Latest news about Russia and the war in Ukraine

Asked about Russia’s response to Western sanctions on oil and gas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has other buyers for its fuel.

Quoting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the Russian energy sector, Lavrov told reporters: “We will not try to persuade [the West] To buy oil and gas from us. If they want to replace it that’s okay – we have our sales market elsewhere. “

Lavrov was speaking at a news conference in Antalya, Turkey, after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

– Chloe Taylor

Nintendo says so Suspension of shipments to Russia “For the foreseeable future,” becoming the latest big brand to join the growing corporate boycott of the country over the Ukraine war.

The Japanese video game giant said it can no longer sell its Switch consoles and other products in Russia due to logistical challenges in shipping its products there.

Nintendo has also decided to postpone the release of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, a military-themed strategy game, “in light of recent world events.”

It comes after Sony’s PlayStation division said it has halted all sales of products in Russia.

– Ryan Brown

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Putin does not refuse to meet with Zelensky, but for that to happen, we need to do some preliminary work,” Lavrov told a news briefing after talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in the Turkish city of Antalya.

– Chloe Taylor

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a press conference that no progress was made towards achieving a ceasefire in negotiations with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday.

The two ministers met in the Turkish city of Antalya on Thursday for talks on the conflict in Ukraine, in their first meeting since Russia’s invasion of the country on Feb. 24.

– Chloe Taylor

Among them is billionaire Roman Abramovich, the outgoing owner of the Chelsea football team Britain will impose sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs on Thursday.

The list of new UK government sanctions includes other members of Putin’s inner circle, such as Oleg Deripaska, Dmitry Lebedev and Igor Sechin.

The seven men will see all their possessions frozen and their travel will be restricted.

– Karen Gilchrist

More than 2.3 million people have fled the conflict in Ukraine as of March 10, the International Organization for Migration said on Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration – an organization affiliated with the United Nations – said that more than 112,000 of the people who left Ukraine are third-country nationals.

– Chloe Taylor

It was a huge Russian military convoy Heading to Kyiv for more than a week Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that little progress had been made in reaching the capital.

In its daily intelligence update, the ministry added that the convoy suffered losses at the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Meanwhile, recent days have seen a marked decrease in overall Russian air activity over Ukraine, British officials said, noting that this is “likely due to the unexpected effectiveness and endurance of the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces”.

The UK has also confirmed that Russia has deployed conscripted soldiers to Ukraine, despite public assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin that conscripted personnel will not be sent into the country.

“With increasing losses, President Putin will have to use the Russian armed forces and other sources to make up for his losses,” the intelligence update read.

– Chloe Taylor

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry released footage of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arriving in Turkey, where he will take part in talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the resort of Antalya.

– Chloe Taylor

Russia said Thursday that it will no longer participate in the Council of Europe, claiming that the European Union and NATO are abusing their absolute majority in the group to create a platform for “Western supremacy and narcissism”.

The Council of Europe describes itself as the continent’s leading human rights organization. The organization is made up of 47 countries, including all 27 member states of the European Union. The majority of NATO member states are also members of the Council of Europe.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it would stop participating in the council, claiming that the EU and NATO would continue the “line of destruction of the Council of Europe and the common humanitarian legal space in Europe.” censored news agency I mentioned tas.

“Let them enjoy communicating with each other without Russia,” the ministry said.

– Chloe Taylor

Oil prices traded at higher levels on Thursday morning, and settled at higher levels after heavy selling in the previous session.

The international benchmark Brent crude futures contracts were Last seen trading At $116.86 a barrel, up about 4.8%, while US West Texas Intermediate futures settled at $112.61, up nearly 3.5%.

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it would call on other members of OPEC+, an influential energy alliance, to increase production given the sanctions imposed on Russian oil over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei has since sought to soften that message, however, saying via Twitter that the country remains committed to the OPEC+ agreement.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday. Brent crude futures closed down 13% at $111.14, marking the biggest one-day drop since April 2020. Brent jumped to $139 at the start of the week, the highest level since 2008.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell more than 12% to settle at $108.7 a barrel, marking their worst day since November 26. West Texas Intermediate crude briefly crossed $130 a barrel to hit a 13-year high earlier in the week.

– Sam Meredith

Japanese tech giant Hitachi said Thursday it will suspend exports to Russia and temporarily halt all manufacturing activities within the country “for the time being.”

Products, services and support for electric power equipment “indispensable to people’s daily life” in Russia will be exempted from the suspension, however.

Hitachi said the Russian market’s revenue represented about 0.5% of its projected consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2022.

– Chloe Taylor

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Verychuk said there will be seven ways to evacuate civilians on Thursday.

Six of the roads will transport civilians fleeing heavy fighting in Trostantiens, Krasnopil, Sumy, Mariupol, Volnovaka and Izyum to other parts of the country, while the other will transport people from the outskirts of Kyiv to the city centre.

Several attempts to evacuate civilians have stalled in recent days, with Ukrainian authorities accusing Russian forces of violating ceasefire agreements, attacking agreed evacuation routes, and only allowing civilians to flee to Russia.

– Chloe Taylor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call for Western allies to create a no-fly zone over the country, saying any further delay would be “too late” to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

“We’re talking about closing the sky. You can’t decide to close or not to close, you can’t decide,” Zelensky said. In an interview with Sky News.

“do not wait [for] Many times, a million times, I ask you to shut the sky. No, you have to call us … our people who lost their children and say: “Sorry we didn’t do that yesterday, a week ago. We didn’t push Putin, we didn’t talk to him much, we didn’t find dialogue with him. We didn’t do anything. ”

“It’s true. Yesterday the world did nothing. I’m sorry but it’s true,” Zelensky said, calling on policymakers to move faster to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

“Close the sky and stop the bombing,” he said.

When asked about the West’s fears that a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation with Russia, making the situation worse, Zelensky replied: “So, it would be worse for whom? For our families? No, for whom? For them? No, who knows? No Nobody knows. But we know that exactly right now is too bad. And in the future, it will be too late.”

– Sam Meredith

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday for talks.

The two ministers will hold two separate press conferences after the meeting.

– Chloe Taylor

The International Monetary Fund has Approved 1.4 billion dollars In emergency funding to support the Ukrainian economy, referring to the devastating humanitarian crisis and destruction of infrastructure as a result of the Russian invasion.

It is estimated that more than two million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian offensive began two weeks ago.

“The Russian military invasion of Ukraine was responsible for a massive humanitarian and economic crisis,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.

“The tragic loss of life, massive influxes of refugees and massive destruction of infrastructure and production capacity are causing severe human suffering and will lead to a deep recession this year. Funding needs are large and urgent and could rise dramatically as the war continues,” she added.

Earlier this week, the World Bank agreed A set of grants and loans totaling $723 million to Ukraine.

– Sam Meredith