LIVE: 'Russia breaking promises on Mariupol humanitarian corridor'

The governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Friday accused Russia of breaking its promises in terms of allowing humanitarian aid to reach the city of Mariupol

5:53 PM

Kyiv mayor says big battles being fought near Ukrainian capital

"Huge" battles are being fought to the north and east of Kyiv, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on Friday.

 

"The risk of dying (in Kyiv) is pretty high, and that's why my advice to anyone who wants to come back is: Please, take a little bit more time," Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said, issuing a warning to residents who have fled the capital.

 

Kyiv's regional governor said earlier on Friday that Russian forces were pulling back in some areas around the capital but strengthening its positions in others.

5:14 PM

Open to India mediating in Ukraine crisis, Russian foreign minister says

5:01 PM

Russia's Lavrov hopes to bypass sanctions in trade with 'friend' India

Russia will increase its use of non-Western currencies for trade with countries such as India, its foreign minister said on Friday, as he hailed India as a friend that was not taking a "one-sided view" on the Ukraine war.

 

Sergei Lavrov visited India on a mission to shore up support from a country Russia has long regarded as an ally a day after U.S. and British officials pressed India to avoid undermining the dollar-based financial system and sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

 

India and China are the only major countries that have not condemned what Russia calls its "special military operation".

After Lavrov visited China this week, Beijing said it was "more determined" to develop bilateral ties with Russia.

5:00 PM

Ukraine pushing Russian forces back in Kyiv region: Ukrainian presidential adviser

Ukrainian forces are pushing back Russian troops northeast and northwest of the capital Kyiv, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

 

Political adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the encircled port city of Mariupol was still holding out after weeks of bombardment but Russian forces were now trying to encircle the northern city of Chernihiv.

4:30 PM

Ukraine foreign minister says he has no information about who carried out Belgorod strike

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday he could not confirm or deny Ukraine's alleged involvement in a strike on a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod because he was not privy to all military information.

 

Responding to a question about the attack at a briefing in Poland, Kuleba said: "I can neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information."

 

He also said Ukraine was waiting for Russia's formal response to Kyiv's proposals laid out at peace talks in Turkey and that foreign powers were not pushing Ukraine to compromise in negotiations.

4:16 PM

Russia won't turn off gas supplies to Europe from Friday, Kremlin says

Rouble payments that Russia is insisting on for its gas exports will affect settlements due in late April and May, and Russia will not turn off gas supplies to Europe on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

 

President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Thursday stipulating the change of currency, which European governments have called an unacceptable breach of contract.

 

"Does this mean that if there is no confirmation in roubles, then gas supplies will be cut off from April 1? No, it doesn't, and it doesn't follow from the decree," Peskov told reporters.

3:58 PM

Ukraine says Russia talks resumed online on Friday

Ukraine and Russia resumed peace talks on Friday in an online format, Ukraine's presidential office said, citing Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak but without providing further details.

 

Delegations from the two countries held talks in Turkey on Tuesday, after which Podolyak said he felt "positive". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow was preparing its response to Ukrainian proposals at Tuesday's talks.

3:28 PM

'Ready to supply to India any goods it wants to buy,' says Lavrov

2:37 PM

Russia buys back $1.45 bn of its Eurobond using rubles

Russia has bought back the bulk of a $2 billion eurobond using rubles: a step that ensures local investors dodge payment restrictions, Bloomberg reported. The Finance Ministry said it had repurchased the equivalent of $1.45 billion dollars of the bond due April 4 -- or 72% of the debt outstanding -- according to a statement Thursday.

2:26 PM

300,000 refugees from Ukraine recorded in Germany

Almost 300,000 refugees from Ukraine have been registered in Germany as of Friday, according to Germany's Interior Ministry. The ministry said 294,508 refugees have been recorded so far and most of them are women, children or the elderly, Reuters reported.

1:25 PM

Russia eases restrictions on foreign fund transfers

Russia's central bank said on Friday it was softening restrictions on foreign fund transfers for individuals for a six-month period. The bank said the measures, which raise an earlier limit on funds that can be transferred abroad, did not apply to residents and non-residents from countries that had imposed sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

12:32 PM

Former president Medvedev says Russia could limit agri supplies to friends

One of President Vladimir Putin's allies warned on Friday that Russia, a major global wheat exporter, could limit supplies of agriculture products to "friendly" countries only, amid Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012, said he would like to outline "some simple but important points about food security in Russia," Reuters reported.

 

11:59 AM

National Education Policy framed after extensive talks: Modi

The new National Education Policy reforms education at every level. Policy, which was introduced in 2020, was framed after extensive talks with different, says Prime Minister Modi.

11:56 AM

Modi asks students to combine offline and online learning

Prime Minister Modi asks students to combine offline and online learning and find alternative or supplementary subjects and education taught by teachers to make their courses better.

11:41 AM

Don't take exam stress: PM Modi tells school students

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to school students about exam stress, holding an event at a Delhi stadium. "Don’t stress about exam results—don’t panic,” he says on the on the fifth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha 2022.