Live updates: Ukraine says shelling damaged cancer hospital

The latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war:

LVIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian officials accused Russia damaging a cancer hospital and several residential buildings in the southern city of Mykolaiv with shelling from heavy artillery.

The hospital's head doctor, Maksim Beznosenko, said several hundred patients were in the hospital during the attack but that no one was killed. The assault damaged the building and blew out windows.

Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on Mykolaiv, located 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Kyiv, in an attempt to encircle the city.

Ukrainian and Western officials earlier accused Russia of shelling a maternity hospital in the southern city of Mariupol on Wednesday. Three people died in that attack.

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LVIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Friday of kidnapping the mayor of the city of Melitopol, equating it to the actions of "ISIS terrorists."

"They have transitioned into a new stage of terror, in which they try to physically liquidate representatives of Ukraine's lawful local authorities," Zelensky said in a video address Friday evening.

Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, posted a video on the social media site Telegram which he said showed a group of armed men carrying the mayor, Ivan Fedorov, across a square.

Russian forces captured the southern port city of Melitopol, with a population of 150,000, on Feb. 26.

The prosecutor's office of the Luhansk People's Republic, a Moscow-backed rebel region in eastern Ukraine, said on its website that there was a criminal case against Fedorov. The prosecutor's office accused Federov of "terrorist activities" and of financing the nationalist militia Right Sector to "commit terrorist crimes against Donbass civilians."

The office said it was looking for Fedorov and called for anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact them.

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SAVANNAH, Ga. -- U.S. soldiers are continuing to deploy to Europe, joining thousands already sent overseas to support NATO allies amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

About 130 soldiers from the 87th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade gathered Friday at Hunter Airfield in Savannah, Georgia and departed on a chartered flight.

The soldiers are in addition to the estimated 3,800 soldiers from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division who deployed recently from nearby Fort Stewart.

A division commander said that soldiers are being told to prepare for about six months overseas. The Pentagon has ordered roughly 12,000 total service members from various U.S. bases to Europe.

The soldiers' mission is to train alongside military units of NATO allies in a display of force aimed at deterring further aggression by Russia. The Pentagon has stressed U.S. forces are not being deployed to fight in Ukraine.

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LVIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian authorities have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the port city of Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian forces and cut off from deliveries of food and medicine.

Mariupol officials said Friday that 1,582 people had been killed in the 12 days since the siege began.

“There is a humanitarian catastrophe in the city and the dead aren't even being buried,” Mariupol's mayor's office said in a statement Friday, calling for Russian forces to lift the siege.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of shelling evacuation routes and preventing civilians from escaping the city of 430,000 people.

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BERLIN -- Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines at the decommissioned Chornobyl power plant in an effort to restore power supplies, the UN nuclear agency said.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said that Chornobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, was knocked off the power grid, with emergency generators supplying backup power.

The Ukrainian nuclear regulator said Friday that workers repaired one section of the lines, but there still appears to be damage in other places, the IAEA said. Repair efforts would continue despite "the difficult situation" outside the plant, which was taken by Russian forces early in the invasion, it said.

The Ukrainian regulator said additional fuel was delivered for generators, but it remains important to fix the power lines as soon as possible. The IAEA reiterated that the disconnection "will not have a critical impact on essential safety functions at the site."

The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog said that it still isn't receiving data from monitoring systems installed to monitor nuclear material and activities at Chornobyl, but transmission from the Zaporizhzhia plant -- Ukraine's biggest, which Russian forces seized last week -- has been restored after being lost earlier this week.

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PARIS - Interpol is restricting Russia's ability to input information directly into the global police organization's vast network, deciding that communications must first be checked by the general secretariat in Lyon, France.

The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that the beefed-up surveillance measures follow “multiple suspicions of attempted fraudulent use” of the Interpol system in recent days, but it did not elaborate.

Interpol stressed in a statement Thursday that it is maintaining its pledge of neutrality amid war between two of its members, triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But it said that “heightened supervision and monitoring measures” of Moscow's National Central Bureau were needed “to prevent any potential misuse of Interpol's channels” like targeting individuals in or outside Ukraine.

The ministry noted that Interpol's decision has multiple impacts from communications, to putting out so-called “red notices” for criminals on the loose or even feeding data on lost or stolen documents - all of which must now get compliance checks from Interpol headquarters.

