Live blog: Russia to evacuate 9,000 children from border region: official

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

1711 GMT — Russia plans to evacuate about 9,000 children from a border region because it is being shelled continuously by Ukraine, an official said, reflecting Kiev's increasing focus on striking targets behind a front line that has barely shifted in recent months.

The children will be moved from the Belgorod region farther east, away from the Ukraine border, said the region's governor, Vyacheslev Gladkov.

The announcement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin wants to create a buffer zone to help protect border regions from long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids more than two years into the war.

More updates 👇

1657 GMT — France calls Russian spy chief remarks 'irresponsible' provocation

France's defence ministry has called remarks made by the chief of Russia's foreign intelligence service disinformation and irresponsible after he suggested Paris was preparing to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine.

"The manoeuvre orchestrated by Sergei Naryshkin, Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence, once again illustrates Russia's systematic use of disinformation," the defence ministry said in a statement.

"We consider this type of provocation irresponsible."

Naryshkin was quo ted by TASS news agency saying France was preparing to send some 2,000 troops to Ukraine and that French troops would be a legitimate target for Russian forces if they "ever come to the territory of the Russian world with a sword".

1645 GMT — Canada to give more than C$40 million to help buy artillery shells for Ukraine

Canada will give more than $29.40 million (C$40 million) to a Czech-led initiative aimed at buying 800,000 artillery shells from third nations for Ukraine, Defence Minister Bill Blair has said.

The Canadian contribution will help deliver several thousands of shells of heavy ammunition, he said in a statement. Canada will also donate C$7.5 million worth of night vision devices to Kiev.

Ammunition supplies have become a critical issue for Ukraine in its third year of fighting against Russia, descending into grinding artillery battles.

1609 GMT — European leaders to discuss Ukraine support at UK meeting

Britain has announced that it will host a meeting of European leaders on July 18, with support for Ukraine in its war against Russia top of the agenda.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Downing Street office said the European Political Community (EPC) meeting would take place at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of World War II leader Winston Churchill.

The fourth meeting of the EPC, launched in 2022 by French President Emmanuel Macron, should see some 50 heads of state and government attend, a statement read.

1434 GMT — Estonian PM urges NATO allies to lift defence spending to over 3 percent of GDP

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on NATO allies to increase their defence spending to over 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Estonia is already investing more than 3 percent of its GDP in defence and all NATO allies should follow suit, she said at a media event in Berlin.

Kallas added that she understands it is difficult to do so.

1432 GMT — NATO chief's visit to Caucasus 'attempt to expand alliance's presence in region': Russia

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's recent tour to South Caucasian countries an attempt to expand the alliance's presence in the region.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov said NATO's appearance in the Caucasus will hardly add stability and predictability to the situation in the region."

"We are well aware of NATO's common aspirations to consolidate its presence in the Caucasus and, as they say, they are visible to the naked eye. There is also an understanding that NATO's attempts to somehow expand its influence and presence are unlikely to add stability to the Caucasus and predictability of the situation," Peskov said.

1429 GMT — Kiev hopes to have enough battlefield ammunition by April, PM says

Ukraine hopes to have enough ammunition for its outgunned troops to repel Russian aggression starting from April amid a Czech-led initiative to source shells for supply, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Kiev's troops were forced to retreat from the eastern city of Avdiivka in February in their biggest battlefield setback since May 2023 and face shell shortages, with a crucial military aid package from the US blocked for months by Republicans in Congress.

"We hope that th is Czech initiative, which Luxembourg joined, will help us, and beginning since April we will have enough ammunition to deter our front line," Shmyhal told a news conference on a visit to Luxembourg.

1425 GMT — EU to table plan to use frozen Russian assets to arm Kiev

Brussels will propose to EU countries using revenues from frozen Russian assets, worth an estimated three billion euros a year, to help arm Ukraine, the bloc's foreign policy chief said.

The European Commission is set to put forward its plan to member states on Wednesday, on the eve of a summit of the EU's 27 leaders in part focused on support for Kiev.

Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the proposal envisioned that 90 percent of the profits made on the assets would go to a fund used to cover the cost of weapons for Ukraine.

1415 GMT — French military in Ukraine would be priority target for Russia: Russian spy chief

Sergei Naryshkin, chief of Russia's foreign intelligence service, said any French military sent to Ukraine to help fight Russia would be a priority target for Russian troops, the TASS news agency reported.

"It (a French contingent) will become a priority and legitimate target for attacks by the Russian Armed Forces. This means that the fate of all Frenchmen who have ever come to the territory of the Russian world with a sword would await it," Naryshkin said.

French President Emmanuel Macron in late February opened the door to European nations sending troops to Ukraine.

1409 GMT — Ukraine says shocked US has not yet passed aid package

Ukraine said it was shocked the United States had not yet approved a new package of wartime aid, as it struggles with battlefield shortages two years into Russia's offensive.

"What really matters and what does shock us is that the decision has not been adopted yet," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an online briefing for foreign media.

