Heavy bombing in residential areas in Kyiv and Kharkiv; 40 mile armoured vehicle convoy approaches Kyiv; missile strikes Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Centre in the capital; TV tower in Kyiv is bombed; 600,000 refugees cross the borders to safety; International Criminal Court Prosecutor will open an investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Ukraine headlines
The Babi Yar holocaust memorial in Kyiv, resting on a mass grave of 34,000 Jews killed by the Nazis in 1941, has been bombed.
A member of the Kyiv Anglican church has posted a blog outlining what life is like in a capital city under siege, with explosions in neighbouring buildings, no food and pharmacies shut.
Caritas International is appealing for the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors from Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of thousands of vulnerable people fleeing war.
Explainer: why St Michael, the patron saint of soldiers, looks down in a bronze and gold statue in the central square of Kyiv and gives his name to a golden domed monastery beside the Dnieper River.
Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, one of Ukraine’s chief rabbis, has told BBC Radio 5 Live of his anguish at seeing his community being disintegrated and bombed. Pictures of Jews of all ages, praying while sitting in a bunker has gone viral. Jewish News report here
Other news
The Office of National Statistics says the first provisional anonymised census results will be published at the start of April 2022 – later than the February date previously planned. More detailed results will be published from May onwards.
A You Gov survey of 5,120 people including 1,165 Anglicans suggests 55 per cent support same sex marriage compared to 48 per cent in 2020.
All Saints Academy in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, has suspended a teacher for showing a picture of Osama bin Laden as the Prophet Muhammad in a Religious Studies lesson, and has promised an independent review.
The Guardian reports that the Iranian ambassador to the UK has been removed from his post and ordered back to Tehran after film of an embassy reception showed some women did not have their heads covered.
A 57 year old Jewish man from Manchester has been convicted in an English court of controlling behaviour for denying his wife a religious divorce – a “get” – and has been told to expect a custodial sentence for his behaviour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby visited Pakistan last weekend to raise the concerns of Christians and discuss protecting freedom of religion or belief
