Russia has issued a warning it could fire on weapon shipments to Ukraine, raising the risk of direct confrontation between Moscow and a NATO country.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv on Saturday as Russian forces encroach on the Ukrainian capital, with intensified fighting to the northeast and east of the city. Photos geolocated and verified by CNN also showed widespread destruction in Makariv, which is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Kyiv.
The humanitarian situation remains bleak as Ukrainian authorities report limited success in securing the evacuation of civilians from the worst-affected areas.
Want to help? Learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine here.
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Our live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has moved here.
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Russia sends warning to the US about transferring weapons to Ukraine. Here’s what we know
Russia has threatened to target supplies of western weapons being shipped to Ukraine, suggesting convoys with foreign weapons could be considered “legitimate targets.”
The warning could escalate the situation in Ukraine further.
Some context: Ryabkov’s comments came as the US directed $200 million in defense aid and services, including military education and training, for Ukraine.
Aid includes small arms: A US administration official said the $200 million will provide “immediate military assistance to Ukraine” and will include “anti-armor, anti-aircraft systems, and small arms in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack.”
President Joe Biden directed the drawdown using a memorandum that allows him to authorize assistance without legislative authority or budgetary appropriations.
A White House official said the total amount of security assistance provided to Ukraine by the US is $1.2 billion in the past year.
More military equipment needed in Ukraine: On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with allies for more aid, saying “The evil which purposefully targets peaceful cities and ambulance vans and explodes hospitals will not stop with just one country.”
He has repeatedly called for a no-fly zone to be imposed to stop Russian aircraft and for military planes to be sent to Ukraine.
US reluctant to escalate further: The US is concerned that more direct measures could escalate tensions with nuclear powered Russia even further and risk dragging NATO directly into the war.
The US and other NATO members have so far provided Ukraine with about 17,000 anti-tank missiles and 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, according to a senior US official.
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Multiple explosions heard near Lviv
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq in Lviv
Multiple explosions were heard shortly before 6 a.m. local time Sunday on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Lviv, near Ukraine’s border with Poland.
The explosions were heard by a CNN team on the ground.
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New mayor installed in Russia-controlled Melitopol after kidnapping. Here’s what we know
Galina Danilchenko
(Melitopol Acting Mayor's Office)
A new mayor has been installed in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, which is under Russian military control, after the elected mayor was kidnapped on Friday, according to the Zaporozhye regional administration.
Here’s what we know about the situation in the city:
Melitopol is a city in southern Ukraine that lies between the besieged city of Mariupol and the now Russian-occupied city of Kherson. Russian forces occupied Melitopol within days of the invasion beginning, but the city has seen sporadic protests since.
On Friday, Melitopol mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was seen on video being led away from a government building in the city by armed men.
A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed that Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation. According to a message on the Luhansk prosecutor’s website, Fedorov is being accused of assisting and financing terrorist activities and being part of a criminal community.
Fedorov’s detention by the armed men is the first known instance of a Ukrainian political official being detained by Russian, or Russian-backed forces, since the invasion began.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded his immediate release, saying it was “crime against democracy” and Russia has “switched to a new stage of terror” in its invasion by “trying to physically eliminate representatives of the legitimate local Ukrainian authorities.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Fedorov’s detention an “abduction” and a “war crime.”
Hundreds of people protested the kidnapping outside Melitopol’s city hall, with the crowd chanting “Freedom for the Mayor.”
On Saturday, the Zaporozhye regional administration installed a new mayor, Galina Danilchenko, a former member of the city council.
In her televised statement, which was posted by the regional administration on Telegram, Danilchenko said that her “main task is to take all necessary steps to get the city back to normal.”
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Tato and Mama gave me a home in Ukraine. Now they're under attack
From CNN's Mayumi Maruyama
They’re not my parents, but after two years of living in Ukraine, they grew to become my Tato and Mama — Ukrainian for “mom” and “dad.”
Five years ago, they welcomed me into their home like a daughter — now they’re living under Russian bombardment, the sound of shelling punctuating every precious call.
Tato, a white-haired man in his early 60s, tells me on the phone he can see explosions from the front yard of their home in a small village outside the northern city of Chernihiv. Mama, who’s a few years younger, sobs as she tells me they have no water, no power, and no safe way to leave.
Their only form of transportation is a rundown Soviet-era car that’s so rusted you can see the ground rush by through a hole in the floor. And Mama’s 91-year-old mother, Babusya, is so frail she rarely leaves her bed.
Ukrainians in some other cities have been been able to flee their homes, escaping the Russian attacks via temporary evacuation corridors, but no clear route exists out of Chernihiv or their village.
Just over a week ago, Tato sent me a photo of black smoke billowing into the air from explosions near his village.
Zelensky pleads for more aid, says 12,729 Ukrainians successfully evacuated Saturday
From CNN's Mallory Gafas
(Facebook)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful for international support and pleaded with allies for more aid in an address Saturday.
“I keep reiterating to our allies and friends abroad; they have to keep doing more for our country, for Ukrainians and Ukraine. Because it is not only for Ukraine, but it is for all of Europe,” he said. “The evil which purposefully targets peaceful cities and ambulance vans and explodes hospitals will not stop with just one country if they have the strength to keep going.”
Zelensky also said humanitarian corridors in Ukraine have been “working,” announcing 12,729 people were evacuated Saturday.
“All of the humanitarian corridors, by the way, which were agreed to – they have worked,” he said, adding “and then there will be humanitarian aid to Mariupol [but] because of difficulties, they had to stop in Gdansk.”
Zelensky also vowed to bring Russian occupiers and their sympathizers to justice, saying “all the occupiers and all the collaborators will know that Ukraine will not forget. Never, nothing. Ukraine will not forget. Ukraine will find them and will call them to responsibility, each one of them.”
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Seven civilians killed while trying to evacuate Kyiv region, Ukrainian Defense Ministry says
From CNN Staff
Seven civilians, including women and a child, were killed while trying to flee Ukraine’s Kyiv region, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed Saturday.
“Russians shot at a column of women and children in Kyiv region, who were trying to evacuate along a previously agreed ‘green’ corridor. The result of this brutal act - seven dead. One of them is a child,” a tweet from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
However, an update from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine said the civilians were fleeing on a route that was not an agreed-upon “green corridor.”
The group of women and children were attempting to evacuate near the village of Peremoga in Kyiv on Friday when they were shot at by Russians, according to Ukraine’s intelligence agency.
Russia did not immediately comment on this incident, but has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine last month.
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Chernobyl nuclear plant running on generators with staff "living" there since Russian attack
From CNN Staff
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close view of Chernobyl nuclear facilities, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 10.
Repairs to Chernobyl’s electrical system, damaged during a Russian attack on March 9, are ongoing, as the nuclear power plant is now dependent on external diesel generators to keep its reactors operating, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Saturday.
Alexey Likhachev, the director general of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom, told the IAEA additional fuel arrived on March 11.
Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator Energoatom told the IAEA that Chernobyl’s 211 personnel and guards “have still not been able to rotate, in effect living there since the day before Russian forces took control.”
“[IAEA] Director General Grossi has repeatedly stressed the urgent need to ensure they can properly rest and rotate, saying this is also a vital element for safe and secure nuclear power operation,” IAEA said in a statement.
Regarding the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Ukraine said the site remains under Russian control and that Moscow is planning to take “full and permanent control.” It also said 400 Russian soldiers are “present full time” at the site.
Russia said experts are present at the Zaporizhzhya plant but denied it “had taken operational control” or it has plans to take on permanent management of the site, according to the IAEA.
Power supplies to this plant remain unchanged, despite damage to two of its four power lines, the IAEA said.
The IAEA added eight of Ukraine’s 15 reactors remain in operation, “including two at the Zaporizhzhya NPP, three at Rivne, one at Khmelnytskyy, and two at South Ukraine” and that “radiation levels remain normal.”
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New mayor installed in Russia-controlled Melitopol after the Ukrainian city's elected mayor was detained
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy and Josh Pennington
The Zaporozhye regional administration says a new mayor has been installed in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, which is under Russian military control, after the elected mayor was detained on Friday.
Ivan Fedorov, the elected mayor of Melitopol, was detained by armed men on Friday and accused of terrorism offenses by the prosecutor’s office for the separatist Russia-backed Luhansk region.
The newly installed mayor is Galina Danilchenko, a former member of the city council, according to a statement on the Zaporozhye regional administration website.
Danilchenko, who was not elected by the people, was introduced as the acting mayor on local TV, the statement said.
In her televised statement, which was posted by the administration on Telegram, Danilchenko said her “main task is to take all necessary steps to get the city back to normal.”
She claimed there were people still in Melitopol who would try to destabilize “the situation and provoke a reaction of bad behavior.”
“I ask you to keep your wits about you and not to give in to these provocations,” Danilchenko said. “I appeal to the deputies, elected by the people, on all levels. Since you were elected by the people, it is your duty to care about the well-being of your citizens.”
Danilchenko proposed the creation of a “People’s Choice Committee” to “solve all the critical issues for Melitopol and the Melitopol region.”
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It's 11 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
As a new day nears for Ukraine, these are the latest updates from on the ground:
Russian troops loom near Kyiv: The bulk of Russian ground forces are currently about 15.5 miles from the center of the Ukrainian capital, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Saturday in its latest intelligence assessment.
Significant destruction seen in cities and towns: In Mariupol, satellite imagery showed damage and fires in apartment buildings and gas stations. An emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders told CNN that the city is in “the disaster phase now.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “a few small towns just don’t exist anymore. … They are just gone.”
Casualties mount: The United Nations has recorded 1,581 civilian casualties — 579 who were killed and 1,002 injured — since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Among the dead are 42 children, with 54 children among the injured, according to the UN’s latest report on civilian casualties.
French and German leaders speak with Putin: A French official told CNN that Putin seemed still to be “determined to achieve his objectives in Ukraine” but the fact that he continues to speak to the French and German leaders suggests that “he does not exclude the possibility of a diplomatic solution altogether.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was holding out little hope for a negotiated settlement to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Bipartisan delegation of US senators arrives in Poland, meets with US ambassador and troops
From CNN's Joe Johns and Sarah Fortinsky
A bipartisan US congressional delegation, including Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, arrived Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, where they met with US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski and traveled to Rzeszow to meet with US troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.
The delegation plans “to meet with senior government officials and visit refugee sites to affirm the United States’ commitment to Poland, Ukraine, and other allies in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” according to a Saturday news release from Wicker’s office.
Senate staff familiar with the trip tell CNN the delegation will also visit the Ukrainian border on Sunday.
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US sanctions more Russian elite and others in Putin's inner circle
From CNN's Jennifer Deaton
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on during a press conference in Moscow on December 17, 2020.
(Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)
The US Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned additional Kremlin “elites, leaders, oligarchs” and some of their family members for “enabling Putin’s war against Ukraine,” the department said in a statement.
Those sanctioned included three family members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian tycoon Viktor Vekselberg and 10 members of the management board of the sanctioned VTB Bank. Also sanctioned were 12 members of the Russian State Duma, including Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, and the Chairman of Russia’s Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov.
Zyuganov’s sanctioning in particular garnered coverage in Russian state media in ensuing hours. He has since responded, calling it a “reward” and validation of his efforts to “create peace” and “struggle against Nazism,” echoing Putin’s rhetoric for his justification of the Ukraine invasion.
Peskov was sanctioned on March 3 for being the “lead propagandist” of the Russian Federation. But on Friday, Peskov’s wife, Tatiana Navka, and two of Peskov’s adult children – Nikolay Peskov and Elizaveta Peskova – were also sanctioned. Tatiana Navka, who won a gold medal in ice dancing at the 2006 Olympics, has a ”property empire worth more than $10 million,” according to the Treasury Department statement.
Two of Vekselberg’s luxury assets, an Airbus A319-115 aircraft and a yacht named Tango — each valued at approximately $90 million each — were identified as blocked property, the statement said.
CNN’s Michael Callahan, Maria Angelova and Mariya Knight contributed to this report.
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New satellite images show extensive damage in western Mariupol, Ukraine
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
A large fire is seen raging in an industrial area in the Primorskyi neighborhood of western Mariupol on March 12.
New satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies shows the extent of damage caused by military strikes in western Mariupol.
The images were taken on Saturday morning.
In Mariupol’s western neighborhood of Zhovteneyvi, a large, still smoldering, crater is seen near the Okko gas station. Smoke appears to be rising from an apartment complex across the street. The roofs of warehouses down the street also appear to have large holes in them.
Within the apartment complex, several buildings have sustained significant damage. A debris field can be observed surrounding some of the buildings with a large smoke plume.
A field just northwest of the gas station shows the impact of craters dotting a snow-covered field. Vehicle tread marks are also seen.
Just over a mile south, in an industrial area in the Primorskyi neighborhood, a large fire is seen raging.
With relatively clear skies over Mariupol, some of the damage that was reported earlier in the week is coming into clearer focus.
The satellite images show extensive damage at the children’s and maternity hospital that was hit by Russian military strikes on Wednesday.
Mariupol is completely surrounded by Russian and Russian-backed separatist troops. Earlier in the week, CNN published Maxar satellite images that showed significant damage across the city.
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Mariupol is in a "disaster phase now," Doctors Without Borders emergency coordinator says
An emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders told CNN that the humanitarian situation in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol is deteriorating by the day.
“We have staff, MSF [Medecins Sans Frontières] staff, who are currently in Mariupol who we’ve been able to keep contact with, although that contact is getting harder and harder to keep every day. They confirmed to us there’s been no access to clean drinking water for over a week now,” Alex Wade told CNN’s Jim Acosta.
“They’re using snow and rain water, they’re breaking into heating systems to access the water in heating systems, but for many, water has already run out and so has the food for many people. The only people left with food are those who have stocks that they’re rationing,” he said from Vinnytsia, Ukraine.
Staff on the ground in Mariupol have told Wade that people are dying from lack of access to medicine, He said.
“The next phase we will see people who potentially could die from dehydration and hunger or … fleeing from the city trying to find food and water and dying from the violence outside the city,” he said.
Wade said there’s a “sense of panic” in the city right now.
While evacuation corridors were slated to take place for the city Saturday, the lack of available communication hampers safety efforts, he said.
“When there are discussions around humanitarian corridors or safe passage out of the city, many people are uninformed and they don’t know about it because there’s no communication inside the city. There’s no phone network. There’s no internet,” he said.
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Significant destruction seen in Makariv, a Ukrainian village 30 miles west of Kyiv
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
Makariv, Ukraine
(From Telegram)
A large swath of Makariv, a village 30 miles west of Kyiv, has sustained significant damage from apparent Russian airstrikes.
CNN geolocated and verified the authenticity of photos posted to social media on Saturday, which show major damage to apartment complexes, schools and a medical facility.
A stark image from Makariv shows a large hole in the northern wall of an apartment building. Many of the buildings in the photos have sustained damage on their northern facades, evidence that points to military strikes that hit them being Russian.
Several hundred feet east of that apartment building, a kindergarten also sustained significant damage.
Smoke can be observed still billowing up from the building, the roof has completely caved in and the windows have all been blown out.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has repeatedly claimed they are not targeting civilians.
At another apartment building just west of the school, another photo shows the roof and a number of upper floor residences destroyed.
Just south of the school, the Adonis-Makariv Medical and Diagnostic Center is seen on fire. The street in front of it is littered with debris and the windows have been blown out of the center.
A photo taken on the street in front of the center showed that the debris in front of it is all that remains of the north-facing front facade of the building.
Immediately west of the school and medical center, near the center of Makariv, a massive crater was observed in the road. The medical center can be seen in the background on fire. Next to that crater, another photo shows a residential building with a grocery store on the ground floor has been hit.
In the center of town, a cultural center that also houses government and police offices has been hit by a strike. A portion of the building was destroyed and a structure on the roof appeared to have been clipped by some sort of munition.
“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes” was written on a large sign in the front of the building.
South of central Makariv, a preschool also sustained significant damage. The windows have been blown out and portions of the roof appear to be damaged.
