Boris Johnson has accused Vladimir Putin of a "cynical" attempt to manufacture a pretext for using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister said he feared the "barbaric" regime in the Kremlin may be ready to use the banned weapons after Russian forces failed to make the progress expected.
"The stuff which you are hearing about chemical weapons is straight out of the Russian playbook," Mr Johnson told Sky News’ Beth Rigby Interviews.
"They start saying that there are chemical weapons that are being stored by their opponents or by the Americans, so that when they themselves deploy chemical weapons - as I fear they may - they have a fake story ready to go."
In a reference to the Salisbury nerve agent attack, he added: "You have seen it in Syria, you saw it even in the UK. I just note that is what they are already doing. It is a cynical, barbaric government I'm afraid."
Follow the latest updates below.
02:14 AM
Russia 'bombs nuclear research facility'
Ukrainian authorities have claimed that Russian forces bombed a nuclear research facility on Thursday night.
The State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine, quoted by the Kyiv Independent, said the institute in Kharkiv is home to an experimental nuclear reactor.
According to officials, the facility suffered a hit to the exterior and the extent of damage is not yet known. No injuries or fatalities have been reported but it is understood there is a fire at the site.
— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 10, 2022
01:55 AM
WHO advised Ukraine to destroy 'high-threat pathogens'
The World Health Organisation advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters on Thursday.
Biosecurity experts say Russia's movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.
Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, Covid-19.
The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine's laboratories.
01:11 AM
China calls conflict a 'war' for first time
China described the situation in Ukraine a “war” for the first time since Russia invaded nearly two weeks ago, marking a change in how Beijing has publicly spoken about the unfolding crisis, Sophia Yan writes.
“We hope to see fighting and the war stop as soon as possible,” foreign minister Wang Yi said in a call with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, according to a state broadcaster.
Mr Wang called for calm on all sides, and for more actions to be taken to prevent escalation in Ukraine.
China has refused to call Russia’s attack on Ukraine an “invasion” and has yet to condemn Moscow for its actions. Beijing has been careful not to criticise Russia, likely given its strong ties to Moscow – a relationship described by Mr Wang as “rock-solid” earlier this week.
In its daily intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence has said that the Russian army is "committing an increased number of their deployed forces to encircle key cities" which may reduce the number of forces available to advance through Ukraine.
The MoD also reported that protests against the Russian occupation have been held in Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 10 March 2022
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that about 100,000 people have fled Ukraine's cities in two days, but accused Russian forces of targeting a humanitarian corridor in the city of Mariupol.
Ukraine's president said he decided to send a convoy of trucks into the besieged port city with food, water and medicine.
But "the occupiers launched a tank attack exactly where this corridor was supposed to be", he said in a video statement, describing it as "outright terror".
11:13 PM
British public will be asked to take in Ukrainian refugees
The British public will be asked to offer homes to tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion under plans to be announced this weekend, Charles Hymas, Lucy Fisher and Tony Diver write.
Ministers will launch a hotline and webpage enabling individuals, charities, businesses and community groups to offer rooms to refugees with no family links to the UK.
The move follows criticism of the Home Office's "chaotic" rollout of its scheme for Ukrainian refugees with family in the UK, which has led to delays and complaints of excessive bureaucracy.
Ukrainian Parliament: Russian forces have shelled Kharkiv institute containing experimental nuclear reactor
Russian forces shelled an institute in the city of Kharkiv that is home to an experimental nuclear reactor, the Ukrainian Parliament said today.
The parliament's official website said that fighting close to the Institute of Physics and Technology was continuing.
10:06 PM
Facebook to temporarily allow posts from eastern European countries calling for violence against Russians and Putin's death
Facebook and Instagram users in some countries will be allowed to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, Reuters has reported.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will also temporarily allow some posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, according to a series of internal emails to its content moderators.
These calls for the leaders' deaths will be allowed unless they contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method, one email said, in a recent change to the company's rules on violence and incitement.
The emails said calls for violence against Russians are allowed when the post is clearly talking about the invasion of Ukraine. They add that calls for violence against Russian soldiers were allowed because this was being used as a proxy for the Russian military, and said it would not apply to prisoners of war.
The temporary policy changes apply to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.
09:56 PM
Ukraine tells nuclear watchdog it has lost all contact with Chernobyl after power cut
Ukraine has told the UN nuclear watchdog it has lost all contact with the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl next to the defunct power plant at the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, which is now held by Russian forces.
"Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it had lost today all communications with the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the day after the Russian-controlled site lost all external power supplies," the IAEA said in a statement.
09:42 PM
Kuleba: Russia could be preparing 'horrific false flag operation'
The manic obsession with which various Russian officials fantasize about non-existent biological or chemical weapons or hazards in Ukraine is deeply troubling and may actually point at Russia preparing another horrific false flag operation. This tweet is for the record.
South American nations push to exclude fertiliser from Russia sanctions
Six South American nations are proposing to exclude fertiliser from sanctions on Russia, Brazil's Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said today.
She said Brazil has secured the support of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for a proposal excluding fertiliser products that will be submitted to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Brazil, an agricultural powerhouse, is the world's top importer of fertilisers and argues that crop nutrients, like food, should not be targeted by sanctions.
Brazil relies on imports for 85 per cent of the fertiliser it needs for its grain crops. More than one-fifth of its imports, totalling nine million tonnes in 2021, comes from Russia.
09:32 PM
Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier hides from a helicopter airstrike near Demydiv
A Ukrainian soldier hides from a helicopter airstrike amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, near Demydiv, - MAKSIM LEVIN /REUTERS
09:19 PM
Liz Truss urges West to ‘tighten the ratchet’ on Vladimir Putin
Liz Truss in Washington, where she said Vladimir Putin must be offered no concessions and must be 'seen to lose' in Ukraine - Dermot Tatlow for The Telegraph
Liz Truss has called for a "tightening of the ratchet" on Vladimir Putin with further sanctions by Western allies, warning that the Russian president could turn to "more and more extreme violence", reports Nick Allen.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary said it was time to be "strong and tough" with Putin following the horrifying attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol.
Ms Truss said Putin must be offered no concessions and must be "seen to lose" in Ukraine, calling for Russia to be fully excluded from the Swift international payments system and an end to Russian oil and gas dependency across the G7.
Amid a row between the US and Poland over a failed plan to supply MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, she indicated that Britain believed the anti-aircraft weapons it has agreed to send were "the most effective way of dealing with the aerial threat the Ukrainians face".
‘British Schindler’ guides 270 refugee orphans out of Ukraine to safety
Some of the children aid worker Jeremy Posen rescued from Odesa, Ukraine - TIKVA
An aid worker – dubbed the “Angel of Odesa” and likened to a “British Schindler” – has led a convoy of 270 refugee orphans out of Ukraine to safety, reports Gabriella Swerling.
Jeremy Posen, 53, rescued more than 1,000 Jewish refugees, including 270 orphans, from the city of Odesa, which has been bombarded with missiles and gunfire following Russia’s invasion.
Mr Posen, who is originally from north London, has worked as the chief financial officer for the charity Tikva for the last three years in Ukraine. The charity cares for homeless, abandoned and abused Jewish children.
He said that as soon as he “heard the first bomb”, he began a rescue mission to save the lives of more than a thousand Ukrainians - what he describes as Tikva’s “one big family”. However, they “left everything behind”.
Mr Posen, who planned and led the operation with the help of fellow charity workers, told the Jewish Chronicle that those rescued included babies who were just a few weeks old as well as children with disabilities who need regular insulin injections.
US has no intention of offering Russia anything new on sanctions to reach Iran nuclear deal
The US State Department said Washington has no intention of offering Russia anything new or specific relating to sanctions on Moscow in talks to reach a nuclear deal with Iran.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that a nuclear deal with Iran is down to a small number of outstanding issues and called on all parties, including Russia, to focus on resolving the final issues to reach a deal.
08:45 PM
Russia claims it will open evacuation corridors from five Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Mariupol
The Russian defence ministry has claimed it will open humanitarian corridors to evacuate Ukrainians from five cities tomorrow, despite Kyiv accusing Moscow of failing to respect previous ceasefires.
The five cities cited by the ministry are Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv.
Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying people could either travel to Russia or other cities in Ukraine.
However, Kremlin officials reportedly said that the Ukrainian side would have to provide lists of people and vehicle registration numbers before the corridors were opened.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that not a single civilian was able to leave Mariupol today as Russian forces failed to respect a temporary ceasefire to allow evacuations.
08:37 PM
US official: Ukraine a 'worthwhile case study' for defence of Taiwan should China violate its 'sovereignty'
Ukraine's resistance against the Russian invasion could be a model for Taiwan to defend itself should China choose to violate the island's "sovereignty" by attacking, a senior US defence official told a Senate hearing today.
The US, like most countries, does not have formal ties with Taiwan but is its main arms supplier, and has long urged it to buy cost effective and mobile defence systems – so-called "asymmetric" weapons – to counter China's more powerful military.
"I think the situation we're seeing in Ukraine right now is a very worthwhile case study for them about why Taiwan needs to do all it can to build asymmetric capabilities, to get its population ready, so that it can be as prickly as possible should China choose to violate its sovereignty," Mara Karlin, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, said.
08:31 PM
Daughter of Sergei Lavrov's mistress should be next in line for Russian sanctions, say MPs
Polina Kovaleva, 26, the daughter of Svetlana Polyakova
Polina Kovaleva bought in cash a £4.4 million apartment on Kensington High Street at the age of 21, report Hayley Dixon and Lucy Fisher.
The daughter of Sergei Lavrov’s mistress should be among the family members of Vladimir Putin’s cronies targeted with sanctions, MPs and campaigners said on Thursday.
Ministers were urged to personally target the loved ones of those at the top of the Kremlin as they prepared for a next round of sanctions as early as next week in order.
The Russian foreign minister’s alleged “second family” including Svetlana Polyakova, his mistress, and Polina Kovaleva, her 26-year-old daughter, were identified as among those officials should look at.
IMF chief says Ukraine war to lower global growth forecast
The war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will force the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to lower its global growth forecast next month, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said today.
Ms Georgieva said the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine had caused an abrupt contraction of the Russian economy and it faced a "deep recession" this year.
She said the IMF had no programme or policy relations with Russia at this point and its Moscow office was not operating. Fund member countries have condemned the war, but there is no discussion currently about ending Russia's membership in the global lender.
