Residents Escape Heavy Shelling in the City of Irpin
INTERNATIONAL: Ukrainian military have helped residents in the city of Irpin to escape as heavy Russian shelling hit on Sunday, March 6.
Abandoning buildings on fire and carrying plastic bags, people took the only escape route out of the town with their children and pets in the attempt to reach bus and vehicles that would take them to safety.
Ukrainian police have said there was relentless Russian shelling and air raids in the northeast Kharkiv region, reporting many casualties, while the United Nations World Health Organization have said there had been several attacks on Ukrainian healthcare facilities.
Irpin is located 24 kilometres from the capital Kyiv.
Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame over Saturday's , March 5, failed ceasefire to allow civilians to flee Mariupol and Volnovakha, two southern cities besieged by Russian forces. Ukraine has said more talks were set for Monday ,March 7,, but Russia was less definitive.
People who have been able escape Ukraine have spilled into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on those in areas occupied by Russian troops to fight.
Over 1.36 Million Ukrainian Refugees Flee to Neighboring Countries
Over 1.36 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the "special military operation" launched by Russia on February 24, with Poland taken in over 756,000 refugees, according to the latest UN data released on Saturday.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a total of 1,368,864 people have fled their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance.
Most of refugees are going to neighboring countries such as Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova.
As the situation continues to unfold, an estimated 4 million people may flee Ukraine, said the agency.
The bloc has relaxed its rules on refugees and said its member states will welcome them with "open arms".
In light of the emergency and paramount humanitarian needs of refugees from Ukraine, an inter-agency regional refugee response is being carried out, in support of refugee-hosting countries' efforts, said UNHCR.
The agency have also said that the situation in Ukraine could become "Europe's largest refugee crisis in this century".
Italy Seizes Oligarchs' Villas and Yachts
Italian police have seized villas and yachts worth at least 140 million euros , or about $153 million (USD) from four high-profile Russians who were placed on an European sanctions list following Moscow's attack on Ukraine, sources said on Saturday,March 5.
A police has source said a villa owned by billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, and a villa on Lake Como owned by state TV host Vladimir Soloviev, had both been seized.
In addition, sources have confirmed that yachts belonging to Russia's richest man, Alexey Mordashov, and Gennady Timchenko, who has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, were impounded overnight in the northern Italian ports of Imperia and Sanremo.
Russian oligarchs are believed to have bought numerous villas in choice Italian locations over the past 20 years and sources have said more assets were expected to be seized in coming days as Western states implement massive sanctions to try to force Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
Italian banks were instructed by the Bank of Italy's financial intelligence division on Friday,March 4, to urgently let it know of all measures taken to freeze the assets of people and entities placed on the European Union list.
Uzbekistan-born metals and telecoms tycoon Usmanov is well known in Italy for owning multiple properties on Sardinia, while Italian media say Mordashov owned a villa worth some 66 million euros , or about $72 million (USD) on the same island.
Taking into account the assets of his whole family, Forbes magazine estimates that Mordashov had an estimated net worth of $29.1 billion (USD) before sanctions hit. His 215 feet yacht the "Lady M" had a price tag of 65 million euros, or about $70.70 million (USD) while Timchenko's boat Lena was worth some 50 million euros, or around $54 million (USD) a police source has said.
Timchenko made a fortune in oil trading and has been described by Putin as one of his closest associates.
Soloviev has reportedly complained on Russian television when he found out last month that he risked losing his Italian villa. He was quoted as saying that Europe has sacred property rights.
