Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that Ukraine will not surrender any of its territory as the price of peace after Russia signalled it was refocusing its invasion in a bid to gain control of the Donbas region.
The Kremlin on Friday gave its first indication that it plans to scale back the invasion as an army chief said its “main goal” was now the “liberation” of the Donbas region on Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia.
But Ukraine’s president on Friday night appealed to Russia to negotiate an end to the war and said that his government would not agree to give up any of its territory for the sake of peace.
“The territorial integrity of Ukraine should be guaranteed,” Mr Zelensky said in a nightly video address to the nation. “That is, the conditions must be fair, for the Ukrainian people will not accept them otherwise.”
The Donbas is the largely Russian-speaking part of the country where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014, and where many residents desire close ties to Moscow. Its coal-mining and industrial Donetsk and Luhansk regions are recognised by Russia as independent.
Russian forces appear to have halted their ground offensive aimed at capturing Kyiv, US officials said.
Follow the latest updates below.
04:20 AM
Pictured: Flames and smoke rise from a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv on Friday
03:56 AM
Western sanctions won’t sway Kremlin, says Russia’s former president Medvedev
It is “foolish” to believe that Western sanctions against Russian businesses could have any effect on the Moscow government, Russian ex-president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying on Friday.
The sanctions will only consolidate the Russian society and not cause popular discontent with the authorities, Medvedev told Russia’s RIA news agency in an interview.
The West has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but one month into the war, the Kremlin says it will continue the assault until it accomplishes its goals of Ukraine’s “demilitarisation and denazification”.
Some of the sanctions have specifically targeted billionaire businessmen believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin.
“Let us ask ourselves: can any of these major businessmen have even the tiniest quantum of influence of the position of the country’s leadership?” Medvedev said.
“I openly tell you: no, no way.”
Medvedev said opinion polls showed three-fourths of Russians supported the Kremlin’s decision to carry out a military operation in Ukraine and even more supported President Vladimir Putin.
03:33 AM
Russia claims it has completed main goals are false, says US think tank
Russia has falsely claimed it has worn down the Ukrainian army, allowing it to focus on its key objective of capturing Donetsk and Luhansk, said a US Think Tank.
Sergei Rudskoi, first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, said on Friday in an assessment of the war effort so far that Russian forces have completed “the main tasks of the first stage of the operation.”
The US Institute For The Study of War said the claims were inaccurate and likely aimed at winning public support at home.
“Rudskoi’s comments were likely aimed mainly at a domestic Russian audience and do not accurately or completely capture current Russian war aims and planned operations.
“Russia’s justification for the invasion of Ukraine from the outset was the fictitious threat Moscow claimed Ukrainian forces posed to the people in Russian-occupied Donbas. The Kremlin has reiterated this justification for the war frequently as part of efforts to explain the invasion to its people and build or sustain public support for Putin and the war”
03:12 AM
The UK has sanctioned 65 individuals and entities over the war in Ukraine — Latest from the UK Ministry of Defence
02:47 AM
‘ Kherson remains under total Russian control’, reports CNN
The city of Kherson remains under total Russian control, four residents of the city have told CNN.
The claims contrast with earlier media reports citing the Pentagon as saying Ukrainian forces had retaken control of parts of the city.
“Today [I] saw them with their guns at the market, possibly searching vegetables for buying,” one resident said to CNN on Friday evening. “They lose only couple of villages, not towns.”
CNN said the assessment that Ukrainian forces had started to reclaim the city was based on information from two US defence officials claiming images and media reports showed the Ukrainian flag draped from city hall.
02:38 AM
Ukraine to build temporary housing for displaced citizens
Ukraine will build temporary housing for its displaced citizens, The Kyiv Independent reports.
“Once we achieve peace, we will begin immediate large-scale reconstruction of our country. But now people need a temporary home,” the newspaper quotes President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying.
⚡️Ukraine to build temporary housing for internally displaced people.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a recent address that the government was tasked with constructing temporary housing for Ukrainians evacuated from the hot spots of Russia’s war.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 25, 2022