08:03 PM
Watch: Ukrainian troops blow up Russian convoy heading to Kyiv
At least three Russian vehicles were totally destroyed in what has been assessed as an artillery strike by Ukraine.
US calls on Russia to allow civilians to safely depart Ukrainian cities
The US State Department called on the Russian government to allow civilians to safely depart Ukrainian cities and towns besieged by Russian forces, adding the forces now encircle multiple cities after having destroyed much of the critical infrastructure.
"Putin's military plan to quickly capture Ukraine, it is clear now has failed. So he's now turning to a strategy of laying waste to population centres to try to break the will of the people of Ukraine, something he will not be able to do," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
07:50 PM
MoD: Moscow committing increased number of deployed forces to encircle key cities
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 10 March 2022
Stellantis suspends exports and imports to and from Russia
In yet another corporate exit from Russia, Stellantis has announced the suspension of all exports of cars to the country as well as all imports from there, Reuters reported.
Stellantis, the world's No.4 carmaker, owns a plant in Kaluga, Russia, in partnership with Mitsubishi, where it makes vans.
07:15 PM
Nuclear watchdog to present ideas on nuclear safety to Russia and Ukraine
The UN nuclear watchdog will present ideas to Ukraine and Russia in the coming hours on how to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and a meeting is likely "very soon," its chief Rafael Grossi said today.
"I am quite encouraged on one important thing: Ukraine and the Russian Federation want to work with us and agreed to work with us," Grossi told a news conference after a trip to Turkey where he met Russia and Ukraine's foreign ministers separately. "We have to move fast."
07:01 PM
‘How I got my Ukrainian friend’s children safely into Britain – despite Priti Patel’
Jo Cope with the children – they’ve made it back to her home in Essex but she still faces a wrangle over visas - Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph
Last week we heard how Jo Cope had travelled to Poland to bring three refugee children to the UK – here’s what happened next.
Four days after leaving her parents behind in Ukraine, 14-year-old Sacha* wept after she finally climbed into bed in Dublin. Russian shells had been exploding around her village in the small hours of February 25, when her frantic father, Ivan, texted a friend in Essex, pleading with her to travel to a Polish border point and take his young charges – Sacha, her eight-year-old brother Aleks and their 15-year-old cousin, Anna – to safety.
The second that Jo Cope – a 35-year-old single mother-of-three from Chelmsford – received Ivan’s text, she booked herself on the next flight out to a remote airport in eastern Poland, from where she could make her way to the Ukraine border to collect the three children. They had made their way to the crossing in the snow, carrying just a small rucksack each, their birth certificates – and a laminated document giving Cope legal guardianship of them for one year.
Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a no-fly zone ‘could trigger World War Three’
A spokesman for Nicola Sturgeon said the First Minister was merely arguing that a no-fly zone should remain an option for Nato - Jeff J Mitchell/PA
Critics hit out at the First Minister’s ‘naive’ suggestion for Nato to consider flight embargo, fearing it could escalate Russian conflict, reports Simon Johnson.
Nicola Sturgeon is “completely naive” to demand that Nato considers setting up a no-fly zone over Ukraine, the Scottish Secretary has said amid warnings that the move could lead to “World War Three”.
Alister Jack said that the First Minister’s call for a no-fly zone to remain on the table was “utterly irresponsible” and concluded that Scots should “thank goodness it’s the UK Government that take these decisions”.
He said that the UK Cabinet was briefed this week by Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of the Defence Staff, adding it “could not have been clearer that we should not put in place a no-fly zone”.
The Tory MP for Dumfries and Galloway said that a Nato jet would have to decide whether to shoot down a Russian plane “within hours” of a no-fly zone being implemented “and that escalation would be unbelievable”.
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman gives up control of British companies
Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia’s most prominent oligarchs, has given up control of a host of British companies as the billionaire’s global empire comes under increasing pressure. Simon Foy has more:
He handed over control of at least three London-based companies on Wednesday last week, according to regulatory filings, including one named after his £65m London mansion.
Athlone House is Mr Fridman’s sprawling Victorian property situated on more than five acres of land near Hampstead Heath in north London.
The house has acted as a monument to the power of Russian oligarchs in London since being snapped up by the co-founder of Alfa-Bank, one of his country’s largest private lenders.
The company named after the mansion is involved in employing domestic staff. Shares in it were transferred to a former employee at LetterOne, the investment company he co- founded, the filings show.
The other two companies are involved in restaurants and leasing intellectual property, respectively, according to the UK’s business registry.
06:14 PM
Biden and Erdogan discuss 'shared' concern about Russian invasion of Ukraine
US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed their "shared concern" about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in a call on Thursday, the White House said.
President Biden expressed "appreciation" for Turkey's efforts to support a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, the White House said in a statement.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki added that the call lasted for about an hour.
06:11 PM
Russian Embassy tweet about bombed Ukrainian hospital removed by Twitter
Twitter has removed a tweet by the Russian Embassy in the UK which was branded "fake news" by the Culture Secretary.
The embassy, attributing the remark to Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, suggested a hospital attacked by Kremlin forces in the port city of Mariupol had been "long non-operational" and was being used by Ukrainian armed forces and "radicals".
The tweet added that Moscow warned the UN Security Council about this three days ago.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries retweeted the message and said: "This is fake news."
06:01 PM
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder meeting Putin in Moscow, reports suggest
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Politico reported.
Asked about the reports of the visit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of European leaders in France that he did not wish to comment on the matter. Mr Scholz has sought to distance himself from his fellow Social Democrat in recent weeks.
The German government has not agreed to any meeting nor been involved in one, government sources told Reuters.
05:48 PM
Tesla to keep paying Ukrainian employees who join army
Tesla will keep paying Ukrainian employees who leave work to join the country’s army and fight against Russia, reports James Titcomb.
Elon Musk’s electric car maker told staff earlier this week that Ukrainians answering a call to return home to take up arms will continue being paid for three months.
While Tesla is not believed to have substantial operations in the country, profiles on LinkedIn show it has Ukrainian nationals working for it in the US and Europe.
The Ukrainian government has said tens of thousands of Ukrainians living abroad have returned to the country to fight.
“For any Tesla employee who is a Ukrainian national and has been asked to return to Ukraine for active duty as a reservist, we will maintain their employment and salary for three months, with a view to assessing after this period as needed,” Axel Tangen, its head of northern Europe, told staff in an email.
US start-up JustAnswer, which has about 250 employees in Ukraine, has also said it will keep paying staff who are conscripted.
05:30 PM
Exclusive: Roman Abramovich sanctions trigger three-bid fire sale in Chelsea ownership race
Woody Johnson is interested in buying Chelsea - Chris J. Ratcliffe /Bloomberg
Three American-led groups have emerged from around 150 enquiries as Premier League club faces threat of financial armageddon, report Matt Law and Tom Morgan.
The sanctioning of Roman Abramovich is set to spark a shootout between three American-led groups who are bidding to save Chelsea from the threat of financial armageddon.
Shortly after Abramovich was sanctioned and had his assets frozen on Thursday morning, Telegraph Sport revealed that Chelsea could still be sold despite the club being plunged into a state of paralysis.
That was later confirmed in an update over the consequences of the sanctions against Abramovich, which said “the government is open to the sale of the club and would consider an application for a new licence to allow for a sale”.
Bidders and interested parties were informed by Raine, the New York-based merchant bank looking after the sale for Abramovich, that the intention was for the process to continue.
Boris Johnson says he fears Russia will deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine
The Prime Minister said he feared Russia would deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine.
"The stuff that you're hearing about chemical weapons, this is straight out of their playbook," Mr Johnson said in an interview with Sky News.
"They start saying that there are chemical weapons that have been stored by their opponents or by the Americans, and so when they themselves deploy chemical weapons, as I fear they may, they have a sort of ... fake story, ready to go."
05:02 PM
Watch: Brave Ukrainians defuse giant Russian bomb with bottle of water
04:58 PM
Russia to suspend grain exports to Eurasian Economic Union of ex-Soviet states until August 31
Russia will suspend exports of wheat, meslin, rye, barley and corn to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) until August 31 in a move to secure its home market with enough food, the Russian economy ministry said today.
Russia will also ban sugar exports to third countries until August 31 but some exceptions would be possible for the EEU countries, membership of which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia itself, the ministry added.
04:56 PM
Macron: EU must agree how fast to reduce reliance on Russian energy
French President Emmanuel Macron said that European Union countries needed to agree on the pace at which the bloc could wean itself off Russian fossil fuels.
On the issue of Ukraine's request for a fast-track accession to the EU, Macron, speaking ahead of a summit of European leaders in France, said he thought it was unrealistic to engage in membership negotiations with a country at war.
04:55 PM
Over 12,000 people evacuated from Ukraine's Sumy region today, emergency services say
More than 12,000 civilians were evacuated from Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region today by car or bus, state emergencies service said in a statement.
04:40 PM
There is no fast track procedure for Ukrainian EU membership, Dutch PM says
It is important that Ukraine has applied for membership of the European Union, but there is no fast-track procedure for accession, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said today.
Ukraine applied for fast EU membership shortly after the Russian invasion two weeks ago.
"What's important is that Ukraine has asked to be member of the EU (...) there is no fast track procedure to become member of the EU," Mr Rutte told reporters on entering a summit of EU leaders.
04:32 PM
No civilians could leave Mariupol today, says Ukraine's deputy PM
Not a single civilian was able to leave encircled Mariupol today as Russian forces failed to respect a temporary ceasefire to allow evacuations, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on national television.
04:28 PM
Putin has chosen to 'specifically target civilians,' says Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said that Vladimir Putin had made a choice to "specifically target civilians" and any further targeting of civilians in Ukraine is going to be met with the "severest of responses."
"Putin's callous disregard for human life is absolutely unacceptable. It is very clear that he has made the choice to specifically target civilians now," Mr Trudeau told reporters in Warsaw.
04:18 PM
Civilians trapped in Mariupol ‘attack each other for food’ as supplies become scarce
Aid workers warn of an imminent ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ as attempts to deliver water, medicines and fuel are thwarted, reports Sarah Newey.
People trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol are “attacking each other for food”, as resources including water, medicines and fuel become increasingly scarce, aid workers have warned.
Russian forces are desperate to take control of the strategic port, which is home to roughly 400,000 people, and there is little sign that the conflict will soon let up.
