March 11, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

An independent US government agency is calling on the Biden administration to push for Russia to be permanently expelled from Interpol — a step further than the suspension the administration has already sought — citing the invasion of Ukraine and previous abuses by Russia, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland joined justice ministers from several allied countries to demand that Interpol immediately suspend Russia from accessing its systems, according to Justice Department spokesperson Anthony Coley.  

Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, is a global agency which facilitates police across its 195 member countries to collaborate on criminal investigations. Interpol issues what are known as Red Notices to request the location and arrest of an individual pending their extradition.

Friday’s letter from the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe commended the steps the US has taken so far, but added that the administration should call for the permanent suspension of Russia.

The commission — also known as the US Helsinki Commission — was created by Congress in 1976 with a focus on human rights, military security, and economic cooperation. It is led by Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Steve Cohen.

If Russia is suspended from Interpol, it would bar the country from continuing to participate and therefore put in requests for Red Notices, but it would not remove Red Notices that are already in the system, said Ted Bromund, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an expert in Interpol.

The core part of a nuclear research facility in Kharkiv has not been damaged following a relentless round of shelling, the head of the science institute said on Friday in an interview with Reuters.

The outside of the institute has been hit with “major destruction” by several shells launched from the Russian side, said Mykola Shulga, general of the National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology.

The facility is currently in working condition and safe, Shugla said, adding a warning that if the nuclear fuel tank were to become physically damaged, it could leak radioactive elements and severely harm the environment. 

There are 37 nuclear fuel cells that have been loaded into the core facility, according to Shulga. The institute was about to start working on the industrial utilization of the reactor.

This comes as CNN reported on Thursday that emergency services in Kharkiv were tackling a fire near the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology.

Russian forces expanded their offensive to the west of Ukraine for the first time on Friday. Here's what you need to know about the advancements Russian forces have made in Ukraine and the areas that have been newly impacted.

Where Russian forces have advanced: There's growing evidence that the town of Volnovakha in eastern Ukraine has fallen to Russian forces and their allies in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. The city of Kherson appears to have been captured accrording to US defense intelligence.

The cities of Kyiv, Kharkhiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Sumy continue to experience Russian onslaught and are under pressure.

Where recent attacks have happened, according to Ukrainian authorities: Major cities — including Dnipro and Lutsk — were struck Friday, Ukrainian officials said, with fatalities reported.

An update on the more than 40-miles-long Russian convoy: The convoy that had sat for nearly two weeks outside Kyiv has now largely dispersed, according to Maxar satellite imagery from Thursday. The forces appear to be regrouping.

New actions against Russia by the United States: US President Joe Biden announced that the US, along with the G7 and EU, will call for revoking "most favored nation" status for Russia, referred to as permanent normal trade relations in the US. Additionally, he said Russian imports of seafood, vodka and diamonds will be banned. Meanwhile, the G7 is also adding sanctions to more Russian oligarchs and their families as the invasion of Ukraine continues.

Russia says it has received applications from foreigners asking to join fight: The Kremlin has said volunteers from the "Middle East and Syria" can be sent to fight for Russia in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, claiming that over 16,000 applications have been received from abroad. The US has not seen the “actual arrival” of foreign fighters from the Middle East to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, but it does believe that Russia is moving in the direction of recruiting and using foreign fighters.

Refugee numbers keep climbing: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday that the number of people who have fled from Ukraine has now hit 2.5 million.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry published a strongly-worded statement on Facebook, calling the detention of the mayor of Melitopol by armed men a "war crime."

CNN has previously reported that the Melitopol mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was seen on video being led away from a government building in the city by armed men. A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.

The Foreign Ministry said that the Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols prohibit civilian hostages like Fedorov from being taken.

"We call on the international community to respond immediately to the abduction of Ivan Fedorov and other civilians, and to increase pressure on Russia to end its barbaric war against the Ukrainian people," the statement said. 

"The fact of the abduction of the Mayor of Melitopol, along with hundreds of other facts of war crimes by Russian occupiers on the Ukrainian soil, are being carefully documented by law enforcement agencies. The perpetrators of this and other crimes will be brought to the strictest responsibility," the post concluded.

You can read The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's Facebook post — including an English translation — below:

Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has devastated the country, killing hundreds of civilians, sparking a humanitarian disaster, and resulting in a wave of sanctions from the West.

Following the constant flow of developments can be confusing and overwhelming.

As the war in Ukraine continues, here's a guide to some of the terms you may have heard or seen: What they mean, and why they matter.

No-fly zone

A no-fly zone is an area where certain aircraft cannot fly for any number of reasons. In the context of this invasion, it would likely mean a zone where Russian planes are not allowed to fly, in order to prevent them from carrying out airstrikes on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged NATO to institute a no-fly zone, but NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that it is not an option being considered by the alliance.

Shelling

Russia has relied heavily on shelling key Ukrainian cities and towns as it seeks to seize control of locations in the country.

