The respected governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, also reportedly wanted to resign after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, but the president did not accept the resignation. According to reports from the Bloomberg agency, this was reported by four people familiar with the talks.
Warsaw expels 45 Russian diplomats
Meanwhile, Poland has decided to expel 45 Russian diplomats accused of espionage. The Kremlin’s reaction is not long in coming: Moscow will react “appropriately” to the dismissal of its diplomats, the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by Interfax, announced. Belarus has ordered some Ukrainian diplomats to leave the country and announced plans to close the Ukrainian consulate in the southwestern city of Brest, according to official Belarusian press agency BeLta, relaunched by the Guardian. The news comes as a sign of possible imminent involvement by Belarusian soldiers alongside Russian forces that have invaded Ukraine.
The scenario always remains critical on the pitch. “Russia used white phosphorus bombs in Hostomel and Irpin,” said the mayor of irpin Oleksandr Markushin quoted by The Kyiv Independent. The capital’s mayor, Vitalij Klitschcko, told the BBC that almost the entire town of Irpin, on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, has returned to Ukrainian hands. The counteroffensive, he added, also repelled the Russian attack Makarivanother town some fifty miles west of the capital, so the Ukrainian army “failed the plan to encircle Kyiv.”
US defense sources warn that the Russians have invaded Mariupol. According to the Ukrainian president, the Russians have detained rescuers from a humanitarian convoy and at least 100,000 people are “trapped” in the city. Fighting continues elsewhere as well, with the bombing of the Bridge over the Desna which connected Chernihiv with Kyiv. The Russians would be 40 kilometers away Mykolayiveven if the city remains under Ukrainian control for the time being.
The media reported that a bridge was bombed during the night Chernihiv, 130 kilometers from Kyiv, is considered crucial for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians. Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk states that nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed to facilitate exits from the country. Mariupol is absent from the appeal.