Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Russian authorities have arrested a US journalist working in the country and accused him of espionage, a charge that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Evan Gershkovich, a well-respected reporter from the Wall Street Journal, was detained on Wednesday during a reporting trip to the Urals city of Ekaterinburg. On Thursday, he appeared at the Lefortovo courthouse in Moscow, where he was ordered to be held in pre-trial detention until at least 29 May, local media reported. The Wall Street Journal “vehemently denies” allegations of espionage against Gershkovich.
The US is “deeply concerned over Russia’s widely reported detention of a US citizen journalist”, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said, after the arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich. The White House has confirmed that the US state department “has been in direct touch” with the Russian government over Gershkovich’s detention, “including actively working to secure consular access” for him.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting in April when Russia assumes the international body’s presidency, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said. Russia’s upcoming UN security council presidency is “the worst joke ever for April Fools’ Day”, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said, and a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said Moscow will continue to give the US advance notice about its missile tests despite suspending participation in the New Start nuclear arms treaty, reversing a statement he made just yesterday. The White House on Tuesday said the US had told Russia it would cease exchanging certain data on its nuclear forces after Moscow’s refusal to do so.
Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months. The US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War’s regular update appeared to support this, saying: “Geolocated footage published on 28 and 29 March indicates that Russian forces advanced in southern and south-western Bakhmut.”
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to call up 147,000 Russian citizens for statutory military service as part of the country’s spring conscription campaign, Russian state media reported. The Russian leader last signed a routine conscription campaign in September, calling 120,000 citizens up for statutory service, the state-run Tass news agency said.
Russian authorities are preparing to launch a significant recruitment campaign aimed at signing up 400,000 new troops to fight in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update, citing Russian media. Moscow is presenting the campaign “as a drive for volunteer, professional personnel, rather than a new, mandatory mobilisation”, it said, adding that in practice regional authorities might try to coerce men to join up. “It is highly unlikely that the campaign will attract 400,000 genuine volunteers,” it said.
Some parents have been hiding their children in basements to prevent them from being taken, Ukrainian volunteers who have been evacuating civilians from the frontlines of the war with Russia have said. While parents have given different reasons, most volunteers have attributed the phenomenon to a combination of poverty and the psychological condition of the families, who have been living under bombing for months.
A Russian man who fled house arrest after being sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting Russia in social media posts, after an investigation prompted by his daughter’s anti-war drawings, has been arrested in Belarus, his lawyer said. Alexei Moskalyov, 54, was sentenced to two years in prison as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies in social media posts. Police investigated him after his 13-year-old daughter, Maria, refused to participate in a patriotic class at her school and made drawings showing rockets being fired at a family standing under a Ukrainian flag and another that said “Glory to Ukraine!”
Four bankers who helped a close friend of Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of lacking diligence in financial transactions. The four were found guilty on Thursday of helping Sergey Roldugin, a concert cellist who has been nicknamed “Putin’s wallet” by the Swiss government. The executives – three Russians and one Swiss citizen – helped Roldugin, who is godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria, deposit millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016.
The US has imposed sanctions on a Slovakian citizen for trying to arrange the sale of more than two dozens types of North Korean weapons and munitions to Russia, the treasury department said. Ashot Mkrtychev has had the sanctions placed on him “for having attempted to, directly or indirectly, import, export, or re-export to, into, or from the DPRK any arms or related materiel” to Russia to help Moscow replace military equipment lost in its war with Ukraine, it said.
Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom party walked out of the lower house of Austria’s parliament on Thursday during a speech by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, claiming it violated Austria’s neutrality. Austria says its neutrality prevents it from military involvement in the conflict and while it supports Ukraine politically it cannot send the country weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion. The Freedom party had said days before that it would hold some form of protest against the address.
The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, has hit back at criticism by some European governments – including Ukraine’s – of a plan for a full return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sport. “It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport,” Bach said on Thursday.
King Charles III has lauded the current unity between the UK and Germany in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying “the scourge of war is back in Europe”. Both the UK and Germany had shown “vital leadership”, the king said in a bilingual speech in the Bundestag, praising Berlin’s decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as “remarkably courageous, important and appreciated”.
China must play a part in pressing for a “just peace” in Ukraine and its role in the conflict will be vital in shaping relations with the EU, the European Commission president has said. “Any peace plan which would in effect consolidate Russian annexations is simply not a viable plan. We have to be frank on this point,” Ursula Von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels on the eve of a trip to Beijing.
That’s is from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thank you for following. We’ll be back tomorrow.
Updated
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to call up 147,000 Russian citizens for statutory military service as part of the country’s spring conscription campaign, Russian state media reported.
The Russian leader last signed a routine conscription campaign in September, calling 120,000 citizens up for statutory service, the state-run Tass news agency said.
At the time, Russia’s defence ministry was quoted as saying that the autumn conscription was “not in any way related to the special operation” – Russia’s official term for its military campaign in Ukraine.