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Moscow Stock Exchange will not resume trading next week, Russian Central Bank says
From CNN's Pierre Meilhan
A man walks past the Moscow's stock market building in downtown Moscow on February 28.
(Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia’s Central Bank said Saturday it will not resume trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange in the equity market during the week of March 14.
The Bank of Russia also said via its website that the foreign currency market will reopen at 10 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) on Monday and commodity trading will also resume then.
As for stock market operations during the week of March 21, the central bank indicated that it will make an announcement at a later date.
The exchange has been closed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the United States, European Union and other Western allies imposed sanctions and the Russian ruble plunged to record lows against the US dollar.
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US vice president warns that Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens democracy across Europe
From CNN's Sam Fossum
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a news conference in Bucharest, Romania on March 11.
(Andrei Pungovschi/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
US Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the unity between the US and its NATO and European allies and warned that Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine poses a threat to all democracies.
“Russia’s invasion threatens not just Ukraine’s democracy; it threatens democracy and security across Europe,” Harris said at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting on Saturday in Washington, DC.
“The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people in defense of the NATO alliance,” Harris said to applause from the crowd.
Harris also told the attendees about meeting with a Moroccan student who had fled Ukraine and the plight of millions of refugees fleeing the Russian onslaught.
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Ukraine's foreign minister doubtful about prospects for negotiated settlement with Russia
From CNN's Tim Lister in Kyiv
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba holds a press conference on March 10 in Antalya, Turkey.
(Ozan Güzelce/ dia images/Getty Images)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is holding out little hope for a negotiated settlement to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“There is little space for diplomacy in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s mind,” he told a US policy forum. “We have to keep the channel of diplomacy open,” while being aware of “the attempts of Russia to publicly manipulate this track.”
Kuleba’s pessimistic outlook coincided with a call among Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier Saturday.
A French official told CNN that Putin seemed still to be “determined to achieve his objectives in Ukraine” but the fact that he continues to speak to the French and German leaders suggests that “he does not exclude the possibility of a diplomatic solution altogether.”
Kuleba said he believed the removal of Putin as Russian president would be enough to stop the conflict.
He was grim about the consequences of the war, saying it will make Ukrainians hate Russia. “We will not forgive them for generations,” he said.
He also said Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko was under enormous pressure from Moscow to commit forces to the invasion.
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It's just after 7 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
Police officers and residents stand next to a shell crater and damaged home in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 12.
(Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)
Tensions remain high as night falls in the capital of Ukraine more than two weeks after Russia invaded the country.
These are the latest updates you should know now:
Russian forces inch closer to Kyiv: CNN teams in Kyiv reported hearing explosions in the early hours of Saturday, as the capital comes under pressure. The bulk of Russian ground forces are about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Kyiv’s center, according to British defense officials. Russian strikes continue to hit civilian structures: A landmark hotel in the northern city of Chernihiv was reduced to rubble overnight as well as the local electricity network.
Zelensky says “front line” is everywhere: While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is more united than ever as it faces the Russian invasion, he said “a few small towns just don’t exist anymore. … They are just gone.” He added that negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “must begin with a ceasefire.”
He also called for the immediate release of Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the city of Melitopol who was arrested by armed men on Friday.
Ceasefire urged: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to call an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during a 75-minute call on Saturday. The calls for a ceasefire come as the UN reports at least 1,500 civilians have suffered casualties since the start of the war on Feb. 24.
Ukrainians say Russians demand control of nuclear plant: Russian officials have arrived to Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, demanding to take control of the facility, according to a statement from Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-operated nuclear energy company.
Attacks on key cities: CNN journalists in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro felt at least two explosions and saw what looked like the remnants of anti-aircraft fire early Saturday. The cities of Kharkhiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Sumy are also under a sustained Russian onslaught. This comes as Russian forces expanded their offensive to the west of Ukraine for the first time on Friday, with strikes targeting military airfields, including one in Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, on Saturday. To the east, there’s growing evidence that the town of Volnovakha has fallen to Russian forces and their allies in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. The southern city of Kherson appears to have been captured, according to US defense intelligence.
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Putin still "determined" to achieve his objective in Ukraine, says French presidency source
From CNN's Melissa Bell in Paris
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state of mind remains “determined,” according to an Elysee source speaking after a Saturday afternoon phone call among French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Putin.
The source said that since the three leaders last spoke on Thursday, Putin seemed to still be “determined to achieve his objectives in Ukraine,” but that the fact that he continues to speak to the French and German leaders suggests that “he does not exclude the possibility of a diplomatic solution altogether.”
A source close to Macron and familiar with the conversation told CNN’s Jim Acosta that Macron was disappointed with Putin’s “insincerity” during the call, but that the French president remains committed to diplomatic solutions to end the conflict, including coordinated sanctions, banning Russia from activity within the international community, and a “continued firm and denuding dialogue.”
Earlier Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Macron to press Putin for a ceasefire and to raise the issue of the detention of the mayor of Melitopol. The source said Macron and Scholz had done so.
Further sanctions are being planned by both the G7 and the European Union, the source said. The fresh European sanctions will be discussed next week in Brussels and will be aimed at sanctioning recent actions by Russian troops in Ukraine, the siege of Mariupol and the advance of Russian troops along the Dniepr River.
Asked about the possibility of European sanctions on Russian energy exports, the source repeated what Macron had said at the leader’s summit in Versailles on Friday that nothing was “taboo,” with no option off the table.
CNN’s Jim Acosta contributed to this report.
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UN says there have been more than 1,500 civilian casualties — including 42 children killed — in Ukraine so far
From CNN's Mia Alberti
The United Nations has recorded 1,581 civilian casualties — 579 who were killed and 1,002 injured — since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Among the dead are 42 children, with 54 children among the injured, according to the UN’s latest report on civilian casualties. The largest number of victims was recorded in areas still under Ukrainian government control.
The organization’s human rights office believes the actual number of casualties is “considerably higher especially in Government-controlled territory and especially in recent days” after reports of intense hostilities in regions such as Kharkiv, Mariupol and Donetsk, “where there are allegations of hundreds of civilian casualties.”
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Russia sends warning to the US about transferring weapons to Ukraine, according to state media
From CNN’s Maija Ehlinger
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned the United States about the potential consequences of transferring weapons to Ukraine, saying convoys with foreign weapons would be “legitimate targets.”
Ryabkov made these comments on Saturday on the state-run Channel One, according to Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
“We warned the United States that pumping Ukraine with weapons from a number of countries orchestrated by them is not just a dangerous move, but these are actions that turn the corresponding convoys into legitimate targets,” he added.
Read more about the US and its NATO allies’ efforts to assist Ukraine:
All of Ukraine is "a front line," Zelensky says, adding some "small towns just don’t exist anymore"
From CNN’s Yulia Kesaieva and Ivana Kottasová in Lviv and Eleanor Pickston in London
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 12.
(Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is more united than ever as it faces the Russian invasion.
“This war, a difficult war, has truly united our nation. You are asking me how’s the situation on the front line … there’s a front line everywhere,” Zelensky said in a briefing on Saturday.
Zelensky said Ukraine has lost approximately 1,300 troops as of Saturday.
He added that negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “must begin with a ceasefire.”
“Our diplomats are working on the details of the agenda of the possible meeting of Ukrainian and Russian delegations,” he said. “I would like this to happen. So we can actually, not just on words, start the process of settlement, peace and the end of war.”
Zelensky said that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have begun to talk rather than “exchange ultimatums” and that he is “pleased” with signals from the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian president said he was hoping diplomacy could bring peace, saying there was “a signal” coming from the Russian side about being ready to negotiate, although he gave no details on what this signal was.
Zelensky emphasized that Western partners need to be more involved in discussions and even provide their own security guarantees to Ukraine, as Ukraine will “never be able to trust Russia after such a bloody war.”
He hit out at NATO nations for its reluctance to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying that the members “lack the courage to come together for Ukraine” and that there is “no agreed position” on whether Ukraine can join the alliance. Zelensky said his country is grateful for the bilateral support Ukraine has received from certain NATO countries but added that his country is “suffering now.”