Interpol, which has 195 members, said it had received calls to suspend Russia from the network, along with calls by law enforcement leaders looking for continued cooperation to better fight crime.

“In addition to the tragic loss of life, conflicts invariably lead to an increase in crime,” as organized crime groups try to exploit desperation, Interpol said. Risks include human trafficking, weapons smuggling and trafficking in illicit goods and medicines.

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BOSTON - YouTube announced Friday that it has begun blocking access globally to channels associated with Russian state-funded media. It had previously blocked them - specifically RT and Sputnik - across Europe.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, announced the move in a Twitter post and said that while the change is effective immediately, “we expect our systems to take time to ramp up.”

YouTube also said it was now removing content about Russia's invasion of Ukraine that violates its policy that “minimizes or trivializes well-documented violent events.” The Kremlin refers to the invasion as a “special military operation” and not a war.

YouTube previously paused YouTube ads in Russia. Now, it is extending that to all the ways it makes money on the platform in Russia.

Ukraine's digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, predicted in his Telegram channel that the Kremlin would soon move to block YouTube in Russia. “It's a question of time.”

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ANTALYA, Turkey- With the Ukrainian refugee crisis, European countries that had previously been reluctant to share the burden for refugees have found themselves seeking solidarity and burden-sharing, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday.

Grandi spoke at a diplomacy forum near the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya as the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine passed 2.5 million.

“European countries, including countries that have been rather hesitant in the past to any notion that you should share that responsibility, now find themselves … in the situation to hold hundreds of thousands,” Grandi said. “And what do they do? They ask for that international solidarity and sharing, which means financial assistance.”

Grandi said: “I think that we need to capitalize on what is happening now to restate this notion, that if refugees move, everybody should share responsibility.

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WARSAW, Poland - Ukraine's president and NATO chief remotely joined Poland's leaders and lawmakers Friday for a session marking Poland's 23 years in the defensive military alliance at a time when neighboring Ukraine is fighting Russian invasion.

In a video link to the gathering in Poland's parliament, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Poland for supporting his nation's struggle against the aggressor and also for opening its borders to refugees fleeing the war. Over 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine since the Feb. 24 invasion. Over 1.5 million of them have made their way to Poland.

In a veiled way Zelensky said he hopes Ukraine will eventually receive Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland. The delivery implications of the jets recently led to an apparent misunderstanding between Warsaw and the U.S. administration.

“I am grateful for the efforts you are taking to allow us to protect Ukraine's skies,” Zelensky said. “I trust that we will be able to arrive at a result that is very important to us.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Poland is safer for being a member of the alliance, and stressed the task is now to make sure the armed conflict does not spread but comes to an end.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda condemned Russia's bombings of Ukraine's cities and housing areas as “war crimes.”

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UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations human rights office has received "credible reports" that Russian forces are using cluster munitions in Ukraine, including in populated areas which is prohibited under international humanitarian law, the UN political chief said Friday.

Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told a UN Security Council meeting that residential areas and civilian infrastructure are being shelled in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv and "the utter devastation being visited on these cities is horrific."

Most of the civilian casualties recorded by the UN human rights office -- 564 killed and 982 injured as of Thursday -- "have been caused by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," she said.

"Indiscriminate attacks, including those using cluster munitions, which are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction, are prohibited under international humanitarian law," DiCarlo said. "Directing attacks against civilian and civilian objects, as well as so-called area bombardment in towns and villages, are also prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes."

As of Thursday the UN World Health Organization has verified 26 attacks on health facilities, health workers and ambulances, including the bombing of the Mariupol maternity hospital, which caused 12 deaths and 34 injuries, DiCarlo said.

All alleged violations of international humanitarian law must be investigated and those found responsible must be held accountable, she said.

DiCarlo stressed that "the need for negotiations to stop the war in Ukraine could not be more urgent."

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Footage recorded on the outskirts of Kyiv by Radio Free Europe on Wednesday shows Ukrainian soldiers with rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers slung over their shoulders traversing snow-dusted fields and woods and expressing disdain toward the Russians.

One unidentified soldier called their adversaries "orcs," a reference to the monstrous and malevolent foot soldiers in the "Lord of the Rings" series.

Another soldier said they planned to kill all their enemies over the bombing of Mariupol.

"We'll multiply them by zero," the unidentified soldier said.

