11.01 pm – A 46-year-old Italian militiaman, Edy Ongaro, a fighter with the Donbass separatist forces, was killed yesterday in battle, in the village of Adveedka, north of Donetsk, hit by a hand grenade. The news, released tonight with a post by the Northeast Red Star Collective, was confirmed to ANSA by Massimo Pin, a friend of Ongaro, in contact with members of the ‘anti-fascist caravan’ located in the Oblast. 22.22 – “Contracts are contracts and remain valid”. White House communications chief Kate Bedingfield said in her press briefing about Vladimir Putin’s threats to charge for gas only in rubles. “German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was clear and we agree with him”, he precised. 21.59 –“The invasion of Ukraine was a failure for Putin and Russia, a strategic disaster”. White House communications chief Kate Bedingfield said in her press briefing. 21.50 – Phone call between Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: the two leaders, explains Palazzo Chigi, discussed the issue of sanctions against the Russian Federation and recent developments regarding gas imports from Russia. Draghi and Scholz agreed on the importance of maintaining the sanctioning system against Russia, which is proving to be very effective. 21:27 hours– The Pentagon reported that it is not clear what happened to the 60 km Russian military convoy on the outskirts of Kiev. “We don’t even know if it still exists at this point … They never really accomplished their mission,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. 21:23 – Putin’s decree on the payment of Russian gas in rubles “was issued a few hours ago, we are still looking at the details, but there are two things to say. First: contracts must be respected and existing contracts not there is an obligation to pay in rubles. Second: we will not be blackmailed by Moscow “. This was stated by the EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, speaking to CNN. “It is a system to circumvent sanctions and blackmail Europe,21:10 – “We want the sovereignty of Ukraine and its borders to be respected as before the end of February”, when Moscow launched its invasion: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Fox News. 20:54 – The Russian Defense Ministry announced new humanitarian corridors for evacuations from Mariupol tomorrow morning, explaining that they were decided after a “personal appeal” to Putin by the leaders of France and Germany, Macron and Scholz. The evacuations, it is added, must involve the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Red Cross. Interfax reports it. 20:53– “Ukrainian troops and nationalists have stopped the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol by bombing the humanitarian corridor”. This was claimed by the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by TASS. 8.45pm – The US State Department reiterated its call to American citizens to leave Russia and Belarus immediately. “There is a risk that they will be stopped by the authorities because of their nationality,” department spokesman Ned Price said in a press briefing. 20.06 – Biden: ‘Putin isolated, he sacked some of his advisers. We will not allow him to use energy as a weapon. 19.59– Joe Biden flogged American oil companies that are getting rich from Putin’s war in Ukraine. “Some companies are ramping up production, but others like the price increase,” he said, noting that the industry majors generated $ 80 billion in profits last year. 7.14 pm – Russia has repurchased bonds for 1.45 billion dollars maturing on April 4, 2022, which corresponds to 72.4% of the volume. Bloomberg reports this, citing a statement from the Russian Ministry of Finance. Russia will also pay $ 2 billion in bonds to foreign investors. 19.02 –The Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, will have a phone call today at 9 pm with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Palazzo Chigi reports it. 18.38 – More than 35 allied countries have pledged to send armored vehicles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine to repel Russian troops. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said this at the end of a virtual summit of ministers convened from London. 18.18 – The price of gas in Europe closes up after the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the payment of supplies in rubles. After touching 128 euros per MWh, the prices ended the day at 125.9 euros, up 5.07%. The price in London also increased, where it stood at 299.32 pence per Mmbtu (+ 4.4%). 17.53 –“We confirm that any further hostile action by the EU and its member states will inevitably meet with a harsh response.” This was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the Tass report. Ore 17.50 – The European Union “must persuade China not to help Russia to circumvent sanctions” and “to use all its influence on Moscow to bring about a cessation immediate fire and the safe evacuation of civilians “. This is what sources of the European Parliament underline on the eve of the EU-China summit. 17:17 – Moscow bans entry to European leaders in response to sanctions against Russia. This was announced by the Foreign Ministry, according to reports from TASS. 5:05 pm– Russian troops shot down a bus convoy with volunteers near Chernihiv in northern Kiev. This was announced by the commissioner for human rights of Verkhovna Rada Lyudmila Denisova on Facebook, as reported by UNIAN. 4:46 pm – The Russian Defense Ministry has a correspondence between Hunter Biden, the son of the President of the United States, with employees of the American Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Pentagon contractors, confirming his crucial role in providing funding for work with pathogens in Ukraine. The head of the Russian radiation protection forces, chemical and biological, Igor Kirillov said at a press conference, as reported by Tass. “The existence of this material is confirmed by the Western media,” he added.16:09 – German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has announced that there will be new sanctions on Russia. “The sanctions of the last package will not be the last”, he said on the sidelines of the conversation with French colleague Bruno La Maire. Habeck explained that the two ministers have identified the points that should be contained in an upcoming package of measures. 