White House directs additional $200 million drawdown for defense services to Ukraine
From CNN's DJ Judd and Jasmine Wright
In a memorandum Saturday, US President Joe Biden delegated Secretary of State Antony Blinken to direct the drawdown of $200 million in defense articles and services, including military education and training, for Ukraine.
Per the Department of Defense, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) allows a president to authorize the “disposition of United States property or services,” a drawdown, to foreign nations without legislative authority or budgetary appropriations, which is typically deployed in case of an emergency in a foreign country or region.
Under such circumstances, an “ad hoc interagency process” including representatives from the National Security Council, Department of Defense and State Department “determines which existing statutory authority applies to the situation and identifies which articles and services should be provided” — in this case, education and training for Ukrainian military forces.
Per a White House official, today’s announcement brings the total amount of security assistance provided to Ukraine to $1.2 billion in the past year. Earlier this month, the administration authorized a $350 million drawdown package, which another official told reporters constitutes “the largest presidential drawdown package in history.”
An administration official said the $200 million drawdown will provide “immediate military assistance to Ukraine.”
This will include “anti-armor, anti-aircraft systems, and small arms in support of Ukraine’s front line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack,” the official said.
CNN’s Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.
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Ukrainian officials accuse Russians of planning a referendum for "independence" in southern region
From CNN's Paul Murphy, Tim Lister and Julia Kesa
A senior Ukrainian official in the southern region of Kherson, which is now under Russian occupation, has said that the Russians are pressing the regional council to agree to a referendum on the area’s “independence” from Ukraine.
Serhiy Khlan, a deputy of the Kherson regional council, said “the occupiers are preparing a referendum on the creation of the People’s Republic of Kherson.”
He said local deputies were being called to ask if they are ready for “cooperation.”
He urged deputies to refuse to cooperate.
After Russian-backed separatists took control in 2014 of parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, people’s republics were declared in both areas.
There’s been no word from the Russian side about any referendum plans.
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Former Ukrainian president calls Putin "war criminal," says Ukraine will keep fighting
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks with CNN on Saturday.
(CNN)
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and said Ukrainian forces will not give up as Russian troops are now estimated to be about 15 miles away from Kyiv.
“Please don’t trust Putin, please don’t trust Russia. I think Putin is a war criminal. … He is a mad person,” Poroshenko told CNN while stationed with Ukrainian forces in the capital city.
“But we have less and less ammunition and … we are not giving up. We are not forgive the Putin this type of things and I am absolutely confident that we will fight in every single house, every single street, and every single quarter in Kyiv, in Kharkiv … in all of the cities would be the hell for the Russian soldiers and would be at the end of the day the hell for Putin,” Poroshenko said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
He added that “only five nations support Russia” while “141 nations support Ukraine” — referring to the United Nations General Assembly vote to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and said that Ukraine is providing “the end of the Russian Empire.”
Poroshenko also said that Ukraine needs more military supplies from the West.
“We are ready to fight but we do not need your soldiers. But we need everything: military jet, antitank, anti-aircraft missiles, from nutrition to ammunition, everything,” Poroshenko said.
Poroshenko also referred to the Kremlin’s false, debunked claims about bioweapons in Ukraine as “propaganda.”
“Me as a president of Ukraine can guarantee no chemical, no bacteriological weapons; Ukraine don’t have, don’t have it before and not planning to have it in the future. This is definitely confirmed. This is classical, very important example of the Russian propaganda,” he said.
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Germany registers nearly 123,000 refugees from Ukraine
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Ukrainian refugees queue for food after their arrival at the main train station in Berlin, Germany on March 8.
(Michael Sohn/AP)
While nearly 123,000 refugees have arrived in Germany from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion late last month, the absence of border checks at the country’s border with Poland where most Ukrainian refugees are coming from could mean the number is significantly higher, according to Germany’s foreign minister.
Germany is working with its allies to airlift people who have fled Ukraine to countries farther away as Ukraine’s neighboring countries struggle to cope with all new arrivals from the war-stricken country, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
Baerbock told reporters in Chisinau alongside her Moldovan counterpart that Germany will take in 2,500 refugees from Ukraine who are currently in Moldova.
According to data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian attack on Ukraine.
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Russia claims ownership of Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Ukrainian management says
From CNN’s Ivana Kottasová and Yulia Kesaieva in Lviv
Russian officials have arrived to Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, demanding to take control of the facility, according to a statement from Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-operated nuclear energy company.
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Station has been occupied by Russian forces for more than a week now, with Energoatom previously claiming its employees have been forced to work at “gunpoint.”
Energoatom said 11 people from Rosatom, the Russian state atomic energy company, arrived to the plant on Friday and that a representative of the group said the plant now belonged to Rosatom.
The statement said that two top-level engineers from Russian nuclear power plants in Balakovo and Rostov were among the 11 Russians that arrived on Friday.
The statement said that all six power units at the plant are in operation, but added that the station management is forced to agree on all technical issues with the Russians.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Saturday that two of the plant’s four high voltage offsite power lines have been damaged, but that the amount of power the plant needs in order to keep operating safely can be provided with one line available.
Rosatom has not commented on the issue.
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Ukrainian deputy PM calls on leading Taiwanese electronics manufacturer to cease business with Russia
From CNN’s Wayne Chang in Taipei, Taiwan
An ASUS sign is seen inside a shop in Tehran, Iran in 2021.
(Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also the minister for digital transformation, called on leading Taiwanese electronics manufacturer ASUS to cease operation and business ties with Russia as its invasion into Ukraine continues, according to an open letter posted on Fedorov’s Twitter on Thursday.
In the letter addressed to ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih, Fedorov called on the company and its affiliates to “end any relationships and stop doing business” in Russia, as well as cease relationships with Russia-based clients and partners, including “supplying hardware and electronics, providing technical support and services,” until “Russian aggression in Ukraine is fully stopped and fair order is restored.”
“Russian tanks and missiles continue killing peaceful Ukrainians! @ASUS, Russians have no moral right to use your brilliant technology! It’s for peace, not for war!” Fedrov said in a tweet preceding the letter.
This is the first Taiwanese multinational corporation directly called on by Ukrainian senior officials to cut business ties with Russia in relation to the invasion.
A review of Fedorov’s Twitter activity shows that since Russia’s invasion, he has publicly called on a range of high-profile companies – including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Visa, Mastercard and Netflix – to ban Russian access to their products and services.
CNN reached out to ASUS for comment. According to Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency, ASUS said earlier on Saturday it “would not respond at this time.”
Last Tuesday, Taiwan senior officials said it will join moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system, and it will “scrutinize” products exported to Russia in accordance with the Wassenaar Arrangement – which regulates export controls for weapons and dual-use goods and technologies – and won’t permit such exports “unless there are legitimate reasons.”
French and German leaders urge immediate ceasefire in call with Putin
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a joint press conference on February 8, in Berlin, Germany.
(Thibault Camus/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to call an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during a 75-minute call on Saturday.
Macron and Scholz also appealed to Putin to “move toward a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” according to German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit.
He said the conversation was part of ongoing international efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The two sides agreed not to disclose any further details of the talks, he added.
Scholz spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prior to the call with Putin about his “assessment of the current situation,” and “they agreed to remain in close contact,” according to the spokesperson.
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Vatican says it's available for "any kind of mediation" to help stop war in Ukraine
From CNN's Lindsay Isaac
People hold a Ukrainian flag in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on March 6.
(Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The Vatican is willing to do “everything possible” to assist in reaching a ceasefire and brokering an end to the war in Ukraine.
The Holy See is “available for any kind of mediation,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, in an interview with Vatican News.
Parolin repeated Pope Francis’ appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week.
The Pope’s “unprecedented gesture” of visiting the Russian embassy to the Vatican the day after the invasion of Ukraine was a “personal step” in order to “express to the authorities in Moscow his concern about the escalation of the war,” Parolin said. War is “madness,” he said, and appealed to the “consciences” of all people involved to cease fighting immediately.
It is “never too late,” to make peace, he urged. “It is never too late to retrace one’s steps and find an agreement.”
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Zelensky claims Ukraine is inflicting "biggest blow to the Russian army in decades"
From CNN’s Eleanor Pickston in London
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a video address on March 12.
