Russia’s war on Ukraine: What you need to know – Day 11

As Russia’s war on Ukraine entered Day 11, Israel’s prime minister has returned from a surprise trip to Russia where he met President Vladimir Putin and discussed the war in Ukraine.

Naftali Bennett flew to Moscow on Saturday, where he met the Russian leader for three hours. The trip was made “in coordination and with the blessing” of the Biden administration, according to Bennett’s office.

Bennett spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his meeting with Putin. He then flew to Germany to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Bennett landed in Israel on Sunday morning and is expected to convene his Cabinet for its weekly meeting later in the day.

Bennett’s trip was the latest attempt at diplomacy in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Israel is one of the few countries that has good working relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Israel has delivered humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but also maintains ties with Moscow to make sure that Israeli and Russian warplanes do not come into conflict in neighboring Syria.

Warning from Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy and pinned the blame for the war on Ukrainian leadership. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians to resist and made a “desperate plea” to U.S. Senators on Saturday to help his country get more planes. The plea comes as Russian forces continued to batter strategic locations with missiles and artillery and after NATO’s refusal to impose a no-fly zone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin took aim at such a proposal, saying that Moscow would consider any third-party declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as “participation in the armed conflict.”

Ukrainian officials also said shelling had halted the evacuation of civilians from two cities as a cease-fire deal quickly fell apart just hours after Russia announced it.

Russia and Ukraine will get back to the negotiating table for a third round of talks on Monday when the U.N. Security Council scheduled an open meeting on the worsening humanitarian situation.

Here’s a look at key things to know about the conflict:

Russia warns Ukraine could lose statehood

Putin continued to pin the blame for the war against Ukraine on the Ukrainian leadership and on Saturday warned that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy.

Speaking at a meeting with female pilots, Putin said that if Ukraine’s leaders “continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood.”

“If this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience,” Putin added.

Ten days after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian forces continued to resist, managing to keep control of key cities in central and southeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday.

In a video address to the nation Saturday night, Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians in cities taken over by the Russian forces to fight back.

“It is a special kind of heroism — to protest when your city is occupied,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukrainians in all of our cities that the enemy has entered — go on the offensive! You should take to the streets! You should fight!”

Thousands of Ukrainians in cities held by Russian forces took to the streets on Saturday. Some climbed Russia’s military vehicles and waved Ukraine’s yellow and blue flag.

In Kherson, a city of 300,000 in southern Ukraine, the Russian military were reported to fire warning shots to disperse the crowd, but the protesters were unfazed.

“Every meter of our Ukrainian land, recaptured by protest and humiliation of the occupants, is a step to the victory of all Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

Biden, Zelemskyy talk

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Zelenskyy to discuss ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and to speed U.S. military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine.

The White House said the pair also discussed talks between Russia and Ukraine during the more than 30-minute call early Sunday in Ukraine, but offered no additional details.

Zelenskyy said on Twitter the two presidents discussed security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.

Heavy boming in Chernihiv

Russia has dropped powerful bombs on residential areas of the city of Chernihiv, a regional official said Saturday.

Vyacheslav Chaus posted a photo of what he said was an undetonated FAB-500, a Soviet-designed 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) air-dropped bomb.

“Usually this weapon is used against military-industrial facilities and fortified structures,” said Chaus, head of the same-named region of Chernihiv. “But in Chernihiv, against residential areas.”

The city of Chernihiv, located north of Kyiv and with a population of 290,000, has come under heavy fire from Russian forces. Officials said 17 people in the region were killed in the shelling.

Russian forces have intensified shelling in the port city of Mariupol, including with the use of airplanes, the mayor said Saturday night.

“The city is in a very, very difficult state of siege,” Vadym Boychenko told Ukrainian TV. “Relentless shelling of residential blocks is ongoing, airplanes have been dropping bombs on residential areas.”

Boychenko said that thousands of children, women and the elderly came under fire as they arrived in the morning for a possible evacuation through a safe passage corridor. Russia promised to stop the shelling of Mariupol, a port city of 430,000, and Volnovakha, a city in the east, but violated the cease-fire.

Russia has made significant advances in the south, clearly seeking to cut off Ukraine’s access to the sea. Capturing Mariupol, which has been fending off the attack for six days, could allow Russia to build a land corridor to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

A video released Saturday by the Ukrainian government showed people cheering as they watched a Russian military plane fall from the sky and crash.

