Moscow’s military assault continues on its 11th day despite global condemnation and severe sanctions from Western nations. Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, March 6, 2022
China tells US don’t fuel flames in Ukraine
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine.
Blinken says the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the principles of freedom and sovereignty.
The two spoke by phone on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Wang called for negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis, as well as talks on creating a balanced European security mechanism. Wang says the US and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s eastward expansion on Russia’s security.
The US State Department says Blinken underscored that the world is acting in unison in response to Russian aggression and ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price.
China has broken with the US, Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. China says that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected, but that sanctions create new issues and disrupt the process of political settlement.
Biden speaks Zelenskyy, pledges support
US President Joe Biden, in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcomed decisions by Visa and Mastercard to suspend their operations in Russia, the White House said.
“President Biden noted his administration is surging security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine and is working closely with Congress to secure additional funding,” a White House readout of the call added.
Separately, Zelenskyy noted in a tweet that the phone call also included the “continuation of sanctions” against Moscow.
As part of the constant dialogue, I had another conversation with @POTUS. The agenda included the issues of security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 6, 2022
Russia intensifies aerial, ground offence on Ukraine’s port city
Russian forces have intensified shelling in the port city of Mariupol, including with the use of aeroplanes, the city’s mayor has said.
“The city is in a very, very difficult state of siege,” Vadym Boychenko told Ukrainian TV.
“Relentless shelling of residential blocks is ongoing, airplanes have been dropping bombs on residential areas.”
Boychenko said that thousands of children, women and the elderly came under fire as they arrived in the morning for a possible evacuation through a safe passage corridor.
The mayor added that Russia had promised to stop the shelling of Mariupol, a port city of 430,000, and Volnovakha, a city in the east, but violated the ceasefire.
Russia has made significant advances in the south, clearly seeking to cut off Ukraine’s access to the sea. Capturing Mariupol, which has been fending off the attack for six days, could allow Russia to build a land corridor to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Mastercard, Visa suspend all ops in Russia
Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies have said.
Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any card issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs in the latest blow to the country’s financial system after its invasion of Ukraine.
Mastercard said it made its decision after discussions with customers, partners and governments.
Visa said it’s working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.
The suspensions are a follow-up to more limited moves earlier in the week to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the US government and others.
Starlink to boost terminals in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken to SpaceX boss Elon Musk and announced the country would receive more of its Starlink satellite internet terminals next week.
“Talked to Elon Musk. I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds,” Zelenskyy tweeted.
Musk said on Thursday that Starlink was the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Separately despite calls, Musk said that it will not block Russian new sources as part of sanctions on Moscow-funded media.
UK announces six-point response against Russia
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged other leaders on Saturday to join a six-point plan to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ranging from humanitarian support to inflicting the most economic pain possible on Moscow.
Ahead of meetings with leaders from Canada, the Netherlands and Central Europe in London next week, Johnson said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion had to fail and be seen to fail.
“It is not enough to express our support for the rules-based international order – we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force,” Johnson said in a statement.
He listed his objectives, which included an international humanitarian coalition for Ukraine, support for its self-defence and maximising economic pressure on Moscow.
Johnson also called for diplomatic paths for de-escalation with the full involvement of Ukraine’s government, stronger security in the European-Atlantic area, and an end to the “creeping normalisation” of Russian activities in Ukraine.
After meeting the prime ministers of Canada and the Netherlands on Monday, Johnson is due to host leaders from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – countries experiencing an influx of refugees caused by the invasion – on Tuesday.
Britain is planning to move more quickly to sanction Russian businessmen through new legal measures which will be sent to parliament on Monday.
For live updates from Saturday (March 5) click 
here
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Live blog: China tells US don’t fuel flames in Ukraine
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