(Facebook)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Ukrainian forces are inflicting the “biggest blow to Russia’s army in decades.”
In a Facebook video address Saturday Zelensky said 31 Russian tactical battalion groups have lost capability, and more than 360 Russian tanks have been lost.
Zelensky added that groups of Russian troops were surrendering to Ukrainian forces, but that Russia is now recruiting fighters, reservists, conscripts, and mercenaries to “outnumber” Ukrainian forces.
Addressing the city of Mariupol, Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces will guarantee a ceasefire along the evacuation corridor out of the city to allow supplies into the city, and to facilitate civilian evacuations.
Zelensky’s remarks come after a Russian airstrike on Mariupol’s maternity and children’s hospital on Wednesday left 17 people injured, including children, women and doctors, according to Mariupol city officials. Three people died, the city council said Thursday, among them, a child.
A pregnant woman, Mariana Vishegirskaya, whose rescue from the Mariupol maternity hospital this week was captured in a viral AP photo, has since given birth to a baby girl, her family confirmed to CNN.
CNN’s Tim Lister, Laura Smith-Spark, Olga Voitovych, Rob Picheta and Gianluca Mezzofiore contributed reporting to this post.
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Flying on Russian planes is about to get much more dangerous
But that is the least of the industry’s problems. Russia’s domestic airline industry could soon become a mere shell of its former self due to restrictions on its operations.
Sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union mean that the world’s two major aircraft makers, Boeing (BA) and Airbus (EADSF), can no longer supply spare parts or maintenance support for Russian airlines. The same is true of jet engine makers.
“Within a year Russia will cease to have any kind of viable airline industry,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory.
He said the country’s airline industry could soon find itself somewhere between the heavily sanctioned industries in Iran and North Korea.
That poses a serious problem for Russia’s overall economic activity.
Russia is the world’s largest nation by landmass, more than twice the size of the continental United States. It needs to have a viable airline industry to keep its economy working, said Charles Lichfield, the deputy director of GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council, an international think tank.
Call between Putin and French and German leaders is underway
From CNN’s Melissa Bell in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have started a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, an Elysée source told CNN on Saturday.
The three men previously spoke on Thursday when Macron said that the conditions put forth by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire in Ukraine were “not acceptable to anyone,” without specifying what Putin’s conditions were.
Macron has spoken frequently to Putin in the last month but has had little success in deescalating the crisis.
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Italy's finance police seize Russian oligarch's mega yacht
From CNN's Nicola Ruotolo and Paul P. Murphy
Andrey Melnichenko's mega yacht is sequestered by Italian Finance police in Trieste, Italy on March 12.
(Giorgio Boemo/Reuters)
The Italian finance police seized Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko’s mega yacht in Trieste, Italy on Friday evening.
The Guardia di Finanza made the announcement in a statement released on Friday evening. Called “SY A,” the yacht was in storage at the Port of Trieste, the statement said.
It’s worth approximately 530 million euros ($578 million), the statement added. It is one of the largest superyachts in the world, according to the manufacturer Nobiskrug.
Video published by the finance police shows agents boarding the yacht.
Melnichenko was sanctioned by the European Union on March 9 as part of expanded sanctions on Russian oligarchs. According to the EU, he owns the major fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and SUEK, a coal company.
In the EU’s Council decision, which authorized sanctions against Melnichenko, they noted he and 36 other business leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion into Ukraine to discuss the potential economic impact of EU and American sanctions.
“It also shows that he is one of the leading businesspersons involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the government of Russia, which is responsible for annexation of Crimea and destabilization of Ukraine.”
On Saturday, Melnichenko spokesman Alex Andreev told CNN that the Russian oligarch removed himself from the board of both Eurochem and SUEK (companies he founded) after the EU sanctioned him. Andreev also said that Melnichenko was also no longer the “beneficiary” of the companies, in a statement to CNN.
When asked by CNN if Melnichenko had any comment on the situation in Ukraine, Andreev declined to provide additional comment and instead pointed towards his initial emailed statement to CNN.
“Andrey Melnichenko is an international self-made entrepreneur. He has no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations,” Andreev said in that statement. “There is no justification whatsoever for placing him on the EU sanctions list. We will be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and believe that the rule of law and common sense will prevail.”
Just days after Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich announced that he would sell the football club, the UK added the 55-year-old to its list of sanctioned individuals as part of its efforts to “isolate” Putin.
The European Union had sanctioned Sechin earlier that week, describing him as one of Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend.”
CNN’s Kara Scannell, Jessica Schneider, Amy Woodyatt and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.
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Zelensky demands immediate release of detained Melitopol mayor
From CNN’s Eleanor Pickston in London
Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov.
(From Facebook)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the immediate release of Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the city of Melitopol who was arrested by armed men on Friday.
In a video address Saturday, Zelensky said: “Yesterday the occupiers abducted the mayor of Melitopol, the public demands his release.”
Shortly after Fedorov’s detention, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed that the mayor had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.
Zelensky said he had spoken to the leaders of France, Germany, Israel about securing mayor Fedorov’s release.
Earlier on Saturday, hundreds of people protested outside Melitopol’s city hall, demanding his release, according to Ukrainian state TV video.
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Vladimir Putin: The world of sport has shunned the Russian President. So what?
From CNN's Amy Woodyatt
As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, a plethora of international sports organizations and governing bodies have also responded by targeting Russia and its athletes with sanctions of varying severity, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been stripped of multiple honorary sporting titles.
Notably Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to compete at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also announced that it had withdrawn the Olympic Order – the highest award of the Olympic movement – from Putin.
Meanwhile, world football’s governing body, FIFA, and European soccer body, UEFA, have suspended all Russian international and club teams from their competitions “until further notice.”
“Vladimir Putin has been passionate about both sports and using sport to project Russia’s importance on the world stage and giving back to the Russian people a sense of pride in their success on the world stage,” Michael Payne, former head of marketing at the IOC, told CNN.
Payne added that the most immediate impact of sanctions could be to challenge the Kremlin’s narrative on the conflict.
“Sanctions may cause ordinary Russians to ask why can’t they see their Russian athletes performing? And clearly, then there’s prompting the Russian people to say ‘What’s going on?’” Payne added.
”Will Putin care about having to give his Olympic gold order back or what the rest of the international world thinks of him? Probably not.
“Will he care about what all the local Russians are saying, ‘Hang on, what is going on?’ Absolutely.”
Russia ready to resume security talks with US, says state media
From CNN's Lindsay Isaac
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov speaks during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on January 10.
(Eloi Rouyer/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia said Saturday it was ready to work again with the United States on security issues and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
“If the Americans are ready for this, we will, of course, be able to resume dialogue and are determined to do so, as well as to work on the START, where there is also a certain pause,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Channel One, state media RIA Novosti reported.
“It all depends on Washington,” he added.
According to Ryabkov, Russia did not stop dialogue with the US. “We have not withdrawn from the US strategic stability dialogue. It has been suspended by Washington, apparently under the illusion that we need this dialogue more than Washington. Absolutely not,” Ryabkov said.
Some background: The landmark treaty was first signed for a period of 10 years by former US President Barack Obama and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010. It took effect on February 5, 2011.
START limits the number of strategic offensive weapons both countries can have. The treaty limits each side to no more than 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and heavy bombers; no more than 1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and heavy bombers for nuclear armaments; and a total of 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers.
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It’s 3 p.m in Kyiv: Here’s what you need to know
Firefighters extinguish a fire after shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 12.
(Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian forces are moving closer to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and stepping up their assault on other key cities on day 17 of their unprovoked invasion of the country. Here are the latest developments:
Noose tightens on Kyiv: CNN teams in Kyiv reported hearing explosions in the early hours of Saturday, as the capital comes under pressure. The bulk of Russian ground forces are about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Kyiv’s center, according to British defense officials. Russian strikes continue to hit civilian structures: A landmark hotel in the northern city of Chernihiv was reduced to rubble overnight as well as the local electricity network.
