Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 14 of the Russian invasion
US rejects Polish offer of fighter jets to help Ukraine as Russia claims it is opening humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol
Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates
Poland offered to give the US its MiG-29 jets in the hope they would be passed on to Ukraine to fight Russian forces. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Royce Kurmelovs
@RoyceRk2Wed 9 Mar 2022 19.21 AEDT
The US government has dismissed as “untenable” a suggestion by Polandthat it could make 29 of its Soviet-era MIG fighter jets available to the Americans to help defend Ukraine.
Russia claimed it was opening humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol from 7am GMT so civilians could be evacuated. Several previous ceasefire promises have not been kept, however.
Some Sumy residents, including Nigerian and Indian students, have now left the city on buses.
Two million people have fled Ukraine since the war began less than two weeks ago, the UN refugee agency reported.
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0‘I’m pregnant, I left my husband behind’: the people forced to flee Putin's war in Ukraine - video
Russia’s military is solving some of its logistical problems and could launch an attack on Kyiv within days, according to experts.
UK Ministry of Defence says in its latest update that Russia is struggling to break through to the north of Kyiv while Ukrainian defence forces continue to shoot down Russian aircraft.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has lost contact with safeguard monitoring systems at Chernobyl and has expressed concern about the welfare of more than 200 workers and guards at the facility.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reportedly declined to arrange calls with Joe Biden in recent weeks as the US seeks to increase oil supply after formally banning Russian oil imports on Tuesday, pushing oil prices to $130 a barrel, the highest level in 14 years.
Venezuela released at least two jailed US citizens on Tuesday, according to multiple sources, in an apparent goodwill gesture. It follows a visit to Caracas by a high-level US delegation that focused not only on the fate of Americans held in Venezuela, but on the possibility of easing US oil sanctions on the Opec member, which is a close Russian ally.
Ukraine’s government accused Russia of breaking a ceasefire agreement, by shelling a route intended to allow civilians to escape the besieged city of Mariupol. Not only are residents of the port city suffering Russian bombardment, they are also living without heat, water, sanitary systems or phones.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, echoed Winston Churchill and invoked the fight against Nazism as he made a direct plea to British MPs in an impassioned video address to do more to help protect his country in the fight against the Russian invasion.
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09:35‘Thirteen days of struggle’: Zelenskiy’s address to UK parliament in full – video
Biden announced that the US will ban imports of Russian oil “to inflict further pain on Vladimir Putin”. The European Union has not joined the ban, but the European Commission said it was possible to reduce the EU’s use of fossil fuels by two thirds this year. The British government promised to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
McDonald’s became the latest western company to announce it was pausing its operations in Russia, after facing a backlash from social media users for not taking a stand on the war in Ukraine.
The World Health Organization said attacks on Ukrainian hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities had increased “rapidly” in recent days and vital medical supplies were running low.
The European Commission has prepared a new sanctions package against Russia and Belarus that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians as well as three Belarusian banks, Reuters reported.
Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs has said that 12,000 Russian personnel have been killed in its latest assessment of their losses to date.
Zelenskiy has been described as a hero by the British press after he invoked the fight against Nazism in an impassioned video address to MPs to do more to help protect his country.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has abruptly transformed the world. Two million people have already fled. A new Iron Curtain is grinding into place. An economic war deepens, as the military conflict escalates and civilian casualties rise.
It’s our job at the Guardian to decipher a rapidly changing landscape, particularly when it involves a mounting refugee crisis and the risk of unthinkable escalation. Our correspondents are on the ground on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia border and throughout the globe, delivering round-the-clock reporting and analysis during this perilous moment.
We know there is no substitute for being there – and we’ll stay on the ground, as we did during the 1917 revolution, the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s, the collapse of 1991 and the first Russo-Ukrainian conflict in 2014. We have an illustrious, 200-year history reporting throughout Europe in times of upheaval, peace and everything in between. We won’t let up now.
Tens of millions have placed their trust in the Guardian’s fearless journalism since we started publishing 200 years ago, turning to us in moments of crisis, uncertainty, solidarity and hope. We’d like to invite you to join more than 1.5 million supporters, from 180 countries, who now power us financially – keeping us open to all, and fiercely independent.
Unlike many others, the Guardian has no shareholders and no billionaire owner. Just the determination and passion to deliver high-impact global reporting, always free from commercial or political influence. Reporting like this is vital to establish the facts, who is lying and who is telling the truth.
And we provide all this for free, for everyone to read. We do this because we believe in information equality. Greater numbers of people can keep track of the global events shaping our world, understand their impact on people and communities, and become inspired to take meaningful action. Millions can benefit from open access to quality, truthful news, regardless of their ability to pay for it.
