Live blog: US arms including Javelin, Stinger missiles arriving in Ukraine

Thursday, March 31, 2022

US: Initial shipments of weapons reached Ukraine 

US has said an initial half-dozen shipments of weapons and other security assistance have reached Ukraine as part of the $800 million package of aid that President Joe Biden approved on March 16.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the shipments included Javelin anti-tank weapons, Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, body armour, medical supplies and other material. He said the 100 Switchblade armed drones that Biden approved as part of the package have not yet been delivered.

Kirby said the $800 million in assistance is likely to be fully delivered within about two weeks. It also includes Mi-17 helicopters, small arms, ammunition, vehicles, secure communications systems, and satellite imagery and analysis capability.

Separately, Kirby said US troops are not training Ukrainian troops in Poland but are acting as liaisons with Ukrainian personnel who cross the border into Poland to take possession of US security assistance. He noted that the standard US military training mission that had existed in Ukraine for years was suspended shortly before Russia began its offensive.

Russian forces killed 148 children, fired 1,370 missiles: Kiev

Russian forces have killed 148 children during shelling and air strikes, fired 1,370 missiles and destroyed 15 Ukrainian airports since the start of the offensive on February 24, Ukraine's defence ministry has said.

More than 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, it said in a statement. 

Erdogan: Istanbul talks gave impetus to Ukraine peace efforts

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held this week in Istanbul have given “meaningful impetus” to efforts to end the conflict, Türkiye’s president has said in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reiterated his offer to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin for talks to secure peace between Ukraine and Russia, according to a statement from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.

In a tweet after their conversation, Zelenskyy hailed Erdogan as a “real friend of Ukraine.” Zelenskyy said he thanked Erdogan for Türkiye’s readiness to become a guarantor of Ukraine’s security, adding that the two leaders “agreed on further steps towards peace.”

Russia says it will open humanitarian corridor from Mariupol on April 1 - TASS

The Russian defence ministry has said it will open a humanitarian corridor from the besieged city of Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on Friday, Tass news agency has reported.

It quoted Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, as saying Moscow was acting on a request that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had made to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian councillor charged over 'false information' on troops

A Russian court has said that a local councillor in Siberia has been charged with knowingly sharing "false information' on army activity in Ukraine, national media has reported.

Dmitry Petrenko, an elected Communist member of the municipal council in the city of Omsk, has a Telegram channel where he has posted critical views on Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.

The court's press service said Petrenko had been charged with a crime over Telegram posts that "spread knowingly false information about the use of Russian armed forces to destroy civilian infrastructure and Ukraine's civilian population," RIA Novosti state news agency reported.

Biden says Putin seems to be self-isolating

US President Joe Biden has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be self-isolating in Russia and may have fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers.

"He seems to be self-isolated and there's some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers," Biden said without citing evidence. 

"But I don't want to put too much stock in that at this time."

US wants Ukraine's borders to be respected: Pentagon

The United States wants Ukraine's borders to be respected as before the offensive was launched and it seems Russia is prioritising taking the eastern Donbass region, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby has said.

"We want Ukraine's sovereignty, all of their sovereignty, their borders as it was before the end of February to be respected," he told Fox News.

Ukraine: One killed in Russian strike on evacuation convoy

One person has been killed and four seriously wounded when Russian forces shelled an evacuation convoy outside the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, officials in Kiev have said.

"Five buses came under direct fire from the enemy as they tried to get to the surrounded city to evacuate people," Ukraine's ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said on Telegram.

"There were only civilian volunteers on the buses. As a result of the shelling, one person is dead, four were gravely injured."

UN struggling to aid cities in south Ukraine

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine says the United Nations and its partners have delivered supplies for thousands of people in the country's northeast but have been unable to reach some encircled cities in the south. 

Osnat Lubrani said that food rations from the humanitarian organisation People in Need and the UN World Food Program will benefit nearly 6,000 people in Sumy and areas including Trostianets and Okhtyrka. 

