Ukraine crisis LIVE: Russia says it made progress in negotiations

11:42 PM

Russia accused of using UN for propaganda

Six Western nations have accused Russia of using the UN Security Council to launder disinformation, spread propaganda, and justify its unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

 

And the US is again warning that Moscow's claim that the US has biological warfare laboratories in Ukraine “is really a potential false flag effort in action.” Friday's council meeting was supposed to be for a vote on Russia's draft resolution on humanitarian relief for Ukraine which has been widely criticised for making no mention of Moscow's invasion of its neighbour.

 

Russia instead raised allegations again of US involvement in biological warfare activities, which have been repeatedly denied by both the United States and Ukraine.

11:40 PM

IAEA says repairs on nuclear plant power line has begun

Ukrainian engineers have begun repairing one of three disconnected power lines linking the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and expect it to be working again early next week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement, citing Ukraine’s regulator.

11:40 PM

ICE to remove Russian, Belarusian debt from indexes

Intercontinental Exchange said it will remove all Russian and Belarusian debt from its indexes on March 31.

 

It said the price at which all securities will be removed is zero. “These changes are being made in accordance with the letter and spirit of the sanctions, as well as the rules and regulations that govern our business,” the exchange said.

11:25 PM

US targets Abramovich plane, 99 others over Russia export violations

The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday moved to effectively ground 100 airplanes that have recently flown to Russia and are believed to violate U.S. export controls, including a plane used by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.

 

The list includes 99 Boeing airplanes operated by Russian passenger and cargo carriers including Aeroflot, AirBridge Cargo, Utair, Nordwind, Azur Air and Aviastar-TU -- as well as Abramovich's Gulfstream G650 -- and could further hinder Russian efforts to continue some international flights.

10:54 PM

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.

 

Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian negotiators in several rounds of talks with Ukraine, including this week, said Friday that the sides have narrowed their differences on the issue of Ukraine dropping its bid to join NATO and adopting a neutral status.

 

“The issue of neutral status and no NATO membership for Ukraine is one of the key issues in talks, and that is the issue where the parties have made their positions maximally close,” Medinsky said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.

10:47 PM

French president Macron told Putin he is 'extremely concerned' about Mariupol

French President Macron on Friday told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that he is "extremely concerned" about the situation in Mariupol, which has been hit by constant shelling over recent days, according to the French presidential office.

 

The call lasted just over one hour, the Elysee added.

10:44 PM

Putin tells Macron about Russia's approach to possible Ukraine deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict in Ukraine with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron by phone on Friday, telling him about Moscow's approach to a potential deal on ceasing hostilities, the Kremlin said.

 

"Reacting to concerns expressed by Emmanuel Macron, the Russian president underscored that the Russian armed forces taking part in the special military operation are doing everything possible to preserve the lives of civilians," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.

 

The two also discussed the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and Moscow's stance on how a deal could be achieved, it said, without providing more details.

 

10:43 PM

Russia's biggest cargo airline to suspend all Boeing flights

Russia's biggest cargo airline Volga-Dnepr Group has suspended all flights using Boeing aircraft due to Western sanctions, it said on Friday.

 

Sanctions have cut off the supply of most aircraft and parts to Russia. The United States and Europe have closed their airspace to Russian airlines, and Moscow has responded by imposing the same measure on them.

 

Volga-Dnepr said in a statement it had stopped operations of two of its subsidaries - AirBridgeCargo and Atran - that use 18 Boeing 747 and 6 Boeing 737 airplanes due to sanctions and a decision by Bermuda's Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) to terminate their safety certificates.

10:42 PM

Ukrainian negotiator says Ukraine's position at talks with Russia is unchanged

Ukraine's negotiator at talks with Russia on Friday said Ukraine's position was unchanged and it wanted peace negotiations to lead to a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees.

 

"The statements of the Russian side are only their requesting positions. All statements are intended, inter alia, to provoke tension in the media. Our positions are unchanged.

 

Ceasefire, withdrawal of troops & strong security guarantees with concrete formulas," Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.

10:22 PM

Four East European nations expel 20 Russian diplomats

Three Baltic nations and Bulgaria expelled 20 Russian diplomats as tensions rise Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

 

In a coordinated move, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania expelled 10 Russian diplomats in total, citing propaganda about Russia’s invasion. Bulgaria also said it expelled 10 Russian diplomats for violations of the Vienna convention, without providing details. 

10:07 PM

Russia tells Google to stop spreading threats against Russians on YouTube

Russia on Friday demanded that Alphabet Inc's Google stop spreading what it called threats against Russian citizens on its YouTube video-sharing platform, a move that could presage an outright block of the service on Russian territory.

 

Google representatives in Russia did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Google representatives outside Russia also did not immediately respond.

9:44 PM

Xi tells Biden war in Ukraine needs to end as soon as possible: Chinese state media

Chinese President Xi Jinping told his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Friday that the war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible, according to Chinese state media.

 

"The top priorities now are to continue dialogue and negotiations, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis, cease fighting and end the war as soon as possible," Xi told Biden on a video call.

 

All parties should jointly support the Russia-Ukraine dialogue and negotiations while the United States and NATO should also conduct talks with Russia to solve the "crux" of the Ukraine crisis and resolve the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine, Xi said.

9:19 PM

Nothing suggests Putin's intent has altered over Russian invasion: Western official

There is no evidence to suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin's overall intent in Ukraine has altered despite the invasion failing to reach its original objectives, a Western official said on Friday.

 

"I've seen nothing which suggests that the original intent of Putin has significantly altered," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

"Therefore ... the difference between what was planned, what is being executed is at the moment, one of timing and they have failed to achieve their objectives in the time that they set out in their original objectives and their original plan."

9:05 PM

Russia keeps rate at 20% as economic crisis looms, cenbank to buy govt bonds

Russia's central bank kept its key interest rate at 20% on Friday following last month's massive emergency hike and said it would start buying OFZ government bonds, warning of an imminent spike in inflation and a looming economic contraction.

 

Bank of Russia policymakers held a scheduled rate meeting after more than doubling the key rate to 20% from 9.5% in a one-off action on Feb. 28 to support financial stability and shore up the rouble. The currency had crashed to record lows as Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

9:03 PM

Concerned about progressively deteriorating situation in Ukraine, India at UNSC