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Ukraine says Russian attacks block Mariupol evacuation: Live news | Russia-Ukraine war News

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  • Russian shelling has prevented the evacuation of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol again, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister says.
  • Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko says the situation in Mariupol is “critical”.
  • Russian forces have shelled Ukraine’s port city of Mykolayiv, regional governor says.
  • US and its top allies are revoking Russia’s “most favored nation” status amid pressure campaign on President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
  • ONE says it is not aware of a biological weapons program in Ukraine.
  • Ukrainian envoy to UN dismisses Moscow’s accusation that Kyiv is operating US-backed biological weapons laboratories as “insane delirium”.

Here are the latest updates:

Blinken, Ukraine’s Kuleba express concern over Russian ‘disinformation campaigns’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba shared concerns over Russia’s “disinformation campaigns” during a phone call on Friday, the State Department has said.

The two top diplomats spoke hours after the UN Security Council convened at Moscow’s request to address Russian allegations that Kyiv was developing a biological weapons program, claims that Washington has forcefully rejected.

Blinken and Kuleba also discussed Ukraine’s direct talks with Russia that took place in Turkey earlier this week, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.


Russia using cluster munitions, incendiary weapons, Ukrainian human rights lawyer says

Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties in Kyiv, said the group has gathered evidence of Russian forces using unguided bombs, cluster munitions and incendiary weapons.

“It simply came to our notice then [many] casualties among civilian populations, ”Matviichuk told Al Jazeera.

She added that the center has also gathered evidence that deliberate Russian bombings of civilian infrastructure and humanitarian corridors along which civilians are seeking to leave conflict areas. Russia has denied it targets civilians.


ICC prosecutor opens online portal to gather evidence in war crimes probe

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an online portal to gather evidence of war crimes in Ukraine.

Prosecutor Karim AA Khan said in a statement that he is “closely following the deeply troubling developments in hostilities”, after recent reports of Russian attacks on hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.

“If attacks are intentionally directed against the civilian population: that is a crime. If attacks are intentionally directed against civilian objects: that is a crime. I strongly urge parties to the conflict to avoid the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas, ”he said.


Technicians repairing damaged power lines at Chernobyl, IAEA says

Ukraine has informed the UN’s atomic energy watchdog that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines in an effort to restore external electricity supplies to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site.

Electricity supplies to the plant, which is currently under Russian control, were cut off entirely earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.

“Ukraine’s regulatory authority said work that began on the evening of March 10 had succeeded in repairing one section, but off-site electrical power was still down, indicating there was still damage in other places,” the statement said.


US sanctions Russians over support for N.Korea weapons program

The United States has announced economic sanctions against two Russian individuals and three entities over their support for North Korea’s weapons program.

The sanctions target “a network of Russia-based individuals and entities complicit in helping the DPRK procure components for its unlawful ballistic missile systems,” Brian Nelson said in a statement referring to North, the Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.


Money transfers from abroad will be paid only in rubles, Russia’s central bank says

Russians receiving money transfers from foreign banks will only be allowed to withdraw the cash in rubles, the central bank has said, the latest move in a bid to cope with western sanctions.

The bank said the new temporary measure would come into effect on Saturday. It did not give an end date.

The bank said on Tuesday that until September 9, banks could not sell hard currency to Russian citizens.


US imposes more sanctions on Putin’s inner circle, Russian oligarchs

The US has announced more sanctions on members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, as well as oligarchs and others who backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that three family members of the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov were targeted by the sanctions, as was the management board of the sanctioned VTB Bank.

Twelve members of the Russian Duma were also blacklisted, the department said.


Russia to supply Belarus with modern weapons: Belta news agency

The leaders of Russia and Belarus have agreed that Moscow would supply its neighbor with the most up-to-date military equipment in the near future, the official Belarus Belta news agency said.

Belta also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko agreed at their Kremlin meeting on joint steps for mutual support in the face of Western sanctions, including on energy prices.

The news agency did not provide additional details.


US Defense Secretary to attend NATO meeting in Brussels

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will attend a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on March 16, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said.

“We can expect the defense ministers to talk seriously about what NATO is doing to better shore up its defenses,” Kirby told reporters.

Austin will also later travel to Slovakia for further discussions with leaders there, Kirby said.


Biden expected to sign bill containing $ 13.6bn in Ukraine aid

Biden is set to sign a spending bill that contains $ 13.6bn in emergency military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The U.S. Senate gave final approval to the bill late on Thursday, sending it to Biden’s desk for final approval.

“We’re giving the Ukrainians billions for food, medicine, shelter, and support for the over two million refugees who have had to leave Ukraine,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Read more on the legislation here.

INTERACTIVE- Where are Ukrainians fleeing to DAY 16 _ 2.5 million


YouTube blocking access to Russian state-owned media

YouTube is immediately blocking access around the world to channels associated with Russian state-funded media, the company has said, citing a policy barring content that denies, minimizes or trivializes well-documented violent events.

The world’s most used streaming video service said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now fell under its violent events policy and violating material would be removed.

YouTube spokesman Farshad Shadloo said the blocking of the Russian outlets was in line with that policy.


Russian shelling prevents Mariupol evacuation, Ukraine says

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said Russian shelling prevented evacuees from leaving the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, while Russian forces also stopped some buses of people trying to flee the Kyiv region.

In a video address, Vereshchuk said some planned evacuations were successful, including 1,000 people who were evacuated from the village of Vorzel, in the Ukrainian capital area.

Russian forces have laid siege to Mariupol, and Ukraine says 1,582 civilians have died there since the invasion began.


Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Read all the updates from Friday, March 11, here.



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