'Russia doesn't want to overthrow Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s govt'

Russia has never threatened NATO and does not threaten the Western military alliance now Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday adding that her country still must react to NATOrsquos ldquoconfrontational courserdquoShe told a news briefing that NATOrsquos buildup of military forces on its eastern flank following what Russia calls a ldquospecial military operationrdquo in Ukraine was ldquoprovocative in its naturerdquo and was not helping to safeguard security in EuropeA Romanian Immigrations officer gives flowers to a refugee fleeing Ukraine on International Womenrsquos Day at the RomanianUkrainian border in Siret on Tuesday PicsAPRussia also claims it does not want to overthrow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyrsquos government The Russian military had not ordered to ldquooverthrow the current governmentrdquo Zakharova saidHer denial comes after Moscowrsquos often repeated aims to disarm its neighbour and target leaders it calls ldquoneoNazisrdquo Zakharova also said ldquosome progress has been maderdquo in the RussiaUkraine talkslsquoPolandrsquos offer not tenablersquoThe Pentagon on Tuesday rejected Polandrsquos surprise announcement that it would give the United States its MiG29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine a rare display of disharmony by NATO allies seeking to boost Ukrainian fighters while avoiding getting caught up in a wider war with RussiaPentagon spokesman John Kirby said Polandrsquos declaration that it intended to deliver the 28 jets to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany raised the concerning prospect of warplanes departing from a US and NATO base to fly into airspace contested with Russia in the Ukraine conflict Russia has declared that supporting Ukrainersquos air force would be tantamount to joining the war and could spur retaliationLavrov to hold talksRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday was to travel to Turkey where he was to have talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba the TASS news agency cited the Russian foreign ministry as sayingFeb 24When Russiarsquos invasion of Ukraine beganRussian air strike hits hospital in MariupolUkrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy accused Russia on Wednesday of carrying out an air strike on a hospital in the southern port city of Mariupol in which he said children were among people ldquounder the wreckagerdquo He called the strike an ldquoatrocityrdquo A statement on the city councilrsquos social media account on Wednesday said the hospital suffered ldquocolossalrdquo damageEconomic war against us KremlinPeople who fled Ukraine sleep at the Przemysl train station in Poland on WednesdayThe Kremlin accused the United States on Wednesday of declaring an economic war on Russia that was sowing mayhem through energy markets and put the US on notice that it was thinking carefully how to respond to a ban on Russian oil and energy Russiarsquos economy is facing the gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union after the West imposed crippling sanctions on almost entire Russian financial and corporate system following Moscowrsquos invasion of UkrainePutin lsquoangry and frustratedrsquo US intelUS intelligence chiefs on Tuesday branded Russiarsquos Vladimir Putin an ldquoangryrdquo isolated leader grappling for global clout frustrated about how his Ukraine invasion has not gone to plan and lobbing provocative nuclear threats at the West Putin has been ldquostewing in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition for many yearsrdquo CIA Director William Burns told US lawmakers ldquoI think Putin is angry and frustrated right now Hersquos likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualtiesrdquo Burns saidIAEA loses contact with ChernobylThe Chernobyl nuclear power plant which was taken over by Russian forces last month has stopped transmitting data to the IAEA the UN atomic watchdog has said expressing deep concern for the staff working under Russian troops at the site in northern Ukraine The Chernobyl site is not currently operational and handling of nuclear material has been halted The facility holds decommissioned reactors and radioactive waste facilities the International Atomic Energy Agency saidCriminal offence for Russian aircraftThe British government announced new legislation on Wednesday which makes it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly or land in the UK as part of a new suite of aviation sanctions to strengthen the overflight and landing ban already in place in response to President Vladimir Putin ordering a military offensive against UkraineThis 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