War in Ukraine: what we know on day 12 of Russia’s invasion
Zelenskiy says Russian troops who commit atrocities will be punished
Ukraine's government has started a campaign to recruit foreign volunteers to an "international legion" to fight invading Russian troops, following repeated calls by president Volodymyr Zelenskiy for outsiders to join in his country's defense.
Mon Mar 07 2022 - 07:28
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered a strident address to his nation on Sunday night, warning Russian troops he will punish those who committed atrocities in Ukraine while saying the "only quiet place" that awaits them is the grave. "We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war on our land."
Mr Zelenskiy spoke of the death of a family who were attempting to flee the Ukrainian city of Irpin, near Kyiv in northern Ukraine, in an emotional plea to honour humanitarian corridors that Russian forces appear to have ignored. Eight civilians were killed in the city as evacuations were under way, according to mayor Oleksandr Markushyn.
The Ukrainian president criticised western leaders for failing to respond to the Russian defence ministry's announcement that it would strike Ukraine's military-industrial complex. "I didn't hear even a single world leader react to this," he said. "The audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal to the West that the sanctions imposed on Russia are not sufficient."
A plane carrying Russian diplomats expelled by the United States left New York's John F Kennedy International Airport en route to Moscow about 7.30pm EST, according to Flight Radar24 data.
The US does not believe a Russian amphibious assault in or near the Ukrainian city of Odesa is imminent, a senior US defence official said, according to Reuters. There have been growing concerns about a possible attack on the city.
Russia has instructed all state-owned websites and services to switch to the Russian domain name system by March 11th, according to Russian state media outlets. Many fear the move is a sign that Russia is beginning active preparations for disconnection from the global internet.
Meanwhile, hacking collective Anonymous claimed to have hacked into the Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi and live TV channels Russia 24, Channel One and Moscow 24 to broadcast footage from Ukraine.
Ukraine will ask the United Nations' top court on Monday to issue an emergency ruling requiring Russia to stop its invasion, arguing that Moscow's justification for the attack is based on a faulty interpretation of genocide law, Reuters reports.
British prime minister Boris Johnson has pledged to send more defensive equipment and $100m to Ukraine to hold off Russian troops and mitigate financial pressures facing the country, but was accused of moving too slowly and timidly to clamp down on oligarchs' dirty money in the UK.
The UK's ministry of defence released its latest intelligence report, speculating that Russian forces made "minimal ground advances" over the weekend, while a "high level of Russian air and artillery strikes" continued to hit military and civilian sites across the cities of Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol.
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak, who sported an insignia linked to the invasion of Ukraine on a medals podium alongside a Ukrainian competitor, has been called out for his "shocking behaviour".
More than 4,300 people have been arrested in Russia after demonstrators took to the streets across 21 cities to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Another round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is due on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials. However, in a phone conversation with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr Putin said the conflict would only stop if Ukraine stopped fighting and Russia's demands were met. The Russian president also said Ukraine's negotiators should take a more "constructive" approach in talks with Moscow to take into account the reality on the ground. Ukraine has said it is not willing to compromise on its territorial integrity. – Guardian