Ukraine's strategic port city of Mariupol is under a "blockade" by Russian forces after days of "ruthless" attacks, its mayor has reported, calling for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor.
"For now, we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade," said Vadim Boychenko in a message posted to the mayor's Telegram account.
Capturing Mariupol would give Moscow's invasion a strategic advantage by connecting it to the Russian forces coming from annexed Crimea, which have already taken the key ports of Berdiansk and Kherson, as well as to the troops in the Donbass.
Singapore sanctions Russia
Singapore has announced sanctions against Russia that include four banks and an export ban on electronics, computers and military items, in a rare move by the Asian financial hub.
"We cannot accept the Russian government's violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another sovereign state," its foreign ministry said in a statement, which gave no timeframe for when the sanctions would take effect.
"For a small state like Singapore, this is not a theoretical principle, but a dangerous precedent. This is why Singapore has strongly condemned Russia's unprovoked attack," the ministry said, adding it would not allow export of items that could inflict harm on or subjugate Ukrainians, or help Russia launch cyber attacks.
S&P downgrades Belarus’s sovereign ratings to ‘CCC’
S&P has cut Belarus's long-term foreign and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to "CCC" from "B" and placed it on "credit watch" with negative implications, citing country's involvement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"International sanctions imposed on Belarus due to its involvement in Russia's military intervention against Ukraine are severe, and we expect them to tighten further," the agency said.
Absent an unforeseen positive development, S&P considers it likely that Belarus will de fault over the next 12 months and also lowered the short-term ratings to "C" from "B".
Türkiye evacuates more than 11,000 citizens from Ukraine
The number of Turkish nationals evacuated from Ukraine has reached 11,024, Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
310 additional citizens also set off from Ukraine. 148 are coming to Türkiye from Kiev, Dnipro and Kharkiv via train, while 162 arrived by bus from Odessa, Lviv, Vinnytsia, and Khmelnytskyi, according to Cavusoglu.
More than 1.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine
More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, United Nations figures showed Friday.
The UN children's agency UNICEF estimates that around half a million of them are youngsters.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has projected that more than four million Ukrainian refugees may eventually need protection and assistance.
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