Quad leaders’ phone talks on Ukraine as mayor says Russian troops in control of Kherson

Japanese officials are arranging phone talks of the leaders of the four-nation Quad group — Japan, the United States, Australia, and India — on Thursday night to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Government sources say Prime Minister Kishida Fumio hopes to confirm the unity of the Quad group in Ukraine. One member, India, has close relations with Russia.

The leaders are expected to assess the latest developments in Ukraine and the prospects for the situation.

Also on the agenda will be an in-person summit of the Quad nations planned in Japan for the first half of this year.

But the sources say uncertainties remain over whether the phone talks will be held as planned on Thursday, depending upon the developments in Ukraine.

Russian forces have seized control of a key port city in southern Ukraine, the mayor says.

Kherson is the first major city to be taken by Russia, after heavy fighting, since it invaded a week ago.

In a Facebook post, its mayor Mr. Igor Kolykhaev said Russian forces were in control of Kherson, a port on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast with a population of more than 280,000 people.

Kolykhaev, said Russian troops have imposed a curfew on residents.

Several cities have come under intense shelling, with Wednesday one of the most destructive days of the fighting.

“The (Russian) occupiers are in all parts of the city and are very dangerous,” Gennady Lakhuta, head of the regional administration, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

The capture of Kherson – located on the banks of the Dnieper River where it flows into the Black Sea – is significant because it could allow Russia to create a base for the military there as it seeks to push further inland.

Ukraine reports that more than 2,000 civilians have died since the invasion began last Thursday. The conflict has also caused more than a million people to flee Ukraine, according to the UN.

Meanwhile, an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine has been launched by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.