A United States journalist, Brent Renaudwas gunned down in Irpin, a frontline northwest suburb of Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, on Sunday.
Renuad was killed in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
The head of police in the Kyiv region said Renaud had been killed and another journalist wounded by Russian forces in Irpin, east of the capital.
“The invaders cynically kill even journalists of the international media who try to show the truth about the atrocities of Russian troops in Ukraine,” Andriy Nebitov wrote on Facebook.
“Of course, the profession of a journalist is a risk, but US citizen Brent Renaud paid his life for trying to highlight the aggressor’s ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness.”
He also published photos of the press ID and passport of Mr Renaud, which had led to initial reports that Renaud had been on assignment for the New York Times.
In a statement published on social media, New York Times deputy managing editor Cliff Levy said the publication was “deeply saddened” to learn of Mr Renaud’s death, who he described as a “talented photographer and filmmaker”.
Though Mr Renaud had contributed to the Times previously, he had not been on assignment for the publication in Ukraine.
“Early reports that he worked for Times circulated because he was wearing a Times press badge that had been issued for an assignment many years ago,” a statement he shared from a New York Times spokesperson said.
According to his social media pages, Mr Renuad had been documenting the plight of refugees in the country.
He and brother Craig Renaud “have spent the last decade telling humanistic verite stories from the world’s hot spots,” according to their website, with their work spanning HBO, NBC, Discovery, PBS and Vice News.
This includes covering “the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti, political turmoil in Egypt and Libya, the fight for Mosul, extremism in Africa, cartel violence in Mexico, and the youth refugee crisis in Central America.”
A military base in Yavoriv, near the Polish border, was hit during a Russian missile attack killing at least 35 people and wounding 134 others this morning, Ukrainian authorities said.
The United States has revealed Ukraine’s strategy in the ongoing crisis rocking the country.
According to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukrainians are ensuring continuity of government one way or another” should President Volodymyr Zelensky gets killed in the conflict with Russia.
He said this in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Blinken praised Zelensky for his tenacity during this dire period.
According to him: “The Ukrainians have plans in place that I am not going to talk about or get into any detail about to make sure that there is continuity of government one way or another, and I am going to leave it at that.
“The leadership that President Zelensky has shown, the entire government has shown is remarkable, they have been the embodiment of these incredibly brave Ukrainian people.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defence in Saturday announced it would stop its bombardment of parts of Ukraine, to allow for civilians to safely flee.
“Today, March 5, from 10 a.m. Moscow time, the Russian side declares a ceasefire regime and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha,” said the ministry in a statement. “Humanitarian corridors and exit routes have been agreed with the Ukrainian side.”
The war between Russia and Ukraine is described as the biggest war after World War 2. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine in the southwest.
Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday confirmed the death of their youth coach who died while protecting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
The CEO of Shakhtar Donetsk, Serhyi Palkin announced the development on Thursday evening.
Palkin in his statement said, “One of our employees was killed, he was a children’s coach.
“He was hit by a fragment of a Russian bullet.”
This is coming two days after two Ukrainian footballers were killed in a clash.
The death of Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko was announced in a tweet by the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO).
FIFPRO wrote, “Our thoughts are with the families, friends, and teammates of young Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Sapylo (21) and Dmytro Martynenko (25), football’s first reported losses in this war.
“May they both rest in peace.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which has seen a lot of people killed and properties destroyed has entered the ninth day.
In what could be termed as a big win, Ukraine fighters have reportedly killed a top Russian general amid fierce war.
Reports obtained by Naija News on Thursday claimed that Major General Andrey Sukhovetsky was killed yesterday after Ukrainian defence forces repelled the Russian offensive.
The General who was the deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of Russia’s Central Military District, was reportedly killed by a sniper.
The report is coming a day after the Russian Ministry of Defence said it has so far recorded 498 casualties in the war against Ukraine.
It further disclosed that more than 1,500 of its servicemen were injured since the invasion of Ukraine was launched last Thursday.
Defence ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, however, has argued reports about ‘incalculable losses’ among Russian forces, describing it as ‘disinformation’.
Ukraine has, however, noted that the true number of Russian troops killed is higher than Moscow admits.
A statement credited to Sergei Chipilev, a deputy of the Russian veteran’s group, on General Sukhovetsky’s demise read: “It is with great sorrow that we learned of the tragic news about the death of our friend, Major General Andrei Aleksandrovich Sukhovetsky, on the territory of Ukraine during a special operation.”
Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday offered to waive visa requirements for foreigners who helps fight in their war against Russia.
Zelensky authorised a decree that would allow foreigners to assist his country in the fight against Russian troops that invaded the country last Thursday.
For foreigners who want to help in the war, the decree brings in a “temporary visa-free regime”.
Ukraine at the moment requires citizens from the European Union and the US to have visas of more than 90 days within six months for visiting.
Naija News reports that the Ukraine President noted that the visa-free regime will be effective immediately from 1 March and will be effective as long as the martial law is in force in the country.
The visa-free regime, however, was not extended to citizens of Russia who were described as “citizens of the aggressor state.”
In a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers.
The order to put Russia’s nuclear weapons in an increased state of readiness for launch raised fears that the crisis could boil over into nuclear warfare, whether by design or miscalculation.
Amid the mounting tensions, Ukraine announced that a delegation would meet with Russian officials for talks.
But the Kremlin’s ultimate intentions toward Ukraine — and what steps might be enough to satisfy Moscow — remained unclear.
The fast-moving developments came as Russian troops drew closer to Kyiv, a city of almost three million, street fighting broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the country’s south came under pressure from the invading forces.
Ukrainian defenders put up stiff resistance that appeared to slow the invasion. Putin, in giving the nuclear alert directive, cited not only statements by NATO members but the hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, including the Russian leader himself. Speaking at a meeting with his top officials, Putin told his defence minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put nuclear forces in a “special regime of combat duty.”
“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Putin is resorting to a pattern he used in the weeks before launching the invasion, “which is to manufacture threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression.” She told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that Russia has not been under threat from NATO or Ukraine.
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“And we’re going to stand up,” Psaki said, adding: “We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we’re seeing here.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN, in reaction to Putin’s decision to put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert: “This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible.”
The practical meaning of Putin’s order was not immediately clear. Russia and the United States typically have land- and submarine-based nuclear forces on alert and prepared for combat at all times, but nuclear-capable bombers and other aircraft are not.
If Putin is arming or otherwise raising the nuclear combat readiness of his bombers, or if he is ordering more ballistic missile submarines to sea, then the United States might feel compelled to respond in kind, said Hans Kristensen, a nuclear analyst at the Federation of American Scientists.
That would mark a worrisome escalation, he said. Max Bergmann, a former State Department official, called Putin’s talk predictable but dangerous saber rattling.
“Things could spiral out of control,” said Bergmann, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Around the same time as Putin’s nuclear move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border.
The message did not give a precise time for the meeting. The announcement came hours after Russia announced that its delegation had flown to Belarus to await talks.
Ukrainian officials initially rejected the move, saying any talks should take place elsewhere than Belarus, since it has allowed its territory to be used by Russian troops as a staging ground for the invasion.
Earlier Sunday, the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was eerily quiet after huge explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported blasts at one of the airports.
Only an occasional car appeared on a deserted main boulevard as a strict 39-hour curfew kept people off the streets.
Terrified residents instead hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian assault.
“The past night was tough – more shelling, more bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said. Until Sunday, Russia’s troops had remained on the outskirts of Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) south of the border with Russia, while other forces rolled past to press the offensive deeper into Ukraine.
The clash between Russia and Ukraine on Thursday recorded at least six casualties.
Reports obtained by Naija News confirmed that a bomb exploded today in the southern Odesa region, injuring no fewer than seven people.
The bombing was confirmed to newsmen in a statement credited to Ukraine’s General Office of the National Police.
This is the first casualties to be announced in the city of Podolsk as Russian forces continue military operations in Ukraine.
Conditions on the seven people injured in the bombing are not yet clear, there are 19 people unaccounted for as at the time this report is given.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that “Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
NBC News had reported earlier that a loud explosion was heard in the central capital of Kyiv and the northeast city of Kharkiv.
The development reportedly occurred a few minutes after Putin’s announcement.
The attacks ended hopes for a diplomatic solution that the United States and its allies had been attempting for weeks.
Prior to Putin’s announcement, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said he tried to call the Russian leader but was rebuffed, Naija News learnt.
Meanwhile, United States of America President Joe Biden has condemned the military attack and invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Naija News earlier reported that Russia on Thursday morning announced that it has destroyed Ukrainian military airbases and its air defence systems.
In a statement issued by Russia’s Defence Ministry, the government added that Kyiv’s air defence systems were also “eliminated” in the attack.
This is coming hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive against Ukraine to defend separatists in the east of the country.
