Russia-Ukraine updates: Here’s what happened March 6

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Here are the latest updates on the war in Ukraine:

• The head of the United Nations refugee agency is warning that the world is heading toward a displacement of 100 million people as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced people to flee at an alarming rate.
• The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol says more than 5,000 civilians have been killed during the monthlong Russian siege, among them 210 children. About 160,000 residents are still trapped in Mariupol.
• The U.S. and the U.K. unveiled new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, targeting Putin’s daughters and financial institutions as evidence of war crimes emerge.
• Russian forces have shifted their assault toward Ukraine’s south and east; residents of the Luhansk region were urged to evacuate ahead of expected Russian attacks.
• Ukrainian President Zelensky appealed for tougher sanctions, warning that Western leaders would be judged harshly if Russia is able to carry on as usual.

9:30 p.m. ET

Amid death and destruction, Chernihiv residents never gave in

Deep below the classrooms of a vocational school, hundreds of Ukrainians clung to life in the darkness of an unlit boxing gym for weeks as Russian forces held their city under siege, pounding it with rockets and bombs.

At one point, nearly 500 people took shelter in this place in Chernihiv, in a city without electricity or running water, during winter months when many homes had no heat.

They fashioned candles out of sunflower oil, bits of cloth and sardine cans. They sat on mattresses playing Monopoly and card games beside the boxing-ring ropes. They divided into teams, each with its own leader, and apportioned work: Cleaning the basement. Maintaining the outhouses dug into the school grounds. Emptying the chamber pots provided for children and people with mobility problems. Sourcing water from a nearby river. And they cooked.

Chernihiv, a city of 250,000 that is one of Ukraine’s most historic centres, is situated 60 kilometres from Belarus. It was among the first places Russian troops reached in their invasion of Ukraine. When the city refused to bend to an initial attack, Russian forces encircled it, stifling the flow of goods and firing on those who evacuated.

– The Globe’s Nathan Vanderklippe

9:23 p.m ET

UN refugee chief warns world is headed toward 100 million displaced people as Russia-Ukraine war rages on

The United Nations refugee chief says the world is headed toward an unprecedented displacement of 100 million people as Russia’s war in Ukraine forces refugees to flee at an overwhelming pace.

Filippo Grandi issued the warning during a press conference on Parliament Hill on Wednesday. The head of the UN refugee agency is in Ottawa meeting with government officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.

Speaking at a joint press conference alongside Mr. Fraser, Mr. Grandi said that as of Feb. 24, the UN refugee agency counted 84 million refugees and displaced people worldwide, adding that number has likely grown to between 90 and 95 million since Russia invaded Ukraine.

“We are moving toward maybe having 100 million uprooted people around the world. We thought that it will take many years to get there and maybe we would never get there, but unfortunately this war is getting us closer,” Mr. Grandi told reporters.

– The Globe’s Michelle Carbert

5:56 p.m. ET

U.K. planning to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine

Britain is drawing up plans to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine, according to The Times.

Options under consideration in the Ministry of Defence include sending a protected patrol vehicle, such as the Mastiff, or a vehicle like the Jackal, which can be used as a reconnaissance or long-range patrol vehicle, the report said.

The vehicles would be stripped of sensitive equipment and British troops would be sent to a country neigbouring Ukraine to carry out training, The Times reported, citing a defence source.

Further support, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, would be announced by Britain in the coming days, the report said.

– Reuters

5:46 p.m. ET

Nearly 5,000 people evacuated from combat areas today

Ukrainian authorities say nearly 5,000 people were evacuated from combat areas Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 1,171 people were evacuated from the besieged Sea of Azov port of Mariupol, and 2,515 more left the cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol and other areas in the south. She said an additional 1,206 people were evacuated from the eastern region of Luhansk.

Vereshchuk and other officials have been urging residents of eastern regions to evacuate in the face of an impending Russian offensive, saying that people in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions should leave for safer regions.

Donetsk region Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said at least five civilians were killed and eight others wounded by Russian shelling Wednesday.

Over 10 million people, about a quarter of Ukraine’s population, have been displaced by the war, and more than 4 million of them have fled the country.

– The Associated Press

3:48 p.m. ET

Convoy of more than 1,000 civilians reaches Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team has led a convoy of buses and private cars carrying more than 1,000 people to Zaporizhzhia after the civilians fled the besieged Ukrainian town of Mariupol on their own, the ICRC said on Wednesday.

