Ukraine gathered its dead and collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv, as the two sides geared up Wednesday for what could become a climactic battle by Moscow's forces to seize the country's industrial east. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow is now marshaling reinforcements and trying to push deep into the country's east, where the Kremlin has said its goal is to “liberate” the Donbas, Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking industrial heartland. All times are Paris time [GMT+2].
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5:30 am: Senate to vote on revoking Russia's trade status, oil ban
The US Senate will take up legislation Thursday to end normal trade relations with Russia and to ban the importation of its oil. Both bills have been bogged down in the Senate, frustrating lawmakers who want to ratchet up the US response to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to be held accountable for what Schumer said were war crimes against Ukraine.
The trade suspension measure paves the way for US President Joe Biden to enact higher tariffs on certain Russian imports. The bill banning Russian oil would codify restrictions Biden has already put in place through executive action.
5:20 am: Mariupol's dead estimated at 5,000 as Ukraine braces for more attacks in the east
The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol estimated the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000 Wednesday, as Ukraine collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv and braced for what could become a climactic battle for control of the country's industrial east.
Ukrainian authorities continued gathering up the dead in shattered towns outside the capital amid telltale signs that Moscow's troops killed civilians indiscriminately before retreating over the past several days.
5:05 am: UN to vote Thursday on suspending Russia from rights council
The UN General Assembly will vote Thursday on whether to suspend Russia from the UN’s premier human rights body. The move was initiated by the United States in response to the discovery of hundreds of bodies after Russian troops withdrew from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, sparking calls for its forces to be tried for war crimes.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the call for Russia to be stripped of its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in the wake of videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians. The videos and reporting from the town have sparked global revulsion and calls for tougher sanctions on Russia, which has vehemently denied responsibility.
“We believe that the members of the Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine, and we believe that Russia needs to be held accountable,” Thomas-Greenfield said Monday. “Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce.”
3:50 am: Russia says US sanctions on its banks are a blow to ordinary people
US sanctions against two of Russia's largest banks are "a direct blow to the Russian population (and) ordinary citizens", Tass news agency cited Russia's US ambassador as saying on Wednesday.
Anatoly Antonov made his remarks after Washington – seeking to punish Moscow for the Ukraine invasion – hit Sberbank SBER.MM, which holds a third of Russia's total banking assets, and Alfabank, the fourth largest financial institution.
11:40 pm: 'Small number' of Ukrainian soldiers get drone training in US
Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the United States to operate the deadly Switchblade drones that Washington is supplying to Kyiv, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.
Defence Department spokesman John Kirby said it was a "very small" number of Ukrainian troops who were already present in the US before Russia invaded their country.
"We took the opportunity, having them still in the country, to give them a couple of days' worth of training on the Switchblades, so they can go back...to train others in the Ukrainian military," said Kirby.
He said the 100 drones, which are essentially remotely controlled flying bombs which are crashed into targets where they explode, have been sent to Ukraine to bolster the military's fight against Russian troops.
"They arrived over there earlier this week. So they'll be getting into Ukraine quickly if they aren't already there," Kirby said, adding that the number of Ukrainian trainees was less than a dozen.
9:49 pm: Russia hiding 'thousands' killed in Mariupol, says Zelensky
Russia is blocking humanitarian access to the besieged port city of Mariupol because it wants to hide evidence of "thousands" of people killed there, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
However, he expressed confidence that Russia would not succeed in concealing all the evidence.
Zelensky said that Russia had already attempted to conceal evidence of crimes in the town of Bucha outside of Kyiv and several nearby communities, where Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow of carrying out widespread killings of civilians.
9:38 pm: Convoy of more than 1,000 people reaches Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, Red Cross says
An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team has led a convoy of buses and private cars carrying more than 1,000 people to Zaporizhzhia after the civilians fled the besieged Ukrainian town of Mariupol on their own, the ICRC said on Wednesday.
9:22 pm: Ukraine says 4,892 people evacuated from cities
A total of 4,892 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Wednesday, more than the 3,846 who escaped on Tuesday, deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post.
9:09 pm: Macron hits back at Polish PM's criticism of Putin talks
President Emmanuel Macron lashed Poland's Prime Minister during a TV interview after Mateusz Morawiecki criticised the French leader for engaging with the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine, on Wednesday.
