On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.
Ukraine`s industrial Donbas region, the focus of recent Russian offensives, has been destroyed, President Zelenskiy said as some of the world`s richest countries pledged to bolster Kyiv with billions of dollars.
Also, READ: G7 to pledge billions of dollars to support Ukrainian economy
FIGHTING
- Russia`s siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol neared its end on Thursday, with Russia`s defence minister saying nearly 2,000 Ukrainian fighters surrendered at the Azovstal steel works.
- Ukraine`s Azov Regiment said the military command had ordered an end to the defence of Mariupol, to save lives.
- The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters.
- A Russian soldier on trial in Ukraine in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia`s invasion said he did not want to kill an unarmed civilian
- In a sign of Russia`s urgent need to bolster its war effort, parliament will consider a bill to allow Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to sign up for the military.
DIPLOMACY
- The U.S. Senate approved nearly $40 billion in new aid for Ukraine.
- The Group of Seven`s financial leaders agreed on $18.4 billion to help Ukraine pay its bills in coming months.
- U.S. President Biden met the leaders of Sweden and Finland to advance their applications to join NATO.
- Italian Prime Minister Draghi called for an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine to enable a negotiated end to the war.
- The Biden administration has not ruled out placing sanctions on countries that purchase Russian oil, Energy Secretary Granholm said.
ECONOMY
- Ukraine has exported 643,000 tonnes of grain since the start of May, considerably less than during the same period last year.
- U.S. Secretary of State Blinken accused Russia of using food as a weapon.
- U.N. Secretary-General Guterres said he is in "intense contact" with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to restore Ukrainian grain exports.
- The EU is looking into ways of using the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war.
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 "Photo: Reuters")
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