Ukraine war: NATO 'to agree major increase' in eastern Europe forces, says Stoltenberg

Russian official invokes nuclear arsenal as deterrence

A senior Russian official says the country’s nuclear arsenal should help deter the West from intervening in the war in Ukraine.

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state corporation Roscosmos, noted in televised remarks Wednesday that the Russian nuclear stockpiles include tactical nuclear weapons along with the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Rogozin pointed at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning to other countries not to meddle with the Russian action in Ukraine. “The Russian Federation is capable of physically destroying any aggressor or any aggressor group within minutes at any distance,” Rogozin said.

Rogozin’s statement comes amid Western fears that Russia could use battlefield nuclear weapons against Ukraine amid the stalled Russian offensive.

U.S. officials have long warned that Russia’s military doctrine envisages an “escalate to deescalate” option of using battlefield nuclear weapons to force the enemy to back down in a situation when Russian forces face an imminent defeat in a conventional conflict. Moscow has denied having such designs.

(AP)

Renault suspends industrial activities in Russia

The French car manufacturer has announced it is suspending activities at its factory in Moscow immediately, and will evaluate options concerning its participation in its Russian subsidiary AvtoVAZ.

Earlier, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said French firms still operational in Russia were supporting the "war machine", while Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba followed up with a call for a global boycott of Renault.

Biden arrives in Brussels for key summits

The US president landed in Brussels shortly after 2100 CET in a bid to demonstrate Western unity to Vladimir Putin and discuss further action in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

He will attend three key key meetings on Thursday -- held by NATO, the G7 and the EU -- before visiting Poland on Friday and Saturday.

The extraordinary coincidence of the three high-level encounters responds to the deteriorating situation inside Ukraine.

Biden's visit is meant to strengthen the US response on "three critical fronts," according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan: to equip Ukraine militarily, impose more costs on Russia and reinforce the Western alliance.

"We are prepared and committed to this for as long as it takes," Sullivan said during a press briefing.

Biden himself has warned that Putin might be considering resorting to biological and chemical weapons to speed up the military campaign, a scenario that would open a dangerous and unpredictable chapter in the month-long war.

(with Euronews Brussels Bureau)

Ukraine FM calls for global boycott of Renault over Russian presence

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, has tweeted to call for a global boycott of Renault which he says "refuses to pull out of Russia".

Earlier, President Zelenskyy cited companies such as Renault, Auchan and Leroy Merlin as he told the French parliament that the country's firms should stop supporting "Russia's war machine".

Evidence shows Russian troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine — Blinken

The Biden administration on Wednesday made a formal determination that Russian troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine and said it would work with others to prosecute offenders.

The statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken came as he travelled to Brussels with the US president for an emergency summit of NATO leaders.

The assessment was based on a “careful review” of public and intelligence sources since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last month, he said.

America's top diplomat said the United States would share that information with allies, partners and international institutions tasked with investigating allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“We’ve seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities. Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded,” Blinken said.

He cited attacks on the civilian population in the besieged city of Mariupol and elsewhere.

(with AP)

Veteran Putin aide quits Kremlin in hint of internal division

The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for liaison with international organisations has resigned.

Reuters quotes two sources as saying that Anatoly Chubais quit over the war in Ukraine has left Russia with no intention to return. He hung up the phone when contacted by the news agency. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t say if Chubais had left the country, saying it was his private business.

Chubais, the architect of Russia’s post-Soviet privatisation campaign, has served at a variety of top official jobs during the past three decades.

His latest job envisaged contacts with international organisations to pursue the goals of sustainable development — a broad portfolio that allowed him to maintain contacts with top foreign officials and organisations.

After Russia began its last month, Chubais posted a photo of Boris Nemtsov, a leading Russian opposition figure who was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015. Even without a caption, it was seen as a powerful statement from a Moscow insider.

Chubais’ resignation appears to reflect growing divisions among top Russian officials over the military operation in Ukraine.