All men in Russia are required to do a year’s military service between the ages of 18 and 27, or equivalent training while in higher education.
Updated
My colleague Dan Sabbagh has been travelling on the road to Kharkiv, when he says the Guardian team helped out in the rescue of a car that had veered off the road into a large ditch and near a landmine.
Treacherous conditions on the road to Kharkiv tonight. Members of the Guardian team helped out in the rescue of a car that had veered off the road into a large ditch. Task was complicated by the discovery of a land mine (circled) but... pic.twitter.com/L5wVgyvDFT
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) March 30, 2023
...after three attempts the car was pulled to safety with the couple who had been inside shaken up and unhurt. They were fortunate though, as the mine was between the car's front wheels when it first came to a stop. Danger enough without the war pic.twitter.com/fIgw3voVaY
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) March 30, 2023
Updated
The US has new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from North Korea, the White House has said.
White House spokesperson John Kirby, speaking to reporters, said Russia was seeking to send a delegation to North Korea, offering food in exchange for weapons. Washington was concerned that Pyongyang would provide the aid, he said.
Updated
US ‘deeply concerned’ over Russia’s detention of American journalist, says Blinken
The United States is “deeply concerned over Russia’s widely reported detention of a US citizen journalist”, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said, following the arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
US officials have been in touch with the Wall Street Journal, Blinken said in a statement that did not directly name Gershkovich.
The statement continued:
In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices.
The White House has confirmed that the US state department “has been in direct touch” with the Russian government over Gershkovich’s detention, “including actively working to secure consular access” for him.
The Biden administration has been in touch with his family and his employer, the White House said in a statement.
The White House added:
US citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as the State Department continues to advise.
Updated
The US has imposed sanctions on a Slovakian citizen for trying to arrange the sale of more than two dozens types of North Korean weapons and munitions to Russia, the treasury department said.
Ashot Mkrtychev has had the sanctions placed on him “for having attempted to, directly or indirectly, import, export, or re-export to, into, or from the DPRK any arms or related materiel” to Russia to help Moscow replace military equipment lost in its war with Ukraine, it said.
The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said in a statement:
Russia has lost over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment since the start of the war, and thanks in part to multilateral sanctions and export controls, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has become increasingly desperate to replace them.
The treasury department said that between the end of 2022 and early 2023, Mkrtychev worked with North Korean officials to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for materials ranging from commercial aircraft, raw materials, and commodities to be sent to the DPRK.
She added:
Schemes like the arms deal pursued by this individual show that Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort like Iran and the DPRK.
Updated
Athletes, including the Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk, are speaking out against the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to compete again across all sports.
The players would be allowed to compete as neutral athletes as long as they have no clear links to the military, and would be unable to wear national kit or see their flags and anthems.
The IOC president, Thomas Bach, used the example of Kostyuk competing against the Russian Varvara Gracheva in the recent ATK Open final as an example of athletes competing without friction in sport, despite Kostyuk refusing to shake her opponent’s hand.
Kostyuk in response has said that her “career would be over” if she refused to compete against Russians and that Ukrainian players felt ‘discriminated against’ by the tennis authorities.
‘Vulkan files’ leak reveals Putin’s global and domestic cyberwarfare tactics
The inconspicuous office is in Moscow’s north-eastern suburbs. A sign reads: “Business centre”. Nearby are modern residential blocks and a rambling old cemetery, home to ivy-covered war memorials. The area is where Peter the Great once trained his mighty army.
Inside the six-storey building, a new generation is helping Russian military operations. Its weapons are more advanced than those of Peter the Great’s era: not pikes and halberds, but hacking and disinformation tools.
The software engineers behind these systems are employees of NTC Vulkan. On the surface, it looks like a run-of-the-mill cybersecurity consultancy. But a leak of secret files from the company has exposed its work bolstering Vladimir Putin’s cyberwarfare capabilities.
Thousands of pages of secret documents reveal how Vulkan’s engineers have worked for Russian military and intelligence agencies to support hacking operations, train operatives before attacks on national infrastructure, spread disinformation and control sections of the internet.
The company’s work is linked to the federal security service or FSB, the domestic spy agency; the operational and intelligence divisions of the armed forces, known as the GOU and GRU; and the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence organisation.
Updated
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting in April when Russia assumes the international body’s presidency, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said. Russia’s upcoming UN security council presidency is “the worst joke ever for April Fools’ Day”, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said, and a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said Moscow will continue to give the US advance notice about its missile tests despite suspending participation in the New Start nuclear arms treaty, reversing a statement he made just yesterday. The White House on Tuesday said the US had told Russia it would cease exchanging certain data on its nuclear forces after Moscow’s refusal to do so.