Gunfire and explosions erupt during the 3-minute, 30-second clip. At one point in the woods, shots split the air near the group, and soldiers drop to their stomachs in an instant and return fire. The assailants are not visible in the clip, but the crack-crack-crack from the gunfire exchange carries on for 15 seconds in one part of the clip.

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The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has opened an online portal to gather evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, as he renewed his call to combatants to abide by the laws of war.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a written statement Friday that he is “closely following the deeply troubling developments in hostilities.” There have been reports in recent days of Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian towns and cities, including the deadly strike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol earlier this week.

Khan notes in a written statement that “if attacks are intentionally directed against the civilian population: that is a crime. If attacks are intentionally directed against civilian objects: that is a crime. I strongly urge parties to the conflict to avoid the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas.” He says there is no legal justification or excuse “for attacks which are indiscriminate, or which are disproportionate in their effects on the civilian population.”

Khan also said that two more of the global court's member states, Japan and North Macedonia, have formally requested him to investigate in Ukraine, bringing the number of so-called state party referrals to 41.

The information will bolster evidence gathered by an investigative team Khan sent to the region last week to begin gathering evidence.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is an ICC member state, but Kyiv has recognized the court's jurisdiction, allowing Khan to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

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BELGRADE, Serbia - A flight from Belgrade to Moscow was reverted and evacuated following a bomb alert, Serbian police said Friday.

The Belgrade airport received an email saying that an explosive device has been planted on the Air Serbia flight to Moscow, police said in an email.

The plane was then turned back shortly after take-off, and is being checked by police, the statement said. No other details were immediately available.

Serbian media said there were more than 200 passengers and crew on the plane.

Air Serbia carrier is the only one in Europe that still flies to and from Russia as Serbia has refused to join Western sanctions against its traditional ally over Ukraine.

Air Serbia has increased the number of flights to Russia amid high demand.

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ATHENS, Greece - The leader of Greece's Orthodox Church has contacted the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to offer support in housing refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

Archbishop Ieronymos, who heads the Greek church, said in a statement on Friday that he had telephoned Metropolitan Bishop Epiphanius of Kyiv, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church leader, and promised “full support” for Ukraine, adding that parishes across Greece had been sent a request to provide assistance.

Only several thousand refugees from Ukraine have traveled to Greece so far - out of the 2.5 million that have fled the country - but Greek authorities expect that number to increase in the coming weeks.

The Greek church has recognized the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine despite strong opposition from the Russian Orthodox Church.

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ISTANBUL -- Turkey on Friday evacuated its embassy in Kyiv, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Tanju Bilgic said staff at the mission would move to Chernivtsi near the Romanian border for security reasons, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The order to leave Kyiv came as Russian forces fanned out around the city and appeared likely to step up artillery and rocket attacks. Many countries ordered diplomatic staff to leave Kyiv before Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.

Turkey has close ties to both Ukraine and Russia and has been seeking to mediate between its warring Black Sea neighbors.

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VERSAILLES, France -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is underlining the importance of keeping in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but is stressing that "we will not make decisions for the Ukrainians."

Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, who has spoken frequently with the Russian leader, together spoke to Putin on Thursday. After a European Union summit on Friday, Scholz said "it is absolutely necessary that we do not let the thread of talks break."

Macron said he and Scholz would speak again with Putin later Friday.

Scholz stressed that he and Macron are consulting closely among themselves and with the Ukrainian leadership -- and that a cease-fire is the top priority. Scholz said it's good that there are talks, but they shouldn't just drag on while "weapons every day destroy people's lives, buildings, infrastructure and dreams."

The chancellor said that there is "one very clear principle: we will not make decisions for the Ukrainians. They must know themselves what from their point of view is the right thing for their country in this threatening situation."

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BELGRADE, Serbia -- Germany's foreign minister has urged Serbia, which has not imposed sanctions on traditional ally Russia over the war in Ukraine, to align policies with the European Union if it wants to join the bloc.

Annalena Baerbock said Friday in Serbia's capital Belgrade that "we all must have a clear position" over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Baerbock said, launched a "shameless campaign of destruction" that is targeting "maternity wards, schools, (people's) homes."

While Serbia has criticized the attack on Ukraine and voted in the United Nations for the condemnation of the attack, Belgrade has refrained from joining Western sanctions against Moscow.

Historically considered a friendly nation, Russia remains popular among the Serbs, particularly because of Moscow's support for Serbia's opposition to the Western-backed independence of the breakaway former Kosovo province.

