VLADIMIR Putin has been accused of genocide after the "barbaric" bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol by Russian forces.
Russian forces dropped “several bombs” on the hospital in Mariupol on Wednesday during what was meant to be a ceasefire to allow civilians to be evacuated.
Seventeen people – including a number of women in labour – were injured amid the “colossal” destruction, the city’s council said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has since condemned the attack as “barbaric” and urged the West to intervene to prevent Putin from “committing genocide”.
He has also accused Ukraine’s allies in the West of “ignoring terror” – as his numerous requests for a no-fly zone over Ukraine have been repeatedly denied by Nato.
Boris Johnson condemned the attack, saying there were “few things more depraved than the targeting of vulnerable and defenceless people”.
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up to the minute updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Zelenskyy accuses Russia of war crimes
The Ukrainian president has used his nightly video message to accuse Russia of war crimes after 17 were wounded in a Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol.
"Everything that the occupiers are doing to Mariupol is beyond atrocities. Europeans! Ukrainians! Mariupol!
"Today we must be united in condemning this war crime of Russia, which reflects all the evil that the occupiers have brought to our land.
"All of the destroyed cities and everything they've done."
"An aerial bomb on a maternity hospital is the conclusive evidence that what is happening is a genocide of Ukrainians.
"Europeans! You won't be able to say that you didn't see what happened to Ukrainians in Mariupol. You saw. You know.
"Consequently, you must strengthen sanctions against Russia so that it never has the chance to continue this genocide. You need to pressure Russia so that it sits at the negotiating table and ends this barbarous war."
- Joseph Gamp
Starmer: Labour 'stands steadfast in solidarity with Ukraine'
Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour "stands steadfast in solidarity with Ukraine" ahead of his visit to Tapa military base in Estonia.
After meeting Estonian defence minister Kalle Laanet, the Labour leader tweeted: "Today, @JohnHealey_MP and I are in Estonia, to meet with our allies and British troops.
"Labour stands steadfast in solidarity with Ukraine and we are committed to supporting our Nato allies."
- Joseph Gamp
TUI bans Russia from using its brand
Holiday group TUI said on Thursday it was terminating an agreement that allowed TUI Russia, which was no longer part of the group, to use its brand in countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
"TUI condemns Russia's attack and war against Ukraine. Our position is clear.
"The TUI brand must no longer be used by TUI Russia for its business and the company's presence," Chief Executive Officer Fritz Joussen said in a statement.
- Milica Cosic
Putin 'rejected' every offer from US to de-escalate
Russian president Vladimir Putin has rejected every off-ramp offered by the US to de-escalate, according US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, reported Reuters.
Blinken held a joint news conference with his British counterpart Liz Truss yesterday evening, and said: “We’ve sought to provide possible off-ramps to President Putin. He’s the only one who can decide whether or not to take them. So far, every time there’s been an opportunity to do just that, he’s pressed the accelerator and continued down this horrific road that he’s been pursuing.
“He has a clear plan right now to brutalize Ukraine but to what end?” Blinken said.
He added: “If he tries to enforce such a puppet regime by keeping Russian forces in Ukraine, it will be a long, bloody, drawn-out mess".
- Joseph Gamp
Tesla to pay conscripted Ukrainian employees at least three months pay
Tesla will give Ukrainian employees asked to defend their country at least three months of pay, CNBC reported on Wednesday.
The publication cited an e-mail from Monday by the EV maker to its employees in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
After three months, the company will re-assess the impact of Russia-Ukraine crisis to decide what more will be needed, the report said.
It added that the email did not make it clear if the pay benefit would be extended to North America and elsewhere.
Separately, Ukraine's Vice premier Mykhailo Fedorov said the country has received the second shipment of Starlink satellite terminals, which can provide faster internet service by connecting to a fleet of satellites in low orbit.
"Received the second shipment of Starlink stations! @elonmusk keeps his word!", he said in a tweet.
- Joseph Gamp
US passes bill for sanctions and aid to Ukraine
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill banning Russian oil imports to the country.
Reps also approved a $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine and its allies.
- Joseph Gamp
Amazon stopping shipments to Russia and Belarus
Amazon will suspend all shipments to Russia and Belarus.
It is stopping shipments of goods to those countries, as well as banning new sign-ups to its computing network Amazon Web Services.
Its streaming service Prime Video has also been suspended in Russia and Belarus.
Orders for the only video game sold directly to Russia, New World, will be stopped.
- Milica Cosic
Sanctions against oligarchs 'too slow to make a real difference'
Melinda Simmons, the UK's ambassador to Ukraine, has claimed British sanctions against Russian oligarchs were "just too slow to make a real difference".
She told the BBC: "What this invasion has done is impress on more of the right people that it needs to move more quickly, and that is what is now happening."
Ms Simmons then spoke about the UK's heavily-criticised visa programme, adding : "At the moment, it's struggling with capacity. I don't think we should confuse capacity with intent".
- Joseph Gamp
West fears Russia could use non-conventional weapons
Western officials are “very concerned” about the risk of escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
They are particularly concerned about the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons, which could see the use of chemical weapons.
However, the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs.
“We’ve got good reason to be concerned,” said one Western official.
- Milica Cosic
Canada satellite firm provides images to Ukraine
Canada’s biggest satellite company has said it has been been granted permission by the country’s government to give Ukraine access to its advanced satellite imagery.
Maxar satellite imagery took to Twitter to show grocery stores and shopping malls in Mariupol before and after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It comes after Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, made an appeal for the international community to provide SAR satellite imagery and data to track Russian troops.
- Milica Cosic
Zelensky: 'Millions could die if the world does not act NOW'
Speaking to Sky News yesterday evening, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country cannot stop the war against Russia on its own, and other nations must act now.
He told Sky News' Alex Crawford: "You can't decide to close or not to close… you can't decide.
"If you are united against the Nazis and this terror, you have to close. Don't wait for me ask you several times, a million times. Close the sky."
"Close the sky and stop the bombing".
- Milica Cosic
Children ‘buried under rubble’ after Russian airstrike at maternity hospital in Mariupol
A Russian airstrike destroyed a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol yesterday, Ukraine has claimed.
President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed children were left buried under the rubble after the strike on Wednesday afternoon and branded the attack an "atrocity".
The airstrike was carried out during an agreed ceasefire period that was meant to allow the evacuation of civilians from the besieged southern city, said regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
- Milica Cosic
EU sanctions 160 people, including 14 oligarchs
Individuals, including 14 oligarchs have been added to the European Commission's list because of "actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine", it said.
Included are "14 oligarchs and prominent business people involved in key economic sectors" – and their family members.
Those sectors include the "metallurgical, agriculture, pharmaceutical, telecom and digital industries".
Also sanctioned are 146 members of the Russian Federation Council.
The Commission added: "Altogether, EU restrictive measures now apply to a total of 862 individuals and 53 entities.
- Milica Cosic
Lewis Hamilton: ‘We cannot be selective about who deserves support’
Sir Lewis said on social media that the war in Ukraine is “horrific”.
He added: “If we learn anything from this shocking situation, it is that we cannot be selective about who deserves support and whose rights we defend.
“Everyone deserves the same compassion. The lives of civilian victims of conflict everywhere are of equal value.”
He continued: “After seven years of war, the people of Yemen also need protection, support, and, above all, peace.”
- Milica Cosic
UK's temporary visa application centre to open in France
An visa application centre will open in Lille, France today (Thusday). It will be there instead of Calais which is only 70 miles away.
The government says it stands "shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Ukraine" and has taken "urgent action to process visas at speed for all those eligible to the Ukraine Family Scheme".
But "vital security checks" will also be carried out, it adds.
A government spokesman said: "In light of the risk from criminals actively operating in the area around Calais, we have set up a new temporary visa application centre in Lille which will open tomorrow focused on referrals only for people in the area eligible for the scheme."
