Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 02.02.22:

  • The situation in Ukraine remains highly tense.

Early reports are coming that Russian forces have entered the city of Kherson. The Russian defense ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, confirmed the reports.

Ukraine also reported that the Russian military has surrounded the city of Mariupol. Kherson and Mariupol are both key targets for Russia in the south of the country.

Some satellite images showed a 40-mile-long Russian military convoy approaching Ukraine's capital of Kyiv on Tuesday.

Military experts, in turn, say they expect the war in Ukraine to become more destructive.

As tensions escalated, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held phone talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden.

"The American leadership on anti-Russian sanctions and defense assistance to Ukraine was discussed,” he noted.

Biden, in turn, said that “Putin's war on Ukraine will leave Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.”

While, Belarusian MFA said preparations for Russia-Ukraine talks are being finalized, the Russian FM claimed that ‘they are ready for the second round of talks’.

“But the Ukrainian side is playing for time on the orders of the United States," Lavrov noted.

Speaking about sanctions imposed on Russia, the FM claimed that Russia will never remain in isolation with the number of friends it has.

The FM also referred to Joe Biden’s statement, who said that an alternative to the tough sanctions that Washington imposed on Moscow would be a third world war.

And Lavrov claimed that “the third world war would have become a nuclear one.”

The FM once again noted that Russia's special military operation is aimed only at disarming Ukraine and Moscow will not allow Kyiv to obtain nuclear weapons.

  • More and more countries and companies worldwide are taking steps to punish Moscow for the invasion.

The European Union is preparing a fourth package of sanctions against Russia because of its military operation in Ukraine, said Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

US credit card giants Visa, Mastercard and American Express said they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions ‘in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.’

US President Joe Biden’s administration expanded sanctions on Russia, cutting off U.S. transactions with the central bank.

Meanwhile, the American corporation Boeing has suspended technical support for Russian airlines. And European aircraft manufacturer Airbus also said it had suspended support for Russian airlines and the supply of parts to Russia.

Russian ships have also been banned from British ports in a fresh raft of UK sanctions against Moscow announced on Tuesday, while Turkish authorities did not allow three Russian ships to cross the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

Even Hollywood studios are punishing Russia.

Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures Entertainment said they would pause theatrical releases of upcoming films in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine and the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said that at this rate, the situation looks set to become the biggest refugee crisis in Europe this century.

She said the agency urges governments to continue allowing access to all those who flee, including third-country nationals living in Ukraine who are forced to flee the violence

The ruling majority "Civil Contract" Faction has nominated Minister of High-Tech Industry Vahagn Khachaturyan for this position. He is the only presidential candidate.

In his address before the parliament, Khachaturyan thanked the ruling majority faction for trusting him.

According to him, the Armenian authorities need to ensure the safety of their citizens, and put Armenia on a new path of development.

In his speech, he also said that ‘taking into account the importance of Armenia for Armenians all over the world, the issues of Armenian identity should become shared for everyone.’

The presidential candidate also touched upon the returning of POWs from Azerbaijan.

“The institution of the President of Armenia is representative, and therefore, its opportunities can and should be used in order to return prisoners of war,” he said.