China News Agency, Beijing, March 3. Comprehensive news: According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since Russia launched the "special military operation", there have been thousands of casualties on both sides of Russia and Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side has not confirmed the figures released by the Russian side.

On the economic front, international oil prices continued to rise as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued, and the inflation rate in the euro zone also hit a record high in February due to soaring energy prices.

On March 2, local time, the vicinity of the police station building in Kharkiv, Ukraine was attacked by artillery fire, and a fire broke out on the roof of the police station building.

Thousands of casualties have been reported on both sides since Russia called "special military operation"

　　Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov reported on March 2 that in this "special military operation", 498 Russian troops were killed and 1,597 were injured; 572 people were captured.

Konashenkov also said that Russian forces have destroyed 1,533 targets in Ukraine's military infrastructure.

However, Ukraine has not confirmed the figures released by the Russian army.

　　Konashenkov also said on the same day that the Russian army has completely controlled the city of Kherson, the capital of the Kherson state in southern Ukraine and the port city of the Black Sea. The civil infrastructure, livelihood security facilities and urban transportation are operating normally, and there is no food and necessities. shortages.

Kherson Mayor Kolihayev said later in the day that Russian troops had entered Kherson.

　　The Ukrainian military revealed on March 2 that the Russian airborne troops attacked Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, and exchanged fire with the Ukrainian side immediately after landing.

Ukrainian police said that fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops near a local military hospital has brought the situation under control.

　　Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Mariar previously revealed that from February 24 to 6:00 on February 28, the Ukrainian army caused a total of 5,300 Russian soldiers casualties.

　　The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, posted on social media on March 3 that about 1 million Ukrainian refugees had entered the neighboring country in the past seven days.

On March 2, local time, in the Belarusian border region of Brest, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Mezinsky, delivered a speech to the media before the talks.

According to Mezinsky, the Ukrainian delegation has left Kyiv and is expected to arrive in Belarus in the early morning of the 3rd local time.

Russia, Ukraine disagree on location of talks

　　The head of the Russian delegation and presidential assistant Mekinsky said on March 2 that the Russian delegation had arrived at the negotiation site, in the Belovezh Forest in Brest Oblast, Belarus, and was ready to conduct the second round with the Ukrainian delegation. negotiation.

He also said that Russia and Ukraine jointly decided the location of this negotiation.

　　However, Alahamia, chairman of the parliamentary group of the Ukrainian People's Servant Party, said on March 2 that the Ukrainian-Russian delegation would not conduct this negotiation in the Belovezh Forest, and "the specific details will be announced later."

But he did not mention whether the talks would be postponed or cancelled.

Many parties reiterate that the problem should be solved through dialogue

　　Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, said when attending the United Nations meeting on March 2 that the situation in Ukraine is still changing rapidly, and the development of the situation is distressing.

However, Russia and Ukraine have already held their first round of negotiations, and despite their differences, both sides have shown their willingness to move forward with negotiations.

We welcome that.

In the face of a very complex and sensitive situation, China once again calls on the international community to stick to the general direction of political settlement and create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for direct dialogue and negotiation between the parties.

　　At the same time, Zhang Jun emphasized that blindly applying pressure and sanctions, creating split and confrontation will only make the situation more complicated, and the negative impact of the crisis will quickly spill over, and even spread to more countries.

We call on the international community to act in a responsible manner, push relevant parties to return to the track of political settlement as soon as possible, and seek a comprehensive solution to the Ukraine issue through dialogue and consultation.

　　French President Emmanuel Macron said on the evening of March 2 that he would choose to keep in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin and "do everything we can" to prevent the conflict from spreading and expanding.

　　Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on social media on March 1 that he reiterated his "clear position to maintain peace through dialogue" in a phone call with Putin, while condemning NATO's destabilizing actions.

The situation in Russia and Ukraine caused international oil prices to continue to soar, and the euro zone inflation rate hit a record high in February

　　International oil prices continued their sharp upward trend on March 2, hitting a new high in nearly 11 years.

As of the close of the day, light sweet crude oil futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 6.95% to close at $110.60 a barrel, the highest closing price for a front-month contract since May 2011, according to relevant data.

Brent crude futures in London for May delivery rose 7.58% to settle at $112.93 a barrel on March 2, the highest since 2014.

　　U.S. President Joe Biden said earlier that the U.S. could impose an oil embargo on Russia if Russia continues its "special military operations" in Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Psaki said on March 2 that the United States is "open" to sanctions on Russia's oil and gas industry and is currently weighing the possible impact of sanctions on global markets and US energy prices.

　　The "Wall Street Journal" recently analyzed that under the tension between Russia and Ukraine, OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries insisted on their production plans, which aroused concerns about energy supply and stimulated the price of two benchmarks in the international crude oil market to soar.

Some analysts believe that under the situation that Russia's oil and gas exports are increasingly affected and may be formally sanctioned by Western countries, the market's concerns about tight supply will drive oil prices to continue to rise.

　　Preliminary statistics released by Eurostat on March 2 showed that the inflation rate in the euro zone reached 5.8% in February at an annual rate, which was higher than market expectations and hit a record high for several consecutive months due to the sharp rise in energy prices.

The European Central Bank issued a statement a few days ago, saying that it will make a comprehensive assessment of the economic outlook based on changes in the situation in Ukraine, so as to make the latest monetary policy decision on the 10th of this month.

　　Some financial experts believe that the situation in Ukraine has increased the upward pressure on inflation, especially leading to soaring gas and oil prices.

Some analysts also pointed out that the changes in the situation in Ukraine have put the ECB in a "dilemma": on the one hand, the high inflation pressure that may exceed the central bank's expectations has increased the pressure on it to step up its withdrawal from the loose monetary policy; on the other hand, the uncertainty of European economic recovery has increased. The problems of internal imbalance and differentiation are serious, and liquidity support from the central bank is still needed.

(End) (Reporters involved: Tian Bing, Wang Fan, Li Yang, Su Jingxin, Zhang Huandi)