Mastercard, Visa to end operations in Russia

Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies said Saturday,

Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any card issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs in the latest blow to the country’s financial system after its invasion of Ukraine.

Mastercard said it made its decision after discussions with customers, partners and governments.

Visa said it’s working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.

The suspensions are a follow-up to more limited moves earlier in the week to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the U.S. government and others.

Ukraine makes ‘desperate plea’ for help

Zelenskyy made a “desperate plea” to U.S. senators on Saturday to help his country get more planes to help the country fight the Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy made the request on a call joined by more than 300 people, including senators, some House lawmakers and aides.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement that Zelenskyy made a “desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy told senators he needs planes and drones more than other security tools, according to a senior Senate aide granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

The U.S. Congress also is working on a $10 billion package of military and humanitarian aid, and Schumer told Zelenskyy that lawmakers hope to send it quickly to Ukraine, the person said.

Zelenskyy also urged U.S. lawmakers to sanction Russia’s oil and gas sector and suspend credit card access, and backed an idea to ban Russian oil imports to the U.S. that’s been gaining support in Congress.

Failed cease-fire in 2 areas

The ceasefire announced by the Russian defense ministry on evacuation routes with Ukrainian forces for Mariupol, a strategic port in the southeast, and the eastern city of Volnovakha, was supposed to start “from 10 a.m. Moscow time.” It was unclear as to how long the routes would remain open.

But Zelenskyy’s office later said the Russians were not holding to the cease-fire and continued firing on Mariupol and surrounding areas. Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told reporters.

Russian outlet RIA Novosti carried a Russian Defense Ministry claim that the firing came from inside both communities against Russian positions.

Russian forces Saturday night intensified shelling in the port city of Mariupol, including dropping bombs from airplanes in residential areas, the mayor said.

“The city is in a very, very difficult state of siege,” Vadym Boychenko told Ukrainian TV. “Relentless shelling of residential blocks is ongoing, airplanes have been dropping bombs on residential areas.”

Vadym Boychenko told Ukranian TV that thousands of children, women and the elderly came under fire as they arrived in the morning for a possible evacuation through a safe passage corridor. Russia promised to stop the shelling of Mariupol, a port city of 430,000, and Volnovakha, a city in the east, but violated the cease-fire.

Nuclear safety concerns

Russian forces have seized two Ukrainian nuclear power plants and are advancing toward a third, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a call with U.S. senators Saturday.

Zelenskyy said the third plant currently under threat is the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Mykolaiv, one of several cities the Russians were trying to keep encircled Saturday.

The announcement comes after Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — the country’s largest — in the southeastern city of Enerhodar. The attack caused global alarm, evoking memories of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, at Ukraine’s Chernobyl.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said no radiation spikes were detected, however. The chief of the U.N. agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said a Russian “projectile” hit a training center, not any of the six reactors.

Two out of the six reactors at the plant, Europe’s biggest, were operating after Russian forces took control of the site, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator told the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The office of President Emmanuel Macron said France will propose concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine’s five main nuclear sites.

Directly witnessed or confirmed by The Associated Press

Russia’s days-long assault has caused growing misery in Mariupol, where AP journalists witnessed doctors make unsuccessful attempts to save the lives of wounded children, pharmacies ran bare and hundreds of thousands of people faced food and water shortages in freezing weather.

In comments carried on Ukrainian television, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said thousands of residents had gathered for safe passage out of the city when shelling began Saturday.

Earlier, the Russian defense ministry said it had agreed with Ukraine on evacuation routes out of Mariupol, a strategic port in the southeast, and the eastern city of Volnovakha. Ukraine said Russia had breached the deal. Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the effort.

Kyiv’s central train station remained crowded with people desperate to join the more than 1.4 million who have fled Ukraine.

Frequent shelling could be heard from the center of the capital, Kyiv.

In stories and videos posted online, Russian state outlets are falsely claiming that Zelenskyy fled Kyiv. Photos and videos show the Ukrainian president leading his country’s defense.

What else is happening on the ground?

Putin’s military launched hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks on cities and other sites across the country. But a vast, mileslong Russian armored column threatening Ukraine’s capital remained stalled outside Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were holding key cities in the central and southeastern part of the country Saturday, while the Russians were trying to block and keep encircled Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Sumy.

Ukrainian forces were defending Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest port city, from repeated attempts by Russian ships, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said.

Video released Saturday by the Ukrainian government showed a Russian military plane falling from the sky and crashing, as onlookers on the ground cheer. Firefighters sprayed water on flames and smoke at a structure next to the debris of the plane, which bore a red star and the number 24.

Deepening humanitarian crisis

The U.N. World Food Program says millions of people inside Ukraine, a major global wheat supplier, will need food aid “immediately.”

The U.S. Congress is considering a request for $10 billion in emergency funding for humanitarian aid and security needs.

Ukrainian refugees continued to pour into neighboring countries, including Poland, Romania and Moldova.

In Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, hundreds of families, many from Ukraine’s Donetsk region, took refuge in a sports venue. The refugees milled about or tried to relax on cots Saturday while lamenting what they were forced to leave behind.

Refugees also fled to a refugee camp in Siret, Romania, where Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Saturday promised to help them. He said no Ukrainian would be denied entry to his country and pledged food, clothing, transportation and help with personal documents.

The International Organization for Migration says the number of people who have left Ukraine since fighting began has now reached 1.45 million.

The U.N. migration agency, citing figures from government ministries in countries where they have arrived, said Saturday that 787,300 of them went to Poland. Some 228,700 fled to Moldova, 144,700 to Hungary, 132,600 to Romania and 100,500 to Slovakia.

How many casualties?

Russia has acknowledged that nearly 500 Russian troops have been killed and around 1,600 wounded. Ukraine has not released casualty figures for its armed forces.

Zelenskyy alleged that 10,000 Russian troops were killed in the 10 days of the war, a claim that could not be independently verified.

Video released Saturday by the Ukrainian government showed a Russian military plane falling from the sky and crashing, as onlookers on the ground cheered.

The U.N. human rights office says at least 351 civilians have been killed and 707 wounded in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. The rights office uses strict methodology and only reports casualties it has confirmed. It said Saturday it believes the real figures are considerably higher.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said more than 2,000 civilians have died, though it’s impossible to verify the claim. More than 840 children have been wounded in the invasion, and 28 have been killed, according to Ukraine’s government.

Sanctions on Russia

Singapore announced sanctions against Russia becoming one of the few governments in Southeast Asia to do so. The tiny city-state imposed controls on exports or transshipments of military-related or dual-use items considered “strategic goods.”

“The sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of all countries, big and small, must be respected,” said an announcement by the Foreign Ministry.

The wave of global sanctions on Russia could have devastating consequences for energy and grain importers. Russia is a leading exporter of grains and a major supplier of crude oil, metals, wood and plastics.

More companies are suspending operations in Russia, including Apple, Mercedes-Benz, BP, Volkswagen, clothing retailer H&M and furnishings store IKEA.

Spain’s Teatro Real, one of Europe’s major opera houses, said it is canceling a set of upcoming performances by Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet.

Aeroflot, Russia’s flagship carrier, announced that it will halt all international flights except to Belarus starting March 8. That follows a warning by Russia’s aviation agency that airlines with foreign-leased planes risk their aircraft being impounded as part of Western sanctions.

Russia’s media crackdown

Russia continued to clamp down on independent media reporting on the war, blocking Facebook and Twitter inside the country.

Russia on Friday passed a law foreseeing prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading what is deemed to be fake information about its armed forces, prompting some Western media to suspend operations within Russia.

Italian state broadcaster Rai and German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF announced on Saturday they were suspending reporting by their correspondents in Russia. The BBC, Bloomberg News and Canadian Broadcasting Company have halted reporting from the country.

Rai said the measure is necessary to “safeguard the safety of its journalists in the place as well as the maximum freedom of information about the country.”

China expresses concerns to Blinken

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine.

Blinken says the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the principles of freedom and sovereignty.

The two spoke by phone on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Wang called for negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis, as well as talks on creating a balanced European security mechanism. Wang says the U.S. and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s eastward expansion on Russia’s security.

The U.S. State Department says Blinken underscored that the world is acting in unison in response to Russian aggression and ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price.

China has broken with the U.S., Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. China says that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected, but that sanctions create new issues and disrupt the process of political settlement.