OSBC Osun State Broadcasting Corporation
US president Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to discuss ongoing efforts to impose sanctions on Russia and speed up US military, humanitarian and economic assistance. The White House said during the call the pair also discussed talks between Russia and Ukraine, but offered no additional details.
Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson issued a six-point plan in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is urging other leaders to endorse it in efforts to ensure Russia fails in its apparent attempt to take over its democratic neighbour.
Zelenskiy also said he spoke to SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk, announcing the country will receive more of its Starlink satellite internet terminals this coming week.
US-based credit card giants Visa and Mastercard announced they will suspend their Russian business operations.
The Ukrainian military said Russian forces continue to focus on Kyiv while moving ahead with assaults on Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and the creation of a land corridor with Crimea, in its latest operational report. The report said aircraft from airports in Belarusian territory were involved in air strikes on military and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and Zhytomyr.
US-based think tank and policy research organisation, the Institute for the Study of War, released a report saying Russian forces in Ukraine may have entered a possibly brief operational pause as they prepare to resume operations against Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolayiv, and possibly Odesa in the next 24-48 hours.
The relief effort to distribute humanitarian aid to Ukraine has stepped up as volunteers across the country work tirelessly to gather basic necessities to give to refugees and prepare food supplies for the army to be sent to the frontline.
The humanitarian situation in the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol is “catastrophic” and it is vital that civilians be evacuated, a senior official from the NGO Doctors Without Borders warned.
The International Monetary Fund announced it could approve $1.4 billion emergency funding as early as next week as the body warns of war’s “severe impact” on the global economy.
Western sanctions on Russia are a stumbling block to revived Iran nuclear deal, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba met with US secretary of state Antony Blinken, saying Ukraine “will win this war” but needs more help from Nato.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dymtro Kuleba, appealed for more military assistance while Reuters reports Zelenskiy made a “desperate plea” for eastern Europe to provide Russian-made aircraft to Ukraine. In a call with US senators, he is also understood to have called for a no-fly zone, lethal aid, a ban on Russian oil and a suspension of Visa and Mastercard in Russia.
The US is reportedly in discussions with Poland on the possibility of Poland providing more fighter jets to Ukraine with the US potentially agreeing to backfill Poland’s fleet of fighter planes if Warsaw decides to transfer its used MiG-29s to Ukraine, four US officials told POLITICO.
Russia and Ukraine plan another round of talks on Monday, even though previous talks that produced an agreement to a limited ceasefire in order to protect corridors for civilian have not been honoured by Russia.
The United Nations recorded 351 civilians killed and 707 injured in Ukraine, according to the UN high commissioner for human rights.
Tens of thousands joined rallies around the world in support of Ukraine over the weekend, gathering in cities across Europe, the US and South America to demand an end to Russia’s invasion.
