Ukraine said it will try on Wednesday to evacuate civilians through six “humanitarian corridors” Russia said it would provide, including from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol.
CORRIDORS
Both Russia and Ukraine said they would “observe a regime of silence” from 0700 GMT to provide safe passage from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, though until Wednesday only the corridor from Sumy had been opened.
DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Turkey on Wednesday for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
SANCTIONS
The European Union has agreed more sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit Russian lawmakers and oligarchs, the maritime sector and three Belarusian banks.
Britain had impounded a plane linked to a Russian billionaire as its new aviation sanctions kicked in.
A US ban on imports of Russia’s oil sparked a further increase in oil prices, which have surged more than 30% since Russia invaded its neighbour on February 24, 2022.
Russia is reducing the use of US dollars following Western Sanctions, the RIA news agency quoted a foreign ministry official as saying.
Moscow said on Wednesday it was working on a broad response to sanctions that would be swift and felt in the West’s most sensitive areas.
CORPORATE EXODUS
Coca-Cola and Mcdonald’s joined a growing list of companies suspending sales in Russia where a senior member of the ruling party has warned that foreign firms which close down could see their operations nationalised.
FIGHTING
Ukraine must hold off Russia’s attack for the next seven to 10 days to deny Moscow claiming any sort of victory, a senior Ukrainian official said.
Ukrainian troops held off Russian forces trying to enter the eastern city of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said.
Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize the southern regional capital of Mykolayiv but were pushed back by Ukrainian troops, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said.
Britain said Ukraine’s air defences were having success against Russian jets, likely preventing Russia from controlling the airspace.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict | Impact on oil prices in Africa
DEATH TOLL
The United Nations human rights office said it had verified 474 civilian deaths and 861 injuries, but the true toll was likely to be higher.
Ukraine says its forces have killed more than 11,000 Russian troops. Russia has confirmed about 500 losses. Neither side has disclosed Ukrainian casualties.
FLEEING THE CONFLICT
About 2.1 – 2.2 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, the head of the UN’s refugee agency said on Wednesday.
EU officials say up to 5 million could leave if the conflict continues.
AID
US congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement to allocate $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine alongside a separate package for pandemic relief.
The International Monetary Fund is poised to approve $1.4billion in emergency funding for Ukraine on Wednesday, its head Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.
Global rise in food, fuel and oil prices