"The position was both baseless and scandalous," Macron said after Morawiecki questioned the French leader's record of engaging with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting the Polish leader, backed by a right-wing party, was seeking to empower Macron's right-wing rival Marine Le Pen in France's presidential election.
9:04 pm: Mariupol mayor puts the number of dead at over 5,000
The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol says over 5,000 civilians have been killed during the monthlong Russian blockade.
Vadym Boichenko said Wednesday that 210 of the dead were children. He said the Russian forces bombed hospitals, including one where 50 people burned to death.
Boichenko said that more than 90% of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed by the Russian shelling.
8:45 pm: Pentagon says Ukraine can 'absolutely' win the war
The Pentagon said on Wednesday it assessed that Ukraine could win the war against Russia, even as U.S. officials speak of the risk of a protracted conflict.
"Of course they can win this," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing. "The proof is literally in the outcomes that you're seeing everyday ... absolutely they can win" he said affirming his previous statement.
8:46 pm: Macron says killings in Bucha were 'very probably' war crimes
The alleged killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were "very probably war crimes," said French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview published on Wednesday.
"It was very probably a war crime that was committed there," said Macron.
8:42 pm: US treasury secretary says full ban on Russian oil exports likely to cause 'skyrocketing' prices
Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that sanctions imposing a full ban on Russian oil exports would likely result in "skyrocketing" global prices that would hurt the United States and its democratic allies.
Yellen told the US house financial services committee she hopes oil companies in the United States and elsewhere can ramp up production in the next six moths, enticed by higher prices, which may allow for tougher restrictions on Russian oil.
8:41 pm: Kharkiv governor says Ukraine cannot evacuate residents in Russia-controlled eastern town of Izyum
Ukrainian authorities cannot help people evacuate from the eastern front line town of Izyum or send humanitarian aid because the town is completely under Russian control, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said on Wednesday.
8:26 pm: Canada summons Russian envoy to show Bucha images
Canada summoned Russia's ambassador on Wednesday to show him images of "egregious" killings in Bucha, outside Kyiv, while petitioning the International Criminal Court to expedite a war crimes investigation.
Speaking in Brussels ahead of a NATO meeting, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said she "instructed my deputy minister to summon the Russian ambassador in Ottawa to make sure that he is presented with the images of what happened in Bucha."
8:24 pm: Ukraine braces for new Russian offensive in the east
Ukraine gathered its dead and collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv, as the two sides geared up Wednesday for what could become a climactic battle by Moscow's forces to seize the country's industrial east.
As the US and its Western allies moved to impose new sanctions against the Kremlin over what they branded war crimes, Russia completed the pullout of all of its estimated 24,000 or more troops from the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas in the north, and they have gone into Belarus or Russia to resupply and reorganise, a US defence official speaking on condition of anonymity said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow is now marshaling reinforcements and trying to push deep into Ukraine in the east. “The fate of our land and of our people is being decided. We know what we are fighting for. And we will do everything to win,” he said.
7:48 pm: Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian fuel storage base in the Kharkiv region
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian fuel storage base was destroyed by Russian missiles in the Kharkiv region.
7:43 pm: Ukraine needs new Marshall Plan after Russian invasion says EU Commission
Ukraine will need a reconstruction plan after the war with Russia similar to the one the United States offered to Europe after the Second World War, European budget commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Wednesday.
7:40 pm: Biden denounces 'major war crimes' in Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday denounced the widespread killing of Ukrainian civilians allegedly by Russian troops in Bucha as "war crimes."
"I'm sure you've seen the pictures from Bucha, just outside of Kyiv: bodies left in the streets as Russian troops withdrew, some shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs," Biden said at a labor union event.
"There's nothing less happening than major war crimes," he said.
7:32 pm: Russian share prices hit by new sanctions
Russian stock indexes fell on Wednesday, hit by a new set of Western sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, while the rouble rallied in thin trade to a six-week high.
Equities largely lost ground after the United States announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russian financial institutions, as well as Kremlin officials and their family members. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation" and denies targeting civilians.
