Ukraine Crisis
Sanctions “act of war”, as Russian helicopter shot out of the sky
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Western sanctions are akin to an act of war as his forces pressed their assault on Ukraine.
Putin’s message comes as the IMF warns the conflict will cause a “severe impact” on the global economy.
Moscow and Kyiv both blame each other over a failed ceasefire in the south of the country, aimed at trying to help citizens flee the fighting,.
Russia’s invasion has already driven nearly 1.5 million refugees westward into the European Union.
It comes as footage emerges of a helicopter being shot down by Ukrainian soldiers.
NATO, which Ukraine wants to join, has resisted Zelenskiy’s appeals to impose a no-fly zone over his country, saying this would escalate the conflict outside Ukraine.
In a video, Putin says he wants a neutral Ukraine and for the country to be “demilitarised” and “denazified”.
“These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that,” says Putin.
The West rejects this
Ukraine and Western countries have rejected Putin’s arguments as a baseless pretext for invading and have sought to squeeze Russia hard with swift and severe economic sanctions.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Putin at the Kremlin to discuss the crisis before then speaking to Zelenskiy,
Israel has offered to mediate in the conflict, though officials have downplayed expectations for a breakthrough. The Israeli Prime Minister is now travelling to Berlin for further talks.
Ukrainian negotiators expect a third round of talks with Russia on a ceasefire would go ahead on Monday, although Moscow was less definitive.
Returning to fight
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said 66,224 Ukrainian men had returned from abroad to join the fight against Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine’s military said armed forces “are fighting fiercely to liberate Ukrainian cities from Russian occupiers”, counter-attacking in some areas and disrupting communications.