Russian Forces

U.S. Sends ‘Kamikaze Drones’ to Ukraine; Pentagon Weighs Permanently Stationing More Troops in Europe

This has been CNBC’s live blog covering Wednesday’s updates on the war in Ukraine. Follow the latest updates here. Russian attacks on Ukraine are continuing after Moscow said it would reduce its military activity in some parts of the country. Russia said Tuesday that it would cut back its military activity near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv but the U.S., the U.K. and Ukraine have expressed skepticism over Moscow’s pledge to scale back the fighting. Russian and Ukrainian delegates held face-to-face talks in Istanbul yesterday, with Ukraine’s delegation calling for an international agreement under which other nations would guarantee Ukraine’s security. Russia continues shelling, holds positions near Kyiv despite Moscow’s promises to scale back Significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, and Russian troops are still holding positions close to Kyiv, despite promises to the contrary from Moscow, the United Kingdom said Thursday. Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing. Chernihiv is about 90 miles north of Kyiv and 40 miles south of the Russian border. A Russian defense official said Wednesday that Moscow would drastically reduce military activity near Chernihiv and the capital of Kyiv, NBC News reported. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged caution about believing Moscow’s promises. The Russian Defense Ministry’s press office was not immediately available to provide comment to CNBC. The British ministry said heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of Kyiv in the coming days. Since last week, Ukrainian forces began to report retaking towns close to the capital. The situation around the capital is fluid, and those Ukrainian claims are difficult or impossible to verify. You do see the Ukrainians trying to take advantage of opportunities and roll back the Russians where they can, NBC News Global Security Reporter Dan De Luce said. Heavy fighting continues in Mariupol in the south, but the U.K. Ministry said Ukrainian defenders are still holding the city center. Mariupol has been largely destroyed by Russian artillery and missiles. Ted Kemp Putin may have been misinformed about Ukraine, U.S. intelligence shows According to newly declassified U.S. intelligence, Russian President Vladimir Putin feels he was misled by military leaders, who withheld details about the botched invasion of Ukraine out of fear. We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth, said White House communications director Kate Bedingfield. As a result, there’s been persistent tension between Putin and his military leadership, she told reporters. A U.S. official told NBC News earlier that Putin didn’t know his military was using and losing conscripts in Ukraine, a sign that there was a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian President. When Putin actually realizes how badly his military is done in Ukraine, there might be a real potential here for escalation, said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon would say how American intelligence agencies learned what Putin was and was not being told. Releasing intelligence strongly suggests the U.S. has a mole in Putin’s inner circle. Goh Chiew Tong, Christina Wilkie U.S. sends 100 killer drones to Ukraine, following Zelenskyy’s request for additional aid The U.S. will be sending 100 killer drones to Ukraine in a colossal weapons package that President Joe Biden approved earlier this month, officials have confirmed. The so-called kamikaze drones will be deployed to Ukraine soon, according to the Pentagon. It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request to U.S. lawmakers for additional military equipment. We’ve heard the Ukrainians and we take that request very seriously, said Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of Defense for international security. It’s not clear how often the U.S. military has used the killer drones on the battlefield and AeroVironment, the U.S.-based firm that manufactures the weapon, declined to comment on the arms transfer. The Switchblades are equipped with cameras, navigation systems and guided explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets that are miles away or can loiter above a target until engaged by an operator to strike. Goh Chiew Tong, Amanda Macias Congress hears sirens wail as Ukraine legislators visit Elizabeth Frantz Reuters U.S. Senator Rob Portman is flanked by Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin as he speaks during a meeting between members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and members of the Ukrainian Parliament at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2022. As members of the Ukrainian parliament were pleading for aid on Capitol Hill, an air raid siren blared from one of their cell phones a wrenching alert from the war-torn country back home. One of the visitors reached into her bag, pulled out the phone and let the siren wail in the halls of Congress. Right now, you hear the sound? said Anastasia Radina, a member of the Ukrainian Rada. This is the air raid alarm in the community where my son is staying right now, she said at a press conference this week after meeting with members of Congress. I need you all to hear that. Associated Press Pentagon weighs stationing more troops permanently in Eastern Europe Allison Joyce AFP Getty Images US soldiers walk to board a plane from Pope Army Airfield in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on February 14, 2021 as they are deployed to Europe. The Pentagon is considering sending more U.S. troops to Eastern Europe on a permanent basis, citing significant changes in the security environment. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the issue is under discussion, but no decisions have been made. Earlier in the day, the top U.S. commander in Europe told lawmakers that the U.S. and NATO military footprint in Europe and specifically in the Baltics has got to change. Certainly this is an opportunity as a result of this senseless act on behalf of Russia, to re-examine the permanent military architecture that exists not only in Eastern Europe, but in our air policing activity in aviation and in our standing naval maritime groups, U.S. Air Force Tod Wolters said before the House Armed Services Committee. Amanda Macias Satellite images show Mariupol before and after destruction Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show total destruction from above in Mariupol. Here is a before and after view. Before Maxar Technologies Getty Images Maxar satellite imagery of homes and buildings before the invasion, Mariupol, Ukraine on June 21, 2021 After Maxar Technologies Getty Images Maxar satellite imagery of destruction of homes and buildings after the invasion, Mariupol, Ukraine on March 29th, 2022. Maxar Technologies via Getty Images U.S. will provide $500 million in direct budgetary aid to Zelenskyy’s government Courtesy: The White House President Biden has warned Putin that the U.S. and its allies are willing to impose swift and severe costs on Russia. President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the United States plans to provide his government with $500 million in direct budgetary aid, according to a White House readout of Biden’s secure call with the Ukrainian leader. In the world of international assistance, direct budgetary aid is relatively rare. More often nation-to-nation aid comes in the form of already paid-for things, like food or weapons or subject matter experts, and monetary loans. Direct budgetary aid, on the other hand, generally comes with few strings attached, the closest thing to a cash gift from one government to another. The monthlong Russian invasion of Ukraine has severely hampered Kyiv’s ability to collect tax revenue and remain operational, making this kind of cash aid especially important. Congress recently approved a separate, more than $13 billion package of supplemental aid for Ukraine. But nearly all of that money is already committed to specific things, like refugee housing, defensive arms and medical supplies. Christina Wilkie U.K. aims to stop sanctioned oligarchs from maintaining their planes and yachts James Manning Pa Images Getty Images The superyacht Phi owned by a Russian businessman in Canary Wharf, east London which has been detained as part of sanctions against Russia. The U.K. announced new legislation that aims to prohibit maintenance on aircraft or yachts belonging to sanctioned Russian elites and their businesses. The new measures come after Britain designated more than 1,200 individuals and entities close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. There is no doubt that Putin and his elite have been surprised by the strength of our sanctions, U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wrote in a statement. We will continue to ramp up the pressure so long as Russian troops are in Ukraine, targeting not only the businesses of oligarchs but also their assets and international lifestyles, Truss added. Amanda Macias Top U.S. commander in Europe says Putin believed that Russians supported a Ukraine invasion Sergey Guneev Sputnik Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a concert marking the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia March 18, 2022. America’s top commander in Europe gave his best assessment as to why Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine. I think he felt like he had the popular support of the citizens of Russia. I also felt like he was attempting to take advantage of fissures that could have appeared in NATO as a result of the post-Afghanistan environment, U.S. Air Force General and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Tod Wolters said during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. Tom Williams Cq-roll Call, Inc. Getty Images General Tod Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command, testifies during the House Armed Services Committee hearing titled National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activity in Europe, in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. I also think it has to do with his age and its efficacy. All those combined together put him in a position where he elected to go at this time, Wolters said when asked why Putin chose Feb. 24 to invade Ukraine. The overriding variable in my view is the fact that he believes that he has popular support from his citizens, said Wolters, who also serves as commander of U.S. European Command. Amanda Macias Zelenskyy says he and Biden discussed a new sanctions package Ukrainian Presidential Press Service Reuters Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the members of Norwegian parliament via video link, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 30, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hourlong secure call with U.S. President Joe Biden finished just after noon, the White House said. Ten minutes later, the Ukrainian leader tweeted that he and Biden had discussed a number of topics, most notably new sanctions on Russia and specific materiel that Ukraine needs. The White House has been working on a package of new sanctions to impose on Russia that would be aimed at making it harder for Russia’s military to get parts and material. Christina Wilkie Russia’s battlefield performance in Ukraine ‘baffling,’ top U.S. commander in Europe says Win Mcnamee Getty Images General Tod Wolters, U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee March 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. America’s top commander in Europe described Russia’s largely stalled military campaign and overall battlefield performance in Ukraine as baffling. There was a degree of miscalculation and it’s evident by the performance of the Russian military up to this point, U.S. Air Force General and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Tod Wolters said during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. This one has been baffling, said Wolters, who also serves as commander of U.S. European Command. He added that the U.S. military should be prepared to take a really good look at Russia’s military force posture. Since the Kremlin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have been increasingly beset by logistical and command and control issues, as well as morale problems. Amanda Macias The art of war: Murals show support for Ukraine Artists around the world created murals to show support for Ukraine as Russia’s invasion continues. Chesnot Getty Images Fresco murals by French street artists Kelu Abstract and Jeff Aerosol are displayed on the wall of a Parisian building on March 14, 2022 in Paris, France. Nikolay Doychinov AFP Getty Images A resident walks past mural painting by Bulgarian artist Stanislav Belovski depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin holding his own body in Sofia, on March 15, 2022. Juan Mabromata AFP Getty Images A woman walks pass the mural No to war by muralist Maximiliano Bagnasco in Buenos Aires on March 5, 2022. Mateusz Slodkowski Lightrocket Getty Images A mural of Putin, Hitler, and Stalin with a slogan No More Time is seen on the wall next to the PKM Gdansk Jasien train station. Huw Fairclough Getty Images A resident looks at new street art mural has appeared in Cardiff depicting Ukraine’s capital Kyiv under siege on March 01, 2022 in Cardiff, Wales. To see more murals from around the world, click here. Adam Jeffery 100 ‘killer drones’ included in latest U.S. arms package for Ukraine Courtesy: AeroVironment AeroVironment Switchblade 600 Drone American officials told lawmakers that the U.S. will send killer drones to Ukraine at the country’s request. We have committed 100 switchblade tactical unmanned aerial systems to be delivered in the most recent package of presidential drawdown, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week that the drones would arrive in Ukraine soon, but declined to elaborate further. There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, manufactured by U.S.-based firm AeroVironment. It was not immediately clear which variant of the weapon the U.S. deployed to Ukraine. The 300 version is designed to strike small targets. It can fit in a rucksack, weighs a little over 5 pounds and has a range of 10 miles. The 600 variant of the weapon is designed to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. It weighs slightly more than 120 pounds and has a range of more than 40 miles. Amanda Macias Zelenskyy and Biden plan to speak by phone today Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends an interview with some of the Russian media via videolink, as Russia?s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 27, 2022. President Joe Biden is slated to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy around 10:45 a.m. ET, the White House said in a statement. The two leaders are planning to discuss our continued support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The call follows Russia’s claim Tuesday that it would dramatically reduce its military activity around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. The announcement from the Russian Ministry of Defense was met with deep skepticism by officials in both Washington and Kyiv. Christina Wilkie The aftermath of shelling in Donetsk Emergency specialists work at a residential building damaged by shelling in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Emergency specialists work at a residential building damaged by shelling during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine March 30, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko Reuters A woman carries a bottle of water as emergency specialists work at a residential building damaged by shelling during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine March 30, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Firefighters work at a residential building damaged by shelling during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine March 30, 2022. Reuters Russia’s Lavrov says Moscow will move toward ‘multipolar world order’ with China Kirill Kudryavtsev Reuters Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference following talks with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer in Moscow, Russia March 24, 2022. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov touted a move toward a new world order during a visit to China on Wednesday. We are living through a serious stage in the history of international relations, he said. I am convinced that the outcome of this stage will substantially clarify the international situation. We will move towards a multipolar, equitable and democratic world order with China and other like-minded nations. China, a close ally of Russia, has so far refused to fully denounce Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and has not joined the coordinated move to impose economic sanctions on Moscow. Chloe Taylor Russia regrouping away from Kyiv but Ukraine still under constant attack, officials say Russia is regrouping its troops away from Kyiv to concentrate on its offensive in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine’s armed forces have said in a new update. Moscow was moving to increase the supply of troops in the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, the update said, while offensives were also underway in other parts of the country. In the northern direction, the occupier focused on shelling areas of Chernihiv and strengthening defensive positions, Ukraine’s armed forces said. Russia said Tuesday that it would cut back its military activity in and around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said in a video message on Wednesday that Russia had ulterior motives for regrouping its troops away from the capital. The Russians are not simply removing their troops from Kyiv and from the north of Ukraine they are transferring them to the Joint Forces Operation zone in eastern Ukraine and near Mariupol in order to have a qualitative and quantitative advantage in these areas, he said, according to an NBC News translation. Meanwhile, Oleh Synegubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said Wednesday that Russian forces had been constantly firing on multiple districts around Kharkiv, and Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman said every day Ukrainian towns and cities were being shaken by constant shelling and bombing. Chloe Taylor China says relations with Russia are withstanding ‘test of international turbulence’: State-controlled media Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that China-Russia relations have withstood the test of international turbulence, according to Chinese state-run television channel Phoenix TV. According to Phoenix TV, he made the comments during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Wang also said that China’s relations with Russia maintained the correct direction and continue to develop resiliently, according to the Chinese broadcaster. China, a close ally of Russia, has so far refused to fully denounce Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and has not joined the coordinated move to impose economic sanctions on Moscow. Chloe Taylor Kyiv officials say capital hit by multiple shelling strikes Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images A completely destroyed building is seen after Russian shelling in the Sviatoshinsky district of Kyiv, Ukraine on March 30, 2022. The Kyiv region has been hit by more than 30 shelling strikes over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday. More than 30 shellings of housing estates and infrastructure facilities have been recorded, the Kyiv Regional State Administration said in a Telegram post translated by NBC News. Authorities said in the post that the most dangerous areas in the region were the settlements along the Zhytomyr highway, as well as the north of Vyshhorod district and the settlements of Baryshivska and Velikodimerska on the outskirts of the capital. On Tuesday, Russia said it would scale back its military operations in and around Kyiv. Chloe Taylor 45 of Ukrainians worried about finding enough food, UN says Thomas Peter Reuters People line up for food handed out by volunteers at a humanitarian aid distribution point, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 28, 2022. An estimated 45 of the Ukrainian population is worried about finding enough to eat, the U.N.’s World Food Programme said Wednesday. The organization said it was already supporting 1 million people on the ground in Ukraine by supplying them with food. Just one month ago, we had no presence on the ground, no staff, no network of suppliers or partners. To build an operation from the ground up and get food to one million people seemed a monumental challenge, Jakob Kern, WFP’s emergency coordinator for Ukraine, said in a press release. Now that the structures are in place, we need the funding to keep delivering assistance, and to help 3 million people in need. Chloe Taylor 145 children have died in the war, Ukraine says Yuriy Dyachyshyn AFP Getty Images In this picture taken on March 18, 2022, 109 empty strollers are seen placed outside the Lviv city council during an action to highlight the number of children killed in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, 145 children have been killed in the conflict in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman said Wednesday. A further 222 children have been injured, officials said, noting that children in the Kyiv region suffered the most. Chloe Taylor Russia state Duma speaker suggests switching to ruble payments for more exports Simon Dawson Bloomberg Getty Images Russian State Duma chairman and speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said Wednesday that Moscow should consider asking for payments in rubles for more of its exported goods. The Kremlin has repeatedly demanded that so-called unfriendly countries pay in rubles for gas, a demand that has been rejected by G-7 countries. European politicians need to stop talking, stop looking for excuses why their countries cannot pay in rubles, Volodin said on Telegram Wednesday, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin made the right decision by demanding payments for gas be made in the Russian currency. Most countries currently pay for Russian gas in euros or dollars. It would be right, where it is profitable for our country, to expand the list of goods exported for rubles: fertilizers, grain, oil, oil, coal, metals, timber, etc., Volodin added. I appeal to colleagues from the national parliaments of unfriendly countries: take the issue of ruble settlements more seriously. Volodin, an influential lawmaker in the Russian political sphere, has been an outspoken supporter of Moscow’s military action in Ukraine. Chloe Taylor 4 million have fled Ukraine, UN says Angel Garcia Bloomberg Getty Images A displaced Ukrainian and child make their way to board a bus for onward travel at a temporary refugee center, setup at a disused Tesco building, in Przemysl, Poland, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. More than 4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in late February, the U.N.’s Office for the High Commissioner for Refugees said Wednesday. Chloe Taylor Chernihiv official says Russia continuing to attack the region despite claims it would pull troops back Oleh Holovatenko Reuters An external view shows hotel ‘Ukraine’ destroyed during an air strike, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in central Chernihiv, Ukraine March 12, 2022. Viasheslav Chaus, governor of Chernihiv, said Wednesday that Russian forces spent the whole night attacking the region despite Moscow’s claims yesterday that it would pull troops back from Kyiv and Chernihiv. Yesterday, the Russians publicly stated that they were reducing their offensive actions and activity in the Chernihiv and Kyiv areas. Do we believe that? Of course not, Chaus said in a Telegram post. The enemy demonstrated a ‘decrease in activity’ in the Chernihiv region by striking Nizhyn, including by air, and spent the whole night hitting Chernihiv, he added. Civil infrastructure has been destroyed again, libraries, shopping malls and other facilities have been destroyed, and many houses have been destroyed. Because, in fact, the enemy roamed Chernihiv all night. CNBC has not been able to independently verify these reports. A spokesperson for the Russian government was not immediately available for comment. Chloe Taylor Germany declares ‘early warning’ stage of gas supply emergency Kay Nietfeld Picture Alliance Getty Images German Economy Minister Robert Habeck holds a press conference on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Germany is bracing for a potential disruption of natural gas supplies, activating the first early warning stage of an emergency amid a dispute with Russia. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a news conference the measure was the first of three stages and does not yet imply a state intervention to ration gas supplies. Habeck called for consumers and companies to reduce consumption, however, reportedly saying that every kilowatt hour counts. It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin urges so-called unfriendly countries to pay in rubles for Russian gas. The G-7, which induces Germany, has rejected that demand. Habeck has said Germany, which imported around 55 of its gas supplies from Russia last year, would not be able to achieve full independence from Moscow before mid-2024. Sam Meredith You can’t trust ‘what is coming out of the mouth of Putin’s war machine,’ UK’s deputy PM says Peter Summers Getty Images Foreign Minister Dominic Raab is pictured in Downing Street on March 25, 2020 in London, England. U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has expressed skepticism over Russia’s claims that it intends to scale back its military operations in some parts of Ukraine. We judge the Russian military machine by its actions, not just its words, he told Sky News on Wednesday, saying the U.K. was not putting a lot of faith in Russia’s stated intentions. There’s some skepticism that Russia will regroup to attack again rather than seriously engage in diplomacy or anything of that nature, Raab added. Of course, the door to diplomacy will always be left ajar, but I don’t think you can trust what is coming out of the mouth of Putin’s war machine. Chloe Taylor Sanctions on Russia to continue until we see de-escalation, Italy’s Di Maio says Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe that sanctions on Russia will continue until Italy sees military de-escalation in Ukraine. Chloe Taylor Japan skeptical over Russian pledge to cut military operations Japan has expressed skepticism over Russia’s pledge to reduce its military operations in and around the Ukrainian capital. We are aware that during the ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on March 29, both sides made certain concessions, with the Russian side indicating its intention to drastically reduce military operations in and around the capital, Kyiv, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday. He noted that U.S. President Joe Biden and other U.S. government officials were taking a wait-and-see approach to Russia’s stated intentions, with some saying this is merely a repositioning of Moscow’s troops and not an actual withdrawal. Japan shares the belief that it is important to achieve a concrete cease-fire as soon as possible, and we will continue to monitor the situation with great interest, and at the same time, we will provide the various types of support to Ukraine that we have already announced in a prompt and steady manner, Matsuno said. In order to immediately stop Russia’s aggression and ensure the withdraw of its troops it is important for the international community to work together and continue to take strong measures against Russia. Chloe Taylor EU to pressure China over stance on Russia-Ukraine war Kenzo Tribouillard AFP Getty Images President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivers a statement in Brussels. The European Union wants to put pressure on China to be neutral with its stance over Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, sources with knowledge of the matter told CNBC ahead of a virtual meeting between Brussels and Beijing on Friday. There is concern among western officials regarding the role that China might play in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The Chinese authorities have so far refused to fully denounce Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor having abstained during a vote for a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Moscow. China has also supported Moscow’s complaints about NATO expansion and U.S. officials have also said that Russia has asked China for military and economic support something that the Kremlin and Beijing have both denied. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are speaking Friday with China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang at 10 a.m. Brussels time and then with Chinese President Xi Jinping at 2 p.m. The goal of the summit is ensuring, in a way, the neutrality of China so they don’t help Russia, an EU official, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the discussions, told CNBC Tuesday. Read the full story here. Silvia Amaro Ukrainian official says Russia will target Kyiv ‘until the end of the conflict’ Gleb Garanich Reuters A Ukrainian service member walks on the front line near Kyiv as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukraine March 29, 2022. Oleksiy Arestovtch, an advisor to the Ukrainian President’s Office, said Wednesday morning that ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine would do nothing to decelerate the war. Negotiations will in no way slow down the war and will not cancel it, he said on Telegram in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This is a separate line that prepares a future peace agreement, because any war, even a hundred years’ war, ends with a peace agreement. He noted, however, that serious success had been achieved at Tuesday’s talks in Istanbul. Ukraine has improved its pre-war position in all areas of consultation, Arestovtch said. At some point the negotiating and military lines will converge and this will definitely be a victory for Ukraine. But he expressed skepticism over the pledge Russia made at the meeting to scale back its military activity near Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv. Russian troops will be targeting the cities until the very end of the conflict, he said. Including Kyiv. Chloe Taylor Russian attacks continue in Ukraine Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of an armoured vehicle in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict on a road leading to the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 28, 2022. Ukraine’s armed forces said in an update Wednesday morning that more than 1,000 Russian troops had been transferred from occupied Georgia to reinforce Russia’s military presence in Ukraine. The enemy continues to conduct full-scale armed aggression against our state, officials said in the update, adding that Russian troops continue to loot the homes and apartments of local residents, detain pro-Ukrainian activists and government officials in Ukraine. CNBC has not been able to independently verify these reports. A spokesperson for the Russian government was not available for comment when contacted by CNBC. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said on Telegram Wednesday morning there had been shelling attacks in Kyiv’s Brovary district yesterday, which resulted in a fire. It was not specified if there were any casualties. Officials also said Russian troops had fired on residential neighborhoods in the Luhansk region early this morning. Authorities said there were victims in the attack, and were clarifying the information on casualties resulting from the attack. Rescuers are trying to save the living, Luhansk Governor Serhii Haidai said. Chloe Taylor Russian military is suffering ‘heavy losses’ but will likely continue with attacks, the U.K. says (https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/business/money-report/russias-pledge-to-scale-back-in-ukraine-met-with-skepticism-eu-to-put-pressure-on-china/3012080/)

Ukraine Claims 410 Bodies Found in Recaptured Towns; Zelenskyy Accuses Russia of Genocide. Follow Our Live Updates

