Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Russia says Black Sea flagship Moskva has sunk, Ukrainians claim strike

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council also explicitly raised the nuclear threat by saying that there could be no more talk of a "nuclear free" Baltic - where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. Stay tuned for more updates.

Russia says Black Sea flagship Moskva has sunk

Russia says destroyed 7 military facilities in Ukraine in the past 24 hours

Russian aviation has destroyed seven military facilities in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, including an artillery missile depot, Interfax news agency quoted Russian defence ministry as saying on Thursday. - Reuters.

Ukraine central bank lifts ban on selling foreign currency cash to individuals

Ukraine's central bank said on Thursday it would lift a ban on selling cash in foreign currency to individuals.

In a statement, it said the rate of sale could not be more than 10% off the official central bank rate. - Reuters.

Biden says US deciding on sending envoy to Ukraine

President Joe Biden said on Thursday that top US officials are deciding soon whether to send a senior official to Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine.

"We'll be making that decision soon," Biden told reporters as he prepared to leave for a trip to North Carolina. A source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday that it is possible Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or Secretary of State Antony Blinken might go, but that Biden is unlikely to do so. - Reuters.

Ukrainian parliament calls Russian army's actions 'genocide'

Ukraine's parliament on Thursday backed a resolution recognising the actions of the Russian military in the country as "genocide".

"The actions committed by the armed forces of Russia are not just a crime of aggression, but pursue the goal of the systematic and consistent destruction of the Ukrainian people, their identity and the deprivation of their right to self-determination and independent development," the text approved by a majority of 363 lawmakers said. - AFP.

Kyiv rejects Moscow's claim it struck Russian border region

UK sanctions Chelsea Football Club director Tenenbaum

The British government said on Thursday it had sanctioned Chelsea Football Club director Eugene Tenenbaum in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Tenenbaum will be subject to an asset freeze as well as transport sanctions meaning that any ship or aircraft owned, chartered, controlled or operated by him could be detained if it enters Britain.

Britain also sanctioned David Davidovich, an associate of Chelsea owner Roman Ambramovich, saying he would be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban as well as transport sanctions.

For both men it gave the reason for being sanctioned as their close association with Abramovich, who has already been sanctioned by Britain. - Reuters.

UK adds two further listings under Russia sanctions regime

The British government said on Thursday it had added two new listings under its Russia sanctions regime, in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. - Reuters.

US says will shift focus to target evasion of Russia sanctions

The United States will shift its focus to targeting those trying to avoid the "major" sanctions it has waged against Russia, its national security advisor said Thursday.

Washington and its allies have responded with fury to Moscow's attack on Ukraine, sanctioning Russia's financial system, aviation sector and other major parts of its economy in a thus-far fruitless effort to get President Vladimir Putin to back down.

"We feel we've taken the major measures but where our focus will be over the course of the coming days is on evasion," Jake Sullivan said during a symposium. - AFP.

Japan's government said Thursday it is closely watching military activities by Russia following reports it conducted tests of submarine-launched missiles in the Sea of Japan, in its latest military exercises off the Japanese coast following its invasion ofUkraine.

The missile tests came a day after the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force announced joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan.

Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reported that two diesel-powered submarines from the Russian Pacific Fleet successfully launched Kalibr cruise missiles at a naval target during the exercises Thursday. [AP Reported]

Japanese media carried similar reports.

Tass said the target was a ship structure simulating an enemy vessel, and the exercise involved more than 15 warships from its Pacific Fleet and warplanes.

The Kalibr cruise missile is designed to fly at subsonic speeds and can hit targets as far as 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away, Tass said.

The governor of a region in southern Russia bordering Ukraine said Thursday that two villages had been evacuated after one was shelled by Ukrainian forces.

The governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram that the village of Spodaryushino close to the border "came under shelling from the Ukrainian side".

No one was injured but the authorities had "temporarily removed residents" from the village and another nearby "to ensure security". [AFP Reported]

Ukraine says it sank Russian flagship, Moscow denies

Ukraine said Thursday its forces sank the flagship ofRussia's Black Sea fleet in a missile attack, but Moscow said the vessel was merely damaged, making no mention of an assault.

The loss of the ship would be a major military and symbolic defeat forRussiaas its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.

Russiasaid a fire aboard the Moskva, a warship that would typically have 500 sailors on board, forced the entire crew to evacuate the vessel.

It later said the fire had been contained and that the ship would be towed to port with its guided missile launchers intact.[AP Reported]

Ukraine Deputy PM says new prisoner swap agreed with Russia, 30 Ukrainians to go home today

Russian governor accuses Ukraine of shelling border town

The governor of Russia's southern Bryansk region on Thursday accused the Ukrainian army of shelling a Russian town about 10 kilometres (six miles) from their joint border, injuring civilians.

"Today the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at the town of Klimovo. As a result of the shelling, two residential buildings were damaged and some of the residents are injured," governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.

Russia says it has contained fire on the Moskva missile cruiser

Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday it had contained a fire on board the Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, and that measures were being taken to tow it back to port.

The ministry, which said the blaze broke out after ammunition blew up on board, said the cruiser's main weaponry had not been damaged and that its crew had been evacuated onto other ships. [Reuters Reported]

Russian subs fire missiles in Sea of Japan amid Ukraine tension

Russian submarines in the Sea of Japan have fired cruise missiles during exercises, the defence ministry said Thursday, at a time of tension with Tokyo over its support forUkraine.

The ministry announced two submarines off far eastern Russia, the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the Volkov, fired Kalibr cruise missiles from underwater at a target.

It posted video footage of the missiles rising out of the sea as the submarine crews simulated coming under missile attack.

