Russia could use nuclear weapons if facing 'existential threat', says Kremlin
Maighna Nanu
·62 min read
Doctor Anatolii Pavlov takes pictures of a damaged psychiatric hospital after it was hit in a military strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Mykolaiv - Nacho Doce/Reuters
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Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was facing an "existential threat," a Kremlin spokesman has said.
Dmity Peskov told CNN: "We have a concept of domestic security, and it's public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used.
"So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept."
John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, called Moscow's rhetoric on potential use of nuclear weapons "dangerous".
"It's not the way a responsible nuclear power should act," he said.
Reports that Russian forces are on the retreat across large parts of Ukraine on Tuesday will add to fears that a desperate Vladimir Putin could turn to weapons of mass destruction
Putin's spokesman has denied the Kremlin ever thought it would need “a couple of days” to take Ukraine as he insisted the Russian invasion was going to plan
Night after night, Ukraine’s fighter jet pilots have taken the battle to an enemy that has “five times more planes”; their aircraft pushed to the limit with no time for pre-take-off checks. The chances of survival in the dogfights in Ukrainian airspace are all too slim
Sanctions against Russia could have a "catastrophic and long lasting" impact on the country, but they will come at a cost to the UK and the poorest households will be hit hardest, an influential group of MPs has warned.
A report by the Treasury Select Committee revealed the UK is not protected against the economic impact of unprecedented sanctions on Russian oil and gas and that soaring prices will intensify the cost-of-living crisis for the whole country.
Low-income households will suffer the most from surging fuel and energy bills caused by the sanctions and further punitive measures will inflict yet more pain, it found.
11:41 PM
Invasion of Ukraine ‘going to plan’, says Putin spokesman
Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Tuesday denied the Kremlin ever thought it would need “a couple of days” to take Ukraine as he insisted the Russian invasion was going to plan, Rozina Sabur, Colin Freeman and Dominic Nicholls write.
In a rare interview on American television, Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had not ruled out using nuclear weapons if Russia felt it was under “existential threat”, reiterating its longstanding policy.
Mr Peskov also refuted the suggestion that the Russian president was “angry” with all Ukrainians, but merely those who want to join Nato - almost 80 per cent of the country, according to some polls.
As he was grilled by CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Mr Peskov conceded that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had “not achieved” anything yet.
Contradicting Russian state media's early rhetoric around the war, Mr Peskov said: “Of course, no one would think from the very beginning about a couple of days. It's a serious operation with serious purposes.”
Volodymyr Zelensky has said peace talks with Russia to end the month-long war were tough and sometimes confrontational, but he insisted that "step by step we are moving forward".
In an early morning video address, Ukraine's president also said 100,000 people were living in the besieged city of Mariupol in inhuman conditions, without food, water or medicine.
Although Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have been talking regularly, both sides say any deal is far off.
"We are continuing to work at different levels to encourage Russia to move towards peace," Mr Zelensky said.
"Ukrainian representatives are participating in talks that are taking place virtually every day. It's very difficult, sometimes confrontational but step by step we are moving forward."
09:47 PM
Even on the brink of defeat, Mariupol refuses to lay down its arms
Mariupol has refused to wave the white flag. In a demonstration of astonishing, collective courage, on Monday the besieged city declined to surrender and lay down its arms.
For almost a month, the port - its remaining 300,000 population now trapped - has been on the receiving end of a “hellish” Russian bombardment that has flattened much of it and left its remaining residents without water, food and power.
Adele, a refugee from Mauriupol arrives with her family at a makeshift centre in a Zaporizhzhia supermarket car park - Simon Townsley/ Simon Townsley
The last diplomat to leave said Mariupol could now be added to an unwanted list of cities “destroyed by war” that includes Guernica, Stalingrad and Grozny.
Read the full report from Robert Mendick, Ben Farmer, and Simon Townsley here.
09:44 PM
Why the West is losing the information war with Russia – and didn’t even notice
On March 3, one day after India and 34 other countries refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a United Nations vote, the hashtags “IStandWithPutin” and “IStandWithRussia” began trending on Twitter in India, writes Io Dodds.
The hashtags, propelled by tweets lauding Vladimir Putin for opposing the United States and “standing against the West’s hypocrisy”, underlined India’s longstanding cosiness with the Russian government – its biggest arms supplier – as well as its understandable antipathy to Western empire-building.
Yet the tweetstorm does not appear to have been entirely natural.
Mariupol siege is 'genocide', says Ukrainian chief prosecutor
Iryna Venediktova, the Ukrainian prosecutor general, has said evidence shows Russia is committing 'genocide' through its siege on the strategic port city of Mariupol.
Around 200,000 people are currently trapped in Mariupol, encircled and under fire from relentless shelling since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
"What now I see in Mariupol it's not about war, it's about genocide," Venediktova told AFP.
"Theatres of war have some rules, some principles. What we see in Mariupol, [are] no rules at all," she added.
She added that Ukraine would try and "qualify" the siege as genocide on the international stage.
08:47 PM
Mariupol looks like Stalingrad, says Briton trapped in city fighting with Ukrainian forces
Mariupol’s war-torn streets now resemble Stalingrad, a British man trapped in the city as he fights alongside Ukrainians has told The Telegraph.
Aiden Aslin, who has joined a Ukrainian marine unit, said that Russian troops were targeting ambulances and hospitals, and that conditions were getting ever more desperate.
The 28-year-old said food and water were running out and the situation for 300,000 civilians still unable to escape “will only get worse”.
Read the full story from Robert Mendick and Roland Oliphant here
08:39 PM
Emmanuel Macron under fire as Renault resumes Russian production
Emmanuel Macron's government has come under fire for backing Renault's decision to buck a Western boycott of Russia.
Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said the French car maker’s decision to restart manufacturing in Moscow would only "cushion" the Russian economy from the impact of Western sanctions.
The company behind the Clio and Kadjar models was forced to halt production last month over logistical problems caused by Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian peace negotiators unprepared for Russia’s aggressive KGB tactics
Ukraine's peace negotiators may not be prepared for the belligerent KGB tactics of their Russian counterparts, a senior government adviser has warned.
Luliia Osmolovska, an adviser to the Ukraine government, said Moscow's team was taught to belittle opponents and will not engage constructively in talks with Kyiv until there is a “moment of ripeness”.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have been meeting to try to agree a peace deal, but there are fears some of the Russians' tactics are underhand - MAXIM GUCHEK/AFP
She told The Telegraph: “This moment appears when both parties understand the status quo is intolerable for both of them and they can't resolve issues unilaterally without communicating and engaging in cooperation with the other side.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, has been invited to address a special NATO summit Thursday discussing the Russian invasion of his country, an official said.
"President Zelensky is invited to address the NATO summit via video link," a NATO official said Tuesday.
"This will be an opportunity for allied leaders to hear directly from President Zelensky about the dire situation facing the people of Ukraine because of Russia's aggression."
08:10 PM
Biden 'seeking to reinforce' Western unity during summits
President Joe Biden is seeking to reinforce Western unity at a series of summits in Europe this week where new sanctions will be announced against Russia over its war in Ukraine, a top US official said Tuesday.
