War in Ukraine: Russia launches new attacks after peace promise

MARCH 30: The governor, Viacheslav Chaus, took to the Telegram messaging app to denounce Russia's promise. "Do we believe in it? Of course not," he said, adding Russia had bombarded Chernihiv "all night long". Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made no "breakthroughs" in Tuesday's peace talks, the Kremlin has said. "What is positive is that the Ukrainian side has at least started to specifically formulating and putting on paper what it is proposing. Until now we had not managed to achieve that," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "As regards the rest, we cannot, put it this way, at present state there have been any breakthroughs, anything very promising," he said, adding that a lot of work was still to be done. Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv held three hours of discussions in Istanbul on Tuesday aimed at bringing to a close more than a month of fighting in Ukraine. Ukraine said it had proposed to become a neutral state in exchange for security guarantees. A key aim of Russia's invasion was to stop Ukraine joining the Nato alliance and Russian officials said the talks had moved to a practical stage. On Tuesday, Russia said it would cut back operations around Chernihiv and the capital, Kyiv, in an effort to "boost mutual trust" in the peace talks. Russia's Deputy Defence Minister, Alexander Fomin, said the country would "radically, by several times reduce the military activity" in those regions. However, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv just a few hours later. Kyiv's deputy mayor, Mykola Povoroznyk, said the capital itself had not been shelled overnight, although gunfire had been heard from battles around the city. US and Ukrainian officials say Russia is continuing to reposition forces away from Kyiv, probably as part of an effort to refocus on eastern regions. Russia's pledge to cut back military activity was met with scepticism. "Ukrainians are not naive people," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an overnight video address. Mr Zelensky said that initial signs from the peace talks were "positive", but added that they did not "drown out" the explosions of Russian shells. Other countries also reacted with caution. US President Joe Biden said: "I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are." Leaders from UK, France, Germany and Italy also urged the West not to drop its guard against Russia. In his comments on Telegram, Mr Chaus said Russian forces had been "carrying out strikes on [the city of] Nizhyn, including air strikes, and all night long they hit [the city of] Chernihiv". The BBC has not been able to confirm this independently. One resident of Chernihiv told the BBC: "This night was rough. We heard there was fighting all night in the suburbs, away from the city centre. We heard artillery. But there was no aviation tonight." The mayor of Chernihiv city, Vladyslav Atroshenko, said Russia's pledge to ease its assaults on Kyiv and Chernihiv would be good news if it could be trusted. He told the BBC that as recently as Tuesday, "inhuman artillery shelling of several residential areas of the city took place, where about 35 people were hospitalised, where people lost their legs and some people were killed". In other developments: -Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that shelling of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender -Germany has declared an "early warning" over possible gas supply disruption amid a payments stand-off with Russia -More than four million people have now fled Ukraine to escape Russia's invasion, according to the latest United Nations figures.

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War in Ukraine at 1 year: Pain, resilience in global economy

One year after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and caused widespread suffering, the global economy is still enduring the consequences — crunched supplies of grain, fertilizer and energy along with more inflation and economic uncertainty.

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War in Ukraine ‘a growing risk’ for Nepal

The country’s long-standing policy of non-alignment has come under scrutiny, as politicians and foreign policy watchers are divided over Nepal’s position on Ukraine

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War in Ukraine and its Impact on South Asia

Opinions, reflections, theories, strategies, and military assistance as regards Russian aggression in Ukraine and the strategic state of affairs have widely conversed. The impact has been global and is also the ‘World War’ in a wide-ranging configuration. The UN, the global power the US, emerging power China, intergovernmental organizations, and obviously the European nations are […]

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War in Ukraine adds to food price hikes, hunger in Africa

The UN has warned that an estimated 13 million people were facing severe hunger in the Horn of Africa region as a result of a persistent drought

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War in Ukraine adds to food price hikes, hunger in Africa

The UN has warned that an estimated 13 million people were facing severe hunger in the Horn of Africa region as a result of a persistent drought

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War in Ukraine, Friendship in Mt. Everest

A pleasant sight of mutual respect can be observed between the two female climbers from Russia and Ukraine, currently practising the ascent of Mt. Everest at base camp 1 and camp 2, even though both countries are presently at war.

The Rising Nepal चैत्र २०७८

War in Ukraine: Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking oil depot

APRIL 1: A video shared on Twitter shows a blaze near apartment blocks in Belgorod, some 40km (25 miles) from the border. Some clips appear to show rockets hitting the oil depot. However, Ukrainian aircraft have not struck targets in Russia previously. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov's claim was not confirmed by Ukrainian officials. Belgorod, a city of 370,000, lies just north of Ukraine's second city Kharkiv, which has been heavily shelled by Russian artillery and remains surrounded by Russian forces. Governor Gladkov said in a Telegram message "there was a fire at the oil depot because of an air strike carried out by two Ukrainian army helicopters, which entered Russian territory at low altitude". "Nobody was killed," he added. He said emergency workers were trying to contain the fire as quickly as possible and that there was "no threat" to residents. The emergencies ministry posted video of the blaze on Telegram. Interfax news agency reported that residents nearby were evacuated and two people were injured at the depot. It said eight fuel tanks were on fire and nearly 200 firefighters were on the scene. The depot is run by Russian state oil firm Rosneft. On 29 March several explosions were reported at an ammunition depot near Belgorod. Ukrainian helicopter pilots have plenty of experience of flying low and fast to avoid being detected by military radar and air defence systems. They have been doing just that in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine for years, where a large part of that territory is held by Russian-backed separatist forces. But flying low and fast at night, well into Russian territory, to launch an attack on an enemy fuel depot, would have required great bravery and finely-honed flying skills. BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says this war has shown that low-flying helicopters are still vulnerable to short-range air defence systems, and a number of Russian helicopters have been shot down by shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles.

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War in Ukraine: Day 20

MARCH 16: The trip was a Polish idea, after the EU warned of potential security risks. The leaders decided to go by train because flying by Polish military jet could have been viewed by Russia as dangerously provocative, BBC Europe editor Katya Adler reported. It was not immediately clear when their train would make the return trip to Warsaw. Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki said history was being made in Ukraine's capital. "It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance," he tweeted. Mr Morawiecki added that Ukraine could count on the help of its friends. The prime ministers sat down for a briefing with their Ukrainian counterpart Denis Shmyhal, and President Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked them for the "powerful" gesture of support. They were accompanied to Ukraine by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party. Sepsis and hunger as civilians hide Russian artillery and warplanes are continuing to pound cities and towns across Ukraine. In Mariupol, a key port city in the south-east, hundreds of people crammed into the basement of a large public building are running out of food, with many also in need of urgent medical help, the BBC's Hugo Bachega was told. "Some have developed sepsis from shrapnel in the body," said Anastasiya Ponomareva, a 39-year-old teacher who fled the city at the start of the war but is in contact with friends there. "Things are very serious." Her friends are with other families who spend most of their day in the basement. From time to time they go upstairs for sunlight, but rarely outside. They have all left homes that are no longer safe or no longer standing. At an intensive care hospital on the western outskirts of the city, staff described being treated like hostages by Russian forces. One employee was quoted as saying that Russian troops had "forced 400 people from neighbouring houses to come to our hospital," adding: "We can't leave." The regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said the facility had been all but destroyed by shelling in recent days, but that staff had continued to treat patients in the basement. Separately, about 2,000 cars were able to leave Mariupol along a humanitarian evacuation route, according to city authorities. Before the war around 400,000 people lived in the city, which has endured intense bombardment by Russian forces. The city council says well over 2,000 civilians have died. Cameraman and journalist killed in Kyiv A cameraman and a journalist working for Fox News were killed when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, staff at the US network said. Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott described the deaths of Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and Oleksandra Kuvshinova, 24, as "heart-breaking". Their colleague, 39-year-old Benjamin Hall, was also wounded in the incident and taken to hospital. The attack followed the death on Sunday of 50-year-old US journalist Brent Renaud, who was shot and killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpin. Missing anti-war TV journalist reappears The Russian journalist who protested against the war in Ukraine on a live TV news programme and shared a video describing the invasion as a crime was fined 30,000 roubles (£214; $280) and released. Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at state-controlled Channel One, was detained on Monday after she ran onto the set holding a sign saying "no war". But concerns were later raised over her safety after reports that she could not be contacted. On Tuesday, however, she appeared at a court hearing. Ms Ovsyannikova told reporters afterwards that she had gone two days with no sleep, had been questioned for over 14 hours, and was not given access to legal help. Russians agree to bring US astronaut back to Earth Fears that US astronaut Mark Vande Hei - who has been in space for 355 days - might lose his lift back to Earth on board a Russian capsule were thankfully put to bed when it was confirmed he would indeed be making the trip home. The American, and two other Russian cosmonauts, will be brought back, landing in Kazakhstan. Joel Montalbano, Nasa's ISS programme manager, said: "I can tell you for sure Mark is coming home... We are in communication with our Russian colleagues. There's no fuzz on that." Biden barred from entering Russia Meanwhile, as Western nations impose further sanctions on Russia, Moscow retaliated on Tuesday by slapping sanctions on US President Joe Biden and 12 other US officials. The list includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, press secretary Jen Psaki and other members of the administration. But there were also a couple of surprises on the list: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr Biden's son, Hunter. The measures block their entry into Russia and freeze any assets held in the country. BBC

