Levelling allegation against Indian government of not taking effective steps to bring Indians stranded in Ukraine amid ongoing Russian military operations in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “missing in action.”
Sharing a video of a student stranded in Ukraine, the Wayanad MP tweeted, “Conditions of Indians stranded in Ukraine are worsening. Yet, GOI is not taking effective steps to bring them home. As usual, PM is MIA (missing in action).” In the video, the student can be seen sharing the name of an official who allegedly works at the Indian embassy. The students alleged that the official kept “rejecting call” even after they shared videos of girls being allegedly beaten at the Romanian border.
-ANI
Rights groups have called on Russia to stop using cluster munitions in Ukraine, saying fatal strikes using the indiscriminate weapons on a hospital and a school could constitute war crimes.
Amnesty International said cluster bombs hit a preschool in northeastern Ukraine on Friday that was being used to shelter civilians, killing three people, including a child.
-AFP
Ukraine Russia war
PM Modi chairs another high-level meeting on Ukraine crisis
-PTI
Ukraine Russia war
With sanctions, Russian Sberbank faces ‘failure’ in Europe
Faced with a rush of people withdrawing money, Sberbank and the Russian bank’s subsidiaries in southeastern and central Europe are facing closures or takeovers following international sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The European Central Bank said Monday that Vienna-based Sberbank Europe AG and its branches in Slovenia and Croatia are failing or likely to fail after they “experienced significant deposit outflows” because of the impact to their reputation from the conflict.
-AFP
Ukraine Russia war
Olympic body calls for Russia to be excluded from sports
In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies on Monday to exclude the country’s athletes and officials from international events.
The IOC said it was needed to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”
The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, to exclude Russia from a World Cup qualifying playoff match on March 24. Poland has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.
-AP
Ukraine Russia war
Russian mogul uses UK paper for anti-war plea
Russia-born media mogul Evgeny Lebedev has used the pages of a British newspaper he owns to implore Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine.
London’s Evening Standard on Monday features a front-page statement by Lebedev headlined “President Putin, please stop this war,” alongside an Associated Press photo of medics battling to save a 6-year-old girl killed by shelling in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Lebedev wrote: “As a Russian citizen I plead with you to stop Russians killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters. As a British citizen I ask you to save Europe from war.”
-AP
Ukraine Russia war
Russian tycoon Deripaska says time to end ‘state capitalism’ in Russia
Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska on Monday said it was time to put an end to “all this state capitalism” and change policies as the country’s economy reeled from the effects of Western sanctions over Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.
“It is necessary to change the economic policy, it is necessary to end all this state capitalism,” Deripaska said on messaging app Telegram, demanding “explanations” from officials on what was going to happen to the economy in the next three months.
-AFP
Ukraine Russia war
Russia’s Lavrov cancels trip to UN in Geneva: official
Russia’s foreign minister has cancelled a trip to the United Nations in Geneva due to the “anti-Russian sanctions” imposed by EU countries, Russia’s mission in Geneva said Monday.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had been scheduled to address the UN Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament in person Tuesday, and had also been due to give a press conference.
–AFP
Ukraine Russia war
Russia reels from sanctions as Putin calls West ’empire of lies’
The ruble collapsed Monday, Russians sought to withdraw their savings and a prominent tycoon urged an end to “state capitalism” in Russia as the country reeled from the effects of Western sanctions over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin raged against the West as he convened a meeting with officials including central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina and the CEO of Russia’s largest lender Sberbank, German Gref, to address what the Kremlin called a new “economic reality”.
-AFP
Ukraine Russia war
Switzerland adopts same sanctions as EU against Russia: president
Traditionally neutral Switzerland will adopt all the sanctions that the European Union has already imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said Monday.
“This is a big step for Switzerland,” Cassis told a press conference, after the neutral Alpine nation had for days hesitated over whether to join the international move to sanction Moscow over the attack on its neighbour.
-AFP