Navalny supporters chant outside funeral service in Moscow
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The US asked China and India for help in dissuading Russia from carrying out a nuclear strike in 2022, a US official told CNN – as the Pope provoked anger for saying Ukraine should have the courage to “raise the white flag”.
“One of the things we did was not only message them directly but strongly urge, press, encourage other countries, to whom they might be more attentive, to do the same thing,” the official said, per the report.
They added the diplomatic pressure “may have had some effect” on Russia’s thinking.
“The concern from key countries for Russia and the Global South, was also a helpful, persuasive factor and showed them what the cost of all this could be,” another US official told CNN.
It came as Ukrainian and allied officials criticised Pope Francis for saying Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call on Ukraine to surrender.
In an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI and partially released on Saturday, Francis used the phrase “the courage of the white flag” as he argued that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should be open to peace talks brokered by international powers.
St Petersburg airport resumes operations after drone shot down in nearby region
Pulkovo airport in Saint Petersburg has resumed operations as Russian Defence Ministry said a Ukrainian drone was shot down in the neighbouring Leningrad region on Sunday.
Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad region’s governor, adjacent to Saint Petersburg, said on Telegram that airspace was sealed off due to the drone, which did not inflict any damage or casualties.
The airport and Rosaviatsia, the country’s aviation watchdog, did not say why the restrictions had been imposed.
Matt Mathers10 March 2024 23:00
Ukraine minister, responding to Pope Francis, says Kyiv will never raise white flag
Ukraine’s foreign minister, responding to Pope Francis’s call to show “the courage of the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia, said on Sunday that Kyiv would never capitulate and told the Vatican to pay special heed to its role in World War Two.
Francis made the comments in an interview made available in part at the weekend. He responded to a presenter’s suggestion by saying that when things were not going well for a party to a conflict “you have to have the courage to negotiate”.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, writing on social media platform X, said that the strong person in any dispute “stands on the side of good rather than attempting to put them on the same footing and call it ‘negotiations’”.
“Our flag is a yellow and blue one,” Kuleba wrote in English, referring to the Ukrainian national flag. “This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags.”
Kuleba also pointed to allegations that Pope Pius XII failed to take action against Nazi tyranny in World War Two.
“At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican’s strategy from the first half of the twentieth century,” he wrote.
“I urge (the Vatican) to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their just struggle for their lives.”
Matt Mathers10 March 2024 22:00
Ukraine’s Zelensky dismisses pope’s appeal for talks with Russia as ‘virtual mediation’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday dismissed Pope Francis’s call for talks with Russia as “virtual mediation” from a distance.
Zelensky, in his nightly video address, did not refer directly to Francis or his remarks, but said the pope’s ideas had nothing to do with efforts by religious figures in Ukraine to help the country.
“They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. “This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelensky said.
“Not 2,500 km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Matt Mathers10 March 2024 21:00
Glory to heroes! Georgia mourns two soldiers killed on front lines
Two more soldiers of the Georgian Legion, fighting Russian forces, have been killed in Ukraine, according to the force.
A Georgian Legion Facebook post announced the deaths of Nodar Nasirov and Giorgi Gogiashvili on Sunday.
It is unknown where on the front line they were killed.
A spokesman said: “Nodar Nasirov and Giorgi Gogiashvili soldiers of the Georgian Legion, died while performing combat duties on the front line.
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