Day 73 of the Invasion of Ukraine: UN Refuses to call it a “War”, Evacuations Continue in Mariupol

The UN refused to call the invasion a "war", more people evacuated from Mariupol, EU disputes over oil embargo, countries send weapons. Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

The UN refused to call the invasion a "War"

The UN Security Council issued its first statement on the war in Ukraine, but did not use the words "war", "conflict" or "invasion". Instead, the statement "expresses its deep concern for the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine" and expresses "strong support" for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in seeking a peaceful solution to the "dispute".

Given that Russia is a member of the Council, this is still a major breakthrough in multilateral diplomacy.

More people evacuated from Mariupol

A new UN-led humanitarian rescue mission is evacuating the last civilians still trapped at the besieged Mariupol steel plant, the only remaining bastion of Ukrainian forces against Russian troops.

About 200 civilians, including children, are believed to remain hidden in Soviet-era tunnels and bunkers under the huge Azovstal factory. There are hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers with them.

The office of President Volodymyr Zelensky said nearly 500 civilians had been evacuated.

"The attack on the steel plant continues"

Russia continues with "assault operations" at the Azovstal plant, Kyiv said. "The siege of the Ukrainian defense forces in the Azovstal region continues," a Kiev army spokesman said in a video.

Russia's military has announced a three-day ceasefire from Thursday in Azovstal.

President Vladimir...