Russia is gaining from conflict in Ukraine, Putin says

​President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had gained, not lost, from the conflict in Ukraine because it was embarking on a new sovereign path that would restore its global clout.

Putin increasingly casts the conflict in Ukraine, which he calls a "special military operation", as a turning point in history when Russia finally threw off the humiliations which accompanied the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

In an attempt to underscore Russia's tilt towards Asia, Putin, speaking to the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok, said that the West was failing while Asia was the future. 

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UN chief calls for independent probe into 400 civilian killings

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Russia says it is focusing its offensive on Ukraine's east but it continues to strike cities elsewhere in a fight – now in its 40th day – that has left thousands dead and forced more than four million to flee. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the killing of over 400 civilians in a Ukrainian city following the withdrawal of Russian troops there.

“I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine,” Guterres said on Twitter.

“It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability.” On Sunday, the bodies of at least 410 civilians were recovered in the city of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

Outrage at Bucha killings

Britain, France, Germany, the United States, NATO and the United Nations have all voiced horror at the reports of civilians being murdered in Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called it a "deliberate massacre" while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces are committing "genocide ".

Zelenskyy appeals for support in Grammy video appearance

 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared in a video aired at the Grammy Awards in the United States and appealed to viewers to support Ukrainians "in any way you can."

"What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," said Zelenskyy in the video that aired ahead of a performance by John Legend and Ukranian poet Lyuba Yakimchuck.

"Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today, to tell our story. Support us in any way you can. Any, but not silence," he said.

Ukraine: Region cut off from aid to reopen

The Ukrainian military has said that its forces have retaken some towns in the Chernihiv region and that humanitarian aid is being delivered.

The news agency RBK Ukraina said the road between Chernihiv and the capital of Kiev is to reopen to some traffic later on Monday.

Chernihiv is a city 80 miles north of Kiev and it had been cut off from shipments of food and other supplies for weeks. The mayor said on Sunday that relentless Russian shelling had destroyed 70 percent of the city.

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Russia says first phase of Ukraine operation mostly complete, focus now on Donbass

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that the first phase of its military operation in Ukraine was mostly complete and that it would focus on completely "liberating" eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

The announcement appeared to indicate that Russia may be switching to more limited goals after running into fierce Ukrainian resistance in the first month of the war.

The defence ministry said Russian-backed separatists now controlled 93% of Ukraine's Luhansk region and 54% of the Donetsk region - the two areas that jointly make up the Donbass. read more

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Russia-Ukraine War: 1,351 Soldiers Killed in Ukraine, Says Russian Army

The Russian army said on Friday, 25 March, that 1,351 soldiers have been killed in Ukraine. The army also said that 419,736 civilians have been evacuated from Ukraine, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has landed in Poland near the Ukraine border.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities said that they feared there were around 300 dead in the bombing of a theatre in the port city of Mariupol.

With the Russian siege of Ukraine crossing the one-month mark, the G7 countries on Thursday backed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC's) investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine.

The G7 said in a statement, "We remain appalled by and condemn the devastating attacks on the Ukrainian population and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools."

Earlier, Joe Biden has said that Russia should be removed from the G20, an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union that works on major global issues. However, Kremlin said that Russia's exclusion from G20 would not be 'fatal'.

UN General Assembly, on Thursday, approved the resolution blaming Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and called for an immediate ceasefire

Zelenskyy says that there is a "real" threat that Moscow would use chemical weapons in Ukraine, and has asked NATO to provide Kyiv with unrestricted military support

United States would be taking in up to 1,00,000 Ukrainian war refugees, the White House said on Thursday

Almost 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began on 24 February, according to the UN's refugee agency

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Western nations to bolster Ukraine aid

Ukraine, March 24 (Reuters) - Western leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday will agree to strengthen their forces in Eastern Europe and increase military aid to Ukraine as the Russian assault on its neighbour entered its second month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged them to go further and repeated his call for a no-fly zone over his country, where thousands of people have been killed, millions become refugees, and cities pulverised since Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed his invasion on Feb. 24. read more

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Russia bombs Ukraine cities as Biden heads to Europe

LVIV/MYKOLAIV/KHARKIV, Ukraine, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden flies to Europe on Wednesday for an emergency NATO summit on Ukraine, where invading Russian troops are stalled, cities are under bombardment and the besieged port of Mariupol is in flames.

Four weeks into a war that has driven a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million people from their homes, Russia has failed to capture a single major Ukrainian city, while Western sanctions have ostracised it from the world economy. read more

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Telegram surpasses WhatsApp to become Russia's top messenger - Megafon

March 21  - Telegram has overtaken WhatsApp to become Russia's most popular messaging tool, the mobile operator Megafon (MFON.MM) said on Monday, with Russians flocking to the service as Moscow restricts some digital services.

WhatsApp owner Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) is embroiled in a Russian court case, with prosecutors seeking to label it an "extremist organisation", and authorities have actively promoted Telegram as they have banned other foreign platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (TWTR.N). 

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No Such Reports’: MEA on Russia’s Claim of Indian Students Being Taken Hostage

We note that with cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday," it said

Countering the allegation made by the Ministry of Defence of Russia claiming that Ukrainian forces are keeping a large group of Indian students as "hostages" in Kharkiv, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, 3 March, "We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student."

The MEA added, "Our Embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday."

The Russian Embassy in India's official Twitter handle had posted a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry on Thursday, saying, "According to our information, Ukrainian authorities forcibly keep a large group of Indian students in Kharkiv who wish to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod (sic)."

In fact, they are being held as hostages and offered to leave the territory of Ukraine via Ukrainian-Polish border. They offered to go through the territory where active hostilities are taking place," he added.

Russian armed forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of the Indian citizens. And send them home from the Russian territory with its own military transport planes or Indian planes, as the Indian side proposed to do," he said.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and reviewed the situation in Ukraine, especially in the city of Kharkiv, where many Indian students are stuck. The two leaders also discussed the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from the conflict areas, a press release said.

On Wednesday, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine also asked Indian nationals to leave Kharkiv – the second-most populous city of the war-hit country – at the earliest, in two urgent back-to-back advisories.

Further, after Russia's claim, US Department of State spokesperson said that they have not seen any verified report of such incidents and these activities are commonly used in Russian disinformation.

Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly on Wednesday approved a resolution demanding Russia to withdraw from Ukrainian territory, 'strongly deploring' Moscow's onslaught of the country.

India abstained from voting against Russia on the UN General Assembly resolution, which condemned the offensive.

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Ukrainians prepare Molotov cocktails to fend off Russia’s invasion

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians and destroyed hundreds of structures including transport facilities, hospitals, kindergartens and homes, Ukraine’s emergency service said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Local residents prepare Molotov cocktails, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, to defend their city, in Zhytomyr, Ukraine.

 A Molotov cocktail, also known as a petrol bomb is a bottle-based incendiary weapons. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, the RIA news agency reported. Meanwhile, a Russian delegation is travelling to meet for talks with Ukrainian officials in Belarus.

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