Baerbock praised Serbia's UN vote and the offer to host Ukrainian refugees. But she added that "joining the European Union means readiness to align with the positions of the union."

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said that "Serbia has a very determined and clear position" and has done "nothing that would hurt Ukraine."

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MOSCOW -- Russia's communications and media regulator says it's restricting national access to Instagram because the platform is spreading "calls to commit violent acts against Russian citizens, including military personnel."

The regulator, called Roskomnadzor, took the step Friday as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier on Friday, Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said in a statement tweeted by its spokesman Andy Stone that it had "made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules on violent speech, such as `death to the Russian invaders'."

The statement stressed that the company "still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians."

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PRAGUE -- Prague City Hall has started readying temporary accommodation for a surge in refugees from Ukraine after the Czech capital ran out of housing options for them.

The government estimates that up to 200,000 refugees -- 55% of them children -- have arrived in the Czech Republic, a European Union and NATO member that doesn't border Ukraine. About 25% of the refugees entering the country have gone to Prague.

Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib has asked the heads of 22 city districts to prepare at least 100 beds each in school gyms and also provide food for the refugees there.

Hrib compared the current situation in Prague to Germany facing the waves of refugees during a European migrant crisis in 2015-16.

"The difference is that Germany had months to react, we have just days," Hrib said. "The demand for accommodation in Prague is enormous and by far surpasses what we can offer."

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ANTALYA, Turkey -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that the war in Ukraine could have been avoided had the world spoken out against Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

"Would we have faced such a picture if the West, the whole world, had raised their voices?" Erdogan asked. "Those who remained silent in the face of Crimea's invasion are now saying some things."

Erdogan spoke Friday at a diplomacy forum near the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya, where the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met a day earlier for talks facilitated by Turkey's foreign minister.

Erdogan said Turkey would continue its efforts for peace.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke in a phone call Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine.

Niinisto's office said in a statement that he informed Putin that he, earlier in the day, had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and that Zelensky was prepared to talk directly with Putin.

The statement said Niinisto called for an immediate ceasefire and the safe evacuation of civilians, but also spoke to Putin about the security of nuclear energy facilities in Ukraine.

Niinisto is one of the few Western leaders who has kept a regular dialogue with Putin ever since the Finnish leader took office in 2012.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Hungary's prime minister said Friday that sanctions imposed against Russia by the European Union would not involve a ban on imports of Russian oil and gas.

In a video on his social media channels following a meeting of EU leaders in Versailles, France, Viktor Orban said it was possible that the war in Ukraine "would drag on," but that "the most important issue was settled in a way that was favorable to us."

"There will be no sanctions covering oil and gas, which means that Hungary's energy supply is guaranteed for the next period," Orban said.

Orban, widely considered to be the Kremlin's closest ally in the EU, has supported the bloc's sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Hungary's neighbor.

But he has remained firm in insisting that the energy sector be left out of sanctions, arguing that such a move would damage EU countries more than Russia.

Last year, Hungary extended by 15 years a natural gas contract with Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom, and has entered into a 12 billion-euro (US$13.6 billion) Russian build-and-finance agreement to add two nuclear reactors to Hungary's only nuclear power plant.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's president says his country's military forces have reached "a strategic turning point," while Russia's president says there are "certain positive developments" in talks between the warring countries.

Neither leader explained clearly what they meant, however.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday: "It's impossible to say how many days we will still need to free our land, but it is possible to say that we will do it because ... we have reached a strategic turning point." He didn't elaborate.

He said authorities are working on 12 humanitarian corridors and trying to ensure needy people receive food, medicine and basic goods.

He spoke on a video showing him outside the presidential administration in Kyiv, speaking in both Ukrainian and Russian about the 16th day of war.

Meanwhile, in Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin said there have been positive developments in talks between the warring countries, but he didn't offer any details about what those developments were.

Putin hosted Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko for talks on Friday and told him that negotiations with Ukraine "are now being held almost on a daily basis."

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STOCKHOLM -- Swedish authorities estimate that about 4,000 Ukrainian refugees are arriving in Sweden every day.

Official figures say a total of 5,200 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Sweden, but the true number is "significantly higher," Mikael Ribbenvik, head of the Swedish Migration Board, said Friday.

Anders Ygeman, the Swedish Minister for Integration and Migration, stressed that Sweden "must accept its responsibility" but insisted that other European nations also take their share of refugees.

