Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for talks Monday amid high hopes but low expectations for any diplomatic breakthrough, after Moscow unleashed the biggest land war in Europe since World War II but met unexpectedly stiff resistance. Though outgunned, determined Ukrainian forces slowed the Russian advance as sanctions crippled the Russian economy.
Here is a list of major developments in Russia's invasion of Ukraine:
1. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that France is getting ready to seize all assets of Russian officials and business leaders who are being targeted by EU sanctions. French authorities are also seeking to identify other Russian individuals who could be added into the EU list of people targeted by sanctions due to “their proximity with the Russian leadership.”
2. United States has closed its embassy in Belarus and is allowing non-essential staff at the U.S. Embassy in Russia to leave the country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the suspension and said, "We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine.”
3. Websites of several Russian media outlets were hacked on Monday, with a message condemning Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine appearing on their main pages. The developments reflect a growing anti-war sentiment among Russians. Protests against the devastating attack on Ukraine have been taking place all across the country for four days now, and nearly 1 million people have signed an online petition with demands to stop the war.
4. "Deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine," Norwegian oil giant Equinor ASA said it has decided to stop new investments into Russia and divest from its joint ventures in Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The energy group has been in Russia for over 30 years and made a cooperation agreement with state-controlled Russian oil and gas company Rosneft in 2012.
5. The Russian military says its nuclear deterrent forces have been put on high alert in line with President Vladimir Putin’s order. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has reported to Putin that command posts of all of Russia’s nuclear forces have been boosted with additional personnel. Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be put on high alert Sunday, citing Western sanctions and “aggressive statements” by NATO powers.
6. Scientists involved in writing the latest U.N. climate change report fear that the war in Ukraine will divert much-needed government funding away from efforts to tackle global warming. “This conflict very clearly feels anachronistic when you consider the existential concerns humanity actually has in the context of climate change,” said Hans-Otto Poertner, co-chair of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change working group that produced the report.
7. Lithuania says it wants the United Nations’ highest court to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia and Belarus. The Baltic country’s Justice Minister Evelina Dobrovolska said the proposal was sent to The Hague and added that "In the face of such brutal aggression of the Putin regime against Ukraine, immediate action is needed.”
8. South Korea says it will ban exports of strategic materials to Russia, including weapons and missile-related technologies, and support international efforts to exclude major Russian banks from a key global payment system as it joins a global push to economically pressure Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
9. China is criticizing the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, saying that will harm the chances of finding a political settlement. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday reiterated China’s standard opposition to “unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law," despite Beijing’s own use of such measures against countries such as Lithuania over its stance on Taiwan.
10. China, along with India and the United Arab Emirates, abstained in Friday’s 11-1 vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine.
11. The prime ministers of the three Baltic states and Poland are calling on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Google to restrict the spread of misinformation by Russia about its invasion of Ukraine. The letter they wrote said Russia’s “massive disinformation campaign” is to “justify to the world and to its own people its war of aggression and to hide the crimes that are being committed in its course.”
12. As Russian invasion of Ukraine entered fifth-day on Monday, United Nations Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said her office has confirmed that 102 civilians, including 7 children, have been killed, and 304 others have been injured in violence in Ukraine since Thursday. The UN also said that about 5,00,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries.
13. Switzerland president said Russia’s attack on Ukraine is “unacceptable” and that the country will adopt European Union sanctions, including asset freezes, targeting Russians, all but depriving well-heeled Russians of access to one of their favorite havens to park their money. Ignazio Cassis told a news conference Monday that Russia’s invasion was intolerable on moral and political grounds. Switzerland’s government has been trying to balance its condemnation of Russia’s actions with its history of neutrality and as an intermediary between opposing countries.
READ: At least 102 civilians killed, over 5,00,000 refugees fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion: UN
