Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to rebuild Ukraine after the war. He said on Thursday that Russia will “reimburse” Ukraine for everything they did against the country. Russian troops launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24th under the garb of “special military operations”. The conflict has since claimed the lives of over 2,000 civilians and at least 498 Russian troops. As per UN estimates, the invasion has forced at least 160,000 Ukrainians to flee and seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
The United States raised the alarm Wednesday over the “staggering” human cost of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, as the apparent deployment of cluster bombs and other treaty-violating weapons raised fears of a brutal escalation in the week-old conflict. The American warnings came as Russia revealed 498 of its troops had been killed in the assault on ex-Soviet Ukraine the first official death toll it has given and one Kyiv says is by far an undercount.
The situation in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv is “difficult but under control”, mayor Vitali Klitschko has said. Klitschko said there were no casualties overnight and that nighttime explosions were Ukrainian air defences striking down incoming Russian missiles. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has vowed to stay in capital Kyiv, has accused Russia of trying to “erase” Ukrainians, their country and their history. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city continues to come under heavy Russian shelling, with police and university buildings among the latest strike.
The United States will continue to address potential sources of “leakages” in the sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday during a visit to Chicago. Yellen said the hard sanctions slapped on Russia were having a significant impact, as reflected in the rouble’s sharp fall. “Russia is increasingly an economic island,” she said. Asked whether sanctions to curb Russia’s oil and gas exports could follow, she said, “Nothing is off the table in terms of future sanctions”.