Russia invades Ukraine: More than 2,000 civilians killed in Moscow's bombardment of Ukrainian cities

The New Arab's live coverage of the latest on the Ukraine-Russia crisis concludes for today.

Join us tomorrow for the latest news and analysis on Ukraine-Russia.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that his country had thwarted Russia's "sneaky" plans, saying he was proud of the "heroic" resistance to Moscow's invasion.

"We are a nation that broke the enemy's plans in a week. Plans written for years: sneaky, full of hatred for our country, our people," Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram.

The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, Igor Kolykhayev on Wednesday said Russian troops were in the streets and had forced their way into the city council building.

Kherson has fallen to the Russian military, becoming the first major Ukrainian city to come under Russian control since the invasion last week. The mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, told me he met today with the Russian commander who plans to set up a military administration.

— Michael Schwirtz (@mschwirtz) March 2, 2022

Ukraine's government had earlier played down reports that Kherson had fallen into Russian hands, which would be the first sizeable city to do so since the invasion began last week.

Kolykhayev urged Russian soldiers not to shoot at civilians and publicly called on civilians to walk through the streets only in daylight and in ones and twos.

"We do not have the Armed Forces in the city, only civilians and people who want to LIVE here!" he said in a statement.

Already the human costs of Russia's "unwarranted unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine are staggering," US top diplomat Antony Blinken said Wednesday, more than a week after Moscow invaded its eastern European neighbor.

"In the face of this violence, the courage of the Ukrainian people is inspiring the world," Blinken said, shortly after the State Department announced he would visit Poland, Moldova and the Baltic states in a bid to reaffirm Washington's support for Ukraine.

The Swedish Armed Forces said Wednesday that four Russian fighter jets had entered Sweden's air space to the east of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

"Against the background of the current situation we are taking the incident very seriously," Chief of Sweden's Air Force Carl-Johan Edstrom said in a statement, adding that the "violation" was brief but that Swedish jets had been scrambled to document the incursion.

Russia has announced its first death toll since the invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, reporting that 498 Russian soldiers have been killed.

The huge body count indicates that Russia's war on Ukraine has been a lot more bloody than expected, with Ukrainians putting up stiff resistance from Moscow's onslaught.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine reported that 2,000 civilians had lost their lives in the brutal onslaught.

More to follow.

Italy's famed cultural institution, the Venice Biennale, has banned Russian delegations in a stand against Moscow's invasion of Kyiv.

"As long as this situation persists, La Biennale rejects any form of collaboration with those who... have carried out or supported such a grievous act of aggression," the institution said on Wednesday.

It said it "will therefore not accept the presence at any of its events of official delegations, institutions or persons tied in any capacity to the Russian government".

The Biennale joins a growing number of cultural organisations dropping those considered to be close to Moscow following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began last Thursday.

Oil and gas prices have soared amid key producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as investors fret over how the ongoing crisis may affect the industry.

Oil prices on Wednesday reached above $113 per barrel.

Natural gas hit a record peak with European reference Dutch TTF hitting 194.715 euros per megawatt hour, an all-time high, before settling back to 168.77 euros, still up by a third.

"Energy markets are seriously rattled, with gas prices also spiking," ThinkMarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada told AFP.

"The big fear is the prospect of (a) Western import ban on Russian oil and gas -- or retaliation from Russia in cutting its energy exports to Europe."

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine last Thursday.

More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since the Russian offensive began, authorities have reported.

The UAE’s desire to be "neutral" in Europe's worst security crisis since 1945 has outraged many in Washington and beyond.

This excellent analysis by Giorgio Cafiero explains that Abu Dhabi's position has been a long time in the making.

A video showing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's response to the Russian bombing of a Kyiv memorial commemorating the victims of the Holocaust has gone viral.

Europe's only Jewish head of state, Zelensky, responds with shock and anger when he is informed that Russian forces have bombed Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, established on the site of a massacre of thousands of Jewish Ukrainians in World War II.

Two days of slaughter saw 33,771 Jews murdered by Nazi German soldiers between 29 and 30 September 1941 in Babi Yar, Kyiv.

On Tuesday, Five Ukrainians were killed in Russia's strike on a TV mast next to the memorial.

“Work and sleep, that's it.”

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has only seen his family once since Russia invaded his country a week ago.

A Russian missile had just struck a TV tower by the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site in Kyiv as he spoke to reporters. pic.twitter.com/gSGJgkTTh5

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 2, 2022

One of the most formidable weapons in the David v Goliath battle between Ukraine and Russia has been a Turkish-made drone.

The Bayraktar TB2 has been a key weapon in Ukraine's arsenal against Russia, taking out columns of invading tanks and providing a big boost for the massively outnumbers defenders.

