Russia-Ukraine Crisis highlights: G7 says ready to apply 'additional sanctions as required' against Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for worldwide protests' against Russia's war in Ukraine, along with 'unrestricted' NATO aid to the country. A Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine that does not mention Moscow's role in the crisis failed at the UNSC, with only Russia and China voting yes and the remaining 13 members abstaining. Meanwhile, NATO estimates 7,000-15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the month-long invasion. Stay tuned for updates

Ukrainian lawmakers voted Thursday to punish anyone aiding and abetting Russian enemy forces with up to 12 years in jail, one month into Moscow's invasion. (AFP)

G7 says ready to apply 'additional sanctions as required' against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday there is a "real" threat that Moscow will use chemical weapons in Ukraine, accusing Russia of having already used phosphorus bombs against civilians in the country. (AFP)

Ukraine Presidential Adviser says in many areas Russian forces do not have the resources for an offensive

UN General Assembly adopts Ukraine aid resolution, slams Russia's role - 140 votes in favour, 5 votes in opposition, 38 abstentions.

Pope Francis on Thursday criticised increased defence spending by Western nations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "madness" and said a new way must be found to balance world power. (Reuters)

Russia's Union of Journalists on Thursday accused YouTube of "censorship" and called for punitive measures, as fears mount that the US company maybe next in line for a ban in Russia. (AFP)

Six killed, 15 wounded in Russian strikes in Kharkiv

The G7 group of nations and the European Union will announce a new initiative aimed at stopping Russia from evading Western sanctions, a senior USadministration official said. (Reuters)

US official says United States will welcome up to 100,000 refugees fromUkraineas 3.5 million flee Russia's invasion, reports AP.

NATO wants China to meet 'responsibilities' overUkrainewar: US official

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged NATO on Thursday to provide Kyiv with unrestricted military aid, one month into Russia's invasion ofUkraine. (AFP)

Zelensky accuses Russia of using phosphorus bombs in Ukraine

Kremlin says Russia's latest expulsion of US diplomats is forced measure

The Kremlin said on Monday that Moscow's latest expulsion of USdiplomats was a forced measure, after Washington last month said it was expelling 12 Russian diplomats at the country's UNmission in New York over national security concerns. (Reuters)

Britain on Thursday slapped sanctions on 59 more Russian individuals and entities, including the shadowy mercenary group Wagner, in a further retaliation to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

'We will see who is our friend', Zelenskyy says as Western leaders meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyurged Western nations gathering in Brussels on Thursday to take "serious steps" to help Kyiv fight Russia's invasion, as an unprecedented one-day trio of NATO, G7 and EU summits got underway."At these three summits we will see who is our friend, who is our partner and who sold us out and betrayed us," Zelenskyysaid in a video address released early on Thursday. (Reuters)

Eurozone growth slows in March as Ukraine war threatens contraction: Survey - AFP

Over half of Ukrainian children displaced by war: UN

More than half of all children in Ukraine have been displaced from their homes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, the United Nations said Thursday.

"One month of war in Ukraine has led to the displacement of 4.3 million children -- more than half of the country's estimated 7.5 million child population," the UN children's agency Unicef said.

Displaced children make up nearly half of the over 10 million people who have been forced to flee their homes since the invasion began.

More than 1.8 million children have fled Ukraine as refugees, while another 2.5 million are now displaced inside their war-ravaged country, the UN said. - AFP.

Joe Biden, world leaders open first of trio of summits focusing on Russian war in Ukraine

Latest UK sanctions target those aiding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the Wagner Group, multiple defence companies, and Russian Railways - foreign office

Putin has crossed red line into barbarism, says UK's Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday accused Russia of crossing a red line into barbarism in its war with Ukraine and said the West needed to "tighten the vice" in sanctions to bring the conflict to an end.

"Vladimir Putin has already crossed the red line into barbarism," Johnson told reporters on arrival in Brussels for an unprecedented one-day trio of NATO, G7 and EU summits.

He said more sanctions needed to be imposed.