3:39 pm – “Nobody is selling us anything for free, and we will not even do charitable works. This means that existing contracts, in the event of non-payment of gas in rubles, will be terminated”. Thus the Russian President Vladimir Putin according to what TASS reports. 13.36 –“The situation in Chernobyl is catastrophic, the Russians are not in control of the situation. There is a risk of wide-ranging effects. The area of the power plant must be de-militarized. I wrote a letter myself to the UN Secretary General Guuterres for ask for it “. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said it when meeting the international media in a videocall in Lviv. 13.34 –“There is no ceasefire in Mariupol, the city is still under attack. The ceasefire concerns the humanitarian corridors, the segment from Berdyansk to Zaporizhzhia.” This was stated by the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, meeting the international media in Lviv via video link. Furthermore, she explained, “we do not have a mediator, there are no third parties that can verify the possible violation of the ceasefire”. 1.15 pm –Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a spring draft decree to “carry out, from April 1 to July 15, 2022, the conscription of Russian citizens aged between 18 and 27 who are not in the reserve (…), for a total of 134,500 people “, reads the text of the document published on the official Internet portal of legal information, as reported by the Russian agency Ria Novosti. 12.52 –The bombing of Chernihiv, north-east of Kiev, continued for the second night, despite the Russian commitment to reduce military operations in the city. The BBC reports it citing the testimonies of residents. In the city, which is surrounded by Russian forces and has remained without electricity, water and gas, according to local authorities there are still 140,000 civilians. “I heard the explosions during the night,” said a Chernihiv resident. “The night was quieter than the previous one, I even managed to sleep … but then at 5 there was a new strong bombardment. I saw the sky turn orange, but it was far away”, says another. 11.35 am –The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is ready to “lead” the evacuation of civilians from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol starting tomorrow on condition of having the necessary guarantees. This was stated by the organization in a statement. “It is desperately important for this operation to take place. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it,” says the ICRC. 10.49 am –“Russian warships in the Sevastopol base in Crimea are being supplied with cruise missiles.” This was stated – according to Ukrinform – by the spokesman of the regional military administration of Odessa, Serhii Bratchuk, according to whom “missile attacks on Odessa and other Ukrainian cities are likely”. Bratchuk explained that these are 3M-54 Kalibr missiles, which are capable of changing trajectory several times during the flight and are therefore difficult to intercept. “The air defense units are preparing to repel the attacks,” he added. 10.29 am –The first buses to Mariupol for the evacuation of civilians have left: 17 buses have already moved to Mariupol from Zaporizhzhia (about 220 km north-west). Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshcuk said so. Another 28 buses are awaiting authorization to pass the Russian checkpoint in Vasylivka, near Zaporizhzhia. “We will do everything possible to ensure that the buses arrive in Mariupol today and pick up people who have not yet left the city,” Vereshcuk said. Last night Moscow announced that it was ready for a temporary ceasefire from 10 local (9 in Italy) in Mariupol. 9.50 am –The Russian army fired phosphorus shells in the central part of the Donetsk region during the night. The report was reported by Pravda Ukraine citing the head of the regional military administration of Donetsk Pavlo Kyrylenko. “The Russians fired phosphorus bullets at Maryinka, Krasnohorivka and Novomykhailivtsi in the Donetsk region,” Kyrylenko said on Telegram, adding that “eleven wounded were taken to hospital, 4 of them were children”. 9.39 am –“Civilians are trapped in Kharkiv and cannot leave safe routes because the Ukrainians continue to fire heavy machine guns at the residential buildings of the city”. This was stated by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Management Center of Russia, as reported by Tass. Meanwhile, Mizintsev confirms that Russia has opened humanitarian corridors in five directions in Ukraine and that Russia has delivered 6,521 tons of humanitarian cargoes to Ukraine since March 2, carrying out 703 humanitarian actions. 9.24 am – The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine could meet within two weeks. This was announced by the Turkish Foreign Minister. 8.40 am –“Tonight we received a message from the International Committee of the Red Cross confirming that Russia is ready to open a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol with transit to Berdyansk.” This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshcuk on Telegram, announcing the dispatch from Kiev of 45 buses to Mariupol. “For today the following corridors have also been agreed: ️ for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of people from the city of Melitopol; ️ for a convoy of people with their own means from the city of Energodar to Zaporizhia”. 7.42 am –Russia is recruiting policemen and prosecutors to send to temporarily occupied Ukrainian cities: the Kyiv Independent reports, citing the Ukrainian army. The people recruited will have the task of conducting “awareness” work with local authorities and the population. 