Russia-Ukraine war highlights: Blinken says Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine is a ‘war crime’

US secretary of state Antony Blinken says Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine is a “war crime”, AFP reports.

Perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine will be called to account, the Group of Seven most industrialised nations warned Thursday. Read more

Slovakia's defense minister said on Thursday that his country was willing to provide Ukraine with S-300 air defenses if NATO allies find a substitute, but his visiting U.S. counterpart told reporters he had nothing to announce on that, reported Reuters.

Grain exports from Russia are slowing but continue to flow, with ships calling at the nation’s ports even as the war in Ukraine rages on and fears over global food security increase, reported news agency Bloomberg.

At least 21 dead after Russian shelling of east Ukraine town. Read

A Russian-European mission to land a rover on Mars has been suspended due to the sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and its "tragic consequences", the European Space Agency said Thursday.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine began three weeks ago. Here are possible scenarios for what happens next, according to Western government and military sources and think-tank experts. Read more

Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble of a theatre in the beseiged city of Mariupol on Thursday, after Ukraine said a powerful Russian air strike had hit the building where hundreds of people had been sheltering from the war, reported news agency Reuters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed reports of substantial progress in peace talks with Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for slowing the negotiations.

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Raiffeisen Bank International AG said it is considering an exit from the Russian market in response to the country’s attack on Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions, reported news agency Bloomberg.

The “unprecedented situation leads Raiffeisen to consider its position in Russia,” Chief Executive Officer Johann Strobl said in a statement on Thursday. “We are therefore assessing all strategic options for the future of Raiffeisenbank Russia, up to and including a carefully managed exit.”

Russia's finance ministry said Thursday it had carried out interest payments on two foreign bonds, avoiding default for now after it was hit by unprecedented Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was erecting a “new wall” in Europe, a reference to the Berlin Wall that symbolized post-World War II division. Speaking to German lawmakers, Zelenskyy beseeched Chancellor Olaf Scholz to abandon the country’s traditional commercial interests with Russia and “tear down this wall”.

Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Thursday that over 3 million refugees are trying to hide from war. 

The Chinese government has announced that it will take steps to safeguard normal trade interests and legitimate rights of its companies if they are impacted by United States' sanctions on Russia. 

Turkish made-drone, which are cheap but lethal, have helped Ukraine to keep up a stiff defense against the Russian invasion, which has been going on for three weeks. 

The Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs and normally excel in low-tech conflicts. Turkey has sold them to more than a dozen countries.

The United Kingdom's (UK's) military intelligence has said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has stalled on all fronts. 

Cathay Pacific Airways has said that it is not routing flights through Russia's airspace after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 

"We regularly review our flight routings internally and also with information provided by external parties. We are currently not flying through Russian airspace," the airline said in a statement to news agency Reuters. 

The US house is nearing a deal on legislation that would remove Russia’s “most-favored-nation” trade status. This comes after President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin “war criminal”. 

Ukraine's deputy agriculture minister Taras Dzoba said that the winter crops are in good condition and the country will have enough bread this year. 

"As for the new crop - winter crops are indeed in good condition throughout the country. And, despite the difficulties in which field work has to be carried out, Ukraine will have bread," Dzoba said late Wednesday. 

Dmytro Zhyvytsky, the governor of Sumy Oblast, alleged on Wednesday that Russian forces and stealing food and evicting civilians from their homes. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that his government expects a bigger wave of refugees to arrive from Ukraine. 

The remains of a downed Russian missile hit an apartment complex in Kyiv, killing one and injuring three, Ukraine's emergency service said on Thursday. Thirty people have been evacuated from the building till now, the emergency service added. 

The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that it had hit the Kherson airport which was being seized by Russian forces. 

As the war in Ukraine enters third week, Russian forces continue attacking Kyiv's suburbs, depriving thousands of heat and clean water.

Ukraine has hit out at Russia's appeal to UN members for supporting its humanitarian draft resolution. 

Calling the appeal outrageous, Permanent representative of Ukraine in United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya tweeted, "Russian appeal to UN members to support most egregious hypocrisy - "humanitarian" draft resolution by a serial killer is outrageous. UN members may like to think twice before they dive into the blood of children & adults executed by the Russian military in Ukraine."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has entered the third week and the latter country, apart from being hit by deadly attacks daily, is also hit by a worsening health crisis.

The Ukrainian government said that a threatre in Mariupol, which was bombed by Russian forces on Wednesday, was sheltering over 1,000 people. 

"Today, the invaders destroyed the Drama Theatre. A place, where more than a thousand people found refuge. We will never forgive this," the Mariupol local council said in a Telegram post.

The United States administration has welcomed International Court of Justice (ICJ) order on Russia asking the latter country to suspend its military operations in Ukraine. 

"We welcome the Court's order and call on the Russian Federation to comply with the order, immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine, and to establish unhindered humanitarian access in Ukraine," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has delayed the review of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V as Moscow continues its full-scale attack on Ukraine.

Ivan Fedorov- the mayor of Melitopol city, was released on Wednesday after he was reportedly abducted by Russian forces. According to reports, Fedorov was released as part of an exchange of young Russian conscripts captured by Ukraine.

Panama's Maritime Authority has said that three three Panamanian-flagged ships have been hit by Russian missiles in the Black Sea since the beginning of the Ukraine war on February 24. 

The UN security council will hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine at the request of six countries including the US and the UK. 

The meeting comes two days after Moscow circulated a proposed security council resolution on Tuesday that would demand protection for civilians “in vulnerable situations” in Ukraine and safe passage for humanitarian aid and people seeking to leave the war torn country. 

French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that his government will consider Russia responsible for use of chemical or bacteriological weapons in war-torn Ukraine. 

"If chemical or bacteriological attacks took place in Ukraine, we'd know who would be solely responsible for them. It would be Russia," Drian told French newspaper Le Parisien on Wednesday.