(Paris) Situation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: update on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Posted at 6:40 a.m.
Strike against a building in Kyiv
A strike on a residential building in Kyiv left at least one dead and 12 injured on Monday, Ukrainian relief said, as fighting raged on the outskirts of the capital as Russian troops sought to surround it.
During the night from Sunday to Monday, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russian planes were trying to bomb Ukrainian defensive positions in the Kyiv region. The capital is now “a city under siege”, according to an adviser to the Ukrainian president.
New Russian-Ukrainian negotiations
A session of videoconference negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is scheduled for Monday morning via videoconference, according to an adviser to President Zelensky.
A Russian negotiator spoke on Sunday of “significant progress”, Kyiv indicating for his part that Moscow had stopped issuing “ultimatums” and was beginning to “listen carefully to our proposals”.
A Ukrainian negotiator said Monday that Kyiv would ask during these new talks for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Towards a Russian default?
The Russian Finance Ministry said on Monday that the sanctions targeting Moscow because of the conflict in Ukraine were aimed at causing an “artificial” default by Russia.
During March and April, Russia has to face several debt payment deadlines in foreign currencies, but its reserves have been frozen under Western sanctions, which challenges it to honor its obligations.
Russia reportedly asked for help from China
Russia has requested economic and military aid from China to wage war in Ukraine and circumvent Western sanctions, the New York Times said on Sunday, as Washington warned Beijing against assisting Moscow.
Beijing reacted angrily to this information, without however specifically denying it. “Lately, the United States has been constantly spreading false news against China,” Chinese diplomacy spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.
Zelensky calls for a no-fly zone
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again urged NATO, overnight from Sunday to Monday, to establish a no-fly zone over his country, warning that otherwise the organization risked seeing “rockets Russia” to fall on its Member States.
Instagram inaccessible in Russia
The social network Instagram, owned by the American giant Meta, became inaccessible on Monday in Russia, which accuses it of spreading calls for violence against Russians in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.
Instagram is now also on the list of sites with “restricted access” published by the telecommunications policeman Roskomnadzor, joining the networks Facebook, Twitter and several media critical of Russian power.
Kadyrov claims to be in Ukraine
The leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, a protege of President Vladimir Putin, assured Monday that he was in Ukraine alongside forces from Moscow.
Mr. Kadyrov, denounced by international NGOs for the serious human rights violations taking place in his Caucasian republic, published a video on Telegram showing him in military uniform, studying plans around a table with soldiers in a room.