‘Russian forces’ advance in Ukraine has slowed down’

Ukrainian intelligence claims a senior Russian general has been killed in fighting around Kharkiv

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine continued but at a significantly slower pace on Tuesday and a second senior Russian commander had been killed, Ukrainian military and intelligence said, as frightened residents fled bombed-out cities. The advance of Russian forces in Ukraine has slowed significantly and Ukrainian forces are counter-attacking in some areas, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Tuesday.

A Ukrainian police officer runs while holding a child as the artillery echoes nearby, in Irpin near Kyiv on Monday. Pic/AP

“The tempo of the enemy’s advance has slowed considerably, and in certain directions where they were advancing it has practically stopped,” he told a televised briefing. “The forces that continue to advance, advance in small forces.” 

Irpin: Ukrainian soldiers help an elderly woman as she evacuates on Tuesday

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Tuesday said that around 12,000 Russian forces have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine started.

Kyiv: People cook for Ukrainian servicemen and civil defense members. Pics/AFP, AP

In the city of Irpin, residents ran with their young children in strollers, or cradling babies, while others held pet carriers, plastic bags and suitcases. “It’s like a disaster, the city is almost ruined, and the district where I’m living, it’s like there are no houses which were not bombed,” said a young mother, with a baby in a blanket, while her daughter stood by her side.

Medyka, Poland: A mother and child, fleeing Ukraine, wait at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland

Russia on Tuesday declared a ceasefire from 10 am (Moscow time) to provide humanitarian corridors in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said in a statement.

Lviv: Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training, in the outskirts of Lviv on Monday. Pics/AP

2nd Russian general killed

Ukrainian intelligence has claimed a senior Russian general has been killed. This makes him the second general the Russian army has lost in Ukraine in a week. The Ukrainian defence ministry said Maj Gen Vitaly Gerasimov, chief of staff of the 41st Army, had been killed outside Kharkiv, with other senior officers.

Kyiv: A man stands atop a destroyed bridge in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv on Tuesday

Oil prices rise

Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest levels since 2008 as United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports while it looked less likely that Iranian crude would return switftly to global markets. Brent rose $5.1, or 4.3 per cent, to settle at $123.21 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose $3.72, or 3.2 per cent, to settle at $119.40 a barrel. US President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports according to a person familiar with the matter.

Russia warned it could stop the supply of gas to Germany in response to Berlin’s decision last month to halt opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Russia supplies 40 per cent of Europe’s gas. 

12,000
No. of Russian forces killed since the invasion, says Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

861
No. of civilians wounded as per  the UN

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Today the outflow of refugees from Ukraine reaches two million people. Two million.

Shell to stop buying Russian oil

Energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine. The company said that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, “in a phased manner.” The decision comes as surging oil prices have been rattling global markets and just days after Ukraine’s foreign minister criticized Shell for continuing to buy Russian oil.

UN: 474 civilian deaths in Ukraine

The U.N. human rights office says it has confirmed 474 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24. The office said Tuesday the number of civilian injuries is 861. The U.N. office uses strict methodology and only reports casualties it verifies. The Ukrainian defence ministry said 38 children have been killed and over 70 wounded.

Russian air strike kills 21 civilians in Sumy

KOSICE: At least 21 civilians, including two children, were killed in a Russian air strike on a residential street in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy late on Monday, the regional prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. The bodies were recovered by emergency services early on Tuesday in searches that are ongoing, it said. “The Ukrainian city of Sumy was given a green corridor, the first stage of evacuation began,” the Ukrainian state communications agency tweeted. The buses are headed to other cities in Ukraine, but many people have chosen to flee the country instead. Safa Msehli, a spokesperson for the U.N.’s International Organisation for Migration, tweeted that 2 million have now left, including at least 1,00,000 people who are not Ukrainian.

‘Russia shelling evacuation route’

LVIV: Russian forces shelled an evacuation route for civilians trapped in Mariupol in violation of a ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, Ukraine foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on Twitter. “8 trucks + 30 buses ready to deliver humanitarian aid to Mariupol and to evac (evacuate) civilians to Zaporizhzhia. Pressure on Russia MUST step up to make it uphold its commitments,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday a child had died from dehydration in Mariupol, which has had no water, power or heating supplies for days.

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