RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: DEVELOPMENTS SO FAR

War raged in Ukraine for a 10th day on Saturday as Russian troops besieged and bombarded cities in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. The fighting has created over 1 million refugees, a barrage of sanctions that are increasingly isolating Moscow and fears in the West of a wider global conflict that has been unthought-of for decades.

•           Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Nato has given the “green light for further bombing of Ukraine” by ruling out a no-fly zone. Zelenskiy criticised Nato for refusing to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying “All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity”.

•           Nato warned on Friday that imposing a no-fly zone could provoke full-fledged war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia. “The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send Nato fighter planes into Ukraine’s airspace, and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes,” Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said. Nato foreign ministers discussed a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine but agreed that Nato planes should not operate over Ukrainian airspace, Stoltenberg said.

•           Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, was seized by Russian forces on Friday, after an attack that started a fire close to one of its six reactors. No release of radiation was reported, but Ukrainian officials said workers had not been able to check all the safety infrastructure in the wake of the attack.

•           An emergency summit of the UN security council was summoned after the attack on the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the world narrowly averted a “nuclear catastrophe” and condemned Russia’s actions as “reckless” and “dangerous”. The US embassy in Ukraine says the attack on the nuclear plant is a war crime.

•           Russian president Vladimir Putin introduced a series of new laws cracking down on the free press. Putin signed a bill into law that introduces jail terms of up to 15 years for people publishing “false information” about the Russian army as Russia moves forward with its invasion of Ukraine.

•           Many outlets are ceasing Russian operations or removing coverage as a result. The BBC, CNN, Bloomberg and CBC have all announced they are suspending either operations or broadcasts in the country, saying the law “criminalises independent reporting in the country”. Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper said it will remove material on Russia’s military actions in Ukraine from its website.

•           Russian state media regulators banned access to Twitter and Facebook. Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor has restricted access to Twitter, and the country has blocked Facebook across the country.

•           Putin also signed a bill that would allow fines or jail terms of up to three years for calling for sanctions against Russia. The past year has seen an increasingly harsh crackdown on independent and critical voices in Russia, that only intensified after the start of the invasion.

•           Seven people were killed, including two children, after a Russian airstrike hit a rural residential area in the Kyiv region on Friday, Ukrainian police said. Police said the strike hit the village of Markhalivka, about 6 miles from the south-western outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.

•           The Ukrainian city of Mariupol has no water, heat or electricity and is running out of food after coming under attack by Russian forces for the past five days, its mayor said in a televised appeal. He called for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the south-eastern port city.

•           More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February, the UN said, including about half a million children.

UKRAINE’S ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR PLANT SAFE AFTER RUSSIAN STRIKE

The safety of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been secured after it took fire from Russian forces early Friday morning, according to a tweet by AFP.

"The director of the plant said that the nuclear safety is now guaranteed," said Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of Zaporizhzhia province, per the wire.

According to Reuters, a fire sparked during the attack at a training building on the plant's grounds has been extinguished. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries sustained during the attack.

Multiple media outlets earlier reported that Russian forces attacked the nuclear plant, which is the largest in Europe.

In a video posted on Telegram, Andriy Tuz, a spokesperson for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, accused Russia of shelling the facility, which provides a quarter of Ukraine's electricity.

Tuz later said there was no apparent threat of radiation spreading from the plant, which reported safe levels on its website.

This assessment was echoed by US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who said on Twitter that there were no signs of elevated radiation levels at the plant.

"The plant's reactors are protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down," she added, describing Russia's military operations near the plant as "reckless."

In a statement on Friday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, urged combatants to refrain from fighting near the plant.

RUSSIA TO PUNISH 'FAKE' WAR NEWS, BLOCKS FACEBOOK, TWITTER

Amid Ukraine war, protests and the coverage, Russia on Friday took an unprecedented step to punish "fake news" against its army. President Vladimir Putin cleared a law of up to 15 years of jail term as punishment. A pushback soon followed with the BBC announcing that it was halting its operations. Others including CNN and Bloomberg announced similar measures.

BBC halts work in Moscow

BBC Director-General Tim Davie said the legislation "appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism". "It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development," he said in a statement.

Bloomberg suspends operations

U.S.-based Bloomberg News said it was also temporarily suspending the work of its journalists inside Russia. "The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country," Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said in a statement.

CBC suspends reporting in Russia

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp said it had temporarily suspended reporting from the ground in Russia so it could seek clarity on the new law.

CNN to stop broadcasting in Russia

"CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward," a spokesperson said.