Attacks on Mariupol have been relentless and several attempts to evacuate civilians and deliver aid have fallen through, with NGOs warning a “humanitarian catastrophe” is imminent. In a three minute voice message on Wednesday Sasha Volkov, deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) delegation in the city, painted a stark picture of an increasingly grim situation.
Boris Johnson says 'enough of a link' between Putin regime and latest oligarchs to be sanctioned
04:00 PM
Russia blocked evacuation from part of Ukrainian town, says regional governor
Russia blocked Ukrainian civilians from evacuating territory under its control in the eastern Ukrainian town of Izyum, regional governor Oleh Synegubov said.
Ukrainian authorities were able to help around 1,600 people flee the part of Izyum held by Ukraine, he said in televised comments.
03:54 PM
Russia says it has seized two gas stations in eastern Ukraine
The arrival of Russian troops at two gas compressor stations in eastern Ukraine poses a risk to European supplies, Ukraine's gas pipeline operator warned, although there were no signs of an immediate impact on flows.
Russia said compressor stations at Novopskov in the Luhansk region and Kupiansk near Kharkiv were under its control, and it guaranteed the safety of all operations and equipment.
Ukraine's gas pipeline operator OGTSU said attempts by Russian forces to enter the two stations created significant risks for the safety of personnel and continuity of gas transportation.
"There is a real danger to (gas) transit," OGTSU chief Sergiy Makogon told Reuters.
03:51 PM
US spy chief says Russian forces show 'reckless disregard' for Ukrainian civilians
US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said that Russian forces are operating with "reckless disregard" for civilians as they face stronger-than-expected resistance in Ukraine and intelligence agencies are tracking their actions to hold them to account.
"The IC (intelligence community) is engaged across the interagency to document and hold Russia and Russian actors accountable for their actions," Ms Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual hearing on worldwide threats to US security.
03:44 PM
Portugal says sanctions against Abramovich do not apply outside UK
Portugal said that sanctions imposed on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, a Portuguese citizen since last year, did not apply outside Britain due to Brexit.
In a statement sent to Reuters, the justice ministry also said European Union sanctions against Russian oligarchs due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine do not include scrapping someone's citizenship.
03:43 PM
Germans offer up 300,000 private homes for refugees from Ukraine
Germans have offered up 300,000 private homes to house refugees from Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country, Germany's interior ministry said.
As of yesterday, just over 80,000 Ukrainian refugees had been registered in Germany, with more arriving every day.
Many of them have arrived in Berlin by train or bus, which has prompted the German capital to set up temporary accommodation at its shuttered Tegel airport to house up to 3,000 people.
03:40 PM
Video: Chinese reporter gets unprecedented access within Russian army as Beijing amps up Moscow’s message
03:39 PM
Putin warns the West: Russia will emerge stronger
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would ultimately emerge stronger and more independent after overcoming the difficulties caused by what he called the West's 'illegitimate sanctions'.
"These sanctions would have been imposed in any case," Putin told a meeting of the Russian government. "There are some questions, problems and difficulties but in the past we have overcome them and we will overcome them."
03:32 PM
War damage tops $100 billion so far, says top Ukrainian economic adviser
Ukraine's top government economic adviser, Oleg Ustenko, said that invading Russian forces have so far destroyed at least $100 billion worth of infrastructure, buildings and other physical assets.
Mr Ustenko, chief economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told an online event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics that the war has caused 50 per cent of Ukrainian businesses to shut down completely, while the other half are operating at well below their capacity.
He said the damage estimate is "very approximate" and includes roads, bridges, hospitals, equipment and other assets.
Asked how such a reconstruction effort could be financed, Mr Ustenko said part of it could come from Russian assets that are frozen throughout the world, including Russian central bank assets held outside the country and immobilised by Western sanctions.
The seized assets of wealthy Russian oligarchs could also be transferred to a reconstruction fund, he added.
Asked about the resilience of Ukraine's financial system, and bank payment operations, Mr Ustenko said: "Look, we are doing, I would say, Ok under the current circumstances."
03:27 PM
Captured Russian soldiers: We will be ‘dead’ if we are sent back home
A captured Russian soldier cries while speaking to his mother. Prisoners of war fear they will be killed if they return to their homeland
Prisoners of war say they will be seen as failures and ‘shot by our own people’ if exchanged by Ukrainian forces, reports James Kilner.
Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces have said they will be “dead” if they return home, where they will be regarded as failures and killed.
Captured troops - who have been filmed in breach of the Geneva Convention - have begged not to be sent back to Russia, fearing they will be shot by their own people.
One soldier, speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, said that he had been told by his parents that a funeral had already been prepared for him.
The soldier, deployed with Russia's 2nd Motor Rifle Division, said: "In Russia we are already considered dead. I was given the opportunity to call my parents and they told me that a funeral for me had already been arranged.
"If we are exchanged, then we will be shot by our own people."
What a Russian debt default would mean for the world
The World Bank has warned Russia is “mighty close” to default on sovereign debt. It would mark the first country to suffer a major default in a century.
But what would this actually mean?
Louis Ashworth outlines the implications for Russia and the world.
German govt not involved in any Gerhard Schroeder talks
The German government has not agreed to any meeting by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with Vladimir Putin, two government sources said, responding to a report on Politico website that he was holding talks with the Russian President in Moscow on ending the Ukraine war.
Asked about the report, which cited sources familiar with the matter, one source said: "This was neither agreed with the government nor was it involved."
The second source confirmed this.
Russia-Ukraine latest news: West must understand 'danger' of sending Kyiv weapons, warns Kremlin - Sean Gallup /Getty Images Europe
02:52 PM
Where conflict is reported in Ukraine right now
Can a war be mapped in real-time?
The Telegraph is now monitoring open source investigation into shelling, gunfire and troop movements in Ukraine that is taking place online.
This map provides a live snapshot of the latest possible battlegrounds.
02:42 PM
Sanctions 'illegitimate': Vladimir Putin
Russia is adhering to its obligations on energy supplies, President Vladimir Putin told a government meeting, after the United States banned Russian oil imports.
Mr Putin said Western sanctions against Russia were not legitimate, and Western governments were deceiving their own people. Russia would calmly solve its problems, he said.
Speaking at the same meeting, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia had taken measures to limit outflow of capital and that the country would service its external debts in roubles.
02:36 PM
Belarus 'restores power supply' to Chernobyl
Further to our post at 9.05am, Russia's energy ministry has said that Belarusian specialists had restored electricity supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
Chernobyl lost power amid fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
02:28 PM
Russian tank column repelled on outskirts of Kyiv
02:21 PM
Goldman Sachs to cease operations in Russia
Investment Bank Goldman Sachs will cease its operations in Russia, making them the first major player from Wall Street to exit the country, Bloomberg reports.
“Goldman Sachs is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” the company said in an emailed statement.
“We are focused on supporting our clients across the globe in managing or closing out pre-existing obligations in the market and ensuring the well-being of our people.”
The Wall Street powerhouse has maintained a presence in Russia in recent years, but the country doesn’t amount to a meaningful portion of its global banking business. At the end of 2021, the firm’s total credit exposure to Russia was $650 million, most of which was tied to non-sovereign counterparties or borrowers.
02:13 PM
Civilians flee Irpin
Russia-Ukraine latest news: West must understand 'danger' of sending Kyiv weapons, warns Kremlin - Anadolu Agency /Anadolu Russia-Ukraine latest news: West must understand 'danger' of sending Kyiv weapons, warns Kremlin - Anadolu Agency /Anadolu Russia-Ukraine latest news: West must understand 'danger' of sending Kyiv weapons, warns Kremlin - ARIS MESSINIS /AFP
02:06 PM
Chelsea press for talks with UK govt to amend sanctions: club
English Premier League club Chelsea said Thursday they were pressing for talks with the UK government after their billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit with a UK assets freeze and travel ban.
The club said in a statement it would fulfil its upcoming fixtures but indicated restrictions imposed on its day-to-day operations under a special licence were too harsh.
"This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the club to operate as normal as possible," it added.
Russia tactics in Ukraine invasion mirror those used in Syria
Besieging cities, shelling civilian infrastructure and arranging "safe corridors": the tactics used by Russia in its war on Ukraine mirror those it tested and fine-tuned to drain resistance in Syria's conflict.
But unlike its Syria play book, the challenge Russia faces from a Western-backed army in Ukraine dwarfs that of Syrian rebels who lacked military might or broad international backing, analysts said.
Russia entered Syria's civil war in 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, allowing Damascus to clock up decisive victories in the decade-long conflict.
Since President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion on February 24, tens of thousands of Russian troops have swarmed into Ukraine, where they have shelled urban centres and forced people to flee, sparking international outrage.
Moscow denies targeting civilian areas in Ukraine, despite widespread evidence suggesting otherwise, with Western powers and rights groups accusing it of committing possible war crimes.
A French military source said Russia's operations in Ukraine marked a "change of scale".
02:00 PM
Mariupol before and after Russian shelling
01:50 PM
Former German Chancellor to meet with Putin
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, political news website Politico reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Mr Schröder has come under fierce criticism at home and abroad for refusing to sever his close ties to Moscow following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Several of his office staff quit last week after he insisted on keeping his senior roles at Kremlin-linked energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom.
Schröder, a Social Democrat, served as German chancellor from 1998 to 2005. He has since enjoyed a lucrative business career thanks to his Russian energy roles.
01:46 PM
Russia never wants to depend on West again, Lavrov says
ussia never wants to depend on Western states or companies again, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, adding that the West was using Ukraine to undermine Russia.
Lavrov told a news conference after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart in Turkey that Russia had never used its oil and gas as weapons and that it would always have markets for its energy exports.
01:31 PM
Russia places export ban on 200 foreign-made products until end of 2022
Russia has announced an export ban on more than 200 types of foreign-made products and equipment until the end of the year, part of Moscow's response to sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict.
The measure concerns goods and equipment that were previously imported into Russia from abroad.
"The list includes technological, communication and medical equipment, vehicles, agricultural machinery and electrical equipment - more than 200 types of goods in total," said an order signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
"This measure is necessary to provide stability on the Russian market," the order said.
The measure will affect all foreign countries, but exceptions can be made for members of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union and Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Separately, the government also banned the export of "some types of timber" to countries that "committed unfriendly actions" towards Russia.
The list includes 48 countries, including EU states and the United States.
