Authorities fear some 300 may have died in a Russian strike on a theatre sheltering civilians, as the US and the EU mount pressure on Moscow by announcing a drive to wean Europe off Russian gas imports.
Friday, March 25, 2022
Russia: First phase of operation mostly complete
Russia has said the first phase of its Ukraine operation is mostly complete and that it would focus on completely “liberating” eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region.
The announcement appeared to indicate Russia may be switching to more limited goals after running into fierce resistance.
The defence ministry said Russian-backed separatists now controlled 93 percent of Ukraine’s Luhansk region and 54 percent of the Donetsk region — the two areas that jointly make up the Donbass.
The combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been considerably reduced, which…makes it possible to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbass
Moscow, Kiev making little progress on key issues
Russia and Ukraine are coming closer to an understanding on secondary issues at peace talks but there has been limited progress on the key questions, Moscow’s negotiator Vladimir Medinsky has said.
“On minor issues, positions are drawing closer now, but on major political issues we are actually marking time,” Medinsky told reporters, Russian news agencies reported.
He said Russia is seeking a comprehensive deal on a whole range of issues, without which an agreement is unlikely.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said the “negotiation process is very difficult” and vowed not to back down on its demands. “We insist, first of all, on a ceasefire, security guarantees, and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
UN: Dozens of Ukrainian officials, journalists detained
Dozens of Ukrainian officials, journalists and activists have been detained or forcibly disappeared by Russian forces, the UN has said, warning that some cases resembled “hostage-taking”.
The United Nations rights office said it had documented the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of 22 local Ukrainian officials, 13 of whom had subsequently been released.
“This does seem to be a pattern that is occurring in areas that are occupied by the Russian Federation,” said Matilda Bogner, who is the UN rights office’s representative in Ukraine. “Forces of the Russian Federation are going specifically to detain, and do not inform relatives and others where they are taking people.”
Neutral Swiss adopt more EU sanctions against Russia
The Swiss government has adopted more European Union sanctions against Russia for its attacks on Ukraine, the cabinet has said.
“This means that all measures contained in the EU’s fourth package of sanctions have been implemented,” it said in a statement.
The statement added the government has decided not to implement the EU measure of March 1 suspending the broadcasting of Russian media outlets Sputnik and Russia Today.
Minister: Brazil opposed to ejecting Russia from G20
Brazil is “clearly opposed” to barring Russia from the G20, the foreign minister has said, as the US led a push to exclude Moscow from the group over its assault on Ukraine.
“We’ve seen initiatives emerge in various international organisations…to expel or suspend Russia. Brazil is clearly opposed to those initiatives, in line with our traditional position in favour of multilateralism and international law,” Foreign Minister Carlos Franca told a Senate session.
Russia issues fresh warning over rouble row
Russia’s foreign ministry has warned of global bankruptcies should countries refuse to pay for its gas exports in roubles, the RIA news agency has reported.
The ministry also said a Russian exit from the World Trade Organization (WTO) would be counter-productive.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Gazprom to accept payment in roubles for its natural gas exports to Europe and the gas behemoth has four days left to work out how to move over billions of dollars in sales, the Kremlin said.
France summons Russian envoy over embassy Twitter cartoon
Russia’s ambassador to France has been summoned to the French Foreign Ministry over an earlier embassy Twitter post that Paris deemed unacceptable, the foreign ministry has said.
The Russian Embassy in Paris had posted a picture depicting a body lying on a table called “Europe” with characters representing the United States and European Union jabbing needles into it.
“These posts are unacceptable. We made that clear today to the Russian Ambassador,” the ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters news agency.
“We are trying to maintain a demanding channel of dialogue with Russia and these actions are completely inappropriate.”
Russian ambassador sues Italian daily over Putin article
The Russian ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, has said he is suing Italian newspaper La Stampa over an article that had raised the possibility of killing President Vladimir Putin.
“Needless to say that this goes against the rules of journalism and morality,” Razov told reporters in front of the prosecutor’s office in Rome after he had deposited the suit.
On March 22, La Stampa published an analysis headlined “If killing the tyrant is the only option”. The piece said if all other options failed to halt Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, the only solution might be for someone to kill the president.
Ukraine region cuts rail links with Belarus
Ukraine’s northern Rivne region has suspended its rail links with Russia-allied Belarus to prevent supplies reaching Russian forces in Ukraine, Governor Vitaly Koval has said.
“This means that Russia will no longer be able to deliver military equipment and supplies to the occupiers through the Belarusian railways,” he said in an online statement.
