20,000 people through the humanitarian corridor to Mariupol

The latest developments in the Ukrainian Russian War:

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KIEV — A senior Ukrainian official says about 20,000 people were able to leave the besieged city of Mariupol in the south.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy director of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, said that refugees left Mariupol on Mars in private vehicles through humanitarian corridors.

He noted that 570 of the approximately 4,000 vehicles that left the city arrived in the city of Zaporiyia, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest, and others would spend the night in different places along the way.

Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov, was under siege by Russian troops for more than 10 days and faced heavy artillery that killed more than 2,300 people, causing residents to have difficulty obtaining food, water, heating and medicines.

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KIEV — At the request of President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian parliament voted to extend martial law for another 30 days from March 26.

According to the legislation, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country to be called to fight the war against Russia.The current action was due to expire on March 26.

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Vatican City — Pope Francis is praying for the people of Kiev as Russia intensifies the bombing of the Ukrainian capital.

The Vatican said on Tuesday that Francis received a letter from the Mayor of Kiev and invited him to visit the city as a messenger of peace.The Vatican did not disclose whether Francis responded to the request, but due to security concerns, there will be few such trips.

A letter from March 8 invited Francis to visit Kiev or participate in a virtual meeting of religious leaders.

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Fox News photographer Pierre Zakrzewski said that the car he was riding with journalist Benjamin Hall

Hall was hospitalized on Monday after the incident that occurred when reporting in Horenka, outside Kiev, the broadcaster said.

According to a memo sent to employees by Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, Zakrzewski, as a war photographer, dealt with the dispute for Fox in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

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MOSCOW — The Russian Foreign Ministry said that US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior officials have been included on the sanctions list for Russia.

The minister said in a statement that he is taking action in response to sanctions imposed on Russian rulers.

However, he noted that Russia will not abandon official contacts with sanctioned US officials if such contacts benefit the national interests of the country.

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday that the government plans to allocate about 1 trillion rubles ($9 billion) to measures to support the country's economy, which is being hit by international sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Mishustin said that the government will work with other countries of the former Soviet Union to reorganize trade relations, focusing on helping Russia obtain the necessary income.

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KIEV — The Mariupol City Council says that about 2,000 private cars left the besieged port city west through a so-called humanitarian corridor.

In the city, another 2,000 cars are waiting for departure along the 260 km route to the city of Zaporizhzhia, held by Ukrainians.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media that the corridor will be open from 8 pm on Tuesday to 7 am on Thursday.

The council advised drivers not to go straight to Zaporizhzhia, unless they are close to dusk, and spend the night somewhere along the road.

It was unclear whether the figures included only vehicles left on Tuesday, or 160 cars that had departed the day before. The council said on Monday morning that about 300 people arrived in Zaporizhia after escaping the invasion of Russia.

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LONDON — The President of Ukraine tells Nordic leaders that “by helping us, we can help ourselves” and asks for more weapons to combat the Russian invasion.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained in a video conference with the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Forces on Tuesday that the Ukrainian army is rapidly exhausting weapons and other materials sent by Western countries to the country.

In addition, he called for a complete trade embargo against Russia, noting that sanctions were not enough to slow the advance of the army.

“We must recognize Russia as a rebel country, and there must be a trade embargo,” said Zelenskyy. “This is necessary for both us and you, as in the whole world, for peace to be achieved in Europe and Ukraine.”

In his speech, Zelenskyy repeated his frustration with NATO about refusing to declare a no-fly zone in Ukraine.

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Chisinau, Moldova — Italy signs an agreement of 10 million euros ($11 million) to help Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, cope with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who signed the agreement on Tuesday while visiting the capital of Moldova, Chisinau, will provide a preliminary shipment of 8 tons of humanitarian aid later that day. The shipment will include generators, water, thermal blankets, stoves and sanitary kits, and will go to a center that accepts people who have escaped the invasion.

The Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu pointed out that his country with a population of 2.5 million people had already received about 300,000 refugees, and 1/3 of them stayed.

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LONDON — In addition to banning the export of luxury goods, the United Kingdom said it would raise tariffs on vodka and other Russian products.

The measures announced on Tuesday are the latest economic sanctions designed to punish the government of President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.

The British Ministry of International Trade explained in a statement that the measures were designed to disrupt Putin's war machine by depriving Moscow of fair preferential tariff treatment as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Russian and Belarusian products - from vodka or white fish to iron, oilseeds and cereals - are subject to an additional tariff of 35%.

In addition, London said it would join other G7 countries in banning the export of luxury goods, including luxury vehicles, fashion and other art objects to Russia.

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GENEVA — According to the International Migration Organization, more than 3 million people have escaped Ukraine since Russia invaded the country at the end of last month.

The new figures include about 157,000 citizens of third countries without Ukrainian nationality, and these are also part of what UN officials have called Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

At a press conference held in Geneva on Tuesday, IOM spokesman Paul Dillon explained that the total data was obtained by compiling figures provided by the authorities of the various countries reached.