This is CNBC’s live blog tracking Sunday’s developments on the war in Ukraine. See below for the latest updates. Ukraine’s top prosecutor said 410 bodies were found in towns near Kyiv as part of an investigation into possible war crimes by Russia. Some witnesses, however, are so traumatized by their ordeal that they are unable to speak, said Iryna Venedyktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general. After Russia withdrew from some areas around Kyiv, the mayor in Bucha, a liberated town 23 miles northwest of the capital, said that 300 residents had been killed by Russian forces while fighters from Chechnya controlled the area. Russia has denied allegations its troops killed civilians in Bucha. Ukrainian prosecutors were only able to enter the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel for the first time on Sunday and they need more time to work out the extent of the crimes, Venedyktova said. We need to work with witnesses, Venedyktova said. People today are so stressed that they are physically unable to speak. For his part, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said it was clear hundreds of civilians had been killed but that he did not want to say exactly how many there were, as efforts were still under way to clear mines in the area Earlier, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of genocide against Ukrainian people, saying in an interview that: We have more than 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of those nationalities. Zelenskyy made those comments after warning that forces want to seize the east and south of the country. He also said Ukrainian forces had regained control over communities in Kyiv and Chernihiv. Zelenskyy has also called for a ceasefire before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters Russia is using ‘a lot of manipulation’ to prop up the value of its currency, Blinken says Jakub Porzycki Nurphoto Getty Images Russian one ruble coin and Russian flag displayed on a screen are seen in this multiple exposure illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 8, 2022. The dramatic recovery in the value of the Russian ruble is due, in large part, to a lot of manipulation from the government in Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken claimed in an interview Sunday. The ruble traded at 84.62 per dollar, as of Friday, which is back near levels seen before the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine prompted historic economic sanctions against Russia. The ruble’s value initially plummeted, trading as low as 151.5 per dollar on March 7, according to FactSet data. When it comes to the ruble, it’s more than a little manipulation, it’s a lot of manipulation. People are being prevented from unloading rubles, Blinken said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, referring to capital controls implemented by Russia’s central bank. That’s artificially propping up the value. That’s not sustainable, so I think you’re going to see that change, Blinken said, suggesting that the strict sanctions combined with Western businesses leaving Russia will, over the long term, weigh on the currency and economy writ large. The export controls that we’ve imposed on Russia, denying it the technology it needs to modernize industry after industry, that’s going to have an increasing bite, he said. Kevin Stankiewicz Wreckage of the Antonov An-225, once world’s biggest aircraft, seen in Hostomel, Ukraine A view of the wreckage of the Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane at an airshed in Hostomel, Ukraine, on April 3, 2022. The Mriya was once the world’s biggest aircraft but it was destroyed on or about Feb. 27, 2022, by Russian shelling as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continued. Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images The wreckage of the world’s largest cargo plane Antonov An-225, which was severely damaged and rendered unusable due to Russian bombardments, was viewed by Anadolu Agency. Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images A view of the wreckage of Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world’s biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian shelling as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, at an airshed in Hostomel, Ukraine on April 03, 2022. Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images A view of the wreckage of Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world’s biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian shelling as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, at an airshed in Hostomel, Ukraine on April 03, 2022. Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images A view of the wreckage of Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world’s biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian shelling as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, at an airshed in Hostomel, Ukraine on April 03, 2022. Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images The wreckage of the world’s largest cargo plane Antonov An-225, which was severely damaged and rendered unusable due to Russian bombardments, was viewed by Anadolu Agency. Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images A view of the wreckage of Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world’s biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian shelling as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, at an airshed in Hostomel, Ukraine on April 03, 2022. Anadolu Agency Russia denies killing civilians in Bucha, calls photos, film of alleged war crimes’staged’ EDITOR’S NOTE: Image in this post contains graphic content Russia denied widely reported allegations it had killed civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, describing footage and photographs of dead bodies as a provocation and a staged performance by Kyiv. Ukraine has accused the Russian military of massacring residents in the town, located northwest of the capital, an area Ukrainian troops said they recaptured on Saturday. All the photos and videos published by the Kyiv regime, allegedly testifying to the ‘crimes’ of Russian servicemen in the city of Bucha, Kyiv region, are another provocation, Russia’s defense ministry said, in a statement. Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images A mass grave is seen behind a church in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 3, 2022. During the time that Russian armed forces were in control of this settlement, not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions, it said. Moscow has previously denied allegations that it has targeted civilians, and has rejected accusations of war crimes. Reuters Polish PM calls for EU meeting to impose harsh sanctions Metin Aktas Anadolu Agency Getty Images A photo shows damages from conflict areas in the Hostomel region, as Russian attacks on Ukraine continue, on April 03, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for a meeting with European heads of state as soon as possible to impose hard-hitting sanctions on Russia following reports that the nation’s forces executed scores of Ukrainian civilians. The massacre in Bucha is more than an alarm bell for Europe and the world. It is a terrible cry for justice, freedom and the right to life; for basic and universal values, Morawiecki said in a Facebook post. He added that Russian troops committed acts of genocide. The EU must confiscate all Russian assets in its western banks as well as those of Russian oligarchs. It must sever all trade relations with Russia without delay. European money must stop flowing to the Kremlin. Putin’s criminal and increasingly totalitarian regime needs to have one thing imposed on it: SANCTIONS WHICH ACTUALLY WORK, he said. Jessica Bursztynsky Ukraine foreign minister: Russia’s war crimes make it ‘worse than ISIS’ Sopa Images Lightrocket Getty Images Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, pictured here at the Ukrainian Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, called Russia worse than ISIS after apparent evidence emerged of civilian atrocities near Kyiv. Ukraine minister of foreign affairs Dmytro Kuleba said in a video on Sunday that Russia is worse than ISIS, referring to the Islamic extremist group. In its atrocities, in its crimes both the scale of these crimes and the ruthlessness of the behavior of the Russian army in Ukraine, Kuleba said in a video on Twitter. I don’t know where these soldiers were educated what kind of values they have, if any, Kuleba added. It’s unspeakable. Rapes, tortures, murders of civilians. He noted that Ukraine has begun work to prosecute everyone involved in these crimes. Kuleba also said that he is trying to prepare myself for images and videos which will come from Mariupol when we liberate it. Probably they will be even more devastating, Kuleba said. Michael Sheetz Scholz says West to agree more sanctions on Russia in coming days Hannibal Hanschke Reuters German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gives a press statement about the war crimes discovered the day before in Bucha, Ukraine, at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany April 3, 2022. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday Western allies would agree further sanctions on Russia in the coming days over its invasion of Ukraine and the atrocities committed by Russian troops in a town near Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences of their actions, he said, in a statement to reporters in the chancellery. And we will continue to make weapons available to Ukraine so the country can defend itself against the Russian invasion. Reuters Civilians take shelter from Russian artillery in Kharkiv Civilians are seen taking shelter from Russian artillery in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine. Wolfgang Schwan Anadolu Agency Getty Images Civilians are seen taking shelter from Russian artillery in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine on April 3, 2022. Wolfgang Schwan Anadolu Agency Getty Images Civilians are seen taking shelter from Russian artillery in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine on April 3, 2022. Wolfgang Schwan Anadolu Agency Getty Images Civilians are seen taking shelter from Russian artillery in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine on April 3, 2022. Wolfgang Schwan Anadolu Agency Getty Images Civilians are seen taking shelter from Russian artillery in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine on April 3, 2022. Wolfgang Schwan Anadolu Agency Getty Images Civilians are seen taking shelter from Russian artillery in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine on April 3, 2022. Getty Images U.S. to send more aid as Moldova embraces Ukraine war refugees Lev Radin Lightrocket Getty Images US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield makes a statement at a stakeout at the Security Council at UN Headquarters. Meeting was convened at the request of the Russian Federation who accused Ukraine of developing biological weapons under the tutelage of the United States without providing any evidence. The United States will give Moldova $50 million to help it cope with the impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during a visit to the former Soviet republic on Sunday. She said the funding would support programs, training and equipment for border management, efforts to counter human trafficking, help to improve accountability and transparency in the justice sector, and combat corruption and cybercrime. Nearly 400,000 refugees have already fled Ukraine through Moldova, with about a quarter remaining in the country, since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Moscow says it is carrying out a special military operation that aims to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure. The money pledged to Moldova by the United States on Sunday comes on top of $30 million announced last month to assist refugee relief efforts in Moldova over the next six months. Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, is one of Europe’s poorest countries and has 2.6 million people. Like Ukraine it aspires to join the EU. Reuters U.S. Secretary of State responds to claims of ‘genocide’ in Ukraine Jacquelyn Martin AFP Getty Images US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses the Media after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, on March 27, 2022. America’s top diplomat on Sunday stopped short of agreeing with those who claim Russia is committing genocide against Ukrainian civilians during its invasion. We will look hard and document everything that we see, put it all together, and make sure the relevant institutions and organizations that are looking at this, including the State Department, have everything they need to asses exactly what took place in Ukraine, who is responsible and what it amounts to, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CNN’s State of the Union. In a CBS interview that aired Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed the Russian military is committing genocide against Ukrainian people. The U.S. government has formally accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. That’s one of four main crimes over which the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction. Genocide, crime against humanity and crime of aggression are the other three. However, the U.S. is not a member of the ICC, which defines genocide as the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means. Kevin Stankiewicz EU must discuss import ban on Russian gas, German defense minister says Michele Tantussi Reuters German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht speaks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, January 26, 2022. Germany’s defense minister said on Sunday that the European Union must discuss banning the import of Russian gas after Ukrainian and European officials accused Russian forces of committing atrocities near Kyiv. There has to be a response. Such crimes must not remain unanswered, the defense ministry quoted Christine Lambrecht as saying in an interview with the public broadcaster ARD. Berlin has so far resisted growing calls to impose an embargo on energy imports from Russia, saying its economy and that of other European countries are too dependent on them. Russia supplies 40 of Europe’s gas needs. But Lambrecht said EU ministers would now have to discuss a ban, according to a tweet from her ministry. Reuters Boris Johnson says Putin and his troops ‘are committing war crimes’ Thomas Coex AFP Getty Images Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said graphic reports coming out of Bucha and Irpin are more evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine. I will do everything in my power to starve Putin’s war machine, Johnson said in a statement. We are stepping up our sanctions and military support, as well as bolstering our humanitarian support package to help those in need on the ground. Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of executing civilians prior to their retreat of areas surrounding the capital of Kyiv. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted a video early Sunday that showed bodies in civilian clothing on the side of the road, accusing Russian forces of executing the residents. Earlier in the day, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called for the attacks to be investigated as war crimes, adding the U.K. would support any investigations by the International Criminal Court. Russia has denied committing the atrocities, according to The New York Times. No denial or disinformation from the Kremlin can hide what we all know to be the truth Putin is desperate, his invasion is failing, and Ukraine’s resolve has never been stronger, Johnson said in a statement. Jessica Bursztynsky Zelenskyy says U.S. has not yet offered Ukraine security guarantees Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends an interview with some of the Russian media via videolink, as Russia?s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 27, 2022. The U.S. has not provided Ukraine an official security guarantee, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CBS’ Face the Nation. In an interview that aired Sunday, Zelenskyy said he was grateful for the support Washington has offered Ukraine to date to assist the country in defending against Russia’s invasion. The U.S. has provided Ukraine more than $1 billion in security assistance, which includes more than 1,000 Stinger anti-aircraft systems and other military equipment like ammunition and body armor. But nevertheless, the United States have not provided the security guarantees to us, Zelenskyy said, according to a full CBS transcript. Ukrainian officials have recently focused on the concept of security guarantees in their diplomatic peace talks with Russia. According to Reuters, Ukraine has said it would be willing to adopt neutral status if it’s able to enter agreements with a group of countries that pledge to militarily defend Ukraine if Ukraine is attacked in the future. Zelenskyy described the security guarantees as an enforceable document, not just a piece of paper. He suggested that receiving such commitments from allies are critical for peace discussions with Russia to advance because so far, sanctions have yet to deter Russian aggression. We don’t believe in papers any longer. So we are very grateful for the support of the United States, Zelenskyy said. It’s a very powerful support. But in terms of security guarantees, we have not received them yet from anyone, and we have to get them. Kevin Stankiewicz At least 1,417 civilians killed in Ukraine, UN says Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Local resident Pavel, 42, stands next to the grave of his friend Igor, who was killed by shelling while they were riding together in a car during Ukraine-Russia conflict, in a residential area in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 30, 2022. At least 1,417 civilians, including 121 children, have been killed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said. An additional 2,038 have been injured, including 171 children, from Feb. 24 to April 2, it added. The agency expects the actual figures to be considerably higher. It’s been difficult for officials to determine the extent of injuries and deaths in areas with heavy fighting or that have been taken over by Russian forces. The bulk of the injuries have been caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, such as shelling from heavy artillery and missile and air strikes, the agency said. Jessica Bursztynsky The war is exacerbating supply-chain disruptions that have sent U.S. auto prices sky-high Pablo Monsalve Corbis News Getty Images View of a used car dealership in Ridgewood, Queens New York on January 19, 2022. Inflation spiked to its highest level in four decades, sending consumer prices soaring 7 percent for the year ended. Russia’s war against Ukraine has thrown up a new obstacle to the global auto industry’s attempts to recover from a Covid-related global shortage of semiconductor chips and other key parts and the result is likely to keep prices of new and used vehicles sky-high for a while longer, The Associated Press reports. Ukraine is a key supplier of automotive wiring harnesses to automakers, particularly European automakers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen or at least it was before the invasion. Now, the Associated Press is reporting that automakers find themselves scrambling to replace the Ukrainian production further hampering their efforts to restore full production and ease the new-car supply crunch that has driven auto prices sharply higher since the beginning of the pandemic. The average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. is up 13 in the past year, to $45,596, according to an Edmunds.com report cited by The Associated Press. Average used prices have surged far more: They’re up 29 to $29,646 as of February. Before the war, S&P Global had predicted that global automakers would build 84 million vehicles this year and 91 million next year. Now it’s forecasting fewer than 82 million in 2022 and 88 million next year, according to the AP. John Rosevear European leaders call on Russia to pay for ‘war crimes’ in Bucha EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content European leaders are calling for Russia to be held accountable amid allegations that its forces killed scores of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted a video early Sunday that showed bodies in civilian clothing on the side of the road, accusing Russian forces of executing the residents. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shared several photos of casualties, some with their hands tied behind their backs. These people were not in the military. They had no weapons. They posed no threat. How many more such cases are happening right now in the occupied territories? Podolyak said on Twitter. Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content: Communal workers carry a civilian in a body bag after he was killed during Russian army shelling in the town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on April 3, 2022. CNBC could not immediately independently verify the claims of execution. But reporters on the ground from The New York Times, Associated Press and Reuters said they saw bodies in civilian clothing on the streets. The AP saw some with their hands tied behind their backs, and also saw two bodies wrapped in plastic, bound with tape and thrown into a ditch. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, called for an independent investigation into the atrocities. She added that perpetrators of war crimes would be held accountable. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the country would issue more severe sanctions in response to the reports. The images from Bucha are unbearable. Putin’s rampant violence is wiping out innocent families and knows no bounds, Baerbock said on Twitter, according to a translation. French President Emmanuel Macron said the images of dead civilians were unbearable. The Russian authorities will have to answer for these crimes, Macron said in a tweet. Jessica Bursztynsky Zelenskyy accuses Russia of committing ‘genocide’ in Ukraine Oleksandr Ratushniak Reuters Local residents ride bicycles past flattened civilian cars, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, on a street in the town of Bucha, in Kyiv region, Ukraine April 1, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russian military of committing genocide against Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy made the comments in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation, in light of the reported devastation in the town of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv. Russian forces have now retreated from the city after occupying it for weeks. This is genocide, Zelenskyy said. We have more than 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of those nationalities. We are the citizens of Ukraine, and we don’t want to be subdued to the policy of Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated. Ukrainian officials say bodies of dead civilians in Bucha show signs of torture and appear to be executed. Reuters reported some victims laid in mass graves while others were still on the city’s streets. Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images Editors Note: Graphic Content: A body of a civilian man with hands tied behind his back lies in the street as a communal worker prepares a plastic body bag to carry him to a waiting car in town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on April 3, 2022. The International Criminal Court is traditionally where claims of alleged war crimes are adjudicated. The ICC defines genocide as the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means. Kevin Stankiewicz GOP Rep. Kinzinger: Tucker Carlson and politicians who supported Putin should ‘answer’ for their support Kevin Dietsch Getty Images Rep. Adam Kinzinger speaks after the Republican House caucus voted to remove Rep. Liz Cheney of her leadership, at the U.S. Capitol on on May 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. In a tweet from his personal account, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said that members of Congress and media figures who have expressed support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should now be held to account, given the emerging evidence of Russian atrocities in Bucha and other areas near Kyiv. He specifically called out Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the tweet. Carlson’s and McCarthy’s offices didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. John Rosevear Russia’s move away from Kyiv not a ‘withdrawal’ but a ‘repositioning,’ NATO’s Secretary General says Halil Sagirkaya Anadolu Agency Getty Images NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference after the Extraordinary Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Brussels, Belgium on March 24, 2022. Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia’s retreat from Kyiv does not appear to be a withdrawal, but rather a shift in strategy. What we see is not really a withdrawal, we see that Russia is repositioning its troops, Stoltenberg told CNN’s Dana Bash. They are taking some of them back to rearm them, to reinforce them, and to resupply them. We should not in any way be too optimistic, the attacks will continue, and we are also concerned about potential increased attacks in the south and in the east. So this is not really a withdrawal, more a shift in strategy, focusing more on the South and East, he said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Stoltenberg’s comments, telling NBC’s Meet the Press that Russian forces may be regrouping. They may be recalibrating. We’re focused on on what they’re doing, not what they’re saying. John Rosevear Pope Francis prays for end to’sacrilegious’ war Grzegorz Galazka Mondadori Portfolio Getty Images General audience of Pope Francis with the presence of a small group of faithful in masks after the long pause due to the coronavirus pandemic in the Cortile San Damaso. Vatican City, May 26th, 2021. Pope Francis prayed Sunday for an end to the sacrilegious war in Ukraine and for the world to show kindness and compassion to refugees as he concluded a two-day visit to Malta that was dominated by his concern for the devastation unleashed by Russia’s invasion. Francis asked for prayers for peace in Ukraine, a day after he blasted Russia’s invasion as infantile and based on anachronistic claims of nationalistic interests. He urged the faithful to think of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in the martyred Ukraine, which continues to be bombarded in this sacrilegious war. May we be tireless in praying and in offering assistance to those who suffer. The Associated Press Zelenskyy calls for ceasefire before meeting with Putin Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 1, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a ceasefire so that he can meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I can’t even have a meeting when the shelling is going on, Zelenskyy said on CBS’ Face the Nation. So, first the ceasefire and then we can have a meeting with the Russian president we will discuss a point in time where the end of the war will come. After discussions, Zelenskyy said Russian troops need to exit Ukrainian borders. This is the bare minimum, he said. Jessica Bursztynsky Ukraine says Bucha ‘massacre’ was deliberate, demands new Russia sanctions EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia on Sunday of carrying out a deliberate massacre in the town of Bucha outside Kyiv and called on the G-7 to impose devastating new sanctions on Moscow. We are still gathering and looking for bodies, but the number has already gone into the hundreds. Dead bodies lie on the streets. They killed civilians while staying there and when they were leaving these villages and towns, his ministry quoted him as saying on Twitter. Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images EDITORS NOTE: Graphic Content: A communal worker standing inside a van loaded with body bags, waits for another body to be wrapped and collected by a colleague following Russian shelling of the town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on April 3, 2022. Russia has so far not commented publicly on the claims. Moscow has previously repeatedly denied Ukrainian claims that it has targeted civilians. Reuters Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister says more humanitarian corridors are set to open Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, said in a message on the Telegram messaging app that more evacuations are planned. We continue to evacuate people from Mariupol to Zaporizhia, Vereshchuk wrote. There are currently 17 buses near Berdyansk 10 of them are for the evacuation of Mariupol residents and local residents. If they are not allowed into the city, we ask people to come to the checkpoint at the entrance to Berdyansk there they will be waiting for you. Seven additional buses will attempt once again to get near the battered port city of Mariupol, Vereshchuk said. Evacuations are also planned out of the towns of Lysychansk, Nyzhne, Popasna, Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, she added. Terri Cullen Russia will soon ask for ruble payments for other exports, Kremlin warns Dado Ruvic Reuters Russian rouble coins are seen in this illustration taken February 24, 2022. Russia will soon ask for ruble payments for other exports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned, saying heavy economic sanctions imposed by the West have accelerated diminishing confidence in the dollar and euro. I have no doubt that it will in the future be extended to new groups of goods, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Reuters reported, citing RIA news agency. Peskov’s comments referred to Moscow’s repeated demands that so-called unfriendly countries pay for Russian natural gas in rubles. The U.S. and international allies have imposed an unprecedented barrage of economic sanctions against Russia, seeking to isolate the Kremlin following its unprovoked onslaught in Ukraine. Sam Meredith Several missile strikes hit Ukraine’s southern port city of Mykolaiv, mayor says The Mayor of Mykolaiv Olexandr Senkevych has reported that several rocket attacks have hit Ukraine’s southern port city. Friends, we have had several missile strikes in the city. We are collecting data now, Senkevych said via Telegram, according to a translation. It comes shortly after a series of explosions could be heard in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, prompting thick black smoke to cover the sky. Like Mykolaiv, Odesa is a strategically important port hub on the Black Sea coast. Sam Meredith Ukraine sees sharp drop in March grain exports, economic (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/business/money-report/missiles-slam-into-port-city-of-odesa-zelenskyy-says-russians-aim-to-seize-east-and-south-ukraine-follow-our-live-updates/2930821/)

Biden Blasts Putin in Powerful Speech; U.S. to Provide $100 Million in Assistance to Ukraine