Russian shelling of Mariupol on Thursday prevented a humanitarian convoy reaching the besieged Ukrainian city, local officials said, and dented hopes of evacuating trapped civilians who are increasingly desperate for supplies.
Residents have been cowering under fire, and without power or water, in the Black Sea port city of over 400,000 people for more than a week and attempts to arrange a local ceasefire and safe passage out have failed repeatedly.
Another "humanitarian corridor" appeared to have failed on Thursday, a day after the bombing of a hospital in the city which President Volodoymr Zelenskiy said had killed two adults and a child.
"Bombs are hitting houses," the Mariupol city council said in an online post released as the top Ukrainian and Russian diplomats held talks in Turkey.
The council said a university and a theatre had also been hit but gave no casualty figures.
Petro Andrushenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said that Russian aircraft were targeting the routes that humanitarian aid was trying to use to enter the city, and along which buses were being prepared to evacuate people.
"We try and try and try, but I'm not sure if it'll be possible today - or other days," he said by phone.
"Airstrikes started from the early morning. Airstrike after airstrike. All the historic centre is under bombardment."
The bombardment, he said, had continued "without any gaps, without any pause", hitting houses and buildings along the evacuation routes.
"They want to absolutely delete our city, delete our people. They want to stop any evacuation," he said.
01:24 PM
Russian bombing of Ukraine maternity hospital a 'heinous war crime,' says EU
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned Russia's bombing of a maternity hospital in Ukraine's Mariupol and demanded Moscow allow aid into the besieged city.
"Russia's shelling of maternity hospital is a heinous war crime. Strikes of residential areas from the air and blocks of access of aid convoys by the Russian forces must immediately stop. Safe passage is needed, now," Borrell wrote in a tweet.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) March 10, 2022
01:22 PM
Russia has killed 71 children and injured 100 others, says Ukrainian politician
Russian troops have killed 71 children have been killed and wounded 100 others since it invaded Ukraine on February 25, Ukrainian's Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova has said.
In a post on Telegram she listed some examples:
An air strike on the town of Malyn killed three children, a five year-old girl and two babies born in 2021.
A 16-year-old boy was also killed after Russians shelled a market in the village of Zhukovskoho, Kharkiv region.
A Russian shell killed two children and wounded five-year-old girl staying in a house in the village of Slobozhanske, Izium district
In the town of Irpin, Kyiv region, a 10-year-old girl was severely wounded and is currently in hospital in serious condition.
Ms Denisova said: "Over the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the atrocities of Russian militants, the violation of all Geneva conventions, Ukraine pays an exorbitant price – the lives of its children, the future of our people. I insist, NATO countries, help stop Russian terrorism – close the sky over Ukraine."
01:08 PM
US vice president calls for investigation into alleged Russian war crimes
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday embraced calls for an international war crimes investigation of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and the bombing of civilians, including a maternity hospital.
Speaking alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at a press conference in Warsaw, where she is demonstrating U.S. support for NATO's eastern flank allies, Harris expressed outrage over the bombing Wednesday of the maternity hospital and scenes of bloodied pregnant women being evacuated, as well as other attacks on civilians.
She stopped short of directly accusing Russia of having committed war crimes.
"Absolutely there should be an investigation, and we should all be watching," said Harris, noting that the United Nations has already started a process to review allegations.
"I have no question the eyes of the world are on this war and what Russia has done in terms of this aggression and these atrocities."
Duda, for his part, said "it is obvious to us that in Ukraine Russians are committing war crimes." He added that in his view the invasion was "bearing the features of a genocide _ it aims at eliminating and destroying a nation."
01:04 PM
Half of Kyiv 's population has fled
Half the population of Kyiv has fled since the Russian invasion began, its mayor Vitali Klitschko said Thursday, as Moscow's forces press ever closer to the Ukrainian capital.
"From our information, one in two Kyiv residents has left the city," he told Ukraine television.
"A little less than two million people have currently left. However, Kyiv has been transformed into a fortress. Every street, every building, every checkpoint has been fortified."
The greater Kyiv area had a population of 3.5 million last year, according to website citypopulation.de.
Russian forces have rolled their armoured vehicles up to the northeastern edge of the city, an AFP team saw on Thursday.
Ukrainian soldiers described a night of heavy battles for control of the main highway leading into Kyiv.
Wladimir Klitschko, brother of Vitali Klitschko, and former world heavyweight boxing champion, said Russia was killing "children by the dozen" in its invasion.
Plans to attack Poland and Baltic States is 'fake news' from Liz Truss, says Lavrov
Russia “never said” there were plans to attack Poland or the Baltic states, and that such statements were made only by Liz Truss, “who is generally famous for her aphorisms”, Lavrov has said.
In a press conference in Turkey on Thursday, Mr Lavrov said: "We have never said that we would have any plans for, say, NATO member countries.
"My new colleague Liz Truss spoke on this topic, who said something like: 'if Putin does not lose in Ukraine, then there will be no limit to his ambitions and the next targets will be the Baltic States and Moldova'
"So it's not us who are saying this, it's Liz Truss, who is generally famous for her aphorisms.
"But, in this case, when she predicts an attack on the Baltic States and Poland, I think it is quite fitting of English culture, English politics and diplomacy - because it is just like when the British wrote the fake so-called "Testament of Peter the Great"," Lavrov added
The “Testament of Peter the Great” was a document which purported to be the will of the Russian tsar who died in 1725, which called for Russian “aggrandisement”, war with neighbouring countries and Russian interference with the affairs of Europe.
Its origins have never been confirmed.
12:55 PM
'Grave mistake' if Putin uses chemical weapons, warns Liz Truss
Britain is very concerned about the possible use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine, British foreign minister Liz Truss told CNN, warning that it would be a grave mistake for Russian President Vladimir Putin to use them.
Earlier Joe Biden's warned Wednesday that Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova this week, without evidence, accused Ukraine of running chemical and biological weapons labs in its territory.
Jen Psaki, the White House's press secretary called Russia's claim "preposterous" and said it could be part of an attempt by Russia to lay the groundwork for itself using such weapons of mass destruction against Ukraine.
We took note of Russia’s false claims about alleged U.S. biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine. We’ve also seen Chinese officials echo these conspiracy theories.
West must understand 'danger' of sending Kyiv weapons, warns Kremlin - CLODAGH KILCOYNE /REUTERS West must understand 'danger' of sending Kyiv weapons, warns Kremlin - CLODAGH KILCOYNE /REUTERS
12:34 PM
Sale of Chelsea would require additional licence
The government is open to the sale of Chelsea football club but for that to go ahead, it would require another licence, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after sanctions were imposed on its owner, Roman Abramovich.
"We would have to grant a further licence. I think it is fair to say the government is open to the sale of the club, but ... currently, it would require another licence and that would require a further conversation with the Treasury (finance ministry)," he told reporters.
"The principle has been to mitigate the impact on fans ..., these measures are designed to punish those close to Putin.”
12:18 PM
West’s sanctions a 'war against historic Russia'
The sanctions against Russia implemented by Western countries in recent weeks is a “war against historic Russia” and its people, a member of the state Duma has said today.
In an interview on Russian state television channel Russia 24, politician and head of the New People party Alexey Nechayev said: “This is of course a war against historic Russia. Against our economic infrastructure, all of our social structures, against people. And now it is said openly that the aim is to destroy Russian statehood.”
This video of a Russian military column coming under attack and retreating was geolocated to 50.587111, 30.837889 by @MrWolfih and confirmed by Bellingcat. Filmed in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv. https://t.co/fj8ukOgip0pic.twitter.com/oc8dV4OOIR
We are witnessing 'atrocities of unimaginable proportions': Kamala Harris
US vice-president Kamala Harris has said that the nation of Ukraine is suffering "atrocities of unimaginable proportions".
Speaking on a trip to Warsaw, Ms Harris said America "will do everything together to support what is necessary for Ukraine."
She also reiterated America's "iron-clad commitment" to Article 5.
"An attack against one is an attack against all. We are here today to restate that commitment," the vice-president added.
12:08 PM
60,000 evacuated yesterday
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has said 60,000 people were evacuated yesterday.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitshcko has confirmed that half of the capital's residents have fled the city, meaning two million people remain.
12:01 PM
Russia's Lavrov does not believe nuclear war will happen
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday he did not believe the conflict in Ukraine would spiral into a nuclear war but cautioned the United States and Europe that Moscow never again wanted to be dependent on the West.
Russia's economy is facing the gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union after the West slapped heavy sanctions on almost the entire Russian financial and corporate system following Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by a Kremlin correspondent for Russia's Kommersant newspaper if he thought a nuclear war could be triggered, Lavrov told reporters in Turkey: "I don't want to believe it, and I do not believe it."
Lavrov, President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister since 2004, said the nuclear theme had been thrown into discussions only by the West, which he said kept on returning to nuclear war like Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis.
11:57 AM
Explained: The effects of Western sanctions on Russia
Western sanctions are dealing a severe blow to Russia's economy.
The rouble is plummeting, foreign businesses are fleeing and higher prices are in the offing.
Familiar products may disappear from stores, and middle-class luxuries like foreign holidays are in doubt.
Beyond the short-term pain, Russia's economy will likely see a deepening of the stagnation that started to set in long before the invasion of Ukraine.
But a total collapse is unlikely, several economists say.
Despite the financial sanctions, Russia has built "an economy that's geared for conflict," said Richard Connolly, an expert on the Russian economy at the Royal United Services Institute in Britain.
The Russian government's extensive involvement in the economy and the money it is still making from oil and gas exports, even with bans from the US and Britain , will help soften the blow for many workers, pensioners and government employees in a country that has endured three serious financial crises in the past three decades.
Still, the Russian currency has fallen spectacularly, which will drive up prices for imported goods when inflation was already running at nine percent.
It took 80 rubles to get one US dollar on February 23, the day before the invasion.
By Thursday, it was 119, even after Russia's central bank took drastic measures to stop the plunge, including doubling interest rates to 20 per cent.
11:48 AM
What weapons is the UK sending to Ukraine
11:40 AM
Germany and France demand ceasefire in call to Putin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron demanded an immediate ceasefire in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said a German government official.
Macron and Scholz also told Putin on Thursday that any resolution to the war in Ukraine needed to come through negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, the official said.
The three agreed to remain in close contact in coming days, added the German official.
