Russian strike on maternity hospital is 'ultimate evidence of genocide' – Zelenskiy
Speaking in Russian, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy decried the bombing of a children’s hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol.
In an apparent appeal to Russians, Zelenskiy said:
A children’s hospital, a maternity ward. How did they threaten the Russian Federation? What is this country, the Russian Federation, that is afraid of hospitals, maternity wards and is destroying them? Were there little Banderovites? Were pregnant women going to shoot on Rostov? Did anyone in the maternity ward humiliate Russian speakers? Or was it de-Nazification of a hospital?
Switching back to Ukrainian, Zelenskiy called the bombing “beyond atrocity”, in an address posted on Telegram.
“Europeans, Ukrainians, Mariupol residents, we have to stand united in condemning Russia for this crime that reflects all evil that the invaders have brought on us, on all destroyed cities: Volnovakha, Izyum, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Okhtyrka, Borodyanka, Hostomel, Zhytomyr and tens of our Ukrainian cities that never posed any threat to Russia,” he said. ‘Hospitals and schools are destroyed. Churches and ordinary buildings are destroyed. People are killed. Children are killed. Air bombing on a children’s hospital is the ultimate evidence that genocide of Ukrainians is happening.”
The United Nations Population Fund condemned the strike on the hospital. Footage of the attack shared online by Zelenskiy shows the hospital’s windows being blown out, and parts of the structure collapsing.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has entered its third week. Hundreds have been reported to be dead or wounded while more than two million Ukrainian refugees have so far fled their homeland, according to UN estimates.
It is 6.45am in Ukraine and here is where the crisis currently stands:
A children’s hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol was destroyed by a Russian airstrike on Wednesday afternoon, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the attack “the ultimate evidence of genocide” adding that children are buried under rubble while the regional governor said 17 people have been wounded. “A children’s hospital, a maternity ward. How did they threaten the Russian Federation?” Zelenskiy added. The Guardian was unable to fully verify Ukrainian officials’ accounts, but video published by the Associated Press showed multiple injured people at the site of the hospital attack.
Western officials warned of their “serious concern” that Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons on Kyiv. In an assessment, they said an “utterly horrific” attack on the Ukrainian capital could be unleashed as Russian forces attempt to overcome the logistical issues that have apparently plagued troops headed towards Kyiv.
The US House of Representatives approved $13.6 billion in US aid to Ukraine and its European allies.
Canada will also provide Ukraine with an additional $50m in lethal and non-lethal military aid.
The United States has seen indications that Russia is dropping “dumb bombs” – unguided munitions with no precise target – on Ukraine, a senior US defence official said.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has landed in Turkey for the face-to-face talks on Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, the highest-level meeting between the two countries since Russia invaded. Kuleba warned in a Facebook video his expectations were “limited”.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of “holding 400,000 people hostage” in Mariupol. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said the city, where conditions are described as “apocalyptic”, was still being shelled by Russian troops despite an agreement to establish a safe evacuation corridor for civilians.
Overnight strikes in the north-eastern city of Okhtyrka, Sumy region, reportedly killed a 13-year-old boy and two women, according to regional officials.
Ukrainian authorities have said the power supply has been cut to the defunct Chernobyl power plant. The UN’s atomic watchdog said the spent nuclear fuel stored there had cooled down sufficiently for it not to be an imminent concern. Still, the news is raising concerns that a lack of external power to the site could compromise nuclear safety.
More than 40,000 civilians were evacuated from across Ukraine on Wednesday but authorities struggled to get people away from conflict zones around the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol,a Ukrainian negotiator said. Ukrainian authorities said earlier that the corridors should allow residents of the heavily bombarded cities of Mariupol, Enerhodar, Sumy, Izyum and Volnovakha, as well as towns around Kyiv including Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, to leave, calling on Russian forces to respect an “official public commitment” to cease fire.
The International Monetary Fund has approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine to help meet urgent spending needs and mitigate the economic impact of Russia’s military invasion.
Mining giant Rio Tinto has become the latest corporation to cut ties with Moscow saying it was ending all commercial relations with Russian businesses.
Another video shared by Ukrainian media outlet NEXTA TV, purports to show a 61-year-old Scottish man bearing arms in Kyiv in the fight against the Russian invasion.
“My name is Rob. I am a 61-year-old grandfather from Scotland,” the man says.
“I travelled from Edinburgh to Kyiv to help in the fight against the Russians. I will do anything in my power to stop Russia from capturing Kyiv.”
The terrifying moment two Ukrainian explosive disposal specialists defuse a Russian bomb with just their hands a bottle of water has gone viral after the footage was shared by Ukrainian media outlet NEXTA TV.
The 31-second clip, which has since been viewed more than 1.4m times, was captioned “bomb defusing process” and shows two men kneeling beside the weapon while carefully unscrewing the seal using just a small water bottle and gloves.
