Ukraine-Russia war LIVE – Monster Putin ‘unleashes chemical weapons in Mariupol’ in twisted escalation of war crimes

Alleged chemical weapons use fits ‘Syrian playbook’

Intelligence consultant Justin Crump spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and said that if verified, the attack could fit a wider pattern of Russian behaviour on the battlefield.

It follows the “Syrian playbook”, he said.

Russian troops may begin with “small, deniable operations,” which the West may turn a blind eye to. But later, they “increase the scale”, he added.

Despite this, Crump said the situation is “very uncertain” in Mariupol.

Ex-UK chief of staff criticises efforts to settle refugees

Gen Richard Dannatt, who was the UK’s chief of the general staff from 2006 to 2009, has been highly critical of British efforts to settle refugees from Ukraine as he spoke to Sky News this morning.

In the interview, he said: “European Union countries have been pretty open on accepting Ukrainian refugees. The United Kingdom, by contrast, has put together – despite all the rhetoric from the government – a pretty complicated system.

“The form-filling is very onerous. It would be much better if a family only had to make one application. Typically, it’s a mother, and one or two or three children filling in an application. But we’ve got a situation whereby even a two or three year old child has to have a separate application and answer quite ridiculous questions asking what sort of former employment they have been in, and have they been involved in the armed forces.

“Obviously, this has translated into a very large number of applications being processed by the UK visa and immigration service at a speed that’s ridiculously slow.”

Putin: Russian forces acting bravely and efficiently in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir said today that Russian forces carrying out Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine were acting bravely and efficiently and using the most modern weapons, TASS news agency reported.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.

Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.

Putin says Russia and Belarus will cooperate on space projects

Russia and Belarus will cooperate on infrastructure projects in space, RIA news agency quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying today during a meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.

Nokia exits Russian market over invasion

Telecoms network and 5G technology supplier Nokia says it will exit the Russian market due to Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

The Espoo, Finland-based company said Tuesday it has been clear for Nokia since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine that continuing our presence in Russia would not be possible.

Nokia said it has suspended deliveries, stopped new business and moved research and development activities out of Russia in the past weeks.

The company said that Russia accounted for less than 2% of Nokias sales in 2021, and the exit decision will have no impact on its financial outlook this year.

‘Putin and his criminal cronies must be held to account’

Labour’s shadow foreign secretary has said the allegations of Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Mariupol must be verified “as soon as possible”.

He said: “If chemical weapons have been used as part of Vladimir Putin’s already barbaric and illegal invasion of Ukraine, this would represent an appalling escalation and amount to a war crime.

“These deeply disturbing reports must now be verified as a matter of urgency.

“If true, Putin and his criminal cronies must be held to account.”

Putin flies into Russian far east for Ukraine talks with Belarusian leader

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin flew into Russia’s far east Amur region today for talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expected to focus on Ukraine and Russian-Belarusian integration.

The two leaders were due to head to the Vostochny Cosmodrome to mark Russia’s annual Cosmonautics Day, commemorating the first manned space flight made in 1961 by the Russian Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

They were also expected to inspect the spaceport and meet staff, and to give a joint news conference at around 1100 GMT.

Pro-Russian separatist forces deny using chemical weapons

Pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donetsk region have denied the use of chemical weapons in the southern port city of Mariupol, Interfax news agency reports.

Despite Ukrainian allegations Eduard Basurin, a separatist commander, told the news agency chemical agents were not used.

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said earlier that Kyiv was checking unverified information of the use of chemical weapons in Mariupol.

“There is a theory that these could be phosphorous munitions,” Ms Malyar said in a televised interview.

“Official information will come later.”

‘All options on table in event of Russian chemical weapons attack’

All options are on the table if Vladimir Putin decides to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, Britain’s defence minister James Heappey has said.

The defence minister spoke to Sky News and said:: “We know that there are reports of the use of chemical weapons. We have not been able to verify those ourselves, and indeed the Ukrainian system, as you’ve seen from President Zelensky, are only referring to the fact that there are reports, they themselves haven’t yet been able to confirm to us that they have been used.”

“I think it’s useful to maintain some ambiguity.. over exactly what the response would be, but let’s be clear, if they are used at all then president Putin should know that all possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond,” Heappey added.

France sends forensic team to Ukraine to capture evidence of Russian war crimes

A team of French police officials and forensic experts arrived in Ukraine on Monday to investigate potential war crimes in the country by invading Russian forces.