11:38 AM
Lavrov claims Russia wants to continue talks with Ukraine
Russia is ready to continue talks with Ukraine within the framework of the existing format in Belarus, but it is too early to organise a summit meeting between the two countries' leaders, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
Russia's top diplomat spoke in the Turkish resort town of Antalya after he and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held their first face-to-face talks after two weeks of war.
"Today's meeting has confirmed that the Russian-Ukrainian format in Belarus has no alternative," Lavrov told a press conference after speaking to Kuleba.
Lavrov stressed that Russia wanted to see concrete results from talks.
"In recent years, after the anti-constitutional coup d'etat, the Ukrainian leadership has preferred meetings for the sake of meetings, preferred to imitate, simulate concrete decisions."
11:38 AM
Slovenia and Spain accuse Russia of war crimes
Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Thursday as he arrived at a meeting of the European People's Party in Paris.
"Anyone one can see that it is against all conventions," he said, referring to Russian artillery strikes in Ukraine.
A woman injured by airstrikes n Kharkiv is given water and aid - Sergey Dolzhenko/ Shutterstock
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez echoed Mr Jansa's statement.
"We're seeing how hospitals are being bombed. They are attacking civil society in an indiscriminate manner, therefore clearly violating human rights and more than likely committing war crimes," Sanchez said during a visit to a Ukrainian refugee centre near Madrid.
"Such war crimes cannot go unpunished."
11:29 AM
China censors pro-Ukrainian views on social media
China's censors, who determine what can be discussed on the country's social media platforms, are deleting comments protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In the days after Russia's invasion, posts on Chinese social media platforms Weibo, WeChat and Douyin broadly backed Russia and Vladimir Putin.
But comments or posts which challenged that or advocated peace quickly disappeared from view.
Jin Xing, a former popular talk show host and China's first openly transgender celebrity, said her account on Weibo - China's equivalent to Twitter - was suspended last week, after she published two posts, including one that made reference to Putin as a "crazy Russian man" and urged her followers to pray for peace.
"All I said was I support life and oppose war, that was it. I did not say I support the U.S. or Russia or Ukraine," said Jin, whose account is followed by 13.6 million users. "What mistake did I make?"
Award-winning Chinese actor Ke Lan has been banned from posting on Weibo "due to violating relevant rules and regulations," according to a notice on her Weibo account.
She had liked and shared images and comments opposing the war, including pictures of an anti-war protest in St Petersburg.
11:25 AM
Ukraine asks Russia for access to fix power line of Chernobyl
The decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power station, occupied by Russian forces, remained disconnected from Ukraine’s energy grid for a second day on Thursday, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.
He said the plant was running on back-up diesel generators.
"We have officially requested that the (Russian) occupants give us corridors to fix the power lines to the plant,” he said.
11:16 AM
China eases exchanges rate controls to protect yuan after rouble loses 40% of value
China is easing government exchange rate controls to let the Russian rouble fall faster in value against the Chinese yuan to help insulate Beijing from economic sanctions on Moscow.
The margin by which the ruble is allowed to fluctuate against the yuan in state-controlled daily trading will be doubled in size to 10 per cent above or below the day's opening price starting Friday, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System announced.
The ruble has lost about 40 per cent of its value since Western governments cut off some Russia banks from the international SWIFT payment system in retaliation for President Vladimir Putin's Feb. 24 attack on Ukraine. Russia's central bank was blocked from using its foreign currency reserves to defend the exchange rate.
China has avoided joining other governments in criticizing Putin's attack and has criticized Western sanctions. Chinese companies give no sign they are joining Western counterparts in pulling out of Russia, but economists say they are likely to try to take advantage of pressure on Moscow to try to strike better deals.
Holding the exchange rate steady would require China's central bank to subsidize Russian buyers of Chinese goods by giving them more yuan for their rubles than market forces said Moscow's currency was worth.
The latest change would allow Chinese exchange rates to keep up with the ruble's abrupt daily fluctuations.
11:14 AM
In pictures: Ukraine fights on
Ukrainian militia defend those fleeing the fighting in the city of Irpin - Redux /Eric Bouvet A convoy of tanks is destroyed on the outskirts of Brovary, Ukraine - Reuters Emergency teams in Romania care for Ukrainian refugees at the border - Andreea Alexandru /AP
11:06 AM
Free trains for Ukrainians leaving Poland for Germany
Polish state railway company PKP said on Thursday it was offering free tickets to Ukrainians travelling onwards to parts of Germany.
As of Wednesday, Ukrainian citizens can travel free by second class on the nine daily intercity trains linking the Polish cities of Warsaw, Przemysl (via Krakow) and Gdynia to the German capital Berlin and the border town of Frankfurt (Oder).
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and the massive influx of refugees into Poland, PKP has put on more trains from the Ukrainian border and allowed people fleeing into the country to use them for free.
An estimated 300,000 Ukrainians have travelled into Poland that way since February 26.
Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Szefernaker told state television on Thursday that many refugees were camping in Polish train stations, hoping to travel on to other European Union countries.
11:01 AM
UK to simplify Ukraine refugee process after backlash
Downing Street will simplify its much-criticised visa process for refugees fleeing Russia's war in Ukraine from next week, the Government has said.
"From Tuesday, I can announce that Ukrainians with passports will no longer need to go to a visa application centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK," Home Secretary Priti Patel told parliament.
Patel said that she had received "assurances on security matters" which enabled her to make changes to the Ukrainian family scheme.
"Instead, once their application has been considered and appropriate checks completed, they will receive direct notification that they're eligible for the scheme and can come to the UK."
Patel and her department have been accused of forcing Ukrainian refugees to jump through hoops to secure visas to travel to the UK.
Hundreds have travelled to the Channel port of Calais in the hope of crossing to join family in Britain, only to be turned away because of a lack of travel documents.
11:00 AM
Russia deliberately blocking Mariupol evacuation, Ukrainian official says
Russia is deliberately preventing the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol because it has failed to seize the strategic Black Sea port city, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Thursday.
Ukraine said earlier on Thursday that an aid convoy to the city had to turn back because of fighting. Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it calls a "special operation" in Ukraine.
An injured pregnant woman walks downstairs the maternity hospital bombed by Russia - Evgeniy Maloletka /AP
10:57 AM
Russia-Ukraine talks yield no progress as war enters third week
Russia's war in Ukraine entered the third week on Thursday with none of its stated objectives reached, despite thousands of people killed, more than two million made refugees and thousands cowering in besieged cities under relentless bombardment.
The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met on Thursday in Turkey, the highest level contact between the two countries since the war began on February 24, but they made clear no progress had been made.
Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba said he had secured no promise from Russia's Sergei Lavrov to halt firing so aid could reach civilians, including Kyiv's main humanitarian priority - evacuating hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the besieged port of Mariupol.
Lavrov showed no sign of making any concessions, repeating Russian demands that Ukraine be disarmed and accept neutral status.
He said Kyiv appeared to want meetings for the sake of meetings, and blamed the West for intensifying the conflict by arming its neighbour.
10:33 AM
Mariupol under attack from the air, says city council
Mariupol is under attack from the air, its city council has said with missiles raining down on residential buildings.
Ukraine's deputy prime minister said a humanitarian convoy trying to reach Mariupol had to turn around due to fighting.
10:25 AM
Japan U-turns on Uniqlo outlets in Russia
Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co is suspending its Russian operations temporarily, it said on Thursday, reversing its previous position and adding that it condemned acts of aggression.
While numerous brands announced their exits from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Fast Retailing's founder had told Japanese media that the company would continue operating its 50 stores in Russia because "clothing is a necessity of life".
But on Thursday it said: "While continuing our Uniqlo business in Russia, it has become clear to us that we can no longer proceed due to a number of difficulties.
"We condemn all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten the peaceful existence of individuals."
10:20 AM
Russia bombs two hospitals in Zhytomyr
10:19 AM
Russia changes its line on Ukraine hospital bombing
Russia on Thursday shifted its stance over the bombing of a Ukrainian hospital in the city of Mariupol, with a mix of statements that veered between aggressive denials and a call to establish clear facts.
Ukrainian's president on Wednesday accused Russia of carrying out genocide after officials said Russian aircraft had bombed the hospital, burying patients in rubble despite a ceasefire deal for people to flee the besieged city.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked for comment in the immediate aftermath, told Reuters news agency: "Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets."
On Thursday he said the Kremlin would look into the incident.
"We will definitely ask our military, because you and I don't have clear information about what happened there," Peskov told reporters. "And the military are very likely to provide some information."
Other Russian officials took a more aggressive line on Thursday, rejecting the hospital bombing as fake news.
"This is information terrorism," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, went further, saying the building that was hit was a former maternity hospital that had been taken over by Ukrainian troops.
"That’s how fake news is born," he said, adding that Russia had warned on March 7 that the hospital had been turned into a military object from which Ukrainians were firing.
10:15 AM
Key takeaways from Ukraine talks with Russia
Here are some of the key takeaways from the talks so far between Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Kremlin counterpart Sergei Lavrov
Russia will continue its invasion until Ukraine meets their demand, Kuleba said.
Lavrov accused the West of supplying Ukraine with chemical weapons.
Ukraine will not surrender, Kuleba said.
Lavrov claimed the Mariupol hospital shelled by Russian airstrikes, which killed a six year old girl and at least two others, housed no patients but Ukrainian radicals.
10:04 AM
Ukraine and Russia fail to agree to 24 hour ceasefire
Ukraine and Russia have failed to agree to a a 24 hour ceasefire following a meeting between the two country's foreign ministers.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had done his best to find a diplomatic solution to the "humanitarian tragedy unfolding on the battleground and the besieged cities".
He said he had raised the issue of a 24 hour ceasefire with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov but they made no progress since "there are some other decision makers for this matter in Russia".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during talks with Ukrainian counterpart - Anadolu Agency
On Mariupol, Mr Kuleba said: "The city is being bombarded from the air, it is being hit by artillery fire. I came here with a humanitarian purpose to arrange a humanitarian corridor in and from Mariupol for civilians who want to flee this area of fear and struggle. "
Lavrov did not commit to humanitarian corridors in Mariupol.
09:52 AM
YouTube, Google Play suspend payment-based services in Russia
Alphabet Inc's YouTube and Google Play store are suspending all payment-based services in Russia, including subscriptions, as Western sanctions start to pose banking challenges in the country.
