‘In all directions’: Russia vows new attacks: Live News | Russia-Ukraine crisis News
- Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces intensifies as troops close in on Kyiv.
- Western nations pledge to facilitate the delivery of military aid to Ukraine.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country’s forces have “have withstood and successfully repelled enemy attacks”.
- Nearly 200 people have been killed so far, including civilians, according to Ukraine’s health minister.
- More than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of Moscow’s assault, the UN says.
Here are the latest updates:
UK Johnson says pressure building to cut Russia off from SWIFT
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that the world should cut Russia off from the global SWIFT payments system and said more countries supported such a move.
“What you have seen just today is more countries joining the call of the UK to use SWIFT,” Johnson said. He said more countries had said they would not block cutting Russia off from SWIFT.
“Things are not going all the way President Putin,” Johnson said of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Greece says 10 nationals killed in Ukraine
Athens says that 10 Greek nationals have been killed and six others wounded by Russian bombing near the key southeastern port city of Mariupol.
“Ten innocent civilians of Greek origin [were] killed today by Russian air strikes close to Mariupol. Stop the bombing now!” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a tweet.
The bombing took place on the outskirts of the villages of Sartana and Bugas, and one of the injured was a child, Greece’s Foreign Ministry said.
Russian army ordered to broaden Ukraine advance
The Russian army has been given orders to broaden its offensive in Ukraine “from all directions” after Kyiv refused to hold talks in Belarus, the defence ministry said.
Russian forces have made thrusts into the Ukrainian capital Kyiv before reportedly falling back to the outskirts, facing tough resistance on day three of the invasion.
“After the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, today all units were given orders to develop the advance from all directions in accordance with the operation’s plans,” Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
Russian military convoys ‘flooding’ across the Russia-Ukraine border
Al Jazeera’s Rania Dridi, reporting from the city of Volgograd, in southwestern Russia, says military units in the area are being deployed across the border with Ukraine.
“Convoys of Russian military gear continue to flood across the Russia-Ukraine border; armoured gear and vehicle-mounted missiles,” Dridi said.
“The convoys will take part in the ongoing military operations, the fiercest of which is currently raging on the Donbas front,” she added, citing the region in eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists control swaths of territory.
“This scene is repeated elsewhere as other convoys are crossing the borderline into Ukraine on other roads.”
People in Ukraine’s capital take cover as Russians approach
People in Ukraine have sought safety underground as Russian troops closed in on Kyiv and skirmishes flared on the city’s outskirts.
The assault on Kyiv was clouded by a curfew set to last through Monday morning, but the relative quiet of the night in Kyiv was sporadically broken by gunfire.
“We will fight for as long as needed to liberate our country,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised, as he continued to press for additional international help.
Small groups of Russian troops were reported inside Kyiv, but Britain and the US said the bulk of Russian forces were 30km (19 miles) from the city’s centre.
Lufthansa halts flights to Russia for a week
German airline Lufthansa has said it will cancel all flights to Russia and will cease using Russian airspace for the coming week, citing the “emerging regulatory situation”.
“Flights that are in Russian airspace will leave it again shortly,” a spokesperson for the company said, adding that the company was in close contact with national and international authorities and would continue to monitor the situation closely.
From Berlin to Sydney, global outpouring of support for Ukraine
In a sea of blue and yellow flags and banners smeared with blood red handprints, protesters around the world have showed support for Ukraine on and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv, punish Russia and avoid a broader conflict.
Several hundred people marched through heavy rain in Sydney chanting “Ukraine will prevail”, while protesters in Tokyo called for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations Security Council for the assault on its neighbour.
Thousands of people also took to the streets in Europe, with protesters – including many Ukrainians living abroad – in London, Nicosia, Berlin, Athens, Helsinki, Madrid and Milan draping themselves in flags and holding “stop the war” placards.
Other protests took place in Latin America, India, Turkey, as well as Russia, where more than 3,000 people have been detained.
Read the updates from Saturday here.
