KHARKIV FIGHTING

Russia is aiming to erase Ukraine, its history and people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video yesterday as the seventh day of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour started with heavy shelling of the Black Sea port of Mariupol.

Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine and another 1,597 had been wounded since the beginning of Moscow's military operation there, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

Ukraine hopes for positive signals on its bid to join the European Union, the president and foreign minister of the former Soviet republic said on the seventh day of war waged on them by Russia.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians and destroyed hundreds of structures including transport facilities, hospitals, kindergartens and homes, Ukraine's emergency service said on Wednesday.

Keiichi Kurogi was one of dozens of men in Japan who offered to join an "international legion" to fight Russian invaders after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for volunteers, reports Reuters.

China will not join in sanctions on Russia that have been led by the West, the country's banking regulator said on Wednesday, adding that he believed the impact of the measures on China would be limited.

European Union diplomats have approved new sanctions against Belarus for its supporting role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the French presidency of the EU said on Wednesday.

Bangladeshis who live in Ukraine but are currently stuck here due to Russian invasion of the country, staged a human chain in front of the National Press Club today -- demanding end of the war.

At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in the last 24 hours, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Wednesday.

The United States closed its airspace to Russian planes as the Russian military attempted to encircle and subdue Ukrainian cities with intensifying bombardments on Wednesday, almost a week into an invasion that has sparked massive international sanctions.

Meta Platforms (FB.O) is globally demoting content from Russian state-controlled media outlets' Facebook pages and Instagram accounts, as well as posts containing links to those outlets on Facebook, the company's head of global affairs said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress.

Russia warned Kyiv residents to flee their homes yesterday and rained rockets down on Kharkiv, as Russian commanders who have failed to achieve a quick victory shifted their tactics to intensify the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

Western sanctions against Russia are having a huge impact on its economy, Germany’s finance minister said yesterday, as the G7 mulled further punitive measures in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin yesterday said it was too early to draw conclusions from talks held with Ukraine on ending the war after Moscow invaded last week.

The UK government warned yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commanders in Ukraine could face prosecution for war crimes and that Western sanctions would remain “for as long as it takes”.

Western powers must enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, an activist said on Tuesday in an impassioned plea to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to do more to help her country in the wake of Russia's military attack.

Russia warned Kyiv residents to flee their homes on Tuesday and rained rockets down on Kharkiv, as Russian commanders who have failed to achieve a quick victory shifted their tactics to intensify the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

“But this isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European -- I have to choose those words carefully, too -- city, one where you wouldn’t expect that, or hope that it’s going to happen.”