LIVE: Nearly 5,000 people killed in siege of Ukraine's Mariupol, says mayor

A spokesperson for the city mayor said about 90% of buildings in Mariupol had been damaged and about 40% had been destroyed

11:46 PM

US lawmakers probe Credit Suisse on compliance with Russia sanctions

U.S. lawmakers are probing Credit Suisse Group AG's compliance with sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and have asked the Swiss bank to provide all relevant documentation.

 

Credit Suisse was asked to hand over documents related to the financing of yachts and private jets owned by potentially sanctioned individuals, according to a letter sent by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Reform to the bank's chief executive, Thomas Gottstein, on Monday.

 

The probe comes after the Financial Times reported earlier this month that Credit Suisse had asked hedge funds and other investors to destroy documents relating to its richest clients' yachts and private jets, in an attempt to stop information leaking about loans to oligarchs who were later sanctioned.

11:32 PM

UK to strengthen economic pressure on Russia, PM Johnson tells Zelensky

Britain will strengthen economic pressure on Russia, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a call ahead of peace talks over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

"President Zelensky provided an update on negotiations and the two leaders agreed to coordinate closely in the days ahead," Johnson's office said in a readout of the call.

 

"The Prime Minister reiterated the UK would maintain and strengthen economic pressure on Putin's regime."

11:18 PM

US deploys 6 Navy aircraft to bolster NATO

The US Pentagon says it is deploying six Navy aircraft that specialise in electronic warfare and about 240 Navy personnel to bolster NATO defenses in Eastern Europe.

 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the EA-18G “Growler” aircraft based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state were scheduled to arrive Monday at Spangdahlem air base in Germany, where they will be stationed.

 

They are not intended for use in Ukraine, he said.

11:15 PM

Moscow Exchange to extend trading options for foreign stocks on Tuesday

Moscow Exchange will resume trading foreign stocks on the main trading session for the first time since late February, and will extend the trading time for corporate bonds on Tuesday, the central bank said on Monday.

 

The Russian market is gradually reopening and returning to normal after a suspension caused by sweeping Western sanctions that followed the beginning of what Russia calls "a special operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

10:34 PM

UN chief says he's in 'very close contact' with India, others on mediation efforts towards ending Ukraine war

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that he has been in "very close contact" with India and other countries including Turkey, China and Israel on mediation efforts towards bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

 

"I've been in close contact with several countries that have been talking to the parties at the highest level in order to explore the different forms of mediation leading to a political solution. I've been in very close contact with our Turkish friends, with Qatar, with Israel, with India, China but also France, Germany. And it is my belief that all these efforts are essential in order to create the conditions to allow for, finally, this war to come to an end,” Guterres told reporters here.

 

10:26 PM

Britain's Truss says Russian peace talks can't 'sell out'

Ukraine must not be sold short in peace talks with Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be seen to benefit from the invasion, British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Monday.

 

"We need to ensure that any future talks don't end up selling Ukraine out, or repeating the mistakes of the past," Truss told lawmakers.

 

"We remember the uneasy settlement of 2014 which failed to give Ukraine lasting security. Putin just came back for more.

 

That is why we cannot allow him to win from this appalling aggression."

9:48 PM

Russia says it destroyed ammunition depots in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region

Russia's defence ministry on Monday said its troops had destroyed large ammunition depots in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region that it said were being used to supply Ukrainian troops defending the suburbs of the capital, Kyiv.

 

The ministry said it had hit 41 Ukrainian military sites in the last 24 hours.

 

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

 

9:44 PM

Zelensky hints at openness to compromise on eastern Ukraine

Ukraine is prepared to declare its neutrality and consider a compromise on contested areas in the country's east, President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of another round of talks set for Tuesday on stopping the fighting. But he said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader can end the war.

 

While hinting at possible concessions, Zelensky also stressed that Ukraine's priority is ensuring its sovereignty and its “territorial integrity” — preventing Russia from carving up the country, something Ukraine and the West say could now be Moscow's goal.