7:30 pm: Ukraine says four civilians killed at aid distribution point, east under heavy fire
Russian artillery fire killed at least four people and wounded four others at a humanitarian aid distribution point on Wednesday as Moscow's forces bombarded towns, cities and rail infrastructure in eastern Ukraine, local officials said.
Authorities in the eastern region of Luhansk urged civilians to evacuate "while it is safe", warning that Russian bombardments could cut off escape routes.
6:55 pm: Ukrainian Railways report casualties after rockets hit eastern rail station
State-owned Ukrainian Railways said on Wednesday there were a number of casualties after three rockets hit a rail station in eastern Ukraine, damaging buildings, tracks and rail stock.
"There are casualties," it said in a statement, without providing detail on the number of victims or the location of the attack.
6:36 pm: GSK stops sales of supplement, vitamins to Russia
Britain's GlaxoSmithKline said on Wednesday its consumer arm stopped imports of supplements and vitamins into Russia as the drugmaker seeks to minimise ties with Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
6:28 pm: US training small number of Ukrainians on Switchblade drones
A small number of Ukrainians already in the United States are being trained on how to use Switchblade drones, a senior US defence official said on Wednesday.
6:24 pm: US defence officials assess Russia completed its withdrawal from around Kyiv
The United States assesses that Russia has now completed its withdrawal from around Kyiv and is believed to be refitting and resupplying its troops for an expected redeployment into Ukraine, a senior US defence official said on Wednesday.
6:21 pm: Russia invasion will have 'enormous repercussions' said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
The secretary warned a House panel Wednesday that Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe will have "enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond".
Yellen said Russia's invasion “including the atrocities committed against innocent Ukrainians in Bucha, are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront to the rules-based global order, and will have enormous economic repercussions for the world".
6:17 pm: Sustained bombardment seen in Severodonetsk
Shells and rockets were landing at regular intervals in the industrial city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday according to AFP journalists on site.
Severodonetsk, which had a population of more than 100,000 people before the war, is the easternmost city held by Ukrainian forces on the eastern frontline.
6:14 pm: Moscow says it will take reciprocal steps against UK media after sanctions
Moscow will take reciprocal measures against British media in Russia, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
This comes in the wake of the London imposed sanctions against Russian state-controlled news outlets last week.
6:00 pm: UK follows US, bans Russian coal and freeze assets of Sberbank
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement that Britain froze the assets of Russian banks Sberbank and Credit Bank of Moscow.
The statement also said that the British governement would end all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of 2022. According to the statement, eight more oligarchs will be sanctioned.
5:56 pm: EU fails to approve Russian coal ban over technical issues
European Union diplomats failed to approve on Wednesday new sanctions against Russia proposed by the European Commission, as technical issues needed to be addressed, including on whether a ban on coal would affect existing contracts.
It is unclear how the issue would be resolved. The attending diplomats were optimistic about the possibility of reaching a compromise in a new meeting of EU envoys on Thursday.
5:54 pm: Greece to ramp up coal mining to help cut reliance on gas
Greece will ramp up coal mining in the next two years as a "temporary" measure to help reduce a dependence on gas that has soared since last year and after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.
5:51 pm: Turkey hopes Ukraine, Russia peace talks can continue
Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that civilian killings in Ukraine had made peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv more difficult but that he expected more negotiations, possibly eventually between foreign ministers.
Speaking at NATO before a meeting with his counterparts, Cavusoglu also said the alliance was aware of Ukraine's demands for more weapons and allies were looking to step up help.
5:48 pm: US says Russia sanctions give China 'good understanding' of consequences if it supports Moscow
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday said that the range of sanctions imposed on Russia for its war in Ukraine should give China's leader Xi Jinping a "good understanding" of the consequences China could face if it provides material support to Russia.
5:44 pm: Biden links atrocities in Bucha to new Russia sanctions
President Joe Biden linked the new US sanctions imposed on Russia to the atrocities committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
"I made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities in Bucha," the US president said on Twitter.
5:35 pm: Chanel restricts sales to Russians abroad amid Ukraine war
French Luxury fashion brand Chanel says it has stopped selling its clothes, perfumes and other luxury goods to Russian customers abroad if they plan to take the products back home – a bold response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move comes after the Parisian stalwart had already shuttered its boutiques in Russia, a step many companies across all industries have taken in response to the war. This further step, Chanel says, is simply a case of complying with trade sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, Switzerland and others that prohibit transactions with designated individuals.
