Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light on Friday for up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to be deployed alongside Russian-backed rebels to fight in Ukraine, doubling down an invasion that the West says has been losing momentum. Talks between Ukraine and Russia’s foreign ministers on Thursday failed to bring any respite in the ongoing conflict between the two nations. As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine entered the 16th day, more than two million people have fled the country, while several cities are under siege.
Russian oligarchs were hit with more sanctions amid global outrage over the bombing of a hospital in Mariupol, which wounded 17 civilians. Russia has denied responsibility for the airstrike. Despite a sustained onslaught, Russian forces have failed to crush Ukraine’s military, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning Moscow that its invasion will backfire. Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry said that a family that had left Kyiv to be safe was killed in the village of Marhalivka on Friday. Only a man and his cat survived the attack. Meanwhile, United States, together with the Group of Seven nations and the European Union, will move on Friday to revoke Russia’s “most favoured nation” status over its invasion of Ukraine.
Chernihiv is left without water after Russian strikes hit city’s water supply networks, the local water management company Chernihiv. The head of Chernihiv Regional State Administration has said that the Yuri Gagarin stadium was damaged during an attack by the Russian military. The library building has also been damaged. Huge columns of smoke were visible in the sky above the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivk. The situation in Mariupol turned critical on Friday, as states that the city is being bombed every half an hour.
The city’s mayor, Boychenko, has alleged that Russian soldiers are using banned weapons. He also said that Russian aviation is firing shells, mostly targeting residential areas. Three airstrikes were executed on the city of Dnipro. These airstrikes hit near a kindergarten, an apartment building and a two-story shoe factory. There were huge explosions and subsequent fires due to the attack. Firefighters are still putting out the flames. The explosion happened at 6.10 am as per reports.