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b t t th G di d i i th
Ukraine crisis live

Russia Ukraine war latest news:

Turkey will limit Russian warship
access to Black Sea, says Erdoğan
live
Turkish president confirms Ankara will invoke Montreux
Convention on day that rocket strikes killed ‘dozens’ in
Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
Rockets kill dozens in Kharkiv as Russia ‘adapts its
methods’
‘The damage is done’: Russians face economic point of no
return
Russia’s war in Ukraine: complete guide in maps, video and
pictures
Shell to exit joint ventures with Gazprom and pull out of
Nord Stream 2

0:38

Ukraine: Russian rockets strike buildings in Kharkiv – video

Gloria Oladipo now ; Léonie Chao Fong, Tom

Ambrose and Samantha Lock earlier
Mon 28 Feb 2022 19.23 GMT

Key events
33m ago Summary

2h ago Turkey will limit Russian access to Black Sea – Erdoğan

3h ago Ukraine demands Russian expulsion from Interpol

3h ago Ukraine formally requests to join the European Union

4h ago Macron speaks to Putin

4h ago UK home secretary says waiving visa requirements would pose security
risk

8h ago Dozens killed and hundreds wounded in Kharkiv rocket strikes,

Ukrainian ministry says

Live feed

Show key events only

From 2h ago

17:54
Updated at 6.11pm GMT
Turkey will
Show limit Russian access to Black Sea Erdoğan
more

17m ago 19:23

The launch of a joint Europe-Russia space mission to Mars due for

this year is now “very unlikely” says European Space Agency, due
to sanctions linked to Russia’s declaration of war on Ukraine,
reports the Associated Press.

The agency said after a meeting of officials from its

22 member states that it was assessing the
consequences of sanctions for its cooperation with
Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.
“The sanctions and the wider context make a launch
in 2022 very unlikely,” for the Europe-Russia
ExoMars rover mission, the agency said in a
statement.
The launch was already postponed from 2020 due to
the coronavirus outbreak and technical problems. It
was due to blast off from the Baikonur spaceport in
Kazakhstan in September using a Russian Proton
rocket. Postponing a launch often means waiting for
months or years until another window opens when
planets are in the right alignment.
The goal is to put Europe’s first rover on the red
planet to help determine whether there has ever
been life on Mars. A test rover launched in 2016
crash-landed at Mars, highlighting the difficulty of
putting a spacecraft on the planet.

Read the full article here.

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minute. Thank you.

Continue

33m ago 19:07

Summary
Here is a round-up of the latest headlines:

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more

wounded in rocket strikes by Russian forces on the Ukrainian
city of Kharkiv, the Ukrainian interior ministry has said.
Blasts were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. About 90
miles (150km) north-east of Kyiv in Chernihiv, a missile
reportedly hit a residential building in the city centre, causing
a fire to break out.
High-level talks between Ukraine and Russia that took place
on the border with Belarus on Monday morning ended without
a breakthrough. Both sides agreed to keep the negotiations
going and a second round of talks could take place in the
coming days.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, spoke with the
Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, in a phone call on Monday,
where he reiterated demands to halt Russia’s offensive in
Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he had signed
an official request for Ukraine to join the EU. A senior EU
official said leaders may discuss the possibility of Ukrainian
membership at an informal summit in March.
The EU is preparing to grant Ukrainians who flee the war the
right to stay and work in the 27-nation bloc for up to three
years, EU officials said.
Ukraine’s western allies increased weapons transfers in
support of the country. Finland agreed to ship 2,500 assault
rifles and 1,500 anti-tank weapons.
Fifa and Uefa have suspended Russia’s national and club teams
from all international competitions until further notice due to
the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the two football bodies said
in a joint statement.
The International Olympic Committee’s executive board also
recommended that international sports federations ban
Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in
events.

That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, for now. I’ll be back

tomorrow. My colleague Gloria Oladipo will be along shortly to
continue bringing you all the latest news from Ukraine.
Updated at 7.14pm GMT

41m ago 18:59

Jessica Elgot

In the UK, Labour MPs who equivocate over blame for the
Russian invasion of Ukraine have no place in the party, Keir
Starmer has told his MPs, a direct threat that any future
statements will lead to suspension of the whip.

Speaking at a private meeting of Labour MPs on Monday, the

Labour leader said that MPs should talk up the founding of Nato in
the same breath as the NHS – as a key Labour achievement.

Starmer said:

Labour’s commitment to democracy, the rule of law

and the sovereignty of independent nations is
unshakable. Vladimir Putin is attacking all those
things. Nato is defending them.
There are groups in this country who haven’t seemed
to understand that difference. There will be no place
in this party for false equivalence between the
actions of Russia and the actions of Nato.

