Here are the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war:
EU to urge China rethink on Russia
EU is set to hold a virtual summit with China against a backdrop of increasing alarm over Beijing’s growing proximity with Moscow and its reluctance to condemn its invasion of Ukraine.
“The meeting will focus on the role we are urging China to play, to be on the side of the principles of international law without ambiguity and exert all the necessary influence and pressure on Russia,” says French European affairs minister Clement Beaune.
Russia regrouping: Zelensky
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warns Russia is consolidating and preparing “powerful strikes” in the country’s south, including besieged Mariupol.
“We know that they are moving away from the areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important… where it can be difficult for us,” he says.
NATO also says it is not seeing a pull-back of Russian forces in Ukraine and expects “additional offensive actions”, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg warns.
EU parliament leader visiting Kyiv
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola says she is on her way to Ukraine, making her the first EU leader to visit the war-torn country.
The Maltese MEP, who was elected in January, tweets “On my way to Kyiv” alongside a Ukrainian flag, but gives no further details.
Russia leaving Chernobyl with hostages
Russian forces have begun to pull out of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power site and move towards Belarus, but took an unspecified number of captive Ukrainian servicemen with them, officials in Kyiv say.
Troops seized control of the Chernobyl site — where radioactive waste is still stored — on February 24, the first day of the invasion.
Putin may be ‘isolated’: Biden
US President Joe Biden says that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may be “isolated” and could have placed some of his advisors under “house arrest”.
In his first public remarks on Western assessments of Kremlin tensions over the war in Ukraine, Biden also says he is “sceptical” about Moscow’s claim to be scaling back its onslaught in parts of the country.
New gas war front
Putin says “unfriendly” countries, including all EU members, must set up ruble accounts to pay for gas deliveries from April, or “existing contracts would be stopped”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists payments continue in euros or dollars, while France says Paris and Berlin are preparing for a cut in Russian gas deliveries.
– Buses en route to Mariupol –
Ukraine’s government sends 45 buses to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, where Russia has declared a local ceasefire following a global outcry over the suffering of civilians trapped by a month of relentless shelling.
The first convoy arrives in the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk, a hub in the operation to evacuate civilians to the Ukrainian-controlled town of Zaporizhzhia.
Longer conflict possible: US
Russia’s refocusing of its military efforts on the Donbas could herald a “longer, more prolonged conflict” as Ukrainian forces put up fierce resistance there, a senior US defence official says.
“It’s been fought over now for eight years,” the official says of the heavily contested region.
Putin ratings up
Putin’s ratings have received a boost since the start of military actions in Ukraine, Russia’s independent Levada Centre polling institute says, with more than 80 percent of Russians saying they support his actions.
The first poll the centre has conducted since the conflict began shows 83 percent of Russians back their leader, up from 71 percent in early February.
Biden taps oil reserves
Biden announces an unprecedented release of crude from US strategic oil reserves, saying it will “ease the pain” of rising fuel prices for Americans.
Foreign ministers meeting mooted
Turkey says the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine could meet “within about a week or two” to step up negotiations on ending the five-week-old conflict.
New US sanctions
The United States hits a series of Russian tech firms with sanctions, including the nation’s largest chip maker Mikron.
– Russia bans EU leaders –
Russia says it will expand the list of EU figures banned from entering the country following Western sanctions.
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