5:29 pm: Russia's Sberbank says new US sanctions will not have significant impact
Russia's largest lender Sberbank said on Wednesday new sanctions imposed on it by the United States would not have significant effect on the bank's operations.
4:45 pm: US helping to collect evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
The United States is assisting with international efforts to collect evidence of possible war crimes committed in Ukraine by Russia, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Wednesday.
The US Department of Justice's senior prosecutor met with his French counterpart in Paris this week, Garland said.
4:43 pm: Russia invasion will have 'enormous economic repercussions', Yellen says
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned a House panel Wednesday that Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe will have "enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond".
“Globally, spillovers from the crisis are heightening economic vulnerabilities in many countries that are already facing higher debt burdens and limited policy options as they recover from Covid-19," Yellen said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House Financial Services Committee.
4:42 pm: US sanctions Putin's daughters
The White House announced sanctions Wednesday on two daughters of Vladimir Putin over Moscow's war on Ukraine, saying family members were known to hide the Russian president's wealth.
It also declared "full blocking" sanctions on Russia's largest public and private financial institutions, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, and said all new US investment in Russia was now prohibited.
4:40 pm: 'Ukraine wants to see more anti-aircraft equipment'
At the two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, we can "expect that the Ukrainian foreign minister, who is participating in this meeting, will be asking for urgently needed [extra] assistance from NATO allies," FRANCE 24's Dave Keating reported from Brussels. "In particular, Ukraine wants to see more anti-aircraft equipment; this is equipment that was already promised but has been held up and not delivered."
4:22 pm: US indicts Russian oligarch Malofeyev for sanctions violations
The United States announced on Wednesday that it has indicted Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev for sanctions violations.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Russian billionaire had been previously identified as a source of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea and as providing support for the so-called Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine.
4:03 pm: Moscow says Bucha accusations meant to derail peace talks, justify more sanctions
Russian foreign ministry's spokesperson said on Wednesday that images of dead bodies strewn across the Ukrainian town of Bucha, which Russia claims were staged, were designed to justify more sanctions against Moscow and derail peace talks with Kyiv.
4:02 pm: NATO chief warns Ukraine war could last 'months, even years'
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said there was no sign Russian President Vladimir Putin had dropped "his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine" and the war could last for a long time.
"We have to be realistic and realise that this may last for a long time, for many months, for even years. And that's the reason why we need also to be prepared for the long haul, both when it comes to supporting Ukraine, sustaining sanctions and strengthening our defences," Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
4:01 pm: Turkey detonates stray naval mine in Black Sea
Turkish military diving teams safely detonated a floating naval mine in the Black Sea, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, the third such mine found in its waters since the Ukraine war.
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of laying mines in the Black Sea, and in late March, Turkish and Romanian military diving teams defused stray mines in their waters.
3:58 pm: China calls for probe into Bucha killings but assigns no blame
The Beijing government said images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha are “deeply disturbing” but that no blame should be apportioned until all facts are known, on Wednesday.
China supports all initiatives and measures “conducive to alleviating the humanitarian crisis” in the country, and is “ready to continue to work together with the international community to prevent any harm to civilians,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing.
Emerging evidence of what appeared to be widespread civilian massacres in the wake of Russian withdrawals from the Kyiv region may complicate Beijing’s attempts to guide public opinion over the conflict, as it has refused to criticise Moscow.
3:46 pm: Kyiv tells residents of east Ukraine to evacuate 'now'
The Ukrainian government told residents of the country's eastern regions to evacuate "now" or "risk death" due to a feared Russian attack, on Wednesday.
"The governors of the Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donetsk regions are calling on the population to leave these territories and are doing everything to ensure that the evacuations take place in an organised manner," deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.
3:40 pm: Hungarian PM says he asked Putin to apply ceasefire in Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday he had just spoken at length with Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked him to announce an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
Orban said he had invited Putin for talks in Hungary to be held with the Ukrainian and French presidents as well as the German chancellor. He said Putin's response was "positive" but that the Russian leader said this would carry conditions.