Attack on key cities: CNN journalists in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro felt at least two explosions and saw what looked like the remnants of anti-aircraft fire early Saturday. The cities of Kharkhiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Sumy are also under a sustained Russian onslaught. This comes as Russian forces expanded their offensive to the west of Ukraine for the first time on Friday, with strikes targeting military airfields, including one in Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, on Saturday. To the east, there’s growing evidence that the town of Volnovakha has fallen to Russian forces and their allies in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. The southern city of Kherson appears to have been captured, according to US defense intelligence.
Anger mounts over mayor’s arrest: Several hundred protesters swarmed the city hall in the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol on Saturday after the arrest of its mayor Ivan Fedorov by Russian forces the day before. The Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed he had committed terrorism offenses but Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called Fedorov’s detention a “crime against democracy.”
Chernobyl power: Technicians are working to repair damaged power lines to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the UN’s nuclear watchdog. Ukrainian authorities said the lines were entirely cut this week due to Russian shelling. The plant, which has been relying on diesel generators for backup power since Wednesday, is under Russian control with more than 200 staff effectively living and working there under difficult conditions.
Biden’s warning: US President Joe Biden warned Friday that Russia would pay a “severe price” if it uses chemical weapons, but reiterated the US will not send ground troops to Ukraine. “We will not fight the third world war in Ukraine,” Biden said — adding the US would help provide weapons, money and food aid for the country instead.
The human toll: At least 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine, the UN said Friday. The UN recorded 1,546 civilian casualties in Ukraine as of Friday, including 564 killed and 982 injured — though they estimate the real number is much higher.
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Dogs of war: the pets left behind by Russia's invasion of Ukraine
From CNN's Sara Sidner and Anna-Maja Rappard
A dehydrated German shepherd stands on Jakub Kotowicz’s operation table, her tumor protruding from one of her mammary glands.
Named Moon by the staff at the ADA foundation – a no-kill animal shelter in Przemysl, Poland, just 30 minutes from the border with Ukraine – she’s one of the many animals that have been displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In recent days, ADA Foundation staff members have been risking their lives driving into Ukraine to help empty out shelters, where animals are in danger of being abandoned and then starving to death as war surrounds them.
Russian strikes around Kyiv wipe out hotel and electricity in Chernihiv, an airport in Vasylkiv
From Tim Lister in Kyiv and Olga Voitovych
A column of smoke rises from burning fuel tanks at an air base in Vasylkiv, Ukraine on March 12.
(Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Russian missile and air strikes caused damage to the north and south of the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Saturday, according to local officials.
In Chernihiv, some 100 kilometers north of Kyiv, the hotel Ukraine – a landmark in the city – was hit overnight.
“I am here now. There is no hotel anymore,” Vyacheslav Chaus, head of Chernihiv region administration, said Saturday.
Chernihiv has been surrounded by Russian forces for more than a week and video from the city shows widespread damage from missiles and airstrikes.
Chaus added that the city has “no electricity, almost no water, gas, and heat,” and while efforts to restore electricity on Friday were successful “the enemy hit an electricity network again.”
Social media video from Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, showed a fuel dump on fire after a strike in the early hours of Saturday, and the military airfield there appears to have been heavily damaged.
Nataliia Balasynovych, the town’s mayor, said on Facebook: “Today at about 7 a.m. enemy forces shelled the city of Vasylkiv. Eight missiles hit, shelled the airport. As a result of the missile strikes, the airport was completely destroyed, the runway was destroyed.”
She added that an “ammunition depot also detonated. Ammunition is still detonating because one of the missiles hit the ammunition depot. The warehouse with fuels and lubricants was also destroyed. As a result, the capacity of our airport has been completely eliminated.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense had said earlier that a high-precision long-range weapon struck the military airfield in Vasylkiv.
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Pregnant woman who survived the Mariupol maternity hospital bombing gives birth
From CNN's Gianluca Mezzofiore in London
A pregnant woman, whose rescue from the Mariupol maternity hospital this week was captured in a viral AP photo, has given birth to a baby girl, her family confirmed to CNN.
Mariana Vishegirskaya was among a number of women at the Mariupol maternity hospital who survived the shelling.
She delivered her baby in another hospital on Thursday, her aunt Tatiana Liubchenko said. “According to our conversations this [Friday] morning, Marianna was doing well and they named her daughter Veronica,” Liubchenko said.
Vishegirskaya lies in a hospital bed after giving birth to her daughter Veronika on Friday in Mariupol. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Vishegirskaya’s aunt worries about the deteriorating conditions in the besieged city of Mariupol. “But we got the information that the water and food of the people there are running out and we are very worried, because the green corridor is not opened and the Russians do not allow, the food does not come. And it’s so cold there right now so they can’t get warm. I think she gave birth in hospital number 2 in Mariupol,” Liubchenko added.
The family tried to call Vishegirskaya back throughout the day, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
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More evacuation corridors from Ukrainian cities to open Saturday, officials say
From Wayne Chang in Hong Kong, Yulia Sevchenko in Atlanta and Josh Pennington in Columbus, Ohio
At least 13 evacuation corridors from different Ukrainian cities, including the besieged eastern city of Mariupol, will be open on Saturday for civilians, said Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
“Today, a convoy with humanitarian cargo and buses for the evacuation of people (…) is departing from the city of Zaporizhzhia to the city of Mariupol, Donetsk Region, through the following populated localities: Zaporizhzhia, Melitopol, Vasylivka, Berdyansk, Mangush, Mariupol, with mandatory mine sweeping along the entire route,” Vereshchuk said Saturday in a video message.
“I very much hope that today will be a success, all the planned routes will be open and Russia will adhere to the ceasefire obligations it took on,” Vereshchuk added.
In a separate interview with Ukrainian state TV Saturday morning local time, Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said he “hopes” the corridors “that were supposed to open yesterday will open today,” including the one for Mariupol.
This would be the sixth attempt to establish a route from Mariupol, as previous efforts to evacuate residents have largely failed.
Ukrainian authorities reported limited success in securing the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians from the other worst-affected areas Friday.
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Escaping the horror in Ukraine is not an option for many disabled children and their families
From CNN's Ivana Kottasová and Yulia Kesaieva
Vova doesn’t know there is a war raging right outside his window.
He doesn’t understand the meaning of the air raid sirens. He is unaware of the destruction caused by Russian bombs dropping on Kyiv. He just wants to build towers with his toy blocks and press the buttons on his mom’s phone that make it play songs and cartoons he likes.
Vova, a pet name for Volodymyr, is 17 and has Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes severe intellectual disabilities. He needs round-the-clock care and anti-seizure medication that has become impossible to obtain as Russian troops close in on the Ukrainian capital, according to his mother, Natalia Komarenko.
Vova and his family are among thousands of Kyiv families that cannot leave the city because of health conditions that make travel extremely risky.
Komarenko heads a charitable foundation called Z teplom u sertsi (Ukrainian for “With Warmth in the Heart”).The group brings together and creates support networks for Kyivfamilies living with disabilities. Only 20 to 50 of the 1,247 families in the group – around 260 people in all – have been able to flee the capital, according to Komarenko.
The European Disability Forum, a pan-European NGO, estimates there are 2.7 million people with disabilities in Ukraine. According to Inclusion Europe, another NGO, there are around 261,000 people in Ukraine with intellectual disabilities that make them extremely vulnerable to the conflict.
At least 100,000 of them, mostly children, live in care homes and institutions. Their chances of getting out of the country are slim.
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Humanitarian convoy heads for Mariupol
From Tim Lister in Kyiv and Olga Voitovych
Yet another attempt is being made Saturday to get humanitarian aid into the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol and bring thousands of civilians out.
The city has been under heavy fire from Russian forces for more than a week, and the city council said Friday nearly 1,600 people had been killed.
On Saturday the council announced that “a green corridor is open. A humanitarian convoy departed from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol. More than 90 tons of food and medicine are going to the city, which is under siege for 11 days.”
The council said that, for the second consecutive day, priests of the Orthodox Church had joined the convoy.
The Mariupol “green corridor” is one of several announced by the Ukrainian government in order to get humanitarian aid into areas worst affected by the fighting and help thousands of people to leave areas without power and water and under heavy shelling.
