All updates in Central European Time (CET).
06:04 Sánchez meets the Federal Committee of the PSOE to analyze the war in Ukraine
The President of the Government and Secretary General of the Socialists, Pedro Sánchez, meets this Sunday with the Federal Committee of the PSOE to analyze the situation in Ukraine after the invasion by Russia, as well as the consequences of this war for Spain and the whole of the European Union.
The meeting of the Federal Committee of the PSOE, the highest body between congresses, takes place after Sánchez’s appearance last Wednesday in the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies, where he announced the shipment of weapons to Ukraine directly by Spain, beyond agreed in the context of the European Union.
05:19 Putin threatens the Ukrainian state while Russian troops surround Kiev
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened the very existence of the Ukrainian state, as his army faces stiff resistance surrounding the capital Kiev and its economy suffocated by international sanctions.
In the latest attempt to isolate Moscow from the world economy, credit card giants Visa and Mastercard have announced they are suspending operations in Russia, while world authorities have promised to intervene in the face of a growing onslaught. “The current (Ukrainian) authorities must understand that if they continue to do what they are doing, they are putting the future of the Ukrainian state in doubt,” Putin said on Saturday.
04:25 Ukrainian President Zelensky says he had a phone conversation with Biden
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky announced on Sunday that he spoke by phone again with his American counterpart Joe Biden to discuss financial support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
“In the framework of a permanent dialogue, I have had a new conversation with @POTUS (Biden). The agenda included financial support for Ukraine and the search for sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. Hours earlier, the Ukrainian leader addressed US legislators by video call, to whom he asked for more assistance for his country and to cut off imports of Russian oil.
04:08 NYT: US officials travel to Venezuela seeking to isolate Putin
Senior United States officials traveled to Venezuela on Saturday to meet with the government of Nicolás Maduro, at a time when Washington seeks to isolate Russia from its allies as the conflict with Ukraine intensifies, The New York Times reported.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted the United States to pay more attention to allies of President Vladimir Putin in Latin America, who Washington believes could become security threats if the confrontation with Russia deepens,” the newspaper quoted unidentified sources familiar with the subject. Spokesmen for the government of Joe Biden and Maduro consulted by AFP did not immediately return requests for comment.
03:31 Israeli Prime Minister, unforeseen mediator between Russia and Ukraine
The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, met this Saturday in Moscow with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and spoke by telephone with the Ukrainian leader Volodimir Zelenski, becoming an unforeseen mediator of the war that has opposed those countries for ten days. .
Bennett was the first international leader to schedule a face-to-face meeting with Putin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. His 45-minute face-to-face with the Russian president occurred after Ukrainian authorities asked Israel to be the intermediary with Russia.
02:49 Von der Leyen: EU must end energy dependence on Russia
The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, said on Saturday (03.05.2022) that the EU must free itself from dependence “on Russian gas and coal” and try to diversify energy sources to face the economic consequences that “Putin’s war” is provoking in the European Union.
Von der Leyen spoke at the Palacio de la Moncloa after meeting with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, whom he congratulated for the “great experience” that Spain has in the field of renewable energies, which, in his opinion, is the way to guarantee “our energy efficiency”.
2:34 Thousands demonstrate in Europe and the US in support of Ukraine
Thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday (05.03.2022) in London, Paris, Rome, Zurich and New York to call for an end to the war in Ukraine.
“We will be here every weekend, in Paris or anywhere else, until Putin leaves, withdraws his tanks,” said Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a member of Stand With Ukraine, one of the organizations behind the rally in the French capital.
02:21 Russian tourists have difficulty returning to Moscow from the Mexican Caribbean
More than 400 Russian tourists left this afternoon from the Cancun International Airport, Mexican Caribbean, bound for the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, most of them had to stay longer than expected in the destination due to the cancellation of flights due to the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is already a little over a week old.
