Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow announces fresh ceasefire; declares 'silence mode'
Russia on Wednesday promised a fresh ceasefire in Ukraine on the 14th day of the invasion. It declared a "silence mode" and vowed to provide humanitarian corridors to Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Zaporizhzhia. This comes after 21 people—including two children—were killed in Russian attacks in Sumy on Monday. Officials said 5,000 people were also evacuated from the city on Tuesday.
How many people have died so far?
While the official number of casualties in the war remains unknown, Ukraine has said that 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched the invasion on February 24. Russia, on the other hand, has only confirmed 500 deaths. The United Nations human rights office has confirmed 1,335 civilian casualties in Ukraine. However, there's been no figure on the number of Ukrainian military casualties.
5,000 people left Sumy on Tuesday
Sumy is among the regions where fighting is the most intense. India on Tuesday evacuated all its nationals from the region. The Ukrainian presidential office deputy head Kirill Timoshenko said 5,000 people and 1,000 cars left the city on Tuesday. Sumy also saw the first successful humanitarian corridor on Tuesday. Earlier, Ukrainian officials and news reports cited instances of Russian shelling despite a ceasefire.
Ukraine lets go of NATO membership demand
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has backed down on his demands of a NATO membership. The development comes after the initiation of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia—which had opposed Ukraine's bid to join NATO. Zelensky also virtually addressed the British parliament on Tuesday, calling for Russia to be named a "terrorist state." He urged British lawmakers to ensure that Ukraine's airspace remains safe.
Don't want to lose what is ours: Zelensky
Zelensky recalled the words of UK's wartime leader Winston Churchill in the British parliament. "We do not want to lose what we have, what is ours...just the same way as you once didn't want to lose your country when the Nazis started to fight your country," he said. He also mentioned 50 children "that could have lived" had it not been for Russia.
$14 billion aid for Ukraine
On Tuesday, the financial relief package for Ukraine grew to $14 billion with aid from the United States and Europe. "We're going to support them against tyranny, oppression, violent acts of subjugation," US President Joe Biden said. Separately, Japan has sent bulletproof vests to Ukraine in a rare move as the country remains dedicated to its pacifist post-World War II constitution.
Russia in 'full control' of Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant
Russian state-run media reported that the country's National Guard is now in full control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant. Russian forces have also taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the health of 210 staff working at the Chernobyl plant has deteriorated over the past two weeks.
Putin using 'nuclear blackmail'
Beatrice Fihn, the head of the Nobel Prize-winning group International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, told Agence France-Presse that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using "nuclear blackmail." Fihn said, "This is one of the scariest moments really when it comes to nuclear weapons."
US bans Russian oil import; Moscow responds
Meanwhile, the US has banned Russian oil and gas imports effective immediately in a stand against Moscow's actions in Ukraine. The UK is also planning to halt Russian oil imports by the end of 2022. Russia has responded to America's import ban by deciding to ban the export of other items and raw materials. It has also threatened to cut Europe's gas supply.
