While the Russian invasion into Ukraine continues, French President Emmanuel Macron talked once again to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Russian airstrikes reportedly destroyed a Ukrainian airfield and a second attempt to rescue the citizens of Mariupol failed.
Macron talks to Putin
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday held new telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Elysee said.
The call, which a presidential official said lasted 1 hour 45 minutes and was at Macron's request, was the fourth time they had spoken since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
It came after a tense call on March 3 which the Elysee said had left Macron feeling "the worst is to come" in Ukraine with Putin intent on seizing "the whole" of the country. Putin reportedly said that Ukraine "is to blame" for the Russian attack on the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant on 3 March.
On Monday, Macron is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Russian strike destroys Ukrainian airport: Zelensky
A barrage of Russian missiles destroyed a civilian airport in Vinnytsia in central Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"I have just been informed about a missile strike on Vinnytsia. Eight rockets... The airport was completely destroyed," he said.
Several cities and airbases in Ukraine have been bombed, shelled or hit with ballistic missiles since Russia launched its 11-day-old invasion.
A second attempt to evacuate Mariupol citizens stopped
Civilian safe passage from Ukraine's besieged eastern port city of Mariupol was "halted" on Sunday for a second consecutive day, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
"Amid devastating scenes of human suffering in Mariupol, a second attempt today to start evacuating an estimated 200,000 people out of the city came to a halt," the ICRC said.
"The failed attempts yesterday and today underscore the absence of a detailed and functioning agreement between the parties to the conflict," it added.
Blinken visits Moldova
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita urged the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday to provide more humanitarian support as the number of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine to the small European country hit 120,000.
"As of this morning, we had more than 230,000 people who have crossed the border from Ukraine, and 120,000 stayed in Moldova. 96,000 of them are Ukrainian citizens. For a small country like Moldova, proportionately, this is a very large number," she told Blinken.
US, Poland exploring deal to supply planes to Ukraine
Washington is working on a deal with Poland to supply Ukraine with Soviet-era warplanes to bolster Kyiv's defenses against the Russian invasion.
Poland would send the aircraft to Ukraine as Ukraine's pilots lack the skills to fly US planes and are used to Russian-made aircraft. In return the US would fill the gap by giving American F-16 fighter jets to Poland.
Zelensky's plea to US
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky phones President Joe Biden after pressing US lawmakers for an embargo on Russian oil imports, with the White House against a ban for fear of driving up prices as Washington promises more financial aid.
Give us fighters
Zelensky pleads with former Warsaw Pact Eastern European countries to give Ukraine Russian-made warplanes that his pilots are trained to fly after some were promised last week.
Visa and Mastercard suspensions
Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard join the growing list of brands refusing to do business with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. “We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” Visa CEO Al Kelly said in a press release.
Putin: Ukraine could cease to exist
Russian President Vladimir Putin warns Ukraine it may cease to exist as a state if leaders "continue to do what they are doing".
He also says countries imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered combattants, while equating sanctions with a declaration of a war.
Nearly 1.4 million flee
More than 1.37 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia invaded last week, the UN says.
World wide protests
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday in cities from Paris to New York in support of Ukraine, demanding an end to Russia's invasion.
Around 41,600 people demonstrated in 119 protests in towns and cities across France, according to interior ministry estimates. In Paris itself, some 16,000 turned out.
"Despite the suffering, we are going to win, we are sure of it," said Nataliya, a Franco-Ukrainian with the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag draped over shoulders, at the Paris protest.
"We will be here every weekend, in Paris or elsewhere, until Putin leaves, withdraws his tanks," said Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a member of Stand With Ukraine, one of the organisers of the protest.
Last weekend, hundreds of thousands also turned out in yellow and blue across Europe including in Russia, Germany, Spain, Finland and the Czech Republic.
Israeli PM visits Putin
In his first face-to-face with a foreign leader since the invasion, Putin holds talks with Israeli Premier Naftali Bennett, who has not condemned the Kremlin.
Media blackout
A host of international broadcasters, including the BBC and CNN say they will stop reporting from Russia over a new law threatening up to 15 years in jail for "fake news" about its invasion.
Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta says it will also have to stop its reporting of the war.
No ticket out
Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot says it is suspending all its international flights except to Belarus.
More talks planned
One of Ukraine's negotiators says a third round of talks with Russia on ending the fighting will take place on Monday.
'Devastating' economic impacts
The already "serious" global economic impacts of the war in Ukraine would be "all the more devastating" should the conflict escalate, the IMF warns.
(With AFP)