Russian authorities have arrested a US journalist working in the country and accused him of espionage, a charge that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Evan Gershkovich, a well-respected reporter from the Wall Street Journal, was detained on Wednesday during a reporting trip to the Urals city of Ekaterinburg. On Thursday, he appeared at the Lefortovo courthouse in Moscow, where he was ordered to be held in pre-trial detention until at least 29 May, local media reported. The Wall Street Journal “vehemently denies” allegations of espionage against Gershkovich.
Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months. The US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War’s regular update appeared to support this, saying: “Geolocated footage published on 28 and 29 March indicates that Russian forces advanced in southern and south-western Bakhmut.”
Russian authorities are preparing to launch a significant recruitment campaign aimed at signing up 400,000 new troops to fight in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update, citing Russian media. Moscow is presenting the campaign “as a drive for volunteer, professional personnel, rather than a new, mandatory mobilisation”, it said, adding that in practice regional authorities might try to coerce men to join up. “It is highly unlikely that the campaign will attract 400,000 genuine volunteers,” it said.
Some parents have been hiding their children in basements to prevent them from being taken, Ukrainian volunteers who have been evacuating civilians from the frontlines of the war with Russia have said. While parents have given different reasons, most volunteers have attributed the phenomenon to a combination of poverty and the psychological condition of the families, who have been living under bombing for months.
A Russian man who fled house arrest after being sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting Russia in social media posts after an investigation prompted by his daughter’s anti-war drawings, has been arrested, his lawyer said. Alexei Moskalyov was sentenced to two years in prison as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies in social media posts. Police investigated him after his 13-year-old daughter, Maria, refused to participate in a patriotic class at her school and made drawings showing rockets being fired at a family standing under a Ukrainian flag and another that said “Glory to Ukraine!”
Four bankers who helped a close friend of Vladimir Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of lacking diligence in financial transactions. The four were found guilty on Thursday of helping Sergey Roldugin, a concert cellist who has been nicknamed “Putin’s wallet” by the Swiss government. The executives – three Russians and one Swiss citizen – helped Roldugin, who is godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria, deposit millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016.
Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom party walked out of the lower house of Austria’s parliament on Thursday during a speech by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, claiming it violated Austria’s neutrality. Austria says its neutrality prevents it from military involvement in the conflict and while it supports Ukraine politically it cannot send the country weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion. The Freedom party had said days before that it would hold some form of protest against the address.
The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, has hit back at criticism by some European governments – including Ukraine’s – of a plan for a full return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sport. “It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport,” Bach said on Thursday.
King Charles III has lauded the current unity between the UK and Germany in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying “the scourge of war is back in Europe”. Both the UK and Germany had shown “vital leadership”, the king said in a bilingual speech in the Bundestag, praising Berlin’s decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as “remarkably courageous, important and appreciated”.
China must play a part in pressing for a “just peace” in Ukraine and its role in the conflict will be vital in shaping relations with the EU, the European Commission president has said. “Any peace plan which would in effect consolidate Russian annexations is simply not a viable plan. We have to be frank on this point,” Ursula Von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels on the eve of a trip to Beijing.
Good afternoon from London. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong still here with all the latest developments from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting in April when Russia assumes the international body’s presidency, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.
Zakharova, in a press briefing, said:
Another key event of the Russian presidency [of the security council] will be a high-level open debate on the ‘effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN charter’.
Updated
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh is travelling through Donbas today.
Zero degrees and driving snow in frontline Donbas city of Kostyantynivka today. Looks like a Christmas card but thudding artillery is audible in the distance, aimed at Chasiv Yar, a few k away. War carries on, whatever the weather pic.twitter.com/BIsGoBtUgW
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) March 30, 2023
Updated
The EU’s agriculture commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski, would support curbs on trading with Ukraine if Poland proposed such a solution, he said on Thursday, amid anger from farmers over the effect of Ukrainian imports on grain prices.
“If the Polish government requests trading curbs with Ukraine obviously I will support that proposal,” Reuters reports he told the media in Brussels.
Several European countries have expressed concerns that the market could be flooded with cheap Ukrainian grain that it has been unable to export due to the limited volume of produce that can leave Ukraine’s ports.
Updated
IOC chief describes Ukraine's criticism of return of Russian athletes as 'deplorable'
Criticism by some European governments – including Ukraine’s – of a plan for a full return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sport is deplorable and cuts into the autonomy of sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Thomas Bach, said on Thursday.
The IOC on Wednesday issued a set of recommendations for international sports federations that will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return since their ban last year following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Governments in Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic among others have been angered by the plan, arguing that Russian and Belarusian athletes have no place in world sport with the war still ongoing. Reuters quotes Back saying:
It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport. It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards. We have not seen a single comment on their attitude on the participation of athletes from countries of the other 70 wars and armed conflict around the world.
“Government interventions have strengthened the unity of the Olympic movement,” Bach continued. “It cannot be up to the governments to decide which athletes can participate in which competition.
“This would be the end of world sport as we know it today.”
The return plan does not include the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but the IOC’s latest guidelines allow for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes citing human rights concerns for Russian athletes, and the current participation of Russians and Belarusians in some sports as reasons for the decision.
Updated
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, plans to attend the Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on 3 April to 5 April, where he will emphasise continued US support for Ukraine and transatlantic security, the state department said.
While there he will meet the top EU diplomat Josep Borrell, the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dymtro Kuleba, Reuters reports it said in a statement on Thursday.
Updated
King Charles says UK and Germany have both shown 'vital leadership' over Ukraine
In a bilingual speech in the Bundestag, King Charles III lauded the current unity between the UK and Germany in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying “the scourge of war is back in Europe”.
The king, on the second day of a three-day trip to Germany, alternated between German and English for the half hour speech, during which he said:
Since I last spoke in this building the scourge of war is back in Europe. The world has watched in horror – but we have not stood by. Even as we abhor the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity – in defence of Ukraine, of peace and freedom.
Reuters reports the king said both the UK and Germany had shown “vital leadership” and praised Berlin’s decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as “remarkably courageous, important and appreciated”.
The 74-year-old monarch, who has German ancestry, and who last spoke in Germany’s lower house of parliament as part of a remembrance ceremony in 2020, added: “I can hardly begin to express the pride I feel in the strength of the partnership between our two countries.”
Later on Thursday, Charles is set to view a demonstration of amphibious vehicles of a joint German-British military unit
Updated
Moscow court orders Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to be held in pre-trial detention until 29 May
A Moscow court has formally arrested the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in relation to espionage allegations, according to Russian law enforcement agencies.
Gershkovich told the court he was not guilty of espionage, the state-run news agency Tass is reporting.
The court has ordered Gershkovich should be held in pre-trial custody for almost two months, until 29 May, according to a court document.
A lawyer representing Gershkovich was not allowed to attend the hearing, Tass reported.
“They told me they already have an assigned lawyer,” the lawyer said, according to CNN’s Natasha Bertrand.
The lawyer representing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was not allowed to attend the Moscow hearing, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 30, 2023
"They told me they already have an assigned lawyer," the lawyer, Daniil Berman, said. via @pavlovauliana
Updated
Asked how he would address those countries – many of them in the global south – that have chosen not to align themselves with either Ukraine or Russia, Kuleba says the war is physically taking place in Europe but its repercussions are felt all over the world.
People all across the world, in Asia, Africa and Latin America have all felt the impact of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, “be it with food security or energy and food prices”, he says.
Russia is pursuing a “cynical” policy of arguing that they defend the voices of the global south but “simultaneously put the issue of food security at higher risk by using the [Black Sea] grain initiative as a leverage against Ukraine”, he says.
He says Ukraine has to speak to those countries and identify what the reasons are for their arguments, and to take every opportunity to reach out to them and get a better understanding of how to help them resolve their problems.
Updated
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmtryo Kuleba, is speaking at a Chatham House event titled “Russia’s aggression and a crisis for multilateralism”, where he begins by criticising the fact that Russia will take over chairing the UN security council on 1 April.
Russia’s upcoming UN security council presidency is “the worst joke ever for April Fools’ Day”, he says, and a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
Moscow has “systematically violated all fundamental rules of international security” and will attempt to change the balance of the council during its presidency, he says.
Kuleba says he expects other UN security council members to “corner” Russia and not allow it to “abuse” the council’s rules and push its own narratives about the war it started in Ukraine.
You can watch the event live here:
Updated
Russian authorities request formal arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter accused of espionage - state media
Russia’s FSB security service (FSB) have requested the formal arrest of Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter from the Wall Street Journal, detained on suspicion of espionage, Russian state media are reporting.
The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied allegations of espionage against Gershkovich, who the FSB said was detained during a reporting trip to the Urals city of Ekaterinburg.
The FSB said Gershkovich, a well-respected journalist who has lived in Moscow for six years, “was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex”.
Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said it was too early to talk about a possible prisoner swap involving Gershkovich, state-run Ria news agency reported.
Ryabkov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that such exchanges had previously taken place for those already convicted, and that it was necessary to wait to see how the story with Gershkovich developed.
As the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford points out, Gershkovich’s arrest may also be intended to scare the foreign press.
Some are speculating that @evangershkovich was arrested because Russia wants a prisoner swap
— Sarah Rainsford (@sarahrainsford) March 30, 2023
But remember @freepaulwhelan was arrested over 4 yrs ago.He’s still in jail
It’s just as likely Russia wants to terrify the foreign press - after silencing the independent Russian media
Updated
At noon GMT today (1pm BST), there will be an event hosted by Chatham House called “Russia’s aggression and a crisis for multilateralism” which will feature Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba with a debrief after by a panel of experts.
We will have a live stream of the event on this blog – you may need to refresh the page in order for the play button to appear. You can find out more details here.
Finland’s intelligence agency (SUPO) has said that Russia’s intelligence operations in the country have been “squeezed” in the past year because of expulsions of Russian intelligence officers and visa refusals.
The Russian intelligence station in Finland shrank to about half of its former size last year, AP reports, citing the SUPO director, Antti Pelttari.
The falling number of Russian intelligence officers and restrictions on travel across the border amid Russia’s war in Ukraine have significantly undermined operating conditions for Russian spies in Finland, SUPO said.
Operations under diplomatic cover have traditionally been the main instrument of Russian intelligence abroad, it said, adding that Moscow was attempting to use cyber espionage to make up for the shortfall in human intelligence.
The agency earlier said that Finland’s future membership in the Nato western alliance will make it a more interesting target for Russian intelligence and influencing operations.
Updated
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said Moscow will continue to give the US advance notice about its missile tests despite suspending participation in the New Start nuclear arms treaty, reversing a statement he made just yesterday.
Ryabkov on Wednesday said Moscow had stopped all information exchanges with Washington about its nuclear activities, including missile test launches, under the 2011 agreement.
But the senior diplomat said today that Russia intends to stick by its pledge last month to keep notifying the US about missile tests in line with a 1988 US-Soviet agreement.
The 2010 New Start treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia, limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads each side can deploy. The US and Russia hold nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads between them.
Vladimir Putin announced last month that Russia was suspending participation in the treaty, accusing Washington of trying to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine.
The White House on Tuesday said the US had told Russia it would cease exchanging some data on its nuclear forces after Moscow’s refusal to do so.
Updated
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has said the arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by Russia’s FSB security service on espionage charges was “a matter for the FSB”, but that he understood Gershkovich had been “caught red-handed”.
From my colleague Shaun Walker:
Peskov now says WSJ's @evangershkovich was "caught red-handed". The speed and certainty which this is progressing suggests it was ordered from the top, rather than snowballing local case.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) March 30, 2023
Looks a lot like hostage taking to increase Russia's "exchange pool" for prisoner swaps.
Last week in Slovenia was told high-level negotiations underway on an exchange for two deep-cover Russian illegals arrested there. But that they had stalled for unclear reasons. Well, now Russia has another American to trade.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) March 30, 2023
Awful.
Russia has not published any evidence to support its allegations against Gershkovich, who the FSB claimed “was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex”. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the allegation.
Updated
The southern city of Kherson was liberated from Russian occupation in November 2022 by Ukrainian forces, sparking ecstatic scenes in the main square.
But with Russian troops retreating just over the Dnipro River, joy has quickly turned to nightmare, with the city suffering daily bombardment by mortars, missiles and even tank shells. Simply surviving each day has become a matter of luck and many civilians have fled.
The Guardian’s Luke Harding and Christopher Cherry speak to remaining residents to find out what life is like among the awful booms of artillery fire, and why they have chosen to stay.
Wall Street Journal 'vehemently denies' allegations of espionage against its reporter Evan Gershkovich
The Wall Street Journal “vehemently denies” allegations of espionage against its reporter, Evan Gershkovich, who has been arrested by Russia’s federal security service (FSB), the newspaper said in a statement.
The statement reads:
The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich.
We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Russia’s top security agency says a reporter for the Wall Street Journal has been arrested on espionage charges. The Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Ekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information. The security service alleged that Gershkovich “was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex.”
Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months. The US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War’s regular update appears to support this, saying, “geolocated footage published on March 28 and 29 indicates that Russian forces advanced in southern and southwestern Bakhmut.”
Alexei Moskalyov, a Russian man who was sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting the Russian armed forces, and whose daughter was taken into care, has been detained after fleeing house arrest, human rights activist and lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said on Thursday. It was earlier reported that Moskalyov was arrested in Minsk in Belarus, having fled his house arrest.
The UK Ministry of Defence reports, citing Russian media, that authorities are preparing to launch a major recruitment campaign aimed at signing up 400,000 new troops to fight in Ukraine.
Ukrainian volunteers who have been evacuating civilians from the frontlines of the war with Russia say some parents have been hiding their children in basements to prevent them from being taken. While parents have given different reasons, most volunteers have attributed the phenomenon to a combination of poverty and the psychological condition of the families, who have been living under bombing for months.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that Moscow was still talking to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the idea of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that has been controlled by Russian forces since March 2022.
Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom Party walked out of the lower house of Austria’s parliament on Thursday during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, protesting that it violated Austria’s neutrality. Austria says its neutrality prevents it from military involvement in the conflict and while it supports Ukraine politically it cannot send the country weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion. The Freedom Party (FPÖ) had warned days before that it would hold some form of protest against the address.
Four bankers who helped a close friend of Vladimir Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of lacking diligence in financial transactions. The four were found guilty on Thursday of helping Sergey Roldugin, a concert cellist who has been dubbed “Putin’s wallet” by the Swiss government.
China said its military was willing to work together with the Russian military to strengthen strategic communication and coordination.
Dymtro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has criticised the fact that Russia will take over chairing the UN security council on 1 April, describing it as a “bad joke”.
Updated
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has posted to her official Telegram account about the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Ekaterinburg on espionage charges.
Without specifying any evidence against Gershkovich, she posted:
What an employee of the American edition of the Wall Street Journal was doing in Ekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the status of a ‘foreign correspondent’, a journalistic visa and accreditation are used by foreigners in our country to cover up activities that are not journalism. This is not the first well-known westerner to be ‘grabbed by the hand’.
Updated
Von der Leyen: China's attitude to Ukraine war will be 'a determining factor for EU-China relations'
China must play a part in pressing for a “just peace” in Ukraine and its role in the conflict will be vital in shaping relations with the European Union, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
China, as a permanent member of the UN security council, had a responsibility to play a constructive role in advancing a peace based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, with the withdrawal of invading Russian forces.
“Any peace plan which would in effect consolidate Russian annexations is simply not a viable plan. We have to be frank on this point,” Reuters reports Von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels on the eve of a trip to Beijing.
“How China continues to interact with Putin’s war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward.”
The Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday Moscow was still talking to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the idea of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been controlled by Russian forces in Ukraine since March 2022, Russian news agencies reported.
Reuters cites RIA quoting him as saying that the idea was “evolving” and Interfax quoting Ryabkov as saying Moscow was in “constant contact” with the IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi.
Updated
Far-right Austrian MPs walk out of Zelenskiy address to parliament
Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom party walked out of the lower house of Austria’s parliament on Thursday during a speech by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, protesting that it violated Austria’s neutrality.
Reuters reports Zelenskiy addressed the chamber via video link, thanking Austria for its humanitarian aid and help with projects such as clearing landmines. Austria says its neutrality prevents it from military involvement in the conflict and while it supports Ukraine politically it cannot send the country weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion.
The Freedom party (FPÖ), however, had warned days before that it would hold some form of protest against the address. Its lawmakers attended the start of the speech and then left.
“It is sad that the FPO is the only party in parliament that takes our ever-lasting neutrality seriously, thereby also standing up for peace,” the FPO leader, Herbert Kickl, had said in a statement on Tuesday.
Lawmakers who walked out of the chamber left small placards on their desks featuring the party logo and either “space for neutrality” or “space for peace”.
Of the five parties in parliament, the FPO has the third-biggest number of seats in the lower house.
Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, reports on developments in Donetsk. It writes on its official Telegram channel:
At night, the Russian army launched a rocket attack on Druzhkivka, where it damaged a house, as well as on the Dobropillya community, where two houses were damaged, reported the head of the Donetsk administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko. Also, as a result of shelling with cluster munitions and artillery of the Kurakhove community, houses and electrical networks were damaged.
Four bankers who helped Putin's friend set up Swiss bank account convicted
Four bankers who helped a close friend of Vladimir Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of lacking diligence in financial transactions.
The four were found guilty on Thursday of helping Sergey Roldugin, a concert cellist who has been dubbed “Putin’s wallet” by the Swiss government.
The executives – three Russians and one Swiss – helped Roldugin, who is godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter Maria, deposit millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016.
Reuters reports the men, who cannot be identified under Swiss reporting restrictions, were found guilty at a hearing at Zurich district court and were given suspended sentences of seven months each.
Updated
Russian security services detain Wall Street Journal journalist on espionage charges
Russia’s top security agency says a reporter for the Wall Street Journal has been arrested on espionage charges.
Associated Press report the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Ekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information.
The security service alleged that Gershkovich “was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex”.
The FSB didn’t say when the arrest took place. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
Updated
China said its military was willing to work together with the Russian military to strengthen strategic communication and coordination, the Chinese defence ministry said on Thursday.
The two countries would work together to implement global security initiatives, Reuters reports Tan Kefei, a spokesperson at the Chinese defence ministry, said at a regular press conference.
Tan said the two countries would deepen military trust and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice. They will also further organise joint maritime, air patrols and joint exercises, Tan said.
Dymtro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has tweeted to criticise the fact that Russia will take over chairing the UN security council on 1 April. He writes:
Russian UN security council presidency on 1 April is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it is waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children. The world can’t be a safe place with Russia at UNSC.
Russia was last in the chair at the security council in February 2022. It staged its latest invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it’s waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children. The world can’t be a safe place with Russia at UNSC #BadRussianJoke #InsecurityCouncil
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 30, 2023
Updated
Lawyer confirms detention of Russian man sentenced to prison after daughter's anti-war picture
Alexei Moskalyov, a Russian man who was sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting the Russian armed forces, and whose daughter was taken into care, has been detained after fleeing house arrest, human rights activist and lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said to Reuters on Thursday.
It was earlier reported that he was arrested in Minsk, having fled his house arrest.
Moskalyo has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter since he was placed under house arrest at the start of March and she was moved to a state-run shelter.
Moskalyo was sentenced to two years in prison as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies in social media posts. Police investigated him after his daughter refused to participate in a class at her school and made several drawings showing rockets being fired at a family standing under a Ukrainian flag and another that said “Glory to Ukraine!”
There is an interesting line in Reuters’ daily update on Ukraine which notes that the intensity of Russian attacks appears to have been declining. It writes:
The average number of daily Russian attacks on the frontline reported by Ukraine’s general staff has declined for four straight weeks since the beginning of March, to 69 in the past seven days from 124 in the week of March 1-7. Just 57 attacks were reported on Wednesday.
Reuters journalists near the front west of Bakhmut and further north also reported a notable decline in the intensity of Russian attacks last week.
The report goes on to say that Russian officials say their forces are still capturing ground in street-by-street fighting inside Bakhmut and that Reuters is not able to verify battlefield reports.
Nevertheless, in its late night report last night, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces conceded that “Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut.”
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Updated
Russian authorities preparing campaign to recruit 400,000 – report
The UK Ministry of Defence reports, citing Russian media, that authorities are preparing to launch a major recruitment campaign aimed at signing up 400,000 new troops to fight in Ukraine.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 30 March 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 30, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/U2ty7b1e7h
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/QweoSriH6U
Updated
Ukrainian volunteers who have been evacuating civilians from the frontlines of the war with Russia say some parents have been hiding their children in basements to prevent them from being taken, the Guardian’s Isobel Koshiw and Oleksiy Savechnko report.
While parents have given different reasons, most volunteers have attributed the phenomenon to a combination of poverty and the psychological condition of the families, who have been living under bombing for months.
In early March, Ukraine’s government gave local authorities in the eastern city of Bakhmut, the site of one of the longest and bloodiest battles of Russia’s war, permission forcibly to evacuate children.
At present, this includes only settlements at risk of coming under Russian occupation, which the government has said is limited to Bakhmut. There are no legal powers for areas just as exposed along Ukraine’s 600-mile frontline, such as Avdiivka, a town south of Bakhmut:
Russia advances in Bakhmut
Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months.
The US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War’s regular update appears to support this, saying, “geolocated footage published on March 28 and 29 indicates that Russian forces advanced in southern and southwestern Bakhmut.”
#Bakhmut Update:#Russian forces continued offensive operations in and around Bakhmut on March 29.
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 30, 2023
Geolocated footage published on March 28 and 29 indicates that Russian forces advanced in southern and southwestern Bakhmut.https://t.co/GC1K0Witfn pic.twitter.com/H8ECzoQTvp
The mining city of Bakhmut and surrounding towns in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk have been the focal point of assault for much of the war. Neither side has full control and both have suffered heavy losses.
“Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a regular nighttime report.
“Our defenders are holding the city and are repelling numerous enemy attacks.”
The fate of Moskalyov’s daughter Maria, who drew the pro-peace sketch, is unclear, AFP reports. Maria was taken away from her father in early March and placed in a local “rehabilitation centre” for minors, with the pair denied contact.
On Wednesday, Moskalyov’s lawyer, Vladimir Biliyenko, said he had visited the “rehabilitation centre” the day earlier but the girl was not there.
“It seems that they are hiding Masha,” he told AFP, referring to the girl by her diminutive name. He said a lot of supporters wanted to see her, too.
Biliyenko said it was now “difficult to predict” what will happen to Maria. Moskalyov is at risk of losing parental rights in a separate trial set to begin on 6 April.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday defended Moskalyov’s sentencing, describing the father’s parenting as “deplorable”. But in a letter published on social media Maria called her father “the bravest person in the world”.
“I love you very much and know that you are not guilty of anything,” the letter read.
“Everything will be ok and we will be together. You are my hero,” the letter said.
Moskalyov’s lawyer confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
Alexei Moskalyo’s family said they had faced pressure from Russian police since last April when his daughter, a sixth-grader, refused to participate in a patriotic class at her school and made several drawings showing rockets being fired at a family standing under a Ukrainian flag and another that said “Glory to Ukraine!”
School officials at the time summoned the police, who questioned the girl and threatened her father.
Police then began examining Moskalyov’s social media activity and the father was eventually charged with discrediting the armed forces for his posts in which he called the Russian regime “terrorists” and described the Russian army as “rapists”.
The high-profile case was criticised by Russian human rights groups and led to an online campaign to reunite father and daughter.
Police in the Tula region south of Moscow said that Moskalyov had escaped house arrest in the early hours of Tuesday and that they had “started looking for the suspect”.