This has been CNBC’s live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine. Follow the latest updates here. U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a major address in Poland on Saturday, rallying support for Ukraine and calling for unity in the face of Russian aggression. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged energy-producing countries to increase their energy output, so everyone in Russia understands that no one can use energy as blackmail. It comes as countries across Europe and beyond seek to reduce their energy dependency on Russia a major oil and gas producer and exporter. Russians may be trying to encircle Ukrainian forces in east Russian forces appear to be trying to encircle Ukrainian troops who are facing separatist fighters in the far east of the country, according to a new intelligence assessment. The U.K. Ministry of Defence, in its daily update, said on Sunday that Russian units are trying to advance southward from Kharkiv and northward from Mariupol. If successful, those maneuvers could cut off Ukraine’s soldiers who are already engaged against separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk. CNBC CNBC was unable to independently confirm the ministry’s report. Kharkiv and Mariupol are both still in Ukrainian hands but have been blasted for weeks by Russian artillery, killing civilians and defenders alike. Ukraine’s government this week refused a Russian demand that it surrender Mariupol. Russia claims that it isn’t using artillery against civilian targets, despite overwhelming evidence that it is. Meanwhile, tenacious Ukrainian defensive efforts continue to block Moscow’s invasion in the north of the country, which would include the long-stalled Russian drive toward Kyiv. The battlefield across northern Ukraine remains largely static with local Ukrainian counterattacks hampering Russian attempts to reorganise their forces, the British ministry said. Ted Kemp Ukraine says more than 5,000 people were evacuated from cities today Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Evacuees fleeing Ukraine-Russia conflict sit in the body of a cargo vehicle while waiting in a line to leave the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 17, 2022. A total of 5,208 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors today, a senior official said, fewer than the 7,331 who managed to escape the previous day. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said in an online post that 4,331 people had left the besieged city of Mariupol. Reuters U.S. will provide $100 million in civilian security assistance to Ukraine Clodagh Kilcoyne Reuters Egor, 5, comforts his mother Helen Yakubets who cries in a ballroom, which has been converted to a temporary shelter, at the Mandachi hotel after fleeing from Chernihiv in Ukraine to Romania, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Suceava, Romania, March 20, 2022. Her 18 year old son and husband remain in Ukraine to fight. The United States will provide $100 million to Ukraine in civilian security assistance, according to the State Department. The aid will enhance the capacity of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs to provide essential border security, sustain civil law enforcement functions, and safeguard critical governmental infrastructure, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The announcement comes after Lviv, a city near the Poland border in western Ukraine, suffered rocket strikes earlier today. Darla Mercado Biden speaks in Poland, calls for further unity of NATO allies against Putin over Ukraine invasion Aleksandra Szmigiel Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland, March 26, 2022. President Joe Biden spoke in Warsaw, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power as a result of his invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness, Biden said. For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power, he said. Later Saturday, a White House official sought to clarify Biden’s remarks, saying that he was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia or a regime change. Click here for more details from CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger. Darla Mercado Another rocket strikes Lviv, mayor says Ronaldo Schemidt AFP Getty Images Dark smoke and flames rise from a fire following an air strike in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, on March 26, 2022. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi tweeted from his verified Twitter account that there has been another rocket strike in the city: In another tweet shortly after, the mayor said, As a result of the new missile strikes on Lviv, significant damage was caused to infrastructure facilities. Residential buildings were not damaged. Two rocket strikes hit Ukraine’s western city of Lviv earlier on Saturday, wounding five people, according to regional Governor Maksym Kozotskyy. Darla Mercado Londoners march in solidarity with Ukraine Londoners waved the Ukrainian national flags during a London stands with Ukraine march and vigil in central London. Aaron Chown Pa Images Getty Images People take part during a solidarity march in London for Ukraine, following the Russian invasion. Picture date: Saturday March 26, 2022. Aaron Chown Pa Images Getty Images People take part in a solidarity march in London for Ukraine, following the Russian invasion. Picture date: Saturday March 26, 2022. Aaron Chown Pa Images Getty Images People pass the Yoko Ono Imagine Peace sign at Piccadilly, during a solidarity march in London for Ukraine, following the Russian invasion. Picture date: Saturday March 26, 2022. Justin Tallis AFP Getty Images Demonstrators wave Ukrainian national flags during a ‘London stands with Ukraine’ protest march and vigil, in central London, on March 26, 2022 to send a unified message of support to the Ukrainian people. Getty Images 5 wounded after rocket strikes hit Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, says governor Adri Salido Anadolu Agency Getty Images Smoke rises in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv following Russia’s attacks on March 26, 2022. Two rocket strikes hit Ukraine’s western city of Lviv on Saturday, wounding five people, regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyy said, after local authorities told residents to seek shelter in the wake of powerful blasts on the city’s outskirts. There have been two rocket strikes within the limits of Lviv, said regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyy in an online post. Earlier he had reported three powerful explosions in the eastern edge of Lviv. Reuters witnesses saw heavy black smoke rising from the northeast side of the city. Nariman El-Mofty AP Smoke rises in the air in Lviv, western Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. Reuters President Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, calls Putin a butcher President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian refugees at the PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw, Poland. The United Nations estimates 12 million people inside Ukraine will need relief and protection. According to the UN, more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees may need protection and assistance in neighboring countries in the coming months. Biden, visiting NATO ally Poland, called Russian President Vladimir Putin a butcher. Biden said he was not sure Russia was changing its strategy in Ukraine to focus on efforts to liberate the breakaway eastern Donbass region, despite getting bogged down in some areas. Brendan Smialowski Afp Getty Images President Joe Biden holds a girl on his arm as he and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki meet with Ukrainian refugees at PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw on March 26, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters President Joe Biden, flanked by Mayor of Warsaw Rafal Trzaskowski and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, hugs a woman as he visits Ukrainian refugees at the PGE National Stadium, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters President Joe Biden, flanked by Mayor of Warsaw Rafal Trzaskowski and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, visits Ukrainian refugees at PGE National Stadium, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters President Joe Biden visits Ukrainian refugees at the PGE National Stadium, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. Getty Images, Reuters, Adam Jeffery and Riya Bhattacharjee Turkey refuses to rule out purchasing more missile defense systems from Russia Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested it could still buy more defense systems from Russia. We prefer to purchase them from United States and allies, Cavusoglu said at the Doha Forum on Saturday. But, he added, If we cannot purchase them from allies, I need to find another source. Annie Nova Biden to Poland: Your freedom is ours Kacper Pempel Reuters Polish President Andrzej Duda and the U.S. President Joe Biden interact, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden has told Poland’s President Andrzej Duda that your freedom is ours, echoing of one of Poland’s unofficial mottos. He assured Duda that the U.S. and other NATO allies would come to their aid if Russia should attack. The two gathered Saturday on Biden’s final day in Europe to speak about their shared effort to end the war in neighboring Ukraine. Biden called the collective defense agreement of the Western military alliance a sacred commitment, and said that the unity of NATO was of the utmost importance. He also acknowledged that Poland was bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis, with more than 2 million of the 3.5 million people fleeing Ukraine entering the country. He said the other NATO allies must do more. The U.S. has pledged to accept up to 100,000 refugees. Duda said that the relations between the two nations are flourishing, despite the difficult times. Associated Press Biden says Putin was counting on being able to divide NATO, calls on more countries to accept Ukrainian refugees Evelyn Hockstein Reuters Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Zbigniew Rau speak with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. President Joe BidenU.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski during a bilateral meeting, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the Column Hall at the Presidential Palace, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. President Biden in a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda stressed the importance of unity among NATO nations during the Russia-Ukraine crisis. I’m confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on being able to divide NATO, Biden said, and to be able to separate the eastern flank from the west, to be able to separate nations based on past histories. But he hasn’t been able to do it. Biden went on to say that NATO countries should follow Poland’s lead in accepting Ukrainian refugees, including the U.S. He compared the refugee crisis to the situation at the southern border in the U.S. And also we do acknowledge that Poland is taking on a significant responsibility, that I don’t think should just be Poland’s; it should be all of NATO’s responsibility. The fact that so many, so many Ukrainians seeking refuge in the country of Poland. We understand that because we have at our southern border thousands of people a day, literally not figuratively, trying to get into the United States. But we believe, that we, the United States, should do our part relative to Ukraine as well by opening our borders to another 100,000 people, Biden said. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters President Joe Biden visits Ukrainian refugees at the PGE National Stadium, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. Annie Nova TotalEnergies will not do more business with Putin, but will maintain Russian assets Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, says the company will never do business with President Vladimir Putin again. Still, Pouyanne said TotalEnergies won’t write off its oil and gas assets in Russia. Instead it will no longer provide capital for new projects in the country and not renew its Russian gasoil and crude supply contracts. Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble, Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said he was not prepared to write off the company’s assets in Russia as it would effectively mean giving them to Putin for free. What do we do with the existing assets? I am not ready to give them for zero to Russian people, to Russian oligarchs because by the way, it would be contrary of the sanctions, he said on a CNBC-moderated panel at the Doha Forum in Qatar. These assets are there, I will not give them for free to Mr. Putin. Because this is what it means, leaving today. Annie Nova Russian forces have taken control of Chernobyl workers’ town, local officials say Maxar Technologies Reuters A satellite image shows a closer view of a sarcophagus at Chornobyl nuclear power plant, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine, March 10, 2022. Russian forces have taken control of the town of Slavutych in Ukraine, where workers at the Chornobyl nuclear plant live, Reuters reported, citing the governor of Kyiv region. Governor Oleksandr Pavlyuk said some residents had unfurled a large Ukrainian flag in protest, shouting Glory to Ukraine. Russian troops fired into the air and threw stun grenades into the crowd to try and disperse the protest. The inhabitants are carrying out heroic civil resistance to the invader, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a televised address, Reuters reported. Officials from Russia did not immediately reply to Reuters for comment about Slavutych. Terri Cullen Ukraine war is pushing countries toward a ‘parallel system’ of pricing oil, Qatar says Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani tells CNBC that the economic effects of the Ukraine-Russia crisis are being felt around the world and could lead some countries to move away from pricing oil in dollars. Honestly speaking, look at what happens and the dynamics around us right now. I’m sure there are a lot of other countries who are unhappy with what’s happened and the consequences of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis, especially the economic consequences, he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Doha Forum. And they are going to look and explore a parallel system of pricing oil going to hedge, at least, for them economically, he added. So as we are living through a transition, this transition will not be only a political transition but it is an economic transition as well. He added that Qatar was stepping up and holding talks with European countries about boosting gas supplies. It comes as European countries seek to diversify their energy supply away from Russia particularly gas. The EU imported 45 of its gas from Russia last year, according to the International Energy Agency. We are stepping up and helping some European partners who are starting to suffer from some gas shortages with the limited amount that we have, he said, stressing that the majority of its gas contracts are long-term. Katrina Bishop Blinken and Austin meet with Ukrainian counterparts in Poland Evelyn Hockstein Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden joins a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the Marriott Hotel, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. Ukraine’s minister of defense and minister of foreign affairs have met with their U.S. counterparts in Warsaw, Poland. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. Kuleba said on Twitter that the special 2+2 format allows us to seek practical decisions in both political and defense spheres in order to fortify Ukraine’s ability to fight back Russian aggression. Katrina Bishop Over 100,000 people still need to be evacuated from Mariupol, Ukraine says Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Local residents walk near a fallen electricity pylon and an apartment building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 25, 2022. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on national television that 100,000 people still need to be evacuated from the besieged city of Mariupol. It comes after Mayor Vadym Boichenko said street fighting continued in the city center. In a television interview earlier in the day, Boichenko said that he’d spoken to the French ambassador about options for evacuating civilians from the city. French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he hoped to get Russia on board with a humanitarian operation, alongside Greece and Turkey, to help evacuate civilians from Mariupol. Katrina Bishop Biden set to make major address in Poland Kacper Pempel Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden reviews the Guard of Honor ahead of his meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. As the conflict enters its second month, U.S. President Joe Biden is set to make a major address from Poland, which borders Ukraine. He will speak to the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world, and why it is so important that the free world sustain unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression, said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told NBC. Biden is expected to meet with refugees in Poland ahead of the speech; he country has welcomed over 2 million people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Katrina Bishop Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to energy producers: I ask you to increase output Ibraheem Al Omari Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the Doha Forum by video link, in Doha, Qatar March 26, 2022. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken at the Doha Forum conference’s opening ceremony, urging energy producing countries such as Qatar to hike their output. Speaking via video link, he said: I ask you to increase output of energy so everyone in Russia understands that no one can use energy as blackmail, according to a translation. It comes as countries around the world seek to reduce their energy dependence on Russia a leading producer and global exporter of oil and gas. Posting on his verified Telegram channel after the address, Zelenskyy said it was only a matter of time before European countries stopped purchasing Russian oil and gas. The responsible states, in particular the State of Qatar, are reliable and reputable suppliers of energy resources. And they can contribute to stabilizing the situation in Europe. There is much that can be done to restore justice, he said, according to a translation. On Friday, the U.S. said it will look to provide at least 15 billion cubic meters more of liquified natural gas to Europe this year, with the volumes expected to increase going forward. U.S. President Joe Biden described the agreement as a groundbreaking new initiative designed to increase energy security, economic security and national security. U.K. Ministry of Defence says Russians likely to concentrate firepower on urban areas Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images Local residents retrieve what is left in their destroyed apartments, located in a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling the day before by Russian troops trying to encircle the Ukrainian capital as part of their slow-moving offensives, in Kyiv on March 20, 2022. The U.K. Ministry of Defence said Russia seems likely to focus its artillery on urban areas. Russian forces are proving reluctant to engage in large scale urban infantry operations, rather preferring to rely on the indiscriminate use of air and artillery bombardments in an attempt to demoralise defending forces, the ministry said in its daily intelligence update. It said, however, this strategy will likely come at the cost of further civilian casualties as Moscow looks to limit its own already considerable losses. The ministry said Russia’s onslaught continues in a number of Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol. Christine Wang Pentagon official says Russian forces focusing more on Donbas, less on Kyiv Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of armoured vehicles in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in Dokuchaievsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 25, 2022. Russian forces appear to be prioritizing efforts in Donbas in eastern Ukraine, a U.S. Department of Defense official said Friday. That’s where still there remains a lot of heavy fighting and we think they are trying to not only secure some sort of more substantial gains there as a potential negotiating tactic at the table, but also to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country, the official said. While airstrikes on Kyiv continue, the Pentagon official said Russian forces currently do not appear to be pursuing a ground offensive in Ukraine’s capital city. The official also said the Pentagon has seen Russian troop movements in Georgia, which they said could indicate reinforcements may be sent into Ukraine. Reports of military movements in Ukraine continue to be difficult to confirm as the situation across the country remains fluid and changes rapidly. The official also confirmed Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian ship in Berdyansk earlier in the week, but declined to say what weapons were used, in order to protect operational security. The official also said the department does not know how many Russians were onboard when the ship was hit or how many casualties there were. Christine Wang We’re in a fight between democracy and oligarchs, Biden tells U.S. troops in Poland Omar Marques Getty Images US. President Joe Biden disembarks Air Force One at Rzeszow Airport on March 25, 2022 in Rzeszow, Poland. U.S. President Joe Biden stopped near Rzeszow, Poland to thank the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division ahead of his meeting with the country’s President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. We’re in the midst of a fight between democracy and oligarchs, Biden said. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden meets with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2 Arena in Jasionka, near Rzeszow, Poland, March 25, 2022. What’s at stake here is not just what we’re doing in Ukraine to try to help the Ukrainian people and try to keep the massacre from continuing, Biden said. Beyond that is what are your kids and grandkids going to look like in terms of their freedom. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden meets with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2 Arena in Jasionka, near Rzeszow, Poland, March 25, 2022. What you’re engaging in is much bigger than whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine. We’re in a new phase, we’re at an inflection point, he said. Biden added that the world will not be the same in 10 or 15 years and the question is: Who’s going to prevail, democracy or autocracy. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden takes a selfie with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2 Arena in Jasionka, near Rzeszow, Poland, March 25, 2022. You are the finest fighting force in the history of the world, Biden said. Evelyn Hockstein Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden eats pizza as he meets with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2 Arena in Jasionka, near Rzeszow, Poland, March 25, 2022. In addressing the troops, Biden invoked his son Beau Biden, a lawyer and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps who served in Iraq and Kosovo. There are hundreds of thousands of people like my son, like all of you. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Biden said. Brendan Smialowski AFP Getty Images US President Joe Biden takes a selfie photo as he meets service members from the 82nd Airborne Division, who are contributing alongside Polish Allies to deterrence on the Alliances Eastern Flank, in the city of Rzeszow in southeastern Poland, around 100 kilometres from the border with Ukraine, on March 25, 2022. Dawn Kopecki, Getty Images/Reuters Read CNBC’s previous live coverage Read Friday’s live blog here: Biden tells U.S. troops in Poland they are fighting for democracy; 300 people feared dead in Mariupol theater bombing (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/money-report/biden-set-to-give-major-speech-in-poland-ukraines-zelenskyy-asks-middle-east-to-increase-energy-output-follow-our-live-updates/3189005/)

Ukraine Suspends Evacuations Amid Safety Fears; Russia, Ukraine Prepare for Face-To-Face Talks

This has been CNBC’s live blog covering updates on the war in Ukraine. Follow the latest updates here. Face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia are set to continue this week, with delegations from both countries traveling to Turkey today. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that discussions were likely to resume Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said they would not be opening any humanitarian corridors Monday to allow the evacuation of civilians due to intelligence that suggested Russian forces may be planning an attack on the evacuation routes. Ukrainian counterattacks have pushed Russians back from a number of positions, Britain says The U.K. Ministry of Defence said Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian troops back in some locations as they conduct counterattacks northwest of Kyiv. Still, the ministry said in its daily update that Russia still poses a significant threat to the city through their strike capability. While Russian forces have continued their onslaught in Mariupol, the ministry said the city center remains under Ukrainian control. Military developments are difficult or impossible to confirm as the situation on the ground in Ukraine changes rapidly. Reports of Ukrainian units reclaiming territory north and west of Kyiv began to filter out of the region last week. Christine Wang Japan to ban luxury exports to Russia starting April 5 Japan is expected to ban the export of luxury products such as passenger cars and fashion items to Russia starting April 5, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Banned items include: alcohol, tobacco products, perfume, cosmetics, motorcycles, watches with precious metals, art and antique goods, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement translated by NBC News. The move is the latest response from Japan aimed at putting pressure on Russia for its unprovoked war against Ukraine. Sumathi Bala Ukrainians claim to retake ground ahead of latest talks Oleksandr Ratushniak Reuters A woman holds a child next to a destroyed bridge during an evacuation from Irpin, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 28, 2022. Ukrainian forces claimed to have retaken a Kyiv suburb and an eastern town from the Russians in what is becoming a back-and-forth stalemate on the ground, while negotiators began assembling for another round of talks Tuesday aimed at stopping the fighting. Ahead of the talks, to be held in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, and is open to compromise on the fate of the Donbas, the contested region in the country’s east. The mayor of Irpin, a northwestern Kyiv suburb that has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting near the capital, said Monday that the city has been liberated from Russian troops. Irpin gained wide attention after photos circulated of a mother and her two children who were killed by shelling as they tried to flee, their bodies lying on the pavement with luggage and a pet carrier nearby. Associated Press Biden says his ‘moral outrage’ at Putin does not signal a U.S. policy shift Kevin Lamarque Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden announces his budget proposal for fiscal year 2023, as Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young listens in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 28, 2022. President Joe Biden on Monday clarified that his statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power made over the weekend doesn’t reflect a policy shift by the United States. Biden spoke at the White House two days after he shocked the world and his closest aides on Saturday when he ad-libbed the line during a major speech in Poland, prompting a flurry of headlines saying Biden was calling for a regime change in Russia. On Monday, Biden tried to draw a line between her personal opinion and U.S. policy. I’m not walking anything back, said Biden. I was expressing the moral outrage I felt after having visited with Ukrainian refugees. I was not then, nor am I now, articulating a policy change, he added. Christina Wilkie Nuclear material at Kharkiv research site is undamaged after renewed shelling Leonhard Foeger Reuters International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference in Vienna, Austria March 4, 2022. A nuclear research facility in the war-torn city of Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has been damaged, but the nuclear material within it remains unharmed, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The facility, which contains only a small amount of nuclear material, had already been attacked earlier in March as Russian forces blitzed Kharkiv. Ukraine told the IAEA on Saturday that the site had come under additional fire, according to a press release from the agency. In an update Monday, the IAEA said the building, its thermal insulation and the experimental hall were damaged, but the nuclear material-containing neutron source was not. The facility has been used for research and development and radioisotope production for medical and industrial applications, the IAEA said, adding that its nuclear material is subcritical there can be no nuclear chain reaction and the radioactive inventory is low. Kevin Breuninger Ukrainians race to protect their national monuments Ukrainians race to protect their national monuments and statues from Russian shelling. Aris Messinis AFP Getty Images Municipal employees cover the city’s monuments with sand bags to protect them from strikes in Kharkiv on March 26, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. Aris Messinis AFP Getty Images Kharkiv municipal use sand bags to protect the city’s monuments from strikes on March 26, 2022 in Kharkiv where local authorities reported 44 Russian artillery bombardments and 140 rocket assaults in a single day. Aris Messinis AFP Getty Images Kharkiv municipal employees fill bags with sand to protect the city’s monuments from strikes on March 26, 2022 in Kharkiv where local authorities reported 44 Russian artillery bombardments and 140 rocket assaults in a single day. Alejandro Martinez Anadolu Agency Getty Images People prepare sand bags to cover statues in an effort to protect cultural and historical heritage amid Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 27, 2022. Mykhaylo Palinchak Lightrocket Getty Images A group of young people cover the monument of Hetman Sahaidachny with sandbags in fear of a possible bombardment as Russian forces continue their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, triggering the largest military attack in Europe since World War II. Getty Images Biden’s budget proposal would send more defense assistance to Ukraine U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2023 budget proposal would direct even more money toward Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. The White House called for an $813 billion defense budget, including $31 billion in new spending. The Biden administration said a chunk of the total, $6.9 billion, would go to NATO, European defense, Ukraine and countering Russian aggression. The budget request expresses Biden’s priorities but does not set policy. Congress ultimately proposes and approves federal spending. Christina Wilkie Negotiations with Ukraine moving forward, Russia’s Lavrov claims Kirill Kudryavtsev Reuters Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference following talks with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer in Moscow, Russia March 24, 2022. Negotiations with Ukraine are moving forward with some difficulty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview on Monday. Speaking with a Serbian television channel, Lavrov claimed Ukraine’s delegation keeps going back on its own suggestions during talks with Russia, but he added that the negotiations are moving forward. Delegates from Russia and Ukraine are traveling to Turkey today for a fresh round of face-to-face talks. Negotiations will continue tomorrow in person, but we still don’t have a clear understanding on our main points, Lavrov said Monday, according to an NBC News translation. He said these were the demilitarization and what Russia has called the denazification of Ukraine a claim repeatedly laid out by Moscow as a justification for its invasion, and one widely rubbished by the international community. Lavrov also said in Monday’s interview that Russia still has a lot of allies, including Latin American, South-East Asian and African countries. The West will keep enforcing sanctions on Russia no matter what, because it’s purpose is not to solve any particular problem, but to stop Russian progress and development, Lavrov claimed. Chloe Taylor Kremlin says it’s monitoring Biden’s comments on Putin Evelyn Hockstein Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks that his Russian counterpart cannot remain in power are alarming, the Kremlin said Monday. Well, this is a statement that is certainly alarming, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing. We will continue to closely monitor the statements of the U.S. president. We are carefully recording them and we will continue to do so. Biden said during a speech in Poland on Saturday that Putin cannot remain in power, referring to the Russian president as a dictator who was bent on rebuilding an empire. The White House later walked back Biden’s comments, saying the Biden administration was not calling for regime change in Russia and that the president had been referring to Putin attempting to exert power over the European continent. Chloe Taylor Heineken says it’s leaving Russia Simon Dawson Bloomberg Getty Images Bottles of Heineken lager in a supermarket in Slough, U.K. Drinks giant Heineken has announced it will leave the Russian market. We have concluded that Heineken’s ownership of the business in Russia is no longer sustainable nor viable in the current environment. As a result, we have decided to leave Russia, the company said in a statement on Monday. Heineken had earlier announced that it would stop new investments and exports to Russia as well as ending the production, sale and advertising of the Heineken brand in the country. It also said it would not accept any profit from its business in the country. We aim for an orderly transfer of our business to a new owner in full compliance with international and local laws, the company added on Monday. To ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our employees and to minimize the risk of nationalization, we concluded that it is essential that we continue with the recently reduced operations during this transition period. Heineken would pay the salaries of its 1,800 Russian employees until the end of this year, and would not profit from the transfer of ownership of its business in Russia, the company said. Chloe Taylor Ukraine says Russian forces trying to capture Kyiv’s key roads and settlements Marko Djurica Reuters A Ukranian serviceman stands on top of a Russian tank captured after fighting with Russian troops in the village of Lukyanivka outside Kyiv, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukraine, March 27, 2022. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has said that fighting is ongoing in several regions, with several cities including Kyiv restraining the advance of the Russian enemy. The grouping of Ukrainian forces and means of defense of the city of Kyiv is deterring the Russian enemy, which is trying to break through the Ukrainian defense from the northwest and east in order to take control of key roads and settlements, the ministry said in an update. Russian forces are also advancing on the settlements of Huliaipole, Zaporizhzhia and Verkhnotoretske, as well as cities in southern Ukraine, officials said. Chloe Taylor Kremlin says negotiations are unlikely to resume before Tuesday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has told reporters that delegations from Russia and Ukraine are flying to Turkey today, with face-to-face negotiations likely to begin tomorrow. Negotiations are unlikely to continue today. Today, delegations are indeed going to Turkey. So, we know that this talks could theoretically happen tomorrow, he said during a press briefing. We cannot and will not talk about progress yet. But the very fact that it was decided to continue the talks in person is certainly important. But for now, we still adhere to the line of non-disclosure of any details related to the negotiations. David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian official who has been taking part in negotiations with Russia, said on Sunday that delegates had decided to hold this round of talks in-person between Monday and Wednesday this week. Chloe Taylor Officials say there were no attacks on Ukrainian capital overnight Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at Independence Square in Kyiv on March 26, 2022. The Kyiv City Administration said Monday that Ukraine’s capital was calm overnight, and that there had been no attacks on the city. Officials said in a Telegram post that Kyiv’s infrastructure was working, and citizens were being provided with all utilities. They also urged residents of the capital not to leave their homes unnecessarily. Chloe Taylor Ukrainian official not expecting a major breakthrough at this week’s talks with Russia Pavlo Bahmut Ukrinform Future Publishing Getty Images Vadym Denysenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s interior minister, speaks during a briefing on March 14, 2022. Vadym Denysenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, has said that he does not expect any major breakthroughs during this week’s talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials. Delegations from both countries are set to meet in Turkey on Monday for face-to-face talks, which are expected to run until Wednesday. Denysenko was speaking during a charity television marathon, shown around the world, in support of Ukraine. Chloe Taylor Ukraine won’t open humanitarian corridors Monday over fear of ‘provocations’ Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said that authorities will not be opening humanitarian corridors today, as officials fear a Russian attack is looming. Our intelligence reported possible provocations by the occupiers on the routes of humanitarian corridors, she said on messenger app Telegram. Therefore, for reasons of public safety, we do not open humanitarian corridors today. Ukrainian officials have operated safe exit routes in various locations across the country on an almost daily basis in recent weeks, with the corridors enabling the evacuation of civilians and the import of vital supplies. Early attempts to evacuate civilians from the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha had to be halted, as Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces were violating cease-fire agreements along the evacuation routes. Chloe Taylor Ukraine says 143 children have been killed in the war Yuriy Dyachyshyn AFP Getty Images In this picture taken on March 18, 2022, 109 empty strollers are seen placed outside the Lviv city council during an action to highlight the number of children killed in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The office of Ukraine’s attorney general said Monday that 143 children have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on Feb. 24. A further 216 children had been wounded in the war, officials added. Children in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Donetsk suffered the most, the attorney general’s office said, but noted that children had been badly affected across 14 regions of Ukraine. Chloe Taylor Russia and Ukraine delegates to meet in Turkey for talks Maxim Guchek Reuters Ukrainian and Russian flags are seen on a table before talks between officials of the two countries in Belarus on March 3, 2022. Delegations from Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to meet in Turkey today to conduct more talks. David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian official who has been taking part in negotiations with Russia, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that delegates had decided to hold this round of talks in-person. Today, at the next round of talks on video connection, it was decided to hold the next live round by two delegations in Turkey on March 28-30, he said, according to an NBC News translation. Chloe Taylor Ukrainian officials reportedly say Russian forces are withdrawing from some locations The Mayor of Slavutych home to employees of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant said Monday that Russian troops have left the town, Reuters reported. They completed the work they had set out to do, Mayor Yuri Fomichev said in an online video post, according to the news agency. They surveyed the town, today they finished doing it and left the town. There aren’t any in the town right now. On Saturday, Ukrainian media reported that Slavutych had been captured by Russian forces. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s armed forces said in the early hours of Monday morning that some Russian troops were withdrawing from the Kyiv region to Belarus. The regrouping of individual units from the composition of the Russian Eastern Military District continues, the armed forces said in a Facebook update. Units that have suffered significant losses in the process of offensive actions are usually taken to the territory of Belarus for the restoration of militia, the update added, saying the withdrawal from the territory of the Kyiv region was celebrated. But officials noted that battles continued across the country, and that Russian forces continue missile and aviation strikes on important military infrastructure and advanced positions aimed at causing losses and personnel exhaustion. CNBC has not been able to independently verify these reports. Chloe Taylor Russia will likely launch cyberattacks on oil and gas infrastructure, warns cybersecurity firm Russian cyberattacks on oil and gas infrastructure are highly likely given the country’s history of tit-for-tat action against sanctions, said Rob Lee, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm Dragos. In 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine and took Crimea, there was a number of sanctions levied from the Western financial institutions, Lee said on CNBC’s Street Sign Asia. As a result, Russia ended up using cyberattacks back against those financial institutions. Now that we’re seeing sanctions against oil and gas infrastructure, Nord Stream 2 etc we absolutely expect to start seeing cyberattacks against oil and gas infrastructure, he said. Germany halted the certification of the Nord Stream 2 in late February the gas pipeline was designed to bring natural gas from Russia directly to Europe. Joe Raedle Getty Images An oil pumpjack pulls oil from the Permian Basin oil field on March 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. Such an attack could have an oversized impact even if the disruption is not big, due to the high connectivity of the global oil and gas sector, Lee said, citing how a recent attack by Yemen’s Houthis on a Saudi Aramco facility resulted in oil prices jumping. I think it’s really incumbent on these industries to try to be proactive, he said. U.S. President Joe Biden has warned U.S. corporations to strengthen their cybersecurity practices in light of intelligence reports indicating Russia is looking at potential attacks. Eustance Huang ‘No significant change to Russian forces’ dispositions,’ UK says Sefa Karacan Anadolu Agency Getty Images Russian soldiers in Volnovakha district in the pro-Russian separatist-controlled Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 26, 2022. The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense has said that over the last 24 hours there have been no significant change to Russian forces’ dispositions in occupied Ukraine. A continued lack of momentum and morale among the Russian military, as well as ongoing logistical shortages and aggressive resistance from the Ukrainians are all causing problems for Russia, the U.K. said in an intelligence update. Russia has gained most ground in the south in the vicinity of Mariupol where heavy fighting continues as Russia attempts to capture the port, it added. Chloe Taylor Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here: You can read Sunday’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine here: Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready to discuss neutrality status; Blinken says U.S. not seeking regime change India is buying up cheap Russian oil at ‘record discounts’ and China may follow suit Russia’s crude oil deliveries to India were fairly infrequent last year, but there’s been a significant uptick since the Russia-Ukraine war began, say industry observers. Russian crude is being sold at record discounts, says the International Energy Agency. Ellen Wald, president of Transversal Consulting, said a couple of commodity trading firms were also offering discounts of up to $30 per barrel two weeks ago for the Urals blend the main oil blend that Russia exports. While India’s motivations are economic, it would also likely weigh its friendship with Russia in purchasing its oil since both countries having a long history, said Samir N. Kapadia, head of trade at government relations consulting firm Vogel Group. Analysts say China, the largest oil importer in the world, could also go for discounted oil from Russia. China really would prefer much cheaper oil prices are way too high even in the $90 range that’s too high for China, said Ellen Wald, president of Transversal Consulting. Weizhen Tan Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready to discuss neutrality status Emin Sansar Anadolu Agency Getty Images President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 12, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia, though an agreement would need to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum. Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point, Zelenskyy said in a 90-minute video address with Russian journalists. Zelenskyy said that while his government is discussing the use of the Russian language in Ukraine in its talks with Russia, other Russian demands such as demilitarization are not currently on the table. He said Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine have been destroyed during the invasion. Ian Thomas, with reporting from Reuters (https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/business/money-report/russia-and-ukraine-prepare-for-in-person-talks-after-zelenskyy-says-hes-ready-to-discuss-neutral-status-follow-our-live-updates/3010221/)

Apple’s ‘CODA’ Is the First Movie From a Streaming Service to Win Best Picture Oscar, Will Smith Hits Chris Rock