3:20 pm: Hungary PM calls to strengthen alliance with Poland in EU
Hungary's Viktor Orban expressed his desire to strengthen his country’s ties with Poland as it is a strategic alliance within the EU, in conference on Wednesday.
In response to a question about a disciplinary procedure flagged by the European Commission on Tuesday, the PM said Hungary would wait to see the EU's letter, but "will not give in" to pressure to support an expansion of sanctions against Russian oil and gas shipments, as that was a "red line" for his government.
Orban has been criticised multiple times for his support to Russia and Putin’s regime including by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
2:24 pm: Satellite images show Russian denials on Bucha 'not tenable', Germany says
The German government said on Wednesday that satellite images from last month provided strong counterevidence against Russian denials of involvement in civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters that the "evaluation of satellite images" led Berlin to conclude that "Russian declarations" claiming that images of civilian deaths "were posed scenes or that they were not responsible for the murders are in our view not tenable".
2:22 pm: Russia to pay Eurobonds in roubles as long as reserves remain blocked
Russia edged closer to a potential default on its international debt on Wednesday as it paid dollar bondholders in roubles and said it would continue to do so as long as its foreign exchange reserves are blocked by sanctions.
The United States on Monday stopped Russia from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at US banks, saying Moscow had to choose between draining its dollar reserves and default. Russia has not defaulted on its external debt since reneging on payments due after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
2:18 pm: Russian shelling destroys high-rise buildings in eastern Ukraine's Sievierodonetsk
Ten high-rise buildings are on fire in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk after Russian forces shelled the town on Wednesday, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region said in an online post. He said that there was no information yet on any casualties.
Sievierodonetsk is the temporary headquarters of the regional authorities as Luhansk city has been controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014.
1:14 pm: UK's PM calls Bucha killings in Ukraine not 'far short of genocide'
The sight of tied bodies shot at close range in the Ukrainian streets of Bucha do not "look far short of genocide", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.
The deaths in Bucha, outside Kyiv, have triggered a global outcry and pledges of further sanctions against Russia from the West.
"When you look at what's happening in Bucha, the revelations that we are seeing from what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has done in Ukraine, which doesn't look far short of genocide to me, it is no wonder that people are responding in the way that they are," he told reporters.
"And I have no doubt that the international community – Britain very much in the front rank – will be moving again in lockstep to impose more sanctions and more penalties on Vladimir Putin's regime."
1:11 pm: Norway expels three Russian diplomats
Norway has decided to expel from Russia's embassy in Oslo three diplomats who have conducted activities that are incompatible with their diplomatic status, the Norwegian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
"It is not by chance that these expulsions take place now," Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement.
"They come at a time when the world is shocked by reports of Russian forces' crimes against civilians, in particular in the town of Bucha outside Kyiv. In this situation we pay particular attention to unwanted Russian activities in Norway," she said.
1:07 pm: Convoy of more than 500 people reaches Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine
An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team has led a convoy of buses and private cars carrying more than 500 people to Zaporizhzhia after the civilians fled the besieged Ukrainian town of Mariupol on their own, the ICRC said on Wednesday.
"This convoy's arrival to Zaporizhzhia is a huge relief for hundreds of people who have suffered immensely and are now in a safer location. It's clear, though, that thousands more civilians trapped inside Mariupol need safe passage out and aid to come in," Pascal Hundt, the ICRC's head of delegation in Ukraine, said in a statement.
11:17 am: Ukraine's Zelensky says he cannot tolerate 'indecisiveness' on sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could not tolerate any indecisiveness from Western countries on imposing new sanctions on Russia, in an address to Ireland's parliament on Wednesday.
"When we are hearing new rhetoric about sanctions...I can't tolerate any indecisiveness after everything that Russian troops have done," he told a rare joint sitting of both houses of parliament by video link, calling on Ireland to convince its EU partners to introduce more rigid sanctions.
Speaking via an interpreter, Zelensky said Ukraine civilian infrastructure, including a fuel depot, was hit by Russian missiles overnight and accused Moscow of deliberately provoking a food crisis by using hunger as a "weapon".
11:08 am: Ukraine's foreign minister says gas and oil embargo needed to stop Putin
Ukraine's foreign minister welcomed new European Union sanctions planned against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but said an embargo on Russian gas and oil was needed "to stop" President Vladimir Putin.
