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Mar 9, 2022 07:13 pm
07:13 pm
Kyiv musicians hold impromptu concert for peace
Amid all the horror, a moment of light relief.
Members of Kyiv orchestra have held an impromptu, open-air concert in the city's Independence Square.
07:05 pm
Wife of Ukraine's UK ambassador struggled to get visa
Ukraine's ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko's own wife faced problems getting a visa to the UK, he told a committee of British politicians earlier.
Prystaiko criticised the bureaucratic nature of the system. He told MPs he understood the government had strict immigration policies, but the system had been a "hassle" for a long time.
06:53 pm
Ukraine calls for ceasefire to repair Chernobyl
More now on the damage to the former nuclear plant at Chernobyl - the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986 - and Ukraine's foreign minister has called on Russia to agree to a ceasefire to allow for urgent repairs to be made.
Dmytro Kuleba said reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the plant. "After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent", he wrote on Twitter.
06:43 pm
UK increasing weapons supply to Ukraine - Wallace
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has announced the UK is increasing its supply of weapons to Ukraine to defend itself.
Britain has already delivered 2,000 NLAW anti-tank missiles (Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons). Wallace told MPs that number was being increased to 3,615.
06:36 pm
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been facing questions from MPs in the House of Commons.
Many of the questions were focused on the situation in Ukraine, including the energy consequences in the UK and support for refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.
06:17 pm
Israeli officials say Russia-Ukraine talks at critical point - reports
As we've been hearing, talks between Russia and Ukraine's foreign ministers are set to take place in Turkey tomorrow, and the country's President Erdogan is hoping to act as a mediator.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has also been acting as an intermediary, flying to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday and also speaking on the phone with him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
05:58 pm
Ukraine says Chernobyl nuclear plant loses power supply
05:47 pm
Sainikesh, 21 years old an Indian student denied coming home from Ukraine instead signed up for the Ukrainian paramilitary forces.
05:27 pm
Turkey's Erdogan hoping to broker a ceasefire
For the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, the two countries' foreign ministers have agreed to meet for talks, which take place in Turkey tomorrow.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes the meeting in the southern resort of Antalya will "open the door to a permanent ceasefire".
02:55 pm
Six humanitarian corridors to try and evacuate civilians - Ukraine
02:40 pm
UK Transport Secretary denies UK refugee response faltering
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps denied that the UK is lagging behind other European countries when it comes to taking in Ukrainian refugees.
02:27 pm
Chernobyl workers 'constantly on duty' - IAEA
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has called on Russian forces who are effectively in control of the Chernobyl nuclear site in northern Ukraine to allow some of the staff there to have a break.
02:05 pm
News of the first successful mass evacuations of civilians from besieged cities is being followed closely by Ukrainians who have already left the country, as well as by those who are internally displaced, but still in Ukraine.
01:53 pm
About 1.33 million people have fled Ukraine to Poland since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Polish Border Guard agency says.
01:42 pm
'Ukraine's air defences enjoying success' - UK Defence
The UK government's latest dispatch on the war states that Ukraine's air defences have "enjoyed considerable success" against Russian aircraft.
01:29 pm
Ukraine's First Lady relays war horrors and calls for no-fly zone
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has released her first public statement in a letter addressed to the global community.
01:16 pm
The latest ceasefires are part of a series of announcements by the Russian defence ministry of pauses in fighting in key cities, including Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol.
12:59 pm
22 people killed in Russian air strike in Sumy
12:43 pm
Russia claims new 'proof' Ukraine was planning attack on Donbas
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed that it’s obtained secret documents that "prove" Kyiv was planning an attack on Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Reuters news agency says the ministry has published six pages of documents that "prove" Kyiv was planning a military assault on the Russian-backed rebel regions in Donbas.
12:18 pm
Poland plan to send fighter jets to Ukraine 'perplexing' - US military expert
As we reported earlier, the US rejected an offer by Poland to send all of its Soviet-made Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via an American airbase in Germany.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, "the prospect of fighter jets at the disposal of the government of the United States of America departing from a US/Nato base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire Nato alliance".
12:06 pm
Russians feel impact of growing international isolation
Trading on the Moscow stock exchange will be partially suspended on Wednesday, and people with foreign currency bank accounts now face a limit on how much money they can withdraw.
