Live blog: Russian advances 'halted' in Ukraine — Zelenskyy

Monday, March 11, 2024

0928 GMT — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russian advances had been "halted" in Ukraine and the situation was now "much better" for his troops than over the past three months.

Zelenskyy also told French broadcaster BFM TV that Ukraine was building "over 1,000 kilometres" of fortifications.

More updates 👇

1826 GMT — Ukraine summons Vatican envoy over Pope's 'white flag' comments

Ukraine has summoned the Vatican's envoy to Kiev after Pope Francis suggested the country should consider raising "the white flag" against Russia, causing fury in Kiev.

"Due to the statements of Pope Francis the Apostolic Nuncio was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine," the ministry said on social media, using the term for a Vatican diplomat. It added that the envoy, Visvaldas Kulbodas, was told Kiev was "disappointed with the words of the Pontiff."

1733 GMT — Ukraine needs over $1B to rebuild its scientific infrastructure: UN agency

Ukraine will need more than a billion dollars to rebuild the scientific infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed during two years of Russia’s war on its neighbour, the United Nation’s cultural and scientific agency said.

More than 1,443 scientific facilities, many attached to the country’s universities, have been damaged or destroyed along with 750 pieces of vital technical equipment, most of which are beyond repair, UNESCO said in a report released on Monday.

The war, now in its third year, has also depleted the science sector of funds and dispersed Ukraine’s scientists, displacing many within the country and sending others into exile.

1522 GMT — NATO's Stoltenberg not sold on Macron's talk of Western troops for Ukraine

NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg distanced himself from French president Emmanuel Macron’s declaration that Western allies should not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine.

"NATO has no plans to send troops to Ukraine and NATO's not party to the conflict, nor are NATO allies," Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, told Reuters in an interview.

Stoltenberg said that even if individual NATO countries sent troops to Ukraine, that would affect the alliance as a whole as its members are bound by a collective defence pact.

Asked if Macron had made a mistake by talking of "strategic ambiguity" on the possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said: "I think it is important that we consult and that we have a common approach to these important topics because they matter for all of us."

1303 GMT — Germany criticises Pope Francis over Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has criticised Pope Francis's comments on the Ukraine war, and his call on Kieiv to sit down at the negotiating table with the Kremlin.

"You understand what’s happening there when you see a bombed kindergarten, when you talk to women, when you talk to children whose friends were kidnapped in eastern Ukraine," Baerbock said, adding that most of these abducted children have not returned despite efforts by international organisations.

"Then I ask myself, where is the Pope? The Pope must know about these things,” the minister said and argued that Western countries should demonstrate determination, and stronger solidarity with Ukraine to force Russia to withdraw troops and end this war.

"If we don't show strength now, then there will be no peace," Baerbock said.

1127 GMT — France’s 'intentions' to form coalition to send troops to Ukraine ‘very dangerous’: Russia

Russia has said France's alleged intentions to form a coalition of countries willing to send troops to Ukraine is a "very dangerous" line of thought.

"In general, the expansion of the discussion and the persistent activity of Paris in attempts to put together a coalition of countries that declare a hypothetical readiness to send a certain contingent, of course, is nothing more than a direct line to escalate tension," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a Moscow press briefing.

"This is a dangerous line, very dangerous," Peskov said, expressing that such a direction "could potentially have very undesirable consequences" and that they are watching these developments "very closely".

1043 GMT — Putin has repeatedly spoken about 'openness' for talks on Ukraine: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about his country’s "readiness and openness" for talks on Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman said in response to remarks made by Pope Francis late last week.

“You know that Putin has repeatedly spoken about our readiness and openness to solve our problems through negotiations, and this is the preferred path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitr y Peskov said.

During an interview with Switzerland’s public broadcasting service released on Saturday, Pope Francis said that he believes the “strongest” with regard to the situation in Ukraine is the one who has “the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate.”

Peskov said to his understanding, there was a broader context to the pope’s statements, but that he generally spoke in favor of negotiations. According to the Kremlin spokesman, the pope’s and Russia’s comments have been met with “absolutely harsh denial” by Ukraine.

0928 GMT — Belarus starts major inspection of armed forces' combat readiness: defence ministry

Belarus has started a comprehensive inspection of the combat readiness of the armed forces, the defence ministry has said.

The exercise will include the movement of military equipment, as well as training of personnel with live firing, the defence ministry said.

