Good morning. Garreth MacNamee here with you this morning. 

We are getting more details about the rocket attack near Lviv. 

Nine people died and 57 were injured in Russian air strikes overnight on a Ukrainian military base close to the city of Lviv, the city’s mayor confirmed.

“Unfortunately we have 9 dead. 57 people were injured,” Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy wrote on Telegram.

Peace talks have so far not brought about anything worthwhile but they are set to continue next week.

Meanwhile, the UN said it will have multiple meetings this week about Russia’s war in Ukraine.

On Monday, the Security Council will discuss the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau is expected to speak during the session.

Multiple trusted sources are now reporting that the mayor of Dniprorudne has been kidnapped by Russian troops.

Yevhen Matviiv is the second mayor Russian soldiers kidnapped since the war broke after Melitopol’s mayor was kidnapped yesterday. 

More information now coming to us about the attack near Lviv.

Around 30 cruise missiles were fired from Russian planes located over the Black Sea, which had flown out from the southern Russian city of Saratov, Lviv’s mayor said.

Ukraine’s Air Force Command West said on Facebook two cruise missiles were destroyed by air defence systems.

They said the missiles were fired “probably from the waters of the Sea of Azov or the Black Sea”.

A bus carrying around 50 Ukrainian refugees has crashed in Italy, killing a young woman and leaving several others injured, according to local reports.

The crash happened on a road between Cesena and Rimini.

More now on that bus crash. 

The bus landed on its side on a grassy slope just beyond a highway guardrail and near a farm field. Firefighters used two cranes to set the vehicle upright and remove it.

Italy’s Interior Ministry said the bus had set out from Ukraine and was heading south to Pescara, an Adriatic port city, when it overturned.

PA PA

Sanctions against Russia are now hitting holidaymakers. 

Thousands of Russian tourists in Thailand are struggling to find a route home  as international sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine hit holiday-makers.

Russians tourists have been among the largest group of visitors to return to Thailand’s beachside resorts since pandemic restrictions eased, but many now find themselves without a return ticket.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) official Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya said 3,100 Russians were stuck in Phuket, while just over 2,000 were in Samui, and smaller numbers were in Krabi, Phang Nga and Bangkok.

The death toll from the missile attack near Lviv in western Ukraine has increased to 35, according to the regional governor there. 

This attack is being seen as a new departure for Russia’s strategy. Previously, the western border cities had not been touched by many Russian attacks.

Turkey has asked Russia to help evacuate Turkish citizens stranded in the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine, Ankara’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters today.

“Yesterday, we called (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov) and asked him for his help evacuating our citizens,” Cavusoglu said.

Some news closer to home now. 

Scotland “stands ready” to take 3,000 Ukrainian refugees immediately, Nicola Sturgeon said as she pledged the country could be a “super sponsor” for those fleeing the war.

More from the UK now and the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has warned that frims should “think very carefully” about making any investments in Russia which would support Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Sunak warned there is “no case” for new investment in Russia as he said further action must be taken collectively to “inflict maximum economic pain”.

More now from The Journal’s Niall O’Connor who is reporting from the Poland/Ukraine border. 

Irish politicians who travelled to the Ukrainian/Polish border to examine the humanitarian crisis have appealed to Irish people to focus their humanitarian response with financial donations to Irish aid agencies. 

Oireachtas Foreign Affairs and Defence committee members Deputy Cathal Berry and Senator Gerard Craughwell were on the Ukrainian/Polish border yesterday.

You can read the whole story here. 

Boris Johnson must answer “serious questions” over his appointment of a Russian-born newspaper baron to the House of Lords, the Labour opposition said today after new media revelations.

Longstanding speculation about Johnson’s friendship with Evgeny Lebedev — whose father was a KGB officer — has revived since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that Johnson was warned about granting a peerage to Lebedev two years ago by Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6, but he pressed ahead anyway.

The UK government has unveiled a new scheme, according to AFP, to allow Ukrainian refugees to stay with Britons for up to three years.