China’s Sinopec ‘pauses’ Russia projects
China’s state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters news agency.
The move by Asia’s biggest oil refiner to hit the brakes on a potentially half-billion-dollar investment in a gas chemical plant and a venture to market Russian gas in China highlights the risks, even to Russia’s most important diplomatic partner, of unexpectedly heavy Western-led sanctions.
Yellen: US sanctions on China not necessary or appropriate
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said sanctions against China are “not necessary or appropriate” since its support for Russia following the attacks on Ukraine was still unclear.
“I don’t think that that’s necessary or appropriate at this point,” Yellen said in an interview with CNBC, adding that “senior administration officials are talking privately quietly with China to make sure that they understand our position.”
She noted Washington “would be very concerned if they were to supply weapons to Russia. Or to try to evade the sanctions that we’ve put in place on the Russian financial system and the central bank. We don’t see that happening at this point.”
300 feared killed Mariupol theatre bombing
Local officials, citing witness accounts, have said as many as 300 people may have been killed in the bombing of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol on March 16.
The city council made clear it was still not possible to determine the exact death toll after the incident, in which it said a powerful Russian air strike hit the theatre where hundreds of people had been sheltering in the encircled city.
“From witnesses comes information that about 300 people died in the Mariupol Drama Theatre as a result of the bombing by a Russian plane,” Mariupol city council said in a statement. Russia has denied bombing the theatre.
Russian army: 1,351 soldiers killed in Ukraine
The Russian army has updated its losses in Ukraine to 1,351 soldiers. NATO estimates that 7,000-15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in a month of fighting.
At a Moscow briefing, senior military officials gave the first update on Russian deaths in weeks and said 419,736 civilians had been evacuated from Ukraine.
A senior representative of the General Staff, Sergei Rudskoi, said: “We consider a huge mistake the supplies of arms to Kiev by Western countries. That prolongs the operation.”
Biden lands in Poland near Ukraine border
US President Joe Biden has landed in the city of Rzeszow in southeastern Poland — around 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
Biden is due to meet US soldiers stationed in the area and non-governmental organisations helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s attacks.
Ukraine claims another Russian general killed
Kiev has announced that its forces have killed a high-ranking Russian military official, the latest in a series of claims against the leadership of Moscow’s forces.
In a video statement, presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukraine forces had killed the senior Russian military official during fighting in the south of the country, near Kherson.
Ukrainian forces “killed commander of the 49th Russian Southern District Army, General Yakov Ryazantsev, in a strike on Chornobayivka near Kherson,” he said.
UN rights office: 1,081 civilians killed in Ukraine
The UN rights office has confirmed 1,081 civilian deaths and 1,707 injuries in Ukraine since the start of the Russian attacks on February 24, adding that the real toll was likely considerably higher.
UN human rights monitors are working to verify reports of additional deaths in places of intense clashes in the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Donestsk, where the city of Mariupol is located, a statement said.
A month since the Russian attack began, the UN says at least 1,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed.
Reports suggest Russia is threatening people in Mariupol with forcible relocation, and is about to unleash ‘great terror’ to quell the unrest in Kherson pic.twitter.com/1sQeMCno9S
— TRT World (@trtworld) March 25, 2022
Putin accuses West of cancelling Russian culture
President Vladimir Putin has said the West is trying to cancel Russian culture, including the works of great composers such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergei Rachmaninov.
“Today they are trying to cancel a thousand-year-old country — I am talking about the progressive discrimination against everything connected with Russia,” Putin said in televised remarks, mentioning Russian music and literature.
“The last time such a mass campaign to destroy unwanted literature was carried out was by the Nazis in Germany almost 90 years ago.”
Ukraine: Forces repulsed attack on Chernobyl workers’ town
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has said troops have repulsed a first attack by Russian forces on the town of Slavutych, where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live.
Earlier on Friday, local authorities said Slavutych was isolated, with Russian forces just beyond the town’s limits.
Ukraine hopes to agree on humanitarian corridor for Chernihiv
Ukraine hopes to agree on a humanitarian corridor to help people evacuate from Chernihiv on Saturday after local authorities reported the northern city was in effect cut off by Russian forces.
Speaking on television, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said negotiations on creating humanitarian corridors were challenging, with Russia wanting civilians to evacuate to Russian-controlled territory.
Both sides accuse the other of thwarting efforts to help civilians in front-line areas in Ukraine.
