Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
Exclusion from SWIFT, a very discreet but important cog in the machinery of international finance, is one of the most disruptive sanctions the West has deployed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The move had been threatened in recent weeks by the United States, the European Union and other Western allies as a means of escalating punishment of Russia for its aggressions against its ex-Soviet neighbour.
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Japanese billionaire Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani said Sunday he will donate $8.7 million to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia’s invasion “a challenge to democracy”.
The founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten said in a letter addressed to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that the donation of 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) will go toward “humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence”.
“My thoughts are with you and Ukraine people,” Mikitani said in his letter.
Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
The SWIFT international payments system said on Saturday it was preparing to implement Western nations’ new measures targeting certain Russian banks in coming days, Reuters reports. “We are engaging with European authorities to understand the details of the entities that will be subject to the new measures and we are preparing to comply upon legal instruction,” the statement read.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed moves to disconnect Russia from SWIFT after a French presidential official said that European Union members were close to agreeing to exclude Russia from the international payment system https://t.co/OXFDYsqoGA pic.twitter.com/WxIf2RAKFO
Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, is reeling after a natural gas pipeline was blown up early Sunday morning. The government has warned that smoke from the explosion could cause an “environmental catastrophe” and advised people to cover their windows with damp cloth or gauze.
?Kyiv administration: Kyiv residents must close their windows tightly.
Due to the shelling and explosion of the oil depot in Vasylkiv, a town 40 kilometers south of the capital, the wind can carry away smoke and harmful substances.
Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
Russian vodka is being boycotted from liquor stores and bars across the US and Canada in protest of the invasion of Ukraine.
In New Hampshire, Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, announced on Saturday the removal of “Russian-made and Russian-branded spirits from our liquor and wine outlets until further notice.” In Ohio, where the state contracts with private businesses to sell liquor, Governor Mike DeWine, also a Republican, announced a halt to state purchases and sales of Russian Standard Vodka.
Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
The United Nations said it has confirmed at least 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 people killed, in the fighting in Ukraine that erupted since Russia’s invasion on Thursday – though it believed the “real figures are considerably higher” because many reports of casualties remain to be confirmed.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs relayed the count late Saturday from the UN human rights office, which has strict methodologies and verification procedures about the toll from conflict.
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Air India’s second evacuation flight from Romanian capital Bucharest carrying 250 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine landed at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Sunday, government officials said.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the evacuees at the airport by handing out roses to them.
India on Saturday began the evacuation of its stranded citizens amid the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, with the first evacuation flight, AI1944, bringing back 219 people from Bucharest to Mumbai in the evening.
Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
Russian troops have blown up a natural gas pipeline in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s state service of special communications and information protection has said. A mushroom-shaped explosion was shown in a video it posted on the Telegram messaging app.
It was not immediately clear how important the pipeline was and whether the blast could disrupt gas shipments outside the city or the country. Despite the war, Ukraine continues to ship Russian natural gas to Europe.
Ukraine-Russia War News Live Updates
Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian attack in the capital, the military said Saturday after a defiant President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his pro-Western country would not be bowed by Moscow.
“I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,” Zelensky said, as Russia said it had fired cruise missiles at Ukraine’s military infrastructure.