Ukraine: As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters the 18th day, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s open for talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin but only if there is a ceasefire in place. The Ukraine president at a news briefing on Saturday claimed around 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state television, that its troops could target the weapons supply sent by the West.
On the other hand, the satellite images show Russian forces about 25 km away from the capital city of Kyiv, as per UK’s latest defence intelligence report. Early morning explosions near Lviv were the result of Ukraine’s air defence against Russian missiles, according to local lawmaker Igor Zinkevych. “All military units are working fully, additional information is expected from the head of the region,” he wrote on March 13th.
Multiple explosions have been heard in Lviv and Kherson, according to The Kyiv Independent. There are reports that Lviv is under Russian missile attacks. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly said that Russia could use chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine. The Moscow Exchange said the country’s main stock market will stay closed until March 18. It has been closed since February 25th.
S President Joe Biden wrote, “Putin was counting on a divided NATO, a divided West and quite frankly, a divided America. But he got none of that.” “Sergeant Inna Derusova is the first woman to be awarded the Hero of Ukraine title posthumously. A field medic, she was killed during the artillery attack on Okhtyrka on February 24, the first day of Russia’s invasion. She saved more than 10 soldiers that day.”
Ukraine said on Sunday that Russian troops shot at seven evacuees including a child near Kyiv. Ukraine evacuated 13,000 civilians through humanitarian corridors on March 12, twice as much as the day before, as per Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s open for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Israel, but only if there is a cease-fire in place.