WAR IN UKRAINE: Russia says scores of military objects destroyed – UPDATES

*Turkey speaks, as NATO says Russian action ‘grave moment for the security of Europe’

*China, reportedly, understands Russia’s ‘reasonable’ security concerns

*Ukraine President raises alarm second wave of missile strikes against his country

*Ukrainian foreign minister: Russia attacking from multiple directions

The Russian Defense Ministry, in giving updates on war in Ukraine, said Thursday that the nation’s military had destroyed 74 “objects of above-ground military infrastructure” in Ukraine, Russian state-run RIA news agency reportedly disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian police said that Russia had carried out 203 attacks. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister added that Russian forces were taken prisoners amid heavy fighting in the east of the country.

In the meantime, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the Russian invasion of Ukraine an action “against international law” and  a “heavy blow” to peace and regional stability. He repeated a call for a resolution of the conflict.

Erdogan reiterated that Ankara viewed both countries as friendly and said he was “sincerely saddened” by the war.

The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it considers the attack “unacceptable.”

Turkey, which is a NATO member state, shares maritime borders in the Black Sea with both Russia and Ukraine.

At a press conference, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he called “deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned.”

He said that the invasion showed that peace could “not be taken for granted” but voiced the opinion that “freedom will always prevail over repression.”

Stoltenberg also said NATO had activated its defense plans giving military commanders more authority to move and deploy forces when needed. He added NATO had increased its forces in the eastern part of the alliance and “will further increase and we are increasing.”

“It will be a new reality, a new Europe after the invasion we saw today,” Stoltenberg said.

He also reasserted NATO’s principle that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the alliance.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke on the phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, over Ukraine.

Wang told Lavrov that Beijing “respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“At the same time, we have also seen that the Ukraine issue has its complex and special historical latitude and longitude, and we understand Russia’s reasonable concerns on security issues,” it added.

“China advocates that the Cold War mentality should be completely abandoned, and a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism should be finally formed through dialogue and negotiation.”

According to the Interfax news agency, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the two diplomats agreed that “the cause of the crisis” was Kyiv’s refusal, backed by Washington, to implement the Minsk agreements.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying declined to label the Russian attack as an “invasion.”

“This is perhaps a difference between China and you Westerners. We won’t go rushing to a conclusion,” Hua said.

Kremlin: Objectives are Ukraine’s demilitarization and ‘denazification’

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military operation in Ukraine is designed with two objectives in mind, namely the demilitarization and what he called the “denazification” of Ukraine. He added Putin will decide how long the military campaign will last based on the progress in achieving these objectives.

Peskov added that it was impossible to shut Russia off behind an Iron Curtain.

Putin will not talk to the media following a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Peskov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is being hit by a second wave of missile strikes.

The first wave was launched in the early hours Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military into Ukraine.

Military command centers, the Kyiv Boryspil airport and other buildings in several Ukrainian cities were targeted in that first round of missile strikes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “This is not a Russian invasion only in the east of Ukraine, but a full-scale attack from multiple directions.”

EU leaders agree ‘massive’ sanctions on Russia

European Union leaders have announced new sanctions against Russia.

A joint statement from the 27-nation bloc said the sanctions would target Russia’s energy, finance, and transport sectors and restrictions on exports and financing.

“The European Council today agrees on further restrictive measures that will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action,” they said after an emergency summit in Brussels.

The bloc also also wants to draw up sanctions against Belarus because of its close links to Russia.

IAEA calls for ‘maximum restraint’ as Russians take Chernobyl

Ukraine announced that is had lost control of the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where radiation is still leaking from history’s worst nuclear power disaster in 1986.

“After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe. This is one of the most serious threats to Europe today,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the chief of the presidential administration.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that according to its information, ”there were no casualties or destruction at the industrial site.”

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called for ”maximum restraint” to avoid actions that could put Ukraine’s nuclear facilities at risk.

”In line with its mandate, the IAEA is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine with a special focus on the safety and security of its nuclear power plants and other nuclear-related facilities,” he said in a statement.

More than a thousand people detained in anti-war protests around Russia

Police have detained at least a thousand people at anti-war protests in cities across Russia, rights monitoring group OVD-Info said. The group has documented crackdowns on Russia’s opposition for years.

The protesters staged small and single-person demonstrations against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier Russian authorities warned anti-war sympathizers from gathering for protests. Russia outlawed demonstrations without a permit in 2014, though freedom of assembly is anchored in its constitution in theory.

US President Joe Biden declares ‘Putin chose this war’

In a televised addressed, US President Joe Biden said that “for weeks we have been warning that Russia was preparing an attack. We saw staged political theater in Moscow, that Ukraine was about to launch a war with Russia…that Ukraine committed a genocide. Without any evidence.”

“Putin declared his war,” Biden continued, “and within moments missiles began to fall on historic cities in Ukraine.”

“We’ve been transparent with the world, we’ve shared intelligence…so there could be no confusion about what Putin is doing. Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war.”

Biden then announced a new raft of sanctions, which targeted Russian banks and industry.

“We have purposely designed these sanctions to maximize the impact on Russia and minimize the impact on our allies…We are not acting alone. We have built a coalition representing half of world’s economy.”

The president said that the effects of global sanctions could already been seen, “earlier today, the ruble hit its lowest level in history.”

He then made clear that US soldiers currently being moved to Europe were to defend NATO allies, and would not be mobilized inside Ukraine.

Details from source: https://www.dw.com/en/russia-launches-massive-invasion-of-ukraine-live-updates/a-60893588