Europe

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — To Olena, it feels like Vladimir Putin has been chasing her for years.

Fed up with Putin’s government, the Russian citizen left her native country six years ago and moved to Ukraine, where she helped raise funds for women and children whose homes had been destroyed in years of fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region.

Then, this week, she was on the move again — fleeing her adopted home of Kyiv ahead of Putin’s invaders.

DUSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday intensified a crackdown on media outlets and individuals who fail to hew to the Kremlin line on Russia’s war in Ukraine, blocking Facebook and Twitter and signing into law a bill that criminalizes the intentional spreading of what Moscow deems to be “fake” reports.

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — What looked like a breakthrough cease-fire to evacuate residents from two cities in Ukraine quickly fell apart Saturday as Ukrainian officials said continued shelling had halted the work to remove civilians hours after Russia announced the deal.

The Russian defense ministry earlier said it had agreed on evacuation routes with Ukrainian forces for Mariupol, a strategic port in the southeast, and the eastern city of Volnovakha. The vaguely worded statement did not make clear how long the routes would remain open.

New Delhi, Mar 4 (PT) Global steel giant ArcelorMittal has stopped production at its Kryvyi Rih facility in Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict between the eastern European country and Russia.

In a statement, ArcelorMittal, which is owned by Indian-origin industrialist Lakshmi N Mittal, said "the decision to idle its steel making operations in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine (has been taken) in order to ensure the safety and security of our people and assets."

LONDON, Mar 4 (APP): Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Moazzam Ahmad Khan has lauded the role of British Pakistani community in advancing Pak-UK relations and making constructive contribution to the progress and development of both countries.

He particularly emphasized the significance of youth in shaping the contours of a futuristic relationship.

KIEV, March 4. /TASS/: Ukraine calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to immediately take measures to organize humanitarian corridors for the civilian population, Ukraine’s Strana media outlet said on Friday, citing a statement of the Ukrainian presidential office.

According to the statement, Ukraine is ready to do everything necessary to evacuate civilians and organize humanitarian cargoes deliveries.

Humanitarian corridors are needed in settlements in the Sumy, Chernigov, Kharkov, Kiev, Nikolayev, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Lugansk, and Donetsk regions.

MINSK, March 4. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that the West is interested in a prolonged war in Ukraine in order to drown Russia and Belarus in the turmoil. He was speaking at a special ceremony on the occasion of signing into law the decisions adopted in a national referendum on Friday.

KIEV, March 4. /TASS/: Russia’s stance in the negotiations is tough, as is Ukraine’s, so the talks will be difficult, but they will be continued, Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office Mikhail Podolyak said on Friday.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 89,174 over the past day to 16,775,024, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Friday.

In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.53%.

As many as 9,849 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 7.3% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 55 regions, while in 29 other regions the figure increased. The situation remained unchanged in one region. A day earlier, 10,620 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: At a meeting on Friday the State Duma adopted a draft law in the second and the third reading, including criminal liability for calls for the introduction of foreign sanctions against Russia.

The Russian Criminal Code will now be updated by a new article "Calls for the introduction of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation or Russian legal entities." The draft legislation will cover individuals with previous administrative responsibility for related offenses during a year.