LIVE: Russia says first phase of Ukraine operation mostly complete

Russia said that it would focus on completely 'liberating' eastern Ukraine's Donbass region

11:38 PM

Russian missiles target Ukrainian Air Force command in Vinnytsia, military says

The Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday that Russian cruise missiles hit several buildings while attempting to strike the Air Force's command in the Vinnytsia region.

 

"The consequences of the missile strike by the occupiers are being clarified," it said in a statement.

11:27 PM

Ukraine's Zelensky discusses NATO summit, food crisis threat with Erdogan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he had spoken to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about the results of a NATO summit a day earlier and the threat of a food supply crisis after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 

Earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had pushed back at Turkish media reports, which cited Erdogan, that there had been progress in talks between Ukraine and Russia.

11:02 PM

No one will surrender Mariupol port to Russia, Ukrainian security official says

Ukrainian forces still control the besieged port city of Mariupol and no one will surrender it, Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov said on Friday.

 

"Mariupol is holding on, and no one is going to surrender Mariupol," Danilov said in televised comments.

10:53 PM

Saudi-led coalition says Aramco fire under control, no casualties

The Saudi-led coalition said on Friday an Aramco petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah had been targeted by an attack, but that a fire in two tanks at the oil facility had been brought under control.

 

A statement by the coalition said there had been no casualties as a result of the attack by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

10:44 PM

Spotify says it will suspend service in Russia

Spotify Technology SA said Friday it will suspend its streaming service in Russia in response to the country's new media law.

 

The audio streaming platform closed its office in Russia indefinitely earlier this month in response to what it described as Moscow's "unprovoked attack on Ukraine." Russia's new legislation makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the Russian military.

10:38 PM

US sees Russia focusing on eastern Ukraine, senior US defense official says

The United States assesses that Russia is prioritizing eastern Ukraine's Donbass, as opposed to Kyiv, in what could be an effort to build leverage in negotiations and cut off Ukrainian forces in the east from the rest of the country, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday.

 

Russia said earlier on Friday that the first phase of its military operation was mostly complete and it would focus on completely "liberating" Ukraine's breakaway eastern Donbass region.

 

The U.S. defense official also said Russia was looking to send reinforcements from Georgia.

10:35 PM

UP CM Yogi Adityanath will address his first cabinet meeting tomorrow

10:21 PM

Yemen's Houthis attacked Aramco facilities, Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries, spokesman says

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Friday that Yemen's Houthis had attacked Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco's facilities in the port city of Jeddah with missiles and the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries with drones.

 

Sarea added that the attack also targeted vital facilities in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

10:15 PM

Ukrainian forces still control Mariupol city, says regional governor

The governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region on Friday said Ukrainian forces still controlled the besieged southern city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.

 

Speaking on national television, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said around 65,000 people had so far fled the city in private vehicles or on foot although official efforts to organise mass evacuations under temporary ceasefires have mostly failed.

10:05 PM

French insurer AXA halts new investments in Russian assets

French insurer AXA said on Friday that it has stopped all new investments in Russian assets and would no longer underwrite reinsurance of the country's insurance companies.

 

It said it had stopped underwriting new insurance business and all renewals concerning Russian-owned assets located in the country.

 

AXA added it had "no operational or management control" over RESO-GARANTIA, a Russian firm in which it bought a stake in 2008, and that it would remove its directors from the group's board.

9:42 PM

Saudi Aramco Jeddah storage facility hit by attack: Report

A Saudi Aramco storage facility has been hit by an attack in Jeddah, a source told Reuters.

 

Saudi state media had reported a string of drone and rocket attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement and a huge plume of black smoke was seen rising in Jeddah.

8:48 PM

Ukrainian foreign minister says negotiations with Russia are difficult

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday peace negotiations with Russia were difficult, and denied reports that progress had been made resolving four out of six key issues.

 

"There is no consensus with Russia on the four points," Kuleba said in a post on Facebook.

 

"The negotiation process is very difficult. The Ukrainian delegation has taken a strong position and does not relinquish its demands. We insist, first of all, on a ceasefire, security guarantees and territorial integrity of Ukraine." Earlier Turkish broadcaster NTV and others cited President Tayyip Erdogan as saying progress had been made in talks.

8:40 PM

CBI takes over case of killing of eight people in Birbhum district

7:41 PM

US calls India's position over Ukraine 'unsatisfactory' but unsurprising

A senior White House official said on Friday India's position over the crisis in Ukraine has been "unsatisfactory" but was also unsurprising given its historical relationship with Russia.

 

Mira Rapp-Hooper, director for the Indo-Pacific at the White House National Security Council, told a panel discussion it was necessary to provide India with alternatives to continued close ties with Russia.

7:40 PM

Biden heads to Poland, with military support high on agenda

US President Joe Biden landed in Rzeszow, Poland, on Friday to get a firsthand look at international efforts to help some of the millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing war in their country, and speak to American troops bolstering NATO's eastern flank.

 

While at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, Biden was to receive a briefing on the humanitarian response to help civilians sheltering from Russian attacks inside Ukraine and to respond to the growing flow of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

 

His schedule was delayed after the plane carrying Polish President Andrzej Duda was turned back on route to Rzeszow and made an emergency landing in Warsaw. Duda later boarded a different aircraft and headed back to eastern Poland. An official in his office said Duda had not been in any danger.

7:28 PM

Russia says first phase of Ukraine operation mostly complete, focus now on Donbass

Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that the first phase of its military operation in Ukraine was mostly complete and that it would focus on completely "liberating" eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

 

The announcement appeared to indicate that Russia may be switching to more limited goals after running into fierce Ukrainian resistance in the first month of the war Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying that Russian-backed separatists now controlled 93% of Ukraine's Luhansk region and 54% of the Donetsk region - the two areas that jointly make up the Donbass.

 

The ministry said it did not rule out storming Ukrainian cities that had been blockaded and that Russia would react immediately to any attempt to close the airspace over Ukraine - something Kyiv has asked NATO to do, but NATO has resisted.

7:26 PM

Russian negotiator says Moscow, Kyiv making little progress on key issues

Russia and Ukraine are coming closer to an understanding on secondary issues at peace talks but there has been limited progress on the key questions, Moscow negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported.

 

"Negotiations have been going on all week, from Monday to Friday, in video conference format, and will continue tomorrow," Interfax quoted Medinsky as saying. "On secondary issues, positions are converging. However on the main political issues, we are in fact treading water."

7:12 PM

Polish president's plane makes emergency landing in Warsaw ahead of Biden visit

The airplane carrying Polish President Andrzej Duda to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in eastern Poland has made an emergency landing after returning to Warsaw, Duda's advisor Jakub Kumoch was cited as saying by state-run news agency PAP on Friday.

 

The head of Duda's office, Pawel Szrot, told Reuters that the Polish president did not face any danger.

6:55 PM

Ukraine crisis likely to slow global economic growth, Yellen says

The Russia-Ukraine crisis is driving up commodities prices and is likely to reduce prospects for global growth in the coming year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Friday.

 

Ukraine is a major global supplier of wheat and corn, and prices have surged since Russia invaded its Eastern European neighbor last month.

 

"We are seeing pressure on commodity prices because of the Russia-Ukraine situation. And it's importantly oil and natural gas, but also other commodities," Yellen said in an interview with CNBC.

6:54 PM

Ukraine crisis likely to slow global economic growth, Yellen says

The Russia-Ukraine crisis is driving up commodities prices and is likely to reduce prospects for global growth in the coming year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Friday.

 

Ukraine is a major global supplier of wheat and corn, and prices have surged since Russia invaded its Eastern European neighbor last month.

 

"We are seeing pressure on commodity prices because of the Russia-Ukraine situation. And it's importantly oil and natural gas, but also other commodities," Yellen said in an interview with CNBC.

6:51 PM

Russia to focus on complete 'liberation' of Ukraine's Donbass

Russia will focus on completely "liberating" Ukraine's Donbass region and does not rule out the possibility of storming blockaded Ukrainian cities, Interfax cited the defence ministry and army as saying on Friday.

 

The defence ministry said Russia had been considering two options for its "special operation" in Ukraine -- one solely within the self-proclaimed separatist republics in Donbass and the other on the whole territory of Ukraine, Interfax reported.

6:34 PM

Putin says West trying to cancel Russian culture including Tchaikovsky

President Vladimir Putin on Friday said the West was trying to cancel Russian culture, including the works of great composers such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergei Rachmaninov.

 

"Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture, our people," Putin said in a televised meeting with cultural figures, referring to the cancellation of events involving Russian masters in some Western countries in recent weeks.

 

"In this way they are banning Russian writers and books," Putin added.

6:19 PM

Biden plans gas shipments to Europe to cut Russian leverage

President Joe Biden on Friday is expected to announce increased shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe, part of a long-term initiative to wean the continent off Russian energy after the invasion of Ukraine.

 

He plans to discuss the issue with Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Union's executive arm, shortly before leaving for Poland, the final leg of his four-day trip.

 

Earlier this week, Von der Leyen said "we are aiming at having a commitment for additional supplies for the next two winters.” And Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, recently told reporters that the administration wants to quickly “surge” gas to Europe.

5:45 PM

Ukraine says Chernobyl workers' town is isolated by Russian forces

Local authorities in Ukraine said on Friday the town of Slavutych that services the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant was "completely isolated", with Russian forces just beyond the town's limits.

 

In a statement, the Kyiv region administration said: "Slavutych is completely isolated. The enemy is 1.5 km (one mile) from the town."

5:25 PM

PM Modi shares stage with Uttar Pradesh CM, his cabinet

5:24 PM

Ukraine hopes to agree humanitarian corridor for Chernihiv, says deputy PM

Ukraine hopes to agree a humanitarian corridor to help people evacuate from Chernihiv on Saturday after local authorities reported the northern city was in effect cut off by Russian forces, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

 

Speaking on television on Friday, Vereshchuk said negotiations with Russia on creating humanitarian corridors were challenging, with Russia wanting civilians to evacuate to Russian-controlled territory.

 

Both sides accuse the other of thwarting efforts to help civilians in front-line areas in Ukraine.

 

5:15 PM

'The Finance Bill, 2022' passed in Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha completes Budgetary exercise for FY23 by passing Finance Bill.

4:57 PM

Arvind Kumar Sharma, Yogendra Upadhyaya, Ashish Patel and Sanjay Nishad take oath as Ministers

4:51 PM

We have not raised taxes to fund economic recovery: FM Sitharaman

4:30 PM

Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak take oath as the Deputy Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh