Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Six killed as rocket attack collapses apartment block in Donbas

Ukraine’s ambassador to India Igor Polikha was relieved of his post by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, diplomatic sources confirmed to  The Hindu. Mr. Polikha has been known as one of the most senior European diplomats with extensive experience in India’s relations with eastern Europe. Mr. Polikha informed that he was neither surprised nor disappointed by the announcement as it was expected given his unusually long tenure.

In a decree that gave no reason for the move, Mr. Zelensky announced the sacking of Ukraine’s ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.

Explained | Is NATO stronger after Ukraine invasion?

Meanwhile, Ukraine urged its allies to send more weapons as its forces dig in, hoping to stall Russia’s military advance through the eastern Donbas region, while Ukraine’s chief negotiator said a turning part was approaching in the conflict. Signalling that the Kremlin was in no mood for compromise, President Vladimir Putin said sanctions against Russia for the invasion it launched in February risked causing “catastrophic” energy price rises.

Here are the latest updates

Rocket attack collapses apartment block in Ukraine’s Donbas, killing six

At least six people have been killed and more than 30 are feared trapped after Russian Uragan rockets hit a five-storey apartment block in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, collapsing the building, the region’s governor said.

Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram that the strike took place on Saturday evening in the town of Chasiv Yar. He said six people had been confirmed killed and five wounded, and that according to information from residents, at least 34 people were likely trapped in the ruins. – Reuters

Ukraine

Russian missiles pound east Ukraine, hit Kharkiv

Russian troops shelled Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Saturday as Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of preparing further attacks and Washington promised new military aid to Kyiv.

Having endured long battles to capture cities in the neighbouring Lugansk region, Russia is now seeking to push deeper into Donetsk to consolidate its hold over the entire Donbas region in the east.

Four and a half months into the war, residents in the town of Druzhkivka, in northern Donetsk, woke up Saturday to a suspected missile attack which ripped apart a supermarket and gouged a crater into the ground.

Five people were killed in the Donetsk region in the past 24 hours while seven were injured, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. – AFP

Kyiv

Ukrainian governor: Russia raising ‘true hell’ in the east

Russian forces are raising “true hell” in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, despite assessments they were taking an operational pause, a regional governor said Saturday, while another Ukrainian official urged people in Russian-occupied southern areas to evacuate quickly “by all possible means” before a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Deadly Russian shelling was reported in Ukraine’s east and south.

The governor of the eastern Luhansk region, Serhyi Haidai, said Russia launched more than 20 artillery, mortar and rocket strikes on the region overnight and its forces were pressing toward the border with the Donetsk region. – AP

Indonesia

Blinken and China’s Wang Yi hold ‘candid’ talks on Ukraine and trade

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday he had discussed Russian aggression in Ukraine during more than five hours of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and raised concerns over Beijing’s alignment with Moscow.

Both diplomats described their first in-person talks since October as “candid”, with the meeting taking place a day after they attended a gathering of G20 foreign ministers on the Indonesian island of Bali.

“I shared again with the state councillor that we are concerned about the PRC’s alignment with Russia,” Mr. Blinken told a news conference after the talks, referring to the People’s Republic of China. – Reuters

London

Ukrainian army recruits begin military training at U.K.

The first batch of up to 10,000 inexperienced Ukrainian military recruits set to train in Britain over the coming months have started drills, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Saturday.

The new British-led programme involves 1,050 UK service personnel training the Ukrainian volunteers, who have little to no military experience, at MoD sites across England for several weeks.

Washington

U.N. says Ukraine bears share of blame for nursing home attack

Two weeks after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, Kremlin-backed rebels assaulted a nursing home in the eastern region of Luhansk. Dozens of elderly and disabled patients, many of them bedridden, were trapped inside without water or electricity.

Ottawa

Canada will return repaired turbines for Nord Stream 1, expand sanctions on Russia

Canada will return repaired Russian turbines to Germany needed for maintenance on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, Canada’s minister of natural resources said in a statement on Saturday.

The Canadian government, which is issuing a permit to exempt the return of the turbines from its Russian sanctions, said the move would support “Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas.”

Kyiv

Ukraine pleads for weapons, war in spotlight at G20 meeting

President Vladimir Putin said sanctions against Russia for the invasion it launched in February risked causing “catastrophic” energy price rises.

His top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, clashed with his Western counterparts at a G20 meeting in Indonesia, where they urged Russia to allow Ukraine to ship its blockaded grain out to an increasingly hungry world.

Russia’s envoy to Britain, meanwhile, offered little prospect of a pullback from parts of Ukraine under Russian control.

India

In a major shake up, Ukraine sacks ambassador to India

Ukraine’s ambassador to India Igor Polikha was relieved of his post by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, diplomatic sources confirmed to  The Hindu. Mr. Polikha has been known as one of the most senior European diplomats with extensive experience in India’s relations with eastern Europe.

Mr. Polikha informed that he was neither surprised nor disappointed by the announcement as it was expected given his unusually long tenure here. “After seven years as ambassador of any country, it is normal to return home. I am a career diplomat. I will return whenever the official process is completed,” said Ambassador Polikha to The Hindu confirming that his tenure in India has ended.