0923 GMT — Kremlin declines comment on report US prepared for Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine

The Kremlin has declined to comment on a CNN report that the United States began preparing rigorously in late 2022 for Russia potentially striking Ukraine with a nuclear weapon.

CNN reported on Saturday that the administration of US President Joe Biden was specifically concerned Russia might use a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

CNN said that US intelligence agencies received information that there were communications among Russian officials explicitly discussing a nuclear strike in 2022.

"This is the type of speculation that is published in various newspapers," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "I don't think it merits any comment."

0902 GMT — Russia had 'information' about NATO advisers in Ukraine

Russian security services have long had information that NATO advisers are in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, commenting on Polish media reports that NATO soldiers are in Ukraine.

0900 GMT — Trump won't give money to Ukraine if elected: Hungary’s Orban

Former US leader Donald Trump will not give money to help Ukraine fight Russia if he wins the presidency again and that will hasten an end to the war, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said after meeting him.

Orban, who is backing his long-time ally's bid to return to White House, met Trump in Florida on Friday.

"He will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end," Orban told state television. "As it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet."

"If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over. And if the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end."

0748 GMT — Russian missile attack destroys large silo in Ukraine, owner says

A large grain silo was completely destroyed in a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian Dnipro region this weekend and injured one person, the facility's owner Ukrlandfarming has said.

Ukrlandfarming is one of Ukraine's largest agrarian holdings, which as a result of the Russian offensive in 2022 suffered losses at around $1 billion as of the end of 2023.

"On the evening of 9 March 2024, the enemy launched a missile attack on the Dnipro region. A 58-year-old man, our employee, was injured. The production facilities of our company were completely destroyed," the company said in a statement.

It provided no further details.

0738 GMT — German foreign minister criticises pope on Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has sharply criticised Pope Francis's call for Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, saying she didn't "understand" his stance.

The pope sparked a furore at the weekend after saying in an interview on Swiss television that one should "have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate", two years into Moscow's attacks on Ukraine.

"I don't understand it," Baerbock said in a talk show on public broadcaster ARD.

"I think some things you can only understand if you see them for yourself," added Baerbock, who has travelled to Kiev several times since the start of the war.

When talking to children in Ukraine who are suffering because of the war, she said, "I ask myself: Where is the pope? The pope must know about these things."

Baerbock said if Ukraine and its allies "don't show strength now, there will be no peace".

"We must stand by Ukraine and do everything we can to ensure that it can defend itself," she added.

0628 GMT — Pope's Ukraine plea as Western admission of mistake: Russia

Russia has said Pope Francis's call for talks with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine was a request to Kiev's Western allies to abandon their ambition to defeat Russia and to recognise the West's mistake in the Ukraine war, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.

Pope Francis has said that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

"The way I see it, the Pope is asking the West to put aside its ambitions and admit that it was wrong," the ANSA news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

As for Russia, "we have never blocked the negotiations," she said, adding that the situation in Ukraine was "at a dead end".

0026 GMT — Ukraine prevented Russian army from entering Europe — Zelenskyy

Ukraine’s president said that Ukrainian forces have not allowed the Russian army to advance towards Europe.

“Russian murderers and torture chambers are unable to march further into Europe because they are being held back by Ukrainians holding arms under the blue and yellow flag,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message.

“When Russian evil launched this war on February 24th, 2022, all Ukrainians rose up to defend their country. Christians, Muslims, Jews — everyone,” he added.

Zelenskyy said the Russian army has been continuing its air attacks on Ukraine, but “we will further enhance our firepower and Ukrainian air defence. More air defence systems and other means of destruction of Russian aviation bring peace closer. I am grateful to everyone in the world who helps us with this. Ukraine will have more air defence systems – we are working very hard on this.”

2301 GMT — European arms imports nearly double over Ukraine: study

Weapons imports to Europe nearly doubled over the past five years, partly due to the war in Ukraine, while exports from Russia halved, researchers said.

Ukraine has become the world's fourth largest arms importer, while France has replaced Russia as the world's second largest exporter behind the United States.

Arms imports to Europe rose by 94 percent in 2019-2023, compared to the preceding five-year period, while overall global arms transfers decreased slightly, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI prefers to analyse trends over half-decades as a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures.

The increase is "partially explained by the war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has become the fourth largest importer of arms in the world in the last five years", SIPRI researcher Katarina Djokic told AFP.

SIPRI noted that at least 30 countries had supplied major weapons as military aid to Ukraine since Russia started its military operation in February 2022.

For our live updates from Sunday, March 10, click here