03/15/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:35 Ukraine: Three out of ten escape corridors do not work +++
According to information from Kyiv on Monday, only seven of the ten planned evacuation corridors across the country from particularly hard-fought towns and villages worked in Ukraine. A total of around 4,000 people were taken to safer areas, says Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereschuk. Most civilians came from the Kyiv region (2028). Evacuations from Mariupol, on the other hand, also largely failed on the 19th day of the war. An aid column with medicine and water for the besieged port city will continue to be blocked, according to Wereshchuk.
+++ 00:09 Spain fixes suspected oligarch yacht +++
Spanish authorities have for the first time detained a yacht attributed to a Russian oligarch hit by EU sanctions. This is reported by the newspaper “El País” and other Spanish media. The General Directorate of the Spanish Merchant Navy is now checking whether the luxury yacht “Valerie” in the port of Barcelona actually belongs to the head of the Russian state-owned armaments company Rostec, Sergey Chemezov. A shell company is registered as the owner. The value of the 85 meter long ship is given as 135 million euros. Chemezov is on the EU sanctions list because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. He is an old acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
+++ 23:36 Ukraine correspondent from Fox News seriously injured +++
A British journalist working for US broadcaster Fox News has been seriously injured in Ukraine. The foreign correspondent Benjamin Hall was taken to the hospital, the broadcaster said. The incident happened “outside of Kyiv”. “We have few details at the moment, but Ben is in the hospital and our teams on the ground are working to get more information,” the statement said. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said on Facebook that a British journalist was injured in both legs by shrapnel. She does not name a name, according to the picture of a press card it is a Fox News journalist.
+++ 23:06 USA urgently warn China against supporting Russia +++
Against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, top representatives of the USA and China held “intensive” seven-hour consultations, according to US information. US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, expressed Washington’s “grave concern” about China’s rapprochement with Moscow at the meeting in Rome with Chinese foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi, a government spokeswoman said. China is Russia’s most important ally, but is trying to remain neutral in the conflict over Ukraine. Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Sullivan made it clear to the Chinese side “there will be significant consequences should they provide military or other assistance, which of course violates sanctions or aids the war effort.”
+++ 22:41 Ukraine bans the import of Russian books +++
Two and a half weeks after the start of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine bans the import of Russian books and other printed matter. The responsible State Committee for the Media announced that the “import of publishing products from the territory of the aggressor country” would be stopped. This should prevent its cultural influence on the Ukrainian population. Most people in Ukraine speak Ukrainian and Russian and read literature in both languages. The products of the larger and more diverse Russian book market are popular. Last year Ukraine imported 32 million books from Russia.
Window barred with books in Kyiv.
(Photo: AP)
+++ 22:22 USA could impose full trade embargo against Russia +++
In order to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine, the United States says it has other leverage at its disposal. The US government could, for example, impose a complete trade embargo on Russia, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told CNBC. Also, the US could block Russia’s access to international waters. The US could also freeze nickel, uranium and titanium, as well as the crypto assets of Russian companies, CNBC reporter Kayla Tausche wrote on Twitter, citing an interview with Adeyemo.
Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
(Photo: REUTERS)
+++ 22:10 EU will probably stop Russian steel and iron imports +++
According to diplomats, the EU has already agreed on a fourth package of sanctions. These include an import ban on steel and iron, a ban on investments in oil companies and the energy sector, and an export ban on luxury goods, including cars worth more than 50,000 euros. Further details are not yet known.
You can read about previous developments here.