“This convoy’s arrival to Zaporizhzhia is a huge relief for hundreds of people who have suffered immensely and are now in a safer location. It’s clear, though, that thousands more civilians trapped inside Mariupol need safe passage out and aid to come in,” Pascal Hundt, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Ukraine, said in a statement.

The ICRC has worked in Ukraine since 2014 and has recently brought over 700 tons of medical supplies, food and relief items into the country.

– Reuters

3:34 p.m. ET

Over 5,000 civilians dead in Mariupol, mayor says

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The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol put the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000 Wednesday, as Ukraine gathered evidence of Russian atrocities and braced for what could become a climactic battle for control of the country’s industrial east.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said that of the more than 5,000 civilians killed during weeks of Russian bombardment and street fighting, 210 were children. He said Russian forces bombed hospitals, including one where 50 people burned to death.

Boichenko said that more than 90% of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed by the shelling. The Russian military has besieged the strategic port on the Sea of Azov, cutting food, water and fuel supplies and pulverizing homes and businesses.

British defense officials said 160,000 people remained trapped in the city, which had a prewar population of 430,000. A humanitarian-relief convoy accompanied by the Red Cross has been trying without success to get into the city since Friday.

– The Associated Press

3:08 p.m. ET

Ontario announces supports, hotline for people fleeing Ukraine

Ontario is offering emergency supports to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion as well as ways to connect them with jobs in the province once they arrive.

Premier Doug Ford says he is hearing that Ontario can expect about 40,000 Ukrainians to arrive under a new emergency travel authorization, but adds that many people with family in the province have already arrived and are staying with relatives.

The government announced Wednesday that Ukrainian newcomers will receive access to provincial health coverage, emergency housing, and trauma-informed counselling.

– The Canadian Press

1:38 p.m. ET

Ukraine says four civilians killed at aid distribution point, east under heavy fire

Russian artillery fire killed at least four people and wounded four others at a humanitarian aid distribution point on Wednesday as Moscow’s forces bombarded towns, cities and rail infrastructure in eastern Ukraine, local officials said.

Authorities in the eastern region of Luhansk urged civilians to evacuate “while it is safe”, warning that Russian bombardments could cut off escape routes.

Later, Ukrainian Railways reported there were a number of casualties after three rockets hit an unspecified rail station in the east, without giving further details.

Ukraine says Russian troops that invaded on Feb. 24 are regrouping and preparing for a new offensive in the Donbas area, which includes both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko shared online photos from the town of Vuhledar, where he said Russian artillery fire had struck a humanitarian aid distribution point.

The photos showed two women stretched out on the ground. Another person had a serious leg wound and a fourth was shown with a bloodied leg, being helped into a rescue vehicle.

“The enemy cynically fired on civilians from Vuhledar, who had come to receive humanitarian aid. As a result of the shelling there are 4 dead and 4 wounded,” Kyrylenko wrote in a later post, updating the death toll from an earlier estimate of two killed.

He said one other person was also killed in shelling in the village of Ocheretyn on Wednesday, while four civilians were wounded in a similar strike on another rural settlement.

Russia has denied targeting civilians. Reuters was unable immediately to verify Kyrlyenko’s account of the incidents.

Local officials reported fighting in many part of eastern Ukraine and there were also reports of shelling and fighting in the south, where the port city of Mariupol is surrounded and under siege from Russian forces.

– Reuters

12:52 p.m. ET

Eastern Ukraine town empties as residents fear new Russian assault

Dragging trolleys and clutching plastic bags with their meagre belongings, residents of the northeastern Ukrainian town of Derhachi, near the border with Russia, boarded buses on Wednesday to be evacuated as fears of a Russian assault grew.

Since pulling back from outside the capital Kyiv last week, Russian forces have shifted their assault towards Ukraine’s south and east.

Ukraine’s general staff said the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest, remained under attack on Wednesday, and authorities expect Russian forces to launch a full-blown assault soon to try to take the city.

Many in the town of Derhachi, which lies just north of Kharkiv and 30 kilometres from the border with Russia, have decided to leave while they can. Buildings have already been badly damaged by Russian artillery.

“The shelling has intensified in recent days. I am very worried for my children,” said Mykola, a father of two who declined to give his surname, hugging his young son who was keeping warm under a fleece blanket.

He said he could hear the thud of bombardments every night, and had been hunkering down with his family in the corridor of their home.

“(We’ll go) wherever there are no explosions, where the children won’t have to hear them. I want it to be over as soon as possible,” he said, struggling to hold back tears.