Biden leaves Wednesday for Brussels a day ahead of summits with NATO and the European Council, then a trip to Poland on Friday for a meeting with President Andrzej Duda the following day.
The intense diplomacy marks a crucial moment in the dangerous standoff between a newly reinvigorated transatlantic alliance and President Vladimir Putin, who a month ago sent the Russian army pouring into pro-Western Ukraine to try and upend the balance of European power.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden will seek to "reinforce the incredible unity we built with allies and partners."
08:01 PM
Captain of superyacht ‘owned by Putin’ would never work for a ‘murderer’
An anti-corruption unit working for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny claims that the £500 million yacht Scheherezade is secretly owned by Russia’s president.
Read the full story from Robert Mendick, Phoebe Southworth and Andrea Vogthere.
07:35 PM
The Angel of Mostar is back – and on a mission to rescue Ukrainian orphans
They called her the Angel of Mostar. A British woman driving an old Renault across the front line in war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sally Becker was like a character in a film, writes Rosa Silverman.
Working off her own bat, with no official support or training, Becker, then 30, delivered aid, and evacuated wounded children and their mothers, during a frenzied period of the Balkans conflict in the early Nineties, when the historic city of Mostar was besieged and embattled.
Sally Becker and the Ukrainian orphans she helped get out of Ukraine who are still waiting for confirmation they can come the UK due to last min paperwork delays - Tom Maddick/SWNS- LEEDS
Even as shelling reduced nearly 70 per cent of the buildings in the west to ruins, killing hundreds of civilians, while tens of thousands fled what was left, Becker stayed behind to save as many lives as she could.
Outnumbered five to one, Ukraine’s top guns fend off Russian fighter jets against the odds
Night after night, Ukraine’s fighter jet pilots have taken the battle to an enemy that has “five times more planes”; their aircraft pushed to the limit with no time for pre-take-off checks. The chances of survival in the dogfights in Ukrainian airspace are all too slim.
But against the odds, Ukraine’s air force has kept flying a month since the Russian invasion started. Nobody gave the pilots more than a few days. Moscow’s failure to establish air superiority – key if it ever wanted to win a speedy victory – has caused the invasion to stall.
Without air cover, Vladimir Putin’s army is stuck, unable to venture beyond entrenched positions without being picked off at will.
US says has not yet seen Chinese arms shipments to Russia
The United States has not seen evidence of any recent Chinese weapons shipments to its ally Russia as Moscow wages its war in Ukraine, a top US official said today.
Washington has raised concerns about Beijing helping Moscow in the midst of the bloody but stalled invasion.
"We have not seen... the provision of military equipment by China to Russia. But of course, this is something we are monitoring closely," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
President Joe Biden held a nearly two-hour call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last Friday in which the White House says he warned Xi against bailing out Russia's economy from Western sanctions or assisting Moscow's war effort.
07:00 PM
Putin 'unlikely' to use chemical weapons against Ukraine, says former British ambassador to Russia
Sir Tony Brenton, a former British ambassador to Russia, said he doubts the danger of Vladimir Putin using chemical weapons against Ukraine is "as high as people have said".
"What I'm hearing is that it's unlikely because if you've got troops on the ground, then using gas could as easily turn against your troops as for them," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.
"So I doubt that the danger of him using chemical weapons is as high as people have said, including, I'm afraid, the President of the United States.
"But there is absolutely no doubt that they are very unconstrained in their use of artillery, in their use of missiles, in their use of aircraft, to flatly destroy whatever is in their way - particularly since they've been dramatically slowed down by the very brave Ukrainian resistance over the last four weeks."
06:57 PM
Moscow police intensify drive to 'crush opposition'
Police in Moscow have intensified their drive to crush opposition to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine by arresting an Interior Ministry technician and a Russian journalist for spreading "fake news", writes James Kilner.
The authorities also warned Novaya Gazeta, the last remaining liberal newspaper in Russia, that it would be closed if it didn't toe the Kremlin's line.
Under a law brought in this month, even referring to a "war" in Ukraine could land a journalist or an activist in prison for 15 years.
Russia's investigative committee said that journalist Alexander Nevzorov had illegally republished photos of Russian bombing on his YouTube channel.
06:52 PM
Russian embassy alleges there are 'US-funded biolabs' in Ukraine
We took note of lack of covering of the topic of US-funded biolabs in Ukraine in the media, which is astounding given the urgency and importance of the matter. Experiments with dangerous pathogens could have resulted in new, ethnicity-based pandemics ➡️ https://t.co/Ht78zEQyi1pic.twitter.com/k7GfEjBbwI
Dutch royals open doors of their 15th century castle to those fleeing war in Ukraine
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands have announced they will host up to eight Ukrainian families at their country retreat, reports Nick Gutteridge in Brussels.
The pair are preparing rooms at picturesque Het Oude Loo castle, which is traditionally used by Dutch royals as a rural bolthole.
They are the second European monarchs to throw open their doors to those fleeing the war, following Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
In this episode: Dominic Nicholls, Defence and Security Editor and Mutaz Ahmed from our Comment team speak to Colin Freeman, the Telegraph’s journalist in Kyiv, about what it's like reporting on the ground.
Plus we’ll hear from Iuliia Osmolovska - the former diplomat giving negotiating advice to the Ukrainians during their peace talks with Russia.
https://part.icle.link/lcufvx2
06:25 PM
Kuleba talks to 'friend' Truss
Call with my British counterpart and friend @trussliz. Ukraine and the UK coordinated positions ahead of the upcoming G7 summit in Brussels. We agreed that there should be no hesitation when it comes to imposing new stiff sanctions on Russia to stop its murderous war machine.
Ukrainian world champion turns down multi-million dollar title fight
Vasyl Lomachenko, the Ukrainian three-weight world champion, has turned down a multi-million US dollar undisputed world title fight with George Kambosos Jr, writes Gareth A Davies.
Lomachenko has opted to remain in the territorial defence force in Belgorod-Dnestrovsky resisting the Russian invasion.
The decision to pull out of the scheduled June 5 fight in Australia was made yesterday by the two-time Olympic gold medallist in Beijing and London.
"The fight he's going through right now is much bigger than any boxing match," Lou DiBella, Kambosos' manager, told ESPN. "We made a deal with him, the deal was literally done before the invasion, we wanted to give him any chance within reason with our allowable timetable.
"We have nothing but the utmost respect for his decision.
05:44 PM
Inside Russia’s notorious ‘troll factory’ that is flooding social media with Kremlin propaganda
An undercover journalist has exposed the inner workings of Russia's notorious “troll factory” which aims to boost domestic support for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine by flooding social media with pro-Kremlin comments, writes Nataliya Vasilyeva.
Fontanka, the Russian media outlet which first reported on the dedicated group of internet trolls, commissioned a reporter to infiltrate the propaganda operation run out of an office at a converted factory in St Petersburg.
The female journalist secured the job after she responded to an advert posted on the Telegram messaging app from a pro-Kremlin group looking to form “the cyber front that will repel attacks by Western-paid Kyiv propagandists”.