In neighbouring Denmark, authorities were preparing to receive Ukrainian refugees.

"This can be huge," Niels Henrik Larsen, the head of the Danish Immigration Service, said. "This can be the biggest we ever have seen."

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ANTALYA, Turkey -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the "paths of dialogue and diplomacy" are the only way toward ending the war in Ukraine.

"The senseless conflict in Ukraine is causing death and devastation to the country and its people with enormous security risks for the region and the world," Guterres said.

He spoke Friday in a video appearance at a diplomacy forum being held at a resort near the Turkish Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya.

Guterres warned that the war has "disrupted the global economy with unforeseeable consequences. It has multiplied the danger of miscalculation and escalation."

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GENEVA -- The UN human rights office says it has documented 549 civilian deaths and 957 injuries so far following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying the toll and "general human suffering" are rising.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Friday it has verified 29 attacks on health care facilities, workers and ambulances in the hostilities, including a high-profile one on a maternity hospital in southeastern Mariupol on Wednesday. In those, 12 people have been killed and 34 injured, WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said in an email.

The figures from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which run through the Feb. 24 start of the fighting to midnight Wednesday, focus on civilians in general. It uses a strict methodology and counts only confirmed casualties. It acknowledges that its tally is likely to underestimate the real toll.

"Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide area effects in or near populated areas," spokeswoman Liz Throssell told a UN briefing.

"Civilian casualties are rising daily, as is general human suffering," Throssell said.

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LVIV, Ukraine -- A team of U.S. and U.K.-based doctors and nurses have begun a tour of medical facilities in Lviv, offering help and advice to Ukrainian doctors during the Russian invasion.

The team of nine brought in aid and medical equipment in 167 bags, including ventilators, ultrasound machines and gas masks, worth about $500,000, said Zaher Sahloul, a Chicago-based doctor.

"There is huge shortage of medical supplies and equipment, especially for trauma, and medication for chronic diseases," he said. "It looks like the healthcare system is about to collapse because of the impact of the war, the huge displacement of the population, and the large number of injured people in many areas in Ukraine."

Sahloul is a native of Syria and has visited that war-stricken country several times, working with volunteers and medical staff to establish or restore health services in opposition-held areas heavily bombed by the Russian air force over the years.

Sahloul said Ukrainian doctors mostly need basic supplies, such as tactical first aid kits. He said that, like in Syria, many of the doctors in Kyiv are working in basements to avoid being targeted by Russian forces.

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LONDON --- Britain has slapped sanctions on 386 Russian lawmakers who recognized two regions of eastern Ukraine as independent, the precursor to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says the Duma members who voted to recognize the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk face a U.K. travel ban and a freeze on any assets they have in Britain.

Truss said U.K. sanctions were targeting "those complicit in Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine and those who support this barbaric war."

Friday's announcement follows through on Britain's promise two weeks ago to sanction the Duma members.

Britain has also slapped sanctions on Russian banks and on 18 wealthy individuals.

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BERLIN -- The German government says that more than 100,000 people fleeing Ukraine are known to have entered Germany, but the true number could be much higher.

Interior Ministry spokesman Marek Wede said Friday that federal police so far have recorded 109,183 people coming from Ukraine entering the country, more than 99,000 of them Ukrainian citizens.

He noted that the number may be higher because Germany doesn't have full regular border checks on its eastern frontiers with Poland and the Czech Republic. However, federal police have stepped up checks on the Polish border.

Wede said it's also unclear how many of the refugees who entered Germany may have traveled onward to other countries.

As of Friday, UN agencies said that more than 2.5 million people had fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion started on Feb. 24. More than 1.5 million of those went to Poland.

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NEW DELHI -- Hundreds of Indian medical students who sheltered in bunkers while Russia shelled a Ukrainian city have returned home to bouquets and hugs from their parents in emotional scenes at New Delhi's international airport.

Thousands of Indians studying in Ukraine suddenly found themselves in the middle of a war after Russia invaded the country last month.

The group arriving home Friday were studying in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy.

"It was very, very scary for us," Lakshyaa Dahiya, a medical student, said. "Seeing this much army with tanks… it was very dangerous also. We will not forget that thing ever, in our whole life."

Arindam Bagchi, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman, said India has evacuated nearly 23,000 of its citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine.