Shelling refers to artillery fire from large guns and has been used against administrative and residential buildings. Dozens of deaths as a result of Russian shelling have been reported by Ukrainian emergency services.

Cluster and "vacuum" bombs

NATO's Stoltenberg has accused Russia of using cluster bombs as part of its attacks on Ukrainian cities. These are bombs that not only deliver an initial explosion on impact, but also contain multiple smaller bombs that spread over a wide area. They are largely condemned by the international community due to the risk of civilian casualties when they are used in populated areas.

To learn more about key terms relevant to the invasion of Ukraine, read here.

As Russia continues attacks in Ukraine, global health leaders warn that "certainly there'll be a rise in Covid-19."

Some activists in the region already have seen a spread of the disease.

"Some of our volunteers got infected with Covid while helping manage refugees at the border or refugee centers. And because in both Moldova and Ukraine the vax rate is so low, the pandemic is still on," Constanta Dohotaru, an activist involved in the refugee crisis in Moldova and working closely with the Moldovan government, told CNN.

The Covid-19 vaccination rate in Moldova is around 29% and in Ukraine it is about 34%, according to Our World In Data.

In a news briefing Wednesday, officials at the World Health Organization also said that as the pandemic continues, Russia's invasion will impact the spread of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

"Unfortunately, this virus will take opportunities to continue to spread. We, as an organization, recognize that countries are in very different situations, they’re facing different challenges. There’s a lot of movement and refugees associated with this crisis," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, said Wednesday.

Van Kerkhove added that WHO will work with countries receiving refugees to ensure that Covid-19 testing and vaccinations continue. It is estimated that more than 2 million people have fled war-torn Ukraine, with most going to Poland.

In a Twitter post Thursday, WHO described the situation as "the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe for more than 75 years" and noted that it "is working closely with health authorities on meeting refugee needs," and supporting Ukraine’s health system.

"Certainly, there’ll be a rise in Covid-19 within the population within Ukraine, without a doubt, because — not testing, without access to treatment, with vaccinations stopped and there's already low vaccination. I think about 34% or 35% vaccination rate before the conflict," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, said in Wednesday's briefing. 

"So, there are many people who still remain vulnerable to infection," Ryan said, but he added that the world should be careful not to perpetuate harmful prejudices and stereotypes around refugees and Covid-19.

"Let us be very careful with our rhetoric because this always arises, that in some way people fleeing the horrors of war are going to bring stuff with them," Ryan said in part. "Europe has plenty Covid as it stands, and it has got to deal with that — and Ukrainian refugees are not going to change the dial on that."

The leaders of Russia and Belarus have agreed on collaborating further in the near future, according to the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA).

According to BelTA, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko agreed on deliveries — by Russia to the Republic of Belarus — of the most modern models of military equipment in the near future.

In turn, Belarus will increase the supply of modern agricultural, passenger equipment, and other engineering products, the Belarusian state news agency reported, citing the press secretary of the Belarusian leader Natalya Eismont.

The two leaders agreed on joint steps for mutual support in connection with the sanctions pressure, including on energy prices.

Government delegations of Belarus and Russia will hold talks in Moscow on Monday to work out specific decisions on all the issues discussed.

Twenty-five Ukrainian children with cancer who fled the war in their country flew aboard a Spanish air force plane Friday from Poland to Madrid, where they will receive treatment, Spain’s Defense Ministry said.   

The children, accompanied by family members, were immediately taken to Madrid hospitals for checkups to determine if they will stay in hospital or could go to lodging provided for Ukrainian war refugees, said Dr. Ana Fernandez-Teijeiro, president of Spain’s pediatric oncology group SEHOP.  

On the flight, there were 22 more Ukrainian war refugees, including some children, the Spanish government said. 

Spain’s SEHOP, a professional organization for pediatric oncologists, worked with Spain’s Aladina Foundation and St. Jude Global, linked to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States, to bring the 25 Ukrainian children with cancer to Spain, Dr. Fernandez-Teijeiro told CNN. 

Similar collaborations are moving Ukrainian children with cancer to get treatment in other European countries as well, from a hotel staging area near Warsaw, Poland, Dr. Fernandez-Teijeiro added. 

There are about 1,000 Ukrainian war refugees in Spain to date who have requested government assistance, and they are currently in refugee lodging, such as homes, hotels or refugee centers, the press office of Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion and Migrations told CNN. 

Spain has prepared an additional 17,000 beds, the press office said. 

There are about 114,000 Ukrainians living in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said recently. The ministry press office told CNN it thought that some of the initial arrivals of war refugees went directly to stay with their Ukrainian family members or friends, without notifying the government.

Heavy shelling by Russian forces has erupted around the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Friday evening.

Social media videos showed fires in the area, and Vitaliy Kim, head of Mykolaiv Region Administration, said that there were "active hostilities near Guryivka," to the north of the city.

"We're trying to push them further," Kim said on his Telegram channel.

In a series of messages, Kim said the bombardment amounted to "indiscriminate shooting at civilian targets," including a cafe and apartment block.