UK’s Johnson holds call with Chinese president about Ukraine
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the situation in Ukraine, Johnson’s spokesman has said, as Western leaders call on China to refrain from supporting Russia in its campaign.
“This morning the prime minister has spoken to the president of China on the ongoing situation in Ukraine,” the spokesman said, adding the call lasted about 50 minutes.
US, NATO doing ‘contingency planning’ for possible attack
The United States and its NATO allies are doing contingency planning for any possible Russian attack on NATO territory, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said.
Denmark prepares to take more than 100,000 refugees
Denmark is preparing for a scenario in which more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees arrive to the Nordic nation, immigration and integration minister Mattias Tesfaye has said.
We map day 30 of Russia’s Ukraine onslaught
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shelling of Kharkiv aid centre kills 4 – police
– Chernihiv cut off by
–military unit near Dnipro, casualties expected
–— TRT World (@trtworld) March 25, 2022
White House: US has ‘no intention’ of using chemical weapons
The United States has “no intention” of using chemical weapons under any circumstance even if Russia uses such weapons in Ukraine, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said.
“There will be a severe price if Russia uses chemical weapons. And I won’t go beyond that other than to say the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstance,” he told reporters on board Air Force One.
Kremlin: Biden diverting attention on chemical weapons issue
The Kremlin has accused US President Joe Biden of seeking to divert attention from his country’s chemical and biological weapons programme, after he said Russia could use such weapons in Ukraine.
“We see this as an attempt to divert attention to some kind of ephemeral, allegedly existing threat against the backdrop of a scandal that is flaring up in the world involving chemical and biological weapons programmes that the United States has been carrying out in various countries, including Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russian defence ministry accuses Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, of funding biological weapons labs in Ukraine through his investment fund Rosemont Seneca.
Russian military chaplain ‘killed by rocket’ near border
A Russian military chaplain has been killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack in the southwest near the Ukraine border, the Russian Orthodox Church has said.
Oleg Artyomov was serving in the village of Zhuravlyovka in Russia’s Belgorod region on Thursday when he “came under shelling from a Ukrainian Smerch (rocket launcher) and died”, the Moscow Patriarchate’s military department said on social media.
Artyomov, a Cossack, was an assistant commander for serving believers in a military unit. This is the first publicly reported death on Russian soil from Ukrainian shelling since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Russia denies breaching international law
Russia says it has “never” violated international law, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of using phosphorus bombs in his country.
“Russia has never violated international conventions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring any further questions to the defence ministry. He did not provide any details.
International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus shells in heavily populated civilian areas, although it allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops.
Kremlin says Russia’s exclusion from G20 not ‘fatal’
The Kremlin has said Russia’s exclusion from the G20 grouping of major economies — sought by US President Joe Biden over its military action in Ukraine — would not be “fatal”.
“As far as the G20 format is concerned, it’s important,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “But in the current situation, when most of the participants in this format are in a state of economic war with us, nothing fatal will happen.”
Reports say that children and women fleeing the conflict in Ukraine are highly vulnerable to human trafficking, exploitation and insecurity pic.twitter.com/EdV52ZUZ0b
— TRT World (@trtworld) March 25, 2022
Russia is facing ‘total war’ from West – Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia is facing total war declared by the West.
Lavrov said at a meeting that “a real hybrid war, total war was declared on us.” He said the goal was “to destroy, break, annihilate, strangle the Russian economy, and Russia on the whole.”
During the first month of what Russia describes as a “special military operation” in Ukraine, the West imposed tough measures targeting Russia’s economy and financial system as well as President Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs.
Despite that, Lavrov said Russia was not isolated.
UN: Evidence growing of Mariupol mass graves
The head of the UN human rights team in Ukraine said that monitors had received increasing information on mass graves in the encircled city of Mariupol, Ukraine, including one that appeared to hold 200 bodies.
“We have got increasing information on mass graves that are there,” Matilda Bogner told journalists by video link from Ukraine, saying some of the evidence came from satellite images.
Bogner said that civilian deaths in Ukraine exceeded 1,035, adding that the UN team was probing what appeared to be indiscriminate attacks by both sides in the conflict.
Kremlin: Gazprom is working on rouble settlements for gas exports
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian energy giant Gazprom to accept payments for its natural gas exports in roubles and it must work out how that can be done in the next four days, the Kremlin said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, Novatek, had not been given such instructions.
Putin on Wednesday said Russia would seek payment in roubles for gas sold to “unfriendly” countries after the United States and European allies teamed up to impose sanctions on Russia aimed at forcing its withdrawal from Ukraine.