This has been CNBC’s live blog covering the 94th annual Academy Awards. Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Will Smith accepts the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for King Richard onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was hoping that moviegoers would be riveted by surprises at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony. But they probably didn’t bank on a physical confrontation between two superstars. The academy was hoping that movie lovers would unite and spark an uptick in ratings for the 94th Academy Awards. Late into the ceremony, however, comedian Chris Rock told a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, which prompted her spouse, Will Smith, to march up to the stage and smack Rock while he was about to present the best documentary award. ABC cut out the mics just as the two started shouting at each other, but uncensored international feeds picked up the two stars yelling profanities at each other. Moments later, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor and apologized to the academy and his fellow nominees. Love will make you do crazy things, he said. The confrontation was a shocking turn in another otherwise subdued show that featured largely predictable but nonetheless historic results. With the diversity in this year’s crop of Oscar nominees, audiences saw a number of milestones set. CODA was the first film produced by a streaming service to win Best Picture. It won three overall. Ariana DeBose became the first queer Black woman to win an acting award, taking home Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story. Troy Kotsur of CODA became the first deaf man to win an Academy Award for acting. Dune won the most awards, with six. The trio of Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes assumed hosting duties during Sunday’s ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. For the last three years, the show has not had a host. Here is the full list of winners: Best Picture: CODA Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Best Actor: Will Smith, King Richard Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Best Original Song: No Time to Die Best Documentary Feature: Summer of Soul Best Adapted Screenplay: CODA Best Original Screenplay: Belfast Best Costume Design: Cruella Best International Feature: Drive My Car Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur, CODA Best Animated Feature: Encanto Best Visual Effects: Dune Best Cinematography: Dune Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story Best Film Editing: Dune Best Score: Dune Best Sound: Dune Best Production Design: Dune Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Eyes of Tammy Faye Best: Documentary : The Queen of Basketball Best Short : The Windshield Wiper Best Short Film : The Long Goodbye Best Picture And the winner is CODA Also nominated: Belfast Don’t Look Up Drive My Car Dune King Richard Licorice Pizza Nightmare Alley The Power of the Dog West Side Story Best Actress Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Jessica Chastain accepts the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. And the winner is Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Also nominated: Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Kristen Stewart, Spencer Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers Will Smith cries, apologizes during best actor speech Will Smith was in tears when he accepted his award for best actor during Sunday’s ceremony. His win came less than an hour after he slapped presenter Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith said he was a fierce defender of his family, just like his character Richard Williams in King Richard. I’ve been called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people and I know to do what we do you got to be able to take abuse, you’ve got to be able to let people talk crazy about you, you have to be able to have people disrespecting you and you’ve got to smile and pretend that that’s okay, he said, seeming to refer to the incident with Rock. He apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as his fellow nominees, saying I want to be a vessel for love and love will make you do crazy things. He didn’t mention Rock. Smith hoisted his award to end his speech, I hope the Academy invites me back. Sarah Whitten Best Actor And the winner is Will Smith, King Richard Also nominated: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick Boom. Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos Best Director And the winner is Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Also nominated: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Best Original Song Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Finneas O’Connell and Billie Eilish accept the award for Best Music for No Time to Die onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. And the winner is No Time to Die, No Time to Die Also nominated: Dos Oruguitas, Encanto Just Look Up, Don’t Look Up Down to Joy, Belfast Somehow You Do, Four Good Days Will Smith hits Chris Rock over joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith Will Smith took umbrage with a joke made by Chris Rock during the Academy Award ceremony Sunday, marching up on stage and slapping Rock mid-presentation of the award for best documentary. Rock poked fun at Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith for her bald head. Pinkett-Smith has openly talked about having a hair loss condition. After Smith hit him, Rock said: Will Smith just smacked the’s out of me. Smith repeatedly yelled at Rock to Keep my wife’s name out of your f mouth. This is not the first time that Rock has poked fun at the couple. He made public jabs about their decision to boycott the 2016 Oscars because of a lack of diversity in nominations. Rock has declined to press charges, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Sarah Whitten Best Documentary Feature And the winner is Summer of Soul Also nominated: Flee Attica Writing With Fire Ascension Best Adapted Screenplay And the winner is CODA Also nominated: The Power of the Dog The Lost Daughter Drive My Car Dune Best Original Screenplay Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Kenneth Branagh accepts the award for Best Original Screenplay for Belfast onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. And the winner is Belfast Also nominated: Licorice Pizza Don’t Look Up King Richard The Worst Person in the World The Academy honors the people of Ukraine The Academy held a moment of silence for the people of Ukraine, who are under attack by Russian forces. We’d like to have a moment of silence to show our support for the people of Ukraine currently facing invasion, conflict and prejudice within their own borders, an onscreen statement said. While film is an important avenue for us to express our humanity in times of conflict, the reality is millions of families in Ukraine need food, medical care, clean water, and emergency services. Resources are scarce, and we collectively as a global community can do more, the text continued. We ask you to support Ukraine in any way you are able, the statement added. Directly after the moment of silence came an advertisement for cryptocurrency site Crypto.com. The ad said Crypto.com is matching donations in support of Ukraine. Hannah Miao Best Costume Design And the winner is Cruella Also nominated: Dune Nightmare Alley West Side Story Cyrano Best International Feature And the winner is Drive My Car Also nominated: Flee The Worst Person in the World The Hand of God Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom #OscarsCheer for ‘Justice League’? For weeks, the Academy has been promoting a fan-voted top five cinematic moments poll, revealing the winners during the live broadcast. Number 5 was Neo dodging bullets in 1999’s The Matrix, followed by Jennifer Hudson’s performance of And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going from the 2006 film Dreamgirls. In third was the Avengers Assemble moment from 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Second was the three generations of Spider-Men landing on the Statue of Liberty in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The top clip was Ezra Miller’s Flash entering the speed force from Zach Snyder’s Justice League. There was no applause in the room when the montage was played. Sarah Whitten Best Supporting Actor Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Troy Kotsur accepts from Youn Yuh-jung the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for CODA onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. And the winner is Troy Kotsur, CODA Also nominated: Ciaran Hinds, Belfast Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos Best Animated Feature Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Yvett Merino accepts the award for Best animated feature film for Encanto onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. And the winner is Encanto Also nominated: The Mitchells vs The Machines Flee Raya and the Last Dragon Luca Best Visual Effects And the winner is Dune Also nominated: Free Guy No Time to Die Spider-Man: No Way Home Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings The awards that were cut? Well, they’re showing them anyway. We thought the plan was to present eight awards before the broadcast to save time? But they’ve shown wins for best short documentary and best sound, anyway, even though they’re much more truncated than typical awards presentations. Also, ABC is showing a LIVE chyron in the corner during these speeches which are not live. Mike Calia Best Cinematography And the winner is Dune Also nominated: Nightmare Alley The Tragedy of Macbeth The Power of the Dog West Side Story Ariana DeBose makes Oscar history with supporting actress win Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Ariana DeBose accepts the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in West Side Story onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Ariana DeBose made history on Sunday. She took home the prize for best supporting actress for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, becoming the first queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar. She is also the second Latina to win, following co-star Rita Moreno, who won for the same role in the 1961 version of West Side Story. During her acceptance speech, DeBose addressed members of the LGBTQA+ community: Lastly, imagine this little girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus, look into her eyes, she said, You see an openly queer woman of color, an Afro-Latina, who found her strength in life through art and that is what I believe we are here to celebrate. So, to anybody who has ever questioned your identity, ever, ever, or you find yourself living in the gray spaces I promise you: there is indeed a place for us, she added, quoting an iconic line from West Side Story. Sarah Whitten Actress in a Supporting Role And the winner is Ariana DeBose, West Side Story Also nominated: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter Judi Dench, Belfast Beyonce opens things with a strong serve Robyn Beck Afp Getty Images Singer-songwriter Beyonce performs during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Beyonce and a slew of dancers decked out in tennis ball green, matching their stage, kicked off the Oscars with the kind of stardom the Academy is hoping keeps viewers glued to the screen. The R&B icon performed her nominated song from King Richard, Be Alive. Mike Calia Breaking records before the ceremony starts Heading into Sunday’s ceremony, Steven Spielberg has already become the first director to be nominated across six decades, earning nods for Close Encounters of the Third Kind in the ’70s, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in the ’80s, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan in the ’90s, Munich in the ’00s, Lincoln in the ’10s and now West Side Story. Kenneth Branagh also made history during last month’s nominations, having garnered seven nominations in seven different categories throughout his career. His film Belfast earned him a best director nomination as well as one for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. Sarah Whitten A dubious distinction for ‘Dune’ Dune, the first part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the supposedly unadaptable science fiction epic, is by far the highest grossing of the 10 nominees for Best Picture. And yet it will probably win most of its Oscars without anyone watching, as the Academy and ABC, in a bid for higher ratings, opted to reveal winners in eight categories before the broadcast. Dune won for best score, production design, sound and film editing. Dune made over $108 million domestically, which is even more impressive when you consider that it was released on HBO Max the same day as its theatrical release. The next highest-grossing film on the list is Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, at more than $38 million in North America. And that film was written off as a bomb. So much for playing to the audience, huh? Mike Calia Jane Campion could win three Oscars Momodu Mansaray Getty Images HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA MARCH 27: Director Jane Campion attends the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Jane Campion is already the first woman to be nominated in the directing category twice, but has a chance to be the first woman to win best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. She won the award for best original screenplay for The Piano in 1994 and could be the first woman to win in both screenplay categories if she takes home the trophy for best adapted screenplay on Sunday. Sarah Whitten Academy doles out eight awards before live broadcast The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences came under fire this year for its decision to present eight awards before the live broadcast begins and then edit those winners into the show later. The Academy tweeted out those winners prior to the show: Dune won for best production design, best film editing, best original score and best sound. The Eyes of Tammy Faye won the Academy Award for best makeup and hairstyling. Additionally, the Oscar for best live action short film was awarded to The Long Goodbye, best animated short went to The Windshield Wiper, and best documentary short subject went to The Queen of Basketball. Sarah Whitten A tight race for Best Supporting Actor Jeff Kravitz Filmmagic, Inc Getty Images Ciar n Hinds attends the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. The best supporting actor category is a tight race coming into Sunday’s ceremony. Ciaran Hinds, Troy Kotsur and Kodi Smit-McPhee appear to be the three front-runners. If Kotsur takes home the prize, he will be the first deaf actor to ever win an Academy Award and the second deaf person to take home the trophy in an acting category. His co-star Marlee Matlin won for 1986’s Children of a Lesser God. If Smit-McPhee wins, he will be the second-youngest actor to take home the prize. Timothy Hutton won the best supporting actor category at the age of 18 for 1980’s Ordinary People. Smit-McPhee is 25. Sarah Whitten Academy gives land acknowledgement recognizing Indigenous peoples On the red carpet Sunday night, the Academy paid respect to the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral lands are the current site of the Dolby Theatre. A land acknowledgment is a formal statement recognizing the Indigenous peoples of a region as the original stewards of the land. The Academy pays respect to the Tongva people as well as the Tataviam and the Chumash people, the original caretakers of the water and land where many of us in the film community live and work, said Bird Runningwater, Chair of the Academy’s Indigenous Alliance and Academy member, who belongs to the Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Tribes. As we honor this year’s best stories in the film, let’s also celebrate the original storytellers, the Indigenous peoples of this region, he added. Hannah Miao An EGOT title looms for Lin-Manuel Miranda Valerie Macon AFP Getty Images US actor and director Lin-Manuel Miranda arrives for the 94th Annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, March 7, 2022. Lin-Manuel Miranda won’t be in attendance during Sunday’s Academy Award ceremony. The multi-hyphenate writer, director, composer and actor could become the 17th person to complete an EGOT sweep winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards if he picks up the trophy for Best Original Song. Miranda has already won two Emmys, three Grammys and three Tony awards. He was last nominated for an Oscar five years ago for How Far I’ll Go from Disney’s Moana. He lost to City of Stars from La La Land. Sarah Whitten Ariana DeBose poised to make history Kevin Mazur Wireimage Getty Images Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose attend the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. If Ariana DeBose takes home the best supporting actress award on Sunday, as many assume she will, she will become the first queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar. She would also be the second Latina to win, following co-star Rita Moreno, who won for the same role in the 1961 version of West Side Story. There have only been two other instances in Academy history where actors won Oscars for playing the same character. Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro both earned awards for portraying Don Vito Corleone in the first two Godfather movies, and Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix both won for their take on the Joker. Sarah Whitten Can a streaming service win best picture? The front-runner for this year’s Best Picture is Netflix’s Power of the Dog. If the Jane Campion-directed film earns the top prize of the night, it will become the first film produced by a streaming service to win the Best Picture award. Also in contention is Apple’s CODA, another favorite among handicappers and Oscar watchers. In the last decade, streaming services have become more competitive at the Academy Awards, going beyond just securing nominations to earning winning top awards. Netflix’s Roma garnered three wins in 2019, taking home awards for cinematography, directing and best foreign film. Here’s the full list of Best Picture nominees: Belfast CODA Don’t Look Up Drive My Car Dune King Richard Licorice Pizza Nightmare Alley The Power of the Dog West Side Story Sarah Whitten (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/money-report/oscars-updates-netflix-and-apple-face-off-in-streaming-services-showdown-for-best-picture/3189766/)

Ukrainian President Says Defense Is at a ‘Turning Point,’ Pleads for More US Help

The Ukrainian president said his country’s defense against the Russian invasion is at a turning point and again pressed the United States for more help, hours after the Kremlin’s forces reneged on a pledge to scale back some of their operations. Russian bombardment of areas around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv and intensified attacks elsewhere in the country further undermined hopes for progress toward ending the brutal war. Talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume Friday by video, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia. A delegation of Ukrainian lawmakers visited Washington on Wednesday to push for more U.S. assistance, saying their nation needs more military equipment, more financial help and tougher sanctions against Russia. We need to kick Russian soldiers off our land, and for that we need all, all possible weapons, Ukrainian parliament member Anastasia Radina said at a news conference at the Ukrainian Embassy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the case directly to U.S. President Joe Biden. If we really are fighting for freedom and in defense of democracy together, then we have a right to demand help in this difficult turning point. Tanks, aircraft, artillery systems. Freedom should be armed no worse than tyranny, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation, which he delivered standing in the dark outside the dimly lit presidential offices in Kyiv. He thanked the U.S. for an additional $500 million in aid that was announced Wednesday. More Russia-Ukraine Coverage 10 hours ago Ukrainians Already in US Mobilize to Prepare for Up to 100,000 Inbound Refugees Gas prices 16 hours ago Biden Planning Bigger Tap Into Oil Reserve to Combat Gas Prices There seemed little faith that Russia and Ukraine will resolve the conflict soon, particularly after the Russian military’s about-face and its most recent attacks. Russia said Tuesday that it would de-escalate operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations. Zelenskyy and the West were skeptical. Soon after, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling was hitting homes, stores, libraries and other civilian sites in or near those areas. Russian troops also stepped up their attacks on the Donbas region in the east and around the city of Izyum, which lies on a key route to the Donbas, after redeploying units from other areas, the Ukrainian side said. Olexander Lomako, secretary of the Chernihiv city council, said the Russian announcement turned out to be a complete lie. At night they didn’t decrease, but vice versa increased the intensity of military action, Lomako said. A top British intelligence official said Thursday that demoralized Russian soldiers in Ukraine were refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment and had accidentally shot down their own aircraft. In a speech in the Australian capital Canberra, Jeremy Fleming, who heads the GCHQ electronic spy agency, said President Vladimir Putin had apparently massively misjudged the invasion, he said. Although Putin’s advisers appeared to be too afraid to tell the truth, the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime, he said. U.S. intelligence officials have given similar assessments that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about the poor performance of his military in Ukraine because they are too afraid to tell him the truth. Five weeks into the invasion that has left thousands dead on both sides, the number of Ukrainians fleeing the country topped a staggering 4 million, half of them children, according to the United Nations. I do not know if we can still believe the Russians, Nikolay Nazarov, a refugee from Ukraine, said as he pushed his father’s wheelchair at a border crossing into Poland. I think more escalation will occur in eastern Ukraine. That is why we cannot go back to Kharkiv. Zelenskyy said the continuing negotiations with Russia were only words without specifics. He said Ukraine was preparing for concentrated new strikes on the Donbas. Zelenskyy also said he had recalled Ukraine’s ambassadors to Georgia and Morocco, suggesting they had not done enough to persuade those countries to support Ukraine and punish Russia for the invasion. With all due respect, if there won’t be weapons, won’t be sanctions, won’t be restrictions for Russian business, then please look for other work, he said. During talks Tuesday in Istanbul, the faint outlines of a possible peace agreement seemed to emerge when the Ukrainian delegation offered a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral dropping its bid to join NATO, as Moscow has long demanded in return for security guarantees from a group of other nations. Top Russian officials responded positively, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying Wednesday that Ukraine’s willingness to accept neutrality and look outside NATO for security represents significant progress, according to Russian news agencies. But those statements were followed by attacks. Oleksandr Pavliuk, head of the Kyiv region military administration, said Russian shells targeted residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the Bucha, Brovary and Vyshhorod regions around the capital. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the military also targeted fuel depots in two towns in central Ukraine with air-launched long-range cruise missiles. Russian forces hit a Ukrainian special forces headquarters in the southern Mykolaiv region, he said, and two ammunition depots in the Donetsk region, in the Donbas. In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile destroyed a fuel depot in Dnipro, the country’s fourth-largest city, regional officials said. The U.S. said Russia had begun to reposition less than 20 of its troops that had been arrayed around Kyiv. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said troops from there and some other zones began moving mostly to the north, and some went into neighboring Belarus. Kirby said it appeared Russia planned to resupply them and send them back into Ukraine, but it is not clear where. The Ukrainian military said some Russian airborne units were believed to have withdrawn into Belarus. In northern Ukraine, Russian forces took no offensive actions Wednesday, focusing on reconnaissance and logistics, the general staff said in a statement. But Russia is expected to increase attacks soon to protect its own troops as they are repositioned, it said. The Russians also are expected to try to blockade Chernihiv. Top Russian military officials say their main goal now is the liberation of the Donbas, the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. Some analysts have suggested that the focus on the Donbas and the pledge to de-escalate may merely be an effort to put a positive spin on reality: Moscow’s ground forces have been thwarted and have taken heavy losses in their bid to seize the capital and other cities. In other developments: The U.N. is looking into allegations some residents of the besieged and shattered southern city of Mariupol were forcibly taken to areas controlled by Russian forces or to Russia itself. Germany said Russia had reassured it European companies won’t have to pay for Russian gas in rubles, a prospect that raised fears Russia could cut off supplies. Also, Poland said it would end Russian oil imports by the year’s end. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. (https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/ukrainian-president-says-defense-is-at-a-turning-point-pleads-for-more-us-help/2859729/)

EXPLAINER: Why the Term ‘Genocide’ Matters in Russia-Ukraine War

When President Joe Biden declares Russia’s Ukraine war genocide, it isn’t just another strong word. Calling a campaign that’s aimed at wiping out a targeted group genocide not only increases pressure on a country to act, it can oblige it to do so. That’s partly because of a genocide treaty approved by the U.N. General Assembly after World War II, signed by the United States and more than 150 other nations. The convention was the work of, among others, a Polish Jew whose family was murdered by Nazi Germany and its accomplices. The advocates pushed for something that would make the world not just condemn but actually prevent and ensure prosecution for future genocides. In comments Tuesday, Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian. Other world leaders have not gone as far. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Russia’s behavior in Ukraine doesn’t look far short of genocide, but the U.K. has not officially used the term, saying only a court can make such a designation. A look at what’s involved in that decision, and what it means when a world leader declares a genocide: What Does ‘Genocide’ Mean? It’s a surprisingly modern word for an ancient crime. A Jewish lawyer from Poland, Raphael Lemkin, coined it at the height of World War II and the Holocaust. Lemkin wanted a word to describe what Nazi Germany was then doing to Europe’s Jews, and what Turkey had done to Armenians in the 1910s: killing members of a targeted group of people, and ruthlessly working to eradicate their cultures. Lemkin paired geno, a Greek word meaning race, and cide, a Latin word meaning kill. Lemkin dedicated his life to having genocide recognized and criminalized. In 1948, after Adolf Hitler and his accomplices systematically murdered 6 million Jews in Europe, the U.N. General Assembly approved the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide. More Russia-Ukraine War Coverage Coverage Russia-Ukraine War Apr 12 Biden: Russia War a ‘Genocide,’ Trying to ‘Wipe Out’ Ukraine business Apr 5 Zelenskyy Calls for a Nuremberg-Style Tribunal to Investigate and Prosecute Russian War Crimes What Is the Legal Definition of Genocide? Under the genocide convention, the crime is trying to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in part or in whole. That includes mass killings, but also actions including forced sterilization, abuse that inflicts serious harm or mental suffering, or wrenching children of a targeted group away to be raised by others. Is Russia Committing Genocide in Ukraine? The case may hang in part on Putin’s own words. Russian forces are widely accused of carrying out wholesale abuses of Ukraine’s civilians, including mass killings. Those would be war crimes. But do they amount to genocide? It’s all about intent, argues Bohdan Vitvitsky, a former U.S. federal prosecutor and former special adviser to Ukraine’s prosecutor general. Any attempt to determine whether the crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are driven by genocidal intent must necessarily focus on the statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vitvisky wrote for the Atlantic Council think tank this week. Putin long has denied any standing for Ukraine to exist as a separate nation, or Ukrainians as a separate people. He cites history, when Ukraine was part of the Russian empire, and later of the Soviet Union. In a long essay last year, On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians, Putin made clear the depth of his determination on the matter. He called the modern border dividing Russia and Ukraine our great common misfortune and tragedy. Putin and Russian state media falsely call Ukrainian leaders Nazis and drug addicts. Putin has called his military campaign in Ukraine one of de-Nazification. Gissou Nia, a human-rights lawyer who worked on war crime trials at the Hague, points to two alleged acts by Russia in Ukraine as also possibly showing intent of genocide: Reports of deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, and an account, from Ukraine’s government, of Russian soldiers telling 25 detained women and girls in Bucha that the Russians aimed to rape them to the point that they never bear any Ukrainian children. What Does It Matter If World Leaders Use ‘Genocide’ to Describe Russias Actions? Embedded in the genocide convention is an obligation that the U.S. and other signers of the treaty have treated warily if they acknowledge a genocide is occurring, they’re committed to ensuring investigation and prosecution, at the least. People and countries committing genocide shall be punished, the treaty declares, seeking to crush any wiggle room. U.S. leaders for decades dodged using the word genocide to avoid increasing the pressure on them to act as mass killings targeted classes of people or ethnic groups in Cambodia, Bosnia, Iraq, Rwanda and elsewhere. Regretting his failure to do more to stop the killing of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis by Hutus in Rwanda in 1994, Bill Clinton in June 1999 became the first U.S. president to recognize an act of genocide as it was playing out, saying Serb forces carrying out a deadly campaign against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo were attempting genocide. NATO intervened, lobbing 78 days of airstrikes that forced Serbian fighters’ withdrawal from Kosovo. An international tribunal charged Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic with war crimes, although Milosevic died before his trial concluded. Starting in 2005, world leaders embraced in principle responsibility for collective action to stop genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Atrocities and targeted campaigns against groups continue around the world, however, and the so-called responsibility to protect is seldom invoked. What Happens If the U.S. Does Declare Russian Actions to Be Genocide? U.S. leaders long have feared that acknowledging genocide would require them to intervene, even to send in troops, with all the risks, costs and political backlash that would entail. It’s been a main reason leaders limit themselves to angry statements and humanitarian aid. Biden is adamant the U.S. will not use its own military to confront Russian forces on behalf of Ukraine. Doing so would risk World War III, he says. He and allies in Europe and elsewhere already are intervening by sanctioning Russia and by sending weapons and other support to Ukraine for its defense. Biden and other Western leaders also have called for war crimes trials. The International Criminal Court already has started an investigation. But longstanding U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, over worries that U.S. troops could face prosecution there one day, complicates such prosecutions. So can Russia’s veto power on the U.N. Security Council. And practically speaking, bringing Putin before a court is a long shot. In the past, Americans’ opposition to entanglement in foreign wars also has helped discourage U.S. leaders from doing more to stop possible acts of genocide. But Russia’s invasion of a neighboring country and brutality against Ukraine’s people have angered Americans in a way that genocidal campaigns in Cambodia, Kurdish areas of Iraq and elsewhere did not. A recent poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 40 of people in America believe the U.S. should have a major role in ending Russia’s invasion. Just 13 think the U.S. shouldn’t be involved at all. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/explainer-why-term-genocide-matters-in-ukraine-war/2940146/)

