WASHINGTON / Kyiv, March 2 – The United States closed its airspace to Russian planes as the Russian military tried to encircle and conquer Ukrainian cities with heavy bombing on Wednesday, seven days after an invasion that sparked massive international sanctions.
Already avoided by the West, Russia has shown no signs of halting an attack involving strikes on Kyiv and rocket attacks in the second city of Kharkiv. Dozens were killed.
Russia has failed to capture a single city since its full-scale invasion nearly a week ago, and Western analysts say Moscow has backed down from a tactic that requires devastating shelling of built-up areas before entering them.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fled the fighting as a millimeter-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv prepared to march on the city. West of Kyiv, in the city of Zhytomyr, four people, including a child, were killed on Tuesday by a Russian cruise missile, a Ukrainian official said. Read more
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called on Russia to stop civilian bombings and resume talks.
“We need to at least stop bombing people, just stop the bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table,” he told Reuters and CNN in a joint interview at a heavily guarded government complex in Kyiv.
US President Joe Biden has promised Russian President Vladimir Putin to pay a high price for his decision to invade Ukraine, a 44 million West-oriented democracy.
“He has no idea what lies ahead,” he said in a statement on the state of the Union in the House of Representatives.
“Let each of us, if he is able to stand, stand up and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and the world.”
Lawmakers stood, applauding and roaring, many waving Ukrainian flags and wearing blue and yellow colors of the country. Read more
Biden has announced a further tightening of sanctions against Moscow, joining the European Union and Canada in banning Russian aircraft from US airspace. He also said the justice ministry would seek to confiscate yachts, luxury apartments and private planes of wealthy Russians linked to Putin.
The Russian leader ordered a “special military operation” last Thursday in a bid to disarm Ukraine, capture the “neo-Nazis” he says rule the country, and shatter its hopes for closer ties with the West.
‘FREEZES AND SEIZURE’
Civilian train to throw Molotov cocktails to protect the city while the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, March 1, 2022 REUTERS / Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Ukraine, a non-NATO member, has called on the US-led military alliance to establish a no-fly zone, a request rejected by Washington, which fears direct conflict between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
Instead, Washington and its allies sent weapons to Kyiv, and Finance Minister Janet Yellen said the United States had agreed with its partners to convene a working group “to freeze and confiscate the assets of key Russian elites.”
The move “will inflict financial pain on influential figures around Putin and show that no one is beyond our collective reach,” Yellen said in a statement after Tuesday’s conversation with Group of Seven officials.
The West is excluding the Russian economy from the global financial system, forcing international companies to suspend sales, sever ties and dump tens of billions of dollars in investment.
Exxon Mobil has joined other major Western energy companies, including Britain’s BP PLC and Shell, in announcing it will leave oil-rich Russia over the invasion. Read more
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has stopped selling iPhones and other products in Russia and made changes to its Maps app to protect civilians in Ukraine. Google’s Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) expelled Russian state publishers from its news, and Ford Motor suspended operations in the country. Read more
Russia on Tuesday imposed temporary restrictions on foreigners wishing to exit Russian assets, meaning billions of dollars in securities held by foreigners are at risk of falling into the trap. Read more
KILL CIVILIANS
Russia’s military move against Kyiv is stalled as its forces fight food and fuel shortages, and some units appear to have low morale, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday. Read more
The heaviest Russian bombing so far appears to be around Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, near the border with Russia. Dozens of residents, including children, were killed when a Russian strategic bomber fired 16 guided missiles at a residential area on Monday, Ukraine’s defense ministry said.
In the predominantly Russian-speaking Ukrainian city of Donetsk, in territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists, authorities said three civilians had been killed in Ukrainian shelling.
Reuters was unable to confirm any of the incidents with reports of casualties. The United Nations says at least 136 civilians were killed in the invasion, but the actual number is likely much higher. Read more
Ukraine’s air force has continued to oppose expectations that Russia will achieve rapid dominance in the air.
“Airspace is being actively challenged every day,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Read more
Report by Alexander Vasovich in Kyiv, Kevin Liffey in London and other Reuters offices, including Moscow; Writing by Stephen Coates; edited by Lincoln Feast & Simon Cameron-Moore
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