Good morning, Hayley Halpin here. To kick things off here’s a quick update on the latest from the situation in Ukraine:

• Russian air strikes yesterday killed 35 people at a military base outside Ukraine’s western city of Lviv.
• Talks between the two sides are to resume today by videoconference, according to Ukrainian negotiators and the Kremlin, after both sides hailed progress at earlier rounds aimed at ending more than two weeks of fighting.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns NATO could see member states come under Russian attack if they don’t act to impose a no-fly zone over his country.
• Nearly 2,200 residents of Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol have been killed since hostilities began, the local authorities say.
• Fighting rages in the Kyiv suburbs as Russian forces advance ever closer to the capital. Only roads to the south remain open and Kyiv is preparing to mount a “relentless defence”, according to the Ukrainian president’s office.
• Russia is asking China for military and economic aid for the Ukraine conflict, US media report.
• Britain’s defence ministry says Russia has established a naval blockade on the Black Sea coast, “effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade”.
• A US journalist has been shot dead and another wounded in Irpin.
• Electricity supply has been restored at Ukraine’s retired Chernobyl nuclear power plant that was seized by Russian forces in the first days of the invasion.
• Our reporter Niall O’Connor continues to report from the Poland/Ukraine border. He will be keeping us up-to-date with the very latest on the growing refugee crisis there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ABACA / PA Images ABACA / PA Images / PA Images

As just noted in our catch-up, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has  urged NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country or see its member states attacked by Russia.

“If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on NATO territory,” Zelenskyy said in a video address released shortly after midnight.

He spoke a day after 35 people were killed and more than 130 injured when Russian troops launched air strikes on a military training ground outside Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, near the border with NATO member Poland.

At least two people died and 12 have been wounded following an air strike on a residential building in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the country’s emergency service said this morning. 

“As of 7.40, the bodies of two people were found in a nine-storey apartment building, three people were hospitalised and nine people were treated on the spot,” the emergency service said on Facebook, adding that the building was in Kyiv’s Obolon district.

A pregnant woman and her baby have died after Russian forces bombed the maternity hospital in Ukraine where she was meant to give birth, medics have revealed.

Images of the woman being rushed to an ambulance on a stretcher had circled the world, epitomising the horror of the attack.

The woman was rushed to another hospital, closer to the frontline, where doctors worked to keep her alive.

Surgeon Timur Marin found the woman’s pelvis crushed and hip detached. Medics delivered the baby via caesarean section, but it showed “no signs of life”, the surgeon said. They then began work on the mother.

“More than 30 minutes of resuscitation of the mother didn’t produce results,” Marin said on Saturday. “Both died.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday visited a military hospital following fighting in the Kyiv region. 

Zelenskyy visiting the military hospital ABACA / PA Images ABACA / PA Images / PA Images

According to the presidency official website, Zelenskyy made a visit to the hospital to award militaries with orders and medals for courage and dedication, and to honor the hospital staff for exemplary work in difficult conditions ABACA / PA Images ABACA / PA Images / PA Images

Instagram is no longer accessible in Russia after its parent company Meta was accused by Moscow of allowing calls for violence against Russians on its platforms.

Instagram’s app was not refreshing without a VPN connection today, AFP journalists said.

The social network also appeared on a list of online resources with “restricted access” published by Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor.

Beijing has today accused Washington of spreading “disinformation” over China’s role in the Ukraine war, ahead of talks between the two countries’ envoys in Rome.

Without directly addressing US media reports of a Russian request for help from Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “The US has been spreading disinformation targeting China on the Ukraine issue, with malicious intentions.”

US media yesterday reported that Russia has asked China for military and economic aid for its war in Ukraine.

US officials told media that Russia had requested military equipment and support from its key ally.

Moscow also asked Beijing for economic assistance against the crippling sanctions imposed against it by most of the Western world, the New York Times said, again citing anonymous officials.

The officials declined to explain exactly what Russia had requested, or whether China had responded, according to the reports.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington told multiple outlets “I’ve never heard of that” when asked about the alleged requests.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Iranian Foreign Ministry Iranian Foreign Ministry

Tehran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will head to Moscow tomorrow, his ministry said, days after negotiations on an Iran nuclear deal stalled amid new Russian demands.

Amir-Abdollahian will “go to Moscow on Tuesday” to continue discussions on the nuclear deal, ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters today.

10 months of talks in Vienna have brought major powers close to renewing a landmark 2015 agreement on regulating Iran’s nuclear programme.

But the negotiations were halted again after Russia on 5 March demanded guarantees that Western sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine would not damage its trade with Iran.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has dismissed as “irrelevant” the Russian demands for guarantees, saying that they “just are not in any way linked together”.

The current round of negotiations started in late November in the Austrian capital between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, with the US taking part indirectly.

The 2105 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

But the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and imposed tough economic sanctions on different sectors, including oil exports.

A reception centre for Ukrainian refugees in Berlin Hannibal Hanschke / dpa Hannibal Hanschke / dpa / dpa

Applications are set to open later for Northern Ireland residents to host Ukrainian refugees.

It is part of a UK-wide scheme to receive those fleeing the Russian invasion.

Households will be offered £350 per month to take part.

The Executive Office has strongly encouraged expressions of interest, and these can be made through an online portal due to open today.

A spokesman said officials are working at pace to be ready to offer sanctuary.

“While not all the details have yet been announced by Westminster, we are working at pace, making preparations so we stand ready to provide sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees,” the spokesman said.

“Mindful of the pressure on social housing stock, officials are also engaging with councils and the voluntary and community sector to find creative ways of bringing suitable accommodation into use and identifying all available capacity.”

The spokesman said the department is in close contact with the Home Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing and with colleagues in other jurisdictions.

“We will participate fully in this humanitarian effort. Partnership across sectors and wider society will be key to ensuring we can support as many Ukrainian people seeking sanctuary here as possible.”

The HSE is to hold a minute’s silence tomorrow in solidarity with healthcare workers in Ukraine. 

It is asking all staff, patients and visitors to HSE health services to observe the minute’s silence at 12pm tomorrow, unless it is not clinically safe to do so.

“Healthcare staff all over the world have been on the front lines over the past two years battling Covid-19 and now our Ukrainian colleagues are facing another monumental task working in the most arduous and tragic circumstances in the midst of a war,” HSE CEO Paul Reid said. 

“This is a small gesture we as a health service, along with our patients, service users and visitors can observe,” Reid said. 

“We are keep to offer practical supports too and the HSE coordinated a donation of medical equipment to Ukraine and we are planning a number of further donations, in conjunction with the Department of Health.” 

The HSE said the minute’s silence is to honour those who have died in Ukraine and healthcare colleagues who are “working tirelessly and in great danger to continue to treat people in harrowing circumstances”. 

Our reporter Niall O’Connor is continuing to report from the Poland/Ukraine border today.

My last day here.
Just off the train from Kyiv this girl needs better shoes so an aid worker does the fitting in the foyer of the train station.
Follow along on @thejournal_ie: 'We need military aid now - Russia will not stop until Ukraine is destroyed' https://t.co/eL4KyjfyHP pic.twitter.com/Z0r80oMnLD

— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) March 14, 2022

Germany plans to buy up to 35 F-35 fighter jets made by US firm Lockheed Martin and 15 Eurofighter jets, a parliamentary source has said, as part of a major push to modernise the armed forces in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The F-35 purchase would replace Germany’s decades-old Tornado fleet, the only jets capable of carrying US nuclear bombs, according to media reports confirmed by the source.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last month pledged to invest €100 billion in the nation’s chronically underfunded Bundeswehr.

One person has been killed and 12 others injured after an air strike on a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

The toll has been revised down from an earlier figure of two dead.

Ukrainian firefighters work in a resident building after it was hit by artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine Vadim Ghirda Vadim Ghirda

Ukrainian soldiers and firefighters search in a destroyed building after a bombing attack in Kyiv Vadim Ghirda Vadim Ghirda

Peace talks

Ukraine has said it would demand an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops during a fourth round of negotiations to end more than two weeks of fighting after Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine.

“Peace, an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Russians troops – and only after this can we talk about regional relations and about political differences,” Kyiv’s lead negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said in a video statement posted to Twitter.

The Kyiv Independent has said its reporters have heard several loud explosions in central Kyiv. 

⚡️Several loud explosions heard in central Kyiv, according to our reporters.

The explosions appear to be the city's air defense systems shooting down the missiles targeting Kyiv.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 14, 2022

Bayer has suspended advertising and investments in Russia. Deliveries are focused on medicines and essential health products, i.e. for infants and children. Crop supplies for the 2023 growing season are contingent on peace. Full statement here: https://t.co/fSwC41fXNM pic.twitter.com/q0cLjppDnf

— Bayer AG (@Bayer) March 14, 2022

1,758,000 people fleeing Ukraine have crossed the Polish border since the Russian invasion began, Polish officials have said. 

82,100 people were cleared by Polish Border Guard officers yesterday.

1,758,000 people fleeing #Ukraine have crossed the 🇵🇱 border since the beginning of Russia's aggression against this country.

82,100 people were cleared by Polish Border Guard officers yesterday.#PolandFirstToHelp #solidarityWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/EbpgGdUVx1

— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) March 14, 2022

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister has again this morning reiterated the country’s plea for Western countries to provide more support in the fight against Russia. 

“To those abroad scared of being ‘dragged into WWIII’. Ukraine fights back successfully. We need you to help us fight. Provide us with all necessary weapons,” Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. 

“Apply more sanctions on Russia and isolate it fully. Help Ukraine force Putin into failure and you will avert a larger war.”

