Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – March 14, 2022

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

A "worst-case scenario" awaits hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol facing starvation or death unless a concrete humanitarian agreement is reached urgently, the Red Cross said Sunday.

The UK is preparing to ramp up support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war with Russia as authorities are expected to announce a fresh scheme to allow more people into the country, said Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "barbaric actions" are "testing not just Ukraine but all of humanity," said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Russia is unable to access its $300 billion worth of financial reserves due to Western sanctions over its war on Ukraine, said the Russian finance minister.

In a phone call Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed regional and global developments, particularly the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed Sunday to improve bilateral relations and to focus on a positive agenda, said the Turkish Communications Directorate.

Former US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the situation in Ukraine will get worse, claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin would not stop his war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that the Russian army has suffered unprecedented losses in Ukraine and its biggest blow in decades.

Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to resume Monday, said Ukraine's lead negotiator Mikhail Podolyak, as the war between the two countries drags on.

A Russian missile strike on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv killed at least 35 people, said local sources.

An American journalist has been killed and another wounded by Russian troops in the city of Irpin, located near Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

Amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, dozens of people in Serbia’s capital Belgrade held a rally in support of Moscow.

Iran claimed responsibility for an overnight attack with precision-guided missiles on what it said were Israeli facilities in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq.

Former US President Barack Obama said Sunday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

At least 101 migrants have been rescued from the Aegean Sea off the island of Paros in the Cyclades, said the Greek Coast Guard.