Google and YouTube had recently stopped selling online advertising in Russia following similar pauses by Twitter Inc and Snap Inc after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"As a follow-up, we're now extending this pause to all our monetization features, including YouTube Premium, Channel Memberships, Super Chat and Merchandise, for viewers in Russia," YouTube said in a statement on Thursday.
YouTube channels in Russia will still be able to generate revenue from viewers outside of Russia through ads and paid features, which include Super Chat and merchandise sales. Free apps on Google Play also remain available in Russia, according to a company support website.
09:48 AM
Finland president to speak to Putin on Friday
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto will speak on the phone with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday, he told reporters on Thursday, after meeting with members of parliament to discuss options to strengthen national security.
09:45 AM
Russia to 'pay a price' for Ukraine invasion, say Kamala Harris
US Vice President Kamala Harris will discuss issues with Poland that will force Russia to pay a price for its invasion of Ukraine, she said on Thursday during a visit to Warsaw, as Moscow continues its bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
Harris also said Poland was doing "extraordinary work" with the refugees who have fled Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and US Vice President Kamala Harris in Poland on Thursday - Reuters
09:40 AM
Bosnia asks to speed up start of EU membership talks
Bosnia's Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic asked her German counterpart to support Bosnia's request for a speedier approval of its candidate status for European Union membership.
Turkovic said it would help secure stability in the country, in which Serb separatists have been pushing for secession of their region from Bosnia, with tacit Russian approval.
09:38 AM
Chelsea can keep playing after Abramovich sanction, says UK
Britain has allowed Chelsea football club to continue playing matches after it imposed sanctions on its owner, Roman Abramovich, halting his plan to sell the English Premier League side.
Abramovich had put the club up for sale, but Britain's asset freeze and sanctions on him bar that process under the terms of the licence granted to the club.
Culture minister Nadine Dorries said Downing Street had issued a special licence to enable Chelsea to play fixtures, pay staff and enable ticket holders to attend matches, because it did not want to harm the reigning European and world soccer champions.
1/ 4🧵Putin’s attack on Ukraine continues & we are witnessing new levels of evil by the hour. Today the Government has announced further sanctions against individuals linked to the Russian Government. This list includes Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club.
Russian troops at gas stations risk supply to Europe
The operator of Ukraine's gas pipelines has warned that Russian forces were on the territory of more than one gas compressor station in Ukraine, posing a potential threat to smooth gas transit to Europe.
The operator (OGTSU) did not say how many stations were affected or where they were.
"The OGTSU demands that the military and armed groups immediately leave the territory of the compressor stations and stop trying to influence the operation of the GTS (gas transmission system)," it said.
"Interference in the technological processes of GTS operations creates significant risks for the safety of continuous gas transportation to consumers in Ukraine and Europe," it said
09:26 AM
Russian economy in 'shock' from unprecedented economic war, admits Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia's economy was experiencing a shock and that measures were being taken to soften the impact of what it described as an "absolutely unprecedented" economic war being waged against Moscow.
The West has imposed sweeping sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
"Our economy is experiencing a shock impact now and there are negative consequences, they will be minimised," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
He described the situation as turbulent, but said that measures to calm and stabilise it were already being taken.
"This is absolutely unprecedented. The economic war that has started against our country has never taken place before. So it is very hard to forecast anything."
09:24 AM
Kremlin to ask military for information on Ukraine hospital strike
The Kremlin has said it would approach the Russian military for details of a strike on a hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky called a "war crime".
"We will certainly ask our military about this, since we don't have clear information about what happened there. Without fail, the military will provide some kind of information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, as Moscow's advance into Ukraine entered its third week.
09:21 AM
Britain freezes Roman Abramovich's assets
Britain has frozen tje assets of seven Russian businessmen including Roman Abramovich, IBgor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska and Dmitri Lebedev after they were added to the country's sanctions list.
"There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Roman Abramovich sits next to Vladimir Putin in a 2016 meeting in Sochi, Russia - Mikhail Svetlov /Getty Images Europe
Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea soccer club, Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group, Sechin is the Chief Executive of Rosneft and Lebedev is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya.
Chelsea will continue playing matches and engage in other footballing activities, the Government said.
"The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities," the government said.
Ukraine makes new attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol
Ukraine hopes to start evacuating civilians through a "humanitarian corridor" from Mariupol on Thursday, a day after Russian forces shelled a children's hospital.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Mariupol was one of seven cities from which the government hoped to evacuate residents trapped by fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Several previous attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol have failed, and people in the city of more than 400,000 people have been sheltering there without water or power for over a week.
A Ukrainian family embraces one another after crossing the border into Poland - Omar Marques /Getty Images Europe
Each side has blamed the other for the collapse of local ceasefires, including around Mariupol, and Russia said reports that it had bombarded a children's hospital were "fake news".
It said the premises were no longer used as a hospital and had long ago taken over by Ukrainian troops.
09:09 AM
Russia has switched tactics to targeting civilians says Ukraine
Russia has switched tactics to targeting civilians after its invasion on Ukraine slowed, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office said on Thursday.
Ukraine has accused Russia of genocide after officials said Russia bombed a children’s hospital in the port city of Mariupol on Wednesday, a charge Moscow dismissed as "fake news". Russia has also denied targeting civilians.
Adviser Oleksiy Arestovych also said Ukraine had enough troops to withstand Russian efforts to capture the capital Kyiv.
09:05 AM
Lukashenko orders Belarusian specialists to Chernobyl power supply
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed Belarusian specialists to ensure power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the BelTA news agency reported on Thursday.
Ukraine said on Wednesday there was a danger of a radiation leak at Chernobyl after electricity was cut off, but the UN nuclear watchdog saw "no critical impact on security".
Russia accused Ukrainian forces of attacking power lines and a substation feeding the power plant.
09:03 AM
Russia accuses US of funding biological weapons research in Ukraine
Russia on Thursday accused the United States of funding research into the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, as Moscow stepped up its campaign to gain control of key Ukrainian cities.
Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a televised briefing that "the purpose of this - and other Pentagon-funded biological research in Ukraine - was to establish a mechanism for the stealthy spread of deadly pathogens."
Konashenkov claimed the ministry had obtained documents detailing US military-biological activities in Ukraine, including on the transfer of Ukrainians' biomaterial abroad.
He said Washington "planned to carry out research on bird, bat and reptile pathogens", as well as on African swine fever and anthrax.
"Biolaboratories set up and funded in Ukraine have been experimenting with bat coronavirus samples," Konashenkov added.
Both Washington and Kyiv have denied the existence of laboratories intended to produce biological weapons in the country, which has faced a Russian assault by tens of thousands of troops since February 24.
09:00 AM
Lukashenko says Belarus army must prevent any attack on Russia from the rear
Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko told his defence ministry on Thursday that his army must prevent any attack on Russian forces from the rear, the state news agency BelTa said.
Russia used its ally Belarus as one of the launchpads for its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Lukashenko was quoted as telling defence chiefs that they must prevent any attempt - presumably by Ukrainian forces - to cut off Russian supply lines and "strike at Russians from the rear".
A man wounded by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, - Evgeniy Maloletka /AP
08:57 AM
Top Russian, Ukrainian diplomats meet for first time since invasion
Russia and Ukraine's foreign ministers met in Turkey on Thursday in the first high-level talks between the two countries since Moscow invaded its neighbour, with Ankara hoping they could mark a turning point in the conflict.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has tempered expectations for a ceasefire agreement or other results from the meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov
Television footage showed the Russian and Ukrainian delegations sitting at tables facing each other, either side of a delegation headed by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu, Russia's Sergey Lavrov and Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba begin talks - Anadolu
Russia's invasion has uprooted more than two million people in what the United Nations calls the fastest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War.
Ahead of the talks, Kuleba urged Lavrov to approach them "in good faith, not from a propagandistic perspective."
"I will say frankly that my expectations of the talks are low," Kuleba said in a video statement on Wednesday. "We are interested in a ceasefire, liberating our territories and the third point is to resolve all humanitarian issues."
08:52 AM
Defence minister warns Putin of consequences in using chemical weapons
Defence minister James Heappey warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the use of chemical weapons has "triggered an international response" in the past.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't think it's helpful to get into any firm commitment right now about where that red line sits, but I think President Putin needs to be very clear that when other countries have used chemical weapons it has caused an international response.
"I think he should reflect very urgently on what has happened to other countries where they have used them."
He added: "President Putin needs to be clear that the use of chemical weapons is just the most despicable thing that anybody can imagine.
"As horrid as the pictures we are seeing on our TV screens today of an artillery strike against a hospital (are), they are but nothing by comparison to the suffering and devastation that chemical weapons cause."
08:46 AM
Russia has attacked 18 medical facilities since invasion, says WHO
The World Health Organization says it has confirmed 18 attacks on medical facilities since the Russian invasion began two weeks ago.
An airstrike on a hospital in the port city of Mariupol killed three people, including a child, the city council said Thursday.
Ukrainian rescue teams sift through the rubble of the maternity hospital in Mariupol - AP
The shelling in the southern port city wounded women waiting to give birth and doctors and buried children in the rubble.
Bombs also fell on two hospitals in another city west of the capital.
08:40 AM
Putin ally claims Russian invasion prevented attack from Ukraine
Sergei Chemezov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said that the "special military operation" in Ukraine had prevented an attack on Russia, which he said would emerge victorious from the sanctions imposed by the West.
Putin says the invasion is essential to ensure Russian security after the United States enlarged the NATO military alliance to Russia's borders and supported pro-Western leaders in Kyiv.
Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and the United States, and its European and Asian allies have condemned the Russian invasion.
Russia's economy is facing the gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union after the West imposed heavy sanctions on almost the entire Russian financial and corporate system following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"If you glance at Russia's history, almost all of that history Russia has battled with different sanctions, with enemies which encircled her, and she always came out as the victor," Rostec's CEO Chemezov told staff.
"Now will be the same."
08:38 AM
Head of the UN nuclear agency in talks on safety of Ukraine's nuclear plants
The head of the UN nuclear agency is en route to Turkey for talks on ensuring the safety of Ukraine's nuclear facilities.
Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was invited to Antalya, Turkey by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Also in Antalya on Thursday, the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers are scheduled to hold talks on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum.
Grossi didn't give details of his own planned meetings in a tweet that showed him sitting on a plane.