The drone has already proved itself in Turkish battles against the Syrian regime in Idlib and during Azerbaiijan's recent war with Armenia.

The UK has also expressed interest in buying the drone.

A Ukrainian musician has now paid homage to the Turkish drone which has been invaluable to the defence of Kyiv with this ditty. 

Read more about the song and the drone here

Kyiv wants a review of Moscow's right to a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"We are confident that after a legal analysis it will turn out that Russia is illegitimately in the UN Security Council," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a televised briefing on Wednesday.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed over 2,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to Ukraine's emergency services.

"Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour," the emergency services said in a statement.

In total, 835,928 refugees have fled across Ukraine's borders to flee the invasion, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed over 2,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to Ukraine's emergency services.

Russian aggression across its neighbouring country has also destroyed hundreds of structures including transport facilities, hospitals and homes.

"Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour," the emergency services said in a statement.

Russia began its brutal invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, which saw the West unveil various sanctions on Moscow.

In total, 835,928 refugees have fled across Ukraine's borders, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is a war crime.

"What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin's regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians ... in my view already fully qualifies as a war crime," Johnson told parliament.

Since Moscow invaded neighbouring Kyiv last Thursday, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine has surged to 836,000, according to the United Nations.

For more on this story, click here.

Almost 836,000 refugees have fled Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

In total, 835,928 people have fled across the country's borders and more than half have headed into Poland.

"We are looking at what could become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century," the refugee agency chief said.

Russia began its brutal invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, which saw the West unveil various sanctions on Moscow.

For more on this story, click here.

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed granting automatic temporary protection for up to three years to people fleeing invasion in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

The protection includes a residence permit and access to employment and social welfare.

The protective measure, which also includes access to housing and medical assistance, is due to be granted without having to go through lengthy asylum procedures. 

The United Nations says over 800,000 refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia began its invasion of the country last Thursday.

For more on this story, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia is trying to "erase Ukraine" and called for more international support.

Zelenskiy said the West's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine was not enough and called for more international support, including backing Kyiv's bid to join the European Union.

"This is no time to be neutral... they all have orders to erase our history, erase our country, erase us all," said Zelenskiy.

Russia began its offensive against Ukraine in the early hours of last Thursday.

To read the full story, click here.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian delegation was ready to continue peace talks with Ukraine, AFP reported.

"Our delegation will be ready to continue talks," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow's delegation expected the talks to resume on Wednesday evening.

The announcement was made as Moscow's invasion of the pro-Western country entered its seventh day.

Fighting in Ukraine so far has claimed dozens of civilian lives, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and turned Russia into a global pariah.

To read the full story, click here.

Russia is massing troops closer and closer to Ukraine's capital Kyiv, the capital city's mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post on Wednesday.

"We are preparing and will defend Kyiv!," he added. "Kyiv stands and will stand."

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of last Thursday.

The United Nations say nearly 836,000 refugees have fled the conflict since fighting began.

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called Russian President Vladimir Putin an "insane czar" in a tweet on Wednesday as he asked Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.

"Let's at least not become a nation of... cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar," the tweet from Navalny's account read.

2/12 But let's at least not become a nation of frightened silent people. Of cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar.

— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) March 2, 2022

"Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every weekday and at 2 pm on weekends and holidays," another tweet from the account added.

Putin launched the invasion into Ukraine in the early hours of last Thursday.

Fighting in Ukraine has claimed dozens of civilian lives, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and turned Russia into a global pariah.

Another breaking development is that International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC has opened an investigation into the Ukraine war.

Ukraine is not a member of the ICC but QC Khan said that he has reviewed a report on the preliminary examination into the situation in Ukraine and has decided to open an investigation.

"Today, I wish to announce that I have decided to proceed with opening an investigation into the Situation in Ukraine, as rapidly as possible," he said in a statement.

"I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine."

We will have more on this story shortly.

Another major overnight development was the Russian assault on Kherson, a key southeastern port city.

There are conflicting reports on the outcome of the assault. Russia claims to have captured Kherson while Ukrainian officials say the city is surrounded but still standing.

Kherson's mayor Igor Kolykhaiev said in a Facebook post: "We are still Ukraine. Still firm."

Ukraine's army said regarding the Kharkiv assault: "There is an ongoing fight between the invaders and the Ukrainians."

Read more here

Kharkiv has been subject to a ferocious overnight bombardment by Russian artillery, killing at least 21 people and injuring 112, according to Ukrainian officials.

The northeastern city is one of the key targets of Moscow's invasion, facing multiple assaults by Russian forces but still standing defiant.

The impact of the shelling on civilian infrastructure and homes has been devastating with large parts of the city centre destroyed.

Rockets hit a regional police department and the local university overnight, the BBC reported.