NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) -- As Day 7 of the Russia-Ukraine conflict dawned, Russia continued its attacks on crowded Ukrainian cities and a 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks and other vehicles advanced slowly toward the capital of Kyiv. Russia's escalation Wednesday came as President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, warned that if Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t “pay a price” for the invasion, the aggression wouldn’t stop with one country. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine both said they're ready for more talks, though nothing has been formalized and hopes for a breakthrough are low. In a new speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow aimed to “erase our history, our country and all of us” but that Ukrainians are a “symbol of invincibility.”
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
9:00 a.m. - Over 2,000 civilians killed so far, Ukrainian government says
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said more than 2,000 civilians have died in the Russian invasion, though it was impossible to verify that claim.
The U.N. human rights office has tallied 136 civilian deaths, while acknowledging the actual toll is surely far higher.
The overall death toll from the seven-day war is not clear, with neither Russia nor Ukraine releasing the number of troops lost.
The U.N. refugee agency says more than 874,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion last week and the figure is “rising exponentially,” putting it on track to cross the 1 million mark possibly within hours.
UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said Wednesday that people are continuing to stream into Ukraine’s neighboring countries to the west, with more than 200,000 fleeing since Tuesday.
A day earlier, Mantoo had cautioned that the outflows from Ukraine could make it the source of the “biggest refugee crisis this century” — eclipsing the one from Syria’s war over the last decade.
The latest figures show that more than half — or nearly 454,000 — have gone to Poland, more than 116,300 to Hungary and over 79,300 to Moldova. Another 69,000 have gone to other European countries and 67,000 have fled to Slovakia.
8:00 a.m. - Russia, Ukraine ready for 2nd round of talks
Russian and Ukrainian officials say they are standing by to resume talks about their war, though the time and place for negotiations was unknown and hopes for a breakthrough remain low.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that “in the second half of the day, closer to evening, our delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukrainian officials are ready for new talks but said the venue is undecided and Kyiv won’t accept any Russian ultimatums.
Kuleba said: “Russia’s demands remain the same as (Russian President Vladimir) Putin announced in his address before the war started.”
Peskov said Putin’s culture adviser Vladimir Medinsky remains the main negotiator for Russia.
The first round of talks on resolving the Russia-Ukraine war were held near the Belarus-Ukraine border last Sunday.
They produced no breakthrough, though the two sides agreed to meet again.
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
5:30 a.m. - China says it won't join in financial sanctions on Russia
China's bank regulator says Beijing won’t join the United States and European governments in imposing financial sanctions on Russia.
China is a major buyer of Russian oil and gas and is the only major government that has refrained from criticizing Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.
Beijing disapproves of the sanctions, which it believes lack a legal basis and “will not have a good effect,” said Guo Shuqing, the chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
“We will not join such sanctions, and we will keep normal economic, trade and financial exchanges with all the relevant parties,” Guo said at a news conference. “We disapprove of the financial sanctions."
Smoke rises from a damaged armored vehicle at a checkpoint in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022.AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
5:15 a.m. - Pope Francis thanks Poland for taking in refugees
Pope Francis is thanking Poland for opening its borders and homes to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
Francis gave a special shout-out to Poland during his Wednesday general audience. The weekly appointment coincided with Ash Wednesday, which Francis has designated as a day for fasting and prayers for peace in Ukraine.
Speaking to Polish pilgrims, Francis said he was “profoundly grateful” for Poland’s gestures of solidarity.
“You are the first ones who have supported Ukraine opening your borders, your hearts, the doors of your homes to the Ukrainians who are escaping the war,” Francis said. “You are generously offering everything necessary so that they can live in a dignified way despite the dramatic moment.”
Ukrainian serviceman help a child cross the destroyed bridge on March 1, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine.Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images
5:00 a.m. - Russia says it has taken Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant
Russia claims its military has taken control of the area around Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant.
That’s according to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
It said Wednesday it had received a letter from Russia saying personnel at the Zaporizhzhia plant continued their “work on providing nuclear safety and monitoring radiation in normal mode of operation.” The letter added: “The radiation levels remain normal.”
Zaporizhzhia is the largest of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, with six out of the country’s 15 reactors.
Already, Russia has seized control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
4:45 a.m. - Video appears to show attack on Kharkiv police HQ
Videos circulated online of an apparent attack on the regional police and intelligence headquarters in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. It shows a building with its roof blown off and its top floor on fire.
Pieces of the five-story building are strewn across adjacent streets.
The Ukrainian government’s center for strategic communications released images Wednesday of strikes hitting Kharkiv, with balls of fire lighting up the city skyline over populated areas.
Russia has continued heavy artillery and airstrikes on the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv in the last 24 hours, according to the latest intelligence assessment released by the U.K. Defense Department on Wednesday.
Сьогодні, 2 березня, 🇷🇺 окупанти вкотре обстріляли Чернігів крилатими ракетами, які влучили в адміністративні будівлі поруч лікарні. Будівля медзакладу також постраждала внаслідок ударної хвилі.
— ВОЇНИ УКРАЇНИ🇺🇦 (@ArmedForcesUkr) March 2, 2022
Пацієнти на цей час знаходилися в укритті.
Пошкоджений водогін. pic.twitter.com/JTIZjPmEzC
4:30 a.m. - Zelenskyy: Russian troops are trying to ‘erase our history’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed concern that Russian attacks could threaten holy religious sites and said Russian troops are trying to “erase our history.”
In a speech posted on Facebook, Zelenskyy on Wednesday denounced a Russian strike that hit Holocaust memorial site Babi Yar in Kyiv.
He said: “This is beyond humanity. Such missile strike means that for many Russians our Kyiv is absolute foreign. They know nothing about our capital, about our history. They have orders to erase our history, our country and all of us.”
“What will be next if even Babi Yar (is hit), what other ‘military’ objects, ‘NATO bases’ are threatening Russia? St. Sophia’s Cathedral, Lavra, Andrew’s Church?” he asked, referring to sites in Kyiv held sacred by Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox believers around the world.
Zelenskyy also claimed almost 6,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began last Thursday. Russia has not released overall casualty numbers and the figure could not be confirmed.
People fleeing from the conflict drive cars heading to the Ukrainian and Romania border near Cernivtsi, in Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022.IHA Photo via AP
4:00 a.m. - Biden says US is closing airspace to all Russian flights, seizing apartments of Russian oligarchs
President Biden said in his first State of the Union address that the United States is closing its airspace to all Russian flights in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said the U.S. is working to seize yachts and apartments of Russian oligarchs.
Biden devoted the first 12 minutes of his address to Ukraine. Lawmakers of both parties repeatedly rose to their feet and applauded as he praised the bravery of Ukraine’s people and condemned Russia's assault.
He warned of costs to the American economy, as well, but said that without consequences, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression wouldn’t be contained to Ukraine.
Biden declared that he and all members of Congress, whatever political differences there may be, were joined “with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
