Ukraine has demanded immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and Crimea
Ukraine has demanded immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and Crimea during the ongoing talks with Russia at Belarus border.
This comes amidst continued shelling across Ukraine. The latest shelling in the city of Kharkiv has left 1 female civilian dead and 31 wounded. Of these 32, 15 are servicemen and 16 are civilians. Over the last few days, 7 people have been killed in Kharkiv and 44 have been wounded.
The President of France – Emmanuel Macron spoke separately to the President of Russia – Vladimir Putin and the President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelensky separately. During the call, Macron pressed the immediate need to implement ceasefire. Separately, Macron also spoke to President of Belarus – Alexander Lukashenko and asked him to ensure withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus.
This is important because as per Ukrainian intelligence, Belarus is prepared to join the Russian invasion. Besides, the European Union (E.U.) is financing the purchase and delivery of arms for Ukraine.
Taking it to twitter, the President of Ukraine – Ursula von der Leyen tweeted, “Just spoke to President @ZelenskyyUa who leads the determined resistance to the Russian invasion. I explained to him the strong and immediate measures we are taking to support Ukraine’s defense, its economy & the refugees, as well as the new sanctions against Russia and Belarus.”
Also, Switzerland has announced that it will forego its commitment to “Swiss neutrality” and will impose sanctions on Russia in line with those already adopted by the E.U.
Speaking on the occasion, the President of Switzerland – Ignazio Cassis said, “Russia’s attack is an attack on freedom, an attack on democracy, an attack on the civil population, and an attack on the institutions of a free country. This cannot be accepted regarding international law, this cannot be accepted politically, and this cannot be accepted morally.”
The Prime Minister of United Kingdom (U.K.) – Boris Johnson is travelling to Poland and Estonia tomorrow, i.e., Tuesday, March 1, 2022. He would also be meeting the Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) – Jens Stoltenberg.
In retaliation to E.U. closing its airspace to Russian aircrafts, the Russian Civil Aviation Authority has closed off its airspace to the carriers of 36 countries.
Meanwhile, the Russian currency, the Ruble, plunged nearly 30% today, as markets began to assess the impact of sanctions imposed by the United States (U.S.) and NATO allies. The Moscow stock exchange was not opened today. The Central Bank earlier announced that it would raise its key interest rate from 9.5% to 20%, warning that external conditions for the Russian economy have drastically changed.
This comes after unprecedented sanctions on Russia by the U.S., E.U., U.K. and Canada, which announced to expel some Russian banks from SWIFT, a global financial messaging service and paralyze the assets of Central Bank of Russia.
