NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) -- Russia's attack on Ukraine drags on as refugees continue to flee the country in massive numbers. After causing worldwide concern, a fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant that was caused by Russian shelling was extinguished, and The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate says radiation levels have remained normal in the area. Meanwhile a limited ceasefire designed to evacuate civilians from two Ukrainian cities was broken by Russian bombardment. Putin threatened Ukraine might lose its statehood if resistance to the Russian invasion continues. Below, the latest:
Sunday, March 6, 2022
8:25 a.m.: Ukraine official says assault halts evacuations for a 2nd time
A Ukrainian official says a second attempt to evacuate civilians from a southern city under siege for a week has failed due to continued Russian shelling.
Evacuations from the port city of Mariupol were scheduled to begin at noon local time (10 a.m. GMT) during a 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. local ceasefire, Ukrainian military authorities said earlier Sunday.
Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said the planned evacuations along designated humanitarian corridors were halted because of an ongoing assault.
“There can be no ‘green corridors’ because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom,“ he said on Telegram.
A similar cease-fire planned for Mariupol and the nearby city of Volnovakha collapsed Saturday, trapping residents under more shelling and aerial bombardment by Russian forces.
Separately, Ukraine’s national security service says Russian forces are firing rockets at a physics institute in the city of Kharkiv that contains nuclear material and a reactor.
The security service said a strike on the nuclear facility could lead to “large-scale ecological disaster.”
The service said on Facebook Sunday that the Russians were firing from Grad launchers. Those missiles do not have precise targeting, raising concern that one would go astray.
Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy reiterated a request for foreign protectors to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which NATO so far has ruled out because of concerns such an action would draw the West into the war.
“The world is strong enough to close our skies,” Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Moscow would consider a third-party declaration to close Ukrainian airspace to be a hostile act.
Saturday, March 5, 2022
7:47 p.m.: President Joe Biden called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday
They spoke for a little over half an hour at around 6:30 p.m. EST. The details of their discussion is not yet public.
7:06 p.m.: Mastercard and Visa suspended all transactions in Russia
The companies are the latest financial institutions to abandon Russia, either in accordance with international sanctions or in protest of the invasion of Ukraine.
"For more than a week, the world has watched the shocking and devastating events resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine," said Mastercard in a statement. "noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment – we have decided to suspend our network services in Russia."
5:44 p.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine as the war enters its 10th day. Blinken arrived in Rzeszow on Saturday for talks with top Polish officials and was to visit a frontier post to meet Ukrainian refugees later in the day.
Blinken was meeting Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau a day after attending a NATO foreign minister’s meeting in Brussels at which the alliance pledged to step up support for eastern flank members like Poland to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While at the border later, Blinken stepped briefly onto Ukrainian soil to meet Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba, who predicted Russia would be defeated but appealed for more military assistance to lower the cost in lives that he said victory will require.
Although NATO has ruled out establishing a no-fly zone over non-member Ukraine, it has significantly boosted both military and humanitarian assistance. Rzeszow is about 80 km (50 miles) from the Ukrainian border and its airport has become a hub for flights carrying such aid.
4:19 p.m.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday echoed the president's assertion that Russia has lost more than 10,000 troops.
Kuleba also said in a video message released by the Ukrainian government that the Russians had lost dozens of aircraft and hundreds of armored vehicles.
The claim could not be independently verified. The Russian military doesn’t offer regular updates on their casualties. On Wednesday, they revealed a death toll of 498.
“Russians keep bearing devastating losses on the ground, and I cannot understand how mothers, wives and daughters of these Russian soldiers bear this pain, seeing how President Putin sends more and more of their beloved ones to Ukraine,” Kuleba said.
Kuleba added, “Ukraine is bleeding but Ukraine has not fallen and stands (with) both feet on the ground.”
1:44 p.m.: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday to discuss Ukraine
Bennett carried out the meeting -- which reportedly last two and a half hours -- with the blessing of both the United States and Ukraine. Bennett reportedly called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the meeting.
Zelenskyy has appealed to Israel to help negotiate a ceasefire.
Bennett and Putin discussed the war in Ukraine, including the situation of Israelis and Jewish communities as a result of the conflict, a diplomatic source told the Jerusalem Post.
Israel has sent aid to Ukraine and opposed the Russian invasion, but has maintained communication with Russia and refrained from direct public criticism of Putin.
12:34 p.m.: Putin says sanctions are 'akin to a declaration of war' and warns Russia will treat any imposition of a no-fly zone as entrance into the conflict
"These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that," said Putin during a speech on Saturday.
Enforcement of a no-fly zone involves shooting down air craft that enter it.
NATO and the United States have thus far rejected Ukraine's request to establish a no-fly zone over the embattled country for Russian air craft due to fears of expanding the conflict and becoming entangled in a shooting war with a nuclear power.
8:30 a.m.: Russian cease-fire in Ukraine imperiled amid more shelling
What looked like a breakthrough cease-fire to evacuate residents from two cities in Ukraine quickly fell apart Saturday as Ukrainian officials said shelling had halted the work to remove civilians hours after Russia announced the deal.
The Russian defense ministry earlier said it had agreed on evacuation routes with Ukrainian forces for Mariupol, a strategic port in the southeast, and the eastern city of Volnovakha. The vaguely worded statement did not make clear how long the routes would remain open.
“The Russian side is not holding to the cease-fire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and on its surrounding area,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. “Talks with the Russian Federation are ongoing regarding setting up a cease-fire and ensuring a safe humanitarian corridor.”
Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told reporters. “We appeal to the Russian side to stop firing,” she said. Meanwhile, Moscow outlet RIA Novosti carried a Russian defense ministry claim that the firing came from inside both cities against Russian positions.
The struggle to enforce the cease-fire showed the fragility of efforts to stop fighting across Ukraine as people continued to flee the country on the 10th day after Russian forces invaded.
"We are doing everything on our part to make the agreement work,” Zelenskyy said. “This is one of the main tasks for today. Let’s see if we can go further in the negotiation process.”
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