A total of 3.343 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Thursday, a senior official said, down from the 4.554 who managed to escape the previous day, Reuters reported.
Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereschuk said in an online post that 2.717 people had left the besieged city of Mariupol. She accused the Russians of blocking humanitarian aid convoys in the city for the past three days.
The leader of one of the two pro-Russian separatist republics in eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, announced today that he arrived in Mariupol, a city that has been under siege by the Russian army for weeks, to oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid to civilians.
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US President Joe Biden said he supports the exclusion of Russia from the G20, a group of developed and rapidly developing countries, but admitted that the decision depends on the members of the international body.
"I raised the issue today, but the decision depends on the G20. And if Indonesia (the current chairman of the G20) and other countries do not agree, then we should ask that Ukraine can attend the meetings of the G20, the group of 20 major world economies," said Biden.
The members of the G7 announced that they will "spare no effort" to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "accounted for" for the invasion of Ukraine, also warning that they will not hesitate to introduce new sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin counted on the division of NATO by launching an invasion of Ukraine, but the Atlantic Alliance "has never been more united than it is today", US President Joe Biden said in Brussels, reports Beta.
Putin "didn't think we could keep this unity. NATO has never, never been more united than it is today. Putin got exactly the opposite of what he wanted by attacking Ukraine," Biden said today after the NATO and G7 summit in Brussels, which attended.
He promised a "response" from the Alliance if Russia uses chemical weapons in the war in Ukraine.
"Responsible if resorted to. The nature of the response will depend on the nature of the use," Biden said.
The US president expressed hope that China will not help Russia cushion the impact of Western sanctions, saying that China's economic future is more tied to the West than to its Russian neighbor.
"I think China understands that its economic future depends much more on its relations with the West than with Russia. And I hope that it will not engage" to help Moscow ease the sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Biden said on the sidelines of several summits he is attending. in Brussels.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners, Kiev and Moscow confirmed on Thursday, in what Ukraine said was the first exchange of soldiers since Moscow ordered the army to enter Ukraine a month ago, Radio Free Europe reports.
"Following the order of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the first full exchange of prisoners of war took place," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk wrote on Facebook.
"In exchange for ten captured occupiers, we saved ten of our soldiers," she said, referring to Russian and Ukrainian soldiers.
Vereshchuk also said 11 Russian civilian sailors rescued near the Black Sea port city of Odessa had been exchanged for 19 Ukrainian civilian crew members of a ship held by Moscow.
"I confirm the information about the exchange of ten Russian soldiers detained on Ukrainian territory for ten Ukrainian soldiers. There was also an exchange of Russian civilian sailors for Ukrainian civilian sailors," said Russian human rights ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova.
Russia's foreign ministry said earlier this week that Moscow had completed two prisoner exchanges since it launched its invasion of Ukraine late last month.
Moskalkova said nine Russian prisoners were exchanged for the mayor of Melitopol, a city in southeastern Ukraine that was seized by the Russian army.
Russia cannot blackmail Europe with its energy resources and will not be allowed to circumvent sanctions by demanding rubles for its oil and gas supplies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday, Reuters reports.
"This would be a unilateral decision and a clear violation of the treaty," Von der Leyen said of Russia's request to pay in rubles.
"That would be an attempt to circumvent sanctions. We will not allow our sanctions to be circumvented. The time has passed when energy could be used for blackmail," she said.
Putin said that "enemies" will pay for gas in rubles: Is that possible?
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French President Emmanuel Macron said in an address after the NATO summit that Russia is increasingly isolated on the world stage, reports Radio Free Europe.
He said that it was vital to avoid an escalation of the conflict and that is why NATO made the decision to support Ukraine without waging war against Russia itself.
NATO is also reviewing its strategic positioning as a result of the war, Macron said.
He also added that the Western powers are ready to strengthen sanctions against Russia if necessary.
"These sanctions have an impact and are tangible and we must continue them because of their deterrent effect," Macron said.
Ukraine announced that it destroyed the Orsk, a large Russian landing support ship that was in the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov, Radio Free Europe reports.
The video, which Reuters was able to confirm was taken from inside Berdyansk, shows smoke rising from the dock fire and the flash of an explosion.
Two vessels, one of which appeared to be damaged, were seen on video leaving the dock while a third vessel was on fire.
Russia said on Monday that the ship had docked in Berdyansk, 70 km southwest of the besieged port city of Mariupol.
"Yes, it was destroyed," said Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hana Malyar.
The ship had the capacity to carry 45 armored personnel carriers and 400 people, she said.
As part of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" launched a month ago, Russian forces have seized much of Ukraine's coastline along the Sea of Azov except for Mariupol, which has refused to surrender.
Ukraine said it destroyed the Orsk, a large Russian landing support ship that was in the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov.
The video, which Reuters was able to confirm was taken from inside Berdyansk, shows smoke rising from the dock fire and the flash of an explosion.
Two vessels, one of which appeared to be damaged, were seen on video leaving the dock while a third vessel was on fire.
Russia said on Monday that the ship had docked in Berdyansk, 70 km southwest of the besieged port city of Mariupol.
