The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday announced a local ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, according to Agence France-Presse. A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhia via the Russian-controlled port of Berdyansk will open from 10 a.m. (7 a.m. GMT), the ministry said on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is massing its forces for a major offensive in the eastern region of Donbass. He said Ukraine was “prepared” for this, adding that any Russian troop withdrawal from the Kyiv area was forced by fierce resistance from Ukrainian troops.
Russia and Ukraine will resume online peace talks on Friday, April 1. A senior Ukrainian official said the two countries’ leaders, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, could meet “soon”, but the Kremlin played down hopes of an early breakthrough. Ukraine’s President said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday that “at the moment there are only words, nothing concrete”.
Zelenskyi said he spoke to Joe Biden for an hour on another “very active diplomatic day.” He thanked the US President for a new $1 billion humanitarian aid package and another $500 million in direct budget support. Zelenskyy said: “The support of the United States is vital for us. And now it is especially important to help Ukraine to show all the power of the democratic world.”
Russian shelling continued on Wednesday, although Moscow said on Tuesday it would scale back its attacks around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. However, reports citing the Pentagon said Russian forces were “walking away” from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
UK, US and EU officials say Putin has been misled about Russia’s military performance. Putin has been given misinformation about how well Russia is doing and how badly the sanctions have hit the country because some of his closest friends are afraid to tell him the truth, according to a speech the head of Britain’s intelligence agency GCHQ scheduled for Thursday .
Sir Jeremy Fleming is also expected to say that some Russian soldiers are refusing to carry out orders, and that they are poorly equipped and have low morale.
Global restrictions on exports of industrial components to Russia have hit car and tank production. According to the US, a car manufacturer was closed and tank production stopped.
Liz Truss, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, is set to land in India on Thursday to urge Narendra Modi’s government to reduce its strategic dependence on Russia. Her arrival in New Delhi coincides with that of her sparring partner Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, who will be paying his first visit to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
Britain has announced new laws targeting access by Russian oligarchs to UK Aviation and Maritime Technical Services, according to the Foreign Office.
Eight Russian oligarchs who are on the UK sanctions list for their ties to Vladimir Putin have been granted “golden visas” to live in the UK. The individuals were granted the right to live in the UK after promising to invest at least £2million under the controversial Tier 1 investor visa, the UK government has admitted.
Russian hackers have recently attempted to penetrate the NATO and military networks of some Eastern European countries. according to a report by Google’s Threat Analysis Group. The report did not say which military personnel were targeted in what Google called “credential phishing campaigns” by a Russia-based group called Coldriver or Callisto.
Slovakia has announced that it will expel 35 Russian diplomats based on information provided by intelligence services. EU partner countries Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and the Czech Republic have all announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats suspected of espionage.