This digest has now been archived. Find the latest Russia-Ukraine updates here.
A Territorial Defense unit chaplain and combat paramedic performs a marriage ceremony for a couple from the Ukrainian military at a hospital in Brovary, Ukraine.Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Here are the latest updates on the war in Ukraine:
- Russian and Ukrainian officials gave their most upbeat assessments yet on Sunday of progress in their talks on the war in Ukraine, suggesting there could be positive results within days. Neither side indicated what the scope of any agreement might be.
- Ukraine’s atomic energy ministry said power had been restored to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which meant cooling systems would operate normally and not have to use backup power. Ukraine had earlier warned of an increased risk of a radiation leak if a high-voltage power line to the plant were not repaired.
- Russia may default on its debts in the wake of unprecedented economic sanctions, but that would not trigger a global financial crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund
- Officials from the U.S. and China will meet in Rome on Monday as concerns grow that China is amplifying Russian disinformation and may help Russia evade punishment from economic sanctions.
- A Russian air strike killed at least 35 people and injured 134 at a Ukrainian training facility near the Polish border. The base has been a vital link in the flow of foreign fighters and supplies into Ukraine.
A member of the Ukrainian forces takes a position on the frontline of the conflict in the north Kyiv region, on March 13.GLEB GARANICH/Reuters
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11:00 p.m. ET
Musk says Tesla, SpaceX facing significant inflation risks due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he visits the construction site of Tesla's gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, May 17, 2021.MICHELE TANTUSSI/Reuters
Tesla Inc chief executive officer Elon Musk said on Sunday the U.S. electric car maker and his rocket company SpaceX are facing significant inflationary pressures in raw materials and logistics.
Musk in a tweet also asked about inflation rate outlook and said his companies “are not alone,” retweeting an article saying Russian conflict sent commodity prices to highest level since 2008.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is ramping up the prices of metals used in cars, from aluminum in the bodywork to palladium in catalytic converters to the high-grade nickel in electric vehicle batteries, and drivers are likely to foot the bill.
While metals have not been the target of Western sanctions yet, some shippers and auto-parts suppliers are steering clear of Russian goods, putting more pressure on car makers already reeling from a chip shortage and higher energy prices.
– The Associated Press
9:00 p.m. ET
Zelensky vows to keep negotiating with Russia
In this handout picture released and taken by Ukrainian Presidency Press Office on March 13, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with an injured man during a visit at a military hospital following fightings in the Kyiv region.Supplied/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will continue negotiating with Russia and is waiting for a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky has repeatedly called for a meeting with Putin. But so far, his requests have gone unanswered by the Kremlin. Zelensky said Sunday during his nightly address to the nation that his delegation has a “clear task” to do everything to ensure a meeting between the two presidents.
Zelensky said talks are held daily between the two countries via video conference. He said the talks are necessary to establish a ceasefire and more humanitarian corridors. He said those corridors have saved more than 130,000 people in six days.
The humanitarian convoy to the besieged city of Mariupol was blocked Sunday by Russian forces. Zelensky said they would try again Monday.
– The Associated Press
8:30 p.m. ET
Warsaw struggling to cope with Ukrainian refugees
Myroslava Kravets and her 11-year old son Andriej wait for a bus to Spain at the Ptak Warsaw Expo exhibition centre in Warsaw, Poland, on March 12, 2022.Anna Liminowicz/The Globe and Mail
In normal times the sprawling Ptak Warsaw Expo centre on the outskirts of the Polish capital would be gearing up for a series of trade shows this spring and catering to Poles eager to buy discount electronics or garden supplies.
But instead the centre has been transformed into a shelter for up to 20,000 refugees from Ukraine. A giant banner hangs on the wall outside: Humanitarian Expo. Inside, thousands of cots have been set up in two exhibition halls and on Saturday 5,000 people were taking refuge.
The giant shelter has only been open for a few days and officials have already signalled that all of the space will be needed as the surge of people fleeing the war in Ukraine shows no sign of slowing.
Nearly two million refugees have arrived in Poland since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last month. And while many have carried on to join relatives or friends in other parts of Europe, more and more refugees are staying in Poland and finding their way to major cities such as Warsaw.
On Saturday, 5,000 people were taking refuge at the sprawling Ptak Warsaw Expo exhibition centre. “We are dealing with the greatest migration crisis in the history of Europe since World War II. … The situation is getting more and more difficult every day,” Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told reporters last week, adding: “The greatest challenge is still ahead of us.”
