Russia-Ukraine war: Russia, Ukraine delegations end third round of conflict talks

Russia, Ukraine delegations end third round of conflict talks, Russian embassy says

Russia and Ukraine, locked in conflict, are vital producers of commodities for industrial and food use -- from aluminium, nickel and titanium, to wheat and sunflower oil, to gas and crude.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch PM Mark Rutte at Downing Street in London on Monday, as the trio visited a Royal Air Force (RAF) base to meet members of the UK armed forces.

Ukraine's government has helped evacuate about 20,000 Indian students from areas attacked by Russian forces but another 2,000 foreign students are still trapped in besieged towns and cities, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

Britain said Monday it was sending visa officers to the French port of Calais to help expedite the processing of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, after its response was slammed as a "disgrace" by one lawmaker.

Tightly clutching her orange tabby cat to her chest, a 15-year-old girl joins hundreds of fellow Ukrainians waiting to be issued emergency refugee documents at the Greek border.

EU leaders meeting Thursday in France will call for a phase out of the continent's dependency on Russia for energy, falling short of calls, notably by Kyiv and Washington, for a cleaner break from Moscow as a supplier.

Moscow offered Ukrainians escape routes to Russia and its close ally Belarus on Monday, drawing cries of outrage from Ukraine, where officials said a bread factory had been hit by an air strike in the latest Russian bombardment.

Russia refused on Monday to turn up at the UN's top court where Ukraine asked for an immediate halt to Moscow's invasion.

The Ukrainian military has paraded captured Russian soldiers before the media and made them recite repentances for their invasion, prompting the Red Cross to warn prisoners must not be mistreated.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have started a third round of talks in Belarus, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, the 12th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia backs U.N. atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi's idea of a trilateral meeting with Ukraine to ensure the safety of its nuclear facilities after Thursday's scare, but not at Chernobyl as Grossi wants, Moscow and the watchdog said on Monday.

A Ukrainian delegation on Monday arrived in Belarus for talks with representatives from Russia for a third round of talks on the conflict in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy and cynicism after Moscow said it would open humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities, but only to Russia or Belarus.

Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday, although the evacuation routes were mostly leading to Russia and its ally Belarus, drawing withering criticism from Ukraine and others.

Ukrainian naval forces defending the Odessa region hit a Russian vessel in the Black Sea with gunfire, Ukraine's navy said on Monday.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia and Turkey will meet in southern Turkey on Thursday, Ankara has announced as the war in Ukraine intensified.

More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, according to the latest data from the United Nations on Monday.

The United Arab Emirates said it flew 30 tonnes of aid and medical supplies to Poland for transportation to war-torn Ukraine Monday, to help relieve the "deteriorating humanitarian situation" after Russia's invasion.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

About 2,000 civilians have so far been evacuated from the town of Irpin near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, police said on Monday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba plan to meet on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish resort of Antalya on March 10, Russian news agencies reported on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry on Monday demanded France protect Moscow's representative offices in the country, claiming an attack had occurred at a building used by a Russian government agency in Paris.

Russia-Ukraine talks to start at 1200 GMT (5:30 PM IST), as per Russian state TV

Russian forces have killed the mayor of Gostomel, a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that is home to a strategic airport, city authorities said on Monday.

Russia Sanctions: Italy's Prime Minister on Monday called for countries of the European Union to act swiftly with sanctions against Russian people and entities following Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked the international community on Monday to provide Ukraine with military aircraft and to boycott Russian oil, oil products and other exports.

A Russian delegation has arrived in the Belarusian city of Brest for talks with Ukrainian negotiators on ending hostilities, the RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing the Flightradar plane tracker.

Ukraine on Monday rejected Moscow's offer of humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to escalate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken on the phone to Russian President Putin. The call between both the leaders lasted for about 50 minutes. Read FULL REPORT HERE

Not the first time that Ukraine experienced first-hand Russia's disrespect for international law. Now the world understands its disrespect & the hate of its cruelty. Putin lies and citizens of Ukraine die, says Anton Korynevich, Permanent Representative of President of Ukraine in Crimea, at ICJ. - ANI

Russia launches a heavy bombardment of the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, state-run media reported on Monday. "Russian artillery pounded the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv overnight on March 7, resulting in fires at residential buildings, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service," The Kyiv Independent reported. Meanwhile, Russia says it will open humanitarian corridors from 10:00 am (European Time) on March 7 to allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities experiencing heavy fighting, including the capital Kyiv and besieged port city Mariupol. – ANI

A Russian delegation has departed for Belarus where it will meet Ukrainian negotiators for the third round of talks about ending hostilities, the Sputnik Belarus news outlet reported.

Last week, the sides agreed to open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians out of some combat zones, but none of them has worked so far, with the sides accusing each other of violating the local ceasefire. – Reuters 

A student named Priya, after returning home from Ukraine said the Centre must evacuate students stuck in Sumy at the earliest. “We were struggling for food in Kharkiv. Stayed in bunkers from February 24-March 2, and left on March 2. Boarding train was difficult as they weren't giving preference to Indians,” said the student.

Pro-Russian separatists have carried out an offensive in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and fighting took place mostly in the western part of the city, Russia's defence ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said Russian troops would suspend fire to open a humanitarian corridor out of the encircled city of 400,000 on Monday. - Reuters 

The issues of Taiwan and Ukraine are different as Taiwan has always been a part of China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, reiterating Beijing's stance on the Chinese-claimed island.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is preparing additional sanctions against Russia. “This is not the end,” she said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio on Monday. “We’re preparing additional measures,” she said, without elaborating.

Prime Minister Modi thanked President Zelensky for the help extended by the Government of Ukraine in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine.

Prime Minister Modi spoke on phone to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.The phone call lasted for about 35 minutes. The two leaders discussed the evolving situation in Ukraine. PM appreciated the continuing direct dialogue between Russia & Ukraine

Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation and its sharp aggravation in the cities of Kiev, Kharkov, Sumy and Mariupol, as well as at the personal request of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the Russian Armed Forces announce a ceasefire and open humanitarian corridors from 10.00 [07:00 GMT] March 7, 2022," the statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone today

PM Modi's expected talk with Zelenskyy comes amid India's all out efforts to evacuate its nationals, mostly students, from the country facing attack from Russia.

This is the second time Modi will speak to Zelenskyy since the war began.

Russian forces stepped up their shelling of Ukrainian cities in the center, north and south of the country late Sunday, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said.

“The latest wave of missile strikes came as darkness fell,” he said on Ukrainian television.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States and its allies are having a “very active discussion” about banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas in the latest escalation of their sanctions in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

European Union leader Charles Michel said Sunday closing Ukraine’s airspace could spark a world war.

The Russian military has warned Ukraine's neighboring countries from hosting its warplanes, saying Moscow may consider them a part of the conflict if Ukrainian aircraft fly combat missions from their territory.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Russian forces are tightening their grip on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant

Globally issued American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia, the company said in a statement. AmEx cards issued locally in Russia by the country's banks will also no longer work outside of Russia.