Charles Lister, senior fellow and the director of the Syria and countering terrorism and extremism programs at the Middle East Institute, shared the video, describing the moment as an act of “mind boggling bravery”.
“This Russia-dropped bomb would flatten a building — and yet these Ukraine EODs defuse it with 2 hands and a bottle of water, while shells audibly land nearby,” Lister said. “Mind boggling bravery.”
This #Russia-dropped bomb would flatten a building — and yet these #Ukraine EODs defuse it with 2 hands and a bottle of water, while shells audibly land nearby.
US House approves $13.6bn worth of aid for Ukraine
The US House of Representatives has approved a massive spending bill that would rush $13.6 billion in US aid to battered Ukraine and its European allies, the Associated Press is reporting.
After approval in the House on Wednesday night, Senate approval is expected by week’s end or perhaps slightly longer.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters: “We’ve got a war going on in Ukraine. We have important work that we’re doing here.”
She said with her party in the 50-50 Senate needing at least 10 GOP votes to pass legislation, Democrats “are going to have to know there has to be compromise.”
The House approved the overall bill in two separate votes. The measure’s security programs were overwhelmingly approved by 361-69, the rest by 260-171, with most Republicans opposed.
Today, the House will proudly pass our government funding legislation, which includes $13.6 billion in assistance for Ukraine.
We will also pass our strong, bipartisan bill to ban Russian oil and energy products and taking further actions to diminish Russia’s economy.
The Ukraine aid included $6.5 billion for the US costs of sending troops and weapons to eastern Europe and equipping allied forces there in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and repeated, bellicose threats.
There was another $6.8 billion to care for refugees and provide economic aid to allies, and more to help federal agencies enforce economic sanctions against Russia and protect against cyber threats at home. Biden had requested $10 billion for the package.
Pelosi said she talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for 45 minutes Wednesday. She said they discussed the weapons and other assistance his country needs and “the crimes against humanity that Putin is committing,” including a Russian airstrike that destroyed a maternity hospital. “This is the beast that Putin is,” Pelosi said.
Overnight strikes in the north-eastern city of Okhtyrka, Sumy region, reportedly killed a 13-year-old boy and two women, according to regional officials.
“Enemy aviation hit residential houses. 5 people were rescued from the falls, 2 of them children. Also partially destroyed police department,” Sumy regional state administration head Dmytro Zhyvytsky said, citing a report from the Sumy regional military administration.
Zhyvytsky said that just after midnight local time on Thursday residential areas and a gas pipeline were hit.
“The enemy artillery fired at the former Electrobutprilad plant. The result of the shelling killed three villagers, including a minor boy,” he said.
“Great Pisarívka suffered a night bombing. Power lines are torn, lying on the ground. A 13-year-old boy and 2 women were killed as a result of an artillery shelling.”
Zhyvytsky also says three humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians are expected to open from 9am local time.
On Wednesday, about 5,000 people were evacuated from Sumy, the regional capital that has been under heavy Russian bombardment for days.
Carlsberg, the world’s third-largest brewer, has said it will stop selling its flagship beer brand, cease all advertising in Russia and will donate profits from its Russia business where the company has already halted investments.
The Carlsberg Group’s Baltika Breweries, headquartered in St Petersburg, will be run as a separate business and continue operating its eight breweries in Russia, where it has around 8,400 employees.
“Baltika Breweries will be run as a separate business, with the purpose of sustaining our employees and their families,” Carlsberg said, as reported by Bloomberg.
Heineken NV also stopped the production and sale of its own brand beer in Russia.
“Heineken will no longer accept any net financial benefit derived from our Russian operations,” the company said in a statement in Wednesday.
Asian shares surged on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s gains as planned diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine buoyed sentiment, although analysts warned the rally could be susceptible to a sharp reversal as risks remain, Reuters reports.
Oil prices also regained some footing, having fallen more than 12% on the previous session as United Arab Emirates pledged to support hiking oil output to ease mayhem in energy markets.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.6% in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei surged 3.4% while Australian shares were up 1%. Chinese blue chips rose 1.96% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rallied 1.8%.
US crude ticked up 1.37% to $110.19 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 2% to $113.2 per barrel.
European Union leaders will phase out buying Russian oil, gas and coal, a draft declaration showed on Thursday, as the bloc seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian sources of energy. The United States banned oil and gas imports from Russia on Tuesday, while Britain said it would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
Data due later on Thursday is expected to show US consumer inflation racing at a 7.9% annualised clip, according to a Reuters poll.
“From a central bank perspective, the war in Ukraine is likely to lead to further upward pressure on consumer price inflation that could result in a supply side shock,” said David Chao, Hong Kong-based global market strategist at Invesco. “US equities could be in a holding pattern with higher levels of volatility as investors assess the impact of the Ukraine conflict on inflation and possible Fed actions.”
US stocks surged overnight, led by financial and tech shares. The Nasdaq Composite added 3.59% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2%.