UNHCR, the UNHCR, which provides a more detailed number based on similar data, reported that Poland has received more than 1.8 million refugees.

Spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh noted that about 300,000 people moved to Western European countries, and the majority of those who left the country were women and children.

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ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is negotiating with Moscow and Kiev to evacuate about 100 citizens from the country trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Dozens of Turkish citizens took refuge inside the city's mosque to protect themselves from the Russian attack on the Sea of Azov, a port city surrounded by it.

Officials of the Turkish Ministry of Defense have stated that evacuation is expected to begin shortly after the “security assessment” by the Russian authorities. According to the instructions of the department, sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said that mines have been removed in the area and work is underway to open humanitarian corridors and allow buses to enter.

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BEIJING — China claims that Russia's position on the invasion of Ukraine is “fair and constructive.”

The Chinese government has repeatedly accused the United States of spreading misinformation on reports that China has responded positively to Russia's request for military equipment.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused Washington of “immoral and irresponsible” behavior by spreading false information.

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Ukraine LVIV — The death toll from a Russian rocket attack on a television tower in western Ukraine has risen to 19, local authorities say

The Rivne local government announced on Tuesday on its Facebook page that the attack on the Antopol television tower outside Rivne City caused 19 deaths and 9 injured.

The town is only 160 km (100 miles) from the border with Poland, which is part of NATO, and the attack coincided with the progress of the Russian invasion.

According to the initial report, 9 people were killed in Monday's attack.

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson highlights his commitment to energy independence, noting that the inability of the West to leave Russian oil and natural gas after the annexation of Crimea paved the way for an invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson said in an article on the front page of The Telegraph that Western countries made a “terrible mistake” by resuming normal economic relations with Moscow after breaking into Crimea and making them more dependent on Russian energy exports.

“So, when (Vladimir Putin) finally started a vicious war in Ukraine, he knew that it would be very difficult for the world to punish him, knowing that he had caused an addiction.” The President wrote. “That's why he feels he can bomb the maternity hospital. That's why he feels brave enough to launch an indiscriminate attack on fleeing families.”

Johnson, defending the British government's plan to phase out oil and gas imports from Russia by the end of the year, will put an end to world independence from Russian energy, Putin said he would leave without money.

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LONDON — Russia plans to set up a Kremlin-related government in Kherson, an occupied Ukrainian city to achieve “political control” in some areas, the British Ministry of Defense said.

Moscow added that “it is possible to try to organize a “referendum” in Kherson in order to legalize the region as a 'divided republic', similar to Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.”

According to James Cleverly, the head of the department, the attempt to hold a regional consultation would be “another attempt to provide a veneer of credibility against unacceptable and unjustified illegal aggression.”

In an information update, the British minister said that protests against Russian occupation forces were held in Melitopol, Berdiansk and Kherson, and soldiers fired a warning fire at protesters on Monday.

Russia seems to have installed its own market in the southern city of Melitopol on Friday on suspicion of kidnapping its predecessor, adding that the poet from another city of Dniprorudne was also reportedly kidnapped by Russian troops.

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Warsaw, Poland — Leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia travel to the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday to carry out a European Union mission to show support for the country as Russian troops approach Kiev.

“The purpose of the visit is to express the clear support and freedom and independence of the European Union against Ukraine,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Pyala said in a tweet.

They will travel with Mateusz Morawiecki (Mateusz Morawiecki) from Slovenia, Yanez Jansha, Poland, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, deputy prime minister of security of Poland and leader of the ruling conservative party.

The Russian offensive against Ukraine approached the center of Kiev on Tuesday, approaching the center of Kiev in a series of attacks that hit the residential area of the capital as the two countries planned a second meeting.

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Kiev, Ukraine — A series of Russian attacks hit a residential area in Kiev, causing a massive fire and frantic rescue operation in a 15-storey apartment building. At least one person has died and another is still trapped inside.

The Ukrainian military explained in a statement that the attack was caused by artillery and struck the district of Svyatoshynskyi in the west of the Ukrainian capital near the suburb of Irpin, which witnessed the worst battle of the war.

Flames came out of the building while firefighters rescued people from the stairs.Smoke invaded the environment.

A firefighter at the scene confirmed the death of one person and pointed out that several others were alive and rescued, adding that there were people trying to reach the inside of the building.

Russian troops intensified night attacks on the western suburbs of Irpin, Hostomel and Bucha, the heads of the Kiev region on Ukrainian television, said Oleksiy Kuleba.

On the other hand, the Moscow army resumed its efforts to capture the important port city of Mariupol in the south and launched a new artillery strike in the center of Kharkiv in the east, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained on Facebook.

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The previous version of this office was modified to clarify that Janez Janša is the Prime Minister of Slovenia and not Slovakia.