Russia cuts Facebook, Twitter access

Russia had earlier cut access to several foreign news organisations' websites, including the BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle, as well as social media giants Facebook and Twitter for spreading what it said was false information about its war in Ukraine.

'GREENLIGHT TO BOMBING': ZELENSKYY HITS OUT AT NATO FOR REFUSING TO IMPOSE NO-FLY ZONE OVER UKRAINE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hit out at NATO on Saturday for refusing to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine as Russia mounts offensive from the air. In a bitter and emotional nighttime address, Zelenskyy said that the West’s military alliance will be responsible for the deaths and destruction in Ukraine as NATO’s “weakness” and “lack of unity” will fully untie Moscow’s hands.

“All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity,” he said. “The alliance has given the green light to the bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages by refusing to create a no-fly zone.”

Zelenskyy’s criticism of the alliance came after NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg rejected to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, warning that such a move could provoke a widespread war. During the extraordinary meeting of the NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Stoltenberg said that NATO is a defensive alliance and the member countries are not part of this conflict.

“We have a responsibility to ensure it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine because that would be even more devastating and more dangerous,” he added.

Zelenskyy blasted NATO countries saying they have created a narrative that closing the skies over Ukraine would provoke Russia's direct aggression against NATO.

"This is the self-hypnosis of those who are weak, insecure inside, despite the fact they possess weapons many times stronger than we have," the Ukrainian President said.

Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba had called for NATO to act before it was too late.

"If you don't (help us), I am afraid you (NATO) will have to share responsibility for the lives and suffering of the Ukrainian civilians who die because of ruthless Russian pilots dropping bombs on them," said Kuleba.

US, EU STEP UP SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a fresh set of sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, asserting that the country’s interest is in maintaining the “strongest unified economic impact campaign” against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As a result, in addition to the financial and export control sanctions already imposed on Russia, secretary of state Antony Blinken announced a fresh set of five measures. First, new sanctions targeted additional “Russian elites and their financial networks and assets” – who Blinken claimed were a Putin’s “inner circle” and had “facilitated Putin’s war of choice”.

Second, the US sanctioned “major Russian disinformation outlets that contribute to the destabilisation of Ukraine” - particularly those backed by Russian intelligence services.

Third, the US imposed sanctioned on 22 Russian defence related firms. Blinken said these sanctions struck at the “core of Putin’s war machine”.

Fourth, the US also imposed “export controls on oil and gas extraction equipment” that support Russia’s refining capacity.

“Because a significant portion of the Russian government’s revenue comes from the sale of oil and gas, these actions will degrade Russia’s ability to raise revenue to support and sustain its military aggression,” Blinken said.

And finally, the US also announced a “new visa restriction policy” to block visas to 19 Russian oligarchs and 47 of their family members and close associates. Blinken said, “These oligarchs are known to direct, authorise, fund, significantly support or carry out malign activities in support of Russia’s destabilising foreign policy,” adding that US will continue to add names to the list.

“We continue to impose severe economic sanctions on Putin and all those folks around him, choking off access to technology as well as cutting off access to the global financial system. It has had a profound impact already,” Biden said.

REPORT: ZELENSKY SURVIVED THREE ASSASSINATION BIDS

Ukriane President Volodymyr Zelensky has survived at least three assassination attempts in the past week, Times, UK, reported. Two different outfits have been sent to kill the Ukrainian president — mercenaries of the Kremlin-backed Wagner group and Chechen special forces. Both have been thwarted by anti-war elements within Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the report said.

Wagner mercenaries in Kyiv sustained losses during their attempts and are said to have been alarmed by how accurately Ukrainians had anticipated their moves. A source close to the group said it was “eerie” how well-briefed Zelensky’s security team appeared to be, Times reported. On Saturday, an attempt on Zelensky’s life was foiled on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian security officials said a cadre of Chechen assassins had been “eliminated”.

Meanwhile, Russian state Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed that Zelensky is in Poland. “Zelensky left Ukraine. The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada said that they could not get to him in Lvov. Now he is in Poland,” RT reported, quoting him. Adviser to the head of the office of the president of Ukraine declined to comment on information.