Footage shows school in Kharkiv 'completely destroyed'
Emine Dzheppar, the Deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, has shared footage of a school in Kharkiv destroyed by Russian shelling after rockets hit the area earlier this month.
The video clip, which shows a school completely destroyed, was posted on her Twitter.
Rocket strikes have destroyed a railway station in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipro region, killing one person and damaging rails enough to prevent train passage indefinitely, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.
The rockets hit a station of the town of Pavlohrad around 60 km (37 miles) east of the regional capital Dnipro.
05:02 PM
'Nothing left' of Mariupol, says Zelensky
Volodymr Zelensky has said there was "nothing left" of the city of Mariupol after weeks of Russian bombardment, as Kyiv appealed to Moscow to allow the evacuation of at least 100,000 people who want to leave.
Ukraine has issued increasingly dire warnings about the situation in the encircled southern port city, where officials say residents are without food, medicine, power or running water.
Officials said 300,000 civilians were also running out of food in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, highlighting what an international aid official said was the breakdown of Ukraine's humanitarian system.
"There is nothing left there. Only ruins," Zelenskiy said of Mariupol, which has a peacetime population of 400,000, in a video address to the Italian parliament.
04:57 PM
'Unwinnable' war for Russia, says UN chief
Antonio Guterres , the UN chief, has said the war is "unwinnable" for Russia.
"For more than two weeks, Mariupol has been encircled by the Russian army and relentlessly bombed, shelled and attacked. For what?" he tells reporters in New York.
"Even if Mariupol falls, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house."
He added that continuing the war was "morally unacceptable, politically indefensible, [and] militarily nonsensical".
04:45 PM
Zelensky urges Italy to seize mystery yacht
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, has urged Italy to seize a mystery yacht worth some $700 million that has been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an address to the Italian parliament, Zelensky said Putin and his wealthy backers often went to Italy on holiday and should have all their assets frozen to put pressure on them to end the invasion of Ukraine.
"Don't be a resort for murderers. Block all their real estate, accounts and yachts - from the Scheherazade to the smallest ones," he said, referring to a superyacht that is moored in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara.
A view shows the multi-million-dollar mega yacht Scheherazade, docked at the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara, Tuscany - FEDERICO SCOPPA/AFP
The owner has never been publicly identified, but there have been insistent rumours in the media that it belongs to Putin or a member of his inner circle.
An organisation set up by the imprisoned Alexei Navalny, a fierce Putin critic, released a report on Monday saying it had evidence that the boat belonged to the Russian leader.
04:36 PM
Ukraine urges China to play more visible role to halt war
Ukraine wants China to play a more "noticeable role" in halting the war being waged by Russia on its territory and also to become a future guarantor of its security, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.
Andriy Yermak, who heads Zelenskiy's office, also said he expected a dialogue "very soon" between Ukraine's leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping, without elaborating.
China has resisted pressure from Western countries to condemn Russia's invasion.
"So far we've seen China's neutral position. And, as I said before, we believe that China ... should play a more noticeable role in bringing this war to (an) end and in building up a new global security system," Yermak told a virtual news conference organised by the Chatham House think-tank in London.
04:25 PM
Downing Street 'confident' sanctions will impact oligarch
Downing Street has said it remains "confident" that sanctions will have a "significant impact" on Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov's assets.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman was asked for his response to reports that Mr Usmanov may have put many of the UK properties and assets he owned out of the law's reach before being sanctioned over the invasion of Ukraine.
"I've seen those claims reported. I'm not in a position to talk about the veracity of them at this stage," he said.
He added: "The sanctions against Usmanov were enacted with immediate effect, he cannot access his assets, it's illegal for any person or company in the UK to do business with him.
Asked if he was confident those sanctions would still hit Mr Usmanov's assets, the spokesman said: "We remain confident these sanctions will have a significant impact on Usmanov. I think of that there's no doubt."
04:08 PM
EU to offer €400,000 to firms hit by Russian sanctions
EU companies affected by sanctions against Russia are set to be granted up to €400,000 (£333,000) in state aid.
Firms in the agricultural, fishery and aquaculture sectors can get up to €35,000 in direct grants, tax and payment advantages and guarantees, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The move to loosen state aid rules to help thousands of companies facing disruptions to their supply chains due to sanctions comes hot on the heels of emergence measures during the pandemic.
Companies hit by high gas, electricity prices can get aid not exceeding 30pc of eligible costs up to a maximum of €2m, according to the report.
04:04 PM
Oligarch Alisher Usmanov may have put properties out of reach before sanctions
Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov may have put many of the UK properties and assets he owned out of the law’s reach before being sanctioned over the invasion of Ukraine.
A spokesman for the billionaire, who has had ties to Arsenal and Everton football clubs, has said most of his property in Britain and his yacht had already been transferred into trusts.
Ministers sanctioned Mr Usmanov earlier this month because of his “close links to the Kremlin” as they seek to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging war.
The Government said he owns Beechwood House in Highgate, north-west London, and estimated it is worth £48 million, as well as the 16th century Sutton Place estate in Surrey.
But a spokesman, quoted by the BBC and the Guardian, said most of his UK property and his yacht had already been “long ago transferred into irrevocable trusts”.
03:51 PM
Labour calls on Government to 'ramp up' sanctions on Russia
Sir Keir Starmer has called on the Government to go "ramp up" sanctions on Russia to "cripple" its ability to function as a country.
The Labour leader said Western powers needed to continue their support for Ukraine - including supplying more military equipment - while avoiding direct conflict with Russia.
"Everybody understands why every step has to be taken to prevent this escalating into a direct Nato-on-Russia conflict," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.
"What we need to do is to continue to provide that level of support, continue to support the Ukrainians, and ramp up those sanctions which need to go beyond just isolating Russia.
"They have to cripple its ability to function."
03:50 PM
Western officials wary that Russia may publish more hoax videos
Western officials are wary that Russia may publish further hoax videos containing UK ministers during Thursday's Nato summit to "maximise effect".
One said: "The primary objective is to embarrass and sow division, that has been the way these have been used in the past so we would expect the information to be leaked out over time. It might very well be amended to increase its impact.
"I would expect the timing of the releases to be determined to maximise effect. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that the next step is released during the Nato summit. They will particularly be looking for anything which can be used to drive wedges between allies."
"It's mainly a strategy of disruption rather than information gathering," the official added, though they conceded any information gleaned would be seen as a "bonus".
03:36 PM
PM spoke to Modi about Ukraine
Boris Johnson discussed the Ukraine situation with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The pair agreed that Ukraine’s integrity and territorial sovereignty must be respected.
The leaders also said that Russia "needed to adhere to the UN charter" and both agreed that respect for international law was the only way to ensure global peace and prosperity.
03:33 PM
US believes Ukraine is able to take back territory from Russian army
U.S. has indications that Ukraine is now "able and willing" to take back territory overtaken by the Russian military.
NEW: U.S. has indications that Ukraine is now "able and willing" to take back territory overtaken by the Russian military: senior U.S. defense official
Ukraine's military is now trying to push the Russians out of Izyum, in East Ukraine, and has held Mykolaiv against 🇷🇺 attack.