(AP and Reuters)

As many as 15,000 Russians killed in fighting — NATO

A senior NATO military officer says the alliance estimates that Russia has suffered between 30,000 and 40,000 battlefield casualties in Ukraine through the first month of the war, including between 7,000 and 15,000 killed. It is NATO’s first public estimate of Russian casualties since the war started Feb. 24.

The military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by NATO, said the estimate of the number killed is based on a combination of information from the Ukrainian government, indications from Russia, and open-source information.

The U.S. government has largely declined to provide public estimates of Russian or Ukrainian casualties, saying available information is of questionable reliability.

The NATO military officer, in a briefing from the alliance’s military headquarters in Belgium on Wednesday, said the estimate of 30,000 to 40,000 Russian casualties is derived from what he called a standard calculation that in war an army suffers three wounded soldiers for every soldier killed. The casualties include killed in action and wounded in action, as well as those taken prisoner or missing in action, the officer said. (AP)

'Open the gates of hell' for Mariupol civilians, UN coordinator tells Euronews

"The gates of hell have to open so people can come out," said Amin Awad, the United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, noting that Russia has not yet responded to the UN appeals for humanitarian corridors.

Mariupol continues to be encircled by the Russian army. More than 100,000 residents are believed to be trapped in the port city, a strategic target for Moscow, with little or no food, water, electricity or heating.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE:

Open the gates of hell for civilians in Mariupol, says UN's Amin Awad

euronews "It's very hellish over there, and I think the gates of hell have to open so people can come out." #EuropeNews

French companies must stop backing 'Russia's war machine' — Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged French companies established in Russia to stop supporting the Russian "war machine" and to leave the country, citing Renault, Auchan and Leroy Merlin.

"French companies must leave the Russian market. Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and others, they must stop being sponsors of Russia's war machine", he declared in a speech broadcast by videoconference before French deputies and senators.

Zelenskyy compared the Russian destruction in his country to the Battle of Verdun in World War One.

"Mariupol and other cities remind us of Verdun," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said by video link.

'The Russian army do not distinguish between the objects they target, they destroy everything: residential districts, hospitals, schools, universities, everything," he said. "They've brought terror to Ukrainian territory." 

READ MORE HERE:

Watch: Stop backing Russia's war machine, Zelenskyy tells French firms

"French companies must leave the Russian market. Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and others, they must stop being sponsors of Russia's war machine," the Ukrainian president told French lawmakers.

Kyiv mayor says 264 civilians killed in city

The mayor of Kyiv says Russian forces have killed 264 civilians, including four children, in the Ukraine capital since the war started last month.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Wednesday that battles were being waged in the area of Liutizh, a village 30 kilometres north of Kyiv and that Ukrainian forces have wrested back control of areas to the north-west and the north-east of the city, including most of Irpin.

He said the western town of Makariv has also been taken back by Ukrainian troops.

Klitschko spoke to reporters in the capital Kyiv in a central park overlooking the city. Explosions and gunfire could be heard in the background as he spoke.

(AP)

NATO to deploy four new battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, Stoltenberg says

NATO will deploy four new battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to reinforce the military alliance's eastern flank, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday ahead of an alliance summit on Thursday.

Stoltenberg said hundreds of thousands of NATO ally troops were at "heightened readiness" across the alliance, including 100,000 US troops in Europe, backed by air and naval power.

At the NATO summit tomorrow, Stoltenberg said allies would likely provide additional support to Ukraine including cybersecurity assistance and equipment to help Ukraine "protect against chemical, biological and radiological and nuclear threats."

Stoltenberg maintained however that NATO had a duty to make sure that the war does not escalate as it would cause more "death and destruction".

Biden says threat of Russian using chemical weapons is 'real'

US President Joe Biden said there was a "real threat" of Russia using chemical weapons in response to a journalist's question outside the White House as he left to travel to Europe.