Tomorrow's front page: Twisted Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine plunged sickening new depths when he bombed women and children at a maternity hospital https://t.co/qp04Fo41i3pic.twitter.com/NQI5OOpOhz
The United States is rapidly processing requests from Americans to export firearms and ammunition to Ukraine, the US Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
Americans are collecting weapons for Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on his citizens to defend the country from invading Russian forces and promised to arm them.
The Commerce Department said it had imposed export controls on Russia to “degrade its ability to sustain military aggression” and Americans should check agency regulations to see if a license was needed to ship specific firearms to Ukraine.
“The department has been processing requests rapidly for the export of firearms and ammunition to Ukraine under its existing processes and authorities,” a department spokesperson said, Reuters reports.
Americans are donating thousands of sets of body armour and millions of rounds of ammunition in response to Ukraine’s pleas for military support.
Equipment donors and US volunteers for Ukraine’s armed forces must navigate US export license requirements for items like military-grade bullet proof vests.
Controls at airports on volunteers carrying such body-armour appear to have eased, a US volunteer in Poland said.
“From the latest wave of people carrying plates this week, not a single person has been stopped,” said the volunteer, who asked not to be named, referring to the ceramic plates that make vests bullet-proof.
Two Americans shipping military supplies to Ukraine, who asked to remain anonymous, said they had seen rapid export license approvals.
At least 35,000 civilians were evacuated from besieged Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, adding that three humanitarian corridors had allowed residents to leave the cities of Sumy, Enerhodar and areas around Kyiv.
Evacuations will hopefully continue on Thursday with three more routes set to open out of the cities of Mariupol, Volnovakha in the southeast and Izium in eastern Ukraine.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has estimated the total number of refugees at 2.1 to 2.2 million.
A serviceman helping carry a woman’s child during an evacuation in Irpin, Ukraine. Photograph: Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
A mother and her baby seen during an evacuation on Wednesday. Photograph: Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Servicemen carry a baby to safety as the UN refugee agency UNHCR estimates the total number of Ukrainian refugees at 2.1 to 2.2 million. Photograph: Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Mining giant Rio Tinto has become the latest corporation to cut ties with Moscow saying it was ending all commercial relations with Russian businesses.
“Rio Tinto is in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business,” a spokesman said in a message sent to Reuters.
The announcement from the Anglo-Australian firm comes after a top executive said the company was looking for alternative fuel sources for its Mongolian copper operations at Oyu Tolgoi but did not believe it can stop buying from Russia altogether.
The company did not immediately respond to questions on whether it would continue to buy Russian fuel and other products through non-Russian third parties.
Leading US companies like McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Starbucks stopped trading with Russia this week.
Canada will provide Ukraine with an additional $50m in lethal and non-lethal military aid, including Canadian-made cameras used in military drones and other specialised equipment, according to defence minister Anita Anand.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau earlier announced another shipment of highly-specialised military equipment to Ukraine.
As @JustinTrudeau announced today, Canada will provide Ukraine with an additional $50 million in lethal & non-lethal military aid, including Canadian-made cameras used in military drones and other specialized equipment.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, in a phone call on Wednesday, discussed additional security and humanitarian support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, the state department said in a statement.
Blinken and Kuleba also discussed Russia’s “unconscionable attacks harming population centres,” the statement said.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke with Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov about the continued provision of defensive security assistance to Ukraines military, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Call with @SecBlinken on further steps to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities. Grateful to the U.S. for the new package of tough sanctions on Russia. Pressure must be elevating until Russia stops its brutal aggression and barbaric war crimes against Ukrainians.
Britain may escalate its military aid to Ukraine by sending state-of-the-art anti-aircraft missile systems.
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said that “in response to a Ukrainian request” the government was exploring the donation of Starstreak high-velocity man-portable anti-air missiles, according to PA Media.
Starstreak, the portable missile which works by a laser being pointed at a target to shoot down helicopters and fighter jets, would help Ukraine to “better defend their skies”, Wallace said.
The weapons were in response to a change in Russian tactics, “so the Ukrainians need to, too”, the defence secretary said.
He also confirmed that 3,615 Nlaw anti-tank weapons had been supplied - up from the previously-announced figure of 2,000 - and “small consignments” of the Javelin system would also be sent to Ukraine, The Times reports.
In answer to questions from MPs about how long the supply decision would take, Wallace said: “We are in principle going to do it.” He acknowledged that Ukrainian soldiers would need to be trained to use the missiles. “How we are doing it [training] is sensitive,” he said.
The government has already supplied Ukraine with 3,615 anti-tank weapons and soon would be sending a “small consignment” of Javelin anti-tank missiles, Wallace told MPs.
A Starstreak HVM (High Velocity Missile) surface-to-air missile system on display in an undated handout photo issued by the UK ministry of defence. Photograph: UK MOD Crown copyright/PA
