Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 01.03.22:

  • On the sixth day of military tensions in Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that all major cities of Ukraine are blocked.

The Ukrainian leader made his statement during a video address to the European Parliament. He called on the deputies to give the country guarantees that it would certainly end up in the European Union.

The situation remains unstable. A powerful explosion thundered on Freedom Square in Kharkiv. The footage captured by a surveillance camera shows that an explosion of unknown origin occurred near the building of the regional administration. There is no official information about what happened.

Eyewitnesses filmed the consequences of the explosion: windows were smashed in all the houses on the square, a crater formed on the roadway, and a burnt car was visible.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed an application for Ukraine's membership of the EU and addressed the European Parliament Tuesday.

He has asked the EU to allow Ukraine to gain membership immediately under a special procedure as ‘it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces.’

Slovak PM Eduard Heger said that Europe is now working in a new paradigm, where Ukraine should be offered a special path to integration and it is necessary to use new tools to help the country.

In turn, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also said that Ukraine should become a full member of the European Union, while trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin has been completely lost.

However, the experts noted that the Ukrainian application to the EU was largely symbolic, while the process could take years.

  • Initial talks between Russia and Ukraine concluded without result on Monday evening.

Both delegations returned from the site of the talks in Belarus to their capitals for consultations. The sides agreed on the next round of peace talks which will be held in the coming days on the Polish-Belarusian border.

The Russian delegation said both sides have identified certain points from which they can predict general positions.

The talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Gomel lasted about five hours and the sides went over the entire agenda, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the talks and noted the absence of the result of talks with Russia that Kyiv needs.

According to Mihailo Podolyak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, ‘Kyiv is seeking a cease-fire in Ukraine and an end to hostilities.’

As talks were underway President Vladimir Putin told the French president, Emmanuel Macron that the Kremlin wants its security demands taken into account “unconditionally,” including the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, resolving the tasks of demilitarization and denationalization of the Ukrainian state and ensuring its neutral status

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said that the positive outcome of the meeting is that the parties agreed to continue the dialogue.

However, Lukashenko today added that several anti-aircraft and missile divisions in Ukraine near the Belarusian border were preparing to strike at Russian troops stationed in Belarus.

  • Lots of reactions followed Vladimir Putin’s order to put his nuclear forces on high alert.

In issuing the order to prepare Russia's nuclear weapons for increased readiness for launch, Putin cited "aggressive statements" from NATO allies and widespread sanctions imposed by Western nations.

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, in turn, noted that Russia considers it unacceptable that US nuclear weapons are located on the territory of a number of European countries.

“The tragedy of Ukraine is the result of the connivance of Western patrons to the criminal regime formed in Kyiv,” he said.

Ben Wallace, Britain’s defense secretary, said the UK did not recognise the terms Putin used.

“That is not a term that is in their doctrine,” the minister told the BBC.

At the Pentagon, a senior US defense official described Putin's nuclear order as an escalation, and said it was "putting in play forces that, if there's a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous."

Russia's total nuclear stockpile is larger than the United States', at around 6,250 total nuclear warheads, according to the Arms Control Association. The US has more than 5,500.

  • As the western countries are imposing sanctions on Russia, the situation remains highly tense. Mastercard has disconnected several Russian financial institutions from its payment system following sanction orders. Apple Pay and Google Pay have already been banned, while social networks restricted ads for some Russian accounts.

Russian football clubs and national teams have been suspended from all competitions by FIFA and UEFA "until further notice".

The International Ice Hockey Federation also announced Monday that Russia and ally Belarus are banned from its events "until further notice."

However, head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell said that the EU sanctions against Russia have a cost.

But we have to be ready to pay the price, or we will have to pay a much higher price in the future,” Borrell said.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in Monday’s press briefing that, “the United States is the largest provider of assistance to Ukraine, and President Biden has committed more security assistance to Ukraine over the past year than the United States has provided at any other time in history.”

She added that the US is “working to expedite deliveries from the latest package the President approved.”

Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei, in turn, noted that the current conflict around Ukraine is connected with the US policy of creating crises in the world.

He said that Ukraine has become a victim of the crisis created by the United States.

  • The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia has urged citizens to refrain from non-official trips abroad in the near future.

Russian nationals have been recommended to use commercial flights of foreign airlines — for example, via Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey — to travel to third countries, then use the flights of Russian or foreign airlines toward Russia.

Russia has closed its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union, in response to Ukraine-related sanctions targeting its aviation sector.

The flight bans are expected to affect the airlines that fly over the world's biggest country to get from Europe to Asia. They are likely to force them to find new routes.

Rosaviatsia said that flights from those countries could in exceptional circumstances be authorized if they secure special clearance from Russia's aviation authority or foreign ministry.

  • Armenians form a huge community in Ukraine.

However, most of them do not intend to come back to Armenia, while the situation in Ukraine remains tense. Instead, they flee to Europe.

“Due to the current situation in Ukraine, the Armenians of a number of cities are leaving their places of residence, heading mainly to Europe,” said Assistant to the Honorary Consul of Armenia in Kharkiv Hamlet Hovhannisyan.

Meanwhile, Eduard Aghajanyan, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia spoke about Armenian stance towards the conflict.

“Yerevan's position is that the conflict in Ukraine should be resolved through diplomacy,” he said.

Last week, the CoE suspended Russia's representation in the organization. A total of 42 countries voted for the suspension of Russia's representation, whereas only two countries—Russia itself and Armenia—voted against it. Turkey abstained while Azerbaijan did not take part in this vote.

Asked why Armenia did not support Council of Europe (CoE) sanctions on Russia, he noted that the severance of ties does not contribute to the development of diplomatic solutions.

  • Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia has had a phone talk with President Emmanuel Macron of France.

The sides touched upon the forthcoming Armenian-French cooperation forum in Paris, and their upcoming meeting.

Also, the two discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), and the strengthening of security and stability in the South Caucasus.

The leaders of Armenia and France also exchanged views on the processes taking place in the international arena.

  • The Armenian Foreign Minister made remarks at the 49th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

Ararat Mirzoyan noted that Azerbaijan continues its policy of human rights violations, which affects not only Karabakh people but also residents of the Armenian border regions.

He added that 16 months after the establishment of the ceasefire, there are still 38 Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, including civilians.

‘While the fate of hundreds of missing persons, including dozens of forcibly missing persons, remains unclear,’ Mirzoyan said.

The FM called on the international community to take responsibility for ensuring unconditional access by UN bodies to the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Tuesday also met with Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Ararat Mirzoyan drew Peter Maurer's attention to the urgency of returning 38 Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan, as well as revealing the cases of forcible disappearances and the fate of missing persons.