Twentieth day of the war, explosions in the center of Kiev. The talks resume

On the twentieth day of the war in Ukraine, talks resumed by videoconference between Kiev and Moscow. The work of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations continues and this "is a good thing", commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. On the table "issues of general regulation, ceasefire, withdrawal of troops from the territory of the country", said the advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhailo Podolyak.

The talks between the parties "are going quite well", the comment of Ukrainian President Zelensky, but according to Vladimir Putin Kiev "is not seriously looking for a solution".

Yet Zelensky himself, in connection with the leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries of the Joint Expeditionary Force gathered today in London, said that "Ukraine realizes that it is not in NATO." "We have heard for years about open doors, but we have also heard that we cannot enter it, and we have to recognize it, "he added.

Meanwhile, while Russia has announced sanctions against US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the battle continues to rage: violent explosions - at least three, probably caused by cruise missiles - occurred around 5 am in a residential area. of Kiev (which will impose a 36-hour curfew tonight) and were heard throughout the city. A 15-storey building in the district of Sviatochine, in the western part of the capital, was hit: many apartments were on fire. The victims would be at least 4, while 27 people were saved.

And the deaths of two journalists are also recorded: a Fox News cameraman and a Ukrainian journalist. The Russian journalist who was the protagonist of the anti-war blitz live on state TV was instead arrested, tried and then released with a fine.

On the timing for the end of the conflict, Oleksiy Arestovich, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said that "the war will end by May, because Russia will run out of resources to continue the invasion." "The exact times - he added - will depend on how many resources the Kremlin is willing to commit to the campaign ".

Updates ( HERE all the articles on the Ukrainian crisis).

20.20 - Biden in Europe to see the allies

Joe Biden will fly to Europe next week to participate in the extraordinary NATO summit and the European Council on Ukraine with the aim of reaffirming the "iron" commitment of the United States to allies.

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20.10 - Towards incentives for families who welcome Ukrainians

According to reports, the Government is working on a decree to allocate new funds for the reception of Ukrainian refugees, which are increasing day by day. The Regions continue to ask for more funds. The provision will define the governance of the system, which also involves the third sector and could provide incentives for families hosting people fleeing the war. On February 28, the Council of Ministers approved an initial disbursement of 10 million euros for reception interventions.

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7.30 pm - Curfew in Kiev started half an hour ago

The total curfew of 36 hours imposed by the Ukrainian authorities has begun in Kiev. The restrictions will end at 8 local time on Thursday morning (7 in Italy).

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19.10 - Zelensky to Russian officers: "Give up if you want to live"

"Listen to me carefully: we know you want to live. We listen to your conversations. We know what you think about this senseless war. We offer you a chance: we give you a chance to live. If you surrender to our military forces, we will treat you how they should be treated. human beings: with dignity. In the way you have not been treated by your army. And the way your army does not treat our people. You choose. "

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said this in a video in which he addresses enemy officers speaking in Russian. "In just 19 days the Russian army had more soldiers dead than in the two bloody wars in Chechnya," Zelensky added.

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18.50 - Ankara media, Cavusoglu flies to Moscow and Kiev

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will hold talks in Moscow tomorrow and in Ukraine on Thursday, as part of Ankara's mediation efforts. This was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, quoted by Anadolu.

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18.31 - Russian forces in Berdiansk

Russian forces have taken control of Berdiansk, a port city of over 100,000 inhabitants on the Sea of Azov, about 80 km west of Mariupol. Tass reports it.

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6 pm - Kiev: "Negotiations well enough"

The conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Bennett was important as part of the negotiating effort to end this war with a just peace. Our delegation is also working on this by negotiating with the Russian side. That's okay enough, I've been told. But we will see, the negotiations will continue tomorrow. "Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said in a video.

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5.35 pm - Moscow withdraws from the Council of Europe

"The secretary general of the Council of Europe has received formal notification that Russia withdraws from the organization, and also information on Moscow's intention to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights". Spokesman Daniel Holtgen says so.

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17.30 - The journalist fined and released

The Russian television reporter who was stopped for showing an anti-war placard in Ukraine live was sentenced to pay a fine and was released. The court makes it known.

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17.20 - Putin: "Kiev is not serious about trying to find a solution"

Ukraine is not serious about finding a mutually acceptable solution. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports from the Kremlin - quoted by the Bloomberg agency - referring to the conversation with the president of the EU Council Michel Michel.

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17.10 - A Ukrainian journalist also killed

Ukrainian journalist Alexandra Kuvshinova also died following the Russian attack in northwest Kiev in which Fox cameraman Pierre Zakrewski was killed. The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported, adding that the third reporter, the British Ben Hall, who was with them in the hit car and was seriously injured, would have undergone an operation for the amputation of a leg. Fox, CNN reports, has not yet confirmed whether Kuvshinova was working with the American broadcaster's team.

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16.55 - Putin bans Trudeau from entering Russia

Moscow bans Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from entering Russia. This was reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry, writes Tass. Earlier he had done the same thing with US President Joe Biden.

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16.50 - Zelensky: "97 children killed"

"Ninety-seven children have been killed by Russian forces since the start of the war." This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking to the Canadian parliament.

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4.40 pm - Zelensky: "Sanctions do not stop the war"

"The sanctions you have imposed have not stopped the war." Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said this in the Ottawa parliament, addressing the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directly. "We ask you to stop the bombs and you 'express your deep concern and ask us to hold out a little longer?", He insisted.

