Ukraine: What happened today, Wednesday March 2?
A blaze at a Kharkiv University faculty building caused by a Russian missile strike just after 8.10am local time today. Picture: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/PA Wire
More than 2,000 civilians have died in Ukraine since the invasion began, emergency services have said.
The invasion has sent more than 870,000 people fleeing over Ukraine's borders and retaliatory sanctions have shaken the world economy, with surging oil prices exacerbating fears of inflation.
As the day draws to a close, here are today's updates on the ever-evolving situation.
- According to the Ukrainian emergency service, the invasion has seen more than 2,000 civilians killed and destroyed hospitals, kindergartens and homes.
- A spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry said that some 498 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine, with 1,597 injured. However, according to Ukraine’s presidential adviser, more than 7,000 Russian troops have been killed since the start of the invasion.
- The UN General Assembly has voted to demand that Russia stop its offensive in Ukraine. The vote was 141 to five, with 35 abstentions. READ MORE
- Both sides said they were ready to resume talks aimed at stopping the new devastating war.
- Russia’s defence ministry said earlier it has captured the southern city of Kherson, however, Ukrainians said on Wednesday they were battling on. [#embed1]
- President Zelenskyy has described a Russian military strike on the centre of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, as a war crime.
- Ukraine’s hospitals face an oxygen shortage with at least 2,000 patients needing it to survive, World Health Organisation (WHO) leaders have warned.
- Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir – both former world heavyweight boxing champions – have appeared together calling for more support from allies to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
- US President Joe Biden vowed in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to check Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine as he announced a ban on Russian planes in US airspace. .
- Roman Abramovich has confirmed he has put Chelsea up for sale and has written off the £1.5bn of loans he has made to the club.
A top aide for Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukrainians are on their way to Belarus for talks that have been scheduled for Thursday.
“As far as I know, the Ukrainian delegation has already departed from Kyiv, is en route ... We’re expecting them tomorrow,” Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, told reporters Wednesday evening According to Medinsky, the two sides agreed on the Brest region of Belarus, which borders Poland, as the site of the talks.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office confirmed to The Associated Press that the delegation is on its way, but gave no details on the time of the arrival.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian official says the advance of Russian troops in Kharkiv has been stopped, but that Russians have responded by shelling the city with heavy rocket launchers and air attacks.
“Kharkiv today is the Stalingrad of the 21st century,” said Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to President Zelenskyy.
Oleg Sinehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said that over the past 24 hours 21 people were killed and at least 112 were injured by Russians.
Explosions on Wednesday thundered on Constitution Square, near the buildings of the City Council and the Palace of Labor. A missile attack also destroyed the building of the regional police department in Kharkiv and the university building, which is located across the street.
Arestovich said that several Russian planes were shot down over Kharkiv.
The Russians used Iskander missile systems to bombard Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Chernihiv.
Arestovich said Iskander missile systems can deviate from their target, making them “a danger to civilian objects.”
The Taoiseach has called on members of the general public to do whatever they can to assist Ukrainians who arrive here as the scale of the crisis will require a "people of Ireland response".
Micheál Martin has suggested that people may be asked to open their doors to Ukrainian families while doctors and nurses will be urged to volunteer to treat those who have been wounded in the conflict.
Up to 400 surrogate mothers from Ukraine could be given refuge in Ireland, according to a senator advising Irish families whose surrogates are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict.
Ukrainians living in Ireland protested on Wednesday morning outside Meta and Google headquarters in Dublin, demanding the social media companies remove all Russian state-backed propaganda from their platforms.
Labour's Alan Kelly called on Irish people in Russia to leave and for the Government to cut all diplomatic ties with the Putin regime.
In his contribution, Mr Kelly said the Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, "is a liar, he cannot be trusted" and the Irish people want him to be expelled.
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