 

Russia has long demanded that Ukraine drop any hope of joining the Western NATO alliance, which Moscow sees as a threat.

9:33 PM

Russian foreign minister Lavrov may visit India within a week

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is likely to visit India in the next one week and the key focus is expected to be discussions on a payment system for New Delhi's procurement of oil and military hardware from Moscow, people familiar with the developments said on Monday.

 

It would be the highest-level visit from Russia to India after Moscow launched its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

 

There has been no official word on the proposed visit either by the Ministry of External Affairs or by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

9:28 PM

Ukrainian forces retake town south of Sumy from Russia, says US official

The United States assesses that Ukrainian forces have retaken the town of Trostyanets, south of Sumy, from Russian forces, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday.

 

"The Ukrainians are continuing to try to take back ground," the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

9:15 PM

UN to explore possibility of humanitarian truce in Ukraine

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he has directed the world body's aid chief "to explore with the parties involved" the possibility of a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine.

 

Guterres also appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire "to allow for progress in serious political negotiations, aimed at reaching a peace agreement based on the principles of the United Nations Charter."

9:07 PM

Ukraine's Zelensky speaks to Germany's Scholz, says pressure on Russia must continue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he had discussed the progress of peace talks with Russia in a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

 

"Pressure on Russia must continue, sanctions must be intensified," Zelensky said on Twitter.

8:36 PM

Nearly 5,000 people killed in siege of Ukraine's Mariupol: Mayor's office

Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol since Russian forces laid siege to it, a spokesperson for the city mayor said on Monday.

 

The spokesperson quoted data from the mayor's office that said about 90% of buildings in Mariupol had been damaged and about 40% had been destroyed.

7:58 PM

Russian shares slump as all trading resumes

Russian shares have slumped as its stock market resumed trading of all companies after a month-long halt following the invasion of Ukraine.

 

The benchmark MOEX index slid 2.2 per cent on Monday after the Moscow Exchange reopened for all of its several hundred listed companies, but with restrictions still in place to limit volatility.

 

The last full trading session in Moscow was on February 25, a day after the index tumbled by a third when President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

 

Prices whipsawed last week when the exchange tentatively reopened for two days of limited trading, with investors allowed to trade only 33 of the MOEX index's 50 companies.

7:51 PM

Putin does not appear ready to compromise on Ukraine, says US official

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not appear ready to make compromises to end the war in Ukraine, a senior US official said on Monday as Ukraine and Russia were preparing for their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks.

 

"Everything I have seen is he is not willing to compromise at this point," the senior US State Department official told Reuters on condition of anonymity after Ukraine's president sketched out a potential way to end the crisis over the weekend.

7:43 PM

Ukrainian forces retake control of town of Irpin, says local mayor

The mayor of Irpin, near Kyiv, said on Monday Ukrainian forces had seized back full control of the town which has been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.

 

"We have good news today - Irpin has been liberated," Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said in a video post on Telegram. "We understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously."
 

The information could not immediately be verified by Reuters.

7:31 PM

Russia will suffer the severest consequences of Ukraine attack: Germany's Scholz

Moscow broke all rules of international order by using force to shift borders and it will be Russia that will most severely suffer the consequences of this, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

 

The need to guarantee security in Europe is one of the core insights of the post-war period that everyone including Russia agreed on after 1990, Scholz said in a news conference after meeting Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

 

"There can only be one answer to that. First, we call on Russia to stop the war. Second, we make ourselves so strong that an attack on EU or NATO countries does not take place, because we are strong enough to answer that," Scholz said.

6:02 PM

No-confidence motion against Imran Khan tabled in Pakistan National Assembly

6:01 PM

Russia to restrict visas for people from 'unfriendly countries'

Russia is preparing retaliatory visa measures that would restrict entry for citizens from "unfriendly countries", Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

6:00 PM

G7 rejects Putin's demand for rouble payment for Russian gas: Germany

Energy ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations reject demands by President Vladimir Putin that "unfriendly" countries pay for Russian gas with roubles, Germany's Robert Habeck said after talks with his counterparts on Monday.