Etienne de Poncins, France’s ambassador to Ukraine, said: “Proud to welcome to Lviv the detachment of technical and scientific gendarmes who came to assist their comrades in investigations of war crimes committed near Kyiv.”

Mayor: More than 10,000 civilians dead in Ukraine port city

Speaking by phone Monday with The Associated Press, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused Russian forces of having blocked weeks of attempted humanitarian convoys into the city in part to conceal the carnage there from the outside world.

Boychenko said the death toll there could surpass 20,000.

Boychenko also gave new details of allegations by Ukrainian officials in recent weeks that Russian forces have brought mobile cremation equipment to Mariupol to dispose of the corpses of victims of the siege.

“Russian forces have taken many bodies to a huge shopping center where there are storage facilities and refrigerators,” Boychenko said.

“Mobile crematoriums have arrived in the form of trucks: You open it, and there is a pipe inside and these bodies are burned”.

Russia aims to take Mariupol as part of eastern Ukraine onslaught

Russian troops were aiming to take control of the city of Mariupol on Tuesday, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern Ukraine, as defending forces tried desperately to hold them back.

Russia is believed to be trying to connect occupied Crimea with Moscow-backed separatist territories Donetsk and Lugansk in Donbas, and has laid siege to the strategically located city, once home to more than 400,000 people.

Ukrainian forces were “surrounded and blocked”, tweeted Myhaylo Podolyak, an official from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.

But on Monday the Ukrainian army insisted that “the defence of Mariupol continues”.

“The connection with the units of the defence forces that heroically hold the city is stable and maintained,” the Land Forces of Ukraine wrote on Telegram.

In his nightly address, Zelensky made another plea to his allies for more weapons to boost the defence of the city.

“We are not getting as much as we need to end this war sooner. To completely destroy the enemy on our land… in particular, to unblock Mariupol,” he said.

600 companies cut back work in Russia

Over 600 companies have now halted or reduced their work in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, according to US-based academics.

The Yale University team has tracked the responses of more than 1,000 big businesses.

In their frequently-updated list, they’ve given ‘grades’ to each company based on how far it’s affected work.

For example, firms like Heineken and Netflix have been awarded an A for halting Russian engagements. However, companies like the Emirates Airlines and JD.com are given an F for pursuing “business as usual”.

Russian troops move

Some Russian troops who withdrew to Belarus from the Kyiv region are moving east towards Ukraine’s Donbas, according to a senior US defence official.

According to the BBC the official said the US has seen indications of Russia resupplying and reinforcing troops in the Donbas, and northwest of Donetsk.

The US does not believe these movements signal the start of a new Russian offensive in the Donbas region, the official adds.

More humanitarian corridors for today – including from Mariupol

A total of nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed for Tuesday.

This includes from the city of Mariupol by private cars, Ukraine’s deputy minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

These corridors will run between Kyiv and Moscow and will include five in the Luhansk region, Ms Vereshchuk added.

MoD: Fighting in eastern Ukraine to intensify

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has warned that fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify over the next two to three weeks.

The report published today by the ministry also said Russian attacks remain focused on Ukrainian positions near Donetsk and Luhansk, with further fighting around Kherson and Mykolaiv and a renewed push towards Kramatorsk.

Mariupol believed to be surrounded by Russian troops

Mariupol is believed to be surrounded by Russian troops, with commanders resorting to sickening attacks to break the will of the people living there.

Up to 90% of the city, home to 400,000 before the war, has been destroyed or damaged after a month of heavy shelling, according to Ukrainian authorities.

At least 300 people taking shelter at a theatre in the city were killed by a Russian airstrike last month.

Russian troops also reduced a school to rubble in the city, where around 400 civilians were sheltering when the building was hit by thermobaric TOS-1A rockets, which can melt human organs.

Surviving residents are said to have resorted to drinking from puddles after their power and water supplies were severed.

Stadium of Andriy Yarmolenko’s boyhood club in Ukraine destroyed by Russian shelling

THE stadium of West Ham star Andriy Yarmolenko’s boyhood club in Ukraine has been left destroyed by Russian shelling.

Hammers star Yarmolenko grew up in the city of Chernihiv after his parents moved there from Leningrad.

The Ukraine international started his professional career at Desna Chernihiv.

Yarmolenko then went on to play for Dynamo Kyiv, Borussia Dortmund and West Ham.