In a statement released by the White House after the attack on Ukraine, US President said the world will hold President Putin accountable for the loss of lives in the country.
The US leader described the attack on Ukraine as unprovoked and unjustified, adding that more sanctions would be imposed on Russia and its business entities.
Biden said he would address the United States on Thursday to announce the further consequences the United States and our allies and partners will impose on Russia.
The US president said he held a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky after the attack on Ukraine, which is sandwiched between Russia and NATO member Poland.
Russia on Thursday morning announced that it has destroyed Ukrainian military airbases and its air defence systems.
Naija News reports that this was made known by Russia’s defence ministry.
“Military infrastructure at Ukrainian army air bases has been rendered out of action,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
The Ministry added that Kyiv’s air defence systems were also “eliminated”.
This is coming hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive against Ukraine to defend separatists in the east of the country.
Naija News reports that the Russian President made the announcement in a surprised televised statement on Thursday
“I have made the decision of a military operation,” Putin who has seen his country hit by multiple sanctions from the west said.
This newspaper reports that the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had appealed to Vladimir Putin to stop his troops from entering Ukraine.
He made the personal plea at an emergency Security Council meeting Wednesday night.
“President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine, give peace a chance, too many people have already died,” Guterres said.
Fighting raged for a third day Saturday between the Islamic State group and Kurdish forces in Syria after IS attacked a prison housing jihadists, in violence that has claimed over 70 lives, a monitor said.
The assault on the Ghwayran prison in the northern city of Hasakeh is one of IS’s most significant since its “caliphate” was declared defeated in Syria nearly three years ago.
“At least 28 members of the Kurdish security forces, five civilians and 45 members of IS have been killed” in the violence, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
IS launched the attack on Thursday night against the prison housing some 3,500 suspected members of the jihadist group, including some of its leaders, said the Observatory.
Hundreds of jihadist inmates had since been detained and around 10 were believed to have escaped, said the Observatory, a Britain-based monitor that relies on sources inside war-torn Syria for its information.
“The exceptional situation continues in and around the prison,” said Farhad Shami, spokesman for the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The fighting on Saturday morning was taking place north of the prison, he added.
The jihadist group said in a statement released by its Amaq news agency that its attack on the jail aimed to “free the prisoners”.
IS has carried out regular attacks against Kurdish and government targets in Syria since the rump of its once-sprawling proto-state was overrun on the banks of the Euphrates in March 2019.
Most of their guerrilla attacks have been against military targets and oil installations in remote areas, but the Hasakeh prison break could mark a new phase in the group’s resurgence.
The Kurdish authorities have long warned they do not have the capacity to hold, let alone put on trial, the thousands of IS fighters captured in years of operations.
According to Kurdish authorities, more than 50 nationalities are represented in a number of Kurdish-run prisons, where more than 12,000 IS suspects are now held.
The war in Syria broke out in 2011 and has since killed close to half a million people and spurred the largest conflict-induced displacement since World War II.
At least seven people were killed and three were missing after a cliff collapsed onto boats carrying tourists on a lake in Brazil, authorities said Saturday.
Rescue teams including a dive squad and members of the Brazilian Navy rushed to Furnas Lake in Minas Gerais state, where panicked tourists had watched helplessly as a large rock fragment broke off a ravine and plunged atop three boats.
The latest official toll is “seven dead and three missing,” Minas Gerais firefighters’ spokesman Pedro Aihara said on Saturday night.
Another 32 were wounded, including nine who had to be hospitalized, authorities said.
Firefighters had initially reported 20 missing, but “that number was substantially reduced because a good part of the victims who were unaccounted for were people who moved by their own means to hospitals,” Aihara said in a voice message sent to reporters.
Tourists flock to see the rock walls, caverns and waterfalls that surround the green waters of Lake Furnas, formed by the hydroelectric dam of the same name.
Dramatic videos shared on social networks caught the exact moment when the cliff fell on the three boats.
Another video posted on social media shows the minute before the fall, in which several people warn that “lots of stones are falling” and yell at the occupants of the other boats to move away from the wall.
President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted some of these videos on his account, and reported that “as soon as the unfortunate disaster occurred, the Brazilian Navy moved to the site to rescue victims and transport the injured.”
The divers’ search will be interrupted overnight for safety reasons and resumed in the morning, but other rescuers continue to work at the site.
Very heavy rain has fallen in recent days in southeastern Brazil, making the collapse more likely, according to firefighters.
