which still get hit by Russian airstrikes, residents hope pressure will ease on them if Russia gets bogged down in fighting in Ukraine.
In Iraq, the Ukraine war is highlighting divisions in an already fractured landscape during stalled efforts to form a new government, five months after parliament elections were held.
The huge billboard in support of Putin was briefly put up in a Baghdad neighborhood considered a stronghold of powerful Iranian-backed militias. After it was removed, the Russian Embassy in Baghdad tweeted an image of it.
“The poster was provocative, I am against it,” said Athir Ghorayeb, who works at a nearby coffee shop. Iraq is only just emerging from decades of war and conflict, he said. “Why do they insist on involving us in new problems?”
Many Iraqis see in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine echoes of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of neighboring Kuwait and subsequent years-long economic sanctions placed on Iraq. It was only a few days ago that Iraq finished paying reparations to Kuwait which totaled more than $52 billion.
On social media, Iraqi pages on Facebook with millions of followers have posted news of what is happening in Ukraine, sharing their views. “Our hearts are with the civilians, as those who have tasted war know its catastrophes,” posted one user, Zahra Obaidi.
“We have tents for refugees and internally displaced people, so you’re welcome to come use them,” Hafidh Salih posted.
Toby Dodge, a professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, said Iraq’s moves — abstaining from the U.N. vote while limiting economic activity — were prudent, managing the short-term risks without taking an ideological stance.
But the longer the war drags on, the harder it will be to maintain this strategy.
“Iraq is deeply divided politically amongst players between pro-Iran and those that are anti-Iran trying to assert autonomy. The Ukraine becomes another performance, another example of where either side can burnish their credentials,” he said.
Pentagon says Poland’s jet offer for Ukraine ‘not tenable’
The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected a surprise announcement from Poland that it would give the United States its MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine, a rare display of disharmony as NATO allies seek to boost Ukrainian fighters while avoiding getting caught up in a wider war with Russia.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Poland’s declaration that it intended to deliver the 28 jets to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany raised the concerning prospect of warplanes departing from a U.S. and NATO base to fly into airspace contested with Russia in the Ukraine conflict.
“We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one,” Kirby said in a statement.
The proposed gift of more warplanes would be a morale booster for Ukrainians now under Russian assault for nearly two weeks. But it also raises the risk of the war expanding beyond Ukraine.
Russia has declared that supporting Ukraine’s air force in this way would be tantamount to participating in the war, and would possibly spur retaliation.
White House officials were blindsided by the Polish government announcement on the MiGs. The proposal did not come up during talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he was recently in Poland, according to a U.S. official familiar with the talks.
The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said White House officials did not think the proposal would easily solve the logistical challenges of providing aircraft to Ukraine.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland told lawmakers at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Ukraine crisis Tuesday she learned of Poland’s plans only while driving to the hearing.
“To my knowledge, it wasn’t pre-consulted with us,” Nuland told senators.
Read: Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails
Ukraine has been pleading for more warplanes as it puts up a tough resistance against stronger Russian forces. Washington has been looking at a proposal under which Poland would supply Ukraine with the Mig29s and in turn receive American F-16s to make up for their loss. Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly the Soviet-era fighter jets.
The Polish Foreign Ministry announced the plan in a statement, which said the jets would be delivered to Ramstein free of charge.
“At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities,” it said.
Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails
Corpses lie in the streets of Mariupol. Hungry people break into stores in search of food and melt snow for water. Thousands huddle in basements, trembling at the sound of Russian shells pounding this strategic port city.
“Why shouldn’t I cry?” Goma Janna demanded as she wept by the light of an oil lamp below ground, surrounded by women and children. “I want my home, I want my job. I’m so sad about people and about the city, the children.”
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in this encircled city of 430,000, and Tuesday brought no relief: An attempt to evacuate civilians and deliver badly needed food, water and medicine through a designated safe corridor failed, with Ukrainian officials saying Russian forces had fired on the convoy before it reached the city.
Nearly two weeks into the invasion, the Russians have advanced deep along Ukraine’s coastline in what could establish a land bridge to Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014. Mariupol, which sits on the Azov Sea, has been surrounded by Russian soldiers for days.
Mariupol, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, is in a “catastrophic situation.”
In other developments in the Russian invasion:
— Poland offered to give all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S., apparently agreeing to an arrangement that would allow them to be used by Ukraine’s military. But Pentagon press secretary John Kirby later said the plan is not “tenable” and raises serious concerns for the NATO alliance. He said the U.S. would discuss it further with Poland.
Read: Civilians flee Ukrainian city as 1 safe corridor opens
— U.N. officials said that 2 million people have now fled Ukraine.
— Russia’s economic isolation deepened as U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports and Shell said it will no longer buy oil and natural gas from the country. Also, Adidas and McDonald’s said they are suspending their operations in Russia.
For days, as Moscow’s forces have laid siege to Ukrainian cities, attempts to create corridors to safely evacuate civilians have stumbled amid continuing fighting and objections to the proposed routes. Ukraine has rejected Moscow’s offers of corridors that lead civilians to Russia or its ally Belarus.
The Russian military has denied firing on convoys and charged that the Ukrainian side is blocking evacuation efforts.
One evacuation did appear successful Tuesday, with Vereshchuk saying that 5,000 civilians, including 1,700 foreign students, had been brought out via a safe corridor from Sumy, an embattled northeastern city of a quarter-million people where overnight strikes killed 21, including two children.
