LIVE Russia-Ukraine crisis: Kherson not captured, fighting continues

The Russian military assault on Ukraine is on its seventh day.

Russian forces launch a massive strike on local government headquarters in the centre of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, killing at least 10 people. Russia’s defence ministry urges people to flee.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says in a phone call with US President Joe Biden that it is important to stop “aggressor” Russia “as soon as possible’.

Here's a round-up of all top developments on March 2:

12:00: Kherson not captured by Russia, fighting continues

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Russia had not captured Kherson, a southern port city that Russia had earlier said it had seized.

Oleksiy Arestovych said fighting continued for the provincial capital of around a quarter of a million people, which sits at the Dnipro river’s exit into the Black Sea.

“The city has not fallen, our side continues to defend,” Arestovych told a live briefing broadcast on the website of the president’s office. “Fighting in the streets continues.”

“Information that Kherson has fallen and so on - that’s not true. Our military and local defenders continue resisting in the city and around it.”

11:40pm: Fighting rages in Ukraine as Russian troops claim city

Russian forces said they had captured a port on the Black Sea on Wednesday as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for another city and Ukraine’s leader said Moscow wanted to “erase” his country.

The Russian army said it had taken control of Kherson, as its troops advanced and pounded cities across southern and eastern Ukraine, defying sanctions and international isolation.

Russian paratroopers also landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, triggering clashes in the streets, Ukrainian forces said.

11:15pm: Russia batters Ukraine; both sides say ready for more talks

Russia renewed its assault Wednesday on Ukraine’s second-largest city in a pounding that lit up the skyline with balls of fire over populated areas, even as both sides said they were ready to resume talks aimed at stopping the new devastating war in Europe.

The escalation of attacks on crowded cities followed an initial round of talks between outgunned Ukraine and nuclear power Russia on Monday that resulted in only a promise to meet again. It was not clear when new talks might take place — or what they would yield. Ukraine’s leader earlier said Russia must stop bombing before another meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decried Russia’s bombardment as a blatant terror campaign, while U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that if the Russian leader didn’t “pay a price” for the invasion, the aggression wouldn’t stop with one country.

10:39pm: EU Commission proposes temporary residence rights for Ukraine refugees

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed granting automatic temporary protection for up to three years to people fleeing war in Ukraine, including a residence permit and access to employment and social welfare.

European Union members Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary all have land borders with Ukraine and the Commission said that more than 650,000 people have fled there since Ukraine was attacked by Russia on Feb. 24.

Refugees will get temporary protection as soon as the proposal is approved by EU interior ministers, which the European Commission hoped would be done on Thursday.

9:27pm: 498 Russian troops had been killed in Ukraine

Russia said Wednesday that 498 Russian troops had been killed in Ukraine, its first announced death toll since President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of the country last week.

9:20pm: Kyiv mayor says Russia is massing troops closer to the capital

Russia is gathering troops closer and closer to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post on Wednesday.

“We are preparing and will defend Kyiv!,” he added. “Kyiv stands and will stand.”

8:39pm: Ukrainian refugees arrive in Prague

Ukrainian men with worried looks, weary women and restless children, many staring into the distance, wait patiently in the long queue as Czech volunteers call out instructions left and right.

“We left everything there as they came and ruined our lives. They’re bombing even civilian houses where there are kids, small kids, children, they die now,” Svitlana Mostepanenko told AFP.

The young woman travelled to Prague from Mykolaiv, a southern Ukrainian town near the larger Black Sea port city of Kherson which the Russian military claimed to control on Wednesday.

“We had to leave our own city, our native town. They’re bombing it,” Mostepanenko added.

She and other refugees await their turn at Prague’s foreigner registration centre, a drop in the sea of nearly 875,000 people who have fled Ukraine since Russia attacked last week.

The Czech Republic says it has so far welcomed around 20,000 Ukrainian refugees.

7:34pm: Zelenskiy waiting for positive signals on EU bid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday after talking on the phone with European Council President Charles Michel he was waiting for news on Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union.

Zelenskiy called Michel, who chairs the EU national leaders, Ukraine’s “trusted friend”.

7:30pm: Russians face more sports sanctions, but not at Paralympics

With the exception of the upcoming Paralympics, Russian athletes were restricted from competing in more sporting events around the world on Wednesday.

Sports including biathlon and table tennis were among those to join more than a dozen other Olympic sports in excluding competitors from Russia and Belarus because of the attack of Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee, however, said Russians and Belarusians would be able to compete in Beijing as “neutral athletes” without national symbols.

