Ukraine
Gas pipeline explodes in Ukraine's Kharkiv
An explosion on a gas pipeline occurred in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported. As per sources from the Kharkiv Regional Civil-Military Administration, the Russian forces blew up a gas pipeline in the city's Danylivka district in the early morning, Xinhua reported citing Ukrinform news agency.
China uneasy to defend Putin's methods
But there are tentative signs that China is uneasy at being seen to defend Putin's methods, and the potential disruption to the world economy, The Guardian reported. Putin may have shown his respect for China by delaying the invasion until after the Winter Olympics, but China was not consulted about the invasion. Chinese diplomats ridiculed forecasts of an invasion, and left many citizens in situ, the report said.
Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is not quite going as per plan
It is too early to describe the Kremlin's operation to seize and subjugate Ukraine as a failure. The war has only just started. Putin may yet prevail. The Russian military enjoys overwhelming superiority over Ukraine's armed forces. It has numerous combat aircraft, a vast navy and 1,50,000 deployed troops. And yet by Saturday, it was clear Putin's blitzkrieg operation to remove Ukraine's pro-western government had run into unexpected difficulties.
Putin forgot a great WWII lesson that the best Soviet soldiers were Ukrainian
Ukrainian officials have pointed to the increasingly erratic behaviour of Putin himself. Speaking before the invasion, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said Russia's president lived in a strange parallel reality. He had succumbed -- like dictators before him -- to believing his own version of the world, the report said. "Putin thinks that Ukraine's government is corrupt, western and irredeemably Russophobic," the official said.
Zelensky rejects talks in Belarus as Russian delegation arrives
Zelensky made the remarks in a video address posted on his Telegram channel shortly after the Kremlin announced that a Russian delegation has arrived in Belarus and will be ready to start negotiations with Ukraine in the city of Gomel, Xinhua news agency reported. "We're saying no to Minsk. Other cities can be a place to meet," the president said. "Of course, we want peace, we want to meet, we want for the war to end".
'Kiev still controlled by Ukrainian army'
"The situation in Kiev is calm, the capital is completely controlled by the Ukrainian army and defense. There were several clashes with sabotage groups at night," said Povoroznyk, first deputy head of the administration, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Ukraine's government-run Ukrinform news agency, a curfew is implemented here until 8 a.m, and the movement of private vehicles without special passes is prohibited.
Russia closes airspace for carriers from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania & Slovenia
"Due to the unfriendly decisions of the aviation authorities of Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Estonia, restrictions are being introduced on air carriers of these states and/or those registered there to operate flights to destinations on the territory of Russia, including transit flights through the airspace of Russia," it said. The four countries earlier introduced restrictions on Russian air carriers.
Musk activates Starlink satellites to give Ukraine data backup
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has activated Starlink, his commercial internet network, in Ukraine, with "more terminals en route". According to Politico, Musk's SpaceX has thousands of Starlink satellites in orbit, which allow the company to beam broadband services around Earth, without the need for fiber-optic cables. The satellites could keep Ukraine online if its internet infrastructure is damaged by Russia's attacks, the report said.
Ukraine invasion: Russia stalls Soyuz rocket launches over sanctions
Roscosmos has said that it is halting all cooperation with European partners on space programmes, Space.com reported. Russia's Soyuz rockets are used by European launch provider Arianespace to launch satellites from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana in South America. The recent Soyuz rocket to launch from Guiana Space Center lifted off on February 10 carrying 34 OneWeb internet satellites.
Ukraine wipes out barbaric Chechen forces sent to assassinate Zelensky
The armed group -- famed for their barbaric violence and human rights abuses -- are said to have been obliterated after their convoy of 56 tanks was blown to smithereens near Hostomel, just northeast of Kyiv, by Ukrainian missile fire on the second day of the Chechens' deployment. It is unclear how many died -- but the number is likely to run into the hundreds, the report said.
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