INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NATO territory, as China came under United States pressure to restrain its Kremlin allies.Ambulance and police vehicles raced to the scene
refugees cross over from Ukraine.Motorists were turned away at checkpoints and a thick pall of smoke billowed over the airport, an AFP
reporter saw, although officials said the plant was inactive and there were no fatalities.Located 70 kilometers (45 miles) from the border,
Lviv had until now largely escaped assault by Russian forces, and it has become a rear base for foreign diplomats fleeing Ukraine's
capital Kyiv."This was a strike on the city of Lviv, on a humanitarian hub where more than 200,000 people have been displaced," regional
started to hit here."As President Vladimir Putin's three-week-old ground offensive has stalled under fierce Ukrainian resistance, Moscow
has increasingly turned to indiscriminate air and long-range strikes.In the besieged southern city of Mariupol, rescue workers have been
searching for any survivors buried beneath the rubble of a bombed-out theatre, amid fears hundreds may be trapped.Russia said its troops and
their separatist allies were fighting in the center of the strategic port city.Authorities in Kyiv said one person was killed when a downed
Russian rocket struck a residential building in the capital's northern suburbs
They said a school and playground were also hit.Russians lack 'basic essentials'In the hard-pressed eastern city of Kharkiv, Russian strikes
demolished the six-story building of a higher education institution, killing one person and leaving another trapped in the wreckage,
officials said.Britain's defense ministry said that on the ground, Russia was struggling to resupply its forward troops "with even basic
essentials such as food and fuel.""Incessant Ukrainian counterattacks are forcing Russia to divert large number of troops to defend their
This is severely limiting Russia's offensive potential," it said.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine's resistance had killed
thousands of invading troops, as he addressed Russian mothers in his latest video message."We didn't want this war
We only want peace," he said
"And we want you to love your children more than you fear your authorities."In a call later Friday, United States President Joe Biden was
to warn his counterpart Xi Jinping that China would face "costs" for "any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression," Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said.After accusing Putin of being a "war criminal," Biden hopes China will use "whatever leverage they have to compel
Moscow to end this war," the top United States diplomat said."Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime," Blinken added in the wake
survived the impact, and some "adults and children" had emerged alive.The attack on a civilian building marked with the words "DETI," or
Beijing has refused to oppose Russia at the United Nations, or even to use word the "invasion" three weeks into the war, while stressing its
opposition to the West's punishing sanctions on Moscow.Russia did withdraw a UN Security Council vote on a "humanitarian" resolution on
Ukraine, scheduled for Friday, due to a lack of support from China and India, diplomats said.Moscow's diplomatic isolation deepened as
Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, following in the steps of
and 80% of its housing has been destroyed."In the streets, there are the bodies of many dead civilians," Tamara Kavunenko, 58, told AFP
unfolding risks "extensive" economic fallout around the world, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other top global lenders
warned."The entire global economy will feel the effects of the crisis through slower growth, trade disruptions, and steeper inflation," they
said.'Odessa holding on'For many Ukrainians, Russia's actions on the ground and from the air make a mockery of stop-start peace talks that
have been proceeding this week.In a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin on Friday accused Ukrainian authorities of "trying in
every possible way to stall negotiations, putting forward more and more unrealistic proposals.""Nevertheless, the Russian side is ready to
continue to search for solutions in line with its well-known principled approaches," he said, according to the Kremlin.Russia wants Ukraine
slammed Putin's vision for peace and in Odessa, on the Black Sea, civilians are braced for attack, with tanks deployed at intersections
forlornly at her city's empty, barricaded streets."But thank God we are holding on! Everyone is holding on!"
