LIVE NEWS FROM RUSSIA AND UKRAINE | Russia is bringing troops from the Far East closer to Europe.

  • March 1, 2022, 10:55 a.m.

Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russian forces shelled Ukraine's second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighbourhood, and closing in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an agreement to keep talking.

The country's embattled president said the stepped-up shelling

It was aimed at forcing him into concessions. "I

believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday in a video address. He did not offer details of the hourslong talks that took place earlier, but said that Kyiv was not prepared to make concessions when one side is hitting the other with rocket artillery.

Amid ever-growing international condemnation, Russia found itself increasingly isolated five days into its invasion, while also facing unexpectedly fierce resistance on the ground in Ukraine and economic havoc at home.

For the second day in a row, the Kremlin raised the specter of nuclear war by announcing that its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines, and long-range bombers had all been put on high alert, following President Vladimir Putin's orders over the weekend.

Stepping up his rhetoric, Putin denounced the US and its allies as an empire of lies. Meanwhile, an embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its ties to the West by applying to join the European Union, a largely symbolic move for now, but one that is unlikely to sit well with Putin, who has long accused the U.S. of trying to pull Ukraine out of Moscow's orbit.

MARCH 01, 2022 / 10:45 AM ISTRussia

Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Meghalaya student returns home from war-torn Ukraine; 16 from state still stranded

A medical student from Meghalaya has returned home from Ukraine but 16 others from the state are still stranded in the war-torn country, officials said. Ishika Debnath, a resident of Laitumkhrah area in Shillong, has arrived here on Sunday after taking a flight from Ukraine's neighbour Romania, they said. A student of Bukovanian State Medical University, Debnath had taken the flight after crossing the Ukraine-Romania border with the help of the Indian Embassy, her parents said. Debnath said she boarded a bus from her university and reached the border on February 24.

"We got off the bus and walked for around 4-5 km before crossing the border, and were then escorted to the airport," she said. Debnath said she heaved a sigh of relief after finding her name in the second Indian Embassy list of 240 students who would be evacuated. "There were some Assam students from my batch, and I was the only one from Meghalaya," she said. At least 16 other students from the state are still stranded in Ukraine. Chief Secretary R V Suchiang said that the state government is in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the safe return of the remaining students.

MARCH 01, 2022 / 10:25 AM IST

Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Vladimir Putin stripped of Taekwondo black belt over Ukraine invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been stripped of his honorary taekwondo black belt over his country's invasion of Ukraine, a personal rebuke heaped on top of international economic and sporting sanctions. World Taekwondo, citing its motto of "Peace is More Precious than Triumph," condemned the Russian military action in Ukraine, saying the "brutal attacks on innocent lives" violated the sport's values of respect and tolerance. "In this regard, World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Mr. Vladimir Putin in November 2013," the governing body said in a statement.

It added that it would join the International Olympic Committee in banning the Russian flag and anthem at its events. The decision comes after the International Judo Federation said on Sunday it would suspend Putin's status as honorary president and ambassador "in light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine". Other sporting organization such as FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russian national teams and clubs from competition. Putin has demonstrated capable technique while appearing in martial arts uniforms, projecting an image of strength as he has in other carefully staged events such as those of him riding bare-chested on a horse or playing ice hockey.

Russian forces bombarded Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, on Monday, drawing new sanctions from the United States and its allies as part of the international isolation of Russia. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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