Seventh day of the war in Ukraine, with the delegations sent by Zelensky and Putin meeting on Thursday morning in a forest on the border between Poland and Belarus for a second round of talks with the aim of finding a meeting point in the crisis. There is also a ceasefire on the table.

Meanwhile, several Ukrainian cities remain under siege. Kharkiv, still bombed and where the Russian army paratroopers arrived today. The soldiers allegedly attacked a hospital, while yet another fire fighting took place in the streets. The mayor speaks of hundreds of victims in the civilian population. Also under siege Kherson and Zhytomyr, a hundred kilometers west of Kiev, in addition to the capital and Mariupol.

According to a budget provided by the Ukrainian government, at least 2 thousand civilians have been killed by the Moscow army. The Kremlin provided a casualty balance sheet for the first time, talking about 498 soldiers killed.

The UN approved a resolution condemning the Russian aggression with 141 countries voting in favor, 5 against (Russia, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea) and 35 abstentions, including China.

Meanwhile Biden announces the closure of airspace to Russian flights . And Lavrov evokes the specter of nuclear war.

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LIVE NEWS:

22.35 - CNN: "Explosions near Kiev"

CNN reporters sent to Kiev said they heard explosions near the Ukrainian capital following the siren alarm.

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21.40 - Blinken: "We are documenting possible war crimes"

The US is "documenting" possible war crimes against Russia: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this after the United States denounced that the Moscow army uses prohibited weapons and hits civilians.

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20.50 - "China knew Russian plans, asked to wait for the Olympics to end"

China asked Russia in early February not to invade Ukraine before the Olympics are over. The New York Times reports this, citing sources from the Biden administration, according to which Beijing was at least partially aware of Moscow's plans before the invasion began last week.

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20.30 - Macron: "The next few days will be even harder"

Russian President Vladimir Putin "chose war alone and deliberately, reneging on his commitments. This war is not a conflict between NATO and the West on the one hand and Russia on the other": said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, speaking live on TV in the country tonight. Macron paid homage "to the Ukrainian people" and to its president: "Volodymyr Zelenski - he said - is at the head of his people with the face of honor, freedom, courage".

Then he said that "the next few days of this unprecedented trial in decades will be even tougher."

"We must not be deceived - his words -, what is happening, these events will not only have immediate consequences for a few weeks. They are the signal of an epochal change. The war in Europe no longer belongs to the history books. It is here, under our eyes ".

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20.20 - 3,840 refugees arrived in Italy

3,840 Ukrainian citizens have entered Italy since the beginning of the conflict and until midnight on 1 March. There are 1,890 women, 570 men and 1,380 minors. Sources from the Interior Ministry report this.

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8.15 pm - Sweden: "Moscow has violated our airspace"

Four Russian fighters have breached the airspace near the island of Gotland. This was announced by the Swedish Army.

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8 pm - New strong explosions in Kiev

New loud explosions were heard in Kiev. The Kyiv Independent reports this.

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7.40 pm - White House announces new sanctions against Moscow and Minsk

The White House announced new sanctions for the Ukrainian crisis against Russia and Belarus, in coordination with allies and partners. The new measures affect Russian defense, Moscow's import of oil refining technology, Minsk's imports of high-tech material, and entities supporting the Russian and Belarusian military. Russian flights in US airspace are also banned.

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7 pm - Mayor Kharkiv: "We are under siege"

The Russian bombings are inflicting heavy casualties on the civilian population, while intense fighting is ongoing throughout the city. The mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, tells the BBC about a "very dangerous" situation.

Russian troops are "constantly" bombing and firing cruise missiles at residential areas, adds Terekhov, noting that the Russians have launched "all imaginable forces and a colossal number of tanks are approaching the city."

"The city of Kharkiv will hold up and today is united as never before," adds the mayor.

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6.40 pm - Moscow: "Affected by sanctions, but our economy will remain standing"

The Russian economy was seriously affected by the sanctions imposed by the West following the invasion of Ukraine. This was admitted by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commenting on the State of the Union speech by American President Joe Biden. CNN reports it.

"The Russian economy is taking serious hits," Peskov said during a phone call with foreign reporters. "But there is a certain margin of safety, there is potential, there are plans, construction is underway" and the Russian economy "will remain standing," he added.

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18.20 - UN adopts condemnation resolution

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with 141 countries voting in favor, five against and 35 abstentions.

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18.10 - Negotiations resume tomorrow morning

The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place tomorrow morning, at a location in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest of the Brest region of Belarus, on the border with Poland. The hypothesis of a ceasefire is also on the table.

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6 pm - The first assessment of Moscow: "498 of our soldiers killed"

Russia for the first time provided a toll of its casualties in the offensive in Ukraine, speaking of 498 soldiers killed and 1,597 wounded. This was reported by the Moscow Ministry of Defense, quoted by Interfax.

Since the start of the offensive, Russian forces have killed over 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and "nationalists" and injured around 3,700. Another 572 military from Kiev were taken prisoner, Russia adds, according to which 1,533 Ukrainian military infrastructures were also destroyed, with 47 Ukrainian planes shot down and 13 in flight and 484 tanks hit.

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17.30 - Over 7 thousand arrests in Russia for protests

Since 24 February, 7,032 people have been arrested in Russia during the protests against the aggression against Ukraine. This was announced by the independent site OVD-Info which deals with the protection of human rights in Russia, specifying that each police department may have more detainees than those appearing on the lists.

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4.40 pm - Negotiations in the forest

The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place tonight. This was confirmed on Facebook by David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation and head of the ruling party Servants of the people, quoted by Tass. According to local media, the negotiations are expected to take place in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest of the Brest region of Belarus, on the border with Poland.

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16.12 - The mayor of Mariupol: "We can't count the dead"

"We can't count the number of victims, but we believe that at least hundreds of people have died. We can't go inside to retrieve the bodies." The deputy mayor of Mariupol, Sergiy Orlov, told the BBC, underlining that a district along the river, normally inhabited by 130,000 people, has been "almost completely destroyed". "The Russian army here is fielding all its weapons: artillery, rocket launch systems, even tactical and airborne systems. They are trying to destroy the city," Orlov added.

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16.05 - Di Maio: "Stop the bloodshed"

"The latest official data from Ukraine speak of over 2 thousand Ukrainian civilians who have died since the beginning of the attacks: we must stop this bloodshed". Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio writes it on Facebook. "Pope Francis' efforts for mediation in Ukraine go precisely in this direction and open an important glimmer of hope to restore peace. We are encouraging them and are also working together to build humanitarian corridors," he adds.

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3.40 pm - Biden sends 3,000 soldiers to NATO's eastern front

Joe Biden approved the dispatch of an additional 3,000 US troops to strengthen NATO's eastern flank. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby reports. The troops, including 1,000 men in Germany, will go to Poland and Romania, as announced in recent days.

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3.30 pm - Russian delegation is heading to the place of negotiations

The Russian negotiating delegation is on its way to the secret location where the talks with Ukraine will take place. This was reported by the Belarusian state agency Belta.

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3.12 pm - Mariupol without water: "500 thousand people blocked"

The port city of Mariupol, located on the northern coast of the Azov Sea, at the center of an assault by Russian forces, runs out of water while 500,000 people have been stranded. The alarm comes from the mayor of the city, Vadym Boichenko, as reported by the Guardian.

"The occupation forces of the Russian Federation have done everything to block the exit of civilians from the city, blocking half a million people," he said, stating that "we cannot even take the wounded from the streets, houses and apartments today," since the bombings do not stop ".

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3.10 pm - "Putin thought he would win in three days"

"Putin planned to take Ukraine in three days. The supplies of food he distributed to his soldiers when he sent them to fight" was enough for that amount of time. "By order of the top leadership of the Russian Federation", moreover, the military "was deprived of cell phones and documents". A captured Russian soldier said in a video posted on Telegram by the Kiev Security Service. The soldier appears seated, with his hands tied behind his back and with a conspicuously bloody bandage around his forehead.

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14.55 - At least 4 dead in the new attack on Kharkiv

At least four people died and 9 were injured after the recent attack in Kharkiv. This was reported by the Ukrainian emergency services cited by the Guardian.

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2.35pm - Over 2 thousand civilians killed

Ukrainian authorities have reported that over 2,000 civilians have been killed since the Russian invasion began. "Children, women and defense forces lose their lives every hour", reads a statement released by the Ukrainian emergency services and relaunched by the international media. The statement adds that "during the seven days of war, Russia destroyed hundreds of transport hubs, residential buildings, hospitals and kindergartens". While rescuers have extinguished more than 400 fires that broke out after Russian bombing across the country and defused 416 explosives.