Video game publishers and developers are cutting off Russia, too

The global business community is increasingly moving to isolate Russia for the war it’s waging in Ukraine, and video games are no exception. Even as NATO and NATO-aligned forces have yet to engage in direct combat, economy-shattering sanctions have cut Russia off from goods and services that many of us take for granted, from vacation rentals to basic internet service. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve seen so far from key players in the video game space as efforts to isolate Russia have snowballed in the midst of Ukraine’s calls for the industry to take action. How Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have responded Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are the three biggest names in console gaming and they’ve all made moves to cut off Russia, at least to some extent. In the case of Microsoft, the U.S.-based company has suspended all new sales not just games and gaming hardware as it complies with the economic sanctions set in place by the federal government. Brad Smith, president and vice chair at Microsoft, suggested further actions could be taken. “We believe we are most effective in aiding Ukraine when we take concrete steps in coordination with the decisions being made by these governments and we will take additional steps as this situation continues to evolve,” Smith wrote in a company blog post. He added that the top priority for Microsoft, which also produces Windows, is protecting Ukraine’s cybersecurity. Tweet may have been deleted The actions taken are a little hazier in the case of Nintendo and Sony, both of which are based in Japan. In Nintendo’s case, sales are suspended in the company’s eShop online store, but apparently not because of any direct action taken on the company’s part. A translated support page from Nintendo’s Russian website blames the eShop’s payment services for not processing payments made in rubles, Russia’s currency. Meanwhile, Sony appears to have canceled or indefinitely delayed the PlayStation 5 release of Gran Turismo 7, the latest entry in the console’s flagship car racing series. It doesn’t show up in the Russian version of the PlayStation Store. Nintendo and Sony both haven’t said much of anything about the invasion, beyond the former’s support page. We’ve reached out to both for further comment. Industry heavyweights Nvidia, Activision Blizzard, more respond The actions taken across the industry aren’t just limited to console hardware players. Major publishers and studios have also responded in their own ways. Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia told PC Magazine on Friday that ” w e are not selling into Russia.” The move corresponds with similar actions taken by Intel and AMD ; the two chip-makers have both suspended sales of their products to Russia and its ally in the invasion, Belarus. A number of key players on the software side have also made moves. Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard has suspended sales “of and in” its games in Russia, which covers both the games themselves and any purchases that can be made in each one. The company is also juicing up employee contributions made to Ukrainian relief efforts by matching them 2:1 Electronic Arts, meanwhile, first took the step of removing Russian teams from its most recent FIFA and NHL games. Days later, the company joined others in halting sales of its games and in-game content in Russia and Belarus. “We have made the decision to stop sales of our games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while this conflict continues. As a result, our games and content will no longer be available for purchase in our Russian region storefront on Origin or the EA app, including through in-game stores,” a statement from EA reads. “We are also working with our platform partners to remove our titles from their stores and stop the sale of new in-game content in the region.” Tweet may have been deleted Ubisoft, the French publisher of the Assassin’s Creed series, hasn’t made any public proclamations about halting sales. However, the company did release a statement specifically directed at “the teams and the people of Ukraine.” Ubi maintains a studio in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. “Our top priority is to take care of the safety and wellbeing of our teams and their families. Over the past months, Ubisoft has been closely monitoring the situation, and our primary focus has been the security of our teams,” the March 1 statement reads. “As events escalated in mid-February, Ubisoft recommended all teams take shelter in a place they considered safe. To support them as they made these difficult decisions, each team member was provided additional funds to help cover exceptional costs and paid their salary in advance to account for any potential disruption to banking systems.” The publisher said it also donated 200,000 euros to the Ukrainian Red Cross and Save the Children “to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian people.” In an email Monday, a Ubisoft spokesperson confirmed that the publisher is also moving to halt sales. “In light of the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, we have decided to suspend our sales in Russia,” the statement sent to Mashable read. Alan Lewis, spokesperson at Take-Two Interactive, said the company has “watched recent events unfold in Ukraine with concern and sadness.” “After significant consideration, last week, we decided to stop new sales, installations, and marketing support across all our labels in Russia and Belarus at this time, he said in a statement. A number of the industry’s larger publishers have been conspicuously absent as calls for private interests to take action have grown louder. To name just a few: Capcom, Bandai Namco and Sega have yet to address the situation publicly. Mashable has reached out to those that we can for statements and specifics. China-based publishers Tencent and NetEase have also steered clear of the conflict thus far. In the case of Tencent, which also owns the messaging platforms WeChat and Weixin, the situation is a little bit clearer. As Insider reported on Wednesday, the company has primarily appealed to its messaging app users to remain objective when it comes to sensitive topics. China, it should be noted, has historically maintained friendly ties with the ideologically similar Russian government. Epic Games, CD Projekt Red and others weigh in Fortnite maker Epic Games, which also owns and operates the Epic Games Store, made its position clear in a tweet on Friday. “Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open. Tweet may have been deleted CD Projekt Red, the Polish developer behind Cyberpunk 2077 and owner of the online games store GOG, took a similar action. Poland, a NATO member nation which borders both Ukraine and Russian ally Belarus, has been supportive of efforts to resist the Russian offensive and offered refuge to displaced Ukrainians. “In light of the Russian military invasion in our neighboring country of Ukraine, until further notice the CD Projekt Group has made the decision to halt all sales of our games to Russia and Belarus,” the statement reads. “Today, we begin working with our partners to suspend digital sales and cease physical stock deliveries of CD Projekt Group products, as well as all games distributed on the GOG platform, to the territories of Russia and Belarus.” Tweet may have been deleted One notable absence here is Steam and its owner, Valve Corporation. The enduring online storefront for PC games is still available in Russian, but that’s a language setting rather than a region setting on the website. Valve hasn’t outwardly addressed the conflict at all, though anecdotal reports suggest that using the platform right now in Russia has been complicated by payment providers suspending services there a lineup which now includes PayPal as well. Bloober Team, another Poland-based studio, also weighed in on Russia’s hostilities and pledged to halt sales of its games which include Blair Witch and The Medium in Belarus and Russia. And while Valve hasn’t apparently taken any direct action with Steam’s availability in Russia, Bloober’s statement makes it clear that game makers and publishers have the power to pull products themselves, as well. “We’ve been working with our partners to put the games down from the stores in these countries the ban coming into effect first on Steam,” a tweet from Bloober’s thread notes. “Our hearts are with the Ukrainian people and this is one of several steps we’re currently taking to support them.” The Pokémon Company is partially owned by Nintendo, along with two other Japanese companies, so it’s not clear who would make the final call on any decision to suspend sales in Russia. But The Pokémon Company did make a statement and a donation aimed at helping those impacted by the ongoing conflict. It is, however, a carefully worded statement that skirts around any direct mention of Russia by name. “The Pokémon Company International is making an immediate $200,000 donation to our partners at GlobalGiving to provide humanitarian relief,” the statement reads. “The nonprofit will efficiently direct the funds to community-led organizations supporting families and children affected by the crisis.” Tweet may have been deleted The Ukraine-based game developer behind the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, GSC Game World, has unsurprisingly shifted away from the work of making video games while its country is under siege. In a video released Wednesday, the voiceless captions explain that “we are striving to help our employees and their families to survive” while expressing hope that their work will continue after Ukraine’s victory of Russia. At least some of these actions may have been prompted by the Ukraine government’s direct appeal for help. On Wednesday, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov whose Twitter profile also tags him as Ukraine’s “Minister of Digital Transformation” shared a letter asking the games industry and community to “temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belorussian teams and gamers in all international esports events, and cancel all international events held in the territory of Russia and Belarus.” Fedorov directed the tweet at the official accounts for Xbox and PlayStation. Tweet may have been deleted Mashable has reached out, where possible, to all parties mentioned here that haven’t taken a stance. It’s expected that those and others will take first or additional steps as the calls for help increase in volume, intensity, and reach. We’ll keep this story updated as new information develops. SEE ALSO: How to keep up with the news from Russia and Ukraine Watching footage from Ukraine? Here’s how to protect your mental health. What social media platforms are doing to stop misinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Reddit bans all links to Russian state-run media including RT and Sputnik Apple stops product sales in Russia, removes RT and Sputnik from App Store UPDATE: Mar. 7, 2022, 11:28 a.m. EST Added Ubisoft’s statement on halting sales in Russia. (https://mashable.com/article/video-game-developers-publishers-russia-ukraine-war-sanctions)

Secret Intelligence Has Unusually Public Role in Ukraine War

The war in Ukraine is the conflict where spies came in from the cold and took center stage. Since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February, intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Britain have been remarkably willing to go public with their secret intelligence assessments of what is happening on the battlefield and inside the Kremlin. The U.S. this week declassified intelligence findings claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed about his military’s poor performance in Ukraine by advisers scared to tell him the truth. On Thursday a British spy chief said demoralized Russian troops were refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment. Jeremy Fleming, who heads Britain’s electronic intelligence agency GCHQ, made the comments in a public speech where he said the pace and scale at which secret intelligence is being released really is unprecedented. NATO Alliance Positions Forces on Europe’s Eastern Flank Thousands of troops have been deployed across eastern Europe to protect allies near Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. has sent around 4,700 service members to Poland, 1,000 to Romania and over 7,000 to Germany with discussions of possibly sending more. According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, it is the first time the NATO Response Force has been activated. Source: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Credit: Andrew Williams/NBC Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert at University College London, agreed that the very public intelligence campaign reflects the fact that we now live in a different age, politically and internationally. And this is a different kind of war. Officials say the stream of declassified intelligence which includes regular briefings to journalists in Washington and London and daily Twitter updates from Britain’s defense ministry has several aims. Partly it’s to let Putin know he is being watched, and to make him question what he’s being told. It’s also designed to embolden the Russian military to tell Putin the truth, and to convey to the Russian public that they have been lied to about the war. The U.S. and Britain also have released intelligence assessments in a bid to deter Russian actions. That was the case with recent warnings Russia might be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine. It’s all part of a closely coordinated trans-Atlantic strategy that has been in the works for months. Biden administration officials say they decided to aggressively share intelligence and coordinate messaging with key allies, including Britain, as U.S. concerns about Russian troop movements in autumn 2021 put the intelligence community on high alert. In early November, President Joe Biden dispatched CIA director William Burns to Moscow to warn that the U.S. was fully aware of Russian troop movements. The White House has typically been tight-lipped about the director’s travels, but the Biden administration calculated that in this situation they needed to advertise the visit far and wide. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow announced that Burns had met with top Kremlin officials shortly after his trip was over. Soon after Burns’ Moscow mission, U.S. officials decided they needed to accelerate intelligence sharing. Russia-Ukraine War 12 hours ago Ukraine Accuses Russia of Massacre, City Strewn With Bodies business Apr 2 A Ukrainian Techie Combined ‘Code and People’ to Raise $3.5 Million So Far for Families Back Home Officials shared sensitive intelligence with other members of the Five Eyes alliance Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and also with Ukraine. Director of national intelligence Avril Haines was dispatched to Brussels to brief NATO members on intelligence underlying growing American concerns that Russia seemed intent on invasion, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. Some allies and analysts were skeptical, with memories lingering of past intelligence failings, like the false claim Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that was used to justify the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Late last year, France and Germany led a group of European countries that appeared to be seeing similar military intelligence as the U.S. and Britain, but were less convinced that an invasion of Ukraine was imminent. At NATO, Germany initially blocked the use of a system for helping Ukraine to acquire certain military equipment. France and Germany also blocked NATO from launching an early crisis planning system in response to the buildup, before relenting in December. This week, French media reported that the head of France’s military intelligence agency, which failed to anticipate the Russian invasion, has been removed from his post. Eric Vidaud’s departure comes amid soul-searching among France’s leadership about why it was taken by surprise by the war which was particularly embarrassing for President Emmanuel Macron, who speaks regularly with Putin. Some see Vidaud as a scapegoat, and note that his removal comes just ahead of this month’s French presidential election. In January, as Russia amassed troops near Ukraine’s border, Britain’s Foreign Office issued a statement alleging that Putin wanted to install a pro-Moscow regime in Ukraine. The U.K. said it was making the intelligence assessment public because of the exceptional circumstances. Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 largely silenced the doubters, and drew a unified response from NATO. The release of U.S. and British intelligence is partly designed to shore up that Western unity, officials and analysts say. Both Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson doubt Putin is serious about negotiating an end to the war and want to keep up the West’s military and moral support of Ukraine. The Breakdown: U.S. Security Aid for Ukraine The U.S. has commited over $2 billion to Ukraine in security assistance since the start of the Biden Administration $1 bilion of it in March alone. Security assistance takes the form of equipment from the Department of Defense and is meant to help Ukrainians defend their country against Russia. Note: Not all pledged government funding has been allocated yet Source: The White House Credit: Andrew Williams/NBC The impact inside Russia is hard to measure. The U.S. official who spoke to the AP said the White House hopes divulging intelligence that Putin is misinformed could help prod the Russian leader to reconsider his options in Ukraine. But the publicity could also risk further isolating Putin or make him double down on his aim of restoring Russian prestige lost since the fall of the Soviet Union. The official said Biden is in part shaped by a belief that Putin is going to do what Putin is going to do, regardless of international efforts to deter him. Galeotti said Western intelligence agencies likely don’t know how much impact their efforts will have on Putin. But there’s no harm in giving it a try, he said. Because when it comes down to it, in this kind of intensely personalistic system, if one line, or one particular notion, happens to get through and lodge itself in Putin’s brain, then that’s a really powerful result. ___ Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Ben Fox and Nomaan Merchant in Washington, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this story. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/secret-intelligence-has-unusually-public-role-in-ukraine-war/2930850/)

The Invasion of Ukraine Has Serious, Unintended Consequences for Russia. Here Are Just 5 of Them

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was widely believed to have expected an easy victory over its neighbor, but Ukraine has proven to be a much more formidable opponent than expected. Just over a month into the war, Moscow is facing unintended consequences of its aggression in Ukraine, ranging from high casualties among its troops to economic ruin for years to come. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was widely believed to have expected an easy victory over its neighbor. But so far, Russia has little to show for what it has called its special military operation : Its forces have been bogged down in fighting mainly to the northern, eastern and southern fringes of Ukraine and have found the country to be much more organized and well equipped than they expected. Russian forces have seized only one city, Kherson, but even that occupation looks shaky, with Ukrainian forces launching a counter-offensive to retake the southern port. Similar moves have been seen elsewhere in Ukraine, with officials claiming that its forces are mounting an increasing number of counter-attacks. Just over a month into the war, Moscow is facing unintended consequences of its aggression in Ukraine, ranging from high casualties among its troops to economic ruin for years to come. Here are five of them: 1) Russian casualties are high Russia has been coy about releasing statistics on its losses, but one Russian defense ministry official said on Friday that 1,351 Russian soldiers had died in the war so far, and that 3,825 were injured. Ukraine’s authorities claim that more than 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict, while a senior NATO official last week estimated that between 8,000 and 15,000 have been killed. Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times Getty Images Ukrainian soldiers salvage equipment from the body of a dead Russian soldier after a Russian vehicle was destroyed by Ukrainian forces near Sytnyaky, Ukraine, on March 3, 2022. If accurate, those numbers would be a heavy death toll for Russia comparable to the almost 15,000 Soviet soldiers who died during the 10-year war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. To this day, that incursion is unpopular in Russia because it gained the country little but cost much blood. To put the Russian forces’ casualties in context, the United Nations’ human rights office said Tuesday that it has recorded a total of 1,151 deaths among Ukrainian civilians, including 54 children, and over 1,800 injured civilians. It believes that the actual casualty figures are considerably higher. Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes, the OHCHR said. 2) Ukrainians now loathe Russia One of the likely consequences of this war is that many Ukrainians will harbor an abiding animosity toward Russia, particularly after the bombing of homes and civilian infrastructure including a children’s hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol, as well as a theater where families were seeking shelter. These are widely seen as war crimes by the international community. Russia claims it has not targeted civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up the mood in the country in early March when he stated we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war on our land, before adding that there will be no quiet place on this Earth except the grave. Ukraine Military via Reuters A car burns after the destruction of a children’s hospital in Mariupol on March 9, 2022, in this still image from a handout video obtained by Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has extolled the cultural, linguistic and historical ties between Russia and Ukraine, but he’s driven what’s likely to be a permanent wedge between the nations. One member of the Ukrainian parliament, Kira Rudik, tweeted Monday that seeing Ukrainian homes burning as a result of Russian attacks just makes us feel more rage while another joined calls for reparations of $400 billion from Russia in order to rebuild Ukraine. Putin has goaded Ukrainians in recent years, reiterating his belief that Ukraine is not even a state and that it’s a historical part and indeed a creation of Russia, a claim he’s made again in recent weeks. Oleksandr Ratushniak Reuters A woman holds a child next to a destroyed bridge during an evacuation from Irpin, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 28, 2022. Many Ukrainians, on the other hand, have spent much of the last two decades trying to assert its separateness from Russia, rejecting pro-Russian politics and instigating not one but two dramatic uprisings in 2004 and 2013. In the latter Euromaidan protests, thousands of Ukrainians braved police brutality and violent repression to call for political change, and for Ukraine to join the EU. This ambition has only deepened under President Zelenskyy, who has asked the EU to fast-track Ukraine’s accession to the bloc, while conceding that Ukraine might never join NATO one of Moscow’s intended consequences as it looks to compromise in order to find a peace deal with Russia. 3) Economic ruin The international community was accused of being slow and ineffective when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. This time, it upped the ante when Russia’s full-scale invasion began, with Western democracies imposing wide-ranging sanctions on key Russian sectors, businesses and individuals connected to the Kremlin or who support the invasion. As a result, the Russian economy is expected to fall into a deep recession this year. The Institute of International Finance predicts Russia’s economy will contract by as much as 15 in 2022 because of the war. It also predicted a decline of 3 in 2023 and warned in a note last week that the war will wipe out fifteen years of economic growth. Analysts at TS Lombard predict that Russian citizens will experience a serious hit to living standards from the combination of recession and high inflation. The annualized inflation rate stood at 9.2 in February and is expected to have risen markedly higher in March, and there is a plausible end-year range of 30-35, Christopher Granville and Madina Khrustaleva said in a note Monday. This, they added, may have important medium to longer-term consequences, especially on a political level, with Putin’s popularity likely to be tested as a result. They did, however, note one way Russia can mitigate the impact of sanctions on its economy: boosting its oil exports to China and India. Russia’s oil-producing allies in OPEC are also standing by it. 4) Europe is dropping Russian energy The war has also accelerated Europe’s transition away from Russian energy imports, putting a large dent in the revenues Russia receives from energy exports. It has also made the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline designed to bring more Russian gas to Europe redundant, perhaps for good. Hannibal Hanschke Reuters The landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, on March 7, 2021. The Ukraine war has accelerated Europe’s transition away from Russian energy imports and has made the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline redundant, perhaps for good. The EU, which imported around 45 of its gas from Russia in 2021, has pledged to reduce its purchases of Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year, and the European Commission wants to stop buying Russian fossil fuels before 2030. In the meantime, the U.S. is looking to step into the breach by supplying its own liquefied natural gas to the region. The transition remains complex, however. We know that Europe allowed itself to become far too dependent on Russia for energy particularly Germany but it does take time to change sources of energy, it’s not just a light switch you turn off overnight, Fred Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, told CNBC. An energy transition is a transition and in that time you need oil and gas, he added. 5) Russia has united the West During President Vladimir Putin’s 22 years or so in power, he has systematically and repeatedly tried to weaken and undermine the West, whether it has been interference in democratic processes in the U.S. and Europe or serious incidents such as the alleged use of nerve agents against his personal and political enemies. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Military personnel wearing protective suits remove a police car and other vehicles from a public car park as they continue investigations into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on March 11, 2018 in Salisbury, England. Experts think Putin likely expected his invasion of Ukraine to have a disunifying effect on the West, with countries unable to agree on sanctions, or sending arms to Ukraine, but the opposite has proven true. The West’s reaction is unprecedented. It is beyond anyone could have anticipated united and much more than anyone in Russia was preparing or prepared for, Anton Barbashin, a political analyst and editorial director of the journal Riddle Russia, told CNBC. Essentially it is the ultimate economic warfare that will destroy Russia’s economy as we know it. Will those sanctions deter Putin’s war in Ukraine no, but it will certainly considerably limit the time we have with Putin’s Russia as it is today, Barbashin added. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/business/money-report/russia-faces-5-unintended-consequences-for-its-invasion-of-ukraine/2926619/)

How to keep up with the news from Russia and Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday, staging an assault on the country from three sides: the northern, eastern, and southern borders, NPR reports. Before dawn, Russian forces attacked locations near Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles, and are using long-range artillery against targets in Kharkiv, a Ukrainian city near the Russian border, according to CNN. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law, but urged the public to remain calm. “The most important message is that Ukraine is united, we are strong,” he said Thursday morning in a public address. “We are optimistic. We are looking into the future with wide open eyes, and we shall overcome.” A map of Ukraine showing its border with Russia. Credit: Getty / DigitalVision Vectors As Russian military forces and Russian-backed separatists strike targets across Ukraine, it can be difficult to ensure you’re receiving the full breadth of information at hand. There is an ongoing joke that every time something big happens geopolitically, people on the internet take on overconfident stances as experts and that can lead to the spread of misinformation. Russia is also a country known for spreading misinformation to sow panic and confusion for its benefit. The internet is full of grifters who rely on our basic trust to amplify their message, whether it’s dipped in truth or not. On TikTok, for instance, some users are saying that they are livestreaming the “Ukrainian invasion” and asking for donations but the videos they’re posting are actually just shots of houses in the U.K. dubbed with sirens and gunshots, according to a report from NBC. So it’s important to navigate this time with care. Tweet may have been deleted If you’re following along with what the New York Times has called the “most significant European war in almost 80 years,” there are plenty of trustworthy experts to listen to so that you can understand what is happening in Ukraine. Here are some of our favorites, on a variety of platforms. Fact checking the Russian attack on Ukraine Even if you think you’re following reports from reputable sources, it’s still important to do your due diligence and fact check it yourself. Here are some pointers on how to do that: Investigative news site Bellingcat has created a frequently updated database of footage from Russia and Ukraine that is false, which they debunk. It’s very helpful if you find a piece of footage that you think might not be quite right. This piece from Poynter explains how to identify fake photos and videos. The Verge has a guide for how to navigate the internet when lies, tricks, and chaos abound. Live Blogs Some news organizations put together live blogs of the news coming out of Russia and Ukraine. There are plenty of trusted news organizations that are live blogging the war in other languages like elDiario in Spanish or Le Monde in French. But here are some of the English-language sites we’re following: BBC News The Guardian The Kyiv Independent TV stations If you want to see how different new sources are covering the invasion at the same time, Matt Taylor of the Financial Times put together a screening room with streams of coverage from BBC News, Sky News, NBC, CNN, ABC, Al Jazeera, and more. Tweet may have been deleted Twitter accounts You can, of course, follow trustworthy news sources on Twitter to get more information about the war, and there are a few well-curated lists of journalists covering the invasion. If you’re looking for individual journalists to follow on Twitter, here are a few we’ve been watching. Journalists to follow: Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of the Kyiv Independent Anastasiia Lapatina, a reporter for Kyiv Independent Igor Kossov, a journalist in Kyiv Nick Beake, the BBC News Europe correspondent Myroslava Petsa, a journalist for BBC Ukraine Sarah Rainsford, eastern Europe correspondent for BBC, currently reporting from east Ukraine Christopher Miller, BuzzFeed correspondent, former Mashable senior correspondent, reporting from Ukraine Steve Rosenberg, the Moscow correspondent for BBC News, reporting from Russia Christo Grozev, the executive director of Bellingcat Nic Robertson, reporting from Moscow for CNN Andrew Roth, the Moscow correspondent for Guardian Max Seddon, the Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times Nataliya Vasilyeva, the Moscow correspondent for The Telegraph Nika Melkozerova, the executive editor of New Voice Ukraine Kristina Berdynskykh, a reporter at New Voice of Ukraine currently reporting from Kyiv Marichka Varenikova, a journalist in Kyiv Alec Luhn, a roving reporter across Ukraine and Russia Olga Tokariuk, a correspondent for EFE Noticias in Kyiv Nika Melkozerova, executive editor at New Voice of Ukraine Shaun Walker, the central and eastern Europe correspondent at Guardian Katerina Sergatskova, the editor-in-chief of Zaborona Media in Kyiv Myroslava Gongadze, the Eastern Europe chief at the Voice of America Alexander Khrebet, the international desk editor for ZN_UA Katerina Sergatskova, editor-in-chief at Zaborona Media Isobel Koshiw, a journalist in Kyiv Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist in Kyiv Tanya Kozyreva, a journalist in Ukraine Ollie Carroll, a journalist in Ukraine Luke Harding, journalist for Guardian currently reporting from Kyiv Valerie Hopkins, a reporter for the New York Times, currently reporting from Ukraine Mark MacKinnon, senior correspondent, the Globe and Mail, currently reporting from Ukraine Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist and founder Public Interest Journalism Lab Tim Mak, an NPR investigative correspondent currently reporting from Kyiv Frank Langfitt, an NPR London correspondent currently reporting from Ukraine Eleanor Beardsley, an NPR Paris correspondent currently reporting from Ukraine Nexta, large network covering Ukraine and Russia Public figures: Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine foreign minister Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine defence minister Lesia Vasylenko, Ukrainian MP tweeting in English Alona Shkrum, Ukrainian MP tweeting in English Sam Greene, King’s College professor of politics Michael McFaul, leading expert on Russia, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow Edward Lucas, security specialist and author Peter Pomerantsev, journalist and scholar Michael Kofman, Russian armed forces expert Michael McFaul, a Standford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia Open-source intelligence : Rob Lee, reliable source tracking military engagements in Ukraine OSINTtechnical, reliable source tracking military engagements Jane Lytvynenko, resources for journalists Elliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat Maria Avdeeva, disinformation analyst in Ukraine Aric Toler East European researcher, Bellingcat Oliver Alexander, geolocation analyst Karina Nguyen, visual investigations with the Human Rights Center, New York Times Conflict Intelligence Team, visual investigations in Ukraine Thomas Eydoux, OSINT journalist Michael A. Horowitz, geopolitical and security analyst Christiaan Triebert, visual investigations at the New York Times Christo Grozev, executive editor of Bellingcat Regardless of how you get your news, staying abreast with the goings on in Europe now and ensuring that you don’t contribute to the spread of misinformation is ever-important. (https://mashable.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-who-to-follow-misinformation)

