Sunday, March 3, 2024
1302 GMT — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the world to help Kiev defeat "Russian evil" as the death toll from a Russian drone strike on Odessa rose to 12, including five children.
The attack killed at least five children, including two babies less than a year old, according to statements by Zelenskyy and the regional governor.
"Ukrainian children are Russia's military targets," he said.
Zelenskyy said 215 emergency responders had taken part in an ongoing search and rescue operation in Odessa.
Rescuers were still pulling bodies from the rubble on Sunday evening, more than 36 hours after the strike.
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1645 GMT — German Defence Minister accuses Russia of "hybrid attack" amid wiretap scandal
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius accused Russia of carrying out a “hybrid attack” against the country after senior military officers’ discussions were wiretapped and leaked to the media.
“This incident is clearly more than just the interception and publication of a discussion in the air force,” he told reporters, in a hurriedly called press conference.
“This is part of an information war that Russian President Putin is waging, there is no doubt about that, it is a hybrid attack for disinformation, it aims at creating divisions, undermining our unity,” he said.
Pistorius promised a thorough investigation into the incident, as well as new measures to combat wiretapping and eavesdropping.
1052 GMT — Türkiye calls for dialogue, ceasefire in Ukraine conflict
Türkiye hopes talks for a ceasefire in Ukraine will start soon, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, at the end of a diplomatic forum in the southern city of Antalya.
"On the issue of Ukraine, our view is that both sides have reached the limits of what they can get by war. We think that it is time to start a dialogue for a ceasefire," Fidan said.
"That doesn't mean recognising the occupation (by Russia), but issues of sovereignty and ceasefire should be discussed separately."
"The death and injury of more than 500,000 people and the complete destruction of the infrastructure and superstructure of an entire country is not a reality that is bearable for us," Fidan said
0931 GMT — Lavrov accuses Kiev of 'lack of goodwill' in negotiations with Moscow
Moscow has never refused to negotiate with Kiev, there is a lack of goodwill for it on the other side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Speaking at a news conference on the results of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye, Lavrov said since the Istanbul talks in March 2022 there have been no serious proposals on peace talks with Ukraine.
"We have no lack of goodwill. We see its absence from the other side. We still note the desire of the other side to defeat Russia on the battlefield," he said.
Lavrov criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to send NATO troops to Ukraine as well as US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin's statement that in case of Ukraine's defeat, there will be a direct fight between Russia and NATO.
"These trends in the West among the Western leadership negate all assurances that they are interested in some kind of political settlement. There are enough facts that the West is leading to a military solution," he stressed.
0334 GMT — Russia says Ukraine attacked Crimea with 38 drones
Russian air defence systems destroyed all 38 drones that Ukraine launched at the Crimean Peninsula, Russia's defence ministry said, after reports on Ukrainian and Russian social media of powerful explosions in the port of Feodosia.
The Russian defence ministry did not say whether there was any damage or casualties in its statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Road traffic near Feodosia was significantly restricted, Russian-backed officials in Crimea had said earlier. Traffic on the bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland was halted for couple hours before resuming at around 0140 GMT, Russian-installed officials in Crimea said on Telegram.
Russian and Ukrainian social media cited Feodosia residents as reporting powerful explosions were heard in the area of the seaport and an oil depot at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday (2300 GMT on Saturday).
2245 GMT — Moscow says Russia, China agree that Russia must be present in Ukraine talks
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, said it is impossible to discuss a Ukraine settlement without Moscow's participation, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The Chinese envoy met with Galuzin during his second trip to Europe promoting a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, a tour that will also include Poland, Ukraine and Germany.
"A very engaged and tho rough exchange of views took place on the topic of the Ukrainian crisis," the Russian foreign ministry said in the statement posted on its website.
"It was stated that any discussion of a political and diplomatic settlement is impossible without the participation of Russia and taking into account its interests in the security sphere."
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, calling it a "special military operation" to "denazify" its neighbour.
Kiev and its Western allies call the war, which two years later continues to kill civilians nearly on daily basis, an unprovoked land grab.
For our live updates from Friday, March 2, click here.
