Live – War in Ukraine: Russian military announces opening of several humanitarian corridors

U.S. officials say Moscow has been recruiting Syrian mercenaries to fight in Ukraine for the past few days. Wall Street Magazine.

According to similar sources, Russia, which has been in Syria since 2015, hopes that their expertise in urban guerrilla warfare will be useful in capturing Kiev.

The almost total suspension of Russian exports has pushed up oil prices. The Brent barrel from the North Sea approached $ 140 on Monday morning and came close to an absolute record.

In the process, Tokyo and Hong Kong stock markets fell more than 3% on Monday morning. And the best safe haven gold is over $ 2,000 an ounce.

The rise in oil prices comes after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday that the United States and the European Union were “very seriously” discussing the possibility of banning Russian oil imports.

>> More information can be found here.

The Russian military announced on Monday that it would establish a ceasefire in Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumi to allow civilians to evacuate.

“Russian forces, for humanitarian purposes, declare a ‘silent rule’ from 10 a.m. on March 7 and open humanitarian corridors,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The report did not specify whether the corridors would open in Ukraine local time (9am Paris time) or in Moscow (8am Paris time) and for how long.

>> More information can be found here.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Monday that it would open several humanitarian corridors in Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumi.

The decision was made following a request made by Emmanuel Macron to Vladimir Putin during a phone call on Sunday.

During the night from Sunday to Monday, the city of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, was the target of intense bombings.

According to an Agency France-Presse journalist, the strikes targeted the local university’s campus and public buildings.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kharkiv, located in the northeast of the country, has been the target of heavy attacks by the Russian military. The seat of the local government was targeted, as well as the houses, causing many casualties.

Ukrainian civil servants announced that Russian forces were currently concentrating their efforts on Kharkiv, Chernikiv, Sumi and Mikholev, and that they were “accumulating their resources to carry out an attack on Kiev.”

The French and Russian presidents exchanged telephone calls at 1h45 this Sunday, speculating on the security situation around Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, which has been threatened by ongoing fighting.

According to Elysée, Vladimir Poutine assured Emmanuel Macron that he was “ready to respect IAEA standards for the safety of power plants.”

>> What Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron said to each other

A third round of talks between Russians and Ukrainians is scheduled for Monday. But hopes of victory are slim, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has set all the demands of Moscow, especially the militarization of Ukraine, and Kiev’s acceptance of neutral status for the country as a precondition for any dialogue.

Welcome to this live dedicated to the continuation of this 12th day war in Ukraine.