- Milica Cosic
West fears Russia could use non-conventional weapons
Western officials are "very concerned" about the risk of escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
They are particularly concerned about the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons, which could see the use of chemical weapons.
However, the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs.
"We've got good reason to be concerned," said one Western official.
- Milica Cosic
Thanks for reading!
Milica Cosic here, signing off from our live coverage.
We hope you've enjoyed reading today's rolling updates.
Joe Gamp will be back with you from 6am.
- Milica Cosic
What happened today
Here's a recap of the most important stories of the day:
- A children's and maternity hospital in the southeastern port city of Mariupol was reportedly hit by a Russian air strike – with at least 17 people wounded
- Mariupol residents are said to be without access to food, water, electricity or gas, with mass graves being dug for the dead.
- At a joint news conference, in America, the US and UK foreign ministers again resisted Ukrainian pleas for a no-fly zone, saying their "goal is to end the war, not expand it".
- According to the latest estimates from the UN's human rights office, more than 500 Ukrainians have died and over 900 are injured.
- The British army says a small number of its soldiers have disobeyed orders and gone to fight in Ukraine.
UNICEF: More than 1 million children fled Ukraine
More than 1 million children have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries in the less than two weeks, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said today.
At least 37 children had been killed and 50 injured, Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
Russell said that she was "horrified" by the reported attack on a children's hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, saying: "This attack, if confirmed, underscores the horrific toll this war is exacting on Ukraines children and families".
Zelensky: 'Putin’s nuclear threats are a 'bluff'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to resort to nuclear weapons a “bluff.”
In a interview with
German newspaper Die Zeit
,Zelensky said
: "I think that the threat of nuclear war is a bluff. It’s one thing to be a murderer. It’s another to commit suicide
".Zelensky went on to say that Putin’s nuclear threat “shows a weakness.”
"
You only threaten the use of nuclear weapons when nothing else is working,” Zelensky said.
“Every use of nuclear weapons means the end for all sides, not just for the person using them.”
Russia claims there were combat positions at bombed hospital
Several hours before the maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol was bombed, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of establishing combat positions at the hospital.
At her regular briefing, Zakharova said: "in Mariupol, the Ukrainian national battalions, having expelled the staff and patients from the maternity hospital, equipped combat positions in it."
- Milica Cosic
Sanctions against oligarchs 'too slow to make a real difference'
Melinda Simmons, the UK's ambassador to Ukraine, has claimed British sanctions against Russian oligarchs were "just too slow to make a real difference".
She told the BBC: "What this invasion has done is impress on more of the right people that it needs to move more quickly, and that is what is now happening."
Ms Simmons then spoke about the UK's heavily-criticised visa programme, adding : "At the moment, it's struggling with capacity. I don't think we should confuse capacity with intent".
- Milica Cosic
Russian & Ukrainian foreign ministers may meet tomorrow
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya, the Reuters news agency has said.
Talks are planned tomorrow with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
If the meeting goes ahead, it will be their first talks since Russia invaded its neighbour.
- Milica Cosic
Putin 'rejected' every offer from US to de-escalate
Russian president Vladimir Putin has rejected every off-ramp offered by the US to de-escalate, according US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, reported Reuters.
Blinken said at a joint news conference with his British counterpart Liz Truss: “We’ve sought to provide possible off-ramps to President Putin. He’s the only one who can decide whether or not to take them. So far, every time there’s been an opportunity to do just that, he’s pressed the accelerator and continued down this horrific road that he’s been pursuing.
“He has a clear plan right now to brutalize Ukraine but to what end?” Blinken said.
He added: “If he tries to enforce such a puppet regime by keeping Russian forces in Ukraine, it will be a long, bloody, drawn-out mess".
- Milica Cosic
US 'considering' sanctions against Russian nuclear power supplier
The US is reportedly considering sanctions against Russian nuclear power supplier Rosatom.
Bloomberg’s Ari Natter took to his Twitter to write: "SCOOP: The Biden administration is considering sanctioning Russian uranium supplier Rosatom.
"Huge implications for domestic uranium mining and nuclear power operators. No decision has been made yet."
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