Russia’s war on social media isn’t going well, either

As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine unfolds, much of the world continues to watch via social media. In response, Russia has waged its own forces against major social media platforms and services in an attempt to control the narrative coming out of Ukraine. In what we imagine is much to Russia’s chagrin, Ukrainian and Russian civilians seem to have found their ways around such measures, and the major platforms have taken firm stances against Russian state-sponsored messages. Below, here are all the ways the internet is standing up to Russia’s attacks. Many big platforms have restricted Russia’s access in some way Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have proven invaluable in helping spread awareness of what is actually happening in Ukraine. As such, Russia has tried to control them, with little success. On Feb. 25, Russia’s communications regulator accused Facebook of censoring the accounts of four state-sponsored media sites. In response, the country moved to limit access to Facebook for its civilians. Meta’s vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said in a statement that Russia had asked the company to stop fact-checking and labeling posts from those four accounts, and when Meta refused, Russia chose to restrict access. Meta seems to remain staunch in its efforts to curb misinformation on its sites, and has also chosen to block Russian state media from running any ads on Facebook or to monetize in any way, according to NPR. Tweet may have been deleted Google has also paused Russia’s ability to profit off of content across its services. YouTube is blocking state-sponsored ads from Russian channels on its platform, and is limiting video recommendations to Russian channels while blocking them entirely in Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian government. On Sunday, Alphabet, Inc. also banned downloads of the RT app in Ukrainian territory at the request of the Ukrainian government, according to Reuters. New users in Ukraine will not be able to download the Russian-owned media outlet’s app, while existing users may still be able to access it but won’t receive any new updates. SEE ALSO: How to keep up with the news from Russia and Ukraine Ukrainians turned to encrypted messaging app Signal as Russians invaded Meta sets up special team to deal with rampant misinformation around Ukraine Ukraine’s official Twitter account: Kick Russia off the platform Twitter’s telling Ukrainians how to lock down their accounts On Twitter, state-controlled ads have been banned since 2019, though state-sponsored media organizations like RT have accounts there. But in response to the conflict, the platform is temporarily pausing all ads in Ukraine and Russia regardless of the source, stating that it wants to “ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it.” Twitter is also being restricted in Russia according to usage metrics from internet watchdog group NetBlocks. When Mashable asked Twitter about the block, a spokesperson pointed us to a tweet stating the company’s belief in “free and open access to the internet,” but otherwise had no comment. Tweet may have been deleted All three major platforms continue to monitor the situation in Eastern Europe and seemingly plan on taking action against any rule-violating activities. Twitter has also taken additional actions to increase security and protect the accounts of high profile journalists, activists, and government officials. According to NPR, Meta has created a special operations center to keep tabs on Russia’s activity on its platforms, and YouTube has already “taken down hundreds of channels and thousands of videos in recent days for violating its policies, including rules against ‘coordinated deceptive practices.'” Online fundraising for Ukraine is active, and thriving via crypto On Feb. 26, Ukraine’s official Twitter account said it would be accepting donations in the form of cryptocurrency. To date, more than $9.9 million has been raised in crypto for Ukraine, according to The Verge. Tweet may have been deleted The country is officially accepting donations via Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether, while decentralized autonomous organizations have formed and can accept other forms of crypto donations as well. According to The Verge, Tether is supposed to pegged to the US dollar, but has been in such high demand that it is now trading above the dollar at $1.10. People in Ukraine have also reported that their Ukrainian credit cards have stopped working, and that crypto has become the most feasible fallback. Tweet may have been deleted Major crypto community players have expressed their support for Ukraine, including Russian-born creator of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin tweeting that the “invasion was a crime against Ukrainian and Russian people.” Nadya Tolokonnikova, a member of the Russian performance art group Pussy Riot, also created UkraineDAO to raise funds, and a collaboration of NFT and web3 artists created RELI3F to act as another hub for crypto donations to Ukraine. In contrast, Russia has pushed for a total ban on cryptocurrency and continues a “head-in-the-clouds” approach to talking about the conflict on its own official Twitter account. Given that, it’s unlikely Russia will be soliciting a similar amount of donations via crypto any time soon. Ukrainian and Russian civilians have found ways to communicate Telegram is the most popular messenger in Ukraine, and while many believe it to be protected, rival app Signal’s founder Moxie Marlinspike tweeted a thread explaining Telegram’s cloud-based nature, detailing the possible threat from Russia. Tweet may have been deleted While this doesn’t guarantee a mass Ukrainian exodus from the potentially jeopardized app, the thread brings awareness to alternatives, as well as a feature within Telegram called “secret messages,” that would provide more privacy and security for those who remain on the service. Internet infrastructure company Cloudflare also saw a massive spike in Signal usage just after midnight on Feb. 24, approximately the same time that the Russian invasion began. Signal’s messaging services promise end to end encryption, and is generally agreed upon by cybersecurity experts to be the most secure private messaging app. To prepare for potential internet outages, many are also working to get around online censorship in Ukraine or Russia. Yev Muchnik, a Ukraine-born lawyer who’s lived in the U.S. since 1988, told The Verge that he has been working with developers from PieFi and Ukraine United DAO to combat any attacks on internet access. Their goal is to “create peer-to-peer mesh networks to preserve internet connectivity, even if centralized internet service providers go down.” Privacy-preserving internet browsing service Tor also tweeted out an extensive thread detailing how private citizens can protect themselves against surveillance and censorship. Tweet may have been deleted On-the-ground info continues to spread online, albeit with misinfo concerns As people across the internet continue to seek out information, other social platforms like TikTok have offered a view of what is actually happening on the ground in Ukraine. Even before the official invasion in the early hours of Feb. 24, TikTok videos had been showing Russian military weapons and vehicles en route to Ukrainian borders, alerting military analysts and civilians alike to the upcoming threat. As the invasion began in earnest, more social posts have cropped up purporting to highlight the true day-to-day life in Ukraine and Russia right now. Independent Russian journalist Ilya Varlamov has used Instagram to document photos and videos of his account of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Russian TikTokker Niki Proshin posted a video showing an anti-war protest in Russia. According to The Guardian, Ukrainian influencer Anna Prytula’s Instagram showed footage of missiles attacking in Ukraine. But even as Ukrainian and Russian residents are publishing real-time, truthful videos, fake war pages and accounts on platforms like Instagram and TikTok have also taken the opportunity to reel in views and followers. SEE ALSO: ‘sNL’ opened on a solemn note with a moving Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York performance Instagram has taken action by removing scam war pages for violating its community guidelines regarding inauthentic behavior, while TikTok told Business Insider, “We continue to closely monitor the situation, with increased resources to respond to emerging trends and remove violative content, including harmful misinformation and promotion of violence. We also partner with independent fact-checking organizations to further aid our efforts to help TikTok remain a safe and authentic place.” While the platforms are presumably working to take down blatant misinformation, journalists like those at CNN are also actively fact-checking viral videos in order to ensure that any first person accounts from Russian military action is accurate. (https://mashable.com/article/russia-ukraine-social-media)

What social media platforms are doing to stop misinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, the information war is picking up online. Fake news, photoshopped posts, manipulated media, and all sorts of propaganda and misinformation is being disseminated by both bad actors and those being duped by them. So, what are the big tech companies doing to help stop bad information from spreading? Mashable reached out to several major social media platforms in order to get a comprehensive look at what exactly is being done to stop misinformation as Russian forces continue to advance in Ukraine. Meta Facebook and Instagram are certainly no strangers to disinformation campaigns stemming from Russia. So has Mark Zuckerberg learned from the attempts to sway elections? What is Meta doing this time around? On Facebook and Instagram, some major steps have been taken to clamp down on falsehoods being spread. Meta has blocked Russian state-run media, such as Russia Today and Sputnik, in the EU and in Ukraine. The company has also cut its revenue share with these outlets so they can’t monetize their content in areas where they haven’t yet been banned. In addition, Meta will continue to label state-run media as it previously did, turning down Russia’s request to stop fact-checking and labeling its content. Tweet may have been deleted On Tuesday, Meta announced it would be taking even further action against Russian state-run media on Facebook and Instagram by demoting its content on newsfeeds and taking action to ensure its algorithm will not be recommending its content to users. Users in Ukraine may have also noticed a Facebook “lock profile” tool, which provides people in the country with easy access to additional security and privacy measures. If a user turns this feature on, only friends on the platform will be able to share or download photos or see the user’s posts on their timeline. Meta announced that it had stopped two disinformation campaigns. One campaign attempted to control the narrative by creating fake accounts that claimed to be Ukrainian journalists. The pages used AI-generated photos to further hide the fact that these individuals did not really exist. The other campaign was tied to a hacking group from Belarus. Both disinformation networks spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Meta removed dozens of accounts connected to the campaigns. Meta’s messaging platform, WhatsApp, has also shared best practices with its users on how to secure their accounts and take advantage of certain privacy features such as Disappearing Mode, which deletes messages after 24 hours. Twitter Like Facebook, Twitter is a platform where misinformation campaigns take hold. And, as the social network where news often breaks, Twitter seems to have taken its role rather seriously during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Users may have noticed the information being shared by official Twitter profiles to ensure users are following best practices to secure their accounts. The company says it is monitoring “vulnerable” high-profile users in order to stop any manipulation or account takeovers. Twitter also has policies surrounding manipulated or synthetic media, i.e. edited video or deepfakes intended to spread disinformation. Content can be labeled or removed and entire accounts can be suspended based on the severity of the violation. The company has already removed manipulated content from the platform, such as a clip purported to be from Ukraine that was actually footage from a video game. Tweet may have been deleted The social microblogging platform also amped up its policies on labeling Russian state-run media on its platform. Previously, Twitter labeled accounts belonging to outlets such as Russia Today as “Russian state-run media.” However, as of Monday, the platform began adding warning labels to all tweets linking to Russian state-run media as well. “This Tweet links to a Russia state-run affiliated media website,” the label reads. Twitter says it will reduce the reach of these tweets, too. Along with those changes, a number of anchors, columnists and others employed by Russian state-run media outlets have begun reporting that their own personal accounts that promote their work have been affixed with the Twitter warning label as well. On Sunday, Twitter announced that it had suspended more than a dozen accounts for violating its platform manipulation and spam policy. Violating this policy usually entails the use of fake accounts in order to spread content and “artificially inflate” engagement. “Our investigation is ongoing; however, our initial findings indicate that the accounts and links originated in Russia and were attempting to disrupt the public conversation around the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” said Twitter in a public statement. According to NBC News, these accounts were sharing links from a new propaganda outlet called Ukraine Today. Before Russian troops even entered the country, Twitter had already suspended advertising in Ukraine and in Russia so adverts didn’t minimize crucial information in users’ feeds. Twitter also paused tweet recommendations from accounts users did not already follow. The company says this action was taken to “reduce the spread of abusive content.” “Twitter’s top priority is keeping people safe, and we have longstanding efforts to improve the safety of our service,” said a Twitter spokesperson. “We remain vigilant and will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground.” The company also seems to have made it clear that at least some of its existing policies won’t be paused due to the conflict. When the Ukrainian National Guard tweeted an Islamophobic video of a Neo-Nazi battallion embedded in the country, Twitter hid the clip behind a warning label as per its hate speech policies. YouTube Russian state-run media is a powerhouse on YouTube. Russia Today, specifically, has found success on the platform over the years. RT’s main channel has more than 4.5 million subscribers. RT boasts that it has received more than 10 billion views across all of its YouTube channels. With numbers like that, YouTube monetization could result in a pretty lucrative revenue stream. That is, until this weekend, when YouTube demonetized RT and all Russian state-run media. In light of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine, we’re taking a number of actions,” read a public statement from YouTube. “We’re pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions.” The statement goes on to say that YouTube will also be “significantly limiting” the platform’s recommendations to content on these channels. In addition to revoking their monetization. YouTube is also “restricting access” to RT and other channels for users in Ukraine. YouTube also shared that it had removed a number of low-subscriber channels that were part of a “Russian influence operation.” Snapchat Due to the nature of how Snapchat works mainly private feeds and ephemeral content the social messaging app has rather successfully avoided becoming a hub for misinformation and other problematic content. Even so, Snap states that it will remove any misinformation it comes across on its platform regarding Ukraine. “The app has actually been designed to make it hard for misinformation to spread,” said a Snap spokesperson in a statement. “We limit the size of group chats and snaps disappear. Unlike traditional social platforms, we don’t feature an open, unvetted newsfeed and the content on the public parts of the app Discover and Spotlight only host pre-moderated content. If we find misinformation, we remove it immediately. TikTok TikTok has long outgrown online challenges and viral dance crazes. Current events, however, may be the greatest measure of just how much the shortform video app has expanded beyond the teen content it was originally known for. The war in Ukraine has seen TikTok used as a platform for the latest news as well as updates from people on the ground about what’s happening. Unfortunately, though, the young platform has also seen itself grow as a major outlet for misinformation and propaganda. Videos purportedly from Ukraine have spread on the platform, often turning out to portray conflicts from years earlier and in completely different parts of the world. Scams have also descended on TikTok livestreams. Scammers are raising money with fake live videos that make it appear as if they are Ukranians sharing their wartime experiences. TikTok has also just announced a new feature that has some critics scratching their heads at the timing. The shortform video platform has announced it will now support video uploads of up to 10 minutes long. As Media Matters point out, the platform was already struggling to handle misinformation before Russia invaded Ukraine and when it was dealing with 3-minute long videos. The company, for its part, has said it has taken action against users acting in bad faith and will remove content breaking TikTok’s rules regarding the spread of misinformation. “We continue to closely monitor the situation, with increased resources to respond to emerging trends and remove violative content, including harmful misinformation and promotion of violence,” said a TikTok spokesperson in a statement provided to Mashable. “We also partner with independent fact-checking organizations to further aid our efforts to help TikTok remain a safe and authentic place.” TikTok has also partnered with organizations like MediaWise and the National Association of Media Literacy Education in order to help educate its users on digital media literacy. LinkedIn While most probably think of LinkedIn as business networking tool, the social network has had its fair share of fake news and misinformation spread throughout the platform. The Microsoft-owned platform says its “safety teams are closely monitoring conversations on the platform” and its global editing team is making sure news and updates are coming from trusted sources. LinkedIn will take action on any content that does not abide by its Professional Community Policies, which prohibits misinformation, false content, and manipulated media. Mashable will continue to update this post as policies change. (https://mashable.com/article/social-media-misinformation-ukraine-russia)

Zelensky’s show matters more than ever. Let’s see it all.

If Americans have learned anything about Ukrainian president Vlodomyr Zelensky in the weeks since Russia invaded his country, it’s that he’s a masterful media strategist. In trolling Russian president Vladimir Putin, as in mobilizing world opinion behind Ukraine, his prior experience as an actor and comedian has served him well. Which is why this is a perfect time for western audiences to familiarize themselves with Zelensky’s Servant of the People one of the most intriguing and historically important shows you could possibly watch right now. And you should watch, as much and as fast as you can despite a bizarre number of obstacles in accessing the whole thing. This is the TV show that ran in Ukraine for three seasons from 2015 to 2018. Zelensky’s character is a history teacher who is unexpectedly elected president in a landslide after his students post a viral video of him complaining about corruption and crowdfund his campaign online. Life imitated art when Zelensky started a Servant of the People Party, ran for president in a campaign run almost entirely on social media, and won in a landslide. It may not explain why Russia started this war as well as, say, The Death of Stalin. Still, for outsiders, Servant of the People is something of a lesson in Ukrainian politics and culture, and yet the 24-minute episodes are easy to binge. The humor, a handful of references aside, is universal. This is satire of the fast-moving, widely-accessible kind. The show consistently tells the terrible truth about real-life villains the billionaire oligarchs who stop any government working for the people in a way only the court jester of a hopeful democracy can. SEE ALSO: Ukraine’s everyday heroes are owning social media Zelensky emerges from the show less a buffoon, more a heartfelt true believer in democracy. The nearest American analogue might be Jimmy Stewart in the classic Frank Capra movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, another great advertisement for democratic principles in dark times. In both stories a somewhat naive history-lover is elevated to high office, refuses to bow to corruption, suffers outrageous smears from the corrupt, and holds the line of morality with from-the-hip speeches. Via Giphy Servant of the People gives Mr. Smith a humor upgrade by way of Veep, with a little Walter Mitty-style daydreaming. I also saw scenes and setups that reminded me of The Office, Parks and Rec, The Great, The Thick of It, Yes Prime Minister, Arrested Development, and if you’re chomping at the bit to watch it all after that name-checking, you’re my kind of people. How to watch: with difficulty But therein lies the trouble: Watching it all. After tracking down the world’s most wondered-about show, the best I can suggest is that you time-travel back a couple of years and convince yourself to watch it on Netflix in its entirety before it vanishes from the streaming service for still-unexplained reasons. Search for it on Netflix now and you’ll get redirected to Winter on Fire, the documentary on the 2014 protests that forced Ukraine’s pro-Putin, police-state-loving president Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country If you’re in the UK, Servant of the People is now screening on Channel 4 but at a painfully slow rate. Currently, just three episodes out of the 24 in season 1 are available on the UK-only All 4 streaming app. The company that owns TV rights has been doing brisk sales, according to multiple reports, but will not reveal if there’s a U.S. taker yet. Given the amount of disinformation about Zelensky rife in certain dark corners of American politics Rep. Madison Cawthorn was just caught on video calling Ukraine’s leader a ” thug ” the show that proves the Putin apologists wrong can’t come to U.S. screens soon enough. For now, would-be Servant of the People viewers are left with YouTube, where there is good and bad news. Good news: Zelensky’s own production company has uploaded every episode, so we’re talking high-quality transfers, not bad user rips. Bad news for English speakers: Most of the episodes offer only Russian subtitles. Some of the episodes with English subtitles are more comprehensible than others. If YouTube wanted to do some good in the world, and thank Zelensky for the millions of ad impressions he’s brought to the online video giant, it could sink some money into a full-on worldwide Servant of the People translation project. In the meantime, here’s a quick guide to the best Servant of the People viewing experience currently possible. Episodes 1 and 2 The double-length premiere is a great place to start. Servant of the People wisely skips over the whole election part, dropping us into the story the morning that history teacher Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko learns his campaign for the president was successful. He’s then ushered through a dizzying round of interviews and makeovers by the prime minister, Yuri Ivanovich Chuiko, whose silky smoothness you would be right to distrust. The story of the viral video and the crowdfunding that kickstarted his campaign is told in flashback. And the shadowy oligarchs we’ll come to know later in the show are anonymous, their faces always covered by items of furniture as they plot nefarious schemes. And here, in all its glory, is the joke that was cut when the show aired in Russia. Vasily is offered a range of expensive watches, and is told which one Putin favors. “Putin Hublot?” he says innocently a phrase that sounds a lot like “Putin khuilo,” a Ukrainian football chant that translates roughly to “Putin is a dickhead.” Episode 3 Episode 3 focuses on Vasily’s family; in an early sign of the corruption that will surround him everywhere he goes, his mother, father, niece and sister are seen promising government positions to their friends and receiving “100 percent discounts” at their favorite stores. The fourth wall shatters when a couple of policemen ask the family if they can “do something about” comedians who criticize the government. Episode 4 Episode 4 opens with what is hands-down my favorite scene of the show: Vasily being shown around his swanky new presidential residence. He finds a chandelier so expensive that it caused the country to default on its debt during the 2008 financial crisis, and a parrot that squawks “no, you’re the idiot.” when it hears the name of ousted pro-Putin president Viktor Yanukovych; the show was actually filmed on the massive estate Yanukovych had vacated in a hurry less than two years earlier. Unfortunately the episode is the first to lose its English subtitles before the end, so if you want to see Zelensky’s character chatting about his inauguration address with Abraham Lincoln, you’ll need to watch this version. Episode 5 Episode 5 may be my favorite episode overall and certainly the show’s best example of physical comedy. In the first half, Vasily spends much of his time running away from his ridiculously large security detail. In the second, we’re introduced to his presidential predecessor, who has barricaded himself into his office with a shotgun and a bar full of booze. Much of the show hits differently now Russia has invaded Ukraine, but this is the first scene that hits differently in the wake of Donald Trump’s disastrous bid to cling on to power. The quality of the English translation starts to go downhill with episode 6, in which Vasily falls out with his family, yells “Putin has been overthrown” to get the attention of squabbling deputies, and has a chat with Che Guevara. Subtitles then disappear early in episode 7. In episode 8, the show takes a turn towards screwball office comedy, as Vasily brings in a cabinet of outsiders like himself only they all happen to be his old school pals. The show presents them as a cadre of trusted allies who are less likely to take bribes, but it’s hard for a viewer not to notice that such nepotism is a form of corruption in itself. In episodes 9 and 10, the oligarchs take a number of steps to bribe or bring down the new cabinet, including dosing one member with psychedelics. As promising a plotline as that may be, we’re lost without English subtitles for the next 13 episodes. Which brings us to the last and most epic English language experience in the current canon: Servant of the People 2: The Movie After Season 1 was a huge hit, Zelensky and company repackaged a planned plotline from Season 2 as a 90-minute movie, Servant of the People 2. Here you’ll encounter mild spoilers; Yuri Ivanovich, the prime minister, is in jail, having been unmasked as a stooge of the oligarchs, and Vasily is dating an assistant who is also revealed to be one of their people. To break up an alliance of the three most powerful oligarchs, Vasily and Yuri take a train to the east of the country. Classic road movie farce ensues. Meanwhile Ukraine has applied for a loan from the International Monetary Fund, which keeps piling on the onerous conditions even as Vasily’s hapless foreign minister tries to keep the IMF leadership drunk. Vasily’s speech at the end of the movie responding to the IMF loan offer is a thing of beauty, and in retrospect can be applied to any situation where Ukraine has been pushed too far. “We’re not a border region between orcs and elves,” Vasily says. “We are a nation of open, clever and talented people. When we understand this, when we understand that stealing is bad, that we need to roll up our sleeves and work hard. Then the whole world will say ‘glory to Ukraine.'” Slava Ukraini indeed. (https://mashable.com/article/zelensky-servant-people-how-to-watch)

Putin Appears at Big Rally as Troops Press Attack in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared at a huge flag-waving rally at a packed Moscow stadium Friday and lavished praise on his troops fighting in Ukraine, three weeks into the invasion that has led to heavier-than-expected Russian losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home. Meanwhile, the leader of Russia’s delegation in diplomatic talks with Ukraine said the sides have narrowed their differences. The Ukrainian side said its position remained unchanged. The invasion has touched off a burst of antiwar protests inside Russia, and the Moscow rally was surrounded by suspicions it was a Kremlin-manufactured display of patriotism. Several Telegram channels critical of the Kremlin reported that students and employees of state institutions in a number of regions were ordered by their superiors to attend rallies and concerts marking the eighth anniversary of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, which was seized from Ukraine. Those reports could not be independently verified. Elsewhere, Russian troops continued to rain lethal fire on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and pounded an aircraft repair installation on the outskirts of Lviv, close to the Polish border. Ukrainian officials said late Friday that the besieged southern port city of Mariupol lost its access to the Azov Sea, and Russian forces were still trying to storm the city. It was unclear whether they had seized it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces are blockading the largest cities to create a humanitarian catastrophe with the goal of persuading Ukrainians to cooperate. He said the Russians are preventing supplies from reaching surrounded cities in central and southeastern Ukraine. This is a totally deliberate tactic, Zelenskyy said in his nighttime video address to the nation, which was recorded outside in Kyiv, with the presidential office behind him. In a rare public appearance by Putin since the start of the war, he praised Russian troops: Shoulder to shoulder, they help and support each other, he said. We have not had unity like this for a long time, he added to cheers from the crowd. Moscow police said more than 200,000 people were in and around the Luzhniki stadium. The event included patriotic songs, including a performance of Made in the U.S.S.R., with the opening lines Ukraine and Crimea, Belarus and Moldova, it’s all my country. Seeking to portray the war as just, Putin paraphrased the Bible to say of Russia’s troops: There is no greater love than giving up one’s soul for one’s friends. Taking to the stage where a sign read For a world without Nazism, he railed against his foes in Ukraine with a baseless claim that they are neo-Nazis. Putin continued to insist his actions were necessary to prevent genocide an idea flatly rejected by leaders around the globe. Video feeds of the event cut out at times but showed a loudly cheering crowd that broke into chants of Russia. Putin’s appearance marked a change from his relative isolation of recent weeks, when he has been shown meeting with world leaders and his staff either at extraordinarily long tables or via videoconference. In the wake of the invasion, the Kremlin has clamped down harder on dissent and the flow of information, arresting thousands of antiwar protesters, banning sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and instituting tough prison sentences for what is deemed to be false reporting on the war, which Moscow refers to as a special military operation. The OVD-Info rights group that monitors political arrests reported that at least seven independent journalists had been detained ahead of or while covering the anniversary events in Moscow and St. Petersburg. High above the conflict, three Russian cosmonauts arrived Friday at the International Space Station wearing bright yellow flight suits with blue accents matching the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Video of one of the cosmonauts taken as the capsule prepared to dock with the space station showed him wearing a blue flight suit. It was unclear what, if any, message the yellow uniforms were intended to send. When cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was asked about the yellow suits, he said every crew chooses its own suits, and they had a lot of yellow material they needed to use so that’s why we had to wear yellow. Since the war started, many people have used the Ukrainian flag and its colors to show solidarity with the country. Back in Moscow, Putin stood on stage in a white turtleneck and a blue down jacket and spoke for about five minutes. Some people, including presenters at the event, wore T-shirts or jackets with a Z a symbol seen on Russian tanks and other military vehicles in Ukraine and embraced by supporters of the war. Putin’s quoting of the Bible and an 18th-century Russian admiral reflected his increasing focus in recent years on history and religion as binding forces in Russia’s post-Soviet society. His branding of his enemies as Nazis evoked what many Russians consider their country’s finest hour, the defense of the motherland from Germany during World War II. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine US-China Relations Mar 18 Don’t Help Russia’s Invasion, Biden Tells China’s Xi politics Mar 18 U.S. Officials Continue to Press Russia for Access to WNBA Star Brittney Griner The rally came as Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russian negotiators in several rounds of talks with Ukraine, said that the sides have moved closer to agreement on the issue of Ukraine dropping its bid to join NATO and adopting a neutral status. That is the issue where the parties have made their positions maximally close, Medinsky said in remarks carried by Russian media. He added that the sides are now halfway on issues regarding the demilitarization of Ukraine. Mikhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, characterized the Russian assessment as intended to provoke tension in the media. He tweeted: Our positions are unchanged. Ceasefire, withdrawal of troops & strong security guarantees with concrete formulas. Zelenskyy again appealed to Putin to hold talks with him directly. It’s time to meet, time to speak, he said. I want to be heard by everyone, especially in Moscow. In other developments, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for nearly two hours in a bid by the U.S. to deter Beijing from providing military or economic assistance for Russia’s invasion. Earlier Friday, one person was reported killed in the missile attack near Lviv. Satellite photos showed the strike destroyed a repair hangar and appeared to damage two other buildings. Ukraine said it had shot down two of six missiles in the volley, which came from the Black Sea. The early morning attack was the closest strike yet to the center of Lviv, which has become a crossroads for people fleeing from other parts of Ukraine and for others entering to deliver aid or join the fight. The war has swelled the city’s population by some 200,000. Zelenskyy boasted that Ukraine’s defenses have proved much stronger than expected, and Russia didn’t know what we had for defense or how we prepared to meet the blow. But British Chief of Defense Intelligence Lt. Gen. Jim Hockenhull warned that after failing to take major Ukrainian cities, Russian forces are shifting to a strategy of attrition that will entail reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower, resulting in higher civilian casualties and a worsening humanitarian crisis. In city after city around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked. Rescue workers continued to search for survivors in the ruins of a theater that was being used a shelter when it was blasted by a Russian airstrike Wednesday in Mariupol. Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament’s human rights commissioner, said at least 130 people had survived the theater bombing. But according to our data, there are still more than 1,300 people in these basements, in this bomb shelter, Denisova told Ukrainian television. We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them. Satellite images on Friday from Maxar Technologies showed a long line of cars leaving Mariupol as people tried to evacuate, as well as devastation to homes, apartment buildings and stores. Early morning barrages also hit a residential building in the Podil neighborhood of Kyiv, killing at least one person, according to emergency services, who said 98 people were evacuated from the building. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 19 were wounded in the shelling. Ukrainian officials said a fireman was killed when Russian forces shelled an area where firefighters were trying to put out a blaze in the village of Nataevka, in the Zaporizhzhia region. Two others were killed when strikes hit residential and administrative buildings in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, according to the regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko. Maj. Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, who is leading the defense of the region around Ukraine’s capital, said his forces are well-positioned to defend the city and vowed: We will never give up. We will fight until the end. To the last breath and to the last bullet. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/putin-appears-at-big-rally-as-troops-press-attack-in-ukraine/2918801/)

UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief in Ukraine to Talk Safety Support

The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s director-general arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for talks with senior government officials on delivering urgent technical assistance to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities, the agency said. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Rafael Mariano Grossi’s aim is to initiate prompt safety and security support for Ukraine’s nuclear sites. That will include sending IAEA experts to prioritized facilities, which it didn’t identify, and sending vital safety and security supplies including monitoring and emergency equipment. It said that Grossi will travel to one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants this week, but didn’t say which one. Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors at four active power plants, and also is home to the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Russian forces have taken control of Chernobyl and of the largest active power plant, at Zaporizhzhia. The IAEA chief has been pressing for weeks for an agreement with Ukraine and Russia on the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. He met the two countries’ foreign ministers in Turkey earlier this month. politics Mar 28 Ukraine Suspends Evacuations Amid Safety Fears; Russia, Ukraine Prepare for Face-To-Face Talks politics 9 hours ago ‘We Will Come and We Will Find You’: U.S. Issues Warning to Anyone Helping Russia Bypass Sanctions He said Tuesday that Ukraine has requested his agency’s assistance and we will now start delivering it. The military conflict is putting Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and other facilities with radioactive material in unprecedented danger, Grossi said in a statement. We must take urgent action to make sure that they can continue to operate safely and securely and reduce the risk of a nuclear accident that could have a severe health and environmental impact both in Ukraine and beyond. There have already been several close calls. We can’t afford to lose any more time, he added. This conflict is already causing unimaginable human suffering and destruction. The IAEA’s expertise and capabilities are needed to prevent it from also leading to a nuclear accident. The IAEA has, among other things, expressed concern about a lack of regular staff rotations at the Chernobyl site, questions over the ability of staff to work without undue pressure and interruptions to power supplies. It says it isn’t receiving data transmission from its monitoring systems installed at Chernobyl, but is getting data from Ukraine’s other plants. As of Monday, the IAEA said, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator told it that eight of Ukraine’s 15 reactors were continuing to operate, including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia. The others were shut down for regular maintenance, it said. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/un-nuclear-watchdog-chief-in-ukraine-to-talk-safety-support/2927059/)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Video to Russians, Tells Putin to’stop This War’

Film icon Arnold Schwarzenegger told Russians in a video posted on social media Thursday they’re being lied to about the war in Ukraine and accused President Vladimir Putin of sacrificing Russian soldiers’ lives for his own ambitions. Schwarzenegger is hugely popular in Russia, and apparently also with Putin. The President of Russia Twitter account follows only 22 accounts one of them the actor’s. In the nine-minute video, Schwarzenegger said Russian soldiers were told they’d be fighting Nazis in Ukraine, or to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine or that were going on military exercises, and that they’d be greeted like heroes. He said many of the troops now know those claims were false. This is an illegal war, Schwarzenegger said, looking straight into the camera while seated at a desk in a study. Your lives, your limbs, your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world. Schwarzenegger posted his emotional video on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. While some of those services are blocked in Russia, he also posted it on the Telegram messaging app which is not where it got more than a half-million views. It was subtitled in Russian. The former California governor brought up painful memories about how his own father was lied to as he fought with Adolf Hitler’s forces during World War II, and how he returned to Austria a broken man, physically and emotionally after being wounded at Leningrad. He asked Russians to let their fellow citizens know about the human catastrophe that is happening in Ukraine. The video showed bombed out buildings in Ukraine and people coming under Russian shelling. He then addressed Putin directly, saying: You started this war. You are leading this war. You can stop this war. Schwarzenegger described his long ties to Russia, having traveled there as a body builder and film action hero. In 2010, as California governor, he led a delegation of Silicon Valley business leaders and venture capitalists on a trip to Moscow. More Russia-Ukraine War Coverage 2022 grammy awards Mar 17 Trevor Noah Says Grammys Can Entertain and Tackle World Issues Russia-Ukraine Crisis Mar 4 Mila Kunis Says She’s ‘Never Been More Proud’ to Be Ukrainian Amid Invasion He called all the Russians who have been in the streets protesting the invasion of Ukraine, and who have been arrested and manhandled, my new heroes. An adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry who works to disseminate information about the course of the war urged Ukrainians to share the video with friends and relatives in Russia. Putin and his propagandists call us Ukrainians fascists and Nazis, the adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, said on Telegram. But their propaganda is blown to smithereens when super famous people all over the world speak with one voice: ‘No to war.’ Gerashchenko has more than 385,000 subscribers to his channel on Telegram. He included a link to a version of Schwarzenegger’s video with a Russian voice-over that he posted on his YouTube channel. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. Associated Press writer Lynn Berry in Washington contributed to this report. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. (https://www.nbcboston.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/arnold-schwarzenegger-video-to-russians-tells-putin-stop-this-war/2672458/)

Across US, Faith Groups Mobilize to Aid Ukrainian Refugees

As U.S. refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofits nationwide gear up to help Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and war that has raged for nearly six weeks, members of faith communities have been leading the charge to welcome the displaced. In Southern California, pastors and lay individuals are stationing themselves at the Mexico border waving Ukrainian flags and offering food, water and prayer. Around the country, other religious groups are getting ready to provide longer-term support for refugees who will have to find housing, work, health care and schooling. Aaron Szloboda, an assistant pastor at the Christian church Calvary San Diego, recently spent 50 hours straight at the Mexican border handing out food and water to Ukrainians lined up to enter the United States. Just 10 minutes from the frontier, Calvary San Diego has become something of a hub for newly arrived refugees, a place where they can recuperate after a harrowing journey and plan their next steps. On Friday its walls were lined with snacks, beverages, dolls and stuffed animals as families arrived clutching duffel bags, suitcases and the hands of small children. They were welcomed inside to rest, eat a meal and check their phones. Volunteers helped them navigate their immediate individual needs: information on flights to New York; how to change euros to dollars; a ride for a friend who had just walked across the border. Szloboda, whose Hungarian Jewish grandfather survived the Holocaust and lost family members to Nazi genocide, believes he is being called to serve those in dire need: They’re exhausted physically and mentally. The U.S. has agreed to accept up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, which has experienced a flight of more than 4 million people since late February. The Biden administration is also expected to end pandemic-related asylum limitsat the U.S.-Mexico border on May 23, caps that have drawn criticism from immigration advocates. Russia-Ukraine War Apr 2 Ukrainian Forces Retake Areas Near Kyiv Amid Fear of Traps Russia-Ukraine War Mar 31 Ukraine Refugees Encouraged to Find Jobs in Host Countries as War Exodus Slows Down But even before such refugee resettlements begin, faith-based groups have already been helping Ukrainians who have made their way to the United States. Some arrived directly on travel visas. Others traveled to Mexico and then to the U.S. border to claim asylum, enabling them to stay in the U.S. while their cases are processed. Refugee resettlement agencies can use all the help they can get to accommodate the influx. Deep cuts during the Trump administration led them to slash staffing and programming, and they have already been scrambling to help tens of thousands of Afghans seeking asylum after fleeing last year’s Taliban takeover. We’ve started dealing with these crises before there has been a chance to rebuild that infrastructure, said Stephanie Nawyn, associate professor of sociology at Michigan State University who focuses on refugee issues. Refugees have a lot of needs homes, jobs, English classes, financial assistance, schools and translators who will help them navigate all of that. That’s too much even for a large organization, Nawyn said. While getting more people of faith to help is great, not having enough resources or case managers is still going to be a problem. Swiftly providing those kinds of protections and benefits to Ukrainian arrivals is a religious imperative, said Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of the Jewish refugee agency HIAS, one of nine groups that contract with the U.S. State Department on resettlement. Jewish people are called by their faith to care for and help people in need, Hetfield said, noting that welcoming the stranger is mentioned 36 times in the Torah, more often than any other commandment. Not because it’s the most important but because it’s the easiest one to forget or ignore to love the stranger as yourself, Hetfield said. HIAS is also welcoming interfaith efforts to help newly arriving refugees, such as one planned partnership in New York City with Buddhist groups. Columbia University doctoral student Chad DeChant, who belongs to Village Zendo, a Zen community in lower Manhattan, initiated that effort. The group is forming committees to help refugees navigate social services, and once their application to HIAS is approved, they hope volunteers can get trained by the resettlement agency. Buddhism teaches its adherents to be aware of the interdependence of all beings, DeChant said, and the teaching is to not see ourselves as separate from others: Acting compassionately to help others is a core value in all Buddhist traditions. Minda Schweizer, founder and executive director of Home for Refugees, a Christian nonprofit based in Orange County, California, said resources are sorely needed at the local level where faith-based groups continue helping Afghan refugees who are still finding their way. Many Afghan refugees are still in motels because we’re in the midst of a housing crisis, Schweizer said. Matthew Soerens, the U.S. director of church mobilization and advocacy at World Relief, said his organization is eager to welcome more Ukrainians and he has been busy fielding queries from churches about ways to help: Can they host a family? Can they be involved with English tutoring? One of our big asks of churches is, ‘Can you help us identify landlords or property managers?’ Soerens said. What we are really struggling with almost everywhere in the country is long-term, permanent, affordable housing. Meanwhile, as Ukrainians keep arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, local churches continue to step up. Bogdan Kipko, pastor at Forward Church, a Baptist congregation in Irvine, California, has been working with churches such as Calvary as well as one Russian church in the San Diego area. Volunteers have been taking refugees to nearby hotels or hosting them in their own homes; after a short stay, those with relatives in the country typically then travel by bus, car or plane to places like Sacramento, where there is a large Ukrainian community. The bigger challenge will be to connect those in need with long-term services and help them build new lives, Kipko said: We’re trying to help those who have no place to go. We’re thinking about their long-term needs. Kipko and his family arrived in the United States in 1992 after fleeing religious persecution in Kazakhstan, and many of his relatives hail from Ukraine. We came here as refugees, and Baptist churches in Washington helped us get on our feet, he said. I’ll never forget that. ___ Henao reported from Princeton, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Mariam Fam in Cairo, Peter Smith in Pittsburgh and AP photographer Gregory Bull in Chula Vista, California, contributed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/across-us-faith-groups-mobilize-to-aid-ukrainian-refugees/2930979/)

How a pregnant Ukrainian Instagram influencer was used in a Russian disinformation campaign

On March 9, Russian forces struck a maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, leaving three dead at the scene and over a dozen injured. Many were horrified by the photos and videos of the aftermath. One photo, in particular, of an injured pregnant woman being carried out on a stretcher captured the sheer brutality of the bombing for everyone watching around the world. The young woman seen in the photo and her unborn child died later that day, as doctors attempted to save their lives, adding to the death toll. However, in the hours after the bombing, Russian propaganda claiming that both the photos and deadly bombing itself were staged started to spread online. And a young pregnant Ukrainian woman was caught in the middle. Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP / Shutterstock Marianna Vishegirskaya, one of many injured pregnant women at the decimated Mariupol hospital was targeted by a Russian disinformation campaign that tried and ultimately failed to flip the blame and attempt to disprove the reality of the deadly attack. Vishegirskaya was likely targeted because she’s a popular internet personality in Ukraine, known as @gixie_beauty on Instagram. Her work was used as false pretext to cast her in the role of ‘crisis actor,’ a classic Russian propaganda tactic that has also been despicably used by far-right groups and conspiracy theorists in the U.S. like when victims of mass shootings were falsely accused of being paid actors. Tweet may have been deleted Vishegirskaya can be seen walking through the rubble in photos taken at the scene after the hospital bombing. But the reason she is there is quite clear to anyone who looks at the photos on her Instagram account, which were posted before Russia began its war in Ukraine. Vishegirskaya is clearly pregnant and was at the maternity hospital as a patient. Days after the bombing Vishegirskaya gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Tweet may have been deleted The disinformation appears to have originated from a Russian Telegram channel called “Signal,” which has half a million subscribers on the platform. It is likely that this disinformation campaign was coordinated by the Russian government. A paid propaganda campaign was recently uncovered by Vice, for example, showing how influential Russian TikTok personalities were being paid to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda about the war. “Signal uncovered the girl who photographers photographed in the wreckage of the maternity hospital in Mariupol,” reads the Telegram message as translated by the independent Russian news outlet, Meduza. “She turned out to be a model and a popular beauty blogger in Mariupol. Her name is Marianna Podgurskaya The same model appeared in all three scenes.” The Podgurskaya referenced by the channel is Vishegirskaya’s maiden name. The Telegram post asserted that the hospital was evacuated and the photos were staged. Two specific photos from the bombing scene, one showing an injured pregnant woman on a stretcher and one with a pregnant woman walking through the rubble, were included with the post. They were set side-by-side with photos from Vishegirskaya’s Instagram account. The Signal channel identified Vishegirskaya as the woman in both photos. Not long after, these falsehoods about Vishegirskaya and the Mariupol maternity hospital were spread far and wide by official Russian state and diplomatic accounts. The Russian Embassy in the UK tweeted a number of times, claiming that Vishegirskaya played two different women photographed at the hospital. Interestingly, the Russian Embassy also referenced Vishegirskaya by her maiden name, Podgurskaya. Tweet may have been deleted “She actually played roles of both pregnant women on the photos,” tweeted the Russian Embassy, repeating the crisis actor falsehoods about Vishegirskaya portraying multiple pregnant women and going on to reference her Instagram account. Twitter later removed the Russian Embassy’s lies for violating the platform’s misinformation policies. Pro-Russia social media personalities also helped spread the conspiracy theory online. “Regarding pregnant women, who allegedly survived in the maternity house targeted by Russia,” tweeted Maria Dubovikova, known as @politblogme on Twitter, sharing pro-Kremlin propaganda. “The Ukrainian fake factory masters used the model Marianna from Mariupol She played two different pregnant women at once.” Tweet may have been deleted The false claim was further spread when Dubovikova’s tweet was shared by Maajid Nawaz, a former British radio show host, who recently gained prominence after appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast where he discussed COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Twitter removed Dubovikova’s tweet for disinformation shortly after it was posted as well. It didn’t take long, however, for the conspiracy about the pregnant Instagram blogger to gain traction across the internet. Instagram users who believed the misinformation even started to leave harassing comments on Vishegirskaya’s Instagram photos based on the crisis actor lies. The images that came out of the March 9 bombing in Mariupol have been some of the most horrific yet during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photos and videos that were being passed around on platforms like Telegram the very same platform where the disinformation originated from actually showed the gruesomely real injuries that never made it onto mainstream media outlets. SEE ALSO: What Russians should keep in mind when using Telegram Marianna Vishegirskaya was indeed at the maternity hospital in Mariupol when it was targeted by a Russian airstrike. The pregnant woman, now a mother, can be seen in photos walking on foot through the rubble. She survived and gave birth to a daughter in the days after the bombing. A completely different pregnant woman is viewed in the photo from the hospital bombing, injured and being stretchered out. Sadly, multiple news outlets have confirmed with doctors on the scene that the unidentified woman on the stretcher did not survive. Neither did her unborn child. This particular Russian disinformation campaign failed to change the narrative thanks to the quick actions taken by journalists, fact checkers, and social media activists. However, propaganda about Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to be disseminated online. Related Video: How to recognize and avoid fake news (https://mashable.com/article/pregnant-ukraine-instagram-influencer-russia-disinformation)

U.N. Urges Investigation Into Videos of Alleged POW Abuse by Russia and Ukraine

A top United Nations official has called on both Russia and Ukraine to investigate videos that appear to show their soldiers mistreating prisoners of war during the conflict in Ukraine. The government in Kyiv has said it is looking into one video that purports to show Ukrainians shooting Russian prisoners in the legs. The commander of Ukraine’s army has suggested that the graphic video is a staged act of propaganda.NBC News was unable to authenticate the video. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. Russia 11 hours ago The Invasion of Ukraine Has Serious, Unintended Consequences for Russia. Here Are Just 5 of Them Russia-Ukraine Crisis 11 hours ago Russia Says It Will Scale Back Near Kyiv as Talks Progress The Kremlin whose own disinformation efforts have ranged from accusing the United States of running a network of nonexistent biolabs across Ukraine to denying it has launched a war at all said it is also investigating the video. Matilda Bogner, head of the U.N.’s human rights office in Ukraine, said at a news briefing Monday that her team was in the process of verifying a number of videos, but that on the face of it, it does raise serious concerns. Read the full story here on NBCNews.com (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/u-n-urges-investigation-into-videos-of-alleged-pow-abuse-by-russia-and-ukraine/2926910/)

Russian Troops Held Over 300 Villagers in a Basement for Weeks. One by One Some Died

The Russian soldiers forced more than 300 villagers into a school basement. Then, during weeks of stress and deprivation, some began to die. Residents of Yahidne, a village 140 kilometers from Kyiv, told The Associated Press about being ordered into the basement at gunpoint after the Russians took control of the area around the northern city of Chernihiv in early March. In one room, those who survived wrote the names of the 18 who didn’t. An old man died near me and then his wife died next, Valentyna Saroyan, a weary survivor, recalled Tuesday as she toured the darkened basement. Then a man died who was lying there, then a woman sitting next to me. She was a heavy woman, and it was very difficult for her. Writing can be seen on a wall and a door in the basement of a school in Yahidne, Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, where residents wrote the names of people who died during the Russian occupation of their village. Village by village, town by town, Ukrainians in areas where Russians have withdrawn continue to unearth new horrors. More are feared. The residents of Yahidne, which is on the outskirts of Chernihiv, said they were made to remain in the basement day and night except for the rare times when they they were allowed outside to cook on open fires or to use the toilet. The health of the captives suffered. Here’s a chair, and that’s how we were sitting for a month, Saroyan said, recalling her aching legs. As people died one by one in the basement, neighbors were allowed from time to time to place the bodies in a mass grave in a nearby cemetery. Each time, they passed through a doorway marked in dripping red paint with the plaintive words Attention. Children. The glare of a flashlight shows bright drawings on the walls. The Russians could be cruel, surviving villages said. Svitlana Baguta said a Russian soldier who was either drunk or high made her drink from a flask at gunpoint. He pointed the gun at the throat, put the flask and said, ‘Drink,’ Baguta said. Julia Surypak said the soldiers allowed some people to make a short trip to their homes if they sang the Russian state anthem. But they didn’t allow us to walk much, she said. The Russian forces left the village at the beginning of April, part of a regional withdrawal from northern Ukraine Russia’s military ordered in anticipation of after a large offensive in the east. A message scrawled on a wall of the Yahidne school marked April 1 as the last day of their presence. The soldiers left behind unexploded artillery shells, destroyed Russian vehicles and rubble. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/russian-troops-held-over-300-villagers-in-a-basement-for-weeks-one-by-one-some-died/2939446/)

Ukraine Accuses Russia of Massacre, City Strewn With Bodies

Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities on Sunday accused the departing forces of committing war crimesand leaving behind a scene from a horror movie. As images of the bodies of people whom residents said were killed indiscriminately began to emerge from Bucha, a slew of European leaders condemned the atrocities and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow. The bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said. Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital. One group of nine, all in civilian clothes, were scattered around a site that residents said Russian troops used as a base. They appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs and one of those was shot in the head; another’s legs were bound. Ukrainian officials laid the blame for the killings which they said happened in Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs squarely at the feet of Russian troops, with the president calling them evidence of genocide. But Russia’s Defense Ministry rejected the accusations as provocation. The discoveries followed the Russian retreat from the area around the capital, territory that has seen heavy fighting since troops invaded Ukraine from three directions on Feb. 24. Troops who swept in from Belarus to the north spent weeks trying to clear a path to Kyiv, but their advance stalled in the face of resolute defense from Ukraine’s forces. Moscow now says it is focusing its offensive on the country’s east, but it also pressed a siege on a city in the north and continued to strike cities elsewhere in a war that has already forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country and many more to leave their homes. Russian troops rolled into Bucha in the early days of the invasion and stayed up March 30. With those forces gone, residents gave harrowing accounts Sunday, saying soldiers shot and killed civilians without any apparent reason. One resident, who refused to give his name fearing for his safety, said that Russian troops went building to building and took people out of the basements where they were hiding, checking their phones for any evidence of anti-Russian activity and taking them away or shooting them. Hanna Herega, a resident of Bucha, said Russian troops shot a neighbor who had gone out to gather wood for heating. He went to get some wood when all of a sudden they started shooting. They hit him a bit above the heel, crushing the bone, and he fell down, Herega said. Then they shot off his left leg completely, with the boot. Then they shot him all over. And another shot went slightly below the temple. It was a controlled shot to the head. The AP also saw two bodies, that of a man and a woman, wrapped in plastic that residents said they had covered and placed in a shaft until a proper funeral could be arranged. The resident who refused to be identified said the man was killed as he left a home. He put his hands up, and they shot him, he said. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said scores of residents were found slain on the streets of the suburbs of Irpin and Hostomel as well as Bucha, in what looked like a scene from a horror movie. He alleged that some of the women found dead had been raped before being killed and the Russians then burned the bodies. This is genocide, Zelenskyy told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday. But Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the photos and videos of dead bodies have been stage managed by the Kyiv regime for the Western media. It noted that Bucha’s mayor did not mention any abuses a day after Russian troops left. The ministry charged said not a single civilian has faced any violent action by the Russian military in Bucha. Over the weekend, AP journalists witnessed Ukrainian soldiers gingerly removing at least six bodies from a street in Bucha with cables in case the Russians had booby-trapped corpses with explosives before their withdrawal. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called on other nations to immediately end Russian gas imports, saying they were funding the killings. Not a penny should go to Russia anymore, Klitschko told German newspaper Bild. That’s bloody money used to slaughter people. The gas and oil embargo must come immediately. Officials in France, Germany, Italy, Estonia and the U.K. separately condemned what was being described and vowed that Russia would be held accountable. This is not a battlefield, it’s a crime scene, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tweeted. Authorities said they were documenting evidence to add to their case for prosecutingRussian officials for war crimes. As Russian forces retreated from the area around the capital, they pressed their sieges in other parts of the country. Russia has said it is directing troops to the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years. In that region, Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov that has seen some of the war’s greatest suffering, remained cut off. About 100,000 civilians less than a quarter of the prewar population of 430,000 are believed to be trapped there with little or no food, water, fuel and medicine. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that a team sent Saturday to help evacuate residents had yet to reach the city. Ukrainian authorities said Russia agreed days ago to allow safe passage from the city, but similar agreements have broken down repeatedly under continued shelling. A supermarket parking lot in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, meanwhile, has become the staging ground for helping people who have made it out. Peycheva Olena, who fled the besieged city, told Britain’s Sky News she was forced to leave the body of her husband unburied when he was killed in shooting. There was shelling, and we tried to drag him away but it was too much, we couldn’t do it, explained her daughter, Kristina Katrikova. The mayor of Chernihiv, which also has been under attack for weeks, said Sunday that relentless Russian shelling has destroyed 70 of the northern city. Like in Mariupol, Chernihiv has been cut off from shipments of food and other supplies. On Sunday morning, Russian forces launched missiles on the Black Sea port of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, sending up clouds of dark smoke that veiled parts of the city. The Russian military said the targets were an oil processing plant and fuel depots around Odesa, which is Ukraine’s largest port and home to its navy. The Odesa city council said Ukraine’s air defense shot down some missiles before they hit the city. Ukrainian military spokesman Vladyslav Nazarov said there were no casualties from the attack. The regional governor in Kharkiv, said Sunday that Russian artillery and tanks performed over 20 strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city and its outskirts in the country’s northeast over the past day. The head of Ukraine’s delegation in talks with Russia said Moscow’s negotiators informally agreed to most of a draft proposal discussed during face-to-face talks in Istanbul this week, but no written confirmation has been provided. The Ukrainian negotiator, Davyd Arakhamia said on Ukrainian TV that he hoped the proposal was developed enough so Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet to discuss it. But the top Russian negotiator in talks with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinksy, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying it was too early to talk about a meeting between the two leaders. ___ Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine (https://www.nbcboston.com/news/national-international/ukraine-sees-openings-as-russia-fixed-on-besieged-mariupol/2684581/)