Stung by criticism of its lacklustre approach to refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Conservative government has devised a “Homes for Ukraine” programme that will allow “tens of thousands” to gain access to work, healthcare and education, cabinet secretary Michael Gove said.

Some 3,000 have already been given visas to join Ukrainian relatives living in Britain under an existing family scheme, he told Sky News, rejecting comparisons to much bigger numbers taken in by EU members.

With the new scheme, the government wanted to try to ensure that “every available home” is opened up “to those who are fleeing persecution”, said Gove, whose portfolio includes housing.

Russia detained more than 250 people for protesting Moscow’s “military operation” in Ukraine, as the conflict continues for a third week.

OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained 268 people during demonstrations in 23 Russian cities.

An AFP journalist present at a protest in the capital Moscow witnessed at least a dozen arrests and said police were taking away anybody without press papers.

Update from our reporter Niall, who’s on the ground on the Polish-Ukrainian border. Workers there anticipate more than 10,000 people will cross the border today.

Sunday afternoon in Medyka. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/K5We2hkCpg

— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) March 13, 2022

In terms of what’s currently happening in Dublin Airport, Ukrainians who arrive in Ireland present themselves at immigration. They are then taken by border control for processing. It seems there’s no signage in Ukrainian or Russian to assist them – and many don’t speak English. Flights coming from Poland can have up to 15 Ukrainian refugees on board

An American journalist has been shot dead and another wounded on Sunday in a Kyiv suburb, AFP is reporting.

The victim has been named by the Kyiv Post as 51-year-old Brent Renaud, a New York Times correspondent.

A 51-year-old New York Times correspondent Brent Renaud was shot dead in Irpen today. Another journalist was injured. Now they are trying to take the victim out of the combat zone. pic.twitter.com/7FtazzW819

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) March 13, 2022

AFP reporters in Irpin saw the body of the victim.

US national security advisor Jake Sullivan tells CNN he is awaiting more information on the reported death of the journalist, but if the information is correct, “it is a shocking and horrifying event – it is one more example of the brutality of Vladimir Putin and his forces”.

“Shocking and horrifying”: US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46 reacts to a reported killing of an American journalist in Ukraine by Russian forces, according to police in Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/aKkKpRq9IM

— CNN (@CNN) March 13, 2022

More from The Journal’s Niall O’Connor in Medyka, on the Polish-Ukrainian border

Had a chat with the French Firefighters providing paramedic assistance here at Medyka. They are treating plenty of refugees for minor ailments caused by walking long distances. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/I98lHDX3xj

— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) March 13, 2022

Doctors are on hand to provide first aid in Medyka as many refugees are presenting with minor injuries from walking long distances. Unsurprisingly, fatigue is common too.

AFP is reporting that Russian troops have fired warning shots at peaceful protesters the southern city of Kherson, which was seized by the Russian army earlier this month.

According to local media, thousands of people gathered to wave Ukrainian flags and chant “Kherson is for Ukraine” and “Glory to Ukraine”, in a show of defiance on the central Freedom Square.

Protesters marched down a central boulevard past a line of Russian armoured vehicles marked with the “Z” symbol used by the invaders and manned by troops wielding guns and wearing face coverings, a witness video posted by Suspilne Kherson on Telegram showed.

At one point, troops fired several volleys, which Suspilne Kherson reported were “warning shots”.

The video showed protesters shouting “Fascists” and “Go home!” in Russian.

Some wrapped themselves in Ukrainian flags, standing next to tank traps that still littered the square. On Sunday, the city marked 78 years since its liberation from the Nazis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of the Kherson protest on Telegram, writing: “I am grateful to each person … who does not surrender. Who protests. Who demonstrates to the occupiers that Ukraine is our land.”

The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24th is now nearly 2.7 million, the UN has said.

Some worrying news from the Donbas region. 

A senior Ukrainian police officer has accused Russian forces of launching phosphorus bomb attacks in the eastern region of Lugansk.

International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus shells in heavily populated civilian areas, but allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of using phosphorus chemical bombs in the eastern Donbas region, while a separate air strike on a monastery sheltering civilians wounded 30.

International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus shells in heavily populated civilian areas but allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops.

Oleksi Biloshytsky, head of police in Popasna, around 100km west of Lugansk city, said late last night that Russian forces had used the chemical weapon in his area.

“It’s what the Nazis called a ‘flaming onion’ and that’s what the Russcists (amalgamation of ‘Russians’ and ‘fascists’) are dropping on our towns. Indescribable suffering and fires,” he wrote on Facebook.

It was not immediately possible to verify the comments.

Speaking during a visit to London, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said there will be a debate in Ireland on its long-standing tradition of military neutrality. 

“My view right now is our focus is, and the people united on this, is to make sure that there is a speedy response from the European Union on all of the issues that require a such speedy response,” he told the BBC.

We’re not a military power in that sense, what Ireland does best is on the humanitarian side, and on the peacekeeping side. Those are our strengths.

Ukrainian refugee crisis: "Our primary impulse is to assist those fleeing war"

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin says the "humanitarian response trumps" any security concerns
#Raworth https://t.co/0ybNwOyuTr pic.twitter.com/2r7sO6yey9

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 13, 2022

Speaking on the same programme, An Taoiseach told the BBC that Ireland had not conducted security checks on the 5,500 people who have fled to Ireland from Ukraine. 

It comes after the UK government reportedly raised such security concerns with counterparts in Dublin. 

“We will monitor them and so on but no our primary impulse is to assist those fleeing war,” Martin told the BBC. 

The Irish people are very seized by the series of atrocities that are going on, what we’re witnessing on our screens every evening is really shocking people and there’s huge human empathy there obviously to help women and the children. 

“Because of the temporary protective directive of the European Union, what Ireland is doing basically is when Ukrainians come into Ireland, they’ll have access to our social protection, income, access to or health services, access to education, the right to work immediately. And we believe that’s the correct thing to do in the context of the worst displacement of people and refugee crisis since World War Two.”

US President Joe Biden has authorised $200 million in additional military equipment for Ukraine.

Washington has already authorised $350 millions worth of military equipment — the largest such package in US history.

Pope Francis has decried the “barbarianism” of the killing of children and other defenceless civilians in Ukraine and pleaded for a stop to the attacks “before cities are reduced to cemeteries”.

In some of his strongest denunciations yet of the war in Ukraine, and in an apparent reference to Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, the pontiff said that “there are no strategic reasons that hold up” in the face of such armed aggression.

Francis told about 25,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square in Rome for his customary Sunday noon appearance that Mariupol, the southern Ukrainian city which “bears the name” of the Virgin Mary, has “become a city martyred by the heartbreaking war that is devastating Ukraine.”

US and Chinese officials are set to meet as tensions mount over Russia

US president Joe Biden is sending his national security adviser for talks with a senior Chinese official in Rome as concerns grow that China is amplifying Russian disinformation in the Ukraine war and may help Russia evade punishment from economic sanctions.

The talks tomorrow will be between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi.

The White House has accused Beijing of spreading false Russian claims that Ukraine was running chemical and biological weapons labs with US support.

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Adviser, joins "Meet the Press" and says the U.S. is prepared to make Russia pay a 'severe price' for chemical weapon use.https://t.co/Q0cHzEFwjc pic.twitter.com/gTMgx4qUWx

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 13, 2022

Sullivan said on NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday that when Russia starts accusing other countries of preparing to launch biological or chemical attacks, “it’s a good tell that they may be on the cusp of doing it themselves”.

More than 2,100 residents of Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol have been killed since hostilities began, the local authorities have said.

“As of today, 2,187 Mariupol residents have died from attacks by Russia,” the city council posted on Telegram, raising the toll by almost 1,000 since Wednesday, when they said 1,207 civilians had died in the first nine days of the siege.

