Live updates: Taiwan sends medical supplies to help Ukraine

Taiwan says it sent 27 tons worth of medical supplies to Ukraine via a flight to Germany

Taiwan Russia Ukraine War (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war:

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan says it sent 27 tons worth of medical supplies to Ukraine via a flight to Germany late Monday.

Foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou told reporters Tuesday that Taiwan was happy to assist as “a responsible member of the international community, and a member of the democratic camp.”

Taiwan has strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and had said it would impose economic sanctions against Russia. It has yet to reveal what those sanctions were, but the island is a dominant manufacturer of semiconductor chips, which are crucial to tech products ranging from smartphones to cars.

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KYIV, Ukraine — More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery hit a military base Sunday in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, the head of the region wrote on Telegram.

Dmytro Zhyvytskyy posted photographs of the charred shell of a four-story building and rescuers searching rubble. In a later Facebook post, he said many Russian soldiers and some local residents also were killed during the fighting on Sunday. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

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NEW YORK — Three Hollywood studios are pausing theatrical releases in Russia, including “The Batman” that was to roll out in theaters there this week.

Warner Bros., the Walt Disney Co. and Sony Pictures announced the pauses Monday. Each studio has significant releases that had been set to debut internationally in the coming weeks. “The Batman,” one of the year’s more anticipated films, launches Friday in North America and many overseas territories.

Warner Bros.′ move closely followed a similar decision Monday by the Walt Disney Co. The studio had planned to open the Pixar film “Turning Red” in Russia on March 10. That film is going straight to Disney+ in the U.S.

Sony said it would delay its release of the comic book film “Morbius” in Russia.

Russia typically ranks in the top dozen countries globally in box office.

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australia will provide Ukraine with $50 million in missiles, ammunition and other military hardware to fight Russian invaders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison elaborated on his country's plans Tuesday after revealing his government would provide Ukraine with lethal military equipment. Morrison had promised only non-lethal military equipment last week.

“President Zelenskyy said: ‘Don’t give me a ride, give me ammunition,’ and that’s exactly what the Australian government has agreed to do,” Morrison said.

Australia had committed $50 million to provide both lethal and non-lethal defensive support for Ukraine through NATO, he said, adding the overwhelming majority will be “in the lethal category.”

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KYIV, Ukraine — Satellite photos show a convoy of Russian forces north of Ukraine's capital stretching for 40 miles.

The vast convoy of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and support vehicles was 17 miles (25 kilometers) from the center of Kyiv and stretched for about 40 miles, according to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies.

The Maxar photos also showed deployments of ground forces and ground attack helicopter units in southern Belarus.

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WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. is telling senators her country needs more military weapons as it fights the Russian invasion.

Senators emerged from a Monday evening meeting with Ambassador Oksana Markarova at the Capitol as Congress is preparing supplemental funding to help Ukraine during the crisis. The White House is seeking at least $6.4 billion in military and humanitarian aid.

“They need more arms,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

“It’s David versus Goliath,” said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. “I think that any human being reading the reports coming out of there realize that this is dire.”

Senators in the U.S. are working to provide ammunition such as anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian troops have intensified shelling of Ukraine, calling it an effort to force his government into making concessions during talks held Monday.

In a video address late Monday, Zelenskyy says that “the talks were taking place against the backdrop of bombing and shelling of our territory, our cities. Synchronizing of the shelling with the negotiating process was obvious. I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method.”

The president gave no details about the talks themselves. But he says Ukraine is not prepared to make concessions “when one side is hitting another with rocket artillery.”

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LOS ANGELES — Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation says equipment to use SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has arrived in his country.

Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the equipment in a Twitter post Monday that was accompanied by a photo of boxes on a truck.

Musk replied with his own tweet saying: “You are most welcome.”

The tech billionaire said over the weekend that Starlink was now “active” in Ukraine and more equipment to use it was on the way. That followed a public request from Fedorov for the service.

Starlink is a satellite-based internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world.