Russia enacts six-month ban on foreign currency sales to citizens

The sale of foreign currency will be suspended in Russia until September 9, the country's central bank said in a statement on Wednesday. The country has been hit by unprecedented Western sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Between March 9 and September 9, "banks will not be able to sell foreign currency to citizens," the statement said, noting that Russians will be able to exchange foreign currency for rubles during this period.

The first civilians evacuated via humanitarian corridors from Sumy, 350km northeast of Kyiv, arrived "safely" to the country's central regions, Ukraine's deputy head of the president's cabinet announced Tuesday.

"Good news, civilians have been evacuated from Sumy. The first convoy of 22 buses has already arrived in Poltava" in southeast Kyiv, Kyrylo Tymoshenko announced on Telegram.

"1,100 foreign students will continue to be evacuated by train to Lviv. Now everyone is safe, has received food," he continued.

The second column of 39 buses of civilians is on its way and is "already in the Poltava region", he said.

"I am happy that the work of the evacuation team at this stage has been very successful. Thank you to the people of Sumy for bravely fighting the enemy for 13 days," he concluded.

At least 21 people, including two children, were killed Monday night in Russian airstrikes on a residential area of Sumy.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that Ukraine would not accept Moscow's offer to establish safe corridors for civilians to head toward Russia. It will only agree to safe exits leading westward.

Vereshchuk said that the evacuation from the southern port of Mariupol failed Tuesday because the Russian troops fired on a Ukrainian convoy carrying humanitarian cargo to Mariupol that was to carry civilians from the city on its way back.

She said the city was in a "catastrophic situation" cut from water, power and communications, adding that a child in Mariupol has died of dehydration.

The Russian military has denied firing on convoys and charged that the Ukrainian side was blocking the evacuation effort.

Poland to give its MiGs to Ukraine in exchange for US F-16s

New ceasefire offered for Wednesday morning, Russian army says

The Russian army announced a new ceasefire for the evacuation of civilians in Ukraine from 7 am on Wednesday, domestic media reported.

"Russia announces a ceasefire regime from 10 am Moscow time on 9 March and is ready to implement humanitarian corridors," the Russian government's unit in charge of these issues was quoted as saying by the TASS agency.

The ceasefire along the humanitarian corridors did not go according to plan on Tuesday, as Ukraine accused Russia of violating the ceasefire near Mariupol by shelling the agreed route.

Ukrainian officials said that Russian shelling again made it impossible for civilians to use the corridors despite a deal reached a day earlier.

The Russian military has countered the claim, alleging that Ukraine only has allowed civilians to use one corridor from the city of Sumy and blocked other routes from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

Israel to take in tens of thousands of additional refugees from Ukraine

Israel said Tuesday it would provide temporary refuge to some 25,000 Ukrainians outside of its Law of Return, under which all Jews are eligible for citizenship.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said in a statement that 20,000 Ukrainians who were in Israel without legal status before the outbreak of fighting will be shielded from repatriation “until the danger subsides.”

Another 5,000 Ukrainians will initially be granted three-month visas and will be allowed to work if the fighting continues beyond then. Ukrainians can apply for the program online through the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s website.

Israel expects to absorb around 100,000 Ukrainians through its Law of Return, under which Jews from anywhere in the world can come to Israel and get citizenship, Shaked said.

McDonald's closes all restaurants in Russia

'The right thing to do': McDonald's closes all restaurants in Russia

euronews“Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine,” the company's president and CEO said.

'We shall go on to the end', Zelenskyy tells British MPs

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed British MPs in what has been deemed an "important opportunity" by the House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

"We shall go on to the end", Zelenskyy said, invoking a famous speech by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the same spot on 4 June 1940, as World War II raged across the continent.

The MPs responded with a standing ovation. 

Read the full story here: ⬇️

'We shall go on to the end', Ukraine's Zelenskyy tells British MPs

euronewsZelenskyy repeated his demands for a no-fly zone above Ukraine -- a proposition rejected by Western leaders due to fears it might provoke a world war.

CERN suspends Russia's status 'until further notice'

The international scientific laboratory that is home to the world’s largest particle collider says it is suspending Russia’s observer status and halting any new collaboration with Russia or its institutions “until further notice”.

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, said its 23 member states — all European, plus Israel — condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is one of seven associate member states, and Russia, like the EU, Japan and the US, has had observer status.

The CERN council made the decisions about Russia at a special meeting on Tuesday and expressed its support “to the many members of CERN’s Russian scientific community who reject this invasion”.

CERN is home to the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator.

Read the full story here: ⬇️

CERN suspends Russia's observer status following Ukraine invasion

euronewsThe decision is the latest fallout in the international scientific community following Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.