6.21 am– The ruble recovers against the dollar and returns to its pre-Russian aggression values against Ukraine, settling at 76 (-5.263%): to buy a dollar, in other words, 76 rubles are now needed, against 84.95 on February 24 and the 139.7 recorded on March 7 at the moment of maximum weakness. The upward trend benefited from the hypothesis not excluded by China of using rubles or yuan in the trade of energy sources, according to what reported by TASS, citing the Beijing Foreign Ministry, according to which “market operators are free to choose the currency in bilateral agreements “. 4.46 am –The head of the British intelligence service of the GCHQ said that some Russian soldiers would refuse to follow orders. The Guardian writes it. Jeremy Fleming revealed that there is new information showing that some Russian soldiers in Ukraine sabotaged their own equipment and accidentally shot down one of their planes. “We have seen Russian soldiers short of weapons and morale, refuse to follow orders, sabotage their equipment and even accidentally shoot down their aircraft,” Fleming said in a speech in Canberra at the Australian National University. 5.57 am –Russia said it considered the presence of any US or NATO military infrastructure in Central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan unacceptable: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, according to TASS. He said this at the third ministerial conference of the countries neighboring Afghanistan (Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) underway in China. 3.53 am –It could take at least a year for Ukraine to hold a referendum on its neutrality. This was stated by the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the peace talks with Russia, according to the BBC. Ukrainian neutrality is a fundamental demand from Russia to end the war. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was open to such an idea, on condition that Ukraine receives security guarantees. In a televised interview, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said that such a decision should ultimately be made by the Ukrainian people, rather than politicians, in a national referendum. Declaring neutrality, he said, would require the registration of three million signatures. “Ore 2.43– Responding to a question about reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin was misinformed by his own generals on progress in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said “the inability to tell the truth to those in power “and an” Achilles heel “of authoritarian governments. This was reported by journalists accompanying the secretary on a mission to Algeria. Although Blinken did not comment directly on the news, he said he found it a weakness of autocracies that “there are no people in those systems who tell the truth who is in charge.” “And I think that’s what we’re seeing in Russia,” he added. The White House, in the daily briefing confirmed that the Kremlin leader is misinformed by him on the tide of the war, while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US defense officials found the assessment “disconcerting.” The ruble recovers against the dollar and returns to the pre-Russian aggression values against Ukraine, settling at 76 (-5.263%): to buy one dollar, in other words, 76 rubles are now needed, against 84 , 95 of February 24 and the 139.7 recorded on March 7 at the moment of maximum weakness. The upward trend benefited from the hypothesis not excluded by China of using rubles or yuan in the trade of energy sources, according to what reported by TASS, citing the Beijing Foreign Ministry, according to which “market operators are free to choose the currency in bilateral agreements “. while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US defense officials found the assessment “disconcerting”. The ruble recovers against the dollar and returns to the pre-Russian aggression values against Ukraine, settling at 76 (-5.263%): to buy one dollar, in other words, 76 rubles are now needed, against 84 , 95 of February 24 and the 139.7 recorded on March 7 at the moment of maximum weakness. The upward trend benefited from the hypothesis not excluded by China of using rubles or yuan in the trade of energy sources, according to what reported by TASS, citing the Beijing Foreign Ministry, according to which “market operators are free to choose the currency in bilateral agreements “. while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US defense officials found the assessment “disconcerting”. The ruble recovers against the dollar and returns to the pre-Russian aggression values against Ukraine, settling at 76 (-5.263%): to buy one dollar, in other words, 76 rubles are now needed, against 84 , 95 of February 24 and the 139.7 recorded on March 7 at the moment of maximum weakness. The upward trend benefited from the hypothesis not excluded by China of using rubles or yuan in the trade of energy sources, according to what reported by TASS, citing the Beijing Foreign Ministry, according to which “market operators are free to choose the currency in bilateral agreements “. In other words, the purchase of a dollar now requires 76 rubles, against 84.95 on February 24 and 139.7 recorded on March 7 at the moment of maximum weakness. The upward trend benefited from the hypothesis not excluded by China of using rubles or yuan in the trade of energy sources, according to what reported by TASS, citing the Beijing Foreign Ministry, according to which “market operators are free to choose the currency in bilateral agreements “. In other words, the purchase of a dollar now requires 76 rubles, against 84.95 on February 24 and 139.7 recorded on March 7 at the moment of maximum weakness. The upward trend benefited from the hypothesis not excluded by China of using rubles or yuan in the trade of energy sources, according to what reported by TASS, citing the Beijing Foreign Ministry, according to which “market operators are free to choose the currency in bilateral agreements “.