Japan has joined tough Western sanctions on Moscow and welcomed several hundred Ukrainians fleeing the conflict as well as sending non-lethal military aid. [AFP Reported]

Ukraine says restarting evacuations after halt over Russian violations

Ukraine said Thursday it was reopening humanitarian corridors allowing for the evacuation of civilians from war-scarred regions of the country after a day-long pause that Kyiv attributed to Russian violations.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media that nine routes in the east and south of the country would be operating a day after they were shut because routes, she had said, were "too dangerous".

Russia warns of Baltic nuclear deployment if NATO admits Sweden and Finland

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the U.S.-led military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons.

Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden are mulling whether or not to join the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said that should Sweden and Finland join NATO then Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea to restore military balance.

Medvedev also explicitly raised the nuclear threat by saying that there could be no more talk of a "nuclear free" Baltic - where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.[Reuters Reported]

EU closes loophole allowing multimillion-euro arms sales to Russia

The European Union has closed a loophole that allowed EU governments to export weapons worth tens of millions of euros to Russia last year alone despite an embargo which took effect in 2014 after Russia annexedUkraine's Crimea region.

EU countries last year sold to Russia weapons and ammunition worth 39 million euros ($42.3 million), according to the latest data made available by the EU Commission - up more than 50% from 2020, when sales were worth 25 million euros, a volume in line with previous years.

The EU had banned the export of arms to Moscow in July 2014 in reaction to Russia's annexation of Crimea, but a clause in the sanctions permitted sales under contracts signed before August 2014.

Countries with large defence industries, such as France and Germany, were among the largest exporters.

The loophole has come under fire from some EU governments since the start of Russia's invasion ofUkraineon Feb. 24, which the Kremlin calls "a special military operation".[Reuters Reported]

Europe halts moon exploration partnership with Russia

The European Space Agency has announced discontinuation of its cooperation on Russia's Luna series of robotic moon missions, amid the country's invasion intoUkraine.

ESA's Director General Dr Josef Aschbacher initiated a comprehensive review of all activities currently undertaken in cooperation with Russia andUkraine.

The review was to determine the possible consequences of this new geopolitical context for ESA programmes and activities and to create a more resilient and robust space infrastructure for Europe, officials said in a statement.

"ESA will discontinue cooperative activities with Russia on Luna-25, -26 and -27," the statement said. "As with ExoMars, the Russian aggression againstUkraineand the resulting sanctions put in place represent a fundamental change of circumstances and make it impossible for ESA to implement the planned lunar cooperation," it added. [IANS Reported]

Russian missile cruiser Moskva is moored in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol. (Credit: Reuters)

The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship is "seriously damaged" by an ammunition explosion, state media says. A Ukrainian government official claims the vessel was hit by the country's missiles.

The "Moskva" gained notoriety early in the war when it called on Ukrainian border troops defending the strategic Snake Island to surrender, only to be defiantly refused.

Leaders on either side of the Atlantic diverge on whether to labelRussia's actions in Ukraine as "genocide".

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says US President Joe Biden, who has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide, was "right" in his choice of words.

But French President Emmanuel Macron, who is campaigning for re-election, said such "verbal escalations" were unhelpful, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz steers clear of using the term.

The United States unveils a major new package of aid to Ukraine, including equipment such as helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers. [AFP reports]

US unveils aid package to Ukraine

The United States unveils a major new package of aid to Ukraine, including equipment such as helicopters, howitzers and armored personnel carriers.

The package includes equipment Washington had previously refused to provide to Kyiv for fear of escalating the conflict with nuclear-armedRussia.

Fleeing war, Ukraine's orphans face trafficking threat

Left in care homes and now threatened by war, thousands of already vulnerable Ukrainian refugees are at risk of being trafficked as they are uprooted by fighting across the country.

Ukraine foils Russia-backed cyber attack on power grid

Ukraine has foiled a massive cyber attack on its power grid that was the handiwork of Russia-backed hackers.Ukrainian officials said they stopped an attack on an energy facility with the help of researchers from cybersecurity firm ESET and Microsoft, reports The Record.

BRICS countries support Russia-Ukraine dialogue for comprehensive solution

BRICS countries have expressed their support for continued dialogue and negotiations betweenRussiaand Ukraine to seek a comprehensive solution to the Ukraine issue.

During the second BRICS sherpas' meeting in 2022 held from Tuesday to Wednesday through a video link, BRICS countries reiterated their respective national positions on the Ukraine issue, pledging to support multilateralism, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries.

UN says Ukraine war threatens to devastate many poor nations

Russia's war on Ukraine threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are now facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions, a UN task force warned Wednesday.

European Space Agency stops cooperation with Russian lunar missions

The European Space Agency on Wednesday ended cooperation withRussiaon three missions to the Moon due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, following a previous decision to do the same for a Mars mission.

The ESA said it would "discontinue cooperative activities" on Luna-25, 26 and 27, a series of Russian lunar missions on which the European agency had aimed to test new equipment and technology.

Australia imposes more sanctions on Russian state-owned enterprises

Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions on 14 Russian state-owned enterprises on Thursday, including defence-related entities such as truckmaker Kamaz, and shipping companies SEVMASH and United Shipbuilding Corp.

Sanctions will also extend to electronic company Ruselectronics, responsible for the production of around 80% of all Russian electronics components, and Russian Railways over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement. (Reuters)

Russian warship 'seriously damaged' in ammunition explosion

The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship has been "seriously damaged" by an ammunition explosion, Russian state media said Thursday.

"As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged," the Russian defence ministry was quoted as saying, adding that the cause of the fire was being determined and that the crew had been evacuated.

Earlier, the governor of Odessa said that Ukrainian forces had hit the Moskva with missile strikes. (AFP)