'Some kind of terrible dream' for Ukrainian women refugees
On the global day to celebrate women, many fleeing Ukraine on Tuesday felt only the stress of finding a new life for their children as husbands, brothers and fathers stayed behind to defend their country from Russia's invasion.
The number of refugees reached 2 million on Tuesday, according to the United Nations, the fastest exodus Europe has seen since World War II. One million were children, UNICEF spokesman James Elder tweeted, calling it “a dark historical first.” Most others were women.
Polina Shulga tried to ease the journey for her 3-year-old daughter by hiding the truth.
“Of course it’s hard to travel with a child, but I explained to her that we’re going on vacation and that we’ll definitely come home one day when the war is over,” Shulga said.
She didn’t know what would come next after arriving in Hungary from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, but believed the experience would make her stronger. “I feel like I’m responsible for my child, so it was easier for me to take this step and leave,” she said, as her little girl tugged at the hem of her coat.
Nataliya Grigoriyovna Levchinka, from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, felt much the same.
READ: Civilians flee Ukrainian city as 1 safe corridor opens
“I’m generally in some kind of a terrible dream which keeps going on,” the retired teacher said. “I would be in some kind of abstraction if it wasn’t for my daughter. I wouldn’t be able to come to my senses.”
A decree by Ukraine’s government that prohibits men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country means that most of those fleeing are women and children, though the U.N. doesn't have exact numbers on gender. Ukraine's policy is meant to encourage men to sign up to fight against Russia’s invasion or to keep them available for military conscription.
That has led to heartbreaking scenes of separation, along with growing worry as some encircled, battered parts of Ukraine slip out of reach.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of International Women's Day, which is normally a day for celebration in Ukraine, in a video address.
“Ukrainians, we usually celebrate this holiday, the holiday of spring. We congratulate our women, our daughters, wives, mothers," he said. "Usually. But not today. Today I cannot say the traditional words. I just can’t congratulate you. I can’t, when there are so many deaths. When there is so much grief, when there is so much suffering. When the war continues."
Women normally receive flowers and chocolates and kisses and speeches. But this time, the messages were tinged with sorrow and pleas for peace.
In a refugee camp in Moldova, Elena Shapoval apologized for her tears. She doesn’t hide them from her two children, 4 and 8, while recalling their journey from Odesa. The younger one doesn’t understand what’s happening, Shapoval said. The older one tries to calm her, saying, "‘Mom, everything will be all right.’”
She cannot allow herself to collapse in grief as she thinks about the life they left behind. “I realize that we’ll have to work a lot now,” she said. “I need to get myself together because I have two children and I need to ball up my will like a fist.”
In Romania, Alina Rudakova began to cry as she realized she had forgotten about the holiday. Last year, the 19-year-old from Melitopol received a bouquet of flowers from her father and gifts from other relatives.
“This year, I didn’t even think about this day,” she said. “This day was really awful.”
But some arriving refugees were given bouquets of spring flowers by the immigration officials and volunteers who greeted them after crossing the borders in Poland and Romania.
“I was so stressed, I was so tired, it kind of made my day,” said 15-year-old Mariia Kotelnytska from Poltava.
“The best present for every woman will be to stop the war,” added 19-year-old Anastasia Kvirikashvili from Vinnytsia.
As the refugees continued to arrive, new fragilities emerged. “The people who are coming now have less means than the people who came initially, and they’ve also experienced more likely conflict directly, so they’re probably more traumatized,” said a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, Matthew Saltmarsh.
READ: Zelenskyy: Ukrainian forces holding key cities
In a theater at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in the Polish city of Przemysl near the border, women and children filled makeshift beds. Some checked their phones yet again for news.
“It was difficult to prepare myself for traveling,” said one refugee from near Kyiv who gave only her first name, Natalia. “My sister said that I am very brave, but in my opinion I am a coward. I want to go home.”
At the Medyka border crossing in Poland, Yelena Makarova said her hurried flight from Kremenchuk with her mother and teenage daughter marked the end of her life as she knew it. Her father, husband and brother all stayed behind.
“I wish that (the war) would finish as soon as possible, because do you know, for every mother, what can be worse?” she said. “I can’t understand why our children are dying. I don’t know.
India to resume int'l flights from March 27
After a Covid-induced hiatus of nearly two years, India on Tuesday announced the resumption of regular international flights from March 27.
"After deliberation with stakeholders & keeping in view the decline in the #COVID19 caseload,we have decided to resume international travel from Mar 27 onwards," Indian Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted.
"Air Bubble arrangements will also stand revoked thereafter. With this step, I’m confident the sector will reach new heights!" he wrote.
The Indian government put curbs on all domestic and international flights in March 2020 in the wake of the Covid-induced lockdown across the country.
Read: IORA: India greets member states, dialogue partners marking 25th anniversary
Though it allowed domestic flights to ply from May 2020, restrictions prevailed on global flights till the government allowed the entry of all foreigners except tourists from October that year under the "Bubble arrangement" that forced airlines to jack up ticket prices.
Though the Civil Aviation Ministry had earlier decided to resume international flights from December last year, the plan was shelved in the wake of the detection of the new 'Omicron' variant of Covid.
2 million refugees fleeing Ukraine, UN says
The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine reached 2 million on Tuesday, according to the United Nations, the fastest exodus Europe has seen since World War II.
“Today the outflow of refugees from Ukraine reaches two million people. Two million,” Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, wrote on Twitter.
The update came as a new effort to evacuate civilians along safe corridors finally got underway Tuesday. The route out of the eastern city of Sumy was one of five promised by the Russians to offer civilians a way to escape the Russian onslaught.