"It is very important we work together to get this thing done. The harder our sanctions ... the more we can do to help Ukraine ... the faster this thing can be over."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Moscow denies targeting civilians. - Reuters.

UK PM calls for action against Russian gold reserves

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Thursday for the world to prevent Russia using its gold reserves, ahead of a NATO summit on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"We need to do more and so we need to do more economically," Johnson told LBC radio a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his devastating invasion of Ukraine.

"Can we do more to stop him using his gold reserves, for instance, in addition to his cash reserves? What can we do more to sanction SWIFT?" he said, referring to the international bank transfer system.

Johnson said that as well as increasing military support to Ukraine, "we've got to go further" economically. T, with the Russian economy already suffering under a welter of international sanctions. - AFP.

4 killed in overnight strikes near Lugansk, says region's governor

At least four people were killed, including two children, and six wounded from overnight strikes in eastern Ukraine, the governor of the Lugansk region said Thursday.

Sergiy Gayday said "unfortunately, the number of victims could be considerably higher," accusing Russian forces of using phosphorus bombs in the village of Rubizhne.

Other officials in the region have made similar claims in recent days, which AFP has been unable to immediately verify.

"The Russians are struggling. They can't advance. That's why they have started to use heavy weapons," said Gayday.

He said Russian strikes also hit Lysychansk and Novodruzhesk to the northwest of Lugansk, without providing additional details. - AFP.

EU's Borrell says Russia has no interest in negotiating ceasefire in Ukraine for now

The Russian government has no interest in negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine for now as its army has not reached its military goals, European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Thursday.

"Right now, Russia doesn't want to sit and negotiate anything: what it wants is to occupy the ground," Borrell said in an interview with Spanish TVE channel. "It wants to surround the coast to the border with Moldova and isolate Ukraine from the sea. It wants to negotiate in earnest only when it has secured a position of strength." - Reuters.

Russia's Gazprom continues to export gas to Europe via Ukraine

Russian energy giant Gazprom on Thursday said that it was continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers.

The company said requests stood at 104 million cubic metres for March 24, down from 106.5 million cubic metres the previous day. - Reuters.

Putin made 'big mistake' invading Ukraine: NATO chief

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of making a "big mistake" by invading Ukraine, as leaders gathered to discuss overhauling the alliance's eastern defences.

"President Putin has made a big mistake and that is to launch a war against an independent sovereign nation. He has underestimated the strength of the Ukrainian people, the bravery of the Ukrainian people and their armed forces," Stoltenberg said ahead of the start of a summit in Brussels.

Stoltenberg said the leaders of the US-led military alliance would "address the need for a reset of our deterrence and defence in the longer term", starting with agreeing new deployments to eastern members Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria. - AFP.

Ukraine says seven humanitarian corridors agreed for Thursday, no mention of safe passage from centre of besieged city of Mariupol

EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell says Russian army has not reached its goals in Ukraine

BOJ policymaker warns of prolonged inflation due to Ukraine war

Japan may see consumer inflation creep up and stay near the central bank's 2% target for a prolonged period if the war in Ukraine continues to drive commodity prices higher, Bank of Japan policymaker Goushi Kataoka said on Thursday.

As such inflation will be driven by external factors rather than robust domestic demand, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has no reason to tighten monetary policy, he told a news conference.

"There's a chance inflation may exceed 1.5% due to technical factors, and stay around that level for a prolonged period," said Kataoka, who has been a sole proponent of bigger stimulus. - Reuters.

Ukraine’s defence ministry saying it has destroyed the Orsk, a Russian landing ship, in Berdyansk

Turkcell says 10% of mobile infrastructure in Ukraine disabled

Turkish telecoms operator Turkcell, one of three main operators in Ukraine, said around 10% of its infrastructure in the country had been disabled by Russia's invasion, but added there was no damage to its central network.

Turkcell, which operates under the name "lifecell" in Ukraine, said in a stock exchange statement on Wednesday that around 10% of its 9,000 base stations in Ukraine were disabled, adding there had been no casualties among its employees. - Reuters.