If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
Royce Kurmelovs
@RoyceRk2Wed 9 Mar 2022 19.21 AEDT
The US government has dismissed as “untenable” a suggestion by Polandthat it could make 29 of its Soviet-era MIG fighter jets available to the Americans to help defend Ukraine.
Russia claimed it was opening humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol from 7am GMT so civilians could be evacuated. Several previous ceasefire promises have not been kept, however.
Some Sumy residents, including Nigerian and Indian students, have now left the city on buses.
Two million people have fled Ukraine since the war began less than two weeks ago, the UN refugee agency reported.
0‘I’m pregnant, I left my husband behind’: the people forced to flee Putin's war in Ukraine - video
Russia’s military is solving some of its logistical problems and could launch an attack on Kyiv within days, according to experts.
UK Ministry of Defence says in its latest update that Russia is struggling to break through to the north of Kyiv while Ukrainian defence forces continue to shoot down Russian aircraft.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has lost contact with safeguard monitoring systems at Chernobyl and has expressed concern about the welfare of more than 200 workers and guards at the facility.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reportedly declined to arrange calls with Joe Biden in recent weeks as the US seeks to increase oil supply after formally banning Russian oil imports on Tuesday, pushing oil prices to $130 a barrel, the highest level in 14 years.
Venezuela released at least two jailed US citizens on Tuesday, according to multiple sources, in an apparent goodwill gesture. It follows a visit to Caracas by a high-level US delegation that focused not only on the fate of Americans held in Venezuela, but on the possibility of easing US oil sanctions on the Opec member, which is a close Russian ally.
Ukraine’s government accused Russia of breaking a ceasefire agreement, by shelling a route intended to allow civilians to escape the besieged city of Mariupol. Not only are residents of the port city suffering Russian bombardment, they are also living without heat, water, sanitary systems or phones.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, echoed Winston Churchill and invoked the fight against Nazism as he made a direct plea to British MPs in an impassioned video address to do more to help protect his country in the fight against the Russian invasion.
09:35‘Thirteen days of struggle’: Zelenskiy’s address to UK parliament in full – video
Biden announced that the US will ban imports of Russian oil “to inflict further pain on Vladimir Putin”. The European Union has not joined the ban, but the European Commission said it was possible to reduce the EU’s use of fossil fuels by two thirds this year. The British government promised to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
McDonald’s became the latest western company to announce it was pausing its operations in Russia, after facing a backlash from social media users for not taking a stand on the war in Ukraine.
The World Health Organization said attacks on Ukrainian hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities had increased “rapidly” in recent days and vital medical supplies were running low.
The European Commission has prepared a new sanctions package against Russia and Belarus that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians as well as three Belarusian banks, Reuters reported.
Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs has said that 12,000 Russian personnel have been killed in its latest assessment of their losses to date.
Zelenskiy has been described as a hero by the British press after he invoked the fight against Nazism in an impassioned video address to MPs to do more to help protect his country.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has abruptly transformed the world. Two million people have already fled. A new Iron Curtain is grinding into place. An economic war deepens, as the military conflict escalates and civilian casualties rise.
It’s our job at the Guardian to decipher a rapidly changing landscape, particularly when it involves a mounting refugee crisis and the risk of unthinkable escalation. Our correspondents are on the ground on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia border and throughout the globe, delivering round-the-clock reporting and analysis during this perilous moment.
We know there is no substitute for being there – and we’ll stay on the ground, as we did during the 1917 revolution, the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s, the collapse of 1991 and the first Russo-Ukrainian conflict in 2014. We have an illustrious, 200-year history reporting throughout Europe in times of upheaval, peace and everything in between. We won’t let up now.
Tens of millions have placed their trust in the Guardian’s fearless journalism since we started publishing 200 years ago, turning to us in moments of crisis, uncertainty, solidarity and hope. We’d like to invite you to join more than 1.5 million supporters, from 180 countries, who now power us financially – keeping us open to all, and fiercely independent.
Unlike many others, the Guardian has no shareholders and no billionaire owner. Just the determination and passion to deliver high-impact global reporting, always free from commercial or political influence. Reporting like this is vital to establish the facts, who is lying and who is telling the truth.
And we provide all this for free, for everyone to read. We do this because we believe in information equality. Greater numbers of people can keep track of the global events shaping our world, understand their impact on people and communities, and become inspired to take meaningful action. Millions can benefit from open access to quality, truthful news, regardless of their ability to pay for it.
If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