Biden will attend a NATO and EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and will travel to Poland, which has taken in more than two million Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war last month.

Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said the president was travelling to Europe "to reinforce the incredible unity we built with Allies and partners in response to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and to consult on next steps."

Putin says Russian gas delivered to EU should be paid for in rubles

Russia will no longer accept payments in dollars or euros for gas deliveries to the EU, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, giving Russian authorities a week to implement the new ruble system.

"I have taken the decision to implement a set of measures to switch to payment in rubles for our gas delivered to hostile countries," Putin said at a government meeting.

(AFP)

Italy wants EU to engage with China to make sure it is not supporting Russian invasion

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the European Union must engage with China to make sure it does not show support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Draghi told Parliament on Wednesday that the EU summit with China on April 1 must underline the bloc’s expectations that Beijing will be a constructive and authoritative player for peace.

“It’s fundamental that the EU is compact in keeping open spaces for dialogue with Beijing so that it contributes in a constructive way to the international mediation effort," Draghi said.

"We must repeat our expectations that Beijing abstains from actions supporting Moscow and participates actively and authoritatively in the peace effort,” he added.

(AP)

Environmental think tanks urge EU to stop imports of Russian gas

Four environmental think tanks say the European Union can stop its imports of Russian gas by 2025, allowing the bloc to end its dependence in the medium term on a key energy source that’s been called into question amid the war in Ukraine.

A report published Wednesday by Ember, E3G, the Regulatory Assistance Project and Bellona concludes that ramping up solar and wind power, reducing demand and electrification can replace two-thirds of Russian gas imports within three years.

It suggests that the remaining shortfall can be met through existing gas infrastructure, without the need to build new terminals for LNG imports that some countries are now eyeing.

(AP)

International Red Cross president in Moscow to discuss humanitarian aid in Ukraine

Peter Maurer, the International Committee of the Red Cross president, travelled to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss humanitarian efforts to help people in Ukraine.

"The devastation caused by the conflict in recent weeks, as well as eight years of conflict in Donbas, has been vast," said Maurer in a statement, adding there are steps guided by international humanitarian law that limit suffering.

"I was in Kyiv last week and I'm in Moscow this week to continue the discussion with the authorities on these steps."

The Red Cross said that "neutral and impartial humanitarian space must be agreed upon and respected" in order to reach those in need.

Maurer will also meet with the Russian Red Cross which is helping people who fled eastern Ukraine.

Zelenskyy calls for UN reform in speech to Japanese parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for UN reform, stressing that it had not prevented Russia from invading Ukraine in a speech to the Japanese parliament.

Zelenskyy said that he was pleased that Japan was "the first nation in Asia to put pressure" on Russia.

"Neither the United Nations nor the Security Council has worked. Reforms are required," Zelenskyy added.

"We need a tool to preemptively ensure global security. Existing international organisations do not work for this purpose. So we need to develop a new preemptive tool that can actually stop invasions," he said.

(AFP)

Four people injured by Russian shelling in Kyiv, city administration says

Four people were injured by Russian shelling overnight and on Wednesday in two districts of the Ukrainian capital, the Kyiv city administration said.

The authorities in Kyiv said that Russian strikes hit a shopping centre, private sector buildings and high-rise buildings, as well as private houses that were under fire.

Scholz reiterates that Germany will not support a no-fly zone over Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that Germany will not support a no-fly zone over Ukraine or send troops to intervene in the war.

Scholz told German lawmakers on Wednesday that “NATO will not become a party to the war. We are in agreement on this with our European allies and the United States.”

But he said Ukraine could rely on Germany's help including the financial and military aid already provided and harsh sanctions on Russia.

Scholz said Germany would not support a boycott of Russian oil, coal and gas, but is seeking to wean itself off those imports by finding other suppliers and ramping up renewables.