Youth orchestra evacuated from Ukraine

But soon after officials announced that buses were en route, the Ukrainian president’s office said it had been informed of shelling on the escape route. It is unclear whether the supply convoy made it to Mariupol — or whether civilians will freely board the buses if the shelling continues.

The mayor also cast doubt on the evacuations, telling the BBC that Russian forces continued to bombard the area where people were trying to gather. He said some roads were blocked, others were mined.

The situation was growing more and more untenable in the city, which is without water, heat, sanitary systems or phones. Russia on Monday destroyed the natural gas supply.

The battle for Mariupol is crucial because its capture could allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. An estimated 200,000 people — nearly half the population of 430,000 — hope to flee.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Tuesday for the expansion of humanitarian corridors, and more support from the Red Cross.

In a video address from an undisclosed location, he said a child died of dehydration in Mariupol, in a sign of how desperate the city’s population has become.

He said there was no firm agreement on the route out of Mariupol, so “Russian troops can simply shoot on this transport on the way.” (AP)

“There are very credible reports of civilians coming under fire as they try to evacuate. Targeting civilians is a war crime, and it’s totally unacceptable," NATO's secretary-general said on Tuesday.

He told reporters in Latvia that the humanitarian impact of the almost two-week long war “is devastating”.

“We need real humanitarian corridors that are fully respected,” he said.

Asked what NATO can do to help, Stoltenberg said: “We have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not spread beyond Ukraine.” NATO is boosting its defenses to ensure that members near Russia and Ukraine are not next on Moscow’s target list.

President Zelenskyy speaks to Luxembourg PM, thanks World Bank

"It was horrible to hear information about a woman under bombing in Kiev while her mother in Moscow refused to believe it" says campaign organiser Paulius Senuta.

Senuta hopes that "thousands, hundreds of thousands of members of the Russian diaspora" around the world will join the initiative and that people-to-people contacts can skirt around the censorship of independent media in Russia. 

The Russian government has tightened its grip on independent media outlets since the start of the invasion. Some news media have shut down, while others are forced to stick to new regulations that criminalise so-called "fake news" about the Russian army. Russia has also blocked access to social media networks like Twitter and Facebook

Mr Senuta says he has already called three people he knows in Moscow to talk to them, but says the were "very difficult" conversations. 

“These people are in a completely different information space and have radically opposite views” to his, says the Lithuanian who works in marketing. "Sometimes it seemed like we were really from different planets." 

The initiative's website is offering advice for callers, prepared with the help of psychologists. They're told not to be confrontational or explain who is right or wrong. 

Instead the volunteers are told to talk about the human suffering the invasion has caused. 

UK minister: Russian soldiers let down by leaders

Britain’s defence secretary said Tuesday that there are reports Ukrainian special forces destroyed over 20 Russian helicopters on the ground overnight as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to face logistical problems and fierce resistance.

Ben Wallace said Russian forces are becoming more and more desperate in the face of such military and supply holdups.

“We’ve also recognised that probably the biggest single casualties, so far in the war, are Russian military soldiers who have been let down by appalling leaders, appalling leadership and appalling plans. And now you see them, literally, at large scales dying.”

Russia’s advance toward the capital, Kyiv, continues to face pressure from Ukrainian forces around the nearby towns of Hostomel, Bucha, Vorzel and Irpin, the UK defence ministry said in an intelligence update released late Monday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Estonia on Tuesday, after assuring Lithuania and Latvia of NATO protection and American support as he made quick visits to the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are former Soviet republics that are now NATO members.

The Biden administration is aiming to calm any fears they have about their security in the event Russia chooses to expand its military operations. (AP)

In a video message on Monday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would stay in Kyiv as long necessary.

"I don't hide and I'm not afraid of anyone. (I will stay here) as long as it's necessary to win in our patriotic war," he said.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of violating agreements on humanitarian corridors, saying Russian troops mined the route agreed for delivery of aid.

"There was an agreement on humanitarian corridors. Did it work? Russians tanks, Russians Grads, Russian mines worked instead of it. They have even mined the road agreed for delivery of food and medicines for people."

He also said that Ukraine would continue to pursue dialogue: "We will talk. We will insist on talks until we find a way to tell our people: that's how we will reach peace."

Japanese automaker Nissan is planning to halt production at its plant in Russia because of “logistical challenges.”

Nissan Motor Co. did not provide a specific date but said Tuesday production will stop “soon.” Its plant in St. Petersburg produced 45,000 vehicles last year, including the X-Trail sport utility vehicle.

The Yokohama-based manufacturer said the safety of its employees is its top priority.

Nissan earlier stopped exports to Russia. (AP)