 

"All G7 ministers have agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of existing contracts," Habeck, who is German economy and climate protection minister, told reporters after a virtual conference with G7 energy ministers.

 

The ministers "underlined once again that the concluded contracts are valid and the companies should and must respect them ... payment in roubles is unacceptable, and we call on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin's demand," he said.

 

"Putin's attempt to divide us is obvious, but - as you can see from this great unity and determination - we will not be divided."

4:57 PM

Ukraine leader says he seeks peace 'without delay' in talks

Ukraine could declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia to secure peace "without delay,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of another planned round of talks — though he said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader could end the war.

 

In an interview with independent Russian media outlets, Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine's priority is ensuring its sovereignty and its “territorial integrity” — preventing Russia from carving up the country, something Ukraine and the West say could now be Moscow's goal.

4:42 PM

Kremlin says Russia-Ukraine talks could start in Turkey on Tuesday

The Kremlin said that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine may get under way in Turkey on Tuesday and it was important that they would take place face-to-face, after what it described as a lack of major progress in negotiations so far.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone call on Sunday for Istanbul to host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

 

Turkey said the talks could begin as early as Monday, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that was unlikely as the negotiators would only be arriving in Turkey on Monday.

 

"While we cannot and will not speak about progress at the talks, the fact that they continuing to take place in person is important, of course," Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

4:19 PM

Kremlin says Biden's remark on the end of Putin is alarming

The Kremlin said on Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden's remark that Vladimir Putin could not remain in power was a cause for alarm, a measured response to a public call from the United States for an end to Putin's 22-year rule.

 

"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden said on Saturday at the end of a speech to a crowd in Warsaw. He cast Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a battle in a much broader conflict between democracy and autocracy.

 

The White House tried to clarify Biden's remarks and the president on Sunday said he had not been calling for regime change.

 

Asked about Biden's comment, which was given little coverage on Russian state television, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is a statement that is certainly alarming." "We will continue to track the statements of the U.S.

3:54 PM

West Bengal: CBI team took the Birbhum violence accused to CBI camp for probe, this afternoon

3:31 PM

Kremlin confirms Russia-Ukraine talks will be held in Turkey this week, unlikely to get underway today: Report

2:54 PM

China denies it is working around Russia sanctions

China rejected speculation that it might try to get around international sanctions on Russia, while complaining that the penalties had hurt its trade relations with Moscow. “The current issue is not any country wanting to help Russia circumvent the sanctions, but rather there has been unnecessary damage to the normal trade exchange with Russia, including between China and Russia,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing in Beijing, according to Bloomberg.

12:07 PM

Biden denies calling for regime change in Russia

US president Joe Biden has denied he is calling for regime change in Russia, after he said during a visit to Poland that Putin “cannot remain in power”. When asked by a reporter if he wanted to see Russian president Vladimir Putin removed from office he said “no”. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, had already distanced himself from Biden’s comments, while the UK cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi distanced the UK government from his remarks, the Guardian reported.

11:25 AM

Russia and Ukraine to hold talks in Turkey

The next round of face to face talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkey on March 28-30, a Ukrainian negotiator said on social media. The U.N. human rights office said 1,119 civilians had been killed and 1,790 wounded since Russia began its attack on Ukraine, Reuters reported.

 

10:59 AM

Apple to cut iPhone, AirPods output: Nikkei

Apple Inc is planning to cut the output of its iPhone SE and AirPods devices, the Nikkei reported on Monday, citing sources. The company plans to make about 20% fewer iPhone SEs next quarter than originally planned, citing weaker-than-expected demand, Nikkei said AirPods-output-amid-Ukraine-war-uncertainty. Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

10:44 AM

Trade unions strike affects work at state-owned banks

Transactions at many public sector banks have been impacted as employees have not reported for duty. There might be a delay in cheque clearances and government treasury operation might also be affected by the strike, PTI reported.