But the Ukrainian Premier League side have shared heartbreaking images of the 12,000-seater Yuri Gagarin Stadium, built under the Soviet regime in 1936, decimated by Russian shelling.

It is highly unlikely the ground will be used for football in the near future, with the stands reduced to rubble and the pitch littered with holes and craters.

More on the use of chemical weapons

Earlier we reported on Ukraine’s president Zelensky warning that Russian forces are preparing the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. We now have more on this.

A pro-Russian general in Donbas earlier suggested the idea, telling state media it would “smoke the Ukrainian moles out of the underground”.

Claims of the chemical attack were also published by Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush on Twitter.

She wrote: “Russia 1.5hr ago used unknown substance in #Mariupol.

“Victims experience respiratory failure, vestibulo-atactic syndrome. Most likely chemical weapons!

“This is a red line beyond which must destroy economy of despotism. We demand full embargo on all fuels from #RU &heavy weapons 2UA now!”

The Ukrainian Azov regiment also tweeted: “Russian occupation forces used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against Ukrainian military and civilians in the city of Mariupol, which was dropped from an enemy drone.

“The victims have respiratory failure… the effects of the unknown substance are being clarified.”

Western leaders have grown increasingly concerned that a desperate Putin will use chemical weapons as his invasion falters.

Inside PM’s trip to Ukraine

Details of Boris Johnson’s trip to Ukraine have emerged. The PM was in Kyiv for around five hours during his visit on Saturday, Downing Street has said.

He started by meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for an hour, followed by a 30-minute walk to Independence Square, according to a No 10 spokeswoman.

“On arrival in Kyiv, the PM and President Zelensky met for an hour – this was a meeting just with the two of them. They then went on a 30 minute walk together to Independence Square,” she said.

Upon return, they held another meeting over dinner, which consisted of a starter of goats cheese salad and chicken soup, followed by a main of roast beef and cherry dumplings for dessert, the spokeswoman added.

The spokeswoman, who accompanied the PM on the visit, said: “It was a very small delegation. I believe it was one member of his private office and then security.”

Zelensky warns of ‘new stage of terror’ over possible chemical weapons attack in Mariupol

UKRAINIAN President, Volodymyr Zelensky warns Russian forces are preparing “a new stage of terror” that could involve the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

“Today, the occupiers issued a new statement, which testifies to their preparation for a new stage of terror against Ukraine and our defenders,” Zelesnky said early this morning.

“One of the mouthpieces of the occupiers stated that they could use chemical weapons against the defenders of Mariupol. We take this as seriously as possible.”

Andriy Biletsky, the leader of the Azov volunteer regiment, claimed on Monday that three people in the southern port city of Mariupol had experienced “poisoning by warfare chemicals, but without catastrophic consequences”.

The UK’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said work was under way to verify the claims, adding: “Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold [Vladimir] Putin and his regime to account.”

Milica Cosic logging on this morning. I’ll be bringing you the latest news and updates on the Russia- Ukraine war.

‘Not a friendly visit’

Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer says his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was “direct, open and tough”, according to Reuters.

The meeting reportedly lasted about 90 minutes between the two and in a statement it says it has not been a friendly visit.

It also mentioned that the aim has been to leave no stone unturned in seeking an end to the conflict, or at least humanitarian progress for civilians in Ukraine.

He adds his most important message to Putin has been that the war must end because during a war there are only losers.

British government prepared to ‘rush through’ Chelsea sale

The goverment is prepared to usher through Chelsea’s sale to any of the four shortlisted bidders, say reports.

The remaining contenders to buy Chelsea must submit final offers for the Stamford Bridge club on April 14.

According to the PA news agency, New York merchant bank the Raine Group will then hope to present a preferred bidder to Downing Street in the week of April 18.

The Government must approve the eventual buyer, with the issuing of a new Treasury licence for the sale the final hurdle for Chelsea’s would-be new owners.

And sources close to the Government have revealed Downing Street’s satisfaction in principle with all remaining parties in the battle to buy the club from Russian Roman Abramovich.

No ceasefire

Russian Foreign Minister says Moscow will not pause its military operations before the next round of peace talks.

In an interview for the Rossiya-24 news channel, Sergei Lavrov says he saw no reason why the talks shouldn’t go ahead.

“The President has stressed on more than one occasion that we prefer talks,” he says, quoted by Tass.