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

2:37 PM

Several European politicians nominate Ukraine's Zelenskyy for Nobel Peace Prize

Several current and former European politicians addressed the Norwegian Nobel Committee with a request to nominate Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and for this reason extend the nomination procedure until March 31.

"We therefore humbly call upon you, the Committee, to consider: Extending and thereby re-opening the nomination procedure for the Nobel Peace Prize until March 31, 2022 to allow for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine," the statement, dated March 11, said.

The politicians also called on the committee "to re-open and reconsider the 2022 nomination procedure for the Nobel Peace Prize," according to the statement.

2:06 PM

Russian missiles destroy aircraft repair plant in Lviv

Ukraine's Lviv city mayor Andriy Sadovyi said that the Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair plant in Lviv on Friday, according to The Kyiv independent, a Ukraine media outlet.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian air forces said that fourteen Russian aerial units were destroyed on March 17.

Ukraine's air defence destroyed seven aircraft, one helicopter, three UAVs, and three cruise missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force command.

1:54 PM

UK revokes Russian channel RT's licence

Britain's media regulator said on Friday it has revoked Russian-backed television channel RT's licence to broadcast in the UK with immediate effect after a probe into the impartiality of its coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The regulator, Ofcom, said in a statement it was not satisfied that RT could be a responsible broadcaster, Reuters reported.

12:43 PM

Tokyo set to receive Ukrainian refugees

Tokyo is set to welcome its first Ukrainian refugees, and will provide apartments for them as the city seeks to demonstrate its opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Governor Yuriko Koike said. “We are receiving people from Ukraine today,” Koike said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday, adding cities around the world must cooperate to solve global issues that threaten people’s lives.

12:26 PM

Russia sets up no-fly zone over Ukraine's Donbas

Russia has established a no-fly zone over Ukraine's Donbass region, according to a separatist official from the Donetsk People's Republic, the Interfax news agency said on Friday.

11:26 AM

UN records 780 confirmed civilian deaths in Ukraine

The governor of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region said 53 civilians had been in killed in the past 24 hours. The dead included a U.S. citizen as he waited in a bread line, his family said. Russia denies targeting civilians. The UN said it had recorded 780 confirmed civilian deaths since the invasion began, and 3.2 million have fled, Reuters reported.

10:54 AM

Blasts heard in Ukrainian city of Lviv

At least three blasts were heard in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday morning, Ukraine 24 television station reported through the Telegram messenger.

It published a short video in which a mushroom-shaped plume of smoke could be seen rising on the horizon, Reuters reported.

9:49 AM

Australia imposes sanctions on Russian oligarchs

Australia imposed sanctions on Friday on two Russian oligarchs with links to its mining industry, one of them a billionaire with an investment connection to Rio Tinto's Gladstone alumina refinery joint venture. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia was working in close cooperation with international partners to increase sanctions pressure on oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

9:18 AM

US warns China against Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The absence of a clear denunciation by China of what Russia is doing in Ukraine flies in the face of everything Beijing stands for, said the White House a day before a telephone call between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said China's "alignment" with Russia was of significant concern, PTI reported.

8:20 AM

Sanctions grow against Russia for Ukraine invasion

Japan and Australia on Friday slapped fresh sanctions on Russian entities as punishment for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which the West says has been stalled by staunch resistance but continues to take a devastating toll on civilians. Ukraine's capital Kyiv reported "chaotic" Russian shelling while rescuers in the besieged port of Mariupol dug survivors from the rubble of bombed buildings. Officials from the two countries met again for peace talks on Thursday but said their positions remained far apart, Reuters reported.

8:02 AM

US lawmakers want India to protest Russian invasion

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Thursday urged India to speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The lawmakers, led by Congressman Joe Wilson and Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, had a call with India's envoy to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu where they discussed the matter, PTI reported.

8:00 AM

Biden and Xi to speak this evening

U.S. President Joe Biden will speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at 1300 GMT (18.30 IST) on Friday, the White House said. "This is part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between the United States and the (People's Republic of China)," according to the statement. "The two leaders will discuss managing the competition between the two countries as well as Russia's war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern."

 

8:00 AM

Biden and Xi to speak this evening

U.S. President Joe Biden will speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at 1300 GMT (18.30 IST) on Friday, the White House said. "This is part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between the United States and the (People's Republic of China)," according to the statement. "The two leaders will discuss managing the competition between the two countries as well as Russia's war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern."

 

6:44 AM

No UN vote on Russia's UN resolution

Russia's UN ambassador says he is not asking for a vote Friday on its resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, which has been sharply criticized by Western countries for making no mention of Russia's responsibility for the war against its smaller neighbor. Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council Thursday that Russia decided at this stage not to seek a vote because of pressure from the United States and Albania on UN members to oppose it, but he stressed that Moscow is not withdrawing the resolution, the AP reported.

5:40 AM

PayPal enables customers to send money to Ukrainians

PayPal said on Thursday that its users will now be able to send money to Ukrainians, both in the war-ravaged country as well as those now refugees across Europe, the AP reported. Previously, people in Ukraine were only able to use the payments platform to send money out of the country.