RUSSIA CEASEFIRE

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novakha, and the Red Cross is the ceasefire’s guarantor.

Despite the limited ceasefire plans, the Russian defence ministry said a broad offensive would continue in Ukraine, where it denies targeting civilians or invading, calling its actions a “special military operation”.

Russian forces were carrying out strikes on military infrastructure and forces from separatist-held Donetsk were tightening the encirclement of Mariupol, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

“We are simply being destroyed,” Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said.

Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian disaster across the country as food, water and medical supplies run short. The number of refugees could rise to 1.5 million by the end of the weekend from a current 1.3 million, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Saturday.

Women and small children crossed at the Medyka checkpoint in southeastern Poland in freezing conditions. A man crossing the other way yelled at the crowd that men should return to Ukraine and fight.

President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on February 24 after weeks of massing troops near Ukraine and his actions have drawn almost universal condemnation around the world. Officials in Ukraine have reported thousands of dead and wounded civilians and many countries have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia.

Moscow says its aim is to disarm its neighbour, counter what it views as NATO aggression and capture leaders it calls neo-Nazis. On Saturday it accused the West of acting like a bandit and threatened to retaliate without giving details.

“As you understand, there must be a corresponding response to economic banditry,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

No to no-fly zones

Ukraine says Russian forces have focused efforts on encircling Kyiv and Kharkiv, the second-biggest city, while aiming to establish a land bridge to Crimea.

Kyiv, in the path of a Russian armoured column that has been stalled outside the Ukrainian capital for days, was again under attack, with explosions audible from the city centre.

But British intelligence said on Saturday the overall rate of Russian air strikes and artillery over the past 24 hours had been lower than in previous days although Russian forces were believed to be advancing in the south of Ukraine.

Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne cited authorities in Sumy, about 300 km east of Kyiv, as saying that there is a risk of fighting in the city’s streets, urging residents to stay in shelters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was expected to press Washington for more help in a video call with the US Senate later on Saturday.

At a meeting on Friday, NATO allies rejected Ukraine’s appeal for no-fly zones, saying they were increasing support but that stepping in directly could make the situation worse.

“Please close the sky ... because people are dying,” said Solomiya Zdryko, 18, who fled from Lviv in western Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Poland on Saturday and was set to discuss security and humanitarian assistance with Polish officials. Poland has taken in the vast majority of those fleeing Ukraine.

Fierce defence

Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said 66,224 Ukrainian men had returned from abroad to join the fight against Russia’s invasion. “These are 12 more combat and motivated brigades! Ukrainians, we are invincible,” he said in an online post.

Ukraine’s military said armed forces “are fighting fiercely to liberate Ukrainian cities from Russian occupiers,” counterattacking in some areas and disrupting communications.

“Units of the invaders are demoralized, soldiers and officers of the occupying army continue to surrender, flee, leaving weapons and equipment on Ukrainian soil,” it said, adding that at least 39 Russian planes and 40 helicopters had been destroyed.

Russia said it had destroyed 82 Ukrainian aircraft, 708 armoured vehicles, 74 multiple rocket launchers and 56 drones.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify such accounts from either side.

Russian forces have made their biggest advances in the south, where they captured their first sizeable Ukrainian city, Kherson, this week. Bombing has worsened in recent days in the northeast cities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv.

Russia’s parliament passed a law on Friday imposing a prison term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military.

Russia is blocking Facebook for restricting state-backed channels and the websites of the BBC, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America.

MODI

under ‘Operation Ganga’.

He further said: “UP might not have seen such an election for the last many decades when a government is seeking re-election on the basis of its honest and clean image, good governance and improved law and order situation in the state.”

He said the “third decade of the 21st century has brought unprecedented crises and new challenges for the whole world. But India has decided to convert these challenges into opportunities. This resolution (pledge) is not mine or the government, it is the resolution of the 130 crore countrymen and the entire country.”

Attacking the opposition parties, Modi said, “One of the strengths of our villages is that when a crisis comes, everyone forgets their grievances, and unites. But if any challenge comes before the country, these ‘parivarvadis’ (dynasts) keep looking for political mileage in it, too. We saw this during the Covid crisis and today we are experiencing the same during the Ukraine crisis.”

He said the double engine BJP government (governments in UP and the centre) is asking for votes on the basis of non-discriminatory development, good governance, clean image and an improved law and order situation.

The PM further said, “There is a peculiar habit of these ‘parivarvadis’. They do what they don’t speak and they don’t do what they speak. Instigating riots was not in their manifesto, they did it. Illegal occupation and looting were not in their manifesto, this was their biggest achievement.

Nepotism in schools, police stations, offices and exploitation of employees were not in their manifesto, but they worked diligently on it.”

He said people of Banaras are smart enough to not fall in their trap and will continue to vote for the double engine ‘sarkar’.

“We started the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, built more than 10 crore toilets. Sisters of villages, the poor, dalits, backward families benefited the most from this. The whole world praised India. But did you hear even once any praise for the mission from these ‘parivarvadis’?”

The PM spoke on how India is adopting self-reliance through ‘vocal for local’ and said many Banarasi products dominated world markets and the benefit of this reached farmers, weavers and handicraftsmen of Banaras.

Highlighting development of khadi under the BJP government, he said, “Congress has played a lot of politics in the name of khadi and created a lot of loot. But when Modi made khadi an international brand, they avoided mentioning Khadi. If I talk about Banaras region only, then five years ago, khadi worth Rs 90 crore was sold here. Today it has increased to more than Rs 170 crore.”

Thanking the personnel involved in smooth conduct of elections, Modi said that after March 10 development work in all areas would continue with unprecedented pace with the efforts of the double engine government.

Earlier in the morning, he interacted with prominent people of Kashi.