But Starmer said that MPs should be honest that economic

sanctions “will have a knock-on effect here” and said that the UK
government should cancel the increase in national insurance
contributions from April.

The idea that Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson’s tax

rise on working people can still go ahead in April
now is just laughable.
Updated at 7.18pm GMT

44m ago 18:56

Satellite imagery taken on Monday showed that Russian ground

forces continued to move closer to Ukraine’s capital with a
military convoy that stretched over 17 miles, Reuters reports.

According to the private US company Maxar Technologies Inc, the

satellite images show the convoy on the eastern edge of Antonov
airport – containing hundreds of armoured vehicles, tanks, towed
artillery and logistics support vehicles – continuing to move south
towards Kyiv.

Maxar satellite image shows a large deployment of ground forces in and

around the town of Zdvyzhivka, Kyiv. Photograph: Satellite image ©2022
Maxar Tech/AFP/Getty Images

This satellite image shows the southern end of a convoy, east of Antonov
airport. Photograph: AP

Destroyed vehicles and bridge damage shown in satellite image of Irpin,

north-west of Kyiv. Photograph: AP

Updated at 7.21pm GMT

1h ago 18:42

Finland will provide weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, the

country’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, has said.

The shipment will include 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 bullets,

1,500 anti-tank weapons and 70,000 food packages, Finland’s
defence minister, Antti Kaikkonen, added.

Speaking after a government meeting today, Kaikkonen told

reporters:

The anti-tank weapons can be used to fight

armoured vehicles.

Kaikkonen hinted yesterday that the Finnish government was

considering scrapping Finland’s long-standing policy of not
allowing weapons to be exported to war zones.

The minister also said that Finland, which is not a Nato member
and shares a long border with Russia, had given the green light to
Estonia to send previously Finnish-owned field guns to Ukraine.
Updated at 6.56pm GMT

1h ago 18:35

Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has appealed

directly to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, saying they
would receive full amnesty and monetary compensation if they
voluntarily laid down their weapons.

In a Twitter, Reznikov writes:

Those of you who do not want to become a murderer

and die can save yourselves.

Jessica Elgot
(@jessicaelgot)

Wow, Ukraine’s defence minister offering cash reward and

amnesty to Russian soldiers who lay down weapons
https://t.co/kp4EVf6Vhn
February 28, 2022

Updated at 6.39pm GMT

1h ago 18:33

Russia’s stock market will remain closed on Tuesday, Russia’s

central bank has confirmed.

The bank initially delayed trading on Moscow’s stock exchange on

Monday until at least 3pm local time, before saying it would stay
closed all day. It has now said trading will not resume on 1 March.
Updated at 6.34pm GMT

1h ago 18:19

Daniel Boffey

The European parliament will adopt a resolution on Tuesday

calling on EU institutions to work towards granting EU candidate
status to Ukraine and in the meantime to continue to work
towards integration into the EU single market, the Guardian’s
Daniel Boffey writes.

The call from MEPs follows images from Kyiv of president

Volodymyr Zelenskiy signing a formal letter of application for EU
membership.

An EU official has explained the process. The letter of application

is written to the president of the council of the EU which is
currently held by France.

Member states, the European parliament and national parliaments

are then informed of the application by the council.

A meeting of the 27 EU affairs ministers, known as the general

affairs council, needs to take a decision to formally seek the
European Commission’s opinion on the application.

It would normally take 15 to 18 months for the commission to

issue its opinion, although that period could be significantly
shortened “depending on the political considerations”, the official
said.

There is a pre-accession period of varying length, during which

the candidate country adapts its institutions, standards and
infrastructure to enable it to meet its obligations as a member
state. The accession process involves compliance with the
accession criteria including adoption and implementation of EU
law.
Updated at 6.27pm GMT

2h ago 17:57

More than 360,000 people have already fled their homes in

Ukraine since the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s invasion,
according to the UN refugee agency, and more than 4.5 million
more could follow if the fighting spreads.

But among the bloodshed, moments of hope and defiance from

the nation stood out and captured hearts and minds around the
world, encapsulating the Ukrainian people’s resilience and
determination.

3:50

Moments of defiance: how Ukraine has stood up to Russia – video

Updated at 6.17pm GMT

2h ago 17:54

Turkey will limit Russian access to Black Sea Erdoğan

Turkey’s president, Tayyip Erdoğan, has said Turkey cannot
abandon its ties with Russia or Ukraine, adding that Ankara
would implement a pact on maritime passage from its straits to
prevent an escalation of the war, Reuters reports.