"I appreciate the strengthening of the fifth EU sanctions package: bans on Russian coal, vessels accessing EU ports, and road transport operators," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. "But it will take a gas/oil embargo and de-SWIFTing of all Russian banks to stop Putin. Difficult times require difficult decisions."
10:41 am: Russia wants to keep diplomatic ties with West despite expulsions
Russia wants to maintain diplomatic relations with Western countries despite a series of expulsions of its diplomats, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Wednesday.
Grushko said European countries disrupting the work of Russian diplomats were damaging their own interests.
10:23 am: Pope, holding Ukrainian flag, condemns 'atrocities, such as the massacre of Bucha'
Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned "the massacre of Bucha' and held up a Ukrainian flag that was sent to him from the town where bound bodies shot at close range, a mass grave and other signs of executions were found.
"Recent news from the war in Ukraine, instead of bringing relief and hope, brought new atrocities, such as the massacre of Bucha," he said at the end of his weekly audience.
"Cruelty that is increasingly horrendous, even against civilians, defenceless women and children. They are victims whose innocent blood cries out up to heaven and implores: 'Stop this war!'" he said.
10:10 am: Putin ally Medvedev vows international legal battle over property seizures
Moscow will fight attempts to seize Russian property abroad in courts around the world, former president Dmitry Medvedev said in a post on the Telegram social network on Wednesday.
"Opponents of Russia... should understand that they will face a large number of cases in courts. Both in the national courts of the United States and Europe and in international courts," said Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council.
9:16 am: The European Union prepares ban on Russian coal exports
The EU sanction package will include sanctions that were discussed before the Bucha massacres but the revelations from earlier this week provided the impetus to adopt the sanctions sooner rather than later. FRANCE 24's Dave Keating reports from Brussels.
9:09 am: Ban on Russian oil and gas imports will be 'needed' at some point: EU's Michel
The European Union will have to introduce measures against imports of Russian oil and even gas at some point as a way to pressure Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said on Wednesday.
"I think that measures on oil and even gas will also be needed sooner or later," Michel told the European Parliament.
9:00 am: The world must act to stop 'mass murder' in Ukraine says UK health minister
The world must act to stop the mass murder in Ukraine, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Wednesday. "This is mass murder on an unprecedented scale in Europe. We haven't seen the likes of this I think since 1995," he told BBC television.
"I don't want to be commemorating another genocide in Europe years from now. We have the power, the world has the power to stop this, and it must act."
8:43 am: Russian border guards came under fire in region bordering Ukraine
A Russian regional official said on Wednesday that border guards in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine had come under fire.
"Yesterday, on April 5, they tried to fire mortars at the position of our border guards in the Sudzhansky district," said Roman Starovoit, the governor of the Kursk region. "Russian border guards returned fire...There were no casualties or damage on our side."
8:35 am: Russian troops are reportedly massing on the border near Kharkiv
The Ukrainian armed forces claim they are still pushing forward to the east of Kharkiv despite reports of fierce battles taking place there. The situation outside of Kharkiv remains very tense and difficult for many people stuck in more remote towns and villages. FRANCE 24's senior reporter Catherine Norris-Trent reports from Kharkiv.
8:00 am: Turkey calls for probe into civilian deaths in Bucha
Turkey on Wednesday joined the global condemnation of the murder of civilians in the town of Bucha and other cities in Ukraine, and called for an independent investigation.
"The images of the massacre, which have been published in the press from various regions including Bucha and Irpin near Kyiv, are appalling and sad for humanity," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Aside from a tweeted message by the Turkish embassy in Ukraine on Monday, it was the first official reaction from Turkey after dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets near the Ukrainian capital over the weekend.
6:30 am: Fresh round of US sanctions will respond in part to killings in Bucha, Ukraine
A new round of US sanctions to be imposed on Russia will in part be a response to the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
The sanctions "will target Russian government officials, their family members, Russian owned financial institutions, also state owned enterprises," Psaki said.
3:25 https://www.france24.com/en/tag/ukraine-war-analysis/am: US to provide additional $100 million in security assistance to Ukraine, says Blinken
The United States will provide an additional $100 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including anti-armor systems, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