"We are approaching the end of March and deliberations continue, deliberations on the issue of vital interest, strategic interest of the US in Europe," Kuleba said.

His comments come a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a swift decision from Congress was "critically important" during a meeting with US Senator Lindsey Graham.

1339 GMT — Russia claims new advances in east as Kiev awaits Western support

Russia said its troops had made gains in eastern Ukraine, building on recent advances against Ukrainian forces in critical need of Western aid.

Facing a difficult situation on the front lines, Kiev has responded with an increasing number of incursions and attacks on Russian territory bordering Ukraine.

Some of these incursions were carried out by Russians who volunteered to fight in pro-Ukrainian units, which Putin has called to "punish."

1008 GMT — Washington won't let Ukraine fail: US defence chief

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has promised that the United States will not let Ukraine fail, even as further aid remains stalled in Congress and Kiev's forces face shortages of munitions.

The "United States will not let Ukraine fail," Austin told journalists at the opening of a meeting in Germany of Ukraine's international supporters.

0945 GMT — Kremlin refers questions on refinery attack to Russian govt

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of possible compensation for refineries which have been damaged by Ukrainian drones and referred the question to the government.

Russian oil refining capacity shut down in the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks in the first quarter amounts to about 4.6 million metric tons or some 7 percent of the total, Reuters calculations show.

0914 GMT — 9,000 Belgrod children to be evacuated from Ukraine shelling: Russia

Around 9,000 children will be evacuated from the Russian city of Belgorod and from several districts in the wider region of the same name due to Ukrainian shelling, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor has said.

The first group of 1,200 children will be evacuated on March 22, Gladkov said.

0804 GMT — Putin ally Patrushev says West failed to shake Russia

A senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the United States and Britain had attempted to sow discord in Russia but had failed to shake up the domestic political situation.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev made the remarks in an interview with the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty.

0537 GMT — EU targets Russia with grain import tariffs: report

The European Union is preparing to levy tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to placate farmers and some member states, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the plans.

The European Commission is in the coming days expected to impose a duty of 95 euros ($103.26) per tonne on cereals from Russia and Belarus, FT said, adding that tariffs of 50 percent would also be placed on oil seeds and derived products.

The reported move comes as farmers across the European Union call for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc's Green Deal plan to tackle climate crisis and for the re-imposition of customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russian aggression in 2022.

0309 GMT — Drones are key to gain advantage over Russia: Ukraine army chief

The development of unmanned systems, or drones, is key to giving Kiev an advantage over "numerically superior" Russian forces, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

"The development of the use of unmanned systems is my priority," Syrskyi said on Telegram after meeting his deputy, Vadym Sukharevskyi.

"We are looking for asymmetric solutions to gain a qualitative advantage over a numerically superior opponent."

0103 GMT — Zelenskyy, US Senator meet as Congress remains divided over aid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted US Senator Lindsey Graham on Monday as further funding for Kiev remains in limbo amid divisions in the US Congress.

"We discussed further comprehensive assistance for Ukraine. I informed Senator Graham of the frontline situation and our army's priority needs," Zelenskyy said on X.

"It is critical that our partners continue to provide military and technical assistance, such as air defence systems and missiles," he added.

2300 GMT — 50 allies to meet as Ukraine awaits US funds release

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will try and convince European allies that President Joe Biden's administration is still committed to supporting Ukraine, even as Washington has essentially stumbled in terms of allocating money to continue arming Kiev and few signs that Congress will move to replenish funds.

Austin will be leading the monthly meeting known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, of about 50 allies that have been militarily supporting Ukraine.

The Pentagon said Austin, who is making his first overseas trip since a prostate cancer treatment, will reiterate that Washington is committed to Ukraine.

But officials say the lack of funding available is already having an impact on the ground in Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces are having to manage scarce resources.

2300 GMT — EU leftist leader says 'time to negotiate' end to war

The head of the EU's main leftist political grouping has said it is time to "negotiate" an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, rallying behind a controversial call by Pope Francis for Kiev to raise the "white flag."

"I believe helping the Ukrainian people means now making attempts to end the war," said Walter Baier, the 70-year-old Austrian picked last month by the Party of the European Left as its candidate to head the next European Commission.

Baier underlined that his party — whose 26 full members include Germany's Die Linke, France's Communists and Greece's Syriza — had "absolutely condemned the Russian aggression" in its manifesto for June's European elections.

2252 GMT — EU to bolster support for Ukraine, impose sanctions following Navalny's death

The European Union's foreign policy chief announced sanctions against those deemed responsible for the death of Russian dissident Alexey Navalny.

Addressing the media following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Josep Borrell also underscored the imperative for swift action both from the EU and the US in light of the situation in Ukraine, emphasising the significance of transatlantic unity.

"Transatlantic unity is very important," he said, hinting at a collaborative effort to address the escalating crisis in Ukraine.

For our live updates from Monday, March 18, click here.