Pressure on the Indian government to pull out its citizens intensified after one student died in shelling in Kharkiv last month.

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TOKYO -- Japan's government is freezing the assets of three Belarusian banks in Japan and banning exports of high technology equipment to Russia and Belarus, as Tokyo steps up sanctions against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Japan is taking additional steps to remain in concert with the United States and European countries in their effort to pressure Russia and Belarus, which is helping Moscow, to stop the war.

Japan has previously frozen the assets of individuals and organizations from the two countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top government officials, as well as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and cut seven Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system.

Japan is also banning exports of semiconductors, telecommunication equipment and other high-technology goods to Russia and Belarus from March 18 to prevent them from bolstering their military capabilities.

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BERLIN -- Two German public broadcasters say they will resume reporting from their Moscow studios, after halting operations following the approval of Russian legislation penalizing any reports that authorities deem to be fake information about the country's military.

ARD and ZDF said last weekend that they were suspending reporting from Moscow while they examined the consequences of the measure, which foresees prison sentences of up to 15 years. Several other Western media outlets made similar decisions.

The broadcasters said Friday that they have now decided to resume reporting from their Moscow studios in the coming days on the "political, economic and social situation in Russia." But reporting on the military situation in Ukraine will be done from other locations.

ARD and ZDF said they will be transparent about "the special conditions" of reporting from Russia.

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BANGKOK -- China is helping Russia spread inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims that the U.S. is financing biological weapons labs in Ukraine, the target of a Russian invasion.

The U.S. has refuted Russia's conspiracy theory, and the United Nations has said it has received no information that would back up the allegations. But that hasn't prevented the claims from proliferating.

The partnership between the two authoritarian countries appears aimed at muddying the waters of the rationale for Russia's invasion -- part of what American officials have called an "information war."

China's Foreign Ministry has helped fuel the fire this week, repeating the Russian claim several times and calling for an investigation into "the secret of the U.S. labs in Ukraine."

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TOKYO -- The Japanese navy has spotted a fleet of 10 Russian warships crossing the Tsugaru Strait between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, raising concern about increasing Russian naval activity in the region amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters Friday that the fleet movement was believed to be part of Russia's ongoing major naval exercises in the region since February.

He said the exercises are "apparently to show off its naval capability spanning from the East to the West, in unison with the Russian military movement in and around Ukraine."

He renewed his condemnation of Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a "barbaric act" that shakes the foundations of international order.

Kishi said Japan is watching the Russian military movement "with serious concern" and has raised its warning and reconnaissance levels.

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LONDON -- The British government is warning military veterans not to join the fighting in Ukraine and says any serving troops who go there will be court-martialed when they return.

Veterans Minister Leo Docherty wrote to British military charities urging ex-soldiers to support the Ukrainian people through donations and volunteering in the U.K.

He said Friday that "veterans always step up in times of need, but they must channel their skills, experience and passion into legal routes of support for Ukraine and not engage in the conflict."

Ukraine has encouraged foreign volunteers to join the fight against Russia's invasion. A handful of U.K. service members have reportedly gone AWOL to travel to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he sympathized with those wishing to go, but "we have very clear laws in this country. You shouldn't go to Ukraine, and I'm afraid people going from our armed services … will face court martial."

Russia said Friday it was planning to bring "volunteers" from countries including Syria into the conflict on its side.

 

ZAGREB, Croatia — A drone has crashed on the outskirts of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and is suspected of having flown all the way from the Ukrainian war zone.

Croatian authorities said Friday the overnight crash caused a loud blast but no injuries.

A statement issued after Croatia’s National Security Council meeting said the “pilotless military aircraft” entered Croatian airspace from neighbouring Hungary at a speed of 700 kilometres per hour and an altitude of 1,300 metres.

That means the large drone flew at least 560 kilometres apparently undetected by air defences in Croatia and Hungary. Both countries are members of NATO.

Military experts of The War Zone online magazine said that the aircraft is likely a Soviet-era Tu-141 “Strizh” reconnaissance drone that must have severely malfunctioned. They said that Ukraine is the only known current operator of the Tu-141.

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TEL AVIV, Israel — Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel is calling on the country to join its Western allies in slapping sanctions on Russia.

Yevgen Korniychuck told reporters Friday that it was the “moral obligation” of Israeli companies to suspend business in Russia, as many Western firms have done.

