WAR IN UKRAINE – Russian forces on Saturday mounted a new coordinated and artillery
\nattack on several Ukrainian cities, including the capital-city Kyiv, where
\ngunfire and explosions were reported in the proximity of Government buildings,
\naccording to eye-witness reports and Ukrainian army officials. Heavy fighting
\nis also ongoing in southern Ukraine, in Mariupol, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odessa,
\nan adviser to the Ukrainian presidency has announced. According to Russian sources, the Russian
\narmy has taken full control of Melitopol and the hydroelectric power plant
\nnorth of the capital city. Volodymyr Zelensky said his allies continue to
\ndeliver weapons and has dismissed false information according to which he had
\ncalled on the army to surrender. Ukraine’s ambassador in Israel told CNN that
\nthe Ukrainian president has called on the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali
\nBennett, to host and help mediate negotiations with Russia. According to
\nofficial data published by Kyiv authorities, nearly 200 Ukrainians have been killed
\nin the attacks, including three children. Over 1,200 people were injured, of
\nwhom 33 are underage. The USA and the EU on Friday imposed sanctions on the
\nRussian president and the Russian Foreign Minister. Additionally, NATO
\nannounced it will continue to provide weapons to Kyiv and has mobilized its
\nrapid response force on the Alliance’s eastern flank. <\/p>\n
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NATO – France will relocate 500 of its NATO military to Romania in response
\nto Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the French chief of general staff, Thierry
\nBurkhard has announced. NATO has decided to consolidate its presence on the eastern flank and send a strong
\nmessage of strategic solidarity by deploying forces to Romania, General
\nBurkhard argued, adding that France’s NATO personnel in Estonia will also be
\nreinforced ahead of schedule. At the same time, Portugal will also accelerate
\nthe deploying of its infantry to Romania as part of NATO operations originally
\nslated for the second half of the year. Portugal will also help receive
\nUkrainian refugees by granting emergency visas, EFE news agency reports. Prime
\nMinister Antonio Costa told a press briefing at the end of the NATO summit that
\nthis infantry battalion comprises 174 military and is due to head out to
\nRomania within the next few weeks. <\/p>\n
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REFUGEES – In Romania, authorities and civil society are coordinating in order to
\nassist people fleeing the war in Ukraine. A task force has been set up that is
\nworking with the Department for Emergency Situations and NGOs involved on the
\nground, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 has said. Some 20,000 refugees from Ukraine have crossed into
\nRomania since the start of the Russian invasion, mostly women and children. As
\nhotels and guesthouses are getting overcrowed real fast in the north and
\nnortheast, association of volunteers have offered to put up people, including
\nin their own homes. People and NGOs have mobilized from the start of the war
\nand have prepared food, water and hot coffee adn tea for refugees crossing the
\nborder. The Red Cross is on the ground, distributing food and personal hygiene
\nproducts together with a large retailer. Lists with essential phone numbers are
\ndistributed to the refugees, whereas volunteers have set up phone-charging
\nsystems and local Wi-Fi networks close to the border. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 – Nearly 7,200
\nnew cases of COVID-19 infection and 101 related deaths were reported on
\nSaturday, the Group for Strategic Communication has announced. Most of these
\ncases were reported in Bucharest, where the incidence rate is going down. The
\nvaccination campaign has slowed down, which prompted the authorities to close
\ndown several centers across the country while reducing the working hours of
\nothers. The hightest number of daily Covid infections was reported on February
\n1 – 40,018. (VP)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[35374,36585,36583,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-nato-response-forces","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n