"Justin, can you imagine what it means for your kids to hear the bombing at 4am every day? See your cities destroyed? Your people die? Imagine if someone occupied Vancouver like they are doing with Mariupol, left without water, food, electricity".

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16.20 - Fox News cameraman killed

After the death of Brent Renaud, former New York Times reporter, another information officer killed in Ukraine. It is a cameraman of the US broadcaster Fox News. His name is Pierre Zakrzewski and he was involved in the same ambush in which colleague Benjamin Hall was wounded.

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15.54 - Moscow sanctions Biden and Blinken

Russia has decided to impose sanctions on US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Bloomberg agency reports. Moscow has also banned US President Joe Biden from entering Russia.

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15.30 - USA: new sanctions, also to Lukashenko

The United States is imposing new sanctions on Russia for Ukraine and also targeting the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, and his family. The American Treasury announces it.

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3.14 pm - NATO: "We fear the use of chemical weapons"

In the war in Ukraine launched by Russia "we are concerned that Moscow may stage a false flag operation, perhaps even with chemical weapons". NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this during a press point.

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2.45 pm - "Patients held hostage by the Russians in a hospital in Mariupol"

"Russian troops have taken the staff and patients of a hospital in Mariupol hostage." This was announced on Facebook by the Ukrainian Media Human Rights Initiative (MHRI). The organization explains that patients have contacted the MHRI, saying that since yesterday morning the Mariupol regional intensive care hospital has been occupied by Russian troops. Soldiers would shoot from inside the hospital, preventing anyone from leaving. Some people who attempted to escape would have been injured.

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2 pm - Draghi-Sullivan Summit: "The condemnation of Russia is firm, united ahead"

Prime Minister Mario Draghi had a meeting today with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the developments and implications of the war in Ukraine. According to reports from Palazzo Chigi, they shared "the firm condemnation of the unjustified aggression by Russia and the need to continue to pursue a decisive and unified response to Moscow".

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13.35 - The refugees who entered Italy rise to 44 thousand

The Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Italy so far have risen to 44,008. The Interior Ministry indicates this on its website. Yesterday's survey was stopped at 38,500, so there was an increase of over 5 thousand units. The majority remains composed of women, 22,331, and minors, 17,858, while men are 3,819. The main destination cities declared at the time of entry into Italy are still Milan, Rome, Naples and Bologna.

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12.30 - Cyber Agency: "Beware of Russian technologies"

The evolution of the conflict in Ukraine could "jeopardize the reliability and effectiveness" of information technologies provided by companies linked to Russia. The alarm comes from the National Cybersecurity Agency which recommends Italian companies "to urgently proceed with an analysis of the risk deriving from the IT security solutions used and to consider the implementation of appropriate diversification strategies as regards, in particular , the following categories of device security products: antivirus, 'web application firewall', e-mail protection; protection of cloud services; managed security services ".

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11.40 am - Unicef: "Every second a child becomes a refugee"

About 1.4 million children have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, meaning nearly one child every second has become a refugee. This was stated by James Elder, spokesman for the UN agency for children Unicef. "On average, every day for the past 20 days in Ukraine, more than 70,000 children have become refugees," Elder said, which equates to about 55 every minute, "so almost one per second," he said.

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10.50 am - Dnipro airport bombed during the night

The airport of the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro suffered "massive destruction" after two Russian bombings overnight, regional authorities said. "During the night, the enemy attacked the Dnipro airport. Two shots. The take-off and landing strip was destroyed. The terminal is damaged. Massive destruction," Valentin Reznichenko, governor of the region of the same name, wrote on Telegram.

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9.45 am - The fourth EU sanctions package approved

The EU Council has adopted the fourth package of sanctions against Russia: all transactions with some state-owned enterprises are banned, restrictions on the export of goods and technologies for the defense, security and energy industries are foreseen. Stop the export of luxury goods. The hypothesis of actions to suspend Russia as a "favored nation" in the WTO, the world trade organization, has been confirmed.

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9.30 - China: "fake news from the US on military aid to Russia"

The Kremlin's presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, "denied yesterday that Russia has asked China to provide military assistance. The US occasionally creates and disseminates false information, which is neither professional nor ethical, let alone accountability. ". The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian said. In doing so, he added, "they will only further discredit America in the world."

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9 am - The premieres of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia today in Kiev

The premiers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia will travel to Kiev today to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. This was reported by a note from the Polish government. Mateusz Morawiecki, Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa "will go to Kiev today as representatives of the European Council, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Chmygal", reads the note. "The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and to present a broad package of support to the Ukrainian state and society".

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8.40 am - The Russians: "The entire Kherson region is occupied"

The Russian Armed Forces have taken control of the entire territory of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. This was reported by the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, quoted by Russian agencies.

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8.30 - Beijing: "We don't want to be hit by Russian sanctions"

China does not want to "be hit" by sanctions on Russia. This was reported by the Foreign Ministry.

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7.25 am - Evacuation corridors from Sumy

Evacuation corridors from four cities in the northeastern Sumy region planned today. The city authorities make it known, according to reports from the BBC. In a message on Telegram, the head of Sumy regional administration Dmytro Zhyvytsky said that the evacuation routes from the cities of Sumy, Konotop, Trostianets and Lebedyn will be activated between 9 and 21 local time (between 8 and 20 in Italy). Sumy, close to the Russian border, has been under heavy bombing these days and citizens have run out of water.

(Unioneonline)