Ukraine crisis LIVE: Russia says it made progress in negotiations

The head of the Russian delegation in talks with Ukrainian officials says the parties have come closer to an agreement on a neutral status for Ukraine

5:26 PM

Ukraine president says he expects progress on EU membership bid within months

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he spoke with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Friday and Ukraine expects progress to be made on its application to join the European Union in the coming months.

 

"Had substantial conversation with EC President," Zelenskiy said on Twitter. "EC opinion on UA (Ukraine) application for #EU membership will be prepared within few months. UA Government and EC are instructed. Moving to our strategic goal together."

5:14 PM

Rouble stabilises near 104 vs dollar as cenbank holds rates

The Russian rouble eased slightly in light trading in Moscow on Friday, stablising near a psychologically important threshold of 100 against the dollar after the central bank opted to hold rates at 20%.

 

Russia's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged on Friday, as predicted in a Reuters poll of analysts, following an emergency rate hike in late February designed to support financial stability.

 

The central bank warned of higher inflation and an economic contraction this year but did not give new forecasts.

 

Governor Elvira Nabiullina, who was nominated for another term by President Vladimir Putin earlier on Friday, will present the rate decision and shed more light on future steps at 1400 GMT, two hours later than originally scheduled.

4:46 PM

Kremlin says UK decision to revoke RT's broadcast licence is 'madness'

The Kremlin on Friday described Britain's decision to revoke the broadcast licence of Russian state-backed television channel RT as "madness".

 

Britain's media regulator, Ofcom, said in a statement on Friday that RT received funding from the Russian state and was not satisfied that RT could be a responsible broadcaster, revoking its licence with immediate effect.

4:45 PM

Top ex-Kremlin official quits post after condemning Ukraine war

A former Russian deputy prime minister who spoke out against the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine has quit as chair of a prestigious foundation after a lawmaker accused him of a "national betrayal" and demanded his dismissal.

 

Arkady Dvorkovich, deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2018, became one of Russia's most senior establishment figures to question the war when he told U.S. media this week that his thoughts were with Ukrainian civilians.

 

His comments prompted a senior ruling party lawmaker to demand that he be fired and to accuse him of being part of a "fifth column" undermining Russia.

 

The 49-year-old had been chairman since 2018 of the Skolkovo Foundation, an innovation and technology hub on the outskirts of Moscow that brands itself as a kind of Russian Silicon Valley.

4:34 PM

Putin discusses military operation in Ukraine with Russian security council: RIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Moscow's military operation in Ukraine with his security council on Friday, RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.

 

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its neighbour’s military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.

 

Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.

4:19 PM

Putin tells Scholz that Kyiv is stalling peace talks with Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a phone call on Friday that Kyiv was attempting to stall peace talks with Russia but that Moscow was still keen to continue negotiations.

 

"It was noted that the Kyiv regime is attempting in every possible way to delay the negotiation process, putting forward more and more unrealistic proposals," the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.

 

"Nonetheless the Russian side is ready to continue searching for a solution in line with its well-known principled approaches."

 

Western officials said on Thursday that Ukraine and Russia were taking peace talks seriously but that a big gap remained between the two sides.

4:01 PM

Kremlin accuses Ukraine of trying to drag out peace talks

The Kremlin on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to drag out peace talks, saying that Russia's delegation was showing readiness to work faster than the Ukrainian side.

 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also criticised U.S. President Joe Biden's characterisations of President Vladimir Putin as "personal insults." He said Biden's comments were fuelled by irritation, fatigue and forgetfulness.

4:00 PM

Kremlin calls Biden irritable and forgetful, says he insulted Putin

The Kremlin on Friday called comments by U.S. President Joe Biden about his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "personal insults" and said Biden's remarks appeared to have been fuelled by irritation, fatigue and forgetfulness.

 

Biden has labelled Putin a "war criminal" and a "murderous dictator" in recent days after the Russian leader last month sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what he called a special operation to degrade its military capabilities and root out people he called dangerous nationalists.

 

"We hear and see statements that are actually personal insults to President Putin," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

 

"Given such irritability from Mr Biden, his fatigue and sometimes forgetfulness...fatigue that leads to aggressive statements, we will not make harsh assessments, so as not to cause more aggression."

4:00 PM

Russian finance ministry says it has met coupon payment obligations in full

Russia's finance ministry on Friday said it had fully met its obligations on paying coupons on dollar-denominated Eurobonds due in 2023 and 2043, and said payment agent Citibank had received the funds.

 

Russia was due to pay $117 million in coupon payments in what was seen as a test of its willingness and ability to repay international debt after being hit with sanctions over events in Ukraine.

 

3:39 PM

Pope calls Ukraine war a 'perverse abuse of power' for partisan interests

Pope Francis on Friday called the war in Ukraine a "perverse abuse of power" waged for partisan interests which has condemned defenceless people to brutal violence.

 

Since the war began, the pope has not used the word "Russia" in his condemnations but has used phrases such as "unacceptable armed aggression" to get his point across.

 

His latest condemnation came in a message to a Catholic Church conference in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

3:27 PM

Missiles damage buildings near Lviv airport

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said Friday on Telegram that several missiles hit a facility used to repair military aircraft and damaged a bus repair facility, though no casualties were immediately reported.

The plant had suspended work ahead of the attack, the mayor said.

 

The missiles that hit Lviv were launched from the Black Sea, but two of the six that were launched were shot down, Ukrainian air force's western command said on Facebook.

3:27 PM

Russian strikes hit outskirts of Ukrainian capital and Lviv

Russian forces pressed their assault on Ukrainian cities Friday, with new missile strikes and shelling on the edges of the capital Kyiv and the western city of Lviv, as world leaders pushed for an investigation of the Kremlin's repeated attacks on civilian targets, including schools, hospitals and residential areas.

 

Outside Lviv, black smoke billowed for hours after the early morning strike by several missiles, which the mayor said hit a facility for repairing military aircraft near the city's international airport, also damaging a bus repair facility. No casualties were immediately reported. The facility had suspended work ahead of the attack, said the mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, on the Telegram messaging app.

 

A soldier standing guard near the site said he heard three blasts in quick succession around 6 a.m. A nearby resident described his building vibrating from the explosions and people panicking.

3:19 PM

Germany's Scholz urges ceasefire in call with Russia's Putin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, a German government spokesperson said.

 

In their nearly hour-long conversation, Scholz also stressed that the humanitarian situation needed to be improved and progress needed to be made in finding a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, said the spokesperson.

2:55 PM

Ex-Kremlin official resigns tech post after condemning war

Arkady Dvorkovich, Dmitry Medvedev’s senior economic adviser during his presidency and a deputy prime minister until 2018, stepped down as head of the state-backed Skolkovo technology fund after condemning the invasion of Ukraine. Skolkovo announced the departure on Friday. Dvorkovich, who’s also president of the International Chess Federation, is one of only a few former senior officials to speak out against the war, Bloomberg reported.

 

2:39 PM

Govt believes India's legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised

India's legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised and countries self-sufficient in oil or those themselves importing from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading, PTI reported quoting government sources on Friday. The assertion came amid some criticism against India over its position that it is open to buying discounted crude oil from Russia.