Although Mexico has not closed its borders to flights from Russia, many of the Russian passengers waited several hours at the Cancun airport. This to guarantee a plane ticket on the flight that left shortly after 5:00 p.m. local time.
02:02 Doctors Without Borders warns of “catastrophic” situation in Mariúpol
The humanitarian situation in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol is “catastrophic” and it is vital that civilians be evacuated, a leader of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Saturday. The southern city, close to the Russian border, is under intense siege by Russian troops, and a ceasefire announced on Saturday to allow civilians to leave has failed to materialize.
“It is imperative that this humanitarian corridor, which could have been created today but did not really come into force because the ceasefire was not respected, be established quickly to allow the civilian population, women and children, to leave the city,” Laurent Ligozat, MSF emergency coordinator in Ukraine, told AFP.
01:30 Blinken visits Moldova amid wave of Ukrainian refugees
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Moldova on Saturday to provide support to the country, which has received a wave of refugees from Ukraine and fears it could also be under threat from Moscow.
Blinken must seek to reassure the small nation, divided by a pro-Russian breakaway region, Transnistria, on Ukraine’s western border. Some analysts believe that territory could be used as a platform to launch a Russian attack on Ukraine.
01:12 Putin: countries that impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be part of the conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed this Saturday that Russia would consider as a co-belligerent any country that tries to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine, a measure that Kiev unsuccessfully demands from NATO.
“We heard that it would be necessary to create a no-fly zone on Ukrainian territory. But it is impossible to do it from Ukrainian territory, it is only possible from the territory of a neighboring country,” Putin explained in a meeting with employees of the Russian airline Aeroflot.
01:04 Boris Johnson will present plan to “stop” Putin
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will present an international “action plan” to “stop” the Russian invasion of Ukraine and multiply diplomatic meetings in London in the coming days, his office reported on Saturday.
After an “unprecedented” wave of Western sanctions against Russian interests for the military offensive in Ukraine, Johnson is going to appeal to the international community to renew “its concerted effort” against Moscow through a “six-point action plan”, which will be detailed on Sunday, Downing Street said in a statement.
00:51 Canada advises its citizens to leave Russia
Canada on Saturday asked its citizens to avoid traveling to Russia or leaving that country if they are there because of the war Moscow has launched in Ukraine.
In an update to its travel advice, the Foreign Office recommended that Canadians “avoid all travel to Russia due to the impacts of the armed conflict in Ukraine, including the limited availability of air links and restrictions on financial transactions.”
00:42 Visa and Mastercard suspend operations in Russia
Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard announced Saturday the suspension of their operations in Russia, the latest major US firms to freeze their business with Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Mastercard said it decided to “suspend our network services in Russia,” “taking into account the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment.” For its part, Visa indicated that it will work “immediately” with its “customers and partners inside Russia to stop all Visa transactions in the coming days.”
In a statement, Visa said that all transactions with cards issued in Russia will stop working outside the country, and that all Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will stop working inside the Russian Federation.
00:18 “Murderer Putin!” Demonstrators protest in Chile against the war in Ukraine
Hundreds of people demonstrated this Saturday at the gates of the Russian Embassy in the Chilean capital against the war in Ukraine and shouting “Murderer Putin!”
With Ukrainian flags, blue and yellow balloons in homage to the colors of the flag and posters with messages against the armed conflict and in favor of peace, the protesters included many Ukrainians, but also Chilean citizens. This is the second concentration at the gates of the Russian legation after the one held a week ago, when the conflict had just begun.
00:10 France criticizes the British “lack of humanity” towards Ukrainian refugees
The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, criticized on Saturday “the lack of humanity” of the United Kingdom for hindering the entry of Ukrainian refugees who try to reach British territory to reunite with their families through the Pas de Calais, in the Channel of the stain.
Hundreds of Ukrainians have arrived in recent days in the French city of Calais, at the French end of the Channel, fleeing the war unleashed by Russia against their country, hoping to cross it.
gs (afp, efe, reuters, ap)