Live blog: Russia will continue Ukraine war till 'the end'

Russia's multi-pronged assault on Ukrainian cities continues on the eighth day of the war while the first major Ukrainian city, Kherson reportedly falls to Russian troops. Here are the latest updates:

A woman cries outside houses damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, outside the capital Kiev. (AP)

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Russia will continue Ukraine war till 'the end' - Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed some foreign leaders were preparing for war against Russia and that Moscow would press on with its military operation in Ukraine until "the end".

Lavrov also said Russia had no thoughts of nuclear war.

Offering no evidence to back up his remarks in an interview with state television, a week after Russian invaded Ukraine, he also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an ethnic Jew, of presiding over "a society wh ere Nazism is flourishing".

He said he had no doubt that a solution to the crisis in Ukraine would be found, and a new round of talks were about to start between Ukrainian and Russian officials.

But he said Russia's dialogue with the West must be based on mutual respect, accused NATO of seeking to maintain supremacy and said that while Russia had a lot of goodwill, it could not let anyone undermine its interests.

Russian FM Lavrov says he has no doubt that a solution to the Ukrainian crisis will be found, but that Russia’s dialogue with the West needs to be based on mutual respect pic.twitter.com/KKl41cT3CJ
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 3, 2022

Ukraine's Zelenskyy: Defence lines holding against Russian attacks

Ukraine's defence lines were holding against the Russian attack, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his latest video, adding there had been no respite in Moscow's shelling of Ukraine since midnight.

"We have nothing to lose but our own freedom," Zelenskyy said, adding Ukraine was receiving daily arms supplies from its international allies.

He said it had been two years since Ukraine recorded its first Covid-19 case: "It's been a week now that another virus attacked," he said of Russia's military operation.

Zelenskyy said Russia's changing tactics and shelling of civilians in cities proved Ukraine was successful in resisting Moscow's initial plan of claiming a quick victory through a land assault.

Russian firms rush to open Chinese bank accounts

The Moscow branch of a Chinese state bank has seen a surge in enquiries from Russian firms wanting to open new accounts, a person familiar with the matter said, as the country's businesses struggle with international sanctions after its war in Ukraine.

"Over the past few days, 200-300 companies have approached us, wanting to open new accounts," the person, who works at the Moscow branch of a Chinese state bank and has direct knowledge of its operations, told Reuters.

He declined to be named or have his bank identified as he is not authorised to speak with media.

It was not clear how widespread Russian demand for new accounts at Chinese banks was, but the banker source told Reuters many of the companies seeking new accounts do business with China and that he expected yuan transactions by such firms to increase.

China has repeatedly voiced opposition to the Western sanctions against Russia, calling them ineffective and insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with Russia.

Russians across Europe face discrimination, hostility

Russians living in Europe have faced discrimination and hostility ever since Moscow's war on Ukraine began last week.

A Russian national living in Germany's Saarland state claimed that he was sacked only because he was Russian.

Anna Netrebko, a Russian opera singer, was compelled to cancel several of her planned European performances after being heavily criticized for her good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

German retail brands Rewe, Penny, Aldi, and Netto have likewise decided not to sell Russian-made products. They declared that the food products that were removed from the shelves would be donated to charitable groups in stages.

Russian airstrikes kill 8 civilians in Kharkiv

At least eight civilians, including two children, were killed in Russian airstrikes in Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, an official said.

Russian bombardment caused massive destruction in the city of Izyum, according to Volodymyr Matsokin, the city’s deputy mayor.

Over 2,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its attacks on February 24, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Russian rouble falls to record lows after ratings downgrades

The Russian rouble slid further, hitting record lows against the dollar and euro, after ratings agencies Fitch and Moody's downgraded Russia's sovereign debt to "junk" status citing the impact of Western sanctions.

At 0830 GMT, the rouble was more than 10 percent weaker against the dollar at 117.5 and had lost over 7 percent against the euro to trade at 124.1 on the Moscow Exchange, marking the first time the rouble has traded above 110 to the dollar in Moscow.

The Russian central bank imposed a 30 percent commission on foreign currency purchases by individuals on currency exchanges - a move brokers said appeared designed to curb demand for dollars - but that did little to halt the rouble's slide.

EU sanctions on Russia starting to have an effect

The European Union's sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine are starting to have an initial impact, an EU official said.

"We believe that the package of sanctions we've put on the table is quite impressive and is now starting to have the first effects," the official said.

"Take the economic side, we have the Moscow stock exchange being closed since Monday. The depreciation of the rouble is also quite impressive. The fact that the Russian Central Bank had to double his interest rate to 20 percent also," t he official continued.

"Morale of the enemy is deteriorating; more and more occupiers are fleeing back to Russia."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praises his citizens for their courage in online video message pic.twitter.com/8D9Iep4rxV
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 3, 2022

Russia seizes strategic Ukrainian port of Kherson after week of war

Russian troops were in the centre of the Ukrainian port of Kherson after a day of conflicting claims over whether Moscow had captured a major urban centre for the first time in its eight-day of war.

Russia's defence ministry said it controlled Kherson but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded that Ukrainian forces continued to defend the Black Sea port of about 250,000 people.

"We are a people who broke the enemy's plans in a week," Zelenskyy said in a video address. "These plans had taken years to write - they are mean, with hatred for our country, for our people."

A Ukrainian delegation had left for a second round of talks with Russian officials on a ceasefire, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.

Russian forces have yet to overthrow the government in Kiev but thousands are reported to have died or been injured and more than a million people have fled Ukraine amid the biggest attack on a European state since 1945.

Russia hits communications facility in Kiev

Russian forces have struck a radio and television centre in Kiev and captured the town of Balakliya near the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying.

Russian missiles struck a TV tower in Kiev this week in what Moscow said was a targeted attack against Ukraine's information warfare.

Hungary will not veto EU sanctions on Russia

Hungary will not veto European Union sanctions against Russia and the unity of the 27-member bloc is paramount amid the war in Ukraine, which Budapest condemns unequivocally, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.

In an interview with news website mandiner.hu, Orban added that Hungary's ties with Russia had been "balanced and fair" until the very recent past, but the war has created a new situation.

He added, however, that there was no reason to cut energy ties with Moscow.

US: Russia blocks independent news outlets, social media

The United States accused Russia of launching a "full war on media freedom and the truth" by blocking independent news outlets and preventing Russians from hearing news of the invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia’s government is also throttling Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms that tens of millions of Russia’s citizens rely on to access independent information and opinions," the State Department said in a statement.

Russians also used social media to connect to each other and the outside world, it added.

UK broadcasting regulator opens more probes into Russia's RT

The British broadcasting regulator has announced another dozen investigations into the "impartiality" of news programmes aired on Russian state-funded television channel RT.

Ofcom said that it now has 27 open investigations into RT and is considering whether the channel should keep its UK licence.

"We are very concerned by the volume of programmes on RT that are raising potential issues under the Broadcasting Code," Ofcom said in a statement.

The regulator first announced its probe on Monday, saying it had seen "a significant increase" in the number of potential breaches on RT news programmes after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

India denies Moscow claims Ukraine holding students as 'human shield'

New Delhi denied Russian claims that Ukraine was holding Indian students hostage in Kharkiv, instead thanking Ukraine for its help in evacuations from the embattled city.

"We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday," said Indian foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi.

"We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student," he added in a statement.

New Delhi's declaration came after Moscow said Indian students in Kharkiv were being used as a "human shield" by Ukraini an security forces.

Ukrainian families flee to Türkiye for ‘safety’

Those who have left Ukraine since Russia launched a war on the country continue to come to Türkiye, as they say they find it safe.

Ukrainian families driving their vehicles from the cities where they previously lived are entering Türkiye through the Kapikule Border Gate with Bulgaria.

Donald Hofferber is one of those who came to Türkiye with his wife Lilly and children Aleksandr, Michael and Anna.

The Hofferber family, who left their friends at the Bulgarian Kapitan Andreevo Border Crossing, entered Türkiye on foot with their suitcases.

Hofferber said there were too many attacks on Ukraine. "Helicopters attacked the bridges. Bombs fell very close to our house.

“The next day after we left our house, Russian tanks reached our house, but the Ukrainian army disabled 20 Russian tanks there,” he recalled.

Noting that they came to Türkiye because they had friends in Istanbul, Hofferber said: "I think Türkiye is safe for us. I'm thinking of staying in Istanbul for about a month.”

Lilly Hofferber could not help but burst into tears from time to time.

UN: One million refugees flee Ukraine in week since Russia's invasion

The UN refugee agency has said one million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion less than a week ago, an exodus without precedent in this century for its speed.

The tally from UNHCR amounts to more than 2 percent of Ukraine's population on the move in under a week. The World Bank counted the population at 44 million at the end of 2020.

The UN agency has predicted that up to 4 million people could eventually leave Ukraine but cautioned that even that projection could be revised upward.

In an email, UNHCR spokesperson Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams wrote: "Our data indicates we passed the 1M mark" as of midnight in central Europe, based on counts collected by national authorities.