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  A militiaman carries a child as he helps a fleeing family across a damaged bridge on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.  KYIV : The United States raised the alarm Wednesday over the “staggering” human cost of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine , as the apparent deployment of cluster bombs and other treaty-violating weapons raised fears of a brutal escalation in the week-old conflict. The American warnings came as Russia revealed 498 of its troops had been killed in the assault on ex-Soviet Ukraine — the first official death toll it has given and one Kyiv says is by far an undercount. And they came on the eve of the resumption of cease-fire talks after a first round Monday failed to produce a breakthrough. On the ground in Ukraine, Russia appeared despite determined resistance to be intensifying the offensive ordered seven days earlier by President Vladimir Putin — in defiance of almost the entire international community. “Today was the hardest, cruellest of the seven days of this w...

Presidents of eight EU states have called to immediately grant EU candidate country status to Ukraine, paving the way for accession to the 27-member bloc. It's now the fifth day of the conflict. The International Criminal Court plans to open an investigation into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and alleged war crimes committed there. A picture taken on February 19, 2020 shows the European Union flags fluttering outside the European Commission building in Brussels. Russia has been expelled from the 2022 World Cup and Russian athletes and teams have been banned from international sporting events. The rouble plunged to an all-time low on Monday after Western nations announced fresh sanctions and Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert. In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin said that the West recognising Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and the demilitarisation of Ukraine were pre-requisites for putting an end to fighti...

Ukraine’s president finds himself the number one target of the Russian army as Moscow reportedly seeks regime change. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power in 2019, taking charge of the war-torn, corruption-plagued country of about 45 million without any prior political experience. Zelenskyy came to power in 2019 as a political novice The political novice and former sitcom actor and comedian, who was dismissed by critics as a puppet of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, won his presidency by securing more than 73 percent of ballots, promising to balance the defence of Ukraine from Russian aggression with protecting the Russian speakers of his country. Born in the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, the father of two was seen as best placed to succeed in his mission and shortly after becoming president, used diplomacy to get Moscow to exchange several groups of Ukrainian prisoners of war. But the goodwill of Rus...

Ukrainians rally in the eastern city of Mariupol after Russia recognises the independence of breakaway regions. Mariupol, Ukraine – Waving blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and singing a patriotic military song, hundreds of residents of the once largely pro-Russian city of Mariupol gathered in the central Theatre Square with a defiant message for President Vladimir Putin: Russia is not welcome here. People protesting in front of Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama in Mariupol On Tuesday, as people stopped for pictures next to a sign calling Moscow an aggressor, the possibility of an advance by Russian-backed separatists was a bitter pill to swallow. The port city of nearly 500,000 people in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine was briefly controlled by the rebels in 2014 and has seen significant waves of violence since. “I came to show that we love Ukraine and we don’t want Russian ‘peace’ here,” said Andriy Voytsekhovskyy, 28, a painter and skater. “I think it’s complete nonsense what Pu...