Nuclear power plant attacked, India seeks ceasefire for evacuation: Russia-Ukraine war - 10 points

On Friday (March 4), the Ukraine-Russi war entered its ninth day. Here are the top 10 highlights from today.

Pic courtesy: Reuters

The Ukraine crisis and the war with Russia are now on their ninth day. Here are the top 10 highlights from the day:

- Russian forces have shelled Europe's largest nuclear power plant, sparking a fire there. Firefighters could not immediately reach the site because of the Russian onslaught. The Zaporizhzhia plant provides about 25% of Ukraine's power generation.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with President Joe Biden and other world leaders after Russia's shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Zelenskyy said in a late-night speech he feared an explosion that would be "the end for everyone."

- The Russians have also taken over the strategic port city of Kherson and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the campaign will press on to "demilitarise" Ukraine even as the day before, Ukrainian and Russian delegates met in neighboring Belarus and agreed to provide safe corridors to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid.

- People across Ukraine have taken up arms and sought shelter. More than 1.2 million people have fled to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee agency said Friday.

- Russian forces have captured the southern city of Kherson, a vital Black Sea port of 280,000, the first major city to fall since the invasion began. Russian armored vehicles were seen in the otherwise empty streets of Kherson, in videos shared with the AP by a resident.

- Frequent shelling could be heard Friday from the center of the capital, Kyiv. Heavy fighting continued on the outskirts of another strategic port, Mariupol, knocking out the city's electricity, heat and water systems, as well as most phone service. Food deliveries to the city were also cut.

- In a call initiated by Putin, the Russian told French President Emmanuel Macron that negotiations must center on the "neutralization and disarmament of Ukraine." Macron "spoke the truth" to Putin, advising him of the long-term consequences and telling him he would end up isolated.

- India's Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, admitted that evacuation looks difficult without a ceasefire. "We urge the parties concerned - Ukraine and Russia - to have a local ceasefire at least so that we can evacuate our people including the students."

- The UN Refugee Agency said Friday that more than 1.2 million people have left Ukraine since the invasion began. UNHCR's data portal on Ukraine showed that the vast majority of "about 650,000" had gone to neighboring Poland, and roughly 145,000 had fled to Hungary. Another 103,000 were in Moldova and more than 90,000 in Slovakia. Separately, UNICEF said that 500,000 of those who've left Ukraine are children.

- Russia has acknowledged that nearly 500 Russian troops have been killed and around 1,600 have been wounded. Among them was, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, who had previous experience in Syria.