Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday told the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) that the UK will "imminently" impose direct sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Addressing a virtual meeting of NATO leaders, Johnson said his government will personally sanction the Russian leaders over their "revanchist mission" to overturn the post-Cold War order. He also called for "immediate action" to ban Russia from the SWIFT payment platform to "inflict maximum pain" on the Russian regime.
"The Prime Minister urged leaders to take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime. The UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday," he said, a Downing Street spokesperson said, with reference to the NATO meeting.
US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts sought Friday to reassure member countries on the alliance's eastern flank that their security is guaranteed as Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine closes in on the capital, Kyiv.
With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealing for help, NATO members ranging from Russia's neighbor Estonia in the north down to Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast triggered urgent consultations about their security. Only Hungary refrained.
The European Union agreed to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions, according to Latvia's foreign minister.
A decision to freeze Putin and Lavrov's assets indicates that Western powers are moving toward unprecedented measures to try to stop the brutal invasion of Russia's neighbour and a major war in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrain military to remove leadership in Ukraine and "take power into your own hands". He described the Ukrainian political leaders as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis". In a televised address, he urged the Ukrainian military to "take power in your own hands". "It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said, referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish.
India on Friday set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate transit of Indians to Hungary, Romania and Poland, people familiar with the development said. It is learnt that the camp office in Lviv would be able to coordinate the evacuation of Indians to Poland and Hungary while the one at Chernivtsi would facilitate exit to Romania. (READ MORE)
Amid Russian military operations in Ukraine, the IAF said it is geared for the evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. The IAF has the C-17 Globemasters and the Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft which can go such long distances and evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine. The aircraft are ready and whenever required, they can be sent to help the Indian citizens, IAF said.
Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA on Friday with St. Petersburg replaced by Paris after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drew punitive measures in the sporting world. The final will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France in Paris after the decision by UEFA’s executive committee.
The EU has agreed to freeze European assets linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, three EU officials and a European diplomat said on Friday. The measures were added Friday after being raised in overnight discussions by EU leaders on a new sanctions package that EU foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc were to validate.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested to Russian President Vladimir Putin that they sit down at the negotiation table amid escalating tensions over Russia's military actions in Ukraine. "I would like to address the president of Russia once again ... let us sit down at the negotiation table to stop people dying," Zelenskyy said in a video address.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for Ukraine talks.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine has released images of buildings and even classrooms that were destroyed in Russian attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a national address on the morning of Feb 25 said that the Russian forces have conducted multiple missile strikes across Ukraine.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine has released images of buildings and even classrooms that were destroyed in Russian attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a national address on the morning of Feb 25 said that the Russian forces have conducted multiple missile strikes across Ukraine.
China and the Philippines are increasing their efforts to fly their citizens stuck in Ukraine out.
China's embassy in Ukraine in a statement on Friday said that the conditions in Ukraine have deteriorated sharply and it is arranging evacuation flights for its citizens. It has not made any mention of the Russian invasion in the statement.
It has not announced any dates but asked its citizens to be ready to react quickly once the flight schedules are announced, AP reported.
Top diplomat of the Philippines on the other hand said he will travel to the Ukraine-Poland border to ensure the safety of Filipinos fleeing from Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Russians shocked by the invasion turned out by the thousands for street protests in Moscow and other cities.
They signed open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. One petition garnered 330,000 signatures by the end of the day, according to an AP report.
The crackdown was swift. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow.
A political cartoon or a 'meme'? Ukraine's official handle (Yes, you read that right) posting a tweet bringing Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin together after Russia's sudden invasion of the country is dividing twitter. (Read more)
As invading Russian forces press into Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 137 "heroes" were killed after the first day of fighting across Ukraine. He called up conscripts and reservists nationwide to fight in a general mobilisation, according to an AFP report.
Western intelligence has said that Russia is seeking to mass "overwhelming force" around the Ukrainian capital and that Moscow has established "complete air superiority" over Ukraine.
Moscow's defence ministry on the other hand said its forces had "successfully completed" their objectives for the day, earlier claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields.
President Vladimir Putin needs to understand that NATO is a nuclear alliance, the French foreign minister said Thursday, after the Kremlin chief boasted about Russia's nuclear arsenal as he launched the attack on Ukraine.
World leaders Thursday condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "barbaric" and moved to slap unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow and those close to President Vladimir Putin.
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, charging that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “chose this war" and that his country will bear the consequences of his action.