City under siege: Routes from Mariupol and Volnovakha have been repeatedly blocked or inaccessible over the past week. On Friday, Oleksii Reznikov, the Defense Minister, described the situation in Mariupol as very difficult. He accused the Russians of bombing the city even during official negotiations.
Doctors without Borders (MSF) on Friday warned of an “extremely dire” humanitarian situation in the city where their teams report “that many families do not have enough water, food, and medicine.”
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No diplomatic off-ramp in sight for Russia's war in Ukraine
From CNN's Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler and Jeremy Herb
With Russia’s war in Ukraine now in its third week, US and European officials have little optimism that the diplomatic channels can deliver a way out of the conflict at this point.
Talks between Ukraine’s and Russia’s diplomats this week yielded no discernible progress. Supposedly safe evacuation routes out of the country have repeatedly been contested. The civilian death toll continues to rise, and by the end of the week both sides were trading accusations over the use of chemical weapons.
The US and its allies have enacted crippling sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, and US President Joe Biden has kept in touch with European leaders as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But US officials have privately acknowledged they don’t believe any of these sanctions are going to change Putin’s thinking, and many don’t believe Russia’s losses in Ukraine will either.
Protest in Melitopol against mayor's arrest by Russian forces
From CNN's Tim Lister in Kyiv and Josh Pennington
Several hundred people protested outside the city hall in the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol after the arrest of the mayor Ivan Fedorov by Russian forces Friday.
“Freedom for the Mayor” and “Fedorov,” chanted the crowd, according to a short video by Ukrainian state TV on its Facebook page. It reported that more than 2,000 people flocked to the occupied building demanding the official’s release
Russian forces occupied Melitopol within days of the invasion beginning in late February, but the city has seen sporadic protests since.
This comes after Fedorov was seen on video Friday being led away from a government building in the city by armed men. A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed that the mayor had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called Fedorov’s arrest a “crime against democracy” in a Facebook video Friday.
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Russia's richest businessman tells Putin: Don't take us back to 1917
Vladimir Potanin, president of metals giant Norilsk Nickel (NILSY) and its biggest shareholder, said that Russia risked returning to the tumultuous days of the 1917 revolution if it slammed the door on Western companies and investors.He urged the Russian government to proceed with extreme caution regarding the seizure of assets.
“Secondly, the decision of many companies to suspend operations in Russia is, I would say, somewhat emotional in nature and may have been taken as a result of unprecedented pressure on them from public opinion abroad. So most likely they will come back. And personally, I would keep such an opportunity for them,” he added.
Potanin is Russia’s wealthiest billionaire and still worth about $22.5 billion, according to Bloomberg, despite losing about a quarter of his fortune this year as shares in Norilsk Nickel crashed. The company’s shares lost more than 90% in London trading before they were suspended this month, despite soaring prices for its commodities.
Overnight shelling sparks fire at warehouse northeast of Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities say
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Shelling causes fire at a warehouse in Kvitneve, Brovary District, northeast of Kyiv.
(Interior Ministry of Ukraine)
A frozen goods warehouse caught fire early Saturday morning due to shelling in Brovary district, northeast of Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.
The shelling happened in the village of Kvitneve about 3:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET Friday), the ministry said. Preliminary reports show there were no casualties.
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UK Defense Ministry: Bulk of Russian forces are 25 kilometers from Kyiv
From CNN's Radina Gigova in Atlanta
The bulk of Russian ground forces are currently about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Saturday in its latest intelligence assessment.
“Elements of the large Russian column north of Kyiv have dispersed. This is likely to support a Russian attempt to encircle the city. It could also be an attempt by Russia to reduce its vulnerability to Ukrainian counter attacks, which have taken a significant toll on Russian forces,” the ministry said.
CNN teams in Kyiv reported explosions in the early hours of Saturday morning, but it’s unclear whether the explosions were Russian or Ukrainian strikes.
The other key cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remain encircled by Russian forces, the ministry added.
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For loved ones ripped apart by war in Ukraine, phone messages bring hope and despair
From CNN's Tamara Qiblawi, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Olga Voitovych
In the midst of a days-long, chaotic cross-country train ride to the northwestern city of Lviv, near Ukraine’s border with Poland, a terrible realization dawned on Marina.
The 54-year-old carer, who managed to evacuate an orphanage in a besieged industrial town in the eastern Luhansk province, had no way to return to her own family.
Marina, who did not give her surname, was still reeling from the journey — days spent desperately trying to calm the panic-stricken children in her care against the backdrop of booms and thuds of Russia’s brutal assault, while still fearing for her family at home.
CNN is not disclosing Marina’s full name because of the risks to her family who have not been evacuated.
Families separated: The fracturing of families underpins many of the stories of displacement in Ukraine, with millions of people trapped in besieged cities with virtually no way out.
Several people CNN spoke to in recent days said they have been unable to contact their loved ones since the start of the invasion. They described frenzied escapes from the country’s worst-affected cities, in which parents, spouses, siblings and grandparents were left behind.
With the Russian assault knocking out power and telephone networks, whole cities have been cut off from the outside world. Many say they don’t know if their loved ones are still alive.
Death and destruction in Ukraine overshadows Roman Abramovich's Chelsea legacy
From CNN's Issy Ronald and Jack Bantock
Roman Abramovich is seen in this file photo watching the Europa League final between Chelsea and Arsenal in Baku, Azerbaijan on May 29, 2019.
(Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
For almost 20 years, Roman Abramovich rocketed Chelsea from a club on the periphery of the elite to a global football superpower — but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in his reign coming to an abrupt end.
Bloody conflict in Ukraine and international outrage over Russia’s invasion placed a renewed focus on Abramovich and his ownership of Chelsea.
It’s a focus that has shone a light on the jarring friction between sport and politics: Abramovich the dream-realizing football owner — adored by much of the Chelsea fanbase — versus Abramovich the Russian oligarch.
Impact of sanctions: Days after the war began, as the West responded by imposing sanctions on Russia and its oligarchs, Abramovich’s assets — including Chelsea — appeared increasingly vulnerable to a more punitive financial environment and he soon announced his plans to sell the club.
Before the sale could be completed, however, the UK government announced that Abramovich would be subject to sanctions as one of “Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs, whose business empires, wealth and connections are closely associated with the Kremlin.”
What this means for Chelsea: The club will be somewhat shielded from the sanctions, allowed to continue fulfilling its fixtures under a special license. But it does mean Chelsea is not able to sell merchandise or tickets to upcoming games, engage in the transfer market, or issue new contracts to players while under the ownership of Abramovich.
CNN team reports at least 2 explosions in Ukraine's Dnipro
From CNN's Bex Wright
Suspected remnants of anti-aircraft fire are spotted in the skies of Dnipro early Saturday morning.
(CNN)
CNN journalists in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro said they felt at least two explosions and saw what looked like the remnants of anti-aircraft fire early Saturday.
The team also saw smoke rising east of the river.
Air raid sirens started at 5:25 a.m. local time Saturday (10:25 p.m. ET Friday) and are still sounding.
Friday assault: Dnipro was hit by three strikes early Friday, which hit a school, an apartment building and a shoe factory. One civilian was killed.
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It's 7 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
Russian forces are pressing closer to Kyiv, and stepping up their assault on other key cities in Ukraine. Here are the latest developments.
Attacks on key cities: Russian forces expanded their offensive to the west of Ukraine for the first time on Friday, with strikes targeting military airfields. To the east, there’s growing evidence that the town of Volnovakha has fallen to Russian forces and their allies in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. The southern city of Kherson appears to have been captured, according to US defense intelligence.
Russian forces advance on Kyiv: CNN teams in Kyiv reported hearing explosions in the early hours of Saturday, as the capital comes under pressure. The cities of Kharkhiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Sumy are also under a sustained Russian onslaught. On Friday, major cities including Dnipro, Lutsk, and Chernihiv were struck by missiles, with fatalities reported. The strikes hit civilian structures including a school, apartment buildings, a shoe factory, a soccer stadium and library.
Ukrainian mayor detained: The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, was seen on video Friday being led away by armed men from a government building in the southeastern city. A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation. Ukraine’s President said Fedorov’s detention was a “crime against democracy,” and Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry called it a war crime violating the Geneva Conventions.
