‘Russian forces’ advance in Ukraine has slowed down’

Russiarsquos offensive in Ukraine continued but at a significantly slower pace on Tuesday and a second senior Russian commander had been killed Ukrainian military and intelligence said as frightened residents fled bombedout cities The advance of Russian forces in Ukraine has slowed significantly and Ukrainian forces are counterattacking in some areas Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on TuesdayA Ukrainian police officer runs while holding a child as the artillery echoes nearby in Irpin near Kyiv on Monday PicAPldquoThe tempo of the enemyrsquos advance has slowed considerably and in certain directions where they were advancing it has practically stoppedrdquo he told a televised briefing ldquoThe forces that continue to advance advance in small forcesrdquoIrpin Ukrainian soldiers help an elderly woman as she evacuates on TuesdayUkraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs MFA on Tuesday said that around 12000 Russian forces have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine startedKyiv People cook for Ukrainian servicemen and civil defense members PicsAFP APIn the city of Irpin residents ran with their young children in strollers or cradling babies while others held pet carriers plastic bags and suitcases ldquoItrsquos like a disaster the city is almost ruined and the district where Irsquom living itrsquos like there are no houses which were not bombedrdquo said a young mother with a baby in a blanket while her daughter stood by her sideMedyka Poland A mother and child fleeing Ukraine wait at the border crossing in Medyka PolandRussia on Tuesday declared a ceasefire from 10 am Moscow time to provide humanitarian corridors in Kyiv Chernihiv Sumy Kharkiv and Mariupol the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said in a statementLviv Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in the outskirts of Lviv on Monday PicsAP2nd Russian general killedUkrainian intelligence has claimed a senior Russian general has been killed This makes him the second general the Russian army has lost in Ukraine in a week The Ukrainian defence ministry said Maj Gen Vitaly Gerasimov chief of staff of the 41st Army had been killed outside Kharkiv with other senior officersKyiv A man stands atop a destroyed bridge in Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv on TuesdayOil prices riseOil prices jumped on Monday to their highest levels since 2008 as United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports while it looked less likely that Iranian crude would return switftly to global markets Brent rose 51 or 43 per cent to settle at 12321 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate WTI rose 372 or 32 per cent to settle at 11940 a barrel US President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports according to a person familiar with the matterRussia warned it could stop the supply of gas to Germany in response to Berlinrsquos decision last month to halt opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline Russia supplies 40 per cent of Europersquos gas12000No of Russian forces killed since the invasion says Ukrainersquos Ministry of Foreign Affairs861No of civilians wounded as per the UNTweet talkFilippo GrandiFilippoGrandiToday the outflow of refugees from Ukraine reaches two million people Two millionShell to stop buying Russian oilEnergy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine The company said that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons including crude oil petroleum products natural gas and liquefied natural gas ldquoin a phased mannerrdquo The decision comes as surging oil prices have been rattling global markets and just days after Ukrainersquos foreign minister criticized Shell for continuing to buy Russian oilUN 474 civilian deaths in UkraineThe UN human rights office says it has confirmed 474 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb 24 The office said Tuesday the number of civilian injuries is 861 The UN office uses strict methodology and only reports casualties it verifies The Ukrainian defence ministry said 38 children have been killed and over 70 woundedRussian air strike kills 21 civilians in SumyKOSICE At least 21 civilians including two children were killed in a Russian air strike on a residential street in Ukrainersquos northeastern city of Sumy late on Monday the regional prosecutorrsquos office said in a statement on Tuesday The bodies were recovered by emergency services early on Tuesday in searches that are ongoing it said ldquoThe Ukrainian city of Sumy was given a green corridor the first stage of evacuation beganrdquo the Ukrainian state communications agency tweeted The buses are headed to other cities in Ukraine but many people have chosen to flee the country instead Safa Msehli a spokesperson for the UNrsquos International Organisation for Migration tweeted that 2 million have now left including at least 100000 people who are not UkrainianlsquoRussia shelling evacuation routersquoLVIV Russian forces shelled an evacuation route for civilians trapped in Mariupol in violation of a ceasefire agreement on Tuesday Ukraine foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on Twitter ldquo8 trucks 30 buses ready to deliver humanitarian aid to Mariupol and to evac evacuate civilians to Zaporizhzhia Pressure on Russia MUST step up to make it uphold its commitmentsrdquo he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday a child had died from dehydration in Mariupol which has had no water power or heating supplies for daysThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever