(Al Jazeera) An adviser to Ukraine’s president has claimed that Russia’s assault on Kyiv is not advancing and that about 3,500 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since Moscow launched its invasion.
“We are striking the enemy around Kyiv. The enemy is not moving for now,” Oleksiy Arestovych said.
YouTube blocks RT, other Russian channels from generating revenue
YouTube has suspended multiple Russian channels, including state-funded media outlet RT, from generating revenue on the video service following a similar move by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc.
“In light of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine…we’re pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions,” YouTube, which is operated by Alphabet Inc’s Google, said in a statement.
Netherlands to supply anti-tank weapons to Ukraine
The Netherlands will send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, the country’s defence ministry says.
The Dutch government will supply 50 Panzerfaust-3 anti-tank weapons and 400 rockets, the ministry said in a letter to parliament.
UN chief tells Ukrainian president world body will boost aid
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has spoken with Zelenkskyy and told him the world body plans to “enhance humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine”, according to a UN spokesperson.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Friday that more than $1bn will be needed for aid operations in Ukraine over the next three months as a result of Russia’s attack.
‘A sense of Russia having rolled the dice’: Analyst
Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the United Kingdom-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, says Moscow is “facing setbacks that it did not expect” but retains a “very significant” numerical advantage over Kyiv in military terms.
“So Russia will be motivated now to accelerate the forces that it brings to this conflict,” he added. “So far, it has been using about less than half of the total forces it has mobilised and prepared for this [invasion]. So in numerical terms, it is quite clear that Russia has a very, very significant advantage.
“But the really impressive aspect of Ukraine’s resistance so far is how strong and how wide it has been … there is a sense of Russia having rolled the dice.”
Zelenkskyy says he welcomes potential move to cut Russia off from SWIFT
Ukraine’s president has said he welcomes the prospect of Russia being disconnected from “global financial civilisation” as Western powers move to roll out punishing sanctions on Moscow over its attack on Ukraine.
European Union member states are reportedly nearing an agreement on excluding Russia from the SWIFT global payments system.
“Our diplomats fought around the clock to inspire all European countries to agree on a strong and fair decision to disconnect Russia from the international interbanking network. We also have this victory,” Zelenkskyy said in a video message.
“This is billions and billions of losses for Russia – a tangible price for this vile invasion of our country… Ukraine won the attention of the entire civilised world. And the practical result? Here it is – SWIFT… Disconnecting from global financial civilisation,” he added.
Germany to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons, missiles
Germany’s government has approved the delivery of a batch of weapons to Ukraine in a major policy U-turn, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling Russia’s invasion of the country a “turning point”.
“The Russian invasion marks a turning point. It is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in defending against Putin’s invading army,” Scholz said on Twitter.
Read more here.
Biden approves $350m in military aid for Ukraine
The United States will provide an additional $350m worth of military aid to Ukraine, the country’s secretary of state has announced, following approval of the package from President Joe Biden.
“This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armoured, airborne, and other threats it is now facing,” Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Washington had already drawn from US weapons stocks to supply Ukraine in the final months of 2021 and then again in December. In total, over the past year the US has committed more than $1bn in security assistance to Kyiv, Blinken said.
Ukraine has been asking for Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft.
Germany in favour of ‘targeted and functional’ SWIFT curbs on Russia
Germany is in favour of imposing “targeted and functional” restrictions on Russia’s access to SWIFT, its foreign and economy ministers have said.
“We are urgently working on how to limit the collateral damage of decoupling from SWIFT in such a way that it affects the right people. What we need is a targeted and functional restriction of SWIFT,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a joint statement.
Read more on SWIFT here.
Greece says six nationals killed in Ukraine
Athens says that six Greek nationals have been killed and six others wounded by Russian bombing near the key southeastern port city of Mariupol.
“The death of our nationals creates grief and anger for this unacceptable Russian attack against civilians,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement.
The bombing took place on the outskirts of the villages of Sartana and Bugas, the foreign ministry said. It added that a child was among those wounded.
Photos: Ukrainians flee en masse
Masses of Ukrainians are fleeing from Russia’s invasion, with many exiting the country via its western borders in search of safety.
Take a look here.
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Zahony, Hungary [Anna Szilagyi/AP]
Sisters wait at a checkpoint run by local volunteers in Beregsurany, Hungary, after arriving from Ukraine [Anna Szilagyi/AP]
Refugees from Ukraine arrive at the Medyka border crossing in Poland [Visar Kryeziu/AP]Russian military convoys ‘flooding’ across the Russia-Ukraine border
Al Jazeera’s Rania Dridi, reporting from the city of Volgograd, in southwestern Russia, says military units in the area are being deployed across the border with Ukraine.
“Convoys of Russian military gear continue to flood across the Russia-Ukraine border; armoured gear and vehicle-mounted missiles,” Dridi said.
“The convoys will take part in the ongoing military operations, the fiercest of which is currently raging on the Donbas front,” she added, citing the region in eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists control swaths of territory.
“This scene is repeated elsewhere as other convoys are crossing the borderline into Ukraine on other roads.”
Twitter says its site is being restricted in Russia
Twitter has said it is aware its service is being restricted for some people in Russia, adding it is working to keep the site safe and accessible.
Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks reported that the social media platform had been restricted on leading networks.
The throttling came after Moscow said on Friday that it was partially limiting access to Facebook, accusing it of “censoring” Russian media. It was not immediately clear what Russia’s restrictions on Facebook would involve.
Berlin discussing export of RPGs to Ukraine via a third country
Germany’s government is in talks over approving the delivery of 400 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to Ukraine via a third country but no final decision on whether to do so has been taken, the country’s defence ministry says.
If carried through, the move would signal a major policy shift after Berlin faced criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike other Western allies.
Germany has a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones, rooted partly in its bloody 20th-century history and resulting pacifism. Countries aiming to onpass German weapons exports need to apply for approval in Berlin first.
Berlin is also still to decide on a request from Estonia regarding the passing on of old GDR howitzers to Ukraine. Finland had bought the howitzers in the 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and later re-sold them to Estonia.
‘Increasing fears’ as Russian forces advance on Ukraine’s cities
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Dnipro, says there are reports of Ukrainian forces in the key southeastern port city of Mariupol preparing to defend it from a possible Russian assault.
“Witnesses [in Mariupol] are telling us that there are what they describe as increasing numbers of Ukrainian paramilitaries on the streets, helping the Ukrainian army to defend the city from what we understand is a push by Russian forces from the west,” Stratford said.
“We know that the city has also suffered heavy shelling from the east,” he added.
“We’ve also been speaking to people fleeing the area north of Crimea, around the city of Kherson. People are alleging that Russian forces that have taken control of some of those towns are preventing Ukrainian citizens from leaving there.”
“There are increasing fears about the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are trying to put as much distance as they can between them and the Russian forces advancing on Ukrainian cities, as the front lines become increasingly blurred.”
Russian army ordered to broaden Ukraine advance
The Russian army has been given orders to broaden its offensive in Ukraine “from all directions” after Kyiv refused to hold talks in Belarus, the country’s defence ministry says.
“After the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, today all units were given orders to develop the advance from all directions in accordance with the operation’s plans,” Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
UN refugee chief says 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country
More than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the start of Russia’s invasion, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees has said.
“Displacement in Ukraine is also growing but the military situation makes it difficult to estimate numbers and provide aid,” Filippo Grandi tweeted.
‘Atmosphere of tension’ grips Ukraine’s countryside
Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from a highway in central Ukraine, says there is an “atmosphere of tension” in the country’s rural areas.
“There are lots of checkpoints, barricades being put up and military reserves about,” Simmons said.
“They look stressed, and they’re looking for saboteurs,” he added. “There have been saboteurs arrested and killed … and, of course, it is dangerous for anyone on the streets, civilians or otherwise, because of that.”
A view from a city ‘frozen in horror’
Maria Avdeeva, a resident of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, has written a first-person account of Russia’s invasion for Al Jazeera.
“This city of 1.5 million people, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Russian border, where I was born and raised, is frozen in horror,” she writes. “The streets are deserted. The shelling continues.”
Click here to read the full account.
US official claims Russian forces frustrated by ‘viable’ Ukrainian resistance
Russian forces are becoming increasingly frustrated by what the United States believes is “viable” Ukrainian resistance, a US defence official has said.
“We know that they have not made the progress that they have wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance,” the official claimed, without providing evidence. “It has slowed them down.”