Mr. Trzaskowski said more than 320,000 people had travelled through the city since Russia launched its attack and roughly 230,000 have stayed. That’s boosted Warsaw’s population by more than 10 per cent in less than a month.
– Paul Waldie, in Warsaw, Poland.
8:00 p.m. ET
Ukraine has ‘black day’ after Russian attack on military base, Zelensky says
A staff member exits a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an airstrike in the early morning hours in Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 13, 2022.VADIM GHIRDA/The Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is a “black day” after Russia shelled a military base in the western part of his country.
Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday that Russia fired 30 rockets at the Yavoriv military base. He said the attack killed 35 people and injured 134 injured others.
The base is less than 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Polish border. Zelensky said he had given Western leaders “clear warning” of the danger to the base. He asked NATO leaders again to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. He warned “it is only a matter of time” before Russian missiles fall on NATO territory.
Military analysts say the U.S, Britain and their European allies are unlikely to impose a no-fly zone because they believe it could escalate the war in Ukraine into a nuclear confrontation between NATO and Russia.
– The Associated Press
7:30 p.m. ET
Finland strengthens cybersecurity defences, mulls joining NATO
The border crossing between Finland and Russia in Nuijamaa, southeastern Finland, is pictured on March 9, 2022.ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO/AFP/Getty Images
Finland is beefing up its defences amid the heightened risk of cyberattacks, disinformation and espionage from Moscow.
There is a general sense of unease among Finnish security agencies, government departments and Helsinki residents about the Kremlin’s next steps after its invasion of Ukraine – and what that will mean for this small Nordic country of 5.5 million on Russia’s western flank.
The communications office of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) told The Globe and Mail that Russia’s aggression has only heightened the risk of attacks against Finland’s critical infrastructure, even with Moscow’s resources currently focused on its own country and the war.
That intelligence builds on a 2021 report from the agency, which said that state-sponsored cyberespionage was one of its largest digital threats, adding that the country was “a target of continual attempts at cyberespionage, with no prospect of such operations subsiding, even in the long term.”
– Emma Graney, in Helsinki, Finland.
7:00 p.m. ET
China will face consequences if it helps Russia evade sanctions over Ukraine, Sullivan says
U.S. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks to the news media about the situation in Ukraine during a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., Feb. 11, 2022.LEAH MILLIS/Reuters
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned Beijing that they would “absolutely” face consequences if it helped Moscow evade sweeping sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
Sullivan’s comments come as he is due to meet with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday.
In comments to CNN, Sullivan said that the United States believed China was aware that Russia was planning some action in Ukraine before the invasion took place – although Beijing may not have understood the full extent of what was planned.
Now, according to Sullivan, Washington was watching closely to see to what extent Beijing provided economic or material support to Russia, and would impose consequences if that occurred.
“We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them,” Sullivan said. “We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.”
– Reuters
4:50 p.m. ET
Russia seeks military equipment from China, according to reports
Russia has asked China for military equipment since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times and Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing U.S. officials.
U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan will be in Rome on Monday to meet with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi, the White House said earlier.
Russia, which calls its action in Ukraine a “special operation,” and China have tightened co-operation as they have come under strong Western pressure over human rights and a raft of other issues.
Beijing has not condemned Russia’s attack and does not call it an invasion, but has urged a negotiated solution.
The White House’s National Security Council declined to comment.
– Reuters
4:30 p.m. ET
Russia strikes military base near Polish border
2:47 p.m. ET
Zelensky calls on software giants to stop supporting their products in Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called on U.S. software firms Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp and German business software group SAP to halt support services for their products in Russia.
“Stop supporting your products in Russia, stop the war!,” he said on Twitter.
– Reuters
1:33 p.m. ET
Ukraine says power has been restored to Chernobyl power station
Ukraine’s atomic energy ministry on Sunday said power had been restored to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which meant cooling systems would operate normally and not have to use backup power.
The ministry made the announcement in an online post. Ukraine had earlier warned of an increased risk of a radiation leak if a high-voltage power line to the plant were not repaired. It had been damaged in fighting.
– Reuters
1:28 p.m. ET
Russian default no longer ‘improbable’, but no trigger for global financial crisis
A currency exchange office employee changes the digits showing the exchange rate to zero on the screen as his office stopped exchange operations with the Euro in St. Petersburg, Russia.The Associated Press
Russia may default on its debts in the wake of unprecedented sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but that would not trigger a global financial crisis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Sunday.