At least eight buses and vans left the town on Wednesday in an evacuation organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross towards the city of Poltava, some 150 km to the west. A family with a dog, a mother cuddling her baby, an elderly woman with a cane waited patiently for their turn to leave.

– Reuters

12:16 p.m. ET

Inflation in Russia hits seven-year high, prices jump 10 per cent

Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 16.70 per cent as of April 1, its highest since March 2015 and up from 15.66 per cent a week earlier, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, as the volatile rouble sent prices soaring amid unprecedented Western sanctions.

Inflation in Russia has accelerated sharply in the past few weeks as the rouble’s fall to an all-time low boosted demand for a wide range of goods from food staples to cars on expectations prices will rise even more.

– Reuters

11:45 a.m. ET

Trudeau hesitant to expel Russian diplomats due to likely cost of retaliation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russian diplomats in Canada are spreading propaganda about Moscow’s assault on Ukraine, but he is hesitant to expel them because he’s concerned retaliation from the Kremlin would undermine the information-gathering work performed by the Canadian embassy in Russia.

“There will always be a tit-for-tat approach from the Russians on this,” he told reporters Wednesday in Ottawa. Read full story.

– The Globe’s Steven Chase

11:30 a.m. ET

Ukraine’s ombudswoman says 400 missing in town of Hostomel

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Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman said on Wednesday more than 400 residents were missing in the town of Hostomel after a 35-day occupation by Russian forces, and she quoted witnesses as saying some of them had been killed.

Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova did not say how many people may have been killed in Hostomel, near the capital Kyiv, and cited no direct evidence for her assertion. She did not say who the witnesses were or provide any other details.

Russian forces seized Hostomel, which is close to an airfield, soon after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“More than 400 people have gone missing in 35 days of occupation in Hostomel. Witnesses say some were killed, but their whereabouts are still unknown,” Denisova said.

She did not say how many people may have left Hostomel since the start of the Russian invasion.

Russia did not immediately comment on her remarks. Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.

Kyiv is already looking into other reports of alleged atrocities, including in the town of Bucha, outside the capital. Tied bodies shot at close range were found there after Russian troops withdrew, and other bodies stuck out of a mass grave at a church.

– Reuters

11:21 a.m. ET

U.K. to ban Russian coal and freeze assets of Sberbank

Britain froze the assets of Russia’s largest bank Sberbank on Wednesday and said it would ban imports of Russian coal by the end of 2022 in a new round of sanctions coordinated with Western allies to “starve Putin’s war machine”.

A further eight oligarchs active in industries including fertilizers, oil, gas, trucks and diamonds, were also sanctioned by Britain.

It will also ban outward investment to Russia, which was worth over 11 billion pounds ($14.4 billion) in 2020, and the export of key oil refining equipment and catalysts.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Our latest wave of measures will bring an end to the UK’s imports of Russian energy and sanction yet more individuals and businesses, decimating Putin’s war machine.”

– Reuters

10:29 a.m. ET

U.S. sanctions Russia’s Sberbank, Putin’s kids, bans investment

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The United States targeted Russian banks and elites with a new package of sanctions on Wednesday that includes banning any American from investing in Russia, after Washington and Kyiv accused Moscow of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

The new sanctions will put full blocking sanctions in Russia’s Sberbank, which holds one-third of Russia’s total banking assets, and Alfabank, a senior U.S. official told reporters. Energy transactions are blocked from these sanctions, the official said.

The United States is also sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult daughters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s wife and daughter, and members of Russia’s security council, the official said. Americans are banned from investing in Russia, the official said, including through venture capital or mergers.

The U.S. is “dramatically escalating” the financial shock on Russia by cutting off that country’s largest banks, the official said. Russians may be forced back into Soviet-style living standards from the 1980s, the official said.

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday also announced new enforcement actions to disrupt and prosecute criminal Russian activity.

Grim images emerging from the Ukrainian city of Bucha include a mass grave and bodies of people shot at close range, prompting calls for tougher action against Moscow and an international investigation.

– Reuters

9:54 a.m. ET

Breaking ranks with EU, Hungary says ready to pay for Russian gas in roubles

Hungary said on Wednesday it was prepared to pay roubles for Russian gas, breaking ranks with the European Union which has sought a united front in opposing Moscow’s demand for payment in the currency.

Hungary will pay for shipments in roubles if Russia asks it to, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a news conference on Wednesday in reply to a Reuters question.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Europe it risks having gas supplies cut unless it pays in roubles as he seeks retaliation over Western sanctions for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. With weeks go to before bills are due, the European Commission has said that those with contracts requiring payment in euros or dollars should stick to that.

