The Ukrainian army has reportedly conducted its first major air strike in Russian territory, which if true would mark a significant escalation of the war since it broke out in February.
Two of its military helicopters hit a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, a Russian official said.
Video images of the purported attack posted online showed what looked like several missiles being fired from low altitude, followed by an explosion. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the images.
The helicopters struck the facility after crossing the border at low altitude, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on messaging app Telegram.
The resulting blaze injured two workers, Mr Gladkov added, while some areas were being evacuated in the city near the Ukrainian border.
However, Russian oil firm Rosneft, which owns the fuel depot, said in a separate statement that no one was hurt in the fire, though it gave no information on the cause.
Follow the latest updates below.
08:02 AM
Ukraine says some Russian troops still in Chernobyl exclusion zone
Some Russian troops were still in the “exclusion zone” around the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power station on Friday morning, the head of the Ukrainian agency in charge of the zone said.
Yevhen Kramarenko confirmed on national television that the Russian forces that occupied the power station after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 had left the plant itself but said some troops had been seen in the exclusion zone outside the territory of the decommissioned power station.
The exclusion zone was established around the plant soon after a reactor there exploded in the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986.
07:49 AM
Russian foreign minister ‘appreciates’ India’s response to Ukraine crisis
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday Russia appreciated India’s response to the Ukraine crisis.
“We appreciate that India taking this situation in the entirety of facts and not just in a one sided way,” Mr Lavrov said in a statement before talks with his Indian counterpart.
07:33 AM
Pictured: ‘Ukrainian air strike’ on Russian fuel depot
07:30 AM
Russia eases some curbs on transferring money abroad
Russia’s central bank said on Friday it was softening restrictions on foreign fund transfers for individuals for a six-month period.
The bank said the measures, which raise an earlier limit on funds that can be transferred abroad, did not apply to residents and non-residents from countries that had imposed sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.
“Within a calendar month, individuals have the right to transfer no more than 10,000 US dollars or the equivalent in another currency from the Russian Federation from their account in a Russian bank to their account or to another person abroad,” the bank said in a statement.
The bank added that transfers abroad from bank accounts of non-residents, individuals or legal entities from countries that had imposed sanctions were suspended for the next six months.
The measure will ease strain on Russians who regularly send funds to relatives abroad, or to those who have left the country without access to their funds at home.
07:13 AM
Russia’s Gazprom says gas exports to Europe via Ukraine continue
Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom said on Friday it was continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers.
The company said requests stood at 108.4 million cubic metres (mcm) for April 1, down from 109.5 mcm a day earlier.
07:11 AM
Russian gas nominations for Slovakia rise to four-month high
Daily nominations for Russian gas deliveries to Slovakia via Ukraine rose to their highest since November 30 on Friday, data from Slovak pipeline operator Eustream showed.
Nominations rose to 966,305 megawatt hours at the entry point in Velke Kapusany from 882,914 megawatt hours on Thursday.
07:04 AM
US warns India against unreliable Russia
The US has warned India against warming up to Russia, ahead of a visit by Moscow’s top diplomat to press New Delhi to resist Western pressure to condemn its invasion of Ukraine.
India has abstained from UN resolutions censuring Moscow and continues to buy Russian oil from its “longstanding and time-tested friend” and biggest supplier of arms.
But Delhi shares Western alarm over Beijing’s assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region, with 20 Indian and four Chinese troops killed in a brawl on their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.
Daleep Singh, Washington’s chief sanctions strategist, was quoted by local media in a visit to Delhi as saying that India could not rely on Russia if there was another clash.
“Russia is going to be the junior partner in this relationship with China. And the more leverage that China gains over Russia, the less favourable that is for India,” Mr Singh was quoted as saying on Thursday.
07:03 AM
EU and Chinese leaders to meet for first summit in two years amid Ukraine crisis
EU and Chinese leaders will meet today for a first summit in two years, with Brussels expected to push Beijing for assurances that it won’t assist Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, reports Sophia Yan in Beijing.
EU officials are expected to make clear to China that any help it provides to Russia would mean damaging its ties with both Europe and the US, relationships already on the roks.
China’s stance toward Russia will be the “million-dollar question” in Friday’s talks, said an EU official.
China is likely to focus on trade with the EU, and to message its interest in working with the bloc as a single strategic actor, without the influence of the US. Beijing believes the EU is taking a harder foreign policy stance toward China, because of the US.
Negotiations on the investment agreement concluded at the end of 2020, but the deal was put on hold after the EU – along with the US, UK and Canada – sanctioned China over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, prompting Beijing to respond with its own counter-sanctions a year ago.
06:43 AM
Ukraine unable to get supplies to Mariupol, civilians unable to leave – mayor’s aide
An aide to the mayor of Mariupol said on Friday the besieged southern Ukrainian city remained closed for anyone trying to enter and was “very dangerous” for anyone trying to leave.
Petro Andryushchenko said Russian forces had since Thursday been preventing even the smallest amount of humanitarian supplies reaching trapped residents, making clear a planned “humanitarian corridor” had not been opened.
06:35 AM
Putin ally warns agriculture supplies could be limited to ‘friends’
One of President Vladimir Putin’s allies warned on Friday that Russia, a major global wheat exporter, could limit supplies of agriculture products to “friendly” countries only, amid Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia’s security council, said he would like to outline “some simple but important points about food security in Russia,” given the sanctions imposed.
Most of them have been part of the country’s agricultural policy for years.
“We will only be supplying food and agriculture products to our friends,” Mr Medvedev said on social media. “Fortunately we have plenty of them, and they are not in Europe or North America at all.”
Russia already supplies wheat mainly to Africa and the Middle East. The European Union and Ukraine are its main competitors in the wheat trade.
06:11 AM
Europe faces Russia gas deadline
European buyers of Russian gas faced a deadline to start paying in roubles on Friday, while negotiations aimed at ending the five-week war were set to resume even as Ukraine braced for further attacks in the south and east.
Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing and galvanised the United States and allies around the world to impose punishing penalties on Russian government entities, businesses and oligarchs.
Russia will respond to European Union sanctions, the RIA news agency quoted a senior foreign ministry official on Friday.
“The actions of the EU will not remain unanswered … the irresponsible sanctions by Brussels are already negatively affecting the daily lives of ordinary Europeans,” Nikolai Kobrinets told the news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin played one of his biggest cards on Thursday, demanding European energy buyers start paying in roubles from Friday or have existing contracts halted.
06:09 AM
The latest pictures from Ukraine
05:40 AM
UK says Ukraine has retaken villages of Sloboda, Lukashivka
British military intelligence said on Friday Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along main supply routes between the city and Kyiv.
“Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counter attacks to the east and north east of Kyiv,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said.
Chernihiv and Kyiv have been subjected to continued air and missile strikes despite Russian claims of reducing activity in these areas, the ministry added.
05:07 AM
The oil depot in Belgorod, Russia, reportedly on fire
04:44 AM
IEA to hold emergency meeting to tackle soaring oil prices
The International Energy Agency will hold an emergency meeting on Friday among consuming nations to discuss a new release of strategic reserves alongside a plan by the United States to pump massive supplies starting in May to cool soaring oil prices.
Major consumers are seeking ways to ease the impact of global oil prices, which have soared more than 30 per cent this year, on their economies after top producers group OPEC+ stuck to plans to add a modest 432,000 barrels per day of supply in May.
Western sanctions on Russia after their invasion of Ukraine are expected to see a loss of about 3 million barrels per day of Russian oil in April, according to the IEA.
To fill the shortfall, President Joe Biden on Thursday authorized the largest release ever from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves, a release of 1 million bpd of crude for six months starting in May.
04:07 AM
Fuel storage unit on fire in Russian city near Ukrainian border-governor
A fire broke out at a fuel storage facility in the Russian city of Belgorod located close to the Ukrainian border, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said, two days after the province was rocked by blasts at an arms depot.
Two people were hurt in Friday’s fire, Gladkov said on Telegram, and residents of three city streets were being evacuated.
Gladkov said this week that the arms depot explosions were believed to be a result of another fire, although he said the regional authorities were awaiting confirmation from the defence ministry.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for any of the incidents.
03:36 AM
Russia will not ask EU to end sanctions
Russia will not ask the European Union to end sanctions and has a sufficient “margin of safety”, the RIA news agency quoted a Russian foreign ministry official as saying on Friday.
“The European Union is not the centre of the universe,” Nikolai Kobrinets, the head of the European cooperation department at the ministry, said.
03:11 AM
Russia preparing for ‘powerful strikes’, says Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia is consolidating and preparing “powerful strikes” in the country’s south, including besieged Mariupol, where a new attempt will be made on Friday to evacuate civilians from the devastated city.
In peace talks this week, Russia said it would scale back attacks on the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv, but Ukrainian and Western officials have dismissed the pledge, saying Moscow’s troops were merely regrouping.
“This is part of their tactics,” said Mr Zelensky in a late-night address.
“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 said.
In particular, he warned, the situation in the country’s south was “very difficult”.
“In Donbas and Mariupol, in the Kharkiv direction, the Russian army is accumulating the potential for attacks, powerful attacks,” he said.
