Russia, Ukraine comply with talks; Putin places nuclear forces on alert

KYIV/MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his army command to place nuclear-armed forces on excessive alert on Sunday as Ukrainian fighters defending town of Kharkiv mentioned they’d repelled an assault by invading Russian troops.

The USA responded by saying Putin was escalating the battle in a “completely unacceptable” approach.

On the fourth day of the largest assault on a European state since World Battle Two, the Ukrainian president’s workplace mentioned negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow can be held on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. They might meet with out preconditions, it mentioned.

As missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities, 1000’s of Ukrainian civilians, primarily ladies and youngsters, have been fleeing from the Russian assault into neighbouring international locations.

The capital Kyiv was nonetheless in Ukrainian authorities fingers, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rallying his folks regardless of Russian shelling of civilian infrastructure.

However Putin, who has described the invasion as a “particular army operation”, thrust an alarming new ingredient into play on Sunday when he ordered Russia’s deterrence forces – a reference to models which embrace nuclear arms – onto excessive alert.

He cited aggressive statements by NATO leaders and financial sanctions imposed by the West in opposition to Moscow.

“As you possibly can see, not solely do Western international locations take unfriendly measures in opposition to our nation within the financial dimension – I imply the unlawful sanctions that everybody is aware of about very nicely – but in addition the highest officers of main NATO international locations permit themselves to make aggressive statements as regards to our nation,” Putin mentioned on state tv.

Putin beforehand referred to his nuclear arsenal in a speech previous to the beginning of the invasion on Thursday, saying Russia’s response to any nation that attempted to hinder the operation can be instant and carry “penalties that you’ve got by no means encountered in your historical past.”

France’s Overseas Minister retorted the identical day that when making such threats Putin ought to keep in mind that NATO too was a nuclear alliance.

Ukraine’s international minister Dmytro Kuleba mentioned Putin’s deterrence order was an try and strain Kyiv throughout talks however it might not be cowed. If Putin used nuclear weapons in opposition to Ukraine it might be a disaster for the world, he mentioned.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield informed CBS: “President Putin is continuous to escalate this battle in a fashion that’s completely unacceptable and now we have to proceed to stem his actions within the strongest attainable approach”.

In different developments, Russian troops blew up a pure gasoline pipeline in Kharkiv earlier than dawn, a Ukrainian state company mentioned, sending a burning cloud up into the darkness.

Each Ukraine’s gasoline pipeline operator and Kremlin-controlled power big Gazprom mentioned the transit of Russian gasoline by way of Ukraine, important for Europe’s power wants, was unaffected.

Ukraine’s Western allies ratcheted up their response to Russia’s land, sea and air invasion with an nearly blanket ban on Russian airways utilizing European airspace.

And within the strongest financial sanctions but on Moscow, america and Europe mentioned on Saturday they’d banish massive Russian banks from the primary world funds system and introduced different measures aimed toward limiting Moscow’s use of a $630 billion battle chest of central financial institution reserves.

BATTLE FOR KHARKIV

Russian troopers and armoured automobiles rolled into Kharkiv, positioned in Ukraine’s northwest and its second largest metropolis, on Sunday and witnesses reported firing and explosions. However metropolis authorities mentioned Ukrainian fighters had repelled the assault.

“Management over Kharkiv is totally ours! The armed forces, the police, and the defence forces are working, and town is being utterly cleansed of the enemy,” regional Governor Oleh Sinegubov mentioned.

Reuters was unable to corroborate the knowledge.

Ukrainian forces have been additionally holding off Russian troops advancing on Kyiv.

“We now have withstood and are efficiently repelling enemy assaults. The combating goes on,” Zelenskiy mentioned in a video message from the streets of Kyiv.

He has declined to depart town and has been marshalling combatants and civilians, with many non-combatants in search of shelter in subway stations.

A U.N aid company mentioned greater than 368,000 refugees, have crossed into neighbouring international locations, clogging railways, roads and borders.

Not less than 198 Ukrainians, together with three youngsters, have been killed within the invasion, the top of Ukraine’s Well being Ministry mentioned.

A United Nations company reported 64 civilian deaths and a Ukrainian presidential adviser mentioned about 3,500 Russian troopers had been killed or wounded. Reuters was not in a position to confirm the numbers. Western officers have mentioned intelligence confirmed Russia struggling greater casualties than anticipated, however Russia has not launched casualty figures and Reuters was unable to confirm tolls.

NO OTHER ANSWER

Germany mentioned it might enhance spending on defence to greater than 2% of its financial output in response to the invasion, breaking its post-World Battle Two customized.

“There could possibly be no different reply to Putin’s aggression,” , Chancellor Olaf Scholz informed lawmakers, a day after Germany agreed to ship defensive anti-tank weapons, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition to Ukraine.

The USA and its allies licensed extra weapons transfers to assist Ukraine struggle and imposed a spread of sanctions on Russia in response to the assault, which threatens to upend Europe’s post-Chilly Battle order.

Ignoring weeks of frantic diplomacy and sanctions threats by Western nations in search of to keep away from battle, Putin has justified the invasion saying “neo-Nazis” rule Ukraine and threaten Russia’s safety – a cost Kyiv and Western governments say is baseless propaganda.

Putin has mentioned he should get rid of what he calls a severe menace to his nation from its smaller neighbour, accusing it of genocide in opposition to Russian-speakers in jap Ukraine – one thing Kyiv and its Western allies reject as a lie.

Ukraine, a democratic nation of 44 million folks, received independence from Moscow in 1991 on the fall of the Soviet Union and has pushed to affix the NATO Western army alliance and the EU, objectives Russia opposes.

On Saturday, america and its allies moved to dam sure Russian banks’ entry to the SWIFT worldwide fee system, making it tougher for Russia to commerce and for its corporations to do enterprise.

In addition they plan to impose restrictions on Russia’s central financial institution to restrict its potential to help the rouble and finance Putin’s battle effort.

“We are going to maintain Russia to account and collectively be sure that this battle is a strategic failure for Putin,” the leaders of the European Fee, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Canada and america wrote.

Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Aleksandar Vasovic and Natalia Zinets in Kyiv; Alan Charlish in Medyka, Poland; Fedja Grulovic in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania; and Reuters bureaus; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel and Angus MacSwan; Enhancing by David Clarke and Kevin Liffey

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