IMF says it will do its part in 'massive' post-war reconstruction in Ukraine
Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has said the organisation will "do its part" in a massive post-war reconstruction effort in Ukraine.
She said that global GDP will remain positive but will be lower due to the war.
03:10 PM
War in Ukraine: latest pictures
A Ukrainian evacuee hugs a child in the train station in Przemysl, near the Polish-Ukrainian border A view of a damaged flat by Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine - Maxym Marusenko/Shutterstock Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces check a man as they patrol during a long curfew in Kyiv, Ukraine - GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS
02:50 PM
Navalny urges people to take action against Putin's regime
Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, has urged people to take action against the "deceitful and thievish" regime of President Vladimir Putin after being sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison.
The Kremlin critic, one of Mr Putin's most vocal critics, was convicted of fraud and contempt of court.
Mr Navalny was also fined 1.2 million roubles (£8,675) and will be moved to a maximum security penal colony.
He had already been serving a two-and-a-half year sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges he says were trumped up to thwart his political ambitions.
Putin's regime is 'responsible' for an illegal invasion, says Justice Secretary
Dominic Raab has said Vladimir Putin's regime is "responsible" for an illegal invasion.
The Justice Secretary said: "There is strong evidence of war crimes and we believe that those responsible must be held to account".
He added: "I think we all can agree that trusting Vladimir Putin to keep his word is going to be a very tall order for anyone in the international community, let alone President Zelensky, and there cannot just be a brushing under the carpet of atrocities committed now or in the future."
02:33 PM
Ukraine accuses Russia of using white phosphorus
The deputy head of Kyiv police has accused Russia of using white phosphorus munitions in the city of Kramatorsk.
Oleksiy Biloshytskiy wrote on Facebook: “Another use of phosphorus ammunitions in Kramatorsk."
He shared a video of a substance burning like the chemical.
The claim has not been independently verified.
02:24 PM
Russian forces 'kidnapped' 2,389 children from Donetsk and Luhansk, US embassy says
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Russian forces have illegally removed 2,389 Ukrainian children from Donetsk and Luhanks oblasts to Russia. This is not assistance. It is kidnapping.
International news channel Euronews says it has been blocked from broadcasting in Russia due to its Ukraine war coverage.
"We firmly condemn this intolerable restriction imposed on millions ... in Russia who relied on us to get impartial news," Euronews said, adding that Russian authorities pulled the channel off air and blocked its websites in Russia.
Euronews said it might launch legal action to continue to freely broadcast in the country, one of 160 in which it broadcasts.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has intensified a crackdown on media and individuals who fail to toe his line, blocking Facebook and Twitter and signing into law a bill that criminalises the intentional spreading of "fake" reports.
Euronews said it strongly rejected Russian claims it spread "fake news" and that it allegedly called on Russians to protest the war. It said it faced an "unacceptable threat of criminal liability" due to the new Russian law.
01:38 PM
UK hits out at Russian propaganda after second hoax video released
Britain has accused Russia of spreading "propaganda" to distract from its atrocities in Ukraine after a second hoax video featuring Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was published.
Vladimir Putin's Kremlin has been squarely blamed for the imposters' calls with three Cabinet ministers, as officials appear to struggle to get the clips removed from YouTube.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) described the videos as "doctored clips" from the "Russian state" and issued warnings against believing their contents.
In the second video, released on Tuesday, Mr Wallace seemingly suggests to the caller, who he believed was Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal, that the UK is "running out of our own" NLAW anti-tank weapons.
"This video, like most Russian propaganda, is fed out to obscure and manipulate the truth," the statement said.
01:22 PM
Greek foreign minister wants to lead humanitarian aid mission to Mariupol
Greece's foreign minister Nikos Dendias said on Tuesday that he wants to lead a humanitarian mission into the besieged city of Mariupol in Ukraine where thousands of ethnic Greeks live.
Ukraine appealed to Russia on Tuesday to allow humanitarian supplies into Mariupol and to let civilians out of the city, which president Volodymyr Zelensky said had been devastated by Russian bombardments.
Dendias said that Greece's priority was to protect unarmed civilians and ethnic Greeks living in Mariupol, adding that he has already notified Ukrainian and Russian authorities over the humanitarian mission.
"I intend to lead this assistance in person," he said, adding that he was coordinating with the Red Cross. Mariupol, a city of more than 400,000 before the war, has historically had a sizeable population of ethnic Greeks.
01:09 PM
Watch: Protesters try to stop Abramovich's superyacht docking in Turkey
01:03 PM
'Only three days' of food and ammunition supplies for Russian troops
Russian forces have stockpiles of ammunition and food that will last for “no more than three days”, the Ukrainian military has claimed.
Officials said in an operational report on Tuesday morning that there were also fuel shortages among the Russian military. “Mobilisation is carried out chaotically ... most of them have no military specialty, because they have never served in the military," Ukraine's forces said.
It came as Ukraine regained the important Kyiv suburb of Makariv by pushing Russian troops out.
AFP news agency cited a senior US defence official as saying Moscow has stepped up its military activity, flying 300 sorties in the past 24 hours, in a "desperate" bid to turn the tide against the Ukrainian resistance.
12:55 PM
Russia adopts bill on jail terms for 'fake' news on state actions abroad
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation imposing jail terms of up to 15 years for publishing false information about Russia's actions abroad, a month on from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The bill, adopted after a third reading by the lower house State Duma, sets out jail terms and fines for people who publish "knowingly false information" about actions abroad by Russian government agencies.
If the false information "caused serious consequences", it is punishable by up 15 years in jail, a release from the State Duma said.
The bill will need the approval of the upper house Federation Council and the signature of President Vladimir Putin before it becomes law.
The new bill expands on a law passed earlier in March that allows for up to 15 years in jail for publishing false information about the Russian army.
12:48 PM
Russian Nobel laureate donates medal for Ukraine refugees
The joint Russian winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Dmitry Muratov, said Tuesday he will donate his medal to help Ukrainian refugees.
Muratov, editor of Russia's leading opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was awarded the 2021 prize alongside Maria Ressa of the Philippines for their efforts "to safeguard freedom of expression".
Writing on Telegram, he said that he and the newspaper had decided to donate the gold medal to a fund to help Ukrainian refugees."We ask auction houses that can put this world-famous award on sale to get in contact," he wrote.
Muratov said he wanted to share the medal "with peaceful refugees and wounded and sick children who need emergency treatment".
In his message, the journalist also called for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, the return of the bodies of those killed and provision of humanitarian corridors and aid.
A Ukrainian evacuee hugs a child in the train station in Przemysl, near the Polish-Ukrainian border - ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP
12:14 PM
Step up and mediate in conflict, Ukraine urges Pope
Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Pope Francis to mediate in his country's conflict with Russia to help alleviate human suffering, nearly one month into Moscow's invasion.
Mr Zelensky said he had held a telephone call with the Pope and "told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops."
"The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated," Mr Zelensky wrote on Twitter on Tuesday following the call.