The IAEA chief has been pressing for an agreement with Ukraine and Russia on the safety of Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
A growing list of concerns includes a power cut at the decommissioned Chernobyl plant as well as limited communications between Ukraine's nuclear regulator and both Chernobyl and the Zaporizhzhia power plant, which Russian forces seized last week.
Sony and Nintendo stops supply of consoles to Russia
Sony and Nintendo have suspended deliveries of their gaming consoles, joining a global corporate exodus from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Japanese construction machinery supplier Hitachi said it would stop exports and cease most operations in Russia except for vital electrical power facilities.
Sony, whose film studio had already stopped releases in Russia, suspended the launch of racing game "Gran Turismo 7".
Rival Nintendo said it delayed the global release of "Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp", a turn-based strategy game with a military theme.
Food companies Nestle, Mondelez, Procter & Gamble and Unilever halted investment in Russia, but said they would continue providing essentials.
08:27 AM
Ukrainian foreign minister begin talks with Russia's Lavrov
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has begun talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Turkey.
The talks will focus on Russia ceasing its hostilities and ending its war against Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.
Talks between the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Turkey and the Russian Federation on ending Russian aggression against Ukraine have commenced in Antaliya. pic.twitter.com/LUDCClMNaQ
Sweden to raise military spending to 2% of GDP as soon as possible
Sweden's government wants to increase military spending to two per cent of GDP "as soon as practically possible" in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Thursday.
"Today, we present a new initiative with a clear message to the Swedish people and to the world around us. Sweden's defence capability must be greatly strengthened," Andersson told a news conference.
As the Cold War ended, Sweden's defence spending as a proportion of gross domestic product has fallen from three per cent in the early 1980s to around one per cent in recent years.
08:19 AM
UK looking at easing visa rules for Ukrainians
Britain is looking at easing its visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees, a minister has said after the Government faced widespread condemnation for prioritising bureaucracy over the welfare of those fleeing war.
While households across Europe have taken in Ukrainian families forced to leave their homes, Britain has demanded they secure a visa first, meaning the country has accepted far fewer Ukrainians than the likes of France and Germany, or Ukraine's nearest neighbours.
Armed forces minister James Heappey said he believed the Home Office, was looking at ways to ease the system, after some refugees in the French port city of Calais were ordered to go to Paris or Brussels to fill out forms.
08:11 AM
Russia claims to have destroyed 2,900 military buildings in Ukraine
Russia has destroyed 2,911 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine so far, Russia's Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed.
He also said that the Russian troops had taken control of a number of neighbourhoods in besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
These statements have not been yet verified.
An unexploded short range hypersonic ballistic missile fired by Russia into Kramatorsk, Ukraine - National Guard of Ukraine/Reuters
08:02 AM
Ukraine to create state food reserve to feed entire country
Ukraine's government will create a food reserve big enough to feed the country's people and armed forces during the Russian invasion, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has said.
"The state will redeem grain and other stocks in the volumes of annual consumption by the whole country at the expense of the state budget," Shmygal was quoted by the government press agency as saying.
"This will provide the country with enough food," Shmygal said, without providing additional details.
People line up to get water at the well in outskirts of Mariupol, - Evgeniy Maloletka /AP
Ukraine is a major global food producer and exporter, but agriculture analysts have said the invasion by Russia - which calls its actions a "special operation" - could sharply reduce the area sown for 2022's grain harvest, creating shortages for the rest of the world as well as Ukraine.
07:59 AM
Twitter launches new version of site to bypass Russian censorship
Twitter has launched a privacy-protected version of its site to bypass surveillance and censorship after Russia restricted access to its service in the country.
Russia has blocked access to Facebook and has limited Twitter in an attempt to try to restrict the flow of information about its war in Ukraine.
Both companies have said they are working on restoring access to people inside Russia even as they restrict the country's state media from their services.
Known as an "onion" service, users can access this version of Twitter if they download the Tor browser, which allows people to access sites on what is also referred to as the "dark web."
Instead of .com, onion sites have a .onion suffix.
Regular websites, including Twitter.com, are also accessible on Tor, but the .onion versions are made specifically for Tor and prevent the site from being spoofed by malicious actors.
07:38 AM
Civilians start leaving Sumy through 'humanitarian corridor'
Civilians started leaving the Ukrainian city of Sumy through a "humanitarian corridor" on Thursday following an agreement on a local ceasefire, the regional governor said.
Several thousand people have left the besieged city this week under agreements with Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24.
A Ukrainian soldier says goodbye to his girlfriend before leaving Lviv - Aleksey Filippov/AFP
People were also leaving the nearby settlements of Krasnopillya and Trostyanets, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said.
"The (evacuation) columns are leaving. The ceasefire has been agreed" he said.
07:33 AM
1.43 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since invasion
he Polish Border Guard said on Thursday that 1.43 million people have entered Poland from Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.
The Border Guard said in a tweet that on Wednesday around 117,600 people crossed the border.
Don't go and fight in Ukraine, James Heappey tells British soldiers
Mr Heappey also said that serving British soldiers should not be going AWOL (absent without leave) to fight in Ukraine, adding that it is illegal to do so.
"They will be in an awful lot of trouble" if they go and fight, he said.
"This is not the time for people to be going there, and the Ukrainians have made clear, once you cross the border with the with the expectation to fight, you're in it for good.
"So people who think they can go and do a couple of weeks, take some selfies, get some Instagram shots, and then come home - that is not the way the Ukrainians are viewing the people that go to fight.
"British people should not be doing it."
07:25 AM
Russian commanders will be held to account for war crimes, says UK
Russian military commanders as well as people at the very top of the Russian government will be held to account for any war crimes in Ukraine, Britain's armed forces minister has said.
"Russian commanders need to remember that war crimes are not just committed by those at the very top of the Russian government," James Heappey told Sky News.
Bodies of those killed by Russian missiles are placed in a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol - Evgeniy Maloletka /AP
"They are committed all the way down the chain of command by all who are involved and these atrocities are being watched, they're being catalogued and people will be held to account."
"But let's be clear - what Putin is doing is not a war waged between two militaries. He has besieged a number of Ukrainian cities, and he's waged a war against Ukrainian civilians."
Mr Heappey also confirmed that more defensive aid is on its way to Ukraine.
On accepting refugees, the minister said that personnel would be bolstered in Poland rather than Calais, as that is the busiest centre "by some margin".
07:21 AM
Russia will no longer participate in Council of Europe
Russia will no longer participate in the Council of Europe, the TASS news agency quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying.
The ministry said in a statement that Nato and European Union countries were undermining the European body designed to uphold human rights, rule of law and democracy.
07:14 AM
How many visa applications has the UK accepted from Ukraine?
06:57 AM
Two other hospitals bombed on Wednesday
Bombs reportedly fell on two other hospitals in another city west of Kyiv on the same day as an airstrike on a maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol wounded women waiting to give birth and buried children in the rubble.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday that it has confirmed 18 attacks on medical facilities since the Russian invasion began two weeks ago.
In Zhytomyr, a city of 260,000 to the west of Kyiv, bombs fell on two hospitals, one of them a children’s hospital, Mayor Serhii Sukhomlyn said on Facebook. He said there were no injuries.
06:45 AM
'Ukraine war worse for business than pandemic' says Volkswagen boss
The boss of Volkswagen has warned that a prolonged war in Ukraine risks being "very much worse" for Europe's than the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The interruption to global supply chains "could lead to huge price increases, scarcity of energy and inflation", CEO Herbert Diess told the newspaper.
The German automaker's head also said Europe faces huge threat of higher inflation from prolonged conflict in Ukraine.
Volkswagen did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Carmakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Porsche, are struggling to obtain crucial wire harnesses as suppliers in western Ukraine have been shuttered by the Russian invasion, forcing them to curtail production.
Earlier this month, Volkswagen halted its business in Russia, stopped vehicle exports to the country and suspended production at its Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod sites.
06:34 AM
Senior Tory MP accuses colleague of spouting "offensive bile" over refugees
A senior Tory MP has accused a colleague of spouting "utterly risible, illiterate, immoral and offensive bile" over Ukrainian refugees.
Simon Hoare, the chair of the Commons Northern Ireland Committee, told Daniel Kawczynski in a tweet that he does "not speak for the Tory party".
He was responding to Mr Kawcyznski tweeting: "British Left wing parties demand Britain takes in more Ukrainian refugees. This is illiterate and immoral.
"When war is over Ukrainians will need to return home to rebuild their country. We should be supporting Ukrainian refugees in frontline states like Poland & Romania."
06:23 AM
Latest from the UK Ministry of Defence: Russian column northwest of Kyiv suffers heavy losses as progress stalled
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 10 March 2022
In pictures: Photos from day 13 of the war in Ukraine
A Ukrainian serviceman takes a shooting position as he looks at approaching vehicles in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. ( - Vadim Ghirda /AP Smoke rises after shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) - AP/Evgeniy Maloletka Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces train to use an NLAW anti-tank weapon on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) - Efrem Lukatsky /AP A woman who was evacuated from areas around the Ukrainian capital, holds a plate of food after arriving at a triage point in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) - Vadim Ghirda /AP
06:02 AM
Russia claims Children's hospital bombing 'fake news'
Russia is claiming that Ukrainian allegations that it bombed a children's hospital in Mariupol on Wednesday are 'fake news', Reuters reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was was accused of “crossing the line of humanity” after an air strike on a children’s hospital during a ceasefire in the besieged city of Mariupol.
05:55 AM
Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers arrive in Turkey for talks
The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine have arrived in Turkey for face-to-face talks set for Thursday morning, officials said, in the first high-level contact between the two sides since Moscow invaded its ex-Soviet neighbour.
Officials from Kyiv and Moscow have held several rounds of discussions in Belarus, but the meeting in the southern city of Antalya represents the first time Russia has sent a minister for talks on the crisis.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had landed in Antalya for talks "on Russia ceasing its hostilities and ending its war against Ukraine," foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko tweeted Wednesday evening.
His Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov has also arrived for the talks, a Turkish official told AFP.
Dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow has so far yielded several local ceasefires and humanitarian corridors to evacuate residents, but Russia has been accused of breaching those agreements.
Kuleba confirmed in a Facebook video that he would travel to Turkey for the talks but said his expectations were "limited", as Russia continues its brutal bombing campaign and siege of major cities.