But Russians can see for themselves that their country is increasingly isolated. Some Western shops have already shut and now Starbucks, l’Oreal, Coca-Cola and Pepsi announced they’re pulling out of Russia.
So has McDonalds, which for many symbolised a new relationship with the West when it opened its first restaurant as the Iron curtain collapsed.
11:55 am
UK can now detain Russian aircraft - foreign secretary
The UK has announced a raft of new sanctions affecting Russian aircraft and exports of space and aviation technology.
The measures, which were announced by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, will give the government powers to detain Russian aircraft in the UK and make it a criminal offence to fly or land them in the country.
11:46 am
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces has said its Kyiv troop grouping was "repulsing the enemy's offensive", inflicting damage and firmly holding their positions.
11:34 am
Russia and Ukraine foreign ministers to meet in Turkey
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, will meet in Turkey, Russia's foreign ministry has confirmed.
This will represent the first meeting between the two since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February.
11:11 am
Thousands of residents from the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy were successfully evacuated after Russia agreed to pause attacks and evacuation corridors opened.
10:39 am
Russia announces another ceasefire for civilians to leave cities
08:45 am
Russia's National Guard in full control of Ukraine's nuclear plant - Moscow
They are quoting a National Guard official as saying the plant's employees are working "normally", and that members of Ukraine's National Guard who were defending it, handed over their weapons and were set free.
08:29 am
Putin originally planned to seize Kyiv in two days - CIA chief
08:17 am
Americans are paying more at the pump as the conflict in Ukraine escalates and oil markets respond. Petrol prices have jumped 11% in the past week.
07:32 am
Venezuela releases Americans after oil negotiations
Venezuela's socialist government has released two imprisoned Americans days after Biden administration officials travelled to Caracas to meet President Nicolás Maduro.
The move suggests a thawing of relations between the US and Venezuela, Russia's strongest ally in the Western hemisphere.
07:02 am
Gulf Arab leaders reportedly snub Biden call
The White House unsuccessfully tried to arrange calls between President Joe Biden and the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The outreach came as the US was working to build international support for Ukraine and contain a surge in oil prices.
Middle East and US officials told the newspaper that both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan both declined US requests to speak to Biden in recent weeks.
05:54 am
Military contractors see opportunities in Ukraine war
Wanted: multilingual former soldiers willing to covertly head into Ukraine for the handsome sum of up to $2,000 (£1,500) per day - plus bonus - to help rescue families from an increasingly grim conflict.
It sounds ripped from the script of an action movie, but the job advert is real - taken from an employment website, Silent Professionals, for those working in the private military and security industry.
05:56 am
Venezuela may boost oil production to support North American needs
Head of the Venezuelan Oil Chamber, Reinaldo Quintero, told the BBC that the South American country has the infrastructure to raise its production levels from the current 800,000 barrels per day to 1.2 million.
05:39 am
Russia offensive has slowed over past 24 hours - Ukraine
05:27 am
Everyday, people in Mariupol gather and try to leave. But they can’t even get out from their neighbourhoods, because the shelling of the city continues.
05:22 am
Poland jet swap 'not tenable' - US
US defence department spokesman John Kirby has rejected Poland's surprise offer to hand over its military jet fleet to the US - rather than Ukraine.
"As we have said, the decision about whether to transfer Polish-owned planes to Ukraine is ultimately one for the Polish government," Kirby said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that "Poland's proposal shows just some of the complexities this issue presents".
05:14 am
Ukraine party wants US and Turkey as 'security guarantors'
Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People party is proposing new security guarantees to protect its sovereignty.
"Nato is not ready to accept Ukraine for at least the next 15 years, and it has made this clear," a statement reads.
05:09 am
US-Russian citizen charged as foreign agent in US
The US has filed criminal charges against a US-Russian dual national who is accused of engaging in a decade-long Russian influence campaign based in New York City.
05:01 am
Refugees welcomed into Polish homes
Poland has welcomed one million Ukrainian refugees since Russia's invasion. Kasia and Marcin are just one of many families who have taken in those displaced by the conflict.
04:42 am
Poland throws the ball back into the Americans' court
As we've been reporting, Poland says it is ready to deploy all its MiG-29 fighter jets to a US Air Force base in Germany, following discussions about providing Ukraine with the aircraft.
04:00 am
'Criminal offence' for Russian jets to enter UK airspace
It will now be a "criminal offence" for any Russian aircraft to enter UK airspace, says UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.