Pope Francis has called for an end to the conflict on more than one occasion, and although he has condemned the "massacre" in Ukraine he has avoided mentioning Russia by name.
Volodymyr Zelensky also addressed members of the Italian Parliament via video conference on Tuesday - ROBERTO MONALDO/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
12:09 PM
117 child deaths during Ukraine war, say prosecutors
At least 117 children have been killed and more than 155 others injured in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, prosecutors say.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine said the majority of the fatalities had been reported in or around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv (58) and in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv (40).
Some 548 schools have been damaged, including 72 completely destroyed.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said it had verified a total of 62 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine during the past four weeks of war, killing 15 people and injuring 37 more.
— Офіс Генерального прокурора (@GP_Ukraine) March 22, 2022
11:59 AM
Ukraine appeals to Russia over plight of devastated Mariupol
Ukraine appealed to Russia on Tuesday to allow humanitarian supplies into Mariupol and let desperate civilians flee.
Mariupol, a port city on the Azov Sea, has been under siege for weeks. City officials say it has no food, medicine, power or running water. "There is nothing left there," Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelensky said.
As he was speaking to the Italian parliament on Tuesday, Mariupol city council said Russian forces had dropped two large bombs but gave no further details, as it accused Putin of "want[ing] to level it to the ground and make it the ashes of dead land".
Ukraine defied an ultimatum for the city to surrender by dawn on Monday as a condition for Russian forces to let civilians leave safely.
"We demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for civilians," deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Tuesday. "Our military are defending Mariupol heroically. We did not accept the ultimatum. They offered capitulation under a white flag. This is manipulation, a lie."
She said Russian forces were also preventing humanitarian supplies reaching residents of the occupied southern city of Kherson, but gave no further details.
11:44 AM
Protesters block Roman Abramovich's yacht from docking in Turkey
A superyacht linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was held up by a protest in support of Ukraine as it tried to dock in Turkey.
Activists waved Ukrainian flags from a small boat positioned in front of the oligarch's Solaris vessel, valued at more than £400 million, as it was docking in Bodrum. The protesters were then cleared, allowing the yacht to dock.
The 140-metre (460-foot) yacht, which also sails under a Bermuda flag, according to Marine Traffic, docked in Bodrum on Monday afternoon, just over a week after it left Montenegro's Adriatic resort town of Tivat on March 13.
A day later, on Tuesday, another yacht linked to Mr Abramovich, The Eclipse, which is one of the world's largest at 162.5 metres (533 feet) long, arrived in the Turkish tourist resort of Marmaris after cruising southeast of the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes, according to Marine Traffic data.
Protesters waved Ukrainian flags in front of the yacht - Telegram
The yacht was held up as it tried to dock in Bodrum, southern Turkey - Telegram
11:26 AM
Kremlin wants more 'substantial' talks on Ukraine
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it would like the negotiations with Kyiv aimed at ending Russia's military action in Ukraine to have more substance.
"There is some kind of process happening. We would like more active and substantial [talks]," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Nearly a month into the conflict, there has been little progress in talks between Ukraine and Russia, and the Ukrainian leader Volodymr Zelensky has repeatedly urged direct discussions with his Russian counterpart.
He insisted again on Monday that a meeting with Putin "in any format" was needed to end the war. He said that any agreement involving "historic" changes would be put to a national referendum.
But Mr Zelensky warned his country would be "destroyed" before it surrenders.
Ukrainian orphans are seen during a stopover in Warsaw as they head to the UK - Pawel Kuczynski/AP
11:15 AM
'Clear sign' Putin could use chemical weapons, says Biden
Russia is "considering using" biological and chemical weapons, Joe Biden has warned as he said Vladimir Putin has his "back against the wall".
In some of his strongest remarks on the subject to date, the US president accused his Russian counterpart of making fresh "false flags", including the claim that the US has biological and chemical weapons in Europe.
Russia's defence ministry has accused Kyiv - without providing evidence - of planning a chemical attack against its own people in order to accuse Moscow of using chemical weapons.
"And now he's talking about new false flags he's setting up, including asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe - simply not true," Mr Biden said at a business roundtable event.
"They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those."
Four weeks into the invasion, Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian city with assaults now focused on the besieged southern port of Mariupol.
Ukrainian soldiers attend the funeral of Ukrainian serviceman lost his life as a result of Russian attacks on Ukraine, in Lviv - Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu Agency
11:09 AM
Five dead in Russian strikes in east Ukraine, Kyiv says
Five people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded in Russian strikes on a town in eastern Ukraine, an official in Kyiv said on Tuesday, nearly one month into Moscow's invasion.
"In the Donetsk region, Avdiivka was fired on by artillery and aircraft, the city was razed to the ground. Five civilians were killed and 19 were injured," Ukraine's ombudswoman, Lyudmyla Denisova, said in a statement.
She said the attack occurred late on Monday. Avdiivka is located in the east of Ukraine and adjacent to the de-facto capital of pro-Moscow separatists, who wrested control of two self-proclaimed republics in 2014.
Ukraine has accused Russian troops of indiscriminately targeting medical facilities, residential areas, and bomb shelters since Moscow sent troops over the borders of its pro-Western neighbour on February 24.
Russia denies purposefully targeting civilians and has accused Ukrainian forces of using civilians as human shields.
Denisova said in a separate post on Telegram that a Russian tank in the Kharkiv region had targeted a civilian-marked car, killing three adults and a child.
10:53 AM
Russian newspaper that published troop deaths was hacked, says reporter
Russia's mass-market Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper was hacked on Monday and a false story on Russian military deaths in Ukraine was posted on its site, the newspaper's Kremlin correspondent said on Tuesday.
Alexander Gamov, the journalist, insisted the story - which said nearly 10,000 Russian troops had been killed - was fake and was deleted after a few minutes.
Before it was removed, the article quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying that 9,861 Russian soldiers had been killed and 16,153 were injured in more than three weeks of fighting.
Gamov provided his explanation for the story on the Kremlin's daily conference call after the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unable to comment on the incident.
Ireland plans to welcome up to 200,000 Ukrainian refugees
The Irish Government is planning for the potential arrival of 200,000 Ukrainians into the country as the Russian invasion continues.
In a Cabinet meeting later on Tuesday, ministers discuss the crisis in war-torn Ukraine as well as the Irish response.
The Irish Government has already welcomed about 10,000 Ukrainian refugees into the country but is preparing for tens of thousands more.
The 200,000 figure is based on the expectation that 2 per cent of the 10 million people likely set to flee Ukraine could come to the Republic of Ireland, the Press Association reported.
Charlie McConalogue, Ireland's agriculture minister, said plans are ongoing into how to the "challenge" of providing adequate accommodation, education, healthcare and employment support for the refugees.
A man studies the photos of Ukrainians killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, at a church in Lviv - Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
10:23 AM
Kremlin accuses US of state-level 'banditry' in cyber attack row
The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected US warnings that it may be preparing to conduct cyber attacks in response to Western sanctions and said it does not engage in "banditry" at state level.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that, "unlike many Western countries, including the United States, Russia does not engage in state-level banditry".
