LAST UPDATE | 2 Mar 2022

THE CONFLICT IN Ukraine continued for a seventh day today as Kyiv braced for a feared Russian assault.

Putin last Thursday ordered troops to invade Ukraine and since then hundreds of Ukrainian civilians including children have been reported as killed.

Overnight, the Russian army said it had taken control of the Black Sea port of Kherson in southern Ukraine while Ukrainian forces said they clashed with Russian paratroopers who landed in the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

The first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border yesterday but brought no results.

Here are the main points to know today:

• Several civilians were reportedly killed in the latest shelling today, adding to a civilian death toll of at least 350 people, including 14 children, according to Ukrainian authorities.
• In Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said that “the enemy is drawing up forces closer to the capital”.
• In a video address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces wanted to “erase our country, erase us all”.
• Russian airborne troops landed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight. 
• Russia says it has taken “full control” of Kherson, a port city on the Black Sea, but the city’s mayor says “We are still Ukraine. Still firm”.
• The city of Mariupol on the Azov Sea was also reportedly encircled by Russian forces.
• At their respective parliamentary party meetings this evening, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste spoke of the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• A Cabinet subcommittee is due to meet tomorrow to coordinate the humanitarian response, while at an EU level, Ireland will support proposals to allow Ukrainians to live and work in the EU for up to three years.
• The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said an active probe into possible war crimes in Ukraine “will immediately proceed”.
• The UN General Assembly voted in favour of Russia immediately withdrawing its troops from Ukraine.
• Nearly 875,000 refugees have now fled the conflict in Ukraine for safety in neighbouring countries, United Nations figures show.
• Georgia said it will “immediately” apply for EU membership, the Black Sea nation’s ruling party said, a day after the European Parliament backed war-torn Ukraine’s bid to apply for EU membership.
• Apple announced it has stopped selling iPhones and other popular products in Russia in response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. German logistics giant DHL has announced it is stopping deliveries to Russia and Belarus.
• Russian and Belarusian athletes were given the green light to compete as neutrals at the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
• The European Commission this morning set out its proposal for EU member states to let Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion stay and work in the bloc for an initial two years. The plan is to be put to EU interior ministers meeting tomorrow and has to be agreed by a majority of at least 15 member states.
• US President Joe Biden branded Vladimir Putin a “dictator” in his keynote annual State of the Union address last night. Biden also announced that Russian aircraft will be banned from US airspace.
• Ukraine claims 5,840 Russian soldiers have lost their lives in the conflict so far, while Russia says 498 of its soldiers have died in Ukraine. Neither claim can be verified yet. 
• The Minister for Foreign Affairs issued an update on Irish diplomatic efforts speaking about his department co-sponsoring of a UN resolution condemning Russia for their illegal, unjustified and unprovoked attack against Ukraine. He also said Ireland has joined other countries in referring Russia’s behaviour to the International Criminal Court.