Ukraine war: Macron fears ‘worst is yet to come’ after new phone call with Putin

An Estonian-owned cargo ship has sunk off the coast of Ukraine after an explosion in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian officials had said earlier this week that Russian sailors had captured the ship during the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators held their second round of talks in Belarus.

Mykhailo Podoliak, the adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office said that “unfortunately, the results Ukraine needs are not yet achieved.”

“There is a solution only for the organization of humanitarian corridors,” he added.

Faced with the greatest human exodus since the end of World War II, the European Union has agreed to trigger a never-before-used directive to grant temporary protection for Ukrainians fleeing the military aggression waged by Russian forces.

The Temporary Protection Directive circumvents the traditionally overburdened asylum procedure and offers a quick and simplified path to access protection across the EU.

Ukrainian refugees will be given residence permits to stay inside the bloc for at least one year, a period that will be automatically extended for a further year. Member states can then decide to prolong the exceptional measure by one more year if the war continues to ravage the country.

Although Ukraine is not part of the passport-free Schengen Area, its nationals are entitled to visa-free travel for up to 90 days. The EU’s scheme intends to offer a lasting solution once the 90-day limit is exhausted.

Moldova has formally asked to join the European Union, a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. The country which borders Ukraine has been receiving thousands of refugees.

Read more here:

Chernihiv: Russian strike on residential area ‘kills 33’

The Russian leader has just been speaking on TV in Moscow, complaining of unfair treatment meted out to Russian prisoners at the hands of Ukrainian “Nazis”.

Putin repeated the claim that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”, even if many Ukrainians have been “brainwashed”.

He said the Russian soldiers were fighting in Ukraine for a “peaceful life” and the mission was aimed at “de-Nazifying” the country to make sure Russia faced no more threats.

The Ukrainians, he said, along with “foreign mercenaries” were holding civilians as human shields and preventing people from traveling to safety.

He paid tribute to a Russian general killed in the fighting, calling him a “hero”.

“The special military operation is unfolding strictly according to plan,” Putin declared.

However, despite the fierce onslaught, Russian forces have so far taken control of only one major city. The UK defense ministry said the view of British military intelligence was that the long military convoy outside Kyiv has been “delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion”, and has made little progress over the past three days.

The Ukrainian president says he wants to negotiate directly with Vladimir Putin, saying it is the only way to stop the war between Kyiv and Moscow.

“I have to talk to Putin (…) because it is the only way to stop this war”, declared Volodymyr Zelensky during a news conference, saying he was “open” and “ready to approach all the questions” with Mr. Putin.

He challenged his counterpart who ordered the invasion of his country a week ago, asking: “What do you want from us? Leave our land!”

The president called on Westerners to increase their support, hammering that if his country were defeated by Russia, it would attack the rest of Eastern Europe all the way “to the Berlin Wall”.

“If we disappear, may God protect us, then it will be Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, etc… Up to the Berlin Wall, believe me,” said Zelenskyy, believing that the Kremlin could have the objective of rebuilding the USSR’s entire European sphere of influence.

He also called on Westerners to impose a no-fly zone over his country.

“And if you don’t have the strength to close the sky, then give me planes!” he exclaimed.

EU member states decided Thursday to grant refugees from Ukraine temporary protection and residency permits.

EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Thursday that millions more were expected to move into the 27-nation bloc to seek shelter, employment and education for the young.

Johansson called the quick adoption of the protection rules a “historic result” and said “the EU stands united to save lives.”

The EU Commission has already promised at least €500 million in humanitarian aid for the refugees. Johansson pointed to nations like Poland, where the population has gone out of its way to be welcoming to the refugees, as an example for others to follow.

“They need financial support now because they’re going to have to find accommodation for people to have to find schools for the children,” she said. (AP)

A growing number of the world’s best-known brands — from Apple to Mercedes-Benz and BP — are to pull out of a country that’s become a global outcast as companies seek to maintain their reputations and live up to corporate responsibility standards.

Airbus and Boeing said they would cut off spare parts and technical support to the country’s airlines. The French-based Airbus and U.S.-based Boeing’s aircraft account for the vast majority of Russia’s passenger fleet.

German Volkswagen Group decided to halt all its business activities in Russia, including that of subsidiary Skoda Auto, which is halting car production in its two Russian plants and all exports to Russia.

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea says it is closing its operations in Russia, pausing all export and import in and out of Russia and Belarus, a decision that will have “a direct impact on 15,000 IKEA co-workers”. The Stockholm-based H&M clothing retailer also said it will temporarily pause all sales in its Russian stores and temporarily close its shops in Ukraine.

A growing number of tech companies are halting business with Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Read our story below: