(Reuters) – Ukraine said Moscow had snubbed its plea for humanitarian access to rescue hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped under bombardment, as the opposing sides made no concessions at the highest level talks since the Russian invasion began.
HOSPITAL HIT
* After international condemnation of a Russian strike on a hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and Moscow’s claims the building no longer served as a healthcare facility, the Kremlin said it would investigate the matter further.
DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS
* Foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine made no progress in talks in Turkey, with Moscow rejecting Kyiv’s call for a ceasefire and reiterating its conditions for ending the fighting.
* The German government said it had no involvement in former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s meeting with Vladimir Putin, responding to a Politico report that Schroeder was in Moscow to discuss ending the Ukraine war.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Moscow said it was taking steps to soften the blow dealt to Russia’s economy by what it described as an “absolutely unprecedented” economic war being waged against it.
* Rio Tinto became the first major miner to announce it was cutting all ties with Russia, joining a raft of leading Western companies leaving the country.
* European Union leaders agreed to phase out buying Russian oil, gas and coal, a draft declaration showed, but are unlikely to offer Ukraine rapid EU membership.
NUCLEAR POWER, GAS SUPPLY CONCERNS
* The head of Ukraine’s gas transit operator warned gas flows to Europe were at risk because of Russian troops’ presence on sites of its compressor stations.
* Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator warned about a potential radiation leak after power outage in Chernobyl, mothballed site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, though the U.N. nuclear watchdog saw no critical impact on safety.
* Separately, the watchdog said it had lost touch with remote monitoring systems at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Both plants are being held by Russian forces.
HUMANITARIAN TOLL
* Over 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine so far, according to the latest U.N. tally.
* Ukraine says its forces have killed more than 11,000 Russian troops. Russia has confirmed about 500 losses. Reuters was unable to verify either figure. Neither side has disclosed Ukrainian casualties.
AID
* The U.S. Congress agreed to allocate $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine.
* The International Monetary Fund approved $1.4 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine.
(Compiled by Michael Perry and Tomasz Janowski; editing by Kim Coghill and Jason Neely)
