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Russia-Ukraine War: 12 Latest Updates To Know As Russia Gives Condition For Peace

Published

3 years ago

March 7, 2022

Russia has agreed to halt its military operations within the Ukrainian territory if the Ukrainian government agrees to alter its constitution, by ceding its quest to join “any bloc” and recognise the Crimean referendum and the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

The Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said, “They (Ukrainian authorities) should make amendments to their Constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc.

“We have also spoken about how they should recognise that Crimea is a Russian territory and that they need to recognise that Donetsk and Luhansk are independent states.

“And that’s it. Then, Russia’s military operations will stop in a moment.”

Here are the latest developments in Russia-Ukraine war

– Russian evacuation offer rejected –
Ukraine rejects a Kremlin offer to open escape routes for civilians trapped by the fighting in the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy because several of the routes lead to Russia or its ally Belarus.

Moscow says the proposal was based on a request from French President Emmanuel Macron, which Macron denies, and accuses Ukraine of blocking civilians from leaving, which it calls a “war crime”.

– Shelled while fleeing –
Russia steps up its shelling of cities, including the town of Gostomel near Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east, Sumy in the northeast, Chernihiv in the north and Mykolayiv in the southwest.

Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky accuses Russian troops of the “deliberate murder” of civilians after a family with two children was killed by shelling in the street while trying to flee the town of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Tens of thousands are still trapped without water or power in the besieged southern port of Mariupol after two failed evacuation attempts.

“We saw bodies everywhere, Russians and Ukrainians… We saw that people had been buried in their basements,” one family that made it out tells AFP.

– More talks –
A third round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations gets underway on the Belarus-Poland border to discuss humanitarian corridors.

Turkey announces that it will host Russia’s and Ukraine’s foreign ministers for talks on Thursday.

– Oil, gas prices rocket –
Oil prices hit a near 14-year high and European and UK natural gas prices hit record highs after the United States proposes an embargo on Russian oil imports.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warns against a ban, saying it could put Europe’s energy security at risk.

– Debts paid in rubles –
Russia says it will allow Russian companies and individuals to repay debts to creditors in “hostile” nations, including the US, EU, Britain, Canada and Japan in the battered national currency, the ruble.

– Russia snubs international court –
Russia snubs a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague at which Ukraine seeks an immediate order to halt the conflict.

– Russians need clothes: Uniqlo –
Japanese casualwear giant Uniqlo defends a decision to keep Russian stores open even as rivals Zara and H&M suspend operations in the country over the invasion of Ukraine.

“Clothing is a necessity of life,” Tadashi Yanai, president of Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing says.

– Britain visas row –
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defends his government from accusations of being unwelcoming to Ukrainian refugees, saying it has granted only about 50 visas so far because of the need to screen all newcomers for security reasons.

– 1.7 million refugees –
The UN says 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine, making it the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.

– Kremlin arrests thousands more – Police detain more than 5,000 people protesting the war in some 60 Russian cities Sunday, bringing the numbers held to well over 11,000 since the invasion began.

– Rock-solid friendship – China’s foreign minister says the friendship between Beijing and Moscow is “rock solid” despite the Russian invasion and offers to help mediate.

– Iodine tablets –France is sending iodine tablets and other medical supplies to Ukraine. They are used to protect against the effects of exposure to radiation.

PUNCH.

Headline

NGO Says Starving Gaza Children Too Weak To Cry

Published

11 hours ago

August 27, 2025

Editor

The head of Save the Children described in horrific detail on Wednesday the slow agony of starving children in Gaza, saying they are so weak they do not even cry.

Addressing a Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the president of the international charity, Inger Ashing, said famine — declared by the UN last week to be happening in Gaza — is not just a dry technical term.

“When there is not enough food, children become acutely malnourished, and then they die slowly and painfully. This, in simple terms, is what famine is,” said Ashing.

She went on to describe what happens when children die of hunger over the course of several weeks, as the body first consumes its own fat to survive, and when that is gone, literally consumes itself as it eats muscles and vital organs.

“Yet our clinics are almost silent. Now, children do not have the strength to speak or even cry out in agony. They lie there, emaciated, quite literally wasting away,” said Ashing.

She insisted that aid groups have been warning loudly that famine was coming as Israel prevented food and other essentials from entering Gaza over the course of two years of war triggered by the Hamas attack of October 2023.

“Everyone in this room has a legal and moral responsibility to act to stop this atrocity,” said Ashing.

The United Nations officially declared famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming what it called the systematic obstruction of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war.

A UN-backed hunger monitor called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative said famine was affecting 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory, including Gaza City.

The IPC projected that the famine would expand by the end of September to cover around two-thirds of Gaza.
AFP

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

3 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

3 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.