The government fears problems in financial transactions involving Russian projects in Bangladesh if Russia faces more sanctions.

“I'm relieved. I feel safe. Entered the banker. Don’t worry,” Additional Captain of state-owned vessel Banglar Samriddhi, Mansurul Amin Khan (38), said last night to his sister Sabina Khan Maitree, teacher of Tala Government College.

NATO will defend all its allies and territory against a Russian attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday, as he arrived for a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that the Belarusian armed forces were not taking part and would not take part in Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) showed sheer negligence in sending its vessel Banglar Samriddhi to a war zone in Ukraine, said Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers’ Association (BMMOA) today.

“My son is safe and well now,” informed the mother of the chief engineer of state-owned vessel Banglar Samriddhi which was abandoned by all the Bangladeshi sailors yesterday evening, a day after it came under attack near a Ukrainian port leaving a crew member dead.

The US Department of Energy activated its nuclear incident response team as a precaution after Russian forces shelled Europe's largest nuclear plant early Friday, sparking a fire as they pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing Ukrainian city and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea, reports AP.

An Indian student was reportedly shot at and injured in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the country's Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said today.

A fire that broke out in a training building near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has been extinguished, Ukraine's state emergency service said on Friday.

A Bangladeshi expatriate in Ukraine has reportedly taken up arms for Ukraine, against his parents' will, to fend off Russian forces.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the need to set up humanitarian corridors and a possible ceasefire around them for Ukrainian civilians fleeing the war, negotiators for both sides said following talks on Thursday.

At least 22 bodies have been recovered from rubble in the wake of Russian air strikes in Ukraine's Chernihiv region, the Ukrainian emergency services said in an online post.

Bangladesh has abandoned the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation vessel “Banglar Samriddhi” in Ukraine, as 28 crew members were evacuated to land, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said.

Over one million refugees have fled the conflict in Ukraine so far, with neighbouring countries opening their doors to tens of thousands of people since the Russian invasion began last week.

President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday promised Ukrainians that damage to infrastructure inflicted by invading Russian forces would be repaired and that Moscow would foot the bill.

Shells exploded nearby, shaking buildings and sending debris flying around a group of Indian students making a dash out of central Kharkiv on foot after warnings from their government to flee the Ukrainian city hit hard by the Russian invasion.

RUSSIA ADVANCES IN SOUTH

The United States ambassador to the United Nations accused Russia Wednesday of moving cluster munitions and other arms banned under the Geneva Convention into Ukraine as Moscow seeks to escalate the attack on its eastern European neighbour.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed no let-up in his invasion of Ukraine yesterday, even as the warring sides met for ceasefire talks and Zelensky said Ukrainian lines were holding.

Twenty-eight Bangladeshi sailors were evacuated from the Banglar Samriddhi yesterday and taken to a safe shelter in Ukraine.