02:52 AM
Australia to send armored vehicles to Ukraine after request
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday he will send armored Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky specifically asked for them during a video appeal to Australian lawmakers for more help in its war against Russia.
Mr Zelensky addressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and asked for the Australian-made, four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Mr Morrison told reporters the vehicles will be flown over on Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport planes. He didn’t specify how many would be sent or when.
“We’re not just sending our prayers, we are sending our guns, we’re sending our munitions, we’re sending our humanitarian aid, we’re sending all of this, our body armor, all of these things and we’re going to be sending our armored vehicles, our Bushmasters, as well,” Mr Morrison said.
02:49 AM
More than 1,400 Ukrainians evacuated on Thursday
More than 1,400 Ukrainians were evacuated from violent hot spots on Thursday, with 631 from the besieged city of Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, local media reported.
⚡️1,458 Ukrainians evacuated from hot spots on March 31.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 631 people were evacuated from besieged Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia. The rest were evacuated from Berdiansk, Enerhodar, and other cities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 31, 2022
02:27 AM
Local media tweeting earlier that Russian forces have left the Chernobyl nuclear plant
02:22 AM
Germany calls Russia’s energy ultimatum blackmail
European governments rejected Putin’s energy ultimatum, with the continent’s biggest recipient of Russian gas, Germany, calling it “blackmail”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin played one of his biggest cards on Thursday, demanding European energy buyers start paying in roubles from Friday or have existing contracts halted.
01:57 AM
Ukraine Prosecutor Office opens 3,457 criminal cases against the Russian military
Ukraine’s Prosecutor Office has opened 3,457 criminal cases against the Russian military, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the president, tweeted on Thursday.
“The Prosecutor Office has already opened 3457 criminal cases against RF military. The article “violation of the rules & customs of war.” The worst – killing of citizens, violence, kids abuse, torture. Docs of facts. The impact for the RF – disastrous in all jurisdictions,” he said.
The Prosecutor Office ???????? has already opened 3457 criminal cases against RF military. The article “violation of the rules & customs of war.” The worst – killing of citizens, violence, kids abuse, torture. Docs of facts. The impact for the RF – disastrous in all jurisdictions.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 31, 2022
01:44 AM
Russia will respond to EU sanctions, says clash with Moscow not good for bloc
Russia will respond to European Union sanctions and says the 27-nation bloc might realise that a confrontation with Moscow is not in its interests, RIA cited a senior foreign ministry official as saying on Friday.
“The actions of the EU will not remain unanswered … the irresponsible sanctions by Brussels are already negatively affecting the daily lives of ordinary Europeans,” Nikolai Kobrinets told the news agency.
01:28 AM
European Parliament leader says visiting Kyiv
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has said 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, tweeted Thursday “On my way to Kyiv” alongside a Ukrainian flag, but gave no further details.
In mid-March the Polish, Czech and Slovenian prime ministers travelled to Kyiv to show their solidarity with Ukraine.
The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and his Czech and Slovenian counterparts, Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in the capital.
01:20 AM
US pledges extra one million barrels of oil a day
President Joe Biden launched the largest release ever from the US emergency oil reserve and challenged oil companies to drill more in an attempt to bring down gasoline prices that have soared during Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The announcement comes as part of a broad effort by Biden to tackle raging inflation that has hurt USconsumers and threatens Biden’s fellow Democrats as they seek to maintain control of Congress in the November elections.
Starting in May, the United States will release 1 million barrels per day of crude oil for six months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he said.
“This is a moment of consequence and peril for the world, and pain at the pump for American families,” Biden said at an event at the White House.
01:15 AM
Today’s top stories
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Longer range artillery and armoured vehicles will be sent to Ukraine in a significant ramping up of Western support, Ben Wallace announced on Thursday
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Whitehall sources have expressed concern that allies including the US, France and Germany are “over-eager” to secure an early peace deal and are pushing Ukraine to “settle”
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A Ministry of Defence chief suggested Britain needs a national effort to boost its nuclear weapons programme
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Russian forces were said to have retreated from a Ukrainian airfield that was key to their original plan of overthrowing the government of Volodymyr Zelensky
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The Pentagon said that it was not clear Russia’s convoy of military vehicles to Kyiv, which once stretched some 40 miles, even existed anymore after failing to accomplish its mission
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The Ukrainian state nuclear company said that most of the Russian forces that occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power station after invading Ukraine have also left
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Joe Biden, the US president, said Vladimir Putin may have fired some of his advisers or put them under house arrest, and that it’s an “open question” as to whether Mr Putin is fully informed on his military’s performance in Ukraine
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Putin has threatened to cut off gas supplies to western Europe on Friday unless buyers “open rouble accounts in Russian banks” as he scrambles to prop up his country’s collapsing economy.