Latest Updates on Russia-Ukraine Conflict - 01 March 2022 - Ahmed Shameel

 Ukraine official says talks with Russia were difficult

A member of the Ukrainian delegation at ceasefire talks with Russia on Monday said the negotiations were difficult and the Russian side was biased. "The Russian side, unfortunately, still has a very biased view of the destructive processes it has launched," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter after attending the talks near the Belarusian border.

WASHINGTON: Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States on Monday accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations.

President Joe Biden said on Monday Americans should not worry about a nuclear war after Moscow put its nuclear deterrent on high alert amid a barrage of Western reprisals over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

PARIS: Russia has been expelled from the World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions "until further notice", FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement on Monday, while European football's governing body also ended its partnership with Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The United States has ordered 12 Russian diplomats at the United Nations to leave by March 7, Moscow's envoy to the international organization told reporters on Monday.

LVIV: Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov appealed directly to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine on Monday, saying they would receive full amnesty and monetary compensation if they voluntarily laid down their weapons. "Those of you who do not want to become a murderer and die can save yourselves," he said in a post on social media.

UNITED NATIONS: The 193-member United Nations General Assembly began meeting on the crisis in Ukraine on Monday ahead of a vote this week to isolate Russia by deploring its "aggression against Ukraine" and demanding Russian troops stop fighting and withdraw. The General Assembly will vote this week on a draft resolution similar to a text vetoed by Russia in the 15-member Security Council on Friday. No country has a veto in the General Assembly and Western diplomats expect the resolution, which needs two-thirds support, to be adopted. While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they carry political weight. The United States and allies see action at the United Nations as a chance to show that Russia is isolated because of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The draft resolution already has at least 80 co-sponsors, diplomats said on Monday. More than 100 countries are due to speak before the General Assembly votes.

LONDON: Britain's media regulator on Monday launched 15 investigations into the output of Russian-backed television channel RT over the impartiality of its coverage of the invasion of Ukraine. Ofcom expects any media organisation with a licence to broadcast in Britain to provide a significant range of voices to maintain impartiality. The European Union on Sunday proposed banning RT and news agency Sputnik to prevent what it said was Russian propaganda. But Britain has warned that that approach could lead to a reciprocal ban by Moscow against the BBC and others. "Given the serious on-going situation in Ukraine, we will be concluding our investigations into RT as a matter of urgency," said Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's Chief Executive.

MANCHESTER: UEFA have cancelled their sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom, a source close to European football's governing body told Reuters on Monday. The sponsorship deal has been in place since 2012 and has been reported to be worth around 40 million euros per season

MOSCOW: Russia complained on Monday to the US ambassador to Moscow over what it described as "hostile" protests near its diplomatic facilities in the United States and told Washington to ensure the safety of its staff, Russia's foreign ministry said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked anger across much of the Western world. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comments to US ambassador John Sullivan at a meeting in Moscow. They also discussed other bilateral issues, the foreign ministry said.

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners on Monday morning after President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert in the face of a barrage of Western reprisals over the war on Ukraine. The United States said the Russian president was escalating the war with "dangerous rhetoric." White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Putin has displayed a pattern of "manufacturing threats" that don't exist in order to justify further aggression. The call will be held at 11:15am ET (1615 GMT).

BERLIN: Germany aims to speed up wind and solar energy projects, the economy ministry said on Monday, as the war in Ukraine underscores the need to reduce reliance on Russian gas. The country, which uses gas to heat half of its households, also announced plans to ensure the country's gas storage facilities are full at the beginning of winter, irrespective of operator interests, the ministry said. Read full story Cutting back on Russian gas - which accounts for half of German imports - will be tricky for Europe's largest economy as it is already set to exit nuclear power this year and coal-fired energy by 2030 to help it reach climate change targets. Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a leading member of the Greens party, noted that Germany needed to take a range of steps, including diversifying its sources of imports. "We need to admit that in the past we have been too reliant on Russian imports," Habeck told journalists ahead of a European Union meeting in Brussels.