Ukrainians fled one eastern city, Sumy, on Tuesday after Russia opened a humanitarian corridor. But attempts to evacuate the southern city of Mariupol were hampered by Russian shelling, officials in Kyiv said.
The developments came as the United Nations announced that 2 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
Follow The Hill’s live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine below.
Foreign policy experts call for ‘limited no-fly zone’ over Ukraine
8:46 a.m.
A group of foreign policy experts is calling for a “limited no-fly zone” over Ukraine that would protect established safe corridors for those evacuating the country and “deter Russian bombardment” to protect civilians.
In an open letter to the Biden administration that was obtained by Politico, 27 foreign policy experts urged for a “limited No-Fly Zone over Ukraine starting with protection for humanitarian corridors that were agreed upon in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials on Thursday.”
“What we seek is the deployment of American and NATO aircraft not in search of confrontation with Russia but to avert and deter Russian bombardment that would result in massive loss of Ukrainian lives. This is in addition to the request from Ukrainian leaders for A-10 and MIG-29 aircraft to help Ukrainians defend themselves, which we also strongly support,” the group later added.
–CAROLINE VAKIL
UN human rights chief rips detentions of protesters in Russia
8:15 a.m.
United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday slammed the detentions of war protesters in Russia.
“I remain concerned about the use of repressive legislation that impedes the exercise of civil and political rights and criminalizing non-violent behavior,” Bachelet said to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, according to Reuters.
She added that “vague and overly broad definitions” of incitement to hatred have contributed to Russia leaning toward interpretations of the law that do not align with its human rights responsibilities, Reuters noted.
–CAMERON JENKINS
Shell to stop buying Russian oil, natural gas
8:09 a.m.
Shell said on Tuesday that it will stop purchasing Russian oil and natural gas, following backlash over its decision to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil.
Shell “announced its intent to withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, gas and liquefied natural gas… in a phased manner, aligned with new government guidance.”
“As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil,” it said.
The company added that it “will also shut its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia.”
–MAUREEN BRESLIN
Hillary Clinton: Putin acting out his own insecurities, resentments, grievances
7:53 a.m.
Hillary Clinton blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine, saying he is “acting out his own insecurities.”
“It’s so heartbreaking to me that Putin is acting out his own insecurities, his own resentments and grievances against the people of Ukraine – waging a war against a smaller state that is totally unprovoked,” the former secretary of State told MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski on Tuesday. “It really tells us everything we need to know about Putin.”
“I don’t know how it ends, but I think the person who is most surprised that it is still going on is probably Vladimir Putin,” Clinton added, referring to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, during an interview at the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi.
–CAMERON JENKINS
First stage of evacuations along safe corridors in Ukraine begins
7:33 a.m.
The first stage of evacuations along safe corridors in Ukraine began on Tuesday following three rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry announced that both sides had agreed to a safe corridor between the eastern city of Sumy to Poltava, which sits closer to Ukraine’s center. The foreign ministry said that safe corridor would run between 10:00 a.m. local time to 9:00 p.m. and allow both civilians and foreign students to evacuate.
The foreign ministry also posted a video of a bus with a red cross on it with civilians evacuating. Later that morning, it said that the cease-fire had been violated.
–CAROLINE VAKIL
2 million have now fled Ukraine, UN says
7:27 a.m.
The United Nations announced that about 2 million people have fled from Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion of the country.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that millions have left Ukraine, with nearly 500,000 fleeing on Sunday alone, according to The Washington Post.
–CAMERON JENKINS