Russian-occupied Melitopol's mayor says city on the brink of a humanitarian disaster

A man collects clothes from a damaged house in the city of Zhytomyr, northern Ukraine. Credit: AFP Photo

Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges people around the world to show support for Ukraine by gathering in their city centers and making themselves visible and heard

Zelenskyy calls for 'unrestricted' NATO aid

Speaking on the eve of the NATO summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the alliance to provide “effective and unrestricted” support to Ukraine, including any weapons the country needs to fend off the Russian invasion.

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Japan considers doubling humanitarian aid, loans to Ukraine

The Japanese government is considering extending additional humanitarian aid of $100 million to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, on top of the $100 million in assistance Japan has already announced, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday.

The government is also looking into doubling emergency loans to Ukraine to $200 million and dispatching Self-Defence Force medical officers to support Ukrainian refugees in Poland and other neighbouring nations, NHK said.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he plans to unveil Japan's new support measures for Ukraine at a G7 summit meeting scheduled to take place in Brussels on Thursday. - Reuters.

7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops dead in Ukraine: NATO

NATO estimated on Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of war in Ukraine, where fierce resistance from the country's defenders has denied Moscow the lightning victory it sought.

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Ukrainian refugees wait for their suitcases at Zurich Airport after landing from Krakow in a plane chartered by a Swiss millionaire at Zurich Airport. Credit: AFP Photo

Zelenskyy calls for worldwide protests against Russia's war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an impassioned plea Thursday for citizens worldwide to pour onto streets and squares in global protest against Russia's bloody month-old invasion.

In a late-night television address from the emptied streets of his nation's besieged capital Kyiv, a defiant but visibly tired Zelenskyy appealed in English for worldwide solidarity.

"The world must stop the war," he said. "Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities, come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life." - AFP.

Japan unsure how Russia will execute rouble payments for energy sold to 'unfriendly' nations

Japan does not know how Russia will handle the required rouble payments for its energy sold to "unfriendly" countries, the finance minister said on Thursday.

Japan accounted for 4.1% of Russia's crude oil exports and 7.2% of its natural gas exports in 2021.

"Currently, we're looking into the situation with relevant ministries as we don't quite understand what is (Russia's) intention and how they would do this," Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in a parliament session.

The government will also coordinate with Japanese companies to collect information about the move, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a Thursday news conference. - Reuters.

Is a global recession the price for punishing Putin?

Hanging tough against Vladimir Putin was never going to be cost free. Energy prices are soaring, firms are pulling out of Russia and those that stay are at risk of nationalisation. There’s concern about global food supplies. Recession chatter has started, even as the world economy is still mopping up from the last one. It would be foolish to discount a fresh slump — if it isn’t already upon us.

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Putin going to G20 'a step too far': Australia PM

Allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit with other world leaders at this year's G20 summit would be "a step too far", Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday.

Putin has already been invited to the G20 heads of state summit in November by this year's host Jakarta, and he intends to be there, Russia's ambassador to Indonesia said this week.

But Morrison objected, citing Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine.

"I think we need to have people in the room that aren't invading other countries," he said. - AFP.

Ukraine uses facial recognition on dead Russia soldiers

Ukraine is using facial recognition software to identify the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in combat and to trace their families to inform them of their deaths, Ukraine's vice prime minister told Reuters.

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US says Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine

The United States on Wednesday said it has assessed that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that Washington's conclusion was based on a 'careful review' of available information from public and intelligence sources.

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UNSC fails to adopt resolution on humanitarian situation in Ukraine

The 15-member UN Security Council has failed to adopt a resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

Two members (Russia and China) voted in favour of the text and 13 others abstained. The text submitted by Russia was rejected, Xinhua news agency reported.

A Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, Britain, France or the US to be adopted.

Russia's draft resolution expresses grave concern about reports of civilian casualties and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine, including the growing number of internally displaced persons and refugees.

Russia announces expulsion of US diplomats in retaliation

Russia has said it is expelling US diplomats in response to Washington's recent expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United Nations (UN).

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in a statement that it summoned a senior diplomat of the US embassy in Moscow on Wednesday and declared a list of American diplomats "persona non grata", Xinhua news agency reported.