Here is our story on Moskalyo’s sentencing and escape:
Man who fled after sentencing after daughter’s drawings reportedly arrested
A Russian man who fled house arrest after being sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting Russia in social media posts – following an investigation prompted by his daughter’s anti-war drawings – has reportedly been arrested in Minsk.
Alexei Moskalyo has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter since he was placed under house arrest at the start of March and she was moved to a state-run shelter.
Moskalyo was sentenced to two years in prison as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies in social media posts. Police investigated him after his daughter, a sixth-grader, refused to participate in a patriotic class at her school and made several drawings showing rockets being fired at a family standing under a Ukrainian flag and another that said “Glory to Ukraine!”
Independent Russian news outlet SOTA Project is reporting that police have apprehended Moskalyo in Minsk, Belarus. His lawyer was unable to confirm that Moskalyo had been arrested, but said on Telegram that he could not reach his client and suspected the news was true.
Opening summary
Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments as they happen.
Our top story this morning:
Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months.
And the Russian man who fled house arrest after being sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting Russia in social media posts, following an investigation prompted by his daughter’s anti-war drawings, has reportedly been arrested in Minsk.
Alexei Moskalyo has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter since he was placed under house arrest at the start of March and she was moved to a state-run shelter.
Moskalyo was sentenced to two years in prison as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies in social media posts. Police investigated him after his daughter, a sixth-grader, refused to participate in a patriotic class at her school and made several drawings showing rockets being fired at a family standing under a Ukrainian flag and another that said “Glory to Ukraine!”
Independent Russian news outlet SOTA Project is reporting that police have apprehended Moskalyo in Minsk, Belarus. His lawyer was unable to confirm that Moskalyo had been arrested, but said on Telegram that he could not reach his client and suspected the news was true.
We’ll have more on these stories shortly. In the meantime here are the key recent developments:
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has made a second visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine amid an escalation in the fighting around it. Rafael Mariano Grossi was shown around the plant by Russian occupying forces and officials, telling reporters: “It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region, so every possible measure and precautions should be taken so that the plant is not attacked.”
Russia has stopped informing the US about its nuclear activities, including missile test launches, after Moscow suspended its participation in the New Start arms control treaty last month, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said. The White House on Tuesday said the US had told Russia it would cease exchanging some data on its nuclear forces after Moscow’s refusal to do so.
Russia began exercises with the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system and several thousand troops, its defence ministry said on Wednesday. Vladimir Putin has aimed to make the Yars missile system, which replaced the Topol system, part of Russia’s “invincible weapons” and the mainstay of the ground-based component of its nuclear arsenal.
The German government has agreed to spend an additional €12bn on military support. The Bundestag’s budget committee gave the green light on Wednesday for about €8bn to be spent directly on purchasing weapons and equipment for Ukraine. The other €4bn will go to the German military to replenish stocks. Spain will send six Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine after Easter, the Spanish defence minister, Margarita Robles, has said.
An explosion was reported near a Russian military airbase in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, according to footage shared on social media. The Russian-appointed head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, posted to Telegram that “a UAV [drone] was shot down in the Simferopol region” and that there were “no casualties or damage”.
Ukrainian forces reportedly shelled the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol, south of the Zaporizhzhia region, and Russian media reported on Wednesday that as a result the city’s power supply had been cut. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, which has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, said on the Telegram messaging app there had been several explosions.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner group, said the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut had “practically destroyed” the Ukrainian army but his forces had also been “badly damaged”. The Russian-installed leader in the region said Russian forces were moving forward in Bakhmut despite fierce resistance and had almost taken full control of a metals plant there.
Russian forces trying to encircle the town of Avdiivka in recent days have made only marginal gains despite heavy losses in armoured vehicles, including a tank regiment, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.
Vladimir Putin conceded that sanctions on Russia could have “negative” consequences for the economy but insisted Moscow was adapting to the penalties and that unemployment “remains at an all-time low”.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has extended an invitation to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit Ukraine. In an interview with the Associated Press, Zelenskiy said: “We are ready to see him here. I want to speak with him.”
Zelenskiy said Ukraine needed 20 Patriot batteries to protect against Russian missiles, and even that may not be enough “as no country in the world was attacked with so many ballistic rockets”. He added that a European nation sent another air defence system to Ukraine, but it didn’t work and they “had to change it again and again”. He did not name the country.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, has urged Russians not to adopt children who she said were “stolen” from her country during the war and deported to Russia. Vereshchuk, posting to Telegram, said orphans had been “stolen in Ukraine” and allegedly given up for adoption in Russia.
Poland has urged the EU to limit the amount of Ukrainian grain entering the bloc’s market, its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has said, amid anger among farmers over the effect of imports on Polish grain prices.
Ukraine’s sports ministry has condemned what it said was a partial change of position by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international competitions as neutrals. Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, described the IOC’s decision as “shameful”.
Updated