She said the UN-facilitated humanitarian notification system with Ukraine and Russia enabled safe passage for the convoy to Sumy “but this is clearly not enough.” Efforts over the past month to reach Mauripol, Kherson and other encircled cities in the south have been unsuccessful because of safety concerns. 

UN nuclear watchdog chief arrives in Russia

The UN nuclear watchdog says its director-general has arrived in Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad for talks with senior Russian officials.

The International Atomic Energy Agency didn’t specify in a tweet whom exactly Rafael Mariano Grossi will meet on Friday or give further details of his agenda.

He arrived in Kaliningrad following a visit to Ukraine, where he visited a nuclear power plant and conferred with the energy minister and other officials on efforts to ensure the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.

‘Peace is more valuable than diamonds’: Ukraine’s president tells Belgian lawmakers

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denounced Belgian’s diamond trade with Russia in an address to Belgian lawmakers via video link.

Zelenskyy said Russian merchants still sell diamonds in Antwerp, known as the diamond city of Belgium, saying “peace is more valuable than diamonds.”

He said 90 percent of Mariupol has been destroyed after being under siege for four weeks and there is no water, food, medicine left.

Ukraine diversifying fuel supply after Russian missile strikes on depots - minister

Ukraine is diversifying its fuel supplies and is confident of maintaining enough resources after several Russian missile strikes on oil depots, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko has said.

Haluschenko said in a televised interview that Ukraine suffered "intense" attacks on its oil infrastructure over the last several days.

Ukraine nuclear operator: Russian troops leave Chernobyl

Most of the Russian forces that seized the Chernobyl nuclear power station have left the defunct plant and only a "small number" remain, Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom has said.

"This morning, the invaders announced their intentions to leave the Chernobyl nuclear power plant," Energoatom said on Telegram.

Russian troops "marched in two columns towards the Ukrainian border with Belarus" and a "small number" of Russian forces remain in the station, it said.

Ukraine: Five settlements liberated from Russian occupation

Ukraine has claimed that its armed forces have liberated five settlements from Russian occupation.

Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, along with other defence forces units in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, liberated Zatyshshia, Malynivka, Vesele, Zelenyi Hai and Chervone from Russian occupation, the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command said on Telegram.

UK, allies to send more lethal aid to Ukraine

Britain and its allies have agreed to send more lethal weapons to Ukraine to help defend it against Russian attack, British Defence Minister Ben Wallace has said.

"There'll be more lethal aid going into Ukraine as a result of today. A number of countries have come forward either with new ideas or indeed more pledges of money," Wallace told reporters after hosting over 30 international partners at a conference.

He said the lethal aid included longer range artillery, ammunition, and more anti-aircraft weapons.

US slaps sanctions on Russian tech firms

The United States has hit a series of Russian tech firms with sanctions, including the nation's largest chip maker, in the latest economic punishment for Moscow's operation in Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on 21 entities and 13 people, including Joint Stock Company Mikron, the largest Russian manufacturer and exporter of microelectronics and Russia's largest chipmaker.

The Treasury also expanded sanctions authorities to include the aerospace, marine and electronics sectors of the Russian economy. 

Scholz: Russian gas payments will continue in euros or dollars

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Western countries will continue paying for Russian gas in euros or dollars despite the Kremlin's threat to cut off supplies not paid for in roubles.

"We looked at the contracts for the gas deliveries," Scholz told reporters in Berlin.

"They say that payments are made in euros, sometimes in dollars... and I made clear in my conversation with the Russian president that that will remain the case," referring to a telephone call with Vladimir Putin.

Russia's RT says UK sanctions are death knell for media freedom

Russia's state-funded RT television channel has said that British sanctions on Russian state media organisations showed the imminent end of media freedom and the blinkered nature of officials who thought anything Russian was wrong.

Britain announced sanctions on 14 more Russian entities and people, including on state media organisations behind RT and Sputnik and some of their senior figures, saying it was targetting those who push out President Vladimir Putin's "fake news and narratives".

"With this action the UK government has sounded the death knell for media freedom in Britain," Anna Belkina, RT's deputy editor in chief, said.