Russian forces “partially” created a land corridor to Crimea
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said Russian forces had managed partially to create a land corridor to Crimea from territory in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
“The enemy was partially successful in creating a land corridor between the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and part of Donetsk region,” it said in an online post.
UN Human Rights senior official says team is looking into allegations that civilians have been forcibly moved from Mariupol to Russia pic.twitter.com/1d8RYZsGPI
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 25, 2022
US, EU announce new partnership to undercut Russian energy
The United States and European Union have announced a new partnership to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian energy, a step top officials characterised as the start of a years-long initiative to further isolate Moscow after its offensive on Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses energy to “coerce and manipulate his neighbours” and uses the profits from its sale to “drive his war machine.”
Biden said the partnership he announced jointly with a top European Union official will turn that dynamic on its head by reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian energy sources, as well as the continent’s demand for gas overall.
Erdogan: NATO cornerstone of European security
Türkiye’s President has stressed the importance of NATO for the security of Europe amid Russia’s offensive on Ukraine.
“NATO is the cornerstone of European security. We have seen this very clearly. Türkiye is an indispensable ally for ensuring regional security,” Erdogan told reporters during his return flight from Brussels where he attended an extraordinary NATO summit on Thursday.
Erdogan said he will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, and may hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this weekend or early next week to assess results of Thursday’s NATO summit.
Hungary rejects Zelenskyy’s appeal for weapons
Hungary’s prime minister rejected an emotional appeal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to supply Ukraine with weapons and support sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted to social media that Zelenskyy’s requests were “against Hungary’s interests,” and that sanctions on Russian energy “would mean that the Hungarian economy would slow down and then stop within moments.”
The rejection came after Zelenskyy on Thursday addressed a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels where he specifically addressed Orban, who is widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU.
Russian strikes kill four at Kharkiv medical facility: police
Russian strikes killed four civilians and wounded several others while targeting a medical facility in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.
“This morning, following a bombardment on civilian infrastructure from several rocket launchers, seven civilians were injured, four of them died,” said police in the eastern city near Russia’s border.
The strikes targeted a medical centre in the Osnovyansky district of the city, police said.
Germany moves to wean itself off Russian energy
Germany said it was drastically slashing its energy purchases from Russia amid Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, with oil imports to be halved by June and coal deliveries to end by the autumn.
“In recent weeks, together with all relevant players, we have made intensive efforts to import less fossil energy from Russia and broaden out our supply base,” said Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
“The first important milestones have been reached to free us from the grip of Russian imports,” he added.
Before Moscow’s offensive, a third of Germany’s oil imports, 45 percent of its coal purchases and 55 percent of gas imports came from Russia.
“I know that eliminating Russian gas will have cost for Europe, but it is not only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint, but it’s going to put us on a much stronger strategic footing,” US President Biden says pic.twitter.com/L6ZKxsWsoP
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 25, 2022
Russia destroys largest military fuel storage site in Ukraine
Russia said it had destroyed the largest remaining military fuel storage site in Ukraine, hitting it with the Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles.
“On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kiev,” the Russian defence ministry said.
Ukraine accuses Moscow of forcibly removing civilians to Russia
Ukraine has accused Moscow of forcibly removing hundreds of thousands of civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia to pressure Kiev to give up, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his country to keep up its military defence and not stop “even for a minute.”
Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s ombudsperson, said 402,000 people, including 84,000 children, had been taken against their will into Russia, where some may be used as “hostages” to pressure Kiev to surrender.
The Kremlin gave nearly identical numbers for those who have been relocated, but said they were from predominantly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and wanted to go to Russia.
Missiles hit Ukrainian military unit near Dnipro
Rescuers were searching for survivors among the debris after two missiles hit a Ukrainian military unit on the outskirts of the city of Dnipro, causing “serious destruction”, regional governor Valentyn Reznychenko said on social media.
UK: Ukraine has re-occupied towns 35km east of Kiev
Ukraine has re-occupied towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometres east of Kiev, helped by Russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, Britain’s defence ministry said.
Russian ex-president: Western sanctions won’t sway Kremlin
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 said.
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.
Ukraine hopes to open safe corridor from Mariupol
Ukraine hopes to open a safe corridor to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol in private vehicles, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Russia accuses Ukrainian nationalists of using civilians as human shields while not letting them leave the country. Our correspondent reports from Moscow pic.twitter.com/q7XbYvCAvp
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 25, 2022
Biden to visit near Ukraine border in show of solidarity
US President Joe Biden will travel to a town near the Polish-Ukrainian border, trying to signal Western resolve against a Russian offensive that has entered into its second month.