Ukrainian Forces Retake Areas Near Kyiv Amid Fear of Traps

Ukrainian troops moved cautiously to retake territory north of the country’s capital on Saturday, using cables to pull the bodies of civilians off streets of one town out of fear that Russian forces may have left them booby-trapped. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that departing Russian troops were creating a catastrophic situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and even the bodies of those killed. His claims could not be independently verified. Associated Press journalists in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, watched as Ukrainian soldiers backed by a column of tanks and other armored vehicles used cables to drag bodies off of a street from a distance. Locals said the dead the AP counted at least six were civilians killed without provocation by departing Russian soldiers. Those people were just walking and they shot them without any reason. Bang, said a Bucha resident who declined to give his name citing safety reasons. In the next neighborhood, Stekolka, it was even worse. They would shoot without asking any question. Ukraine and its Western allies reported mounting evidence of Russia withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and building its troop strength in eastern Ukraine. The visible shift did not mean the country faced a reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelenskyy said he expects departed towns to endure missile and rocket strikes from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense. In his nightly video address Saturday, the Ukrainian leader said the country’s troops were not allowing the Russians to retreat without a fight: They are shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can. Russia, Zelenskyy said, has ample forces to put more pressure on Ukraine’s east and south. What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to seize the Donbas and the south of Ukraine, he said. What is our goal? To defend ourselves, our freedom, our land and our people. Moscow’s focus on eastern Ukraine also kept the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol in the crosshairs. The port city on the Sea of Azov is located in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops for eight years. Military analysts think Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to capture the region after his forces failed to secure Kyiv and other major cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross had hoped to evacuate Mariupol residents Saturday but had not yet reached the city. A day earlier, local authorities said the Red Cross was blocked by Russian forces. An adviser to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with Russian lawyer and activist Mark Feygin that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to allow 45 buses to drive to Mariupol to evacuate residents in coming days. The Mariupol city council said earlier Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 84 kilometers west of Mariupol, to pick up people who managed to get there on their own. About 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles, city officials said. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said 765 Mariupol residents on Saturday used private vehicles to reach Zaporizhzhia, a city still under Ukrainian control that has served as the destination for other planned evacuations. Among those escaping was Tamila Mazurenko, who said she fled Mariupol on Monday, made it to Berdyansk that night and then took a bus to Zaporizhzhia. Mazurenko said she waited for a bus until Friday, spending one night sleeping in a field. I have only one question: Why? she said of her city’s ordeal. We only lived as normal people. And our normal life was destroyed. And we lost everything. I don’t have any job, I can’t find my son. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for more than a month and suffered some of the war’s worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theater that was sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and they face dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. Zelenskyy said a significant number of Russian troops were tied up in Mariupol, giving Ukraine invaluable time that is allowing us to foil the enemy’s tactics and weaken its capabilities. The city’s capture would give Moscow an unbroken land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. But its resistance also has taken on symbolic significance during Russia’s invasion, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table, Fesenko said. About 500 refugees from eastern Ukraine, including 99 children and 12 people with disabilities, arrived in the Russian city of Kazan by train overnight. Asked if he saw a chance to return home, Mariupol resident Artur Kirillov answered, That’s unlikely, there is no city anymore. In towns and cities surrounding Kyiv, signs of fierce fighting were everywhere in the wake of the Russian redeployment. Destroyed armored vehiclesfrom both armies lay in streets and fields along with scattered military gear. Ukrainian troops were stationed at the entrance to Antonov Airport in suburb of Hostomel, demonstrating control of the runway that Russia tried to storm in the first days of the war. Inside the compound, the Mriya, one of the biggest planes ever built, lay wrecked underneath a hangar pockmarked with holes from the February attack. The Russians couldn’t make one like it so they destroyed it, said Oleksandr Merkushev, mayor of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin. Irpin has seen some of the fiercest battles, and Merkushev said Russian troops left behind them many bodies, many destroyed buildings, and they mined many places. A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital was found dead Friday in the Huta Mezhyhirska village north of Kyiv, the country’s prosecutor general’s office announced. The prosecutor general’s office attributed Maks Levin’s death to two gunshots allegedly fired by the Russian military and said an investigation was underway. Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted in Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port and the headquarters of its navy. Ukraine’s state nuclear agency reported a series of blasts Saturday that injured four people in Enerhodar, a southeastern city that has been under Russian control since early March along with the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman said via Telegram that the four were badly burned when Russian troops fired light and noise grenades and mortars at a pro-Ukraine demonstration. The head of Ukraine’s delegation in talks with Russia said Moscow’s negotiators informally agreed to most of a draft proposal discussed during face-to-face talks in Istanbul this week, but no written confirmation has been provided. However, Davyd Arakhamia said on Ukrainian TV that he hopes that draft is developed enough so that the two countries’ presidents can meet to discuss it. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Irpin, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine (https://www.nbcboston.com/news/national-international/zelenskyy-russians-create-complete-disaster-with-mines/2684159/)

Russia Says It Will Scale Back Near Kyiv as Talks Progress

Russia announced Tuesday it will significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine’s capital and a northern city, as the outlines of a possible deal to end the grinding war came into view at the latest round of talks. Ukraine’s delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations. Moscow’s public reaction was positive, and the negotiations are expected to resume on Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country. Amid the talks, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow has decided to fundamentally cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations. He did not immediately spell out what that would mean in practical terms. The announcement was met with skepticism from the U.S. and others. While Moscow portrayed it as a goodwill gesture, its ground troops have become bogged down and taken heavy losses in their bid to seize Kyiv and other cities. Last week and again on Tuesday, the Kremlin seemed to lower its war aims, saying its main goal now is gaining control of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden, asked whether the Russian announcement was a sign of progress in the talks or an attempt by Moscow to buy time to continue its assault, said: We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had not seen anything indicating talks were progressing in a constructive way, and he suggested Russian indications of a pullback could be an attempt by Moscow to deceive people and deflect attention. There is what Russia says and there is what Russia does, and we’re focused on the latter, Blinken said in Morocco. And what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine. Western officials say Moscow is reinforcing troops in the Donbas in an attempt to encircle Ukraine’s best-trained and best-equipped forces, which are concentrated in the east. And in the country’s south, civilians trapped in the ruins of Mariupol and other bombarded and shattered cities continue to suffer. Even as negotiators gathered, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces blasted a gaping hole in a nine-story government administration building in a strike on the southern port city of Mykolaiv, killing at least 12 people, emergency authorities said. The search for more bodies in the rubble continued. It’s terrible. They waited for people to go to work before striking the building, said regional governor Vitaliy Kim. I overslept. I’m lucky. Ukraine’s military said it has noted withdrawals of some Russian forces around Kyiv and Chernihiv. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN the U.S. hasn’t seen anything to corroborate a significant pullback from the capital, but what we have seen over the last couple of days is they have stopped trying to advance on Kyiv. Rob Lee, a military expert at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, tweeted of the Russian announcement: This sounds like more of an acknowledgment of the situation around Kyiv where Russia’s advance has been stalled for weeks and Ukrainian forces have had recent successes. Russia doesn’t have the forces to encircle the city. The meeting in Istanbul was the first time negotiators from Russia and Ukraine talked face-to-face in two weeks. Earlier talks were held in person in Belarus or by video. Among other things, the Kremlin has demanded all along that Ukraine drop any hope of joining NATO. Ukraine’s delegation offered a detailed framework for a peace deal under which the nation would remain neutral but its security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland, in an arrangement similar to NATO’s an attack on one is an attack on all principle. Ukraine said it would also be willing to hold talks over a 15-year period on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014. Vladimir Medinskiy, the head of the Russian delegation, said on Russian TV that the Ukrainian proposals are a step to meet us halfway, a clearly positive fact. He cautioned that the parties are still far from reaching an agreement, but said: We know now how to move further toward compromise. We aren’t just marking time in talks. Fomin likewise suggested there had been progress, saying negotiations on preparing an agreement on Ukraine’s neutrality and non-nuclear status, as well as on giving Ukraine security guarantees, are turning to practical matters. In other developments: In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland and North Macedonia expelled scores of Russian diplomats. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency arrived in Ukraineto try to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities. Russian forces have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, site in 1986 of the world’s worst nuclear accident, and of the active Zaporizhzhia plant, where a building was damaged in fighting. Russia has destroyed more than 60 religious buildings across the country in just over a month of war, with most of the damage concentrated near Kyiv and in the east, Ukraine’s military said. In the room at the Istanbul talks was Roman Abramovich, a longtime Putin ally who has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Chelsea soccer team owner has been serving as an unofficial mediator approved by both countries. But mystery about his role has been deepened by news reports that he may have been poisoned during an earlier round of talks. Over the past several days, Ukrainian forces have mounted counterattacks and reclaimed ground on the outskirts of Kyiv and other areas. Ukrainian soldiers gathered in a trench for photos with Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said that Ukraine had retaken control of a vast majority of Irpin, a key suburb northwest of the capital that has seen heavy fighting. We defend our motherland because we have very high morale, said Syrskyi, the top military commander in charge of the defense of Kyiv. And because we want to win. Ukrainian forces also took back Trostyanets, south of Sumy in the northeast, after weeks of occupation that left a landscape of Russian bodies, burned and twisted tanks and charred buildings. Putin’s ground forces have been thwarted not just by stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance, but by what Western officials say are Russian tactical missteps, poor morale, shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, and other problems. Repeating what the military said last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that liberating Donbas is now Moscow’s chief objective. While that presents a possible face-saving exit strategy for Putin, it has also raised Ukrainian fears the Kremlin aims to split the country and force it to surrender a swath of its territory. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/new-round-russia-ukraine-talks-aims-stop-fighting/2926630/)

AMD, Intel, Microsoft halt sales to Russia

Both AMD and Intel on Thursday said that the two companies had halted sales of their products to Russia and Belarus, an explicit commitment from the chip industry in taking action against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Microsoft, too, also said it would halt new sales of Microsoft products, too. On Thursday morning, AMD said it was halting all chip shipments. By Thursday afternoon, Intel had joined AMD with a similar statement. Microsoft added its own statement on Friday morning. According to AMD, the chip ban extends to Belarus, which Russia has used as a staging ground for its attacking forces. Based on sanctions placed on Russia by the United States and other nations, at this time AMD is suspending its sales and distribution of our products into Russia and Belarus, an AMD representative said in an email. It is all AMD products and products we power in Russia and Belarus. Intel, too, said it had suspended shipments. Intel condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and we have suspended all shipments to customers in both Russia and Belarus, Intel said in a statement on its Web site. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by this war, including the people of Ukraine and the surrounding countries and all those around the world with family, friends and loved ones in the region. Intel said that it had begun to raise funds for relief efforts, too. We are working to support all of our employees through this difficult situation, especially those with close ties to this region, Intel added. We have launched an employee donation and matching campaign through the Intel Foundation that has already raised over $1.2 million for relief efforts, and we are proud of the work our teams in surrounding areas including Poland, Germany and Romania are doing to aid refugees. We will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine and the global community in calling for an immediate end to this war and a swift return to peace. For its part, Microsoft said that it would halt sales of all new Microsoft products. We are announcing today that we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia, Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith wrote. In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions. It wasn’t clear whether Microsoft would leave in place ongoing subscription services. Microsoft also said that it continues to protect Ukrainian web sites from Russian attacks. Our single most impactful area of work almost certainly is the protection of Ukraine’s cybersecurity, Smith added. We continue to work proactively to help cybersecurity officials in Ukraine defend against Russian attacks, including most recently a cyberattack against a major Ukrainian broadcaster. Finally, clear statements in favor of Ukraine On Feb. 24, the U.S. Department of Commerce implemented a new Commerce Control List-based license requirement for Russia. This requirement restricts exports to the country for key industries including microelectronics, avionics, navigation equipment, and more. Essentially, the new export rules blacklist Russia and businesses operating there from legally buying the restricted goods. To date, however, the chip industry has been somewhat vague in how it has reacted to the ongoing Ukraine conflict. On Feb. 26, for example, an Intel representative merely said that Intel complies with all applicable export regulations and sanctions in the countries in which it operates, including the new sanctions issued by OFAC and the regulations issued by BIS. At the time, the representative declined to comment further when asked if that indicated a specific ban on sales to Russia. A source close to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest and most important fab, told the Washington Post that the foundry has suspended all sales to Russia and to third parties that supply products to Russia. On the record, however, a TSMC representative told the paper that it would simply comply with the new export rules. Compared to the overall market, however, chip sales to Russia represent a small fraction of total sales. On Feb. 24, the Semiconductor Industry Association released a statement that characterized Russia as not a significant direct consumer of semiconductors. While the impact of the new rules to Russia could be significant, Russia is not a significant direct consumer of semiconductors, accounting for less than 0.1 of global chip purchases, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization, the SIA said in a statement. The broader Russian ICT market totaled only about $50.3 billion out of the $4.47 trillion global market, according to 2021 IDC data. In addition, the semiconductor industry has a diverse set of suppliers of key materials and gases, so we do not believe there are immediate supply disruption risks related to Russia and Ukraine, the SIA added. The AMD representative echoed what the SIA said, specifically regarding its own supply chain. Currently, we do not believe that the conflict will impact our ability to provide products, support, and services to our partners and customers, the AMD representative said in his email. Representatives for Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. This story was updated at 9:17 AM on Friday, March 4 with a statement from Microsoft. (https://www.pcworld.com/article/619357/amd-officially-halts-chip-sales-to-russia.html)

Former ICC Prosecutor Urges Global Arrest Warrant for Putin

The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called for an international arrest warrant to be issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is a war criminal, Carla Del Ponte told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Saturday. In interviews given to Swiss media to mark the release of her latest book, the Swiss lawyer who oversaw ICC war crimes investigations in Rwanda, Syria and the former Yugoslavia said there were clear war crimes being committed in Ukraine. She said she was particularly shocked by the use of mass graves in Russia’s war on Ukraine, which recalls the worst of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. I hoped never to see mass graves again, she told the newspaper Blick. These dead people have loved ones who don’t even know what’s become of them. That is unacceptable. Other war crimes she identified in Ukraine included attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings and even the demolishing of entire towns. business Apr 2 Ukraine Claims Full Control of Kyiv as Chances of Peace Talks Advance, Says Nearly 18,000 Russian Military Dead oil and gas Mar 30 Poland to Cut All Russian Oil Imports by Year’s End; Germany Warns on Gas Supply She said the investigation in Ukraine would be easier than that in Yugoslavia because the country itself had requested an international probe. The current ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, visited Ukraine last month. If the ICC finds proof of war crimes, she said, you must go up the chain of command until you reach those who took the decisions. She said it would be possible to bring even Putin to account. You mustn’t let go, continue to investigation. When the investigation into Slobodan Milosevic began, he was still president of Serbia. Who would have thought then that he would one day be judged? Nobody, she told Blick. Del Ponte added that investigations should be carried out into possible war crimes committed by both sides, pointing also to reports about the alleged torture of some Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/former-icc-prosecutor-urges-global-arrest-warrant-for-putin/2930600/)

West, Russia Mull Nuclear Steps in a ‘More Dangerous’ World

Russia’s assault on Ukraine and its veiled threats of using nuclear arms have policymakers, past and present, thinking the unthinkable: How should the West respond to a Russian battlefield explosion of a nuclear bomb? The default U.S. policy answer, say some architects of the post-Cold War nuclear order, is with discipline and restraint. That could entail stepping up sanctions and isolation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Rose Gottemoeller, deputy secretary-general of NATO from 2016 to 2019. But no one can count on calm minds to prevail in such a moment, and real life seldom goes to plan. World leaders would be angry, affronted, fearful. Miscommunication and confusion could be rife. Hackers could add to the chaos. Demands would be great for tough retaliation the kind that can be done with nuclear-loaded missiles capable of moving faster than the speed of sound. When military and civilian officials and experts have war-gamed Russian-U.S. nuclear tensions in the past, the tabletop exercises sometimes end with nuclear missiles arcing across continents and oceans, striking the capitals of Europe and North America, killing millions within hours, said Olga Oliker, program director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group. And, you know, soon enough, you’ve just had a global thermonuclear war, Oliker said. It’s a scenario officials hope to avoid, even if Russia targets Ukraine with a nuclear bomb. Gottemoeller, a chief U.S. nuclear negotiator with Russia for the Obama administration, said that the outlines that President Joe Biden has provided so far of his nuclear policy stick with those of past administrations in using atomic weapons only in extreme circumstances. And a single Russian nuclear use demonstration strike, or as horrific as it would be a nuclear use in Ukraine, I do not think would rise to that level of demanding a U.S. nuclear response, said Gottemoeller, now a lecturer at Stanford University. For former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat who over nearly a quarter-century in Congress helped shape global nuclear policy, the option of Western nuclear use has to remain on the table. That’s what the doctrine of mutual assured destruction has been about for a long, long time, said Nunn, now strategic adviser to the Nuclear Threat Initiative security organization, which he co-founded. If President Putin were to use nuclear weapons, or any other country uses nuclear weapons first, not in response to a nuclear attack, not in response to an existential threat to their own country that leader should assume that they are putting the world in the high risk of a nuclear war, and nuclear exchange, Nunn said. For U.S. officials and world leaders, discussions of how to respond to a limited nuclear attack are no longer theoretical. In the first hours and days of Russia’s invasion, Putin referenced Russia’s nuclear arsenal. He warned Western countries to stay out of the conflict, saying he was putting his nuclear forces on heightened alert. Any country that interfered with Russia’s invasion would face consequences such as you have never seen, in your entire history, Putin declared. How to respond to any use by Russia of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons was among the issues discussed by Biden and other Western leaders when they met in Europe in late March. Three NATO members the United States, Britain and France have nuclear weapons. One overarching concern is that by casting some nuclear weapons as tactical weapons to be used in battle, Russia could break the nearly eight-decade global taboo against using a nuclear weapon against another country. Even comparatively small tactical nuclear weapons approach the strength of the atomic bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II. Gottemoeller and Nunn praise Biden’s restraint in the face of Putin’s implicit nuclear warnings at the outset of the war. Biden made no known move to raise the U.S. nuclear alert status. The U.S. also postponed a routine Minuteman III test launch last month to avoid escalating tensions. But in the short term and long, the world appears more at risk of a nuclear conflict as a result of Putin’s bungled invasion and nuclear threats, according to arms control experts and negotiators. The weaknesses that Russia’s invasion exposed in its conventional military forces may leave Putin feeling even more compelled in the future to threaten nuclear use as his best weapon against the far-stronger United States and NATO. While Gottemoeller argued that Ukraine’s surrendering of its Soviet nuclear arsenal in 1994 opened the door for three decades of international integration and growth, she said some governments may take a different lesson from nuclear Russia’s invasion of non-nuclear Ukraine that they need nuclear bombs as a matter of survival. Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute, said the nuclear danger is going up. And we can tell which pathways would cause that risk to go up further. And certainly direct conflict with Russia from forces based in NATO countries is one pathway to a nuclear war, Lewis said. Gottemoeller took heart in Putin grumbling publicly late last month about cancel culture. That suggested he was vulnerable to world condemnation over his Ukraine invasion, and worse to come if he broke the post-World War II taboo on nuclear attack, she said. Detonating a nuclear bomb in a country Putin sought dominion over, one next to his own, wouldn’t be rational, Nunn said. But he said neither was Putin’s announcement of heightened nuclear alert,. As a young congressional aide during the Cuban missile crisis, Nunn witnessed U.S. officers and pilots in Europe standing by for orders to launch nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union. The danger today isn’t yet as great as in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles on Cuba raised the threat of nuclear war with the U.S., he said. But the risk of intentional nuclear escalation now is high enough to make a cease-fire in Ukraine crucial, Nunn said. The modern threat of cyberattacks adds to the risk of a mistaken launch. And it’s not clear how vulnerable U.S. and, especially, Russian systems are to such hacking attempts, he said. Putin has been very reckless in his saber rattling with nuclear weapons, Nunn said. And that I think has made everything more dangerous, including a blunder. (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/west-russia-mull-nuclear-steps-in-a-more-dangerous-world/2930609/)

Russia cracks down on Zello walkie-talkie app amid ongoing war

First Facebook, then Twitter, then Facebook again, and now. Zello? On Sunday, Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal agency responsible for censoring the media and internet, announced it was moving to “limit” the walkie-talkie app Zello. At issue, according to an official press release, is the Texas company’s failure to prevent discussion of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine on its platform. “On March 4, Roskomnadzor, based on the decision, sent the administration of the American Internet resource Zello a request to stop sending messages to users that contain false information about the course of a special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine,” reads the translated message in part. “Due to the failure of the administration of Zello to comply with the requirements of Roskomnadzor within 24 hours, access to this application on the territory of the Russian Federation will be limited.” Zello, which offers both a free and a paid version of its service, lets users create voice discussion ” channels ” of up to 7,000 people think voice chat rooms full of people talking to each other in real time. This functionality came in handy in 2017 when Zello users attempted to coordinate aid in response to Hurricane Irma, and, more recently, when Jan. 6 rioters using Zello infiltrated the U.S. Capitol building. Russians using Zello inside the country seems to have run afoul of official government censors. An example of a Zello channel. Credit: Screenshot: Zello Importantly, Zello does offer an end-to-end encrypted chat feature. “Group conversations are private and encrypted end-to-end,” the company explains. This means that no one, not even Zello, can listen in on those conversations. Public channels, which differ from Group conversations in that they’re open to the public and searchable, are unencrypted. We reached out to Zello in an effort to determine what effect, if any, this supposed limiting of its app in Russia has had on service. We also asked how many users in Russia the app has, and if the company has any response to Roskomnadzor’s announcement. We received no immediate response. Notably, this is not the first time the Russian government has moved to limit Zello in some way. In 2017, Zello said that officials attempted to block the app when the company failed to comply with a demand that it store user data in Russia. “We would also be forced to provide law enforcement with the means of surveillance on Zello conversations globally and would have to share all Zello encryption keys with FSB, the Russian state security organization,” read Zello’s response at the time. “These are requirements that we are not able to meet or willing to comply with, even if we could.” SEE ALSO: What Russians should keep in mind when using Telegram Zello said it had approximately 400,000 users in Russia in 2017. As Russia moves to crack down in the country on online communication platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and now Zello, the value of a secure, and private, communication tool like Signal, which saw a spike in use in Ukraine as Russia invaded, or Zello’s end-to-end encrypted Group conversations has never been more clear. (https://mashable.com/article/russia-limits-zello-walkie-talkie-app-ukraine)

US-Backed Group Gets Lifesaving Meds to Ukrainians Amid War

Thousands of patients in Ukraine are receiving lifesaving medicines to treat HIV and opioid addiction through a U.S.-funded group still operating despite the Russian invasion. Supplies are running short and making deliveries is a complicated calculus with unpredictable risks. Officials say the quiet work of the Alliance for Public Health shows how American assistance is reaching individuals in the besieged nation, on a different wavelength from U.S. diplomatic and military support for the Ukrainian government. The Ukraine-based humanitarian organization has operated for more than 20 years. It has received millions of dollars from the U.S. Agency for International Development as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal programs to counter HIV globally. Executive director Andriy Klepikov said shutting down was not an option during the invasion. Ukraine has one of the most serious HIV epidemics in Western Europe, and patients need their medications daily. He said his group made a risk management plan to continue its work if fighting broke out. But it did not envision the scale of the onslaught unleashed by Russian forces, and that has forced the group to adapt. In areas of Ukraine that have escaped the worst, the organization is still able to deliver medications via postal and parcel services. For refugees who have left the country, caseworkers are making connections with aid groups that can restock medications. In places under attack but still in Ukrainian control, medical vans are bringing in supplies via convoys. The group has even been able to get some deliveries into Russian-controlled areas, with the help of intermediaries. It also is distributing medicines for tuberculosis. Asked how long it can keep going, Klepikov responded: We Ukrainians are quite resilient. I am not the best soldier. But in the area of medicine, humanitarian work, public health, human rights __ that’s my area, and I will do the maximum possible. He was interviewed by telephone several times recently. We are still serving thousands of people with medications, Klepikov said. It’s more than five thousand. The group’s fleet of medical vans has been pressed into service to transport injured civilians to hospitals that can treat complex cases, and to deliver essential supplies for daily living. U.S. officials say they have been impressed with the attitude of the Ukrainians, which evokes the tenacity of Britons during the London Blitz in World War II. Going into the war, I think we assumed the services would probably not be working anymore, and we completely understood, said Ryan Keating, a CDC epidemiologist overseeing AIDS prevention and treatment assistance for Ukraine. But in most cases throughout the country our partners have continued to work every day. Keating tells of a nurse at a clinic in one hard-hit city, who when the air raid siren sounded, scooped up the HIV medicines first and then hustled to the bomb shelter. Health care staff continued to communicate with clients from the bomb shelter. For the Alliance, every day turns into a test. The group has lost contact with clients in Mariupol, which has a large population of HIV patients. That coastal city has been relentlessly pummeled by the Russians, and reports indicate much of it is reduced to rubble. An Alliance medical van was destroyed during a bombardment, Klepikov said. Normal patterns of communication between clients and their caseworkers and clinicians have been severely disrupted. A clinic or office may be closed. Patients may have moved to safer areas. Messaging apps and online forums have filled some of the gaps, much as telehealth became the fallback in the United States during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. A website supported by the Alliance has become a place for patients to seek counseling for the trauma of war. According to one of the group’s periodic situation reports, the top concerns of patients are acute stress, strong anxiety mixed with sadness, fear of death, guilt after evacuating to a safer area, and guilt about not doing enough. The importance of this work increases substantially in the context of war, said Klepikov, who holds a doctorate in philosophy. The U.S. has a long-standing relationship with the Ukrainian group through a program called the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Efforts are underway to restock Ukraine’s supply of medicines, said Dr. Ezra Barzilay, CDC’s country director for Ukraine. Antiretroviral drugs are used to treat HIV, and medicines such as buprenorphine and methadone are used for opioid addiction. Two Ukrainian factories that made drugs to treat opioid addiction have been attacked. HIV and opioid addiction are related medical problems because the virus that causes AIDS can be transmitted by infected needles used to inject drugs. The Alliance estimates that 100,000 Ukrainians living with HIV are in cities and districts impacted by the Russian invasion. At the time the war started, more than 17,000 patients with opioid addiction were receiving treatment. Having the drugs in country doesn’t necessarily make it work, Barzilay said. You could have thousands of pills in one city and the city next door may not have access. They’re moving drugs by car from location to location. Program director Klepikov said he remembers a long-ago event with the U.S. ambassador to kick off American support for his organization. I’m worried that what we’ve achieved in 21 years can be destroyed in days because of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. President Joe Biden’s health secretary, Xavier Becerra, said the Health and Human Services Department is coordinating with the State Department to deliver medical supplies to Ukraine, and is preparing to help resettle Ukrainian refugees. We want to be there, Becerra told The Associated Press. At HHS, we have a role to play as well. (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/us-backed-group-gets-lifesaving-medicine-to-ukrainians-amid-war/3189633/)

US Giving Ukraine $300 Million More in Military Gear

The U.S. Defense Department says it is providing an additional $300 million in military equipment to Ukrainian forces defending the country from Russian troops. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Friday evening that the gear in the new package includes laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armored vehicles, night vision devices and ammunition. Also included are medical supplies, field equipment and spare parts. Kirby said the new package represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities to Ukraine, rather than delivering equipment drawn from U.S. military stockpiles. The U.S. has provided more than $1.6 billion in security assistance since Russia’s invasion, Kirby said. This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. (https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/us-giving-ukraine-300-million-more-in-military-gear/2910496/)