A child looks out from a carriage window as a train prepares to depart from a station in Lviv, western Ukraine, enroute to the town of Uzhhorod near the border with Slovakia, on March 3, 2022. (DANIEL LEAL / AFP)
MOSCOW/KYIV/ BRUSSELS/GENEVA/WASHINGTON – The second round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations has started, Russia's Sputnik reported Thursday.
Before the negotiations kicked off, Advisor to the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak said the immediate goal (of the talks) is to agree on the creation of humanitarian corridors, while the rest will depend "on circumstances."
Advisor to the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak said the immediate goal (of the talks) is to agree on the creation of humanitarian corridors, while the rest will depend "on circumstances"
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said Russia and Ukraine agreed upon the location for the second round of talks together, adding that Russia's military has established a safe corridor to allow the Ukrainian delegation to move through Ukrainian territory.
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The possibility of a ceasefire would also be discussed during the talks, according to Medinsky.
Russia and Ukraine concluded their first round of negotiations in Belarus on Monday with no clear breakthrough.
Meanwhile, Russian forces disabled with high-precision weapons a reserve radio and television center in Kiev, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
He said the center had been used by the Security Service of Ukraine for psychological operations.
The Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 1,612 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, said Konashenkov.
More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians, not counting the country's "defenders," have been killed in the conflict, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted the State Emergency Service of Ukraine as saying on Thursday, adding that hundreds of transport infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, hospitals and kindergartens were destroyed.
Ukraine, US discuss new sanctions against Russia
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed new sanctions against Russia in a phone conversation, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement on Facebook.
Kuleba and Blinken also talked over the new supplies of defensive weapons for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian minister Ukraine is committed to finding diplomatic ways for settling the conflict with Russia, but Kiev's allies must show unity in increasing pressure on Russia "until Moscow demonstrates its readiness for constructive negotiations".
People gather in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. (EFREM LUKATSKY / AP)
EU imposes more restrictions on Belarus
The Council of the European Union on Wednesday imposed sanctions on an additional 22 individuals and further restrictions on trade against Belarus over its role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The council said in a statement that it decided to impose "targeted restrictive measures" over "actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."
The sanctions were issued against 22 high-ranked members of Belarusian military personnel "in view of their role in the decision making and strategic planning processes that led to the Belarusian involvement in the Russian aggression against Ukraine."
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The EU Council had already listed 20 members of Belarusian military personnel in the same context in February.
Passengers rush to board a train leaving to Slovakia from the Lviv railway station, in Lviv, west Ukraine, March 2, 2022. (FELIPE DANA / AP)
"With these measures, we are targeting those in Belarus who collaborate with these attacks against Ukraine and restricting trade in a number of key sectors," said Josep Borrell, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy.
At the WTO, we have watched this tragedy in Ukraine unfold with disbelief and the hope that it would have been peacefully resolved.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, WTO
The council also introduced more restrictions in the trade of goods used for the production or manufacturing of tobacco products, mineral fuels, bituminous substances and gaseous hydrocarbon products, potassium chloride products, wood products, cement products, iron and steel products and rubber products, said the statement.
Further restrictions were also imposed on exports of dual-use goods and technology, and certain advanced goods and technology which might contribute to Belarus' military, technological, defense and security development, together with restrictions on the provision of related services, it said.
WTO urges quick resolution to Ukrainian crisis
Saying that she is deeply saddened by the continued suffering and loss of life in Ukraine, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday called for a peaceful and quick resolution.
The WTO is also concerned about the trade implications of the conflict, especially trade in agriculture and food products and the rise in energy prices and their effects on the impacted populations, Iweala said in a statement.
“At the WTO, we have watched this tragedy in Ukraine unfold with disbelief and the hope that it would have been peacefully resolved. However, this is now the 7th day and we are deeply saddened by the continued suffering and loss of life," she said.
Fear of COVID-19 spread
The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to drive COVID-19 transmission ever higher and in turn increase the risk of large numbers of people developing severe disease.
"WHO is deeply concerned about the unfolding humanitarian emergency in Ukraine," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu at a press briefing.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of Tuesday, more than 870,000 people had left Ukraine, and that number is expected to increase rapidly, the WHO chief said. "Mass population movements are likely to contribute further to transmission of COVID-19, potentially increasing pressure on health systems in neighboring countries."