Air Force One will jet into the eastern Polish town of Rzeszow – bringing the US president less than 80 kilometres (50 miles) from a nation still struggling to repel Russian attacks.
The trip is designed to underscore Washington’s willingness to defend NATO allies, as fears rise that the month-old conflict in Ukraine could spill westward sparking what the US president has called “World War III.”
Biden plans gas shipments to Europe to cut Russian leverage
Biden is expected to announce increased shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe, part of a long-term initiative to wean the continent off Russian energy after the offensive in Ukraine.
He plans to discuss the issue with Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Union’s executive arm, shortly before leaving for Poland, the final leg of his four-day trip.
Earlier this week, Von der Leyen said “we are aiming at having a commitment for additional supplies for the next two winters.” And Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, recently told reporters that the administration wants to quickly “surge” gas to Europe.
Zelenskyy: Over 2,000 Ukrainian children abducted
Ukraine’s president said that more than 2,000 children have been kidnapped since the start of Russia’s offensive against his country.
“We do not know the whereabouts of our children,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the European Council summit, which he attended virtually.
Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of firing on humanitarian aid convoys and targeting women and children in evacuation corridors.
Russia more of a burden to China after Ukraine conflict – Pentagon official
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has made it more of a strategic burden on China, a senior Pentagon official said.
“I do think that there’s a degree to which what Putin has done in Ukraine makes Russia much more of a strategic burden for Beijing than it was six weeks ago or six months ago,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said.
In February, China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership, backing each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.
Russia claims US president’s son involved in financing Ukrainian biolabs
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Hunter Biden, the son of the US president, was directly involved in financing biological laboratories in Ukraine.
Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force, presented documents at a news conference in Moscow, allegedly of Ukrainian and US origin, seized in battles in Ukraine.
They showed the Rosemont Seneca Partners investment fund, chaired by Hunter Biden, sponsored a military biological program in Ukraine.
United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution demanding aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/VGNDkCLpD6
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 25, 2022
Zelenskyy asks EU leaders for quick membership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked EU leaders for working together to support Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia, including Germany’s decision to block Russia from delivering natural gas to Europe through the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
But he lamented that these steps weren’t taken earlier, saying there was a chance Russia would have thought twice about its offensive. He then appealed to the EU leaders, who had gathered in Brussels, to move quickly on Ukraine’s application to join the bloc.
He then listed the 27 member countries, noting those he said were “for us.” He appealed to Germany and particularly to Hungary not to block Ukraine’s bid. “Listen, Viktor, do you know what is happening in Mariupol?” Zelenskyy said, addressing Hungarian President Viktor Orban. “I want to be open once and for all — you should decide for yourself, who you are for.”
Orban is widely considered to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally among EU leaders.
US President Joe Biden says he believes that either Russia should be removed from the G20 or that Ukraine should be able to attend the meetings pic.twitter.com/ifzlwLSIOM
— TRT World (@trtworld) March 24, 2022
Zelenskyy: Ukraine held back all main directions of Russian attacks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has marked one month since the beginning of the Russian offensive in an optimistic air, smiling throughout a short video addressed to the Ukrainian people.
Zelenskyy quipped that Russia would have not gone into Ukraine had it known what was waiting for it as the Ukrainian people have been able to stall or hold back most Russian assaults across the frontline.
“The 30th day. If Russia knew such was waiting for it here, I am sure it would have been afraid to come here. In this month we have held back all the main directions of the Russian attacks.”
Türkiye’s President Erdogan speaks after NATO summit:
– Our main aim is to bring Zelenskyy and Putin together for talks
– Territorial issues continue to create differences between the two nations
– We’re ready and prepared for role as a mediator pic.twitter.com/S1dHDEtUIx— TRT World (@trtworld) March 24, 2022
EU leaders dismiss Putin’s rouble payments threat
President Vladimir Putin’s threat to have “unfriendly” countries pay for Russian natural gas exports only in roubles from now on has got the not-so-friendly treatment from European Union nations.
Several EU leaders have come out saying it would be a gross violation of their contracts. From German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, they said they would not meet such demands.
The Russian threat is potent since the EU imports 90 percent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 percent of EU gas.
For live updates from Thursday (March 24), click here
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Live blog: Russia claims its focus will now be on ‘liberating’ Donbass
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
