LIVE: At least 21 dead after Russian shelling of east Ukraine town

21 people have been killed by Russian artillery that destroyed a school and a community center in Merefa, near the northeast city of Kharkiv, officials said.

4:46 PM

China to protect firms from Russia sanctions

A Chinese Commerce Ministry official says Beijing will take necessary measures to protect Chinese companies from actions by other governments related to sanctions against Russia.

 

The comment was in response to questions about a US warning of consequences for any moves by Chinese companies to skirt such sanctions.

 

Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said China opposes any form of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction without a basis in international law.

 

4:28 PM

Hundreds feared trapped in Ukraine theatre hit by airstrike

Ukrainian authorities struggled to determine the fate of hundreds of civilians who had been sheltering in a theater smashed by a Russian airstrike in the besieged city of Mariupol as officials said Russian artillery Thursday destroyed more civilian buildings in another frontline city.

 

A photo released by Mariupol's city council showed an entire section of the large, 3-story theater had collapsed after the strike Wednesday evening. Several hundred people had taken refuge in the building, seeking safety amid Russia's 3-week, strangulating siege of the strategic Azov Sea port city.

 

 

4:10 PM

Russia says air defence systems for Ukraine would destabilise situation

Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that giving Ukraine air defence systems, as requested by Ukraine's president in the U.S. Congress a day earlier, would be a destabilising factor that would not bring peace to the country.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged American lawmakers on Wednesday to do more to protect his country from Russia's invasion, pushing for the imposition of a no-fly zone and asking for aircraft and defensive systems.

 

"Such deliveries ... would be a destabilising factor which will definitely not bring peace to Ukraine," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.

 

"In the long term, they could have much more dangerous consequences," she added.

4:08 PM

Kremlin denies major progress made in talks

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a Financial Times report of substantial progress in talks with Ukraine was “wrong” but that the discussions will continue on Thursday. He blamed Kyiv for slowing the negotiations, saying Ukraine’s government was “in no rush.” 

 

Peskov also said that President Joe Biden’s characterization of Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” was “unforgivable.”

4:08 PM

PM Modi spoke with President-elect of South Korea, Yoon Seok-Youl, to congratulate him on his victory

3:52 PM

Lithuanian parliament unanimously adopts resolution urging UN to close sky over Ukraine

The Seimas of Lithuania appeals to the UN so that "the civilian population can safely leave war zones and territories ... controlled by Russia, as well as safe convoys with humanitarian aid are provided; and the airspace over the territories in question, as well as over Ukrainian nuclear power plants and nuclear waste storage facilities, is declared a no-fly zone."

 

All 100 lawmakers who were present at the meeting backed the resolution, as broadcast by LRT.

3:45 PM

Punjab CM announces an anti-corruption helpline to be launched on Shaheed Diwas

3:11 PM

Export reaches $ 390-bn as of March 14: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said India's merchandise exports have reached almost USD 390 billion as of March 14 and will cross USD 400 billion in the current financial year.

 

He also said the auto components industry has, for the first time, recorded a trade surplus of USD 600 million.

 

The minister urged automakers to buy local products and substitute imports.

2:38 PM

Putin should be declared a war criminal: Ukraine minister tells EU

Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov told European Union lawmakers on Wednesday that they should recognise Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal after Russia invaded Ukraine. "I am appealing to all European parliamentary members to recognise that Putin is a war criminal, " Reznikov said via video link. He cited examples such as what he said was a Russian airstrike on a theatre on Wednesday where he said 1,200 women and children were sheltering.

2:08 PM

Russia's international bondholders waiting for key coupon payment

Some holders of Russia's sovereign dollar-denominated bonds who were due to receive a coupon payment on Wednesday have still not received the funds, according to a source. Russia was due to pay $117 million in coupons on two of its international bonds on March 16 though there is a 30-day grace period on the payment.

12:38 PM

Ukraine says Russian strikes on densely populated areas continue

Ukraine’s military said Russian strikes continued on infrastructure sites and on densely populated areas of cities, with another apartment building hit in the capital, Kyiv. But it said Russia’s forces remain bogged down on the ground. Russia said its troops were advancing through the town of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region in the east, Bloomberg reported.

11:02 AM

Oil prices climb after IEA statement

Oil prices climbed on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said markets could lose three million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude and refined products from April. The supply loss would be far greater than an expected one million bpd per day drop in demand triggered by higher fuel prices, the IEA said in a report on Wednesday.

10:18 AM

G-7 foreign ministers to hold talks

Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven countries will meet online to discuss Ukraine on Thursday evening Tokyo time, according to a notice from Japan’s Foreign Ministry. They will discuss the latest developments of the war and exchange views over possible responses to the situation, it said.

10:01 AM

HPCL buys Russian crude in rare deal: Reuters

India's state refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd has made a rare purchase of 2 million barrels of Russian Urals crude for loading in May, Reuters reported quoting trade sources. The cargo was sold by a European trader, they said.

9:46 AM

US House to vote to revoke Russia's 'most favoured' status

US lawmakers are on the brink of an agreement for legislation to revoke normal trade relations with Russia, the latest move in a series of congressional efforts to hobble the Russian economy in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. Removing Russia’s “most-favored-nation” trade status would enable the US to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods, and take other actions. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the vote would take place on Friday by India time