Russia bars top EU officials

Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it will be expanding its list of EU figures banned from entering the country in response to sanctions imposed on Moscow over its military actions in Ukraine.

"The restrictions apply to the top leadership of the European Union including a number of European commissioners and heads of EU military structures as well as the vast majority of members of the European Parliament promoting anti-Russian policies," the ministry said in a statement.

NATO: Russia repositioning, not scaling back

NATO is not seeing a pull-back of Russian forces in Ukraine and expects "additional offensive actions," the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg has said.

"According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbass region" in eastern Ukraine, Stoltenberg told a media conference.

"At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kiev and other cities. So, we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering."

Putin: Russian gas must be paid for in roubles from Friday

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he signed a decree saying foreign buyers must pay in roubles for Russian gas from April 1, and contracts will be halted if these payments are not made.

"In order to purchase Russian natural gas, they must open rouble accounts in Russian banks. It is from these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting from tomorrow," Putin said.

"If such payments are not made, we will consider this a default on the part of buyers, with all the ensuing consequences. Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either - that is, existing contracts will be stopped."

UN warns of Ukraine refugee 'humanitarian crisis'

The United Nations has said the refugee exodus from Ukraine was a "massive humanitarian crisis" that is growing by the second, after another 40,000 fled the country in 24 hours.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,059,105 Ukrainians fled across the country's borders since the February 24 -- a figure up 39,818 on Wednesday's numbers, which saw the four million mark surpassed.

"We are confronted with the realities of a massive humanitarian crisis that is growing by the second," UNHCR said, noting also the millions displaced within Ukraine and the 13 million estimated to be stranded in affected areas or unable to leave.

Russia to hold independence referendum in Kherson: Ukraine

Ukraine has claimed that the Russian army is making arrangements to stage a referendum on independence from Ukraine in Kherson, a Russian-controlled region in southern Ukraine.

"To control the temporarily occupied territories of Southern Ukraine, the enemy is trying to create military-civilian administrations and has begun preparations for a referendum on a quasi-state entity in the Kherson region (the so-called Kherson People's Republic)," the Ukrainian army said in a Facebook post.

20 dead in strike on Mykolaiv govt building

The Ukrainian emergency services say the death toll after a Russian missile strike on Tuesday on the regional government headquarters in the southern city of Mykolaiv has risen to 20.

The emergency services said rescuers had now found 19 bodies in the ruins since the strike devastated the government building. One other person died in hospital. 

The regional governor accused Russia of waiting until people arrived for work before striking the building. Emergency services said they are still working at the scene. 

Erdogan aims to bring Ukrainian, Russian leaders together

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is determined to hold talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin and bring them together to end the conflict.

He also spoke on Türkiye’s possible role as one of the guarantor states for Ukrainian security, saying Ankara is open to becoming a guarantor country, while the details should be clarified.

Türkiye continues opposition to sanctioning Russia — and instead prioritises standing against Russia's military moves and continuing with the dialogue, Erdogan added.

UK sanctions Russian 'propagandists and state media'

The UK has announced new sanctions against "Russian propagandists and state media", targeting two Kremlin-funded media organisations and a well-known presenter.

"Britain has helped lead the world in exposing Kremlin disinformation, and this latest batch of sanctions hits the shameless propagandists who push out (Vladimir) Putin's fake news and narratives," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

Britain hit TV-Novosti, which owns the global television channel RT — formerly Russia Today — and Rossiya Segodnya, which controls the news agency Sputnik. London also targeted Sergey Brilyov, a famous TV anchor at Rossiya.

Putin said timing premature for Ukraine ceasefire: Draghi

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that conditions are not mature yet for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Draghi has told a news conference when asked about a telephone call with Putin the previous day.

Draghi also said Putin told him that current gas contracts remained in force and that European firms will continue to pay in euros and dollars.

"What I understood, but I may be wrong, is that the conversion of the payment...is an internal matter of the Russian Federation," Draghi said.

Norway prime minister speaks with Vladimir Putin

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has held an hour-long conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Norwegian prime minister's office has said in a statement.

