The number of people who have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24 has reached 1 million, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday. The tide of people fleeing Ukraine — by car, train and on foot — marks the swiftest exodus of refugees this century. Shabia Mantoo, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said “at this rate,” it could become “the biggest refugee crisis this century.” Russia and Ukraine said Wednesday that they were prepared to hold talks for the second time, expected to take place Thursday in Belarus. There appears to be little common ground…

Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine and another 1,597 had been wounded since the beginning of Moscow’s military operation there, Russia’s RIA news agency reported. It was the first time that Moscow had put a figure on its casualties. The ministry also said that more than 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and “nationalists” had been killed and about 3,700 wounded, according to Interfax. The numbers could not be independently verified and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Reuters

China resolutely opposes the use of illegal, unilateral sanctions, given the fact that they are not an effective way to solve problems, but bring difficulties to people's livelihood while aggravating divisions and confrontation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on Wednesday. The Ukraine conflict has led to widening sanctions by the EU and the US, ranging from excluding Russia from the SWIFT interbank communication system to banning Russian aircraft from entering their airspace. The moves boosted global complexity while pushing Russia to launch retaliatory countermeasures. Wang reiterated China's resolute opposition to the widening sanctions against…

Washington’s regional partners have so far rebuffed U.S. calls to come out against Moscow The Biden administration is pushing its closest Middle East partners to back Ukraine in its deepening war with Russia and for help alleviating the economic fallout—without much to show for it. From the Persian Gulf’s oil-rich monarchies to Israel, U.S. allies and partners are staying neutral or tempering their criticism of Moscow in a revealing sign of Russia’s growing influence in the region. Saudi Arabia, the de facto OPEC leader, has rebuffed U.S. requests to pump more oil to help tame surging crude prices, which topped…