It will be remembered that on February 23, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to invade the neighbouring country of Ukraine, terming the affair as just a ‘special military operation’.
This has turned out to be a massive war, a world war to be precise, as it has involved not only Ukraine and Russia but also countries and states like Belarus, the United States, the UK, and others.
As the fighting enters day 7, Litkenya.com provides you with updates from the Russo-Ukrainian war, which has claimed many lives since its start.
Here are the latest updates from Ukraine and related insights into the war:
12pm EST, 8pm EAT
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with 141 countries voting in favour, 5 voting against, and 35 abstaining.
11:30am EST, 7:30pm EAT
EU foreign ministers are going to gather in Brussels for an emergency meeting Friday. Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister; Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state; Liz Truss, the British foreign secretary; Melanie Joly, the Canadian foreign affairs minister; and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg have been invited to attend.
10:15am EST, 6:15pm EAT
The European Union (EU) bans Russian state-controlled media outlets, RT and Sputnik, for promoting systematic disinformation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
10am EST, 6pm EAT
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing war crimes as Russian troops carry out bombings in Ukrainian cities that have claimed many lives of civilians.
“What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin’s regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians, in my view, already fully qualifies as a war crime.
“I know that the ICC prosecutor is already investigating, and I am sure the whole House will support that.” He said.
Meanwhile, Russia continues with assault in the city of Kharkiv, where over 20 people have been reported dead.
“We are hearing a lot of outgoing Russian artillery from our position here.” Frederik Pleitgen, CNN correspondent in Kharkiv says.
9:35am EST, 5:35pm EAT
A missile struck a government building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Rescue workers pulled 10 people from the burning wreckage, the city’s emergency services agency reported.
Video footage showed fire crews blasting water from high-pressure hoses to try to douse the blaze in what appeared to be a five-story building. Its large windows appeared to have been shattered by the blast. The exact circumstances of the missile strike were not clear.
9:05am EST, 5:05pm EAT
A WhatsApp audio message recorded by a woman residing in the city of Aleysk, in Russia’s Altai region, some 3,500 kilometers east of Kyiv, the home base for the 35th Brigade, is accessed by mainstream media.
In the voice message, an unidentified woman weeps, telling her fellow WhatsApp group members that the local tank brigade was totally destroyed in Ukraine.
In particular, she mentions that “just 18 out of 150 guys survived,” probably meaning one of the brigade’s formations was destroyed by Ukrainian troops.
Besides, she says the first batch of 45 coffins were coming to Aleysk on the day of the recorded voice message.
The weeping woman also says some of the killed were her neighbours and acquaintances. She particularly mentions a military service member named Evgeniy Zhilin. This name can be found in the leaked register of 120,000 Russian soldiers allegedly involved in the invasion of Ukraine published on March 1 by Ukraine’s Center for Defense Strategies, a think tank. There is also a deleted social media account of Evgeniy Zhilin from Aleysk.
According to the woman, the killed were mostly very young men. The local community found out about their deaths the day before the recording was made, and it mourned the loss.
8:05am EST, 4:05pm EAT
The UN General Assembly prepares to vote for a non-binding resolution that condemns Russia for the violence in Ukraine and demands an immediate withdrawal. More than 90 member nations co-sponsored the resolution.