WASHINGTON’S NEWEST WORRY: DANGERS OF CORNERING PUTIN

Senior White House officials designing the strategy to confront Russia have begun quietly debating a new concern: that the avalanche of sanctions directed at Moscow, which has gained speed faster than they imagined, is cornering President Putin and may prompt him to lash out, perhaps expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine. In Situation Room meetings, the issue has come up repeatedly, according to three officials. Putin’s tendency, US intelligence officials have told the White House and Congress, is to double down when he feels trapped by his own overreach. So they have described a series of possible reactions, ranging from indiscriminate shelling of Ukrainian cities to compensate for the early mistakes made by his invading force, to cyberattacks directed at the US financial system, to more nuclear threats and perhaps moves to take war beyond U kraine. The debate over Putin’s next moves is linked to an urgent reexamination by intelligence agencies of the Russian leader’s mental state, and whether his ambitions and appetite for risk have been altered by two years of Covid isolation. Those concerns accelerated after Putin’s order last Sunday to place the country’s strategic nuclear weapons on a “combat ready” alert. It was a sign of the depth of US concern that defence secretary Lloyd Austin cancelled a previously scheduled Minuteman nuclear missile test to avoid escalating direct challenges to Moscow. Nonetheless, Putin’s reaction to the sanctions has provoked a range of concerns that one official called the “Cornered Putin Problem. ”

CHINA LEGISLATURE TO MEET WITH UKRAINE IN BACKDROP

China’s 3,000-member ceremonial parliament will open its annual session on Saturday with the government facing a slowing economy and international pressure over its refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While domestic issues typically dominate the National People’s Congress, the war in Ukraine is highlighting the ideological confrontation between the American-led West. Any discussion of the conflict is expected to be muted, however, with the focus on boosting

growth in the world’s secondlargest economy.

The delegates do little lawmaking — that’s handled by the 176-member Standing Committee, which meets year-round. Rather, the party uses the Congress to announce broad goals for the economy and other issues including the environment and military spending. This year, it comes ahead of a key party meeting in November during which leader Xi Jinping is expected to be granted a third five-year term.

FATF KEEPS PAKISTAN IN GREY LIST, SAYS DO MORE TO PROBE, PROSECUTE TERRORISTS

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday retained Pakistan in its “grey list” and directed it to do more in investigating and prosecuting senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups for terror financing.

The multilateral watchdog announced at the conclusion of its plenary meeting that Pakistan completed 26 of the 27 action items in the action plan the country was given to implement when it was included in the grey list, or list of countries facing enhanced monitoring, in 2018.

“The FATF encourages Pakistan to continue to make progress to address, as soon as possible, the one remaining item by continuing to demonstrate that [terror financing] investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups,” the organisation said in a statement.

“Pakistan should continue to work to address the one remaining item in its 2021 action plan by demonstrating a positive and sustained trend of pursuing complex [money laundering] investigations and prosecutions,” the statement added.

56 KILLED, 200 INJURED IN PESHAWAR MOSQUE BLAST

A powerful suicide blast ripped through a crowded Shia mosque during the Friday congregation in Peshawar city, killing 56 and wounding over 200, in one of the deadliest attacks in the restive province, bordering Afghanistan.

A rescue official said the blast occurred at a Jamia mosque in the Qissa Khwani bazaar area of Peshawar, when worshippers were offering Friday prayers.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. The toll is likely to go up. Talking to mediapersons, Peshawar SSP (Operations) Haroon Rasheed Khan said the explosion was a suicide blast. There were two attackers but only one of them was a suicide bomber, he said.

Officials said the condition of 10 injured is stated to be critical. President Arif Alvi condemned the blast and expressed grief. Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the blast while Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed sought a report of the incident from the Chief Secretary and IG of the province.

U.S. BOMBER GETS DEATH SENTENCE

The Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The Justices, by a 6-3 vote on Friday, agreed with the government’s arguments that a federal appeals court was wrong to nix the death sentence a jury imposed on Tsarnaev for his role in the bombing that killed three people near the finish line of the marathon in 2013. Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 charges against him.

‘CLOSE TO REVIVING IRAN N-DEAL’

A deal on reviving the 2015 accord between Tehran and world powers on Iran’s nuclear programme is “close”, Britain said on Friday, at a crunch point for negotiations in Vienna.

“We are close. E3 negotiators leaving Vienna briefly to update Ministers on state of play,” British envoy Stephanie Al-Qaq said on Twitter, referring to negotiators from U.K., France and Germany.

Along with counterparts from China, Iran and Russia they have been taking part in the latest round of talks in the Austrian capital since late November.

The U.S. has been participating indirectly. Iran’s Foreign Minister Alsossein Amir-Abdollahian said he was prepared to travel to Vienna if a deal is reached to revive the accord.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, prompting Iran to start disregarding the limits on its nuclear activity laid down in the agreement.