(AP)

Poland identifies 45 Russian diplomats and associates suspected of spying

Poland's internal security agency identified 45 people with diplomatic status who are suspected of spying on behalf of Russia, according to Stanisław Żaryn, the agency's spokesman.

The agency said in a statement that the diplomats were involved in Russian intelligence projects that posed a threat to Poland's national security. The agency has called on Poland's government to expel them from the country.

One of the people identified is a Polish citizen who was detained on March 17, the agency said.

Zelenskyy condemns 'inhuman conditions' in the city of Mariupol

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the "inhuman conditions" in the city of Mariupol, adding that the government was still working to establish humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from the port city.

Mariupol has been devastated by constant shelling, officials and witnesses have said, of the southern port city that is a strategic target for Russia.

Zelenskyy said that around 100,000 people were still trapped in the city.

China against excluding Russia from the G20

China has said it is against excluding Russia from the next G20 summit after the US and its Western allies were reportedly analysing removing them as a possibility.

"Russia is an important member country (of the G20), no member has the right to expel another country," Chinese diplomatic spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

(AFP)

Nine humanitarian corridors agreed with Russia, Ukrainian official says

Nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed upon with Russia, according to Ukrainian Deputy PM Iryna Vereschuk.

Civilians in the besieged port city of Mariupol, however, would need to make it to Berdyansk, a city more than 80 kilometres away, where 24 buses are waiting to evacuate people, she said.

Russian forces attempt to 'envelop Ukrainian forces' in east, UK defence intelligence says

Russian forces are attempting to "envelop Ukrainian forces" in the east of the country by advancing from Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, the UK's defence ministry said in an intelligence update.

They added that Russian forces were likely reorganising before "resuming large-scale offensive operations."

The Russians are "still attempting to circumvent Mykolaiv" in an effort to head west towards Odesa, the defence intelligence update said.

Biden expected to impose further sanctions on Russia

US President Joe Biden will impose further sanctions on Russia, his national security adviser said ahead of a trip to Brussels and Poland.

Biden will take part in a NATO meeting and European Council summit while in Brussels on Thursday.

“He will join our partners in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening the existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and to ensure robust enforcement,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
 

Kremlin spokesman Peskov says Putin hasn't 'yet' achieved military goals

When asked what Russia has achieved in Ukraine, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin "hasn’t achieved yet" in an interview with CNN.

Peskov said that the war in Ukraine was a "serious operation" and claimed that Russia was only attacking military infrastructure. He said that Putin’s main goals were to “get rid of the military potential of Ukraine” and “ensure that Ukraine changes from an anti-Russian centre to a neutral country.”

He refused to rule out that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons.

Russians destroy laboratory at Chernobyl, Ukrainian agency says

Russian military forces have destroyed a new laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that among other things works to improve management of radioactive waste, the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the Chernobyl exclusion zone said on Tuesday.

The Russian military seized the decommissioned plant at the beginning of the war. The exclusion zone is the contaminated area around the plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear meltdown in 1986.

The state agency said the laboratory, built at a cost of 6 million euros with support from the European Commission, opened in 2015.

The laboratory contained “highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world,” the agency said in its statement.

(AP)

UN faces 3 resolutions on Ukraine humanitarian crisis

The UN will consider three resolutions on Wednesday on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

Russia decided to call a vote on its Security Council resolution that makes no mention of its attack in the country.

The General Assembly is scheduled to start considering two rival resolutions Wednesday morning: one supported by Ukraine and Western nations that makes clear Russia is responsible for the escalating humanitarian crisis and the other sponsored by South Africa that doesn't mention Russia.

(AP)

Russia seizes Mariupol humanitarian convoy, Ukrainian leaders claim

Ukraine's president accused Russia of seizing rescue workers from a humanitarian convoy trying to get supplies to the port city of Mariupol which has been under heavy attack for weeks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said around 100,000 civilians remained in Mariupol. Those who have escaped the port city described days of constant bombing. Some 7,000 people were rescued from Mariupol on Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.