The US warned on Monday there was "evolving intelligence" that the Russian government was exploring options for potential cyberattacks, according to a statement from the White House.
10:04 AM
Watch: Russia releases hoax video of Ben Wallace ‘discussing Ukraine’s nuclear ambitions’
Russia has released a video of Ben Wallace obtained by state hoaxers purporting to show him discussing Ukraine’s nuclear ambitions.
The video was released on YouTube just hours after Downing Street accused Vladimir Putin’s Russia of hoaxing the Defence Secretary and Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, through impostors posing as Ukrainian politicians in calls with the pair.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman warned that the Russians would use doctored versions of the calls in a disinformation campaign to support its “illegal” invasion of Ukraine.
In the video of the Microsoft Teams call released and billed as “part 1”, Mr Wallace is seen in a car apparently talking to an impostor posing as Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister. Read more here.
09:44 AM
India is 'somewhat shaky' in Quad bloc, says Biden
Joe Biden has said that among the Quad security alliance, only India is "somewhat shaky" in acting against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, as the country attempts to balance its ties with Russia and the West.
While the other Quad countries - the United States, Japan and Australia - have sanctioned Russian entities or people, India has not imposed sanction or even condemned Russia, its biggest supplier of military hardware.
"In response to his aggression, we have presented a united front throughout the Nato and in the Pacific," the US president told a business forum on Monday, referring to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
"The Quad - with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of these - but Japan has been extremely strong, so is Australia in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression."
Putin says Russia is carrying out "a special military operation" to stop the Ukrainian government from committing "genocide" - an accusation the West calls a baseless fabrication.
09:31 AM
Kremlin critic Navalny found guilty on new embezzlement charges
A Russian court on Tuesday found the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny guilty on embezzlement charges that could see his prison sentence significantly extended as Moscow seeks to wipe out remaining pockets of dissent.
"Navalny committed fraud - the theft of property by an organised group," judge Margarita Kotova said, according to an AFP reporter present at the trial.
She also found him guilty on a less severe charge of contempt of court.
Navalny, president Vladimir Putin's most vocal domestic critic, was jailed last year on old fraud charges after surviving a poison attack with Novichok nerve agent that he blames on the Kremlin.
The trial on Tuesday concerned additional embezzlement and contempt of court charges. Navalny had been tried at the prison colony outside Moscow where he is already serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence.
Navalny appeared in the makeshift court wearing his black prison uniform and listened closely as judge Kotova read out the verdict, sometimes smiling.
09:12 AM
War in Ukraine: latest pictures
Attempts at normality: Andrei Volokitin, the chess grandmaster and reigning champion of Ukraine, plays with amateur players on the central promenade in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv - Aleksey Filippov / AFP People walk past anti-Putin posters in Warsaw, Poland - Annabelle Chih/NurPhoto Steel vests are made by vehicle scraps amid Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine - Stringer/Anadolu Agency
09:06 AM
8,000 evacuated to safer areas on Monday
More than 8,000 people were evacuated from conflict zones on Monday, Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said, including about 3,000 from the embattled southern port city of Mariupol.
The latest efforts by Ukrainian forces come as the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, hailed those who have fought back against Russia.
"There is no need to organize resistance," he said in a video address on Monday night. "Resistance for Ukrainians is part of their soul."
Russian shelling of a humanitarian corridor wounded four children on a route leading out of Mariupol, he added.
Mariupol had a prewar population of about 430,000. Around a quarter were believed to have left in the opening days of the war, and tens of thousands escaped over the past week by way of the humanitarian corridors. Other attempts have been thwarted by the fighting, leaving many trapped.
Russia's invasion has driven nearly 3.5 million people from Ukraine entirely, according to the United Nations, with millions more internally displaced.
The UN has confirmed over 900 civilian deaths but said the real toll is probably much higher. Estimates of Russian deaths vary, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands.
08:50 AM
Mayor urges people to flee Ukrainian city close to international airport
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Boryspil, which is close to Boryspil international airport, advised civilians on Tuesday to leave the city if they can because of fighting nearby.
Mayor Volodymyr Borysenko said in a video address that there was fighting in the Kyiv region where Boryspil is located. The international airport there, while closed amid the war, is Ukraine's largest.
"There is no need to be in the city now as there is already fighting going on in the area around it. I call on the civilian population to be smart, reach out to our call centre and leave town as soon as an opportunity arises," he said.
The view from a flat damaged by Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital - Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
08:33 AM
What's the latest situation on the ground?
In case you're just joining us, here are six latest developments between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the war.
Early on Tuesday, Ukrainian troops forced Russian soldiers out of the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraine's Defence Ministry said. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.
But the Defense Ministry said Russian forces battling toward Kyiv were able to partially take other northwest suburbs, Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which had been under attack almost since Russia's military invaded late last month.
Just before midnight on Sunday, a missile slammed into Retroville shopping mall, a Kyiv landmark, sending up a huge mushroom cloud and collapsing the building in on itself. Eight people died in the blast, and at least 40 were injured, two of them seriously, hospital officials said.
While Russian forces continued with the siege of Mariupol after the southern port city's defenders refused demands to surrender, the Kremlin's ground offensive in other parts of the country advanced slowly or not at all, knocked back by lethal hit-and-run attacks by the Ukrainians.
With troops bogged down in many places, Russian president Vladimir Putin's forces are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraine's cities and the civilians living there, killing uncounted numbers and sending millions fleeing.
Russian troops are "largely stalled in place" after "yet another day of limited progress" in their attack on Ukraine, Britain's Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update.
08:13 AM
Watch: ‘Compromises’ in Ukraine-Russia peace deal would be put to referendum, says Zelensky
08:06 AM
No new agreements with Russia on corridors to evacuate civilians
Ukraine said on Tuesday its efforts to evacuate civilians from besieged towns and cities were focused on the city of Mariupol but did not announce any new agreement with Russia to allow safe passage for trapped residents.
"We are focusing on evacuations from Mariupol," the deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
She listed a number of places from where buses would try to evacuate civilians but Mariupol was not among them.
She also made no mention of any new agreements with Russia on establishing "humanitarian corridors" to evacuate civilians. The UN estimates that some 10 million people, a quarter of Ukraine's population, have been driven from their homes.
07:59 AM
Minister: No question that chemical or biological weapons by Russia would be war crime
Any use of chemical or biological weapons by Russian forces in Ukraine would "undoubtedly" be a war crime, a UK Government minister has said.
Joe Biden, the US president, has issued a fresh warning that Russian president Vladimir Putin's "back is against the wall" and that he may resort to using his chemical or biological arsenal.
Asked if their use would be a war crime, business minister Paul Scully told Sky News: "Undoubtedly. I think President Biden and the Prime Minister have been really resolute in making sure that we can take every action with the international community to address those crimes of Vladimir Putin.
"This is Vladimir Putin's war, the Kremlin's war against Ukraine. It is not the Russian people's. We have to make sure that we can appeal to the Russian people to bring an end to this."