Georgieva told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program that sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other democracies were already having a “severe” impact on the Russian economy and would trigger a deep recession there this year.
The war and the sanctions would also have significant spillover effects on neighbouring countries that depended on Russia energy supplies, and had already resulted in a wave of refugees compared to that seen during World War Two, she said.
The sanctions were also limiting Russia’s ability to access its resources and service its debts, which meant a default was no longer viewed as “improbable,” Georgieva said.
Asked if such a default could trigger a financial crisis around the world, she said, “For now, no.”
The total exposure of banks to Russia amounted to around $120 billion, an amount that while not insignificant, was “not systematically relevant,” she said.
– Reuters
12:35 p.m. ET
Bus full of Ukrainian refugees overturns in Italy; 1 dead
People queue to take a direct bus to Italy after crossing the Ukrainian border into Poland in Medyka, a villege in southeastern Poland.LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
A bus carrying Ukrainian refugees overturned on a major highway in northern Italy at dawn on Sunday, killing a young mother, Italian firefighters and news reports said.
Italian state TV said there were also five people injured, but none of the injuries was serious, in the crash on the A14 highway near Forli’, a town in the Emilia-Romagna region in northeastern Italy. It said the rest of those aboard were safely evacuated.
The bus landed on its side on a grassy slope just beyond a highway guardrail and near a farm field. Firefighters used two cranes in an operation to set the bus upright and remove it after helping the survivors to get out of the bus.
The cause of the crash was under investigation. Highway Police official Andrea Biagioli said there were no skid marks.
“It could have been (the driver) suddenly falling asleep,″ Biagioli told state TV, stressing that in any case no cause had yet been determined.
Italy’s Interior Ministry said the bus had set out from Ukraine and was heading south to Pescara, an Adriatic port city, when it overturned. The passengers were taken to a nearby police barracks for initial assistance, and would later resume their journey, the ministry said.
The victim was a 32-year-old woman whose two children, ages 5 and 10, suffered bruises in the crash, the Italian news agency LaPresse said. Milan daily Corriere della Sera said the woman was crushed under the bus.
Around 35,000 Ukrainians refugees who fled after Russia launched war in their homeland have entered Italy, most of them through its northeastern border with Slovenia.
– The Associated Press
12:06 p.m. ET
Russians and Ukrainians unite in Cyprus to protest Russian aggression
Dozens of Russian nationals joined Ukrainians in the coastal resort town of Limassol, home to a sizable Russian expatriate community, to protest the war in Ukraine.
About 50 Russians converged on Limassol’s promenade prior to joining with other protesters Sunday to chant slogans including “Stop the war, stop Putin” and “Russia without Putin.” They waved blue and white flags that they said were the Russian national flag without the red stripe that represented “blood and violence.”
Protester Evgeniya Shlikava, who has been living and working in Cyprus for five years, told The Associated Press that despite Russian propaganda, Ukraine “didn’t deserve this action from our government” and that protesters are demanding an immediate end to the war “that we don’t support.”
– The Associated Press
10:40 a.m. ET
U.S. journalist killed by Russian forces outside Kyiv
An American journalist was shot and killed by Russian forces in the town of Irpin in Ukraine’s Kyiv region and another journalist was wounded, Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nyebytov said on Sunday.
Nyebytov initially said the dead journalist worked for the New York Times. However the Times said that the journalist had previously worked for the paper but was not currently working for it. The Times named the journalist as Brent Renaud.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death. Brent was a talented photographer and filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years,” The Times said in a statement posted on Twitter by its spokesperson.
“Though he had contributed to The Times in the past (most recently in 2015), he was not on assignment for any desk at The Times in Ukraine,” it said.
“Early reports that he worked for Times circulated because he was wearing a Times press badge that had been issued for an assignment many years ago.”
– Reuters
10:26 a.m. ET
Russia and Ukraine give brightest assessment yet of progress in talks
Russian and Ukrainian officials gave their most upbeat assessments yet on Sunday of progress in their talks on the war in Ukraine, suggesting there could be positive results within days.
“We will not concede in principle on any positions. Russia now understands this. Russia is already beginning to talk constructively,” Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in a video posted online.
“I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days,” he said.
RIA news agency quoted a Russian delegate, Leonid Slutsky, as saying the talks had made substantial progress.
“According to my personal expectations, this progress may grow in the coming days into a joint position of both delegations, into documents for signing,” Slutsky said.
Neither side indicated what the scope of any agreement might be.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than 2.5 million people have fled the fighting. Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate, but not to surrender or accept any ultimatums.
