LIVE UPDATES ON THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: After a strike near Kyiv, a military base was set ablaze; Russian troops are preparing for manoeuvres closer to Europe.

  • March 1, 2022, 11:14 a.m.

Russia-Ukraine War News LIVE Updates: Satellite images taken on Monday show a Russian military convoy north of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv that stretches for about 40 miles (64 km), substantially longer than the 17 miles (27 km) reported earlier in the day, a U.S. private company said, according to a Reuters report. Maxar Technologies also said additional ground forces deployments and ground attack helicopter units were seen in southern Belarus, less than 20 miles (32 km) north of the Ukraine border.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed confidence that NATO’s and the Western public’s silence on the situation in Donbass had resulted in a humanitarian and political disaster in Europe.

"NATO’s experiments and the deafening silence of the Western public – these are the reasons behind the humanitarian and political disaster in Europe. An end was to be put to this, since the West refused to conduct any negotiations whatsoever and welcomed aggressive statements and direct threats of Kiev puppets towards Russia, "the diplomat wrote on her Telegram channel, according to a report by RT.

According to Zakharova, Russia did not start a war; it is ending it. "Throughout these years, the Russian side has urged the international community to oppose the ongoing annihilation of the Donbass population. "These are millions of people who were losing loved ones every day and were living in basements to escape the shelling," she added.

Meanwhile, the United States said Monday that it was expelling 12 members of Russia’s UN mission from America for being "intelligence operatives," prompting a furious response from Moscow, which denounced what it called a "hostile move." A spokeswoman for the US mission to the UN said those ordered to leave had "abused their privileges of residency in the United States by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security."

"We are taking this action in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement. This action has been in development for several months, "said the spokeswoman, Olivia Dalton." At a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, Richard Mills, the US’s deputy ambassador to the UN, told a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine that a dozen had engaged in non-diplomatic activities.

He said, without elaborating further, "Those diplomats that have been asked to leave the United States were engaged in activities that were not in accordance with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats," "This is a hostile move against our country," Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, said on Facebook, adding that Moscow was "deeply disappointed" and "totally rejected" the US claims.

In a highly unusual move, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, who has not been targeted for expulsion, — informed reporters of the decision. While giving a press conference ahead of the UN meeting, Nebenzia asked reporters for a minute to answer a telephone message. He then revealed that he had just learned of the expulsion order issued by the United States.

A Russian diplomatic source later told AFP that the expulsion decision did not target either the ambassador or his two senior deputies, Dmitry Polyanskiy and Anna Evstigneeva. "It’s bad news," said Nebenzia, adding that the staff in question were to leave the country by March 7.

A Russian diplomatic source said that the Russian mission to the UN has around 100 staff members. The announcement of the expulsion came on the last day of Russia’s rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, which changes every month. Russia is to cede the presidential seat to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

The Russian diplomatic mission planned a reception later Monday to mark the end of its presidency, which has been marked, unprecedentedly, by the launch of a war against a neighboring country. "It is not clear that there will be many guests," one ambassador told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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