PremiumRussian troops attacked an army base located on a main avenue in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv but the assault was repelled, the Ukrainian military said
On Friday evening witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of Kyiv, as families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents to prepare petrol bombs to defend Ukraine's capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian military to overthrow leadership and negotiate peace.
Ukraine and Russia are discussing a place and time for talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said on social media.
Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution on Friday that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while China abstained from the vote.
Authorities in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv have extended a curfew until early Monday amid fighting with Russian troops.
The second flight with Indian nationals from Ukraine is expected to reach New Delhi on Sunday morning, informed Union minister Piyush Goyal's Office.
"The first flight has landed. The second flight to Delhi is expected tomorrow morning. We are working to get our children to the borders in Ukraine. Indian embassy officials are taking them from the borders to airports of neighbouring countries," the tweet read.
Russia now has at least 50 percent of its massive invasion force inside Ukraine but is making slow progress due to unexpectedly stiff resistance, a senior US defense official said Saturday.
All Russian units in Ukraine were on Saturday given the order to resume their offensive from all directions after a pause on Friday, the RIA news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying.
The Russian advance into Ukraine has temporarily slowed, probably because of logistical problems and strong resistance, Britain's defence ministry said on Saturday.
First Air India flight carrying 219 Indian evacuees from Ukraine landed at Mumbai airport from Bucharest at 7.50 pm on Saturday.
Russia on Saturday "highly" appreciated India's "independent and balanced" position on a UN Security Council resolution on the Russian attack on Ukraine.
India on Friday abstained from voting on the US-sponsored resolution that sought to deplore in the "strongest terms" Russia's "aggression" against Ukraine.
The official website of the Kremlin, the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, kremlin.ru , was down on Saturday, following reports of cyberattacks on various other Russian government and state media websites.
Romania's foreign ministry said on Saturday that it had repatriated the staff at its embassy Ukraine's capital Kyiv due to the significant worsening of the security situation after Russia's invasion.
The ministry also said it evacuated the staff at its consulate in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, where fighting was under way on Saturday, but that its consulates in Solotvyno and Chernivtsi remained open and fully staffed.
US Department of Defense will provide an additional $350 million in immediate military assistance to Ukraine to help defend itself from Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, seeking political support in UN Security Council.
The Kremlin on Saturday accused Ukraine of prolonging the military conflict by refusing to negotiate as Russia pressed on with its invasion of the pro-Western country.
"In connection with the expected negotiations, the Russian president yesterday afternoon ordered the suspension of the advance of the main forces of the Russian Federation," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Since the Ukrainian side refused to negotiate, the advance of the Russian forces resumed this afternoon," he added.
The mayor of Ukraine's capital has ordered a stricter curfew for Kyiv, extending from 5 pm until 8 am, as per reports. “All civilians on the street during the curfew will be considered members of the enemy's sabotage and reconnaissance groups," he reportedly said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged Germany and Hungary to back severing Russia from the SWIFT banking system to punish Moscow for invading his country.
As per updates by the UK defence ministry, the Russian forces are now 30 km from the centre of Kyiv as they continue their advance. “Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to put up staunch resistance across the country," it said.
Estonia will ban Russian airlines from using the Baltic nation's airspace, Estonia's Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas told public broadcaster ERR on Saturday.
French naval forces have intercepted in the Channel a cargo vessel loaded with cars heading for Russia's Baltic port city of Saint Petersburg after sanctions agreed by the EU against Russia.
Internet connectivity in Ukraine has been badly affected by the Russian invasion, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country where fighting has been heaviest, internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said on Saturday.
Slovakia will send military material worth 2.6 million euros ($2.9 million) and other aid worth 8.4 million euros to Ukraine, reported news agency Reuters, quoting local media reports.
Poland will not play their 2022 World Cup play-off with Russia in Moscow on 24 March due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said the president of the Polish football federation on Saturday.
As many as 198 Ukrainians have been killed and more than 1,000 others have been wounded in the Russian offensive, said the Ukrainian health minister on Friday.
Russia's space agency Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with Europe on space launches from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana in response to Western sanctions over Ukraine, Roskosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said on Saturday.
The Netherlands will supply 200 air defence rockets to Ukraine as quickly as possible, reported news agency Reuters, quoting a letter by the Dutch government.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) appealed to the Indian students stranded in Ukraine on Saturday to follow all the guidelines issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian embassy.
It also assured the students that all possible efforts are being made by the government to bring them back from Ukraine.
Russia is suspending space launches from French Guiana and withdrawing its technical personnel in response to EU sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the space agency said Saturday
Russian forces launched coordinated missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities on Saturday including the capital, Kyiv, where gunfire erupted near government buildings in the city centre, military officials and a Reuters witness said.
Meta Platforms Inc is barring Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on its platform anywhere in the world, the parent company of social media giant Facebook said on Friday.
Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian attack in the capital, the military said early Saturday, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow would attempt to take Kyiv before dawn.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion on Thursday that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a new Cold War in Europe.
Canada, the United States, Britain and the European Union on Friday said they could act to exclude Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system in a further round of sanctions aimed at halting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
An Air India plane departed from the Mumbai airport on Saturday morning for Romanian capital Bucharest to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive.
The flight, AI1943, took off from the Mumbai airport around 3.40 AM and is expected to land at the Bucharest airport around 10 AM (Indian Standard Time), senior government officials said.
Russia’s credit rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings, which joined Fitch Ratings in downgrading Ukraine amid an escalation of conflict in the region.
S&P lowered Russia to BB+, below investment grade, from BBB- late Friday and warned of further cuts, citing the “strong" international sanctions slapped on the country following its invasion of Ukraine. S&P also lowered Ukraine to B- from B.
Russian troops attacked an army base located on a main avenue in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv but the assault was repelled, the Ukrainian military said early on Saturday.
Separately, the Interfax Ukraine agency said Russian soldiers were trying to capture one of the city's electricity generating stations.
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