05:32 AM
Rio Tinto slashes ties with Russian businesses
Rio Tinto on Thursday became the first major mining company to announce it was cutting all ties with Russian businesses, joining a raft of leading Western companies in a pullout following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Rio has previously said it has no operational assets or employees to pull out of Russia, or Ukraine, but the move comes as Western firms come under increasing pressure to exit Russia since the invasion began.
Leading US companies like McDonald's, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Starbucks stopped trading with Russia this week, offering a united rebuke of the war on Ukraine. Moscow describes its actions there as a "special operation".
"Rio Tinto is in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business," a Rio spokesman told Reuters. It wasn't immediately clear with which companies Rio has done business in Russia.
05:06 AM
A clip purportedly showing members of Ukraine's bomb disposal unit doing their job as shells land nearby
Germany has rejected a complete ban on Russian gas and oil imports over Russia invading Ukraine, but voices are growing louder for Berlin to ditch its economic imperative to take a moral stand.
After the United States and Britain imposed a ban on Russian oil, pressure has mounted on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government and other G7 members to follow suit.
A group of climate activists, academics, authors and scientists published an open letter to the German government on Wednesday demanding a complete ban on Russian energy, reasoning that "we are all financing this war".
In a newspaper opinion piece this week, conservative lawmaker and foreign policy expert Norbert Roettgen also said the only correct course of action was to "stop Russia's oil and gas business now".
"Nearly a billion euros are being poured into Putin's war chests every day, thwarting our sanctions against the Russian central bank" and "for many Ukrainians, it will be too late if we hesitate now," he wrote.
04:16 AM
13-year old boy and two women killed in overnight strikes in Sumy
A 13-year-old boy and two women were killed in overnight strikes in the northeastern city of Okhtyrka, Sumy on Thursday.
“Enemy aviation hit residential houses. 5 people were rescued from the falls, 2 of them children. Also partially destroyed police department,” said Dmytro Zhyvytsky, head of the Sumy regional state administration.
“The enemy artillery fired at the former Electrobutprilad plant. The result of the shelling killed three villagers, including a minor boy,” he said.
04:00 AM
More than 43,000 people evacuated from Sumy
More than 43,000 people were evacuated from the northeastern city of Sumy today, says Ukraine's communications agency.
Ukraine holding back Russia in all directions, says armed forces
Ukraine is managing to hold back Russia's offensive in all directions of attack, said the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces.
In a daily update, it said Ukraine's defence forces maintain a "decent gap" between it and Russian forces.
The update adds that with support from Belarus Russia continues to attempt to surround Kyiv while isolating areas in the Black Sea and Azov.
"The Republic of Belarus provides support to the occupier in ensuring the supply of fuel-oil materials used by railway infrastructure and airport network," it says.
"In the Slobozhanskom direction, the opponent is attacking the settlements of Izzyum, Petrivsʹke, Grushuvaha, as well as the cities of Sumy and Okhtyrka.
"The enemy's offensive operation is also ongoing in the Donetsk and Tavrij directions."
"The opponent is increasing the grouping of troops in the Mykolaiv direction.
"In the Black Sea and Azov operation zones, the occupiers continue to isolate the combat area. Ship groups of the Navy of the Russian Federation are in the areas of Tarkhankut Cape and Lake Donuzlav."
03:33 AM
US Congress takes first step to pass $14 billion Ukraine aid
US lawmakers advanced aid totalling almost $14 billion (£ 10.6 billion) for war-torn Ukraine on Wednesday as part of a giant blueprint to fund federal agencies and avoid a damaging government shutdown at home.
The House of Representatives agreed to around $1.5 trillion in spending through September, less than 48 hours before the Friday-Saturday midnight deadline, when government funding was due to dry up.
The spending will need to be rubber-stamped by the Senate before it can pass into law.
03:23 AM
Mercenaries linked to Russian state likely deploying to fight in Ukraine, says UK Defence Ministry
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 09 March 2022
Tweet from Zelensky following conversation with Johnson
Had another conversation with 🇬🇧 PM @BorisJohnson. Discussed increasing sanctions pressure on Russia, further support for 🇺🇦 in fighting the aggressor, including defense assistance. Appreciate 🇬🇧 leadership in countering the crime Russia is committing on 🇺🇦 land. #StopRussia
Carlsberg says it we will stop producing and selling its flagship beer in Russia while ceasing all advertising there.
It follows an announcement last week that it would halt new investments or exports from Carlsberg Group into Russia.
"We feel a moral obligation to our Russian colleagues who are an integral part of Carlsberg, and who are not responsible for the actions of the Government.
"We have been owners of Baltika Breweries since 2000 and majority owners since 2008. Our 8,400 employees in Baltika represent more than one in every five of our total global workforce. They value working for Carlsberg, which is known for honesty, fairness and a strong values-led culture."
The company added that Baltika Breweries will be run as a separate business, with the purpose of sustaining its employees and their families.
02:35 AM
Australia ups defence spending amid 'uncertain global environment'
Australia will spend about A$38 billion (£ 22.2 billion) out to 2040 to expand its active defence personnel by a third to keep the country safe "in an increasingly uncertain global environment", Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.
Australia has been boosting its defence spending over the past few years as China looks to step up its presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
"This is a significant investment in our future force," Mr Morrison said during a media briefing on Thursday. The planned expansion would see the number of defence personnel rise to 80,000, a level not seen since the Vietnam War.
Morrison, behind in opinion polls in an election year, has made national security a core issue and has attacked the opposition Labor party as being "soft" on China, viewed by two-thirds of Australians as more of a security threat than an economic partner.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese sharply criticised China for offering Russia relief from sanctions despite its war with Ukraine, a similar line to Mr Morrison's ruling coalition.
02:28 AM
Pictured: Fuel prices around the world surge as the conflict continues
Mandatory Credit: Photo by DIEGO FEDELE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (12842685d) Fuel prices are displayed at a Shell petrol station in Melbourne, Australia, 09 March 2022. Fuel prices in Australia have risen sharply as a result of the ongoing Ukraine, Russia conflict Risisng fuel prices, Melbourne, Australia - 09 Mar 2022 - Shutterstock Mandatory Credit: Photo by MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (12842699a) Light from a sign showing gas prices is reflected on the metal exterior of an air pump as vehicles drive by at a Valero gas station in Washington, DC, USA, 09 March 2022. Gas prices in the United States have risen sharply as a result of the ongoing Ukraine crisis and the US response to ban Russian oil and gas. Gas prices rise sharply due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis, Washington, Usa - 09 Mar 2022 - MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
02:10 AM
Sony suspends PlayStation operations in Russia
Sony said it has halted PlayStation shipments to Russia and suspended operations of the gaming giant's online store there, the latest global brand to shun the country over its invasion of Ukraine.
"Sony Interactive Entertainment joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine," the company said on Thursday
"We have suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of Gran Turismo 7, and operations of the PlayStation Store in Russia."
The statement added that Japanese tech and entertainment giant Sony Group was donating $2 million to the UN refugee agency and Save the Children "to support the victims of this tragedy".
A growing number of multinationals, from McDonald's to Adidas and Samsung, have fully or partially halted business in Russia after its invasion of its neighbouring country two weeks ago.
Some have cited supply chain disruption while others have directly linked the move to outrage over President Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops to Ukraine.
02:08 AM
China-Taiwan war would end in 'miserable victory', says Taiwanese minister
No matter who wins in any future war between Taiwan and China, it will be a "miserable victory", Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Thursday, adding it was best if everyone avoided conflict.
Speaking to reporters before a parliament session on the security implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mr Chiu said both sides would pay a heavy price in the event of conflict between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has vowed to reclaim, by force if necessary.
"If there's a war, to be frank, everyone will be miserable, even for the victors," he said.
"One really needs to think this through," Mr Chiu added. "Everyone should avoid wars."
While Taiwan has stepped up its alert level since the war in Ukraine, it has reported no unusual Chinese military activities, though China's air force has continued to mount occasional missions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.
01:41 AM
35,000 people flee Ukraine's cities
At least 35,000 civilians were evacuated from besieged Ukrainian cities, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
In a video address on Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader said three humanitarian corridors had allowed residents to leave the cities of Sumy, Enerhodar and areas around Kyiv.
He said he hoped the evacuations would continue on Thursday with three more routes set to open out of the cities of Mariupol, Volnovakha in the southeast and Izium in eastern Ukraine.
The evacuations came after Moscow and Kyiv agreed on Wednesday to open more corridors, offering a glimmer of hope for terrified civilians trapped in bombarded cities.
01:40 AM
PM promises more sanctions
Boris Johnson has committed to impose the "maximum economic cost" on Russia as the Foreign Secretary is expected to say aggression like Vladimir Putin's must "never again" be allowed to "grow unchecked".
In a call on Wednesday evening, the Prime Minister joined Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in condemning a reported Russian strike on a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
He noted that this, together with reports Russian forces had failed to respect ceasefire agreements, was "yet further evidence that Putin was acting with careless disregard for international humanitarian law", Downing Street said.
01:36 AM
Today's top stories
Vladimir Putin is plotting to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, Western officials fear, after his air force bombed a maternity hospital in a "depraved" attack that shocked the world
Boris Johnson described the attack on Hospital No 3 as “depraved” and said Britain would step up its supplies of weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, called on the West to "close the skies" after the strike, reigniting demands to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine and send its air force more fighter jets
The Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that Russia had admitted firing a thermobaric weapons system in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the US and Poland of "playing ping-pong" with the lives of Ukrainians after the apparent collapse of a proposal to send MiG fighter jets to his air force
Russia has admitted for the first time that it has sent conscripts to fight in Ukraine, as defence analysts said the military was “struggling to assemble” a large enough force to capture Kyiv
Priti Patel is preparing an about-turn to allow up to 20,000 more Ukrainians in the UK to bring in loved ones and remain for three years in the wake of criticism over the Government’s handling of the refugee crisis
Marvin Harrison Jr., Fanatics said, “rejected or ignored every request” from the company while refusing to fulfill obligations of their contract that was signed last May.
All five of these hitters were drafted highly in fantasy baseball leagues. So far, they have not lived up to their ADPs — and that's an understatement. Scott Pianowski analyzes.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will be offering a little more than usual for some trade-ins starting next week in the US and Canada. That's as long as you're getting one of the iPhone 15 models.
Yahoo Sports NBA draft expert Krysten Peek is back for another season of On the Clock with Krysten Peek. Krysten just spent the week in Chicago at the NBA Draft Combine and kicks off draft season joined by CBS Sports' Kyle Boone.
