Russia promises “silence” to Ukrainians to flee bruised cities

WASHINGTON/LVIV, Ukraine, March 9 (Reuters) – Russia said it was ready to provide humanitarian corridors on Wednesday for people fleeing Kyiv and four other Ukrainian cities, as the number of refugees created by the largest assault on a country European since World War Two have exceeded 2 million.

Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center, told Tass news agency that Russian forces would “observe a regime of silence” from 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) to ensure safe passage safe for civilians wishing to leave Kyiv. , Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

It was unclear whether the proposed routes would pass through Russia or Belarus, terms previously opposed by the Ukrainian government.

Civilians fled the besieged city of Sumy on Tuesday in the first “humanitarian corridor” opened since the Russian invasion. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of shelling another evacuation route, from Mariupol in the south of the country.

The United States has banned imports of Russian oil in another major step in the Western-led effort to end the war by crippling the Russian economy, causing the price of oil to rise again. Prices have jumped more than 30% since Russia – the world’s second largest crude exporter – invaded its neighbor on February 24.

Despite the prospect of rising household bills, US President Joe Biden said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had to deal with the consequences of the attack. Read more

“The American people will deliver another mighty blow to Putin’s war machine,” he said.

Britain has said it will phase out imports of Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of 2022, while the European Union has released plans to cut its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds this year. Read more

The Kremlin describes its actions as a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and overthrow leaders it calls neo-Nazis. Ukraine and its Western allies call it a baseless pretext for a war of choice that has raised fears of a wider conflict in Europe.

China’s refusal to condemn the invasion or join international sanctions is also raising concerns in Western capitals about the possibility of a broader attack on liberal democratic values ​​globally.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has warned that Chinese companies that defy US restrictions on exports to Russia could be deprived of US equipment and software they need to manufacture their products.

Washington could “essentially shut down” Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (0981.HK) or any Chinese company that continued to supply chips and other advanced technology to Russia, Raimondo told The New York Times.

Australia’s intelligence chief said on Wednesday there was a “troubling new strategic convergence” between Beijing and Moscow and the risk of “great power conflict” had increased since Russia invaded Ukraine. Read more

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, a democratic country of 44 million people, has particularly alarmed Taiwan’s autonomy, which China claims as its own and has pledged to regain, by force if necessary. .

Chinese President Xi Jinping called the situation in Ukraine worrying and called for “maximum restraint”, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

U.S. intelligence chiefs told the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that China appears to have been unsettled by the difficulties Russia is facing in Ukraine and the strength of Western reaction. Read more

CORPORATE INFRINGEMENT

Adding to Russia’s global isolation, McDonald’s, a symbol of capitalism which opened up in Russia at the fall of the Soviet Union, and coffeehouse chain Starbucks will temporarily close stores, while Pepsi will stop selling its soft drink brands and that Coca-Cola will cease operations in the country. . Read more

Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), parent company of fried chicken chain KFC, said it was suspending investment in Russia, a key market that helped the brand achieve record growth last year. Read more

Western countries are torn between using harsh sanctions to end the war as quickly as possible and protecting their fragile economies from rising inflation. Read more

The conflict and ensuing sanctions have upended global supply chains, sending prices soaring not just for food and energy, but also for key raw materials like aluminum and nickel. Read more

The continued rise in oil prices caused by the Russian invasion could reduce the growth of major oil-importing developing economies such as China, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey by one percentage point, said a World Bank official.

The board of the International Monetary Fund is set to approve $1.4 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine on Wednesday to help it respond to the Russian invasion.

POLISH PLANES

As Western military aid poured into Ukraine through the Polish and Romanian borders, the US turned down a surprise Polish offer to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a US base in Germany to help replenish the Ukrainian Air Force.

The prospect of flying fighter jets from NATO territory into the war zone “raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance,” the Pentagon said. Read more

In the Ukrainian coastal town of Mariupol, people were rapidly running out of electricity, heat, food and drinking water after more than a week of shelling, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

“The situation in Mariupol is apocalyptic,” said Red Cross spokesman Ewan Watson.

Russia was desperate for some sort of victory in cities like Mariupol and Kyiv, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. “Therefore, our task is to resist for the next 7-10 days,” he said.

Many tried to leave Mariupol on Tuesday through a safe corridor, but Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said Russian forces violated a ceasefire and shelled it.

Moscow denies targeting civilians.

Russia has opened a separate corridor from the eastern city of Sumy. Buses left for Poltava further west, just hours after a Russian airstrike which regional officials said hit a residential area and killed 21 people. Reuters could not verify the incident.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Vitaly Gerasimov, the first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st Army, was killed on Monday, the second Russian major general killed during the invasion. The Russian Defense Ministry could not be reached for comment.

Reports from Reuters offices; Written by Stephen Coates; Editing by Michael Perry

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.