After reports that Russia was seeking to accept reinforcements from Syria as part of its invasion of Ukraine, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Ukraine has the following message:

Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine. I warn foreign nationals who might be agitated to join Russian invasion forces: don’t. We have already launched cases in international courts. Even if you survive, you will be a war criminal. Not worth money or anything else.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 13, 2022

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Germany on Sunday to call for peace and protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, AFP reports.

A sea of people carrying yellow and blue signs that read “Stop Putin” and “Stop the War” massed at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, with police estimating turnout in the capital at between 20,000 and 30,000.
Michael Sohn / AP/Press Association Images Michael Sohn / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images

In Frankfurt, around 11,000 people gathered in solidarity with Ukrainians, according to a police spokesman, who said the rallies proceeded “peacefully and without incident”.

The demos were organised by an alliance of more than 40 rights organisations, campaign groups, unions and church groups.

The organisers put turnout nationwide at around 125,000 people.

In a written appeal, organisers condemned the “increasingly brutal” attacks against civilians in Ukraine, and praised the courage of Russians protesting against Moscow’s actions. AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney has said it is too early to say whether a referendum will be held on Irish neutrality.

Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme, Coveney said the war in Ukraine must be the main focus, including how Ireland can support Ukrainian refugees and provide humanitarian support.

If a referendum on them matter is necessary, he said, “then, of course, we plan for that, but that isn’t the issue that’s on the table right now.”

“The issue that’s on the table right now is how can we contribute to ending this war, and the suffering and murder that’s going on in the back of it.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have issued a statement condemning attacks on health care Ukraine.

“These horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs.

“To attack the most vulnerable – babies, children, pregnant women, and those already suffering from illness and disease, and health workers risking their own lives to save lives – is an act of unconscionable cruelty,” the statement said.

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.

“In Ukraine, since the start of the war, 31 attacks on health care have been documented via the WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA). According to these reports, in 24 incidents health care facilities were damaged or destroyed, while in five cases ambulances were damaged or destroyed. These attacks have led to at least 12 deaths and 34 injuries, and affected access to and availability of essential health services. WHO is verifying further reports, as attacks continue to be reported despite the calls for protection of health care.

“Attacks on health care and health workers directly impact people’s ability to access essential health services – especially women, children and other vulnerable groups. We have already seen that the health care needs of pregnant women, new mothers, younger children and older people inside Ukraine are rising, while access to services is being severely limited by the violence.

.@WHO has deployed logisticians to #Ukraine and neighbouring countries to ensure continuous delivery of medical supplies and has established direct logistics lines to almost all cities of Ukraine, with shipments now in progress.https://t.co/ZSbpAFHjRm

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 12, 2022

“For example, more than 4,300 births have occurred in Ukraine since the start of war and 80,000 Ukrainian women are expected to give birth in next three months. Oxygen and medical supplies, including for the management of pregnancy complications, are running dangerously low.

“The health care system in Ukraine is clearly under significant strain, and its collapse would be a catastrophe. Every effort must be made to prevent this from happening.

“International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld, and the protection of civilians must be our top priority.

“Finally, we call for an immediate ceasefire, which includes unhindered access so that people in need can access humanitarian assistance. A peaceful resolution to end the war in Ukraine is possible.”

The statement was signed by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem

Russia said Sunday that an airstrike it carried out in Ukraine, near the Polish border, killed foreign citizens who had joined Kyiv’s army in its fight against Russia.

“As a result of the strike, up to 180 foreign mercenaries and a large cache of foreign weapons were destroyed,” Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, a statement that could not be independently verified by AFP.

#BREAKING: Russian Ministry of Defense says strike against Military facility in Ukraine killed up to 180 foreign mercenaries and destroyed a large number of foreign weapons

— Wars on the Brink (@WarsontheBrink) March 13, 2022

Update from the Kyiv Independent following the death of a US journalist in Ukraine today

⚡️Journalists forbidden from entering Irpin after Russians kill US reporter on March 13.

Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said the measure was put in place to protect journalists and Ukrainian soldiers alike. Irpin is a satellite town near Kyiv, and a site of fighting.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 13, 2022

Russian state TV tells viewers that if it hadn’t been for the invasion, “Nazi regime in Ukraine would have become even more brazen”. Since the invasion last month, Russia has heavily employed disinformation from state-controlled media about what’s happening in Ukraine and why.

Tonight Russian state TV’s flagship news show tells viewers Russian troops are in Ukraine to stop Ukraine joining Nato, getting a nuclear bomb, attacking Crimea & then southern Russia, ie Ukraine was a threat to Russia. Alternative reality. More of what host Kiselev said

War in the 21st century…Russians were relishing their final moments scrolling through Instagram on Sunday, while bloggers and small businesses that rely heavily on the platform scrambled to lure followers elsewhere online, AFP reports.

Moscow announced this week that access to the social network would cease, accusing Instagram’s parent company Meta of turning a blind eye to calls for violence against Russians.

In a farewell post, reality TV star Olga Buzova – who has racked up the second-largest audience in Russia with 23 million followers – was in dispair and disbelief.

“Right now, I’m writing this post and crying,” she wrote, annotating the text with a crying emoji. “I hope this isn’t true.”

Fashion blogger Karina Nigay, who meanwhile boasts nearly three million followers, was still processing the fact of the looming ban.

“I’m in a state of resentment and nowhere near a state of acceptance,” she said.

Red Cross warns Mariupol facing ‘worst-case scenario’

The besieged port city of Mariupol faces “a worst-case scenario” if the warring parties don’t urgently reach a “concrete humanitarian agreement”, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.

“The ICRC stands ready to act as a neutral intermediary to facilitate dialogue on such humanitarian issues,” it said in a statement.

The Azov Sea port city of around half a million has been under siege since early this month.

Almost 2,900 residents have been killed since hostilities began, the local authorities said earlier. 

“Time is running out for the hundreds of thousands trapped by the fighting,” the ICRC said.

History will look back at what is now happening in Mariupol with horror if no agreement is reached by the sides as quickly as possible.

Emmanuel Macron reacting to the death of New York Times journalist Brett Renaud. 

Today, a US journalist was killed in Ukraine. Before him, others have been targeted, murdered, injured or kidnapped. Our thoughts are with all those journalists driven by courage and an ideal: the freedom to inform. This freedom is fundamental to our democracies.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 13, 2022

More than 800 detained in protests across Russia

Russian police today detained more than 800 people for protesting Moscow’s “military operation” in Ukraine.

OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained 817 people during demonstrations in 37 cities in Russia.

An AFP journalist reporting from a protest in the capital Moscow witnessed at least a dozen arrests and said police were taking away anybody without press papers.

A young woman was shouting “peace to the world” as she was taken away by two policemen, the journalist said.

Some of the riot police had the letter “Z” in the colours of the Russian flag on their helmets.

The letter, seen on Russian tanks and vehicles in Ukraine, has become a symbol of support for what Moscow calls its “special military operation”.

According to AFP, several journalists were detained at a protest in St. Petersburg. 

Russia has said negotiators were making headway at talks to resolve fighting in Ukraine, AFP is reporting.

Leonid Slutsky, a senior member of Russia’s negotiating team, told the state-run television network RT that “significant progress” was made following several rounds of talks hosted on the border of neighbouring Belarus.

“If we compare the positions of both delegations at the start of the talks and now, we see significant progress,” he told the network according to Russian news agencies.

“My own expectations are that this progress could develop over the next few days into a unified position held by both delegations in documents to be signed,” agencies cited him as saying.

Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv have held several rounds of talks since Putin sent in troops to the country. Turkey this week hosted a first meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies that negotiations were scheduled to continue Monday.

Earlier today, a senior Ukraine advisor and presidential aide, Mikhailo Podolyak, wrote on Twitter that Russia had stopped issuing “ultimatums” and instead “carefully listens to our positions”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia had adopted a “fundamentally different approach” in the talks.

Turkey has asked Russia to help evacuate its citizens stranded in Mariupol, according to AFP.