Three rounds of talks between the two sides in Belarus, most recently last Monday, had focused mainly on humanitarian issues and led to the limited opening of some corridors for civilians to escape fighting.
– Reuters
10:07 a.m. ET
U.S., China officials to meet as tensions mount over Russia
President Joe Biden is sending his national security adviser for talks with a senior Chinese official in Rome on Monday as concerns grow that China is amplifying Russian disinformation in the Ukraine war and may help Russia evade punishment from economic sanctions.
The talks between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi will centre on “efforts to manage the competition between our two countries and discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” said Emily Horne, speaking for the White House national security council.
The White House has accused Beijing of spreading false Russian claims that Ukraine was running chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support. U.S. officials said China was attempting to provide cover for a potential biological or chemical weapons attack on Ukrainians by the Russian military.
Sullivan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that when Russia starts accusing other countries of preparing to launch biological or chemical attacks, “it’s a good tell that they may be on the cusp of doing it themselves.”
For Russia, China could be a crucial economic partner in mitigating the severe sanctions levied by the U.S, Britain, the 27-national European Union and other countries, though there are questions how far Beijing will go to alienate the alliance and put its own economy at risk.
– The Associated Press
8:34 a.m. ET
Pope Francis pleads for “massacre” in Ukraine to stop
Destroyed cars on a road being used as an evacuation route out of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.Felipe Dana/The Associated Press
Pope Francis issued his toughest condemnation yet of the invasion of Ukraine, saying on Sunday the “unacceptable armed aggression” must stop.
Speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing, Francis also said that the killing of children and unarmed civilians was “barbaric” and with “no valid strategic reason.”
He called the besieged city of Mariupol a “martyred city” and again appealed for “truly secure humanitarian corridors” to allow residents to evacuate.
“In the name of God I ask you: stop this massacre!,” the pope said, adding that Ukrainian cities risked “being reduced to cemeteries.”
The Pope has not used the word “Russia” in his condemnations of the war since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on Feb. 24.
But his choice of words, such as “armed aggression” and “no valid strategic reason,” appear aimed at contesting Moscow’s justifications for the invasion.
Russia calls its action a “special military operation.” Last Sunday Francis implicitly rejected that term, saying it could not be considered “just a military operation” but a war that had unleashed “rivers of blood and tears.”
– Reuters
7:57 a.m. ET
Nearly 125,000 evacuated via humanitarian corridors in Ukraine: Zelensky
Nearly 125,000 people have been evacuated via humanitarian corridors from conflict zones in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Sunday.
”Today the key task is Mariupol,” he said, adding that a humanitarian supply convoy was now only 80 kilometres away from the besieged port city where more than 400,000 people are trapped.
– Reuters
7:06 a.m. ET
Ukraine is working with Israel and Turkey to set up peace talks with Russia
Ukraine is working with Israel and Turkey as mediators to finalize a location and framework for peace negotiations with Russia, Ukrainian presidential adviser and negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on Sunday.
“When it is worked out, there will be a meeting. I think it won’t take long for us to get there,” he said on national television.
– Reuters
6:26 a.m. ET
Russian missiles slam into Ukrainian training facility near Polish border, killing at least 35
Medical staff assist patients arriving at Novoiavorivsk District Hospital in Novoiavorivsk, Ukraine.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Missiles slammed into a base that has previously been used by Canadian troops conducting training in Ukraine, and more recently used as a training site for foreign fighters that have come into the country.
At least 35 people were killed and 134 injured, local authorities said Sunday. Hours later, dozens of ambulances were still moving along the road to the nearby city of Lviv, which had been considered a safe western haven from the devastation of Russian attacks on the north, east and south of Ukraine.
Roughly 30 missiles were fired by Russian aircraft at the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, which is situated less than 20 kilometres from the border with Poland, a NATO state, local authorities said, reiterating calls for more Western military support, including the enforcement of a no-fly zone. That measure has been rejected by Canada and others to avoid direct conflict between NATO countries and the Russian military.
Though air defences sounded a warning before the strike and shot down some of the incoming barrage, images posted to social media showed considerable damage to the base, including a building on fire.
The base has been a vital link in the flow of foreign fighters and supplies into Ukraine. Hundreds of Canadians have come to Ukraine to join the fight, as part of more than 20,000 overseas volunteers to the country’s developing International Legion.
-Nathan VanderKlippe and Mark MacKinnon