"I asked the president urgently to end the war in Ukraine, pull out Russian troops and secure humanitarian access," Stoere said.

"We have very limited expectations of what could be achieved, but nothing should be left untried in the situation we are now in," he said.

Kremlin: Foreign gas customers to buy roubles for currency set in contracts

Customers from "unfriendly" countries will have to buy roubles for the currency stipulated in their contracts for subsequent Russian gas purchases, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

Peskov said Gazprombank could be involved in the gas-for-roubles buying scheme, adding that the details of the scheme could be disclosed later on Thursday.

Georgia: 'Unacceptable' for breakaway region to vote on joining Russia

Georgia has said plans by the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia to hold a referendum on joining Russia were unacceptable, while the Kremlin stressed no action had been taken to make that happen.

Moscow recognised the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent after fighting in 2008. It stationed thousands of troops in both regions and has provided them with extensive financial support.

Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani was quoted by TASS news agency as saying: "Of course talk of holding any kind of referendum (in South Ossetia) is unacceptable...when this territory in Georgia is occupied."

Stop all trade with Russia: Zelenskyy to Dutch parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the Dutch parliament for weapons, reconstruction aid and a halt to all business with Russia.

"Stronger sanctions are needed so that Russia doesn't have a chance to pursue this war further in Europe," he told lawmakers via video link. "Stop all trade with Russia."

Zelenskyy, the first foreign head of state to address a plenary session of the 150-member Dutch lower house of representatives, said the Netherlands must "be prepared to stop the energy from Russia so that you do not pay billions for the war".

Ukraine President asks Australia for armoured vehicles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed directly to Australian lawmakers for more help against Russia, including armoured vehicles and tougher sanctions. He also called for Russian vessels to be banned from international ports.

“We need more sanctions against Russia, powerful sanctions until they stop blackmailing other countries with their nuclear missiles,” Zelenskyy said in a video address through an interpreter.

He specifically asked for Australian-manufactured Bushmaster four-wheel-drive armoured vehicles. “You have very good armed personnel vehicles, Bushmasters, that could help Ukraine substantially, and other pieces of equipment,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy: Others may be emboldened if Russia not punished

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Australia's parliament that Russia must be held accountable for past wrongs, warning that a failure to punish Moscow may encourage other countries to wage "war against their neighbours".

Zelenskyy suggested that years of failure to rein in the global power had emboldened Moscow.

"If we don't stop Russia now, if we don't hold Russia accountable, then some other countries of the world who are looking forward to a similar war against their neighbours will decide that such things are possible for them as well," Zelenskyy said in the video address.

Türkiye willing to host high-level Ukraine-Russia meeting

Ukraine and Russia could hold a high-level meeting in a week or two, Türkiye's foreign minister has said, as Ankara leads efforts to end the ongoing conflict through diplomacy.

Mevlut Cavusoglu told private news channel A Haber that Türkiye would like to host the meeting at the level of foreign ministers or heads of state. Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia held the first face-to-face talks in more than two weeks in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Moscow would not refuse a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba but any talks between them would need to be substantive, RIA news agency cited the Russian foreign ministry as saying.

Separatists declare significant gains in Ukraine's east

Pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine have said they control almost all of the Luhansk region and more than half of the Donetsk region, after Moscow made these territories its primary military goal.

"As of the morning of March 31, 2022, more than 90 percent of the territory of the People's Republic of Luhansk has been liberated," the foreign ministry of the self-proclaimed republic said on Telegram.

A day earlier, leader of the Donetsk separatists Denis Pushilin told TASS news agency that "around 55 to 60 percent" of the region's territory was under Russian control.

ICRC says ready to lead evacuations from Mariupol, deliver aid

Teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross are on their way to the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol with aid supplies and stand ready to evacuate civilians, it has said.

Ewan Watson, ICRC spokesperson, said Ukraine and Russia must agree on the exact terms of the operation, which is planned for Friday, adding that "tens of thousands" of lives depend on its success.

"For logistics and security reasons, we’ll be ready to lead the safe passage operation tomorrow, Friday, provided all the parties agree to the exact terms, including the route, the start time, and the duration," Watson told Reuters in Geneva.

17,500 Russian troops killed, Ukraine claims

Some 17,500 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military.

Ukrainian forces have destroyed 135 Russian planes, 131 helicopters, 614 tanks, 1,735 armoured vehicles, 83 unmanned aerial vehicles, 75 fuel tankers, and seven boats, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. At least 96 rocket launcher systems and 54 air defence systems have also been destroyed, it added.

Convoy of buses on its way to Mariupol: Ukraine 

A convoy of Ukrainian buses has set out for the southern port city of Mariupol to try to deliver humanitarian supplies and bring out trapped civilians, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said.

She said 45 buses were on their way to Mariupol after the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed Russia had agreed to open a safe corridor. The Russian military said it committed to a local ceasefire along the route from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia.

Nearly 5,000 people have been killed, the mayor's office has estimated, and about 170,000 people remain trapped amid ruins without food, heat, power or running water. Many more have fled. The city had a population of over 400,000 before the attacks.

UK spy chief says Russian soldiers disobey orders in Ukraine

Demoralised Russian soldiers in Ukraine were refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment — and had accidentally shot down their own aircraft, a UK intelligence chief has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently “massively misjudged” the operation, Jeremy Fleming, who heads the GCHQ electronic spy agency, also said in a speech in the Australian capital Canberra.

"It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people. He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanise. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Fleming said.

UK military intelligence: Russian strikes continue in Chernihiv

Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued in Chernihiv despite Russia indicating an intended reduction of military activity around the area, British military intelligence has said.

Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kiev despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

EBRD: Conflict to hammer Russia, Ukraine economies

The economies of Russia and Ukraine will contract by 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively, this year as the conflict causes "the greatest supply shock" for 50 years, the European development bank (EBRD) has said.

Before Russia attacked its neighbour on February 24, the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had been pencilling in growth of 3.5 percent for Ukraine and 3.0 percent for Russia.

The EBRD, issuing emergency forecasts, said it was the first international financial institution to update its guidance since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine last month.

Russia against US, NATO military presence near Afghanistan

Russia considers the presence of any United States or NATO military infrastructure in countries bordering Afghanistan unacceptable, the TASS news agency has cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.

IMF: Russia sanctions threaten dollar dominance

Financial sanctions imposed on Russia threaten to gradually dilute the dominance of the US dollar and could result in a more fragmented international monetary system, Gita Gopinath, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, has told The Financial Times.

"The dollar would remain the major global currency even in that landscape but fragmentation at a smaller level is certainly quite possible," Gopinath told the newspaper, adding that some countries are already renegotiating the currency in which they get paid for trade.

She said the conflict will also spur the adoption of digital finance, from cryptocurrencies to stable coins and central bank digital currencies.

Ukraine recalls ambassadors to Georgia, Morocco

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recalled Ukraine's ambassadors to Georgia and Morocco, suggesting they hadn't done enough to persuade those countries to support Ukraine and punish Russia for the offensive.

"With all due respect, if there won't be weapons, won't be sanctions, won't be restrictions for Russian business, then please look for other work," Zelenskyy said in his nighttime video address to the nation. "I am waiting for concrete results in the coming days from the work of our representatives in Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa."

Zelenskyy also said he was expecting results from Ukraine's military attaches in embassies abroad, saying "the diplomatic front is one of the key fronts" in Ukraine's battle against Russia.

Ukraine, Russia talks resume on Friday by video

The talks between Ukraine and Russia for a possible peace agreement will resume on Friday by video, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation.

David Arakhamia is a member of the Ukrainian delegation who also leads the governing party's group in parliament. The delegations met in person on Tuesday in Istanbul, after two weeks of the meeting by video, and the faint outlines of a possible peace agreement seemed to emerge. 

The Ukrainian delegation offered a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral, "dropping its bid to join NATO, as Moscow has long demanded", in return for security guarantees from a group of other nations.  Russian diplomats responded positively to Ukraine's proposal.

For live updates from Wednesday (March 30), click here