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto earlier said that EU authorities had “no role” to play in its gas supply deal with Russia, which was based on a bilateral contract between units of Hungarian state-owned MVM and of Gazprom. Hungary has been one of a few EU member states that have rejected energy sanctions against Moscow in response to the invasion, which Russia terms a “special military operation”.

– Reuters

9:00 a.m. ET

Car rams Russian Embassy gate in Romania, driver dead

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A car carrying containers of flammable materials crashed into the gate of the Russian Embassy in the Romanian capital early Wednesday, bursting into flames and killing the driver, police said.

The sedan rammed into the gate at about 6 a.m. Wednesday but did not enter the Bucharest embassy compound.

Video of the aftermath showed the car engulfed in flames as security personnel ran through the area.

According to police, firefighters who arrived at the scene were able to put the fire out but the driver died on the spot.

The case prosecutor who arrived at the scene told reporters that several containers with flammable substances were discovered inside the car, which will be examined by forensics experts. The crash was under investigation and an autopsy will be carried out, the prosecutor, Bogdan Staicu, said.

In a statement after the incident, the Russian embassy said that no employees were injured and expressed condolences to the family of the driver, but also added: “There is no doubt that he committed this act under the influence of an explosion of anti-Russian hysteria in connection with a staged provocation in the city of Bucha.”

Romania’s foreign ministry, however, hit back in a statement saying it “rejects any attribution of context or political significance to this tragic incident” and called on the Russian embassy to “exercise maximum restraint in offering any interpretations,” before investigations are concluded.

– The Associated Press

8:26 a.m. ET

Russian shelling sets fire to 10 high-rise buildings in Ukraine’s Sievierodonetsk, says governor

Ten high-rise buildings are on fire in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk after Russian forces shelled the town on Wednesday, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region said in an online post.

He said that there was no information yet on any casualties. Sievierodonetsk is the temporary headquarters of the regional authorities as Luhansk city has been controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014.

– Reuters

8:17 a.m. ET

More Western sanctions to hit Russia after Bucha killings

The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union were set Wednesday to impose new punishing sanctions targeting Russia, including a ban on all new investment in the country and an EU embargo on coal, after evidence of torture and killings emerged in recent days from a town outside of Kyiv.

Videos and images of bodies in the streets of Bucha after it was recaptured from Russian forces have unleashed a wave of indignation among Western allies, who have drawn up new sanctions as a response.

The European Commission’s proposed ban on coal imports would be the first EU sanctions targeting Russia’s lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said energy was key to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war coffers.

“A billion euro is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he provides us since the beginning of the war. We have given him 35 billion euro. Compare that to the one billion that we have given to the Ukraine in arms and weapons,” Borrell said.

After several European countries announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats, the European Commission proposed a fifth package of sanctions including a ban on coal imports that could be adopted as soon as Wednesday once unanimously approved by the 27-nation bloc’s ambassadors.

The United States and Western allies plan to impose a ban on all new investment in Russia.

– The Associated Press

7:25 a.m. ET

Zelensky says some in West fear economic loss more than war crimes

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused some Western leaders of considering financial losses to be worse than war crimes, saying he could not tolerate indecisiveness on rigid new Russian sanctions.

“When we are hearing new rhetoric about sanctions... I can’t tolerate any indecisiveness after everything that Russian troops have done,” he said in an address to Ireland’s parliament on Wednesday.

“The only thing that we are lacking is the principled approach of some leaders - political leaders, business leaders - who still think that war and war crimes are not something as horrific as financial losses,” he added, speaking through an interpreter.

Western gained some impetus for more sanctions this week after dead civilians shot at close range were found in the town of Bucha following a Russian withdrawal. But Europe has so far stopped short of restrictions on Russian gas imports that countries in the region are heavily reliant on.

Zelensky called on Dublin to convince its European Union partners to introduce “more rigid” measures against Moscow.

– Reuters

6:49 a.m. ET

Relief House in Warsaw giving refugees from Mariupol shelter, and a place to start over

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At first glance the spacious house on the outskirts of Warsaw looks like the perfect family setting. There’s a large yard with a fish pond, a sprawling deck for barbecuing and a driveway big enough for at least three cars.

Inside, the place hums with activity. On Tuesday, four women chatted casually as they prepared a lunch of borscht and salad while a young girl sat at the table drawing pictures and three boys ran down a hallway laughing.