Turkey described Russia’s invasion as a “war” on Sunday, which

allowed it to invoke articles under a 1936 international accord that
will limit the passage of some Russian vessels from Turkish straits.
Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia and has
good ties with both.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdoğan criticised what he

called the “indecisive” stance by the US and western powers to
Ukraine’s invasion, saying the approach was a sign of a failing
international order.

He said Turkey would not compromise from its commitments to

its alliances, including Nato, but that it could also not turn back on
“national interests” in its region. He repeated that he found the
Russian invasion unacceptable.
Updated at 6.11pm GMT

2h ago 17:41

Fifa and Uefa have suspended all Russian clubs and national
teams from all of their competitions, Uefa has confirmed.

A statement by Uefa says all Russian teams, whether national

representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from
participation in both Fifa and Uefa competitions until further
notice.

Football is fully united here and in full solidarity

with all the people affected in Ukraine.
Both presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine
will improve significantly and rapidly so that
football can again be a vector for unity and peace
amongst people.

Russia suspended from all Fifa and Uefa competitions until further notice

Read more
Updated at 5.53pm GMT

2h ago 17:33

Talks between Ukraine and Russia that took place earlier today
were “very difficult”, the Ukrainian presidential adviser
Mykhailo Podolyak said.

Podolyak described the Russian side as “extremely biased”.

Михайло Подоляк
(@Podolyak_M)

Negotiations are difficult. However, without any obligatory

ultimatums already. Unfortunately, the Russian side is still
extremely biased regarding the destructive processes it
launched.
February 28, 2022

Updated at 5.39pm GMT

2h ago 17:18

Russian forces could become more aggressive and try to encircle

Kyiv in the coming days, Reuters quotes a senior US defence
official as saying.

The official told reporters that Russian troops were about 16 miles
from Kyiv’s city centre.

We expect that they’re going to want to continue to

move forward and try to encircle the city in the
coming days.

The official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity,

said the US believes stiff Ukrainian resistance has slowed the
progress of Russian troops and planning failures have left some
Russian units without fuel or other supplies.

One of the things that could result is a reevaluation

of their tactics and the potential for them to be more
a ressive and more overt, in both the size and scale
of their targeting of Kyiv.

3h ago 17:03

Ukraine demands Russian expulsion from Interpol

Ruth Michaelson

Ukraine has demanded that Russia be expelled from the

International Police Criminal Organization, commonly known as
Interpol, accusing it of abusing the organisation and using it to
target political opponents worldwide and in Ukraine, the
Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson writes.

The Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, Denis Monastyrsky,

demanded Russia’s immediate expulsion. “Russia should be
expelled from Interpol for violating its basic principles and
massive misuse of tools and services to cover up its crimes and
persecute political enemies, particularly in Ukraine,” the
Ukrainian broadcasting organisation Hromadske reported. The
Guardian has approached Interpol for comment.

Interpol is a supranational police force focused on information-

sharing among its 195 member states, primarily through its “red
notice” system intended to alert member nations about the cross-
border movement of criminals.

In recent years it has increasingly drawn criticism for abuse of the

red notice system by oppressive regimes including Russia, with
anti-democratic nations using it to flag political dissidents in exile
or escaping abuse rather than those proven to commit crimes.

The former US ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul said that

Russia should be expelled from Interpol in 2018, when critics
warned that doing so risked turning it into a haven for criminals.

It is unclear how the process to expel a member state from

Interpol’s general secretariat could work, or whether a similar
action has ever been taken before.

Currently North Korea is the only large country that is a member

of the United Nations but not part of Interpol. Taiwan has long
campaigned to be readmitted to Interpol, after it was forced to
withdraw when China became a member in 1984.

“There’s process in having Russia suspended from Interpol, but

throwing them out to me seems unlikely,” said Ben Keith, a
barrister specialising in Interpol and extradition at International
Human Rights Advisors.

“We don’t know how or why Syria were suspended and then
allowed back in again. It’s like trying to throw Russia out of the
United Nations, it’s just not realistic,” he said. Syria was quietly
readmitted to Interpol in October last year.

Home secretary Priti Patel told parliament today that “the

Ukrainian government has today requested that the Russian
government be suspended from its membership of Interpol and
we will be leading all international efforts to that effect.”
Updated at 5.36pm GMT

Newest 1 of 9 Oldest

Topics
World news Ukraine crisis live
Ukraine / Russia / Europe / Stock markets / International trade

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‘It’s my duty to go’: the volunteers leaving the
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2h

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Ukrainian refugees

1h

Germany’s ‘Putin caressers’ start coming to

terms with their naivety

2h

Rockets kill civilians in Kharkiv as Moscow

‘adapts its tactics’

3h

‘I’m scared I’ll die in this war’: Kharkiv teacher on life under
Russian attack
3h

Switzerland adopts wholesale EU sanctions against Russia

3h

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