Korniychuck also indicated that Israel’s attempt at mediating between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to have stalled, saying it was “unclear” where the mediation stood and that he was not aware of “any immediate tasks” taken up by Israel on the matter.

Israel is one of the few countries with good working relations with both Ukraine and Russia. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has repeatedly expressed support for the Ukrainian people, and Israel has sent humanitarian aid to the country, but he has stopped short of condemning Russia for its incursion.

That middle ground helped pave the way for Bennett to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Saturday in an attempt to mediate between the sides.

Mediation efforts by Turkey, which also has ties with both of the warring countries, also have yet to make demonstrable progress.

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WARSAW, Poland — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has wrapped up her visit to Poland by meeting with U.S. and Polish troops, as Russia pressed ahead with its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Harris is on a whirlwind trip to meet with the leaders of Poland and Romania. Those two countries are eastern flank NATO allies and have witnessed an influx of refugees since war broke out last month.

“We stand as partners,” Harris said. “We work together, we train together, we form friendships that are based on solidarity, mutual values and shared principles,” she told the troops.

Harris was due to meet later Friday with Romania’s president to discuss a response to the influx of refugees from Ukraine due to the war.

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TEL AVIV, Israel — Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel is calling on the country to join its Western allies in slapping sanctions on Russia.

Yevgen Korniychuck told reporters Friday that it was Israel’s “moral obligation” to impose sanctions.

Korniychuck also indicated that Israel’s attempt at mediating between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to have stalled, saying it was “unclear” where the mediation stood and that he was not aware of “any immediate tasks” taken up by Israel on the matter.

Israel is one of the few countries with good working relations with both Ukraine and Russia. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has repeatedly expressed support for the Ukrainian people, and Israel has sent humanitarian aid to the country, but he has stopped short of condemning Russia for its incursion.

That middle ground helped pave the way for Bennett to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Saturday in an attempt to mediate between the sides.

Mediation efforts by Turkey, which also has ties with both of the warring countries, also have yet to make demonstrable progress.

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STOCKHOLM — Police in Sweden are donating helmets, flak jackets, binoculars and drones to Ukraine.

Swedish Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said Friday that Ukraine police had requested the material via the European police agency Europol, which has 27 member countries.

The Scandinavian country will donate 367 flak jackets, 94 bulletproof helmets, 62 pairs of binoculars and five drones. Sweden is also sending 3,400 items of protective clothing. All the equipment was either to be thrown away or was not in use but it is in working order, Johansson said.

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GENEVA — The International Organization for Migration says 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded more than two weeks ago.

IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said in a text message that the figures, taken from national governments, were up to date through Friday morning.

He said that more than 1.5 million refugees have gone to neighbouring Poland and that some 116,000 of the refugees are “third-country nationals,” not Ukrainians.

The UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, also gave the 2.5 million total for refugees and said his agency estimates that about two million people are displaced inside Ukraine as well.

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NEW YORK — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that so-called volunteer fighters should be brought into Ukraine.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia knew of “more than 16,000 applications” from countries in the Middle East, many of them from people who he said helped Russia against the Islamic State group, according to a Kremlin transcript.

They want “to take part in what they consider a liberation movement,” Shoigu said, on the side of Russia-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Since 2015, Russian forces have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against various groups opposed to his rule, including Islamic State.

Putin told Shoigu that Russia should help would-be volunteers to “move to the combat zone” and contrasted them with what he called foreign “mercenaries” fighting for Ukraine.

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ISTANBUL – Pegasus Airlines, a Turkey-based budget carrier, has suspended flights to and from Russia following sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the airline announced late Thursday.

The company’s operations “related to insurance/reinsurance, leasing, operations and maintenance services on flights” would be halted from Sunday to March 27, it said.

The airline said the suspension was linked to “operational risks” due to European Union sanctions. The EU, Britain, Canada and the U.S. have suspended flights to Russia and closed their airspace to Russian aircraft as part of sanctions.

Pegasus flies to six destinations in Russia, which still has air links to countries such as Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Turkish Airlines maintains its flights to 36 cities in Russia.

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LONDON — British defence officials say Russia is rearranging its forces on the ground in Ukraine in an attempt to push forward its struggling invasion plan.

The Ministry of Defence says that “Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days. This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv.”

In an update on social media Friday, the ministry said Russian ground forces continued to make “limited progress,” hampered by logistical problems and strong Ukrainian resistance.