"Yes, it was destroyed," said Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar.
The ship had the capacity to carry 45 armored personnel carriers and 400 people, she said.
As part of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" launched a month ago, Russian forces have seized much of Ukraine's coastline along the Sea of Azov except for Mariupol, which has refused to surrender.
The General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations (UN), which gathers 193 countries, adopted today with a convincing majority of 140 votes a new resolution that "requires" Russia to "immediately" end the war in Ukraine.
The resolution blames Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and calls for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of millions of civilians and their homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival, AP reports.
At the vote in the General Assembly, which has been sitting since yesterday at the UN headquarters in New York, 140 countries voted in favor, 38 abstained and five voted against, France Press reports.
The text expresses regret for the "severe humanitarian consequences" of Russian aggression, which, as stated, is on a scale not seen in Europe for decades.
It deplores Russia's shelling, airstrikes and "siege" of densely populated cities, including the southern city of Mariupol, and calls for unhindered access to humanitarian aid.
Almost the same number of countries voted for this resolution as in the March 2 vote, which was characterized as "historic" in the General Assembly, when 141 countries approved the first non-binding resolution demanding that Russia immediately stop using force against Ukraine. Five countries, including Russia, were against, and 35 abstained.
Russia condemned today's resolution of the General Assembly as "anti-Russian" and accused those who support it of not being really concerned about the humanitarian situation on the ground, but of wanting to politicize aid.
The Russian resolution on the growing humanitarian needs of Ukraine, but which did not mention the Russian invasion, was not passed in the UN Security Council yesterday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said today that Western powers are ready to step up sanctions on Russia if necessary as they continue to try to isolate Moscow over its war in Ukraine and forced ceasefires, Reuters reports.
"These sanctions have an impact and they are tangible and we need to continue them for their deterrent effect," he said at a press conference after a summit of NATO and G7 leaders.
CNN: Rare insight into meeting of Americans with Russian general in Moscow
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Switzerland has frozen Russian assets worth 5,75 billion Swiss francs (5,62 billion euros) since the start of its invasion of Ukraine, a senior economy ministry official said today.
This amount includes the value of real estate in the tourist areas of Switzerland, Ambassador Erwin Bolinger, who is in the State Secretariat for Economy, said in a conversation with journalists.
The amount will probably increase as information reaches the Ministry of Economy, he said.
On February 28, Switzerland aligned itself with European Union sanctions despite its traditional neutrality. Since then, banks have been obliged to indicate to the Ministry of Economy persons, companies or entities that are the target of sanctions.
The funds are blocked but not confiscated, the frozen property remains the property of the given person until there is no legal basis for its confiscation in Switzerland, Bollinger said, according to the Swiss agency ATS.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today that the alliance is strengthening its defenses against chemical and nuclear weapons because of concerns that Russia could use such weapons in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg said that at today's summit in Brussels, NATO leaders agreed to send Ukraine equipment for defense against chemical weapons attacks.
"This could include detection, protection and medical support equipment, as well as decontamination and crisis management training," he said.
NATO member states are concerned that Russia's attempt to falsely accuse them of working on chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine is part of Moscow's tactic to create a pretext for using such weapons.
NATO leaders today decided to extend the mandate of the alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, by one year due to the security crisis fueled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Russia is making arrangements for the forced transfer of thousands of civilians to Russia from the besieged port of Mariupol, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today.
The statement said that Russian forces took 6.000 residents of Mariupol to Russian "filtration camps" for sorting with the aim of using them as hostages and exerting more political pressure on Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern about 15.000 people from Mariupol district under Russian control and said that Russian troops are confiscating their personal documents and insisting that they travel to Russia.
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said today that if "NATO peacekeepers come to Ukraine", there is a danger of a third world war, and that in that case Belarus will not stand aside.
"You see that those Poles have gone crazy, they are already proposing, they invited him (US President Joseph Biden) across the ocean, and now they are telling him to create a peacekeeping force of 100.000 people and bring them into Ukraine via Lviv. You understand that it's the third world war. And what do you think, that Belarus will remain on the sidelines and be so refined?" Lukashenko said, reports the Belta agency.
Poland called for the introduction of NATO peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, which Prime Minister Jaroslav Kaczynski spoke about on March 16.
Ukraine needs unlimited military aid because Russia is using its entire arsenal in the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address at today's NATO summit, reports Beta.
Zelensky called on NATO to provide Ukraine with one percent of all its planes and one percent of all its tanks in order to "provide 100 percent security for Ukraine and itself."
He said he also "desperately needs missile systems, anti-ship weapons and air defense systems" and asked the leaders if it was possible to survive the war against Russia without the said equipment.
Zelensky said that Russia used phosphorus bombs this morning in attacks that killed both adults and children, recalling that thousands of Ukrainians died in the last month and 10 million people left their homes.
"I feel like we are in a gray zone, between the West and Russia, defending our common values. This is the most terrible thing during a war, not having clear answers to requests for help," he said.
Zelensky did not repeat his request to establish a no-fly zone or ask for Ukraine to join NATO.
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