Three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war is very much ongoing, even though the goalposts and the terrain have shifted. Russian troops, after failing to make much headway in capturing the capital city of Kyiv, are now pressing their offensive in the eastern Donbas region.
However, Ukrainian and British officials said that the attempts to seize Ukraine’s industrial heartland is no easy task as fierce Ukrainian counterattacks have slowed their efforts.
Here are the key updates on the war and its impact across the world.
Civilian evacuation effort set for Mariupol
https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/08/1×1.png
Efforts to evacuate civilians to safer areas will continue in Ukraine on Saturday, the country’s officials told the Associated Press. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app there will be another attempt to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the strategic port city of Mariupol. Vereshchuk said that “if everything goes according to plan,” the evacuation in Mariupol will begin at midday on Saturday. Many previous attempts to evacuate civilians from the city have failed.
Russia says one sailor died, 27 missing after Moskva missile cruiser sank
It took the Russian military over a week to acknowledge that one serviceman died and two dozen others were missing after one of its flagship cruisers sank in the Black Sea, reportedly the result of a Ukrainian missiles strike.
A Russian sailor salutes on the bow of Missile Cruiser Moskva, left, as crew of Russian patrol ship Pitliviy, right, prepare to moor the vessel, in Sevastopol, Crimea. (AP/PTI)
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday in a terse announcement that one crew member died and 27 were left missing after a fire damaged the flagship Moskva cruiser last week, while 396 others were evacuated.
Japan, Russia settle salmon quota amid tensions over Ukraine
Japan and Russia have reached an agreement over Tokyo’s annual catch quota for Russian-born salmon and trout, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Saturday, despite delays and chilled relations between the two sides amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The agreement on Japan’s quota for the popular fish in waters near disputed islands north of Hokkaido is a relief for Japanese fishermen. Japan and Russia concluded talks Friday, setting a catch quota of 2,050 tons for salmon and trout this year in Japan’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, the fisheries agency said in a statement. The quota is unchanged from last year, and Japan will pay 200-300 million yen ($1.56-2.34 million) in fees — depending on the actual catch — to Russia.
Indian govt. issues advisory to TV channels on coverage of Ukraine conflict
Taking exception to television coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Delhi riots, the government on Saturday issued a strong advisory to news channels asking them to abide by the programme code laid down by the relevant laws. The government cited specific instances of “hyberbolic” statements by news anchors and “scandalous headlines/taglines” while reporting on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
➡️ Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s invasion was just the beginning as Moscow has designs on countries beyond Ukraine, after a Russian commander said his country wants all of southern and eastern Ukraine.
➡️ Moscow wants to occupy everything from Russian-occupied Crimea to a pro-Russian region of neighbouring Moldova, said Russian General Rustam Minnekayev, far wider aims than previously acknowledged.
➡️ Despite Russia’s ambitious objectives and claims to have seized Mariupol, its forces made no major gains in the last 24 hours, British military intelligence said on Saturday.
➡️ Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries were still “securely blockaded” at the Azovstal steel plant in the key southeastern port of Mariupol, Russia’s defence ministry said.
➡️ Biden pledged $800 million in more weaponry for Ukraine and said he would ask Congress for more money to help bolster support for the Ukrainian military as it faces the fresh onslaught. Zelenskyy said allies were finally delivering the weapons Kyiv had asked for.
➡️ UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will hold talks with Putin in Moscow on Tuesday
➡️ Ukraine is working with lawyers on a mechanism to use frozen Russian funds to compensate it for its economic losses, its justice minister told Reuters.
➡️ World Bank President David Malpass said the food security crisis caused by the war was likely to last months and that Ukraine had suffered some $60 billion worth of physical damage.
(Compiled from Reuters and Associated Press updates)