Blanket bans have been imposed in soccer, track, basketball and hockey, among other sports, following an appeal from the International Olympic Committee to exclude Russians and Belarusians from international events.

More details here

7:26pm: EU sanctions 22 Belarus officers over Ukraine attack

The European Union on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 22 senior Belarusian military officers over Minsk’s role in aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The six generals and 16 colonels were added to the EU blacklist because “Belarus is participating in a Russian unprovoked invasion against Ukraine by allowing military aggression from its territory,” the official sanction document said.

The blacklist bans travel into the bloc and imposes asset freezes.

6:24pm: Sanctions-hit Russian wealth fund says it supports peace

The sanctions-hit Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, on Wednesday said it hopes that Russian and Ukrainian officials can reach a peace deal.

The United States and Britain have announced sanctions against RDIF, a financial entity functioning as a sovereign wealth fund and designed to attract capital into high-growth sectors, over Moscow’s attack of Ukraine.

6:20pm: 875,000 refugees on the move from Ukraine

Nearly 200,000 people have fled Ukraine in just 24 hours, bringing to 875,000 the number of refugees seeking shelter in neighbouring countries since the full-scale Russian military attack began on February 24.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has projected that more than four million Ukrainian refugees may eventually need protection and assistance, while the European Union’s crisis management commissioner has said the figure could reach seven million.

More than 37 million people lived under the Kyiv government’s control before last week’s aggression.

5:07pm: Over 2,000 civilians dead in week of war

The Russian attack 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.

“Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour,” it said in a statement.

5pm: Chinese national wounded trying to leave Ukraine

A Chinese national was injured by gunshot while trying to leave Ukraine, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, marking the first confirmed case of a Chinese casualty as a result of the Russian attack.

Unlike many countries, China did not tell its roughly 6,000 citizens in Ukraine to leave the country in the days leading up to last Thursday’s attack by Russia, announcing evacuation plans soon after it had begun.

“A Chinese national was injured by a gunshot while evacuating on his own on March 1 Beijing nighttime,” spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular daily media briefing, adding that the person was not in critical danger.

4:45pm: Fighting rages in Ukraine as Russian troops claim city

Russian forces said they had captured a port on the Black Sea on Wednesday as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for another city and Ukraine’s leader said Moscow wanted to “erase” his country.

The Russian army said it had taken control of Kherson, as its troops advanced and pounded cities across southern and eastern Ukraine, defying sanctions and international isolation.

Russian paratroopers also landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, triggering clashes in the streets, Ukrainian forces said.

The emergency services said four people were killed in the city on Wednesday and there was now “mass shelling and bombing” in the centre.

4:18pm: Indian embassy asks nationals to 'leave Kharkiv immediately'

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv tweeted an urgent advisory to all its nationals in Kharkiv on Wednesday, telling them to proceed to three places by 6pm (Ukraine time) for their safety.

“For their own safety and security they must leave Kharkiv immediately repeat immediately in the light of the deteriorating situation,” it said. “They should proceed to Pesochin, Babaye and Bezlyudovka as soon as possible for their safety. Under all circumstances they must reach these settlements by 1800 hrs (Ukranian time) today.”

More details here

3:41pm: Russia, Ukraine ready for new talks on war

Russian and Ukrainian officials say they are standing by to resume talks about their war, though the time and place for negotiations was unknown and hopes for a breakthrough remain low.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that “in the second half of the day, closer to evening, our delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukrainian officials are ready for new talks but said the venue is undecided and Kyiv won’t accept any Russian ultimatums.

3:00pm: UAE announces $5M in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine

The United Arab Emirates has announced $5 million in humanitarian assistance to benefit civilians impacted by the situation in Ukraine.

The contribution is made to the United Nations’ Humanitarian Flash Appeal and the Regional Refugee Response Plan for Ukraine and is a reflection of the UAE’s emphasis on humanitarian solidarity in conflict settings.

More details here

2.29pm: Macron to speak on Ukraine war on Wednesday evening

French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the war in Ukraine during a broadcast address slated for 1900 GMT on Wednesday, Macron’s office said in a statement.

Macron had said in a February 24 televised address to the nation that he would regularly update the French about the Ukraine crisis.

2.08pm: Russia’s Lavrov says a third World War would be nuclear and destructive

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, the RIA news agency reported.

Lavrov has said that Russia, which launched what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last week, would face a “real danger” if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons.

1.58pm: Ukraine says Russia may have fired at Odessa airport

Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday authorities were looking into information about possible Russian rocket or artillery fire on the airport of Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa.

1.08pm: Mariupol city council says city is under Ukrainian control, Russia shelling civilian sites