Hamas calls for intensified resistance against Israeli terrorism

The Russian Defense Ministry says its forces have destroyed over 1,500 Ukrainian military targets, including sixty planes. Ukraine denies suffering military losses on such a scale. Meantime, a second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine was scheduled on Wednesday. Previous talks failed to produce any breakthrough. Ukraine says Russia must stop bombing cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start. Russia says it sees no desire on the part of Ukraine to try to find a balanced solution. On the sanctions against Moscow, US media have reported Washington is preparing further curbs on Russian oligarchs as well as their companies and family members. The European Union has already excluded seven Russian banks from the global SWIFT payments system. The 27-member bloc has also banned two major news networks, namely Russia Today and Sputnik. In recent days, Russia has retaliated with sanctions and restrictions of its own. Experts say Russia will try to ease the pain of sanctions by taking extra measures. Those moves could include relying on energy sales, gold reserves, crypto currency, and Russia’s relationship with China. The conflict in Ukraine is forcing tens of thousands of people to cross the borders for refuge. According to UN estimates, roughly 830,000 Ukrainians have already fled to neighboring countries. Nearly 160,000 people are said to have crossed the borders since Tuesday. The UN refugee agency has warned that a surge in refugees could possibly reach one million within hours. Currently refugees have been accepted into countries that have followed a hard stance on non-European migrants such as Poland, Hungary, and Austria, among others. The EU has announced plans to give concessions to Ukrainian refugees. Some member states are even planning to grant Ukrainians protection, residency, and access to employment.