Battle for Kyiv intensifies

Intense fighting rages on the outskirt of Kyiv, with Ukranian officials fearing the Russians may be preparing to launch a large-scale assault on their key target.

Russian forces inched towards Kyiv and pounded civilian areas in other Ukrainian cities Friday, as the United States imposed new sanctions on senior Kremlin officials and Russian oligarchs.

Sirens and explosions were heard in cities including Kharkiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Sumy that have been enduring continuous shelling and freezing temperatures, with no power and little food or water.

Hospitals came under fire overnight in the port city of Mykolaiv on Saturday as Russian forces kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian officials said.

Sixteen days into Russia’s Ukraine invasion, the UN and others said it may be committing war crimes in cities such as Mariupol.

Satellite images issued by US company Maxar showed Russia’s very recent activity close to the Hostomel Airfield, including armoured units and towed artillery.

“Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days,” as the British Defense Ministry said in its March 11 intelligence update. “This will probably include operations against the capital, Kyiv.”

Britain’s Defense Ministry says fighting northwest of Kyiv has continued with the bulk of Russian ground forces now around 25 kilometers from the center of the city.

1,300 troops killed

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that around 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed since Russian invasion, reports The Guardian.

He said Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams had started discussing concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums.

Meanwhile, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since the Russian invasion is now nearly 2.6 million, the UN said Saturday, in the largest exodus of refugees in Europe since World War II.

Four million people could leave Ukraine to flee the war, initial UN estimates said, a figure which will likely be revised upwards.

EU eyes more arms aid, sanctions

The EU on Friday eyed an extra 500 million euros in military support for Ukraine and fresh sanctions on Russia. “There’s no denying the fact that two weeks ago we woke up in a different Europe, in a different world,” European Council chief Charles Michel said, reports AFP.

The EU’s executive put forward a proposal to double its financing for sending weapons to Ukraine to one billion euros. EU leaders also said they were readying a fresh round of economic punishment as they look to keep up pressure on Putin over the bloodshed.

The West has already hit Moscow with a barrage of unprecedented sanctions but the EU has so far failed to agree to follow the US lead in hitting Russia’s key oil and gas exports.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen later said on Friday the bloc would ban the export of luxury goods to Russia, striking a “direct blow to the Russian elite”.

On Thursday, she said the 27 leaders agreed to explore ways to eliminate the bloc’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels in five years.

EU ‘pays the price’

The EU faces soaring energy prices in the wake of sanctions imposed against Russia over events in Ukraine, a Russian foreign ministry official said, Reuters reports.

Russia was a reliable supplier of energy but was ready for a tough confrontation in the sector if necessary, Interfax quoted Nikolai Kobrinets as saying.

The EU could end up paying at least three times more for oil, gas and electricity, he said. “I believe the European Union would not benefit from this - we have more durable supplies and stronger nerves.”

Israel, Ukraine deny recommending surrender

A top Ukrainian adviser and an Israeli official on Saturday pushed back against a media report suggesting Israel tried to nudge Ukraine into caving to Russian demands during talks.

Israel has been engaged in diplomatic efforts to try to end the war in Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoke by phone with Zelenskiy.

Italy seizes Russian oligarch’s yacht

Italian police have seized a superyacht from Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the prime minister’s office said on Saturday, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The 143-metre Sailing Yacht A, with a price tag of $578 million, is the world’s biggest sailing yacht.

Sanctions could hit space station

Western sanctions against Russia could cause the International Space Station to crash, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos warned Saturday, calling for the punitive measures to be lifted.

According to Dmitry Rogozin, the sanctions, some of which predate Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS.

YouTube expands block

YouTube on Friday broadened its blocking of Russian state-linked media channels to apply internationally after initially barring them only in Europe following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Content barred by YouTube includes denials of the invasion or claims that it is a peacekeeping operation, the company said.

Russia in ‘constant contact’ with US

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday that Moscow was prepared to resume arms control talks with the US, according to RIA news agency.

Ryabkov said that Moscow and Washington remain in constant contact, but that the Kremlin sees no signs that Washington is ready to continue a dialogue on Ukraine.

“If the Americans are ready for this, we will, of course, be able to resume dialogue and are determined to do so, as well as to work on the START, where there is also a certain pause,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Channel One, state media RIA Novosti reported.

“It all depends on Washington,” he added.

Also on Saturday, Putin slammed “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law by Ukraine’s forces in phone talks with French and German leaders where the latter called for an immediate ceasefire.

“Putin informed (them) about the real state of affairs” in Ukraine, his office said in a statement.

Russia has also warned that Moscow now considers arms shipments to Ukraine as ‘legitimate targets’ for military. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia had made its position clear to the US.

The US on Friday imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, three family members of President Putin’s spokesperson and lawmakers.

Russia has faced a slew of measures since launching its Feb 24 invasion. Those hit by Friday’s sanctions include 10 people on the board of VTB Bank, the second-largest lender in Russia, and 12 members of the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.