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War in Ukraine: How Asian economies are divided over Russia sanctions

MARCH 11: China has refused to outright condemn the invasion of Ukraine and has not imposed any sanctions on Russia. India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos and Mongolia also sat out the vote on a United Nations' resolution to demand the end of Russia's military operations in Ukraine. While Western allies like Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have imposed sanctions, with Tokyo and Seoul blocking some Russian banks from the Swift global payments system, the impact is limited. That is because the Asian nations who joined western-led sanctions make up only 8% of Russia's global trade. "Without having the two Asian giants China and India on board on sanctions who account for 18% of Russia's trade, there is unlikely to be any significant impact on Russia," says Professor Syed Munir Khasru, chairman of the international think tank, the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance. And President Putin has been preparing in advance. Since Russia annexed Crimea eight years ago, Moscow has been targeted with Western sanctions. "After 2014, Russia started cutting down the reliance on US dollars as part of foreign currency reserve and moving to gold and the Chinese yuan," he adds. What's behind China's stance? For Beijing, it is about weighing up the benefits versus costs of not taking action against Russia. China is already Russia's largest trading partner and in the weeks before the invasion, Beijing lifted restrictions on wheat imports and signed a 30-year deal to buy more Russian gas. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Russian companies and banks, including the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has started using China's currency, the yuan, in settlements. China has three objectives, according to Bilahari Kausikan, Singapore's former ambassador to the UN and Russia. Firstly, China is quite sensitive about certain principles of international relations, such as sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference because of Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a direct and gross violation of these norms but there is a second objective. China has no other partner, anywhere near the strategic weight of Russia," Mr Kausikan says. They also share a discomfort with a Western-dominated international order but Mr Kausikan adds that "China is much more invested in that order" and "the US, Europe and Japan are more important markets than Russia", which is why Beijing is keen to stabilise the situation in order to avoid becoming collateral damage of the Russian sanctions. Whose side is India on? For India and Vietnam, Russia is their largest arms supplier while Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan was in Moscow last month to discuss a major gas pipeline deal with President Putin. "India has a very large stock of Soviet era weapons that it needs to keep operational," says Mr Kausikan. "And the reason he needs to keep them operational is China." Despite its strong ties with Russia however, India is also part of the US-led Quad with Japan and Australia, which is seen by many as an alliance against China's growing presence in the region. "Whose side is India on?," tweeted the country's former ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran. "We are on our side." In many ways, that is how Asia's actions against Russia can be seen. Governments here are no stranger to having to pick a side on anything from trade conflicts to human rights issues but they have invariably been pragmatic when it comes to economic issues. "India, the largest democracy in the world, you would have expected it to have condemned the Russian invasion," says Professor Munir. "But nations are more driven by their own geopolitical and economic interests, and less by principles or respect for international norms." Caught between major powers And the UN vote on condemning the invasion of Ukraine further highlight divisions in the region. North Korea was one of the five countries - which unsurprisingly included Russia - to vote against the resolution. Myanmar voted to condemn Russia but that can be put down to its UN representative being part of its ousted government in exile. The country's military junta, which grabbed power last year, has been openly supportive of Russia, which continued to supply Myanamar with weapons despite the coup. Other smaller Asian economies find themselves caught between Russia, China and the West, according to Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the NUS Department of Political Science. "In general, they avoid criticising major powers like China and Russia which they believe are likely to punish them," says Associate Professor Chong. "There is recognition that Russian aggression is egregious and also challenges the institution of sovereignty on which they depend, so they choose to keep silent as they do not want to criticise Moscow but also do not support it," he adds. He points out that even among western allies, "South Korea is more cautious as they see a need to work with Russia on North Korea issues and because they are also cautious about crossing China unnecessarily". What worries Asian governments, many of which have territorial disputes with China, is that Beijing is seen as closely watching what happens in Ukraine for what it may or may not be able to achieve in future disputes. "Most Asian countries want a Chinese presence in the Indo-Pacific balanced by the United States," says Manjari Chatterjee Miller, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at Council on Foreign Relations. But she says that India and many South East Asian countries want Russia to play a balancing role when it comes to China. While that explains why some countries have chosen not to outright condemn Russia, the flip side is: what lessons could China draw from the Russian invasion? "What would it spell to China if Russia was unable to be constrained? If sanctions didn't work? What would that mean for Chinese encroachment in the Indo-Pacific or for the future of Taiwan?" Where it is going to get tricky, she says, is as oil prices go up, the invasion drags on, and the atrocities pile up, how long the fence sitters can stay silent. BBC

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War in Ukraine: Crisis is unleashing 'hell on earth' for food prices

MARCH 8: Ukraine and Russia are both major exporters of basic foodstuffs, and the war has already hit crop production, driving up prices Mr Beasley said it was putting more people at risk of starvation worldwide. "Just when you think hell on earth can't get any worse, it does," he said. Russia and Ukraine, once dubbed "the breadbasket of Europe", export about a quarter of the world's wheat and half of its sunflower products, like seeds and oil. Ukraine also sells a lot of corn globally. Analysts have warned that war could impact the production of grains and even double global wheat prices. Mr Beasley told BBC World Service's Business Daily programme that the number of people facing potential starvation worldwide had already risen from 80 million to 276 million in four years prior to Russia's invasion, due to what he calls a "perfect storm" of conflict, climate change and coronavirus. He said certain countries could be particularly affected by the current crisis, due to the high proportion of grains they currently import from the Black Sea region. "The country of Lebanon, 50%, give or take, of their grains, come from Ukraine. Yemen, Syria, Tunisia - and I could go on and on - depend on the country of Ukraine as a breadbasket," he said. "So you're going from being a breadbasket to now, literally, having to hand out bread to them. It's just an incredible reverse of reality." 'Defending our land' Yara International, which operates in more than 60 countries, told the BBC a shortage could badly hit crop yields, leading to "a global food crisis". Ukrainian lawyer Ivanna Dorichenko, an expert in international trade arbitration, said some farmers in Ukraine have already abandoned their fields in order to take up arms against the Russian invasion. She told the BBC: "The men who need to work on the land, they're all defending our land right now. Because if they do not defend the land, there'll be nothing to work on at a later stage, and you don't have a single person right now who's not trying to help in any way they can." Ms Dorichenko said the war had wreaked havoc with supply lines typically used to export agricultural produce. Ukraine's military suspended all commercial shipping at its ports in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. "The vessels cannot leave the waters, the vessels cannot get loaded. It's effectively a war zone. Sadly, there's nothing which can be potentially shipped right now from Ukraine." She said it meant "huge losses" for businesses, but also humanitarian efforts, because Ukraine could no longer send goods to regions such as South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa, as well as to NGOs such the World Food Programme. With food price inflation already at crisis point in some countries prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, South African economist Wandile Sihlobo said he was worried about the potential consequences for grain-importing nations in Africa and beyond. Mr Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, told the BBC that while steep price rises may be a problem in the short-term, shortages of essential crops could follow. "Over time, depending on the length and the severity of this war, you could begin to see shortages of shipments that come to the African continent, and that could cause shortages. Particularly in the North African countries, and to an extent in East Africa." He added: "If you were to look at the global food price index, it was at multiple highs at the start of this year. This crisis already adds to that difficult environment for many consumers, particularly in the developing world." On Monday, one of the world's biggest fertiliser companies, Yara International, warned the conflict could hit its industry, further affecting food prices. Fertiliser prices had already been rising due to soaring wholesale gas prices. Russia also produces enormous amounts of nutrients, like potash and phosphate - key ingredients in fertilisers, which enable plants and crops to grow.

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