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2.20 pm - New missiles on Kharkiv

"Russian missiles hit the center of Kharkiv again". Ukrainian and international media reported this, citing the state emergency service of Ukraine according to which the attack damaged the municipal council building, the Palace of Labor and other buildings.

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2.15 pm - Today new talks with the same delegations

In the second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for today "the delegations will have the same composition". This was stated by an advisor to the Ukrainian presidency at CNN, confirming the meeting. "Now it's official, the second round of talks between Ukraine and the occupier will be held today."

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14.05 - Italian dancer stranded in Kiev rescued

The Italian dancer Giordano Signorile, who was stranded in Kiev, was rescued following an operation of our intelligence carried out in collaboration with the Crisis Unit of the Farnesina.

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13.55 - Moscow: "Risks of clashes with NATO"

"Risks of confrontation" with NATO cannot be ruled out. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. Tass reports it. According to Grushko, an escalation of "incidents" between Russia and the Atlantic Alliance cannot be ruled out.

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13.38 - NYT: "2 thousand victims among the Russians"

The United States estimates that the Russian deaths in the Ukrainian invasion are about 2,000. The New York Times reports this, citing some sources, according to which it is not possible to calculate exactly the victims of the conflict.

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1.30 pm - It is forbidden to export euros to Russia

In the new sanctions package adopted by the EU - which includes the exclusion from Swift of seven Russian banks - there is also a ban on exporting euros to Russia. The measure, published in the European Journal after the final ok by the EU Council, provides for a ban "on the sale, transfer, supply or export of euros to any legal or natural person in Russia, including the government and central bank or in any case for their use in Russia".

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12.50 - EU: "From today 7 Russian banks out of the Swift system"

The European Commission confirms the exclusion from the Swift system of 7 Russian banks as of today. They are: Vtb Bank, Bank Rossiya, Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank and Veb.rf. Excluded from the list, however, Gazprombank, the main carrier with which Russian gas is paid, and the main state institution Sberbank.

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12.40 pm - Kiev: "Second round of talks will be held today"

The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will be held late today. This was stated by the chief adviser of the office of the Ukrainian President Zelensky, according to reports from the Tass agency.

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11.48 - The University was also hit in Kharkiv

This morning's massive bombings in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine hit police, security services and even Karazin National University. The mayor reports that 21 victims have so far been recorded since the beginning of the Russian bombing.

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11.10 - Lavrov: "The Third World War would be nuclear"

"The Third World War would be nuclear": is the threat launched by the Russian Foreign Minister. "A third world conflict, if it were to break out, would be nuclear and devastating," Lavrov warned in an interview with Al Jazeera cited by Tass.

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10.50 am - Former Ukrainian president Yanukovich in Minsk: "Moscow wants him president"

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Kyiv Post writes on Twitter, adding that the Kremlin wants to make him president of Ukraine. The tweet is accompanied by a photo of Yanukovych smiling together with Russian President Putin. Yanukovych was president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. His government was overthrown following a wave of popular protests.

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10 am - Von der Leyen: "Those who flee Putin's bombs are welcome"

"Europe stands alongside those in need of protection. All those fleeing Putin's bombs are welcome in Europe. We will offer protection to those seeking shelter and help those seeking a safe way to return home." This was stated by the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, presenting the Brussels proposal to support people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

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9.14 - Zelensky: "Russia wants to wipe out Ukraine"

The Russians with their invasion are trying to "erase Ukraine, the country, its history," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a live TV speech. According to which "for many people in Russia our Kiev is completely foreign. They know nothing about our capital. But they have been ordered to erase our history. To erase our country." In the same speech, Zelensky also has appealed to the Jews of the world not to "remain silent".

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8.19 am - Moscow: "We have conquered the city of Kherson"

The Russian military claims to have captured the strategic city of Kherson in southern Ukraine. But the mayor of the city on Facebook said: "We are still Ukrainians. We are steadfast."

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8.10 am - 450 thousand people have entered Poland so far

More than 450,000 people have so far entered Poland from Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. This was said by the Polish Deputy Minister of the Interior, Pawel Szefernaker, adding that admissions dropped slightly yesterday to 98,000 from the record number of over 100,000 registered on Monday.

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7.15 am - United Nations: "136 civilians have died so far"

At least 136 civilians have been killed so far since the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began last Thursday, according to reports from the United Nations. There are also 13 children among the victims. According to a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, the real deaths should be many more.

(Unioneonline)

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