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Russia does not recognize the International Criminal Court in The Hague
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China is said to have asked Russia to postpone the Ukraine war because of the Olympics
12:55 a.m.:
According to a Western intelligence report, China is said to have had some knowledge of Vladimir Putin's war plans.
As the New York Times reports, high-ranking Chinese and Russian officials are said to have discussed this at the beginning of February.
Accordingly, China asked Putin not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
According to the NYT, the secret service information comes from a Western news service and has been classified as credible by official bodies.
High-ranking officials in the US and allied governments used the paper as a basis for a preliminary discussion on the question: when will Putin attack Ukraine?
According to the NYT, the paper concludes that "it can hardly be a coincidence that Putin's invasion began immediately after the Olympics."
In August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia during the Beijing Summer Olympics – this time the Beijing Winter Games closing ceremony took place on February 20th.
A day later, on February 21, in a televised address to the nation, Putin referred to Ukraine as "historic Russian territory."
It was decided to send Russian soldiers to the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.
International Criminal Court investigates war crimes in Ukraine
0.40 a.m .:
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has started investigations into possible war crimes in Ukraine.
The investigation will start "immediately," said ICC chief investigator Karim Khan.
Evidence collection "has now begun."
He received the support of 39 states for his investigations.
Earlier this week, Khan announced that he would launch an investigation into the situation in Ukraine as soon as possible.
He explained that there were "plausible reasons" to believe that "both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed" in Ukraine since 2014.
In 2014, the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army began in eastern Ukraine.
Last week, Russia recognized the independence of the "people's republics" of Luhansk and Donetsk, which the separatists had proclaimed.
Shortly thereafter, Russia invaded Ukraine.
The then ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had already complained about alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine in December 2020.
Spotify closes office in Moscow
0.26 a.m .:
The online music service Spotify announces the closure of its office in Moscow.
"We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine," it said in a statement.
Mariupol power supply damaged
12:17 a.m .:
According to Mayor Wadym Boychenko, the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol is without water, heating and electricity after air raids.
"Today was the hardest of all seven days of the war," Boychenko said on Wednesday, according to the Unian agency.
The energy supply of the city with around 440,000 inhabitants was damaged.
"Tomorrow our public utilities will start restoring the critical infrastructure," he said.
Bojchenko thanked the Ukrainian military, municipal utilities and doctors.
“We didn't attack anyone.
We are at home here.«
According to the authorities, more than 130 people have been injured in air raids in Mariupol.
Ukraine blames Russia for this.
The information could not be independently verified.
Mariupol is near the so-called line of contact between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk region.
The city is strategically important.
Dominican Republic: Around 17,000 Russians and Ukrainians stranded
0.10 a.m .:
Almost 17,000 tourists from Russia and Ukraine are apparently stuck in the Dominican Republic, which is why the Caribbean state now wants to provide them with accommodation.
They are guaranteed the right to stay in accommodation "until a final solution is found to their situation in view of the conflict in their countries," said the island state's tourism ministry.
The government and the hotel and restaurant association Asonahores as well as hotel representatives had reached a corresponding agreement.
According to initial surveys, 14,806 Russian tourists stayed in the Spanish-speaking country.
A process for their return to Russia has been agreed with the Russian tour operators.
According to the main Ukrainian tour operator, 1903 visitors from there were staying in different hotels, where they were supposed to stay until a solution was found for their return home.
The government will inquire at hotels about the needs of each family over the next 48 hours, it said.
According to the information, visitors from the two countries make up around ten percent of the tourists in the Dominican Republic.
In the first two months of this year alone there were almost 110,000.
The Honorary Consul of Ukraine in the Dominican Republic, Ilona Oleksandrivna, tearfully asked President Luis Abinader in a press conference on Tuesday to speak to help stranded Ukrainians.
Some ended up on the streets for lack of money.
The Russian tourists were probably affected by flight cancellations due to international sanctions against their country because of the invasion of Ukraine.
OSCE laments the death of a Ukrainian staff member in Kharkiv
12:00 a.m.:
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mourns the loss of a Ukrainian employee.
According to the OSCE, the woman died in the shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kharkov on Tuesday when she was trying to get supplies for her family.
She was a member of the OSCE Monitoring Mission SMM - the mission's main task is to monitor the ceasefire line between state troops and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The OSCE decided last Thursday to temporarily end its mission in the face of the Russian invasion and to evacuate its unarmed international team.
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