It said it “remains highly unlikely that Russia has successfully achieved the objectives outlined in its pre-invasion plan.”

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LVIV, Ukraine — Two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and six people wounded in Russian airstrikes Friday on the Lutsk military airfield, according to the head of the surrounding Volyn region, Yuriy Pohulyayko.

The mayor of Ivano-Frankiivsk, Ruslan Martsinkiv, had ordered residents in the neighbouring areas to head to shelters after an air raid alert. The mayor of Lutsk had also announced an airstrike near the airport.

The strikes were far to the west from the main Russian offensive and could indicate new direction of the war.

The western cities hit Friday are between 130 and 150 kilometres from Lviv, the city that has become a refuge for Ukrainians from across the rest of the country and a hub for global humanitarian aid and other support for Ukraine.

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LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities announced plans for several evacuation and humanitarian aid delivery routes Friday, with the support of the Red Cross.

The top priority remained freeing people from the besieged city of Mariupol and getting aid to its hungry, thirsty, freezing and terrified population.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video message that Ukrainian authorities are trying yet again Friday to send aid into Mariupol and bring evacuees out to the city of Zaporizhzhia. Repeated previous attempts have failed, as aid and rescue convoys were targeted by Russian shelling.

Vereshchuk said buses would be sent Friday to multiple Kyiv suburbs to bring people to the capital, and to bring aid to those staying behind.

She also announced efforts to create new humanitarian corridors to bring aid to people in areas occupied or under Russian attack around the cities of Kherson in the south, Chernihiv in the north and Kharkiv in the east.

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LVIV, Ukraine — Russian forces are continuing their offensive toward Kyiv on Friday from the northwest and east, notably trying to break through Ukrainian defences from Kukhari, 90 kilometers (56 miles) to the northwest through to Demidov, 40 kilometres north of Kyiv, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement.

The general staff said Russian troops had been halted in efforts to take the northern city of Chernihiv, notably by Ukraine’s re-taking of the town of Baklanova Muraviika, which Russian troops could use to move toward Kyiv.

Russian forces are blockading Kharkiv and pushing their offensive in the south around Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih, Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown.

Rough weather on the Azov and Black Seas has stalled Russian ships’ efforts to come ashore, the general staff said.

Three Russian airstrikes hit the important industrial city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine on Friday, killing at least one person in strikes that hit near a kindergarten and apartment buildings, according to Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko.

One strike hit a shoe factory, sparking a fire, he said. He released video showing flashes over residential areas of the city, home to nearly 1 million people.

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will announce Friday that, along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will move to revoke “most favoured nation” trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

That’s according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

Biden’s move comes as bipartisan pressure has been building in Washington to revoke what is formally known as “permanent normal trade relations” with Russia.

The move would allow the U.S. and allies to impose tariffs on Russian imports.

Associated Press Writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has given final congressional approval to a US$13.6 billion emergency package of military and humanitarian aid for besieged Ukraine and its European allies.

The measure passed with a 68-31 bipartisan margin.

The House easily passed the compromise bill on Wednesday. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it.

Around half the $13.6 billion measure was for arming and equipping Ukraine and the Pentagon’s costs for sending U.S. troops to other Eastern European nations skittish about the warfare next door. Much of the rest included humanitarian and economic assistance, strengthening regional allies’ defences and protecting their energy supplies and cybersecurity needs.

Democrats and Republicans have battled this election year over rising inflation, energy policy and lingering pandemic restrictions. But they’ve rallied behind sending aid to Ukraine, whose stubborn resilience against Russia has been inspirational for many voters.

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BEIJING — China’s Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called the situation in Ukraine “grave” and offered Beijing’s help in playing a “positive role” for peace while continuing to refuse to criticize Russia.

China has largely sided with Russia, refusing to refer to its actions in Ukraine as a war or invasion. Chinese officials and state media have parroted Russian claims while Beijing calls itself neutral and defending national sovereignty above all else.

“We support and encourage all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis,” Li told reporters at an annual news conference.

“The pressing task now is to prevent tension from escalating or even getting out of control,” Li said. “China calls for exercising utmost restraint and preventing a massive humanitarian crisis.”

Li spoke following the close of the annual session of China’s rubber-stamp legislature.

Russia’s war in Ukraine was not openly discussed at the meeting, although it echoes in Beijing’s approach to Taiwan — the self-governing island democracy China claims as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.

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