Russia-Ukraine war Updates: Kyiv calls for ceasefire amid efforts to restore power at Chernobyl power plant

Russia Ukraine war LATEST Updates: Ukraine’s foreign minister called on Russia to urgently observe a ceasefire in order to allow restoring power to the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant, saying radiation could be leaked if an electricity outage at the site continues. Russia said on Wednesday the United States must explain what Moscow claims was a military biological programme in Ukraine - an allegation Washington has already dismissed as “absurd” misinformation. The Kremlin said Wednesday that the US had launched an economic war against Moscow, describing an onslaught of sanctions against the country over its military incursion into its pro-Western neighbour Ukraine. The Kremlin on Wednesday said that a Polish offer to deliver Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US airbase could lead to a “dangerous scenario”, as Russian troops continued their advance into Ukraine. Power has been entirely cut to the Chernobyl power plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, and its security systems, Ukraine’s energy operator Ukrenergo said on Wednesday. Russia said Wednesday negotiations with officials from Kyiv to resolve the conflict in Ukraine were making headway and underscored that Moscow’s troops were not working to topple the Ukrainian government. The EU adds more Russian oligarchs and officials to its sanctions blacklist, tightens controls on cryptocurrency transfers and targets Russia’s maritime sector over the war in Ukraine Ukraine on Wednesday said that as many as 5,000 people, including foreign students, were estimated to have left Ukraine’s Sumy city in two stages through the humanitarian corridor agreed between Kyiv and Russia AFP reported that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a day-long evacuation process along humanitarian corridors, according to a Ukrainian official. Russia’s Defense Ministry says its operation thwarted a large-scale plot to attack separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine. At least 10 people were killed in a Russian military attack in the eastern Ukrainian town of Severodonestk on Tuesday, a local official for the Lugansk region said in a statement on Telegram. The New York Times says that it is temporarily removing its journalists from Russia after Moscow imposed new legislation that effectively outlaws independent reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged British MPs to designate Russia as a “terrorist state” after President Vladimir Putin ordered a special military operation against his nation and called for tougher sanctions on Moscow to “make sure our skies are safe”. An air alert was declared Wednesday morning in and around Kyiv, with residents urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible. “Kyiv region – air alert. Threat of a missile attack. Everyone immediately to shelters,” regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) on Wednesday said it is imposing a USD 10,000 limit on foreign cash withdrawals from foreign currency accounts by clients until 9 September. In another apparent nod aimed at placating Moscow, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership. This was was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its neighbour Ukraine. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Starbucks bowed to public pressure and suspended their operations in Russia, joining the international corporate chorus of outrage over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor. In another apparent nod aimed at placating Moscow, Zelensky said he is open to “compromise” on the status of two breakaway pro-Russian territories that President Vladimir Putin recognized as independent just before unleashing the invasion on February 24. “I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that … NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview aired Monday night on ABC News. “The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia,” the president added. This, as Russia became the most sanctioned countries in the world. Key Russian banks have been cut out of the SWIFT payments messaging system, making financial transactions much more difficult. Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II has grown even more severe, with UN officials reporting that 2 million people have now fled Ukraine. Manwhile, Moscow’s forces have besieged Ukrainian cities and cut off food, water, heat and medicine in a growing humanitarian crisis. But for days, attempts to create corridors to safely evacuate civilians have stumbled amid continuing fighting and objections to the proposed routes. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .