- US says Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that foreign buyers pay for Russian gas in rubles is a sign of “desperation”.
- Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will resume online on Friday.
- Washington has announced plans to release an “unprecedented” amount of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve.
- Italy and Germany say they agree on the importance of sanctions against Russia.
- Ukraine says “there are no more outsiders” at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Here are all the latest updates:
Russia prepares for ‘powerful strikes’ in Donbas: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said Russian troops were planning “powerful attacks” in the eastern Donbas region.
“In Donbas, in Mariupol and in the direction of Kharkiv, Russian forces are gathering resources for powerful attacks. “We will defend, we will do everything possible to stop the occupiers and clear our territory of their evil and senseless crimes,” he said.
Russia redeployed forces from Georgia to Ukraine, UK says
The British Ministry of Defense said Russia was redeploying forces from Georgia to help with its war in Ukraine, a move that he said highlighted Moscow’s “unexpected losses” in the invasion.
“Between 1,200 and 2,000 of these Russian troops are being reorganized into 3x Battalion Tactical Groups,” the Ministry of Defense said in a Twitter post.
“It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements in this way and this is an indication of the unexpected losses it suffered during the invasion.”
Latest Defense Intelligence Update on the Situation in Ukraine – 31 March 2022
Find out more about the UK Government’s response: https://t.co/SV5bl19zq3
🇺🇦 #Stand With Ukraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/e1x4jsAZnx
– Ministry of Defense @ (@DefenceHQ) 31 March 2022
Russian forces take Ukrainian troops hostage from Chernobyl: Kiev
Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom says Russian forces took Ukrainian troops hostage with them as they left the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
“As they ran away from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Russian occupiers took members of the National Guard, who had been holding them hostage since February 24, with them,” Energoatom said in a statement on Telegram, referring to construction workers.
It was unclear how many Ukrainian conscripts were taken away.
“There will be fighting ahead,” said Zelenskyy of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in the country’s south and Donbas region remained extremely difficult and reiterated that Russia was building up forces near the besieged city of Mariupol.
“There will be fights ahead. We still have a long way to go to get everything we want, ”he said in a late-night video speech.
US renews warnings for Americans to leave Russia and Ukraine
The US State Department has issued renewed warnings to US citizens in Russia and Ukraine to leave the countries immediately.
“We warn U.S. citizens that the Russian government’s security officials in both Russia and Ukraine may single out U.S. citizens on the basis of their nationality,” spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday.
Earlier this week, an update of Russia’s official travel advice to Russia said: “Russian security services have arrested US citizens on false charges, singled out US citizens in Russia for detention and / or harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them. found in secret hearings and / or without presenting credible evidence. ”
US military aid is already arriving in Ukraine, says Pentagon
An initial half-dozen shipments of U.S. weapons and other security aid reached Ukraine as part of the $ 800 million aid package Biden approved on March 16, the Department of Defense said.
Spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that shipments include Javelin tank weapons, Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, body weapons, medical supplies and other materials.
Kirby said the $ 800 million aid is likely to be delivered in full within about two weeks. It also includes Mi-17 helicopters, handguns, ammunition, vehicles, secure communications systems and satellite imagery and analytics capabilities.
Russian troops have left Chernobyl, Ukraine says
Russian troops have left Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) after weeks of occupation, officials in Kiev said.
“There are no longer any outsiders in the area of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,” the Ukrainian state agency in charge of the Chernobyl exclusion zone said on Facebook.
The UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, also confirmed that it had been informed by Ukraine that Russian forces had handed over control of the power plant and “moved convoys of troops”.
The agency said it would send the “first assistance and support mission to the Chornobyl NPP in the next few days”.
#Ukraine IAEA informed today that Russian forces in charge of #Chornobyl Nuclear power plants have transferred written control of the NPP to Ukrainian personnel since February 24 and moved convoy troops. https://t.co/DkBXEJpDu8 pic.twitter.com/guITblxwXP
– IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) 31 March 2022
Italy and Germany say they agree on the importance of sanctions against Russia
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed on a phone call about the importance of maintaining sanctions against Russia, which “proved very effective”, Draghi’s office said.
The phone call between the two leaders comes after Putin threatened to suspend contracts that provide Europe with a third of its gas unless it is paid for in Russian currency.
US says Russia’s demand for rubles for gas is a sign of ‘desperation’
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that foreign buyers pay for Russian gas in rubles is a sign of Moscow’s economic and financial “desperation”, said Ned Price, spokesman for the US State Department.
European nations, some of which rely heavily on Russian gas, have rejected the request, with the German government saying it amounts to “extortion”.
“I think fundamentally it’s just another indication of the dire need in Russia’s economy,” Price told reporters at a news conference, adding that it was up to countries in Europe to determine their response.
US to add more entities in Russia, Belarus to sanctions list
The US Department of Commerce will impose further sanctions on Russia’s defense, aviation and maritime sectors in the coming days, adding 120 entities from Russia and Belarus to its blacklist, the White House said.
That would bring the number of Russian and Belarusian parties added to the list to more than 200 since the invasion of Ukraine began, spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield told a news conference.
Ukrainian war should not prevent revival of Iran deal, US analysts say
Opponents of the Iran nuclear deal have added Russia’s involvement in talks to revive the multilateral pact to their long list of grievances against the deal, as Russian forces continue their offensive in Ukraine.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
Read more here.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Read all the updates from Thursday 31 March here.