Chernobyl power: Technicians are working to repair damaged power lines to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the UN’s nuclear watchdog. Ukrainian authorities said the lines were entirely cut this week due to Russian shelling. The plant, which has been relying on diesel generators for backup power since Wednesday, is under Russian control with more than 200 staff effectively living and working there under difficult conditions.
Biden’s warning: US President Joe Biden warned Friday that Russia would pay a “severe price” if it uses chemical weapons, and reiterated the US will not send ground troops to Ukraine. “We will not fight the third world war in Ukraine,” Biden said — adding the US would help provide weapons, money and food aid for the country instead.
The human toll: At least 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine, the UN said Friday. The UN has recorded 1,546 civilian casualties in Ukraine as of Friday, including 564 killed and 982 injured — though they estimate the real number is much higher.
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How this baker is resisting the Russian onslaught without picking up a gun
From CNN's Teele Rebane
As Ukrainians around the country gathered glass bottles for Molotov cocktails and armed themselves against the Russian onslaught, Pavlo Servetnyk headed for the kitchen.
For the past two weeks since the Russians invaded, he’s been barely sleeping, working 20 hours a day to feed the people of Russian-occupied Kherson. Each day, the 28-year-old bakes thousands of loaves of bread, loads them into his truck or car, and drives them through the deserted streets, delivering them to people who are increasingly being cut off from outside food supplies as Russian forces choke the city of nearly 300,000.
Kherson was the first major city to fall since the war began. Unified against a common enemy, Ukrainians are finding ways to resist — without even carrying a gun.
Before the war, Servetnyk was a successful chef — he won Ukrainian MasterChef in 2019, and ran a pizza restaurant in Kherson. But on Feb. 24, the Russians invaded Ukraine — and his life changed.
As the Russians shelled his country, Servetnyk and his partner drove to his parents’ house in a village on the outskirts of Kherson, desperate to flee Ukraine. “Get into the car, we will go somewhere,” he told them. His parents — who had witnessed other periods of tumult in their lives — laughed. “Where would we escape? Who is waiting for us there?” he remembers them saying. “The Russians are coming soon, they tell us that this is Russia now and we will go on with our lives.”
So Servetnyk decided to stay and resist. Many of Kherson’s bakers had either fled or gone into hiding, so Servetynyk turned his pizza restaurant into a bakery, and began making thousands of loaves of bread. To feed more people, he also roped in other bakers and distributed their bread, too.
Zelensky calls detention of Melitopol mayor a "crime against democracy"
From CNN's Jennifer Hauser
The detention of the mayor of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol is a “crime against democracy,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday in a video posted on Facebook.
Earier Friday, Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov was seen on video being led away from a government building in the city by armed men. A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.
Fedorov’s detention was “a sign of the weakness of the invaders,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky added that the mayor’s detention was “not only against a particular person, not only against a particular community and not only against Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the detention of Fedorov a “war crime,” saying the Geneva Convention prohibits civilian hostages from being taken.
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Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russian troops press closer to Ukraine's capital
CNN teams in Kyiv reported hearing explosions in the early hours of Saturday morning, with chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward describing “a nonstop volley … of just heavy booms in the distance,” continuing for several minutes.
It’s not clear whether the explosions were Russian or Ukrainian strikes, she said.
Fighting is continuing on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, with the city’s administration saying areas to the north remain the most dangerous, including the suburbs of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, as well as the district of Vyshorod further north of Kyiv. Fighting has also escalated in Brovary, across the Dnieper River, east of the city.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told CNN the city currently only has resources — including food and medical supplies — for one to two weeks.
CNN’s Ward added that “Ukrainian forces are everywhere” in Kyiv. “They have dug up defensive positions along all the main thoroughfares leading into the city, they’ve put tank traps around. This is a heavily fortified city now. And even if Russian forces are enable to encircle it, it will still be an almighty battle for them to get to the heart of it.”
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Biden warns Russia will pay a "severe price" if it uses chemical weapons in Ukraine
From CNN's Sam Fossum and Betsy Klein
President Joe Biden warned on Friday that Russia will pay a “severe price” if the country uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
While the US has so far not presented any evidence that Russia plans to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, the White House — most notably, press secretary Jen Psaki — has warned that the weapons could be used in the conflict.
Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine or manufacture a “false flag” operation that uses them, Psaki said Wednesday. The press secretary, slamming what she called false claims from Russia that the US is developing chemical weapons in Ukraine, tweeted, “Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern.”
She also noted Russia’s “long and well-documented track record of using chemical weapons” as well as its pattern of “accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating.”
Russia widens attack on Ukraine's cities, striking western airfields and Dnipro
From CNN's Tim Lister, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Paul Murphy, Laura Smith-Spark and Rob Picheta
Russian forces launched multiple missile attacks on a wide range of targets across Ukraine in the early hours of Friday, striking airfields in the far west of the country and, for the first time, hitting the central city of Dnipro, to which Ukrainians from other embattled cities have fled.
The airport at Lutsk, some 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the Polish border, was reported to have suffered substantial damage in the attacks. The governor of Volyn region said four missiles had been fired from a Russian bomber and that two people were killed.
Plumes of smoke also rose from the military airfield at Ivano-Frankivsk, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Lutsk. It was previously struck by missiles on the first day of the conflict.
Three Russian airstrikes also caused serious damage in and around the central city of Dnipro on Friday morning, killing one person, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in an official Telegram channel. One strike was near a preschool and an apartment building and another hit a shoe factory, causing a fire, the service said.
Many Ukrainians evacuated in recent days from other cities under Russian fire had been taken to the relative safety of Dnipro.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry calls "abduction" of Melitopol mayor a "war crime"
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry published a strongly-worded statement on Facebook, calling the detention of the mayor of Melitopol by armed men a “war crime.”
CNN has previously reported that the Melitopol mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was seen on video being led away from a government building in the city by armed men. A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.
The Foreign Ministry said that the Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols prohibit civilian hostages like Fedorov from being taken.
“We call on the international community to respond immediately to the abduction of Ivan Fedorov and other civilians, and to increase pressure on Russia to end its barbaric war against the Ukrainian people,” the statement said.
“The fact of the abduction of the Mayor of Melitopol, along with hundreds of other facts of war crimes by Russian occupiers on the Ukrainian soil, are being carefully documented by law enforcement agencies. The perpetrators of this and other crimes will be brought to the strictest responsibility,” the post concluded.
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Evacuation corridors across Ukraine met with limited success on Friday
From Tim Lister in Kyiv, Mariya Knight and Olga Voitovych
Ukrainian authorities reported limited success in securing the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians from the worst affected areas Friday.
Around Kyiv, volunteers and local authorities were able to help thousands more escape the worst affected districts to the north and west of the city.
Despite heavy outgoing and incoming fire, more than 22,000 people had been evacuated after three days from the districts of Vorzel, Hostomel, Bucha and Irpin, all of which have seen extensive destruction and are without power and water, said Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv regional administration.
On Saturday, the administration would “be creating new routes to get to the towns which we couldn’t reach yet to evacuate people,” Kuleba added.
Chief among them is the town of Borodianka — some 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Kyiv. It was again shelled on Friday as Russian forces continue their attempt to close in on the capital from the north.
Meanwhile, an attempt to evacuate more people from the town of Izium had been “disrupted by the Russian occupiers,” said Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synehubov in a Telegram post.
The buses were shelled and barely managed to turn round and get back safely. The evidence of shelling could be seen on the buses, he continued.
In the center of Ukraine, authorities reported the successful evacuation of more women and children from Enerhodar — which fell to Russian forces a week ago — and surrounding villages.
Most of the displaced in this region are being brought to Zaporizhzia before boarding trains to western Ukraine.
Mariupol efforts: The head of Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Oleksandr Starukh, said local priests had joined efforts to get a convoy of aid to the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov described the situation in Mariupol as very difficult. He accused the Russians of bombing the city even during official negotiations.
Local authorities in Mariupol say that nearly 1,600 people in Mariupol have died as a result of shelling and airstrikes against the city.