07:56 AM
Russian forces 'stalled in place', says Ministry of Defence
Russian troops are "largely stalled in place" after "yet another day of limited progress" in their attack on Ukraine, Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said in its latest intelligence update.
Several cities are suffering heavy air and artillery bombardment, including Mariupol in the south which Ukrainian forces are successfully defending from Russian occupation.
Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 22 March 2022
Civilians making the dangerous escape from Ukraine's southern port of Mariupol have described fleeing through street-to-street gun battles and past unburied corpses as Russia tries to bombard the city into submission.
Russian president Vladimir Putin's forces are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraine's cities, killing uncounted civilians and displacing a quarter of its population.
Those who have made it out of Mariupol told of a devastated city. "There are no buildings there anymore," said 77-year-old Maria Fiodorova, who crossed the border to Poland on Monday after five days of travel.
Olga Nikitina, who fled Mariupol for the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where she arrived Sunday, said gunfire blew out her windows, and her apartment dropped below freezing.
"Battles took place over every street. Every house became a target," she told the Associated Press news agency.
A woman who gave her name as Yulia said she and her family sought shelter in Bezimenne after a bombing destroyed six houses behind her home.
"Everything is destroyed there, dead bodies are lying around," she said. "They don't let us pass through everywhere - there are shootings."
07:37 AM
In pictures: Kyiv shopping mall hit by air strikes, with eight dead and 40 injured
A man is seen inside a damaged shopping mall in Podilskyi district of Kyiv by the Russian air strikes - Daniel Ceng Shou-Yi/ZUMA Press Wire Ukrainian servicemen search through rubble inside the Retroville shopping mall after a Russian attack - ARIS MESSINIS/AFP Locals were distraught at the destruction of the shopping centre, a landmark - ARIS MESSINIS / AFP
Russian casualties in Ukraine put at almost 10,000 in ‘hacked’ online article
Russia’s Ministry of Defence appeared to inadvertently reveal that nearly 10,000 of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine.
The figure was contained in a report on March 20 by the pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, which has since been deleted from the paper’s site.
Komsomolskaya Pravda later claimed to have been hacked and said “inaccurate information” had been published
Before it was removed, the article quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying that 9,861 Russian soldiers had been killed and 16,153 were injured in more than three weeks of fighting.
Previously, the Russian military had only admitted that around 500 soldiers had been killed.
Superyacht reported to have swimming pool and built-in missile defences
A superyacht linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich docked in the Turkish tourist resort of Marmaris on Tuesday, a port source said, a day after another of his yachts arrived in nearby Bodrum.
The Eclipse, which is one of the world's biggest at 162.5m (533 feet) long and sails under a Bermuda flag, arrived in Marmaris after cruising southeast of the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes, according to Marine Traffic data.
The Eclipse is reported to have two helipads, nine decks, a swimming pool and built-in missile defences.
The Eclipse superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich - REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
The data also showed the superyacht Solaris remained moored in Bodrum, some 80km (50 miles) away, having skirted the waters of European Union countries that have sanctioned the oligarch over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
There was no indication that Mr Abramovich was on either of the vessels. He was among several wealthy Russians added last week to a European Union blacklist, and EU governments have acted in recent days to seize yachts and other luxury assets from them.
06:26 AM
Zelensky to address Japanese parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to virtually deliver his address to the Japanese parliament on Wednesday to rally international support for his country's fight against Russian invasion.
Japan, unlike in the past, has been acting tough against Russia, in line with other Group of Seven countries, though Tokyo's steps have triggered Moscow's retaliation. A compromise could set a bad precedence in East Asia, where China is increasingly making assertive military actions.
Mr Zelensky's speech, expected to be about 10 minutes, will be shown in a meeting room at the lower house - the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida belongs to.
Foreign dignitaries, including former US.President George W. Bush and former Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, have delivered their addresses in person during visits to Japan as state guests, but an online speech by a foreign leader is unprecedented.
05:00 AM
Zelensky: Ukraine would be 'destroyed' before surrender
A man looks over all that remains of the Retroville shopping mall in a residential district of Kyiv after a Russian attack - ARIS MESSINIS/AFP
Ukrainian leader Volodymr Zelensky said all issues would be on the table if Russia's Vladimir Putin agreed to direct talks to end the war, but he warned his country would be "destroyed" before it surrenders.
He insisted again on Monday that a meeting with Putin "in any format" was needed to end the war.
"If I have this opportunity and Russia has the desire, we would go through all the questions," he told Ukrainian journalists in an interview published by media outlet Suspilne.
"Would we solve them all? No. But there is chance, that we partially could - at least to stop the war."
He repeated his assertion that Ukraine "already understood" it could not join Nato but he said his countrymen would not simply "hand over" the capital, the eastern city of Kharkiv, or the heavily bombarded and besieged southern port of Mariupol.
"Ukraine cannot fulfil Russian ultimatums," he said. "We should be destroyed first."
04:54 AM
Russian forces shell along humanitarian corridor
Russian forces shelled along a humanitarian corridor on Monday, wounding four children who were among the civilians being evacuated, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his night-time video address to the nation.
He said the shelling took place in the Zaporizhzhia region, the initial destination of those fleeing Mariupol.
The Ukrainian Government said that about 3,000 people from Mariupol were evacuated on Monday.
Mr Zelensky said he spoke with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and French President Emmanual Macron to coordinate their positions before Western leaders meet on Thursday.
"Our position will be expressed and will be expressed strongly, believe me," Mr Zelensky said.
Multiple explosions and rising smoke are seen around an industrial compound in Mariupol - AZOV
Smoke rises around an industrial compound after multiple explosions, in Mariupol - AZOV
Witnesses fleeing the besieged port of Mariupol say they are leaving behind a city that has been almost entirely destroyed by Russian bombardment and heavy fighting.
Residents have fled Mariupol not knowing what, if anything, will be left - if and when they return.
04:22 AM
No Nato membership in exchange for ceasefire?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was prepared to discuss a commitment from Ukraine not to seek Nato membership in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine's security.
"It's a compromise for everyone: for the West, which doesn't know what to do with us with regard to Nato; for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees; and for Russia, which doesn't want further Nato expansion," Mr Zelensky said late on Monday in an interview with Ukrainian television.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, early Tuesday - Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
He also repeated his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Unless he met with Putin, it would be impossible to understand whether Russia even wanted to stop the war, Mr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky said Kyiv would be ready to discuss the status of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists after a ceasefire and steps towards providing security guarantees.
03:40 AM
Ukrainians warned to brace for 'high-precision weapons'
Ukraine's military warned its people on Tuesday to brace for more indiscriminate Russian shelling of critical infrastructure.
Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian city more than four weeks into their invasion, and increasingly are resorting to causing massive destruction to residential areas using air strikes, long-range missiles and artillery.
The southern port of Mariupol has become a focal point of Russia's assault and lies largely in ruins with bodies on the streets, but attacks were also reported to have intensified on the second city Kharkiv on Monday.
Ukraine's armed forces said in a statement issued on Tuesday that Russian forces were expected to continue to attack critical infrastructure using "high-precision weapons and indiscriminate munitions”.