But the homey atmosphere belies the heartbreak and pain that’s just below the surface. All of the people living here – six mothers, one grandmother and six children – arrived from Mariupol, Ukraine, last week. And now they’re all trying to find their way in a new country while grappling with the death and destruction they’ve left behind. Each one of them spent weeks living underground in shelters, listening to bombs fall on neighourhoods they cherished and wondering how many more friends and family will be killed. Read full story.

– The Globe’s Paul Waldie

6:38 a.m. ET

Russian artillery kills two people at Ukrainian aid distribution point: Donetsk governor

The governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said at least two civilians were killed and five wounded on Wednesday when Russian artillery fire struck a humanitarian aid distribution point in the town of Vuhledar.

In an online post, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko shared photos of the alleged attack which showed two women stretched out on the ground, another person with serious wound to the leg and another person with a bloodied leg being helped into a rescue vehicle.

“At the moment it’s known that two people were killed and five were injured. We document all the crimes committed by the Russian Federation on our land,” Kyrylenko wrote.

Russia has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24. Reuters was unable immediately to verify Kyrlyenko’s account of the incident.

– Reuters

6:01 a.m. ET

Russian forces hit Mariupol, thousands still trapped

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Russian artillery pounded the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv on Wednesday as the West prepared more sanctions against Moscow in response to civilian killings that Kyiv and its allies have called war crimes.

The besieged southern port of Mariupol has been under almost constant bombardment since the early days of the invasion that began on Feb. 24, trapping tens of thousands of residents without food, water or power.

“The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening,” British military intelligence said on Wednesday.

“Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water. Russian forces have prevented humanitarian access, likely to pressure defenders to surrender.”

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said authorities would try to evacuate trapped civilians through 11 humanitarian corridors on Wednesday, though people trying to leave the besieged city of Mariupol would have to use their own vehicles.

Russian forces last week pulled back from positions outside Kyiv and shifted the focus of their assault away from the capital, and Ukraine’s general staff said the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest, also remained under attack.

Authorities in the eastern region of Luhansk on Wednesday urged residents to get out “while it is safe” from an area that Ukraine also expects to be the target of a new offensive.

– Reuters

5:53 a.m. ET

Zelensky says he cannot tolerate indecisiveness on sanctions

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could not tolerate any indecisiveness from Western countries on imposing new sanctions on Russia, in an address to Ireland’s parliament on Wednesday.

“When we are hearing new rhetoric about sanctions... I can’t tolerate any indecisiveness after everything that Russian troops have done,” he told a rare joint sitting of both houses of parliament by video link, calling on Ireland to convince its EU partners to introduce more rigid sanctions.

Speaking via an interpreter, Zelensky said Ukraine civilian infrastructure, including a fuel depot, were hit by Russian missiles overnight and accused Moscow of deliberately provoking a food crisis by using hunger as a “weapon”.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

– Reuters

5:46 a.m. ET

Pope kisses Ukrainian flag, condemns ‘the massacre of Bucha’

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Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned “the massacre of Bucha” and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and bodies poked out of a mass grave at a church.

The deaths in Bucha, outside Kyiv, have triggered a global outcry and pledges of further sanctions against Moscow from the West.

“Recent news from the war in Ukraine, instead of bringing relief and hope, brought new atrocities, such as the massacre of Bucha,” Francis said at the end of his weekly audience in the Vatican’s auditorium.

“Stop this war! Let the weapons fall silent! Stop sowing death and destruction,” he said, decrying cruelty against civilians, defenceless women and children.

The Kremlin says allegations Russian forces committed war crimes by executing civilians including in Bucha were a “monstrous forgery” aimed at denigrating the Russian army.

Francis said the darkened and stained flag, which had writing and symbols on it was brought to him from Bucha on Tuesday.

– Reuters

5:39 a.m. ET

West plans more sanctions against Russia over killings of Ukrainian civilians

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Western governments were preparing Wednesday to impose tougher sanctions against Russia, as Ukraine documents and investigates widespread killings of civilians and other alleged war crimes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky kept up demands for war-crimes trials for Russian troops and their leaders while warning they were regrouping for fresh assaults on Ukraine’s east and south. The Ukraine military said Russia was preparing for an offensive in Ukraine’s east, with the aim “to establish complete control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”

Overnight, Russian forces attacked a fuel depot and a factory in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, the region’s governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on the messaging app Telegram early Wednesday. The number of casualties was unclear. Read full story

– The Associated Press