03:38 AM
Gibraltar authorities detain superyacht
A luxurious superyacht linked to the owner of Russia's largest steel pipe maker, who is currently under British and European Union sanctions, docked in Gibraltar on Monday and was detained by authorities.
Western sanctions on Russian oligarchs over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine have triggered an exodus of luxury yachts from Europe in recent weeks, with several heading towards the Maldives, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.
Reuters TV footage showed the Axioma yacht (pictured below), believed to be owned by Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, owner of steel group TMK, moored at Gibraltar - a British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula - flying a Maltese flag.
The Axioma superyacht - REUTERS/Jon Nazca
03:28 AM
'Putin’s superyacht’ faces seizure
Italy has been urged to seize a superyacht allegedly owned by Vladimir Putin after an investigation by the anti-corruption unit of Alexei Navalny, Russia's jailed opposition leader.
Mr Navalny's team said the £500 million yacht was staffed by officers of the Russian Federal Security Service.
The vessel, Scheherazade, is undergoing repairs and maintenance at a marina in western Italy. It is said to be the world's most expensive yacht whose owner has not been identified.
A superyacht linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich docked in the Turkish tourist resort of Bodrum on Monday, after skirting the waters of European Union countries that have sanctioned the oligarch over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A bird's eye view of Solaris, docked in Turkey - Ali Balli/Anadolu Agency
Mr Abramovich was among several wealthy Russians added last week to an EU blacklist, and EU governments have acted in recent days to seize yachts and other luxury assets.
World governments are seeking to isolate President Vladimir Putin and his allies over Russia's invasion.
There was no indication that Mr Abramovich was on the 140-metre (460-foot) yacht Solaris when it docked in Bodrum on Monday afternoon, just over a week after it left Montenegro's Adriatic resort town of Tivat on March 13.
02:16 AM
'Occupiers shot at people who went out peacefully'
Ukraine's leaders on Tuesday accused Russian forces of firing on unarmed protesters in the occupied southern city of Kherson, with videos showing residents fleeing flash-bang grenades and sustained gunfire.
President Volodymyr Zelensky led the condemnation: "Occupiers shot at people who went out peacefully, without weapons, to protest. For freedom - our freedom."
Videos posted on social media and the messaging app Telegram showed citizens gathering in Kherson's Freedom Square, protesting against Russia's recent seizure of the city.
Dozens of men and women wrapped in Ukraine's blue-and-yellow flag chanted "Go home" and "Glory to Ukraine" before stun grenades forced them to flee in panic.
Russian soldiers fired multiple volleys of gunfire into the air, with no immediate evidence their rifles were trained directly at civilians.
Hypersonic missile 'the only thing they can get through'
Joe Biden, the US President, said Russia used a hypersonic missile to destroy a weapons depot on Saturday "because it’s the only thing they can get through with absolute certainty".
A US administration official clarified on Monday evening that Mr Biden was confirming Russia's use of such an advanced missile, but noted that the impact of the attack was unknown.
01:07 AM
'Completely unacceptable': Japan hits back as Russia ends peace talks
Russia has set off an angry reaction from Japan after withdrawing from peace treaty talks.
"Under the current conditions Russia does not intend to continue negotiations with Japan on a peace treaty," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, citing Japan's "openly unfriendly positions and attempts to damage the interests of our country".
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he strongly opposed Russia's decision, terming it "unfair" and "completely unacceptable".
Japan last week announced plans to revoke Russia's most-favoured nation trade status, expand the scope of asset freezes against Russian elites and ban imports of certain products.
Russia has also withdrawn from talks with Japan about joint business projects on the Kuril islands and ended visa-free travel by Japanese citizens.
Russia and Japan have still not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of the standoff over islands just off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories. The islands were seized by the Soviets at the end of the Second World War.
Last year, President Vladimir Putin said that both Tokyo and Moscow wanted good relations and it was absurd they had not reached a peace agreement.
12:56 AM
'Patriotic obligation': Biden warns Americans to 'lock their digital doors'
The US President has told American business leaders they have a "patriotic obligation" to harden their systems against cyber attacks.
However, Joe Biden underlined that most critical infrastructure in the country is owned and operated by private entities, which cannot be compelled to take specific cyber security measures.
"Owners and operators must accelerate efforts to lock their digital doors," Mr Biden said.
"You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely. We need everyone to do their part."
The Biden administration issued "new warnings that, based on evolving intelligence, Russia may be planning a cyber attack against us".
"The magnitude of Russia's cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it's coming," Mr Biden said.
The federal government is doing its part to get ready for potential Russian cyberattacks.
We are prepared to help private sector companies with tools and expertise, but it is your decision as to the steps you’ll take and your responsibility to take them.
The Government has warned US companies about Russian state hackers since long before the country invaded Ukraine.
12:46 AM
Joe Biden warns of Russian cyber attack
Joe Biden said the US Government would "continue to use every tool to deter, disrupt, and if necessary, respond to cyber attacks against critical infrastructure".
The US President warned of intelligence pointing to a growing Russian cyber threat and urged American businesses to "immediately" prepare defences.
"If you have not already done so, I urge our private sector partners to harden your cyber defences immediately," he said.
Mr Biden cited "evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyber attacks", including in response to Western sanctions over Moscow's launch of the war in Ukraine.
"It's part of Russia's playbook," he said.
12:32 AM
Locals mourn loss of Kyiv landmark to Russian onslaught
As he surveyed the bomb-wrecked hallway of his seventh-floor flat in Kyiv, Mikhail Moskalenko had just one bitter consolation.
The damage to his home might at least settle a long-running argument with his older brother in Moscow, with whom he is already barely on speaking terms.
“He’s lived there most of his adult life, and he accepts everything he sees on Russian TV,” the 66-year-old said, rolling his eyes.
“He refuses to believe me when I tell him Ukraine is getting bombed because Russian TV hasn’t mentioned it.”
The view out of Mr Moskalenko’s window might just convince him. Several hundred yards away, across a patch of newly landscaped parkland, was an apocalyptic scene – a smoking Ground Zero of collapsed masonry that hours earlier, had been one wing of a brand new shopping mall.
Read the full story from Colin Freeman, in Kyiv, here.
Ukrainians will get a referendum on any "compromises" with Russia if a peace deal is agreed, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, but insisted his country would be destroyed before it bowed to any ultimatums from Moscow
Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde react to the huge performance this weekend by Texas QB Arch Manning, Michigan and Notre Dame's spring games, Jaden Rashada entering the transfer portal, and more
Trump is entitled to an additional 36 million shares if the company's share price trades above $17.50 "for twenty out of any thirty trading days" over the next three years.
Our final 2024 mock draft projects four quarterbacks in the first five picks, but the Cardinals at No. 4 might represent the key pivot point of the entire board.
Arch Manning gave Texas football fans an enticing look at the future, throwing for 355 yards and three touchdowns in the Longhorns' Orange-White spring game.
Vincent Goodwill and Amin Elhassan react to (just about) every Round 1 game of the NBA Playoffs after the first games have been played over the weekend.