To those abroad scared of being ‘dragged into WWIII’. Ukraine fights back successfully. We need you to help us fight. Provide us with all necessary weapons. Apply more sanctions on Russia and isolate it fully. Help Ukraine force Putin into failure and you will avert a larger war.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 14, 2022

Two people have been killed after an Antonov aircraft factory in Kyiv and a nearby residential building were targeted by Russian shelling, city officials said.

Russian forces “shelled a residential building and the Antonov factory … According to a preliminary toll, two people are dead and seven wounded,” city hall said in a message on its Telegram account.

A separate strike on a residential building today killed one person and wounded 12.

Major military exercises involving 30,000 NATO troops and partner countries have kicked off in Norway today.

Cold Response 2022, planned long before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, aims to test how Norway would manage Allied reinforcements on its soil, in line with Article 5 of NATO’s charter which requires member states to come to the aid of another member state under attack.

“It’s a defensive exercise”, said General Yngve Odlo, in charge of Cold Response.

“It’s not a military operation with an offensive purpose”, he told television channel TV2.

Organised every two years, the naval, air and ground drills are held over vast swathes of Norway’s territory, including above the Arctic Circle.

They will however stay several hundred kilometres away from Norway’s border with Russia.

Russia declined Norway’s invitation to send observers.

“Any build-up of NATO military capabilities near Russia’s borders does not help to strengthen security in the region”, Russia’s embassy in Norway told AFP last week.

Russia “has the capacity out there to follow (the exercise) in an entirely legitimate manner”, Odlo said.

“I really hope they respect existing agreements”, he added.

As during previous editions of the exercise, neighbouring Sweden and Finland, which are military non-aligned but increasingly close partners of NATO, will also participate in Cold Response.

Russia’s invasion has renewed debate in the two Nordic countries about possible NATO membership.

Some 200 aircraft and 50 vessels are also taking part in the manoeuvres, which last until 1 April.

The exercise began today with naval operations and the deployment on land of part of NATO’s rapid reaction force.

Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have said that a strike by Kyiv’s forces on the rebel de facto capital Donetsk  left at least 16 people dead, ahead of talks to resolve the war.

Rebel officials said fragments from a Ukrainian Tochka missile that was shot down had landed in the centre of the city leaving more than two dozen dead with many more injured.

“16 deaths have been recorded” the self-proclaimed region’s health ministry said, adding that another 23 people had been injured.

The updated toll rounds down from 20 – an earlier count from separatist authorities.

Official separatist Telegram channels distributed photos and video of the aftermath, showing burnt out cars, bodies strewn in the street, and damage to the exterior of shops.

AFP could not independently verify the death toll reported by authorities in the territory that has been controlled by pro-Moscow rebels since 2014.

Firefighters work at an apartment building hit by shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine today AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

A firefighter hugs an elderly woman after evacuation from an apartment building hit by shelling in Kyiv AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

A Ukrainian firefighter stands outside a destroyed building after it was hit by artillery shelling in Kyiv Felipe Dana Felipe Dana

Today’s talks between Russia and Ukraine have started.

Tweeting a photo of the discussions, which are being held via video call, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: “The parties actively express their specified positions. 

“Communication is being held yet it’s hard. The reason for the discord is too different political systems.” 

The parties actively express their specified positions. Communication is being held yet it’s hard. The reason for the discord is too different political systems. 🇺🇦 is a free dialogue within the society & an obligatory consensus. 🇷🇺 is an ultimatum suppression of its own society pic.twitter.com/O00fnCd1WP

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 14, 2022

Lollipops, toys and flowers - just some acts of kindness which Ukraine's refugees have been met with at other countries' bordershttps://t.co/PTlp6YJWSK pic.twitter.com/MFjOmL6ELK

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 14, 2022

The latest from our reporter Niall O’Connor who is at the Poland/Ukraine border: 

Huge crowds here about to board buses. This family have come from Denipro via Kyiv and Lviv. Just one example of the trip which is similar to all others: two day journey by train and now are hoping to join family in Lithuania. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/9n55oheYW6

— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) March 14, 2022

Ukraine’s Chernobyl loses power again

Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, has once again lost its electricity supply, according to the country’s energy operator Ukrenergo.

“The line that supplies the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the town of Slavutych was damaged by the occupying forces,” Ukrenergo said on its Facebook page, referring to Russian forces that invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

The retired nuclear plant – enclosed in a giant steel and concrete sarcophagus – lost power early last week but supply was restored Sunday.

The plant has emergency diesel generators that can temporarily provide the electricity needed to power security systems including the cooling systems for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility, Ukraine’s nuclear power inspection body SNRIU said last week.

Ukrenergo said the line was damaged again “before the power supply was fully restored” and that one of its repair crews will be going into “occupied territory” again for more repairs.

The operator added that Chernobyl “cannot be left without a reliable energy supply” and the residents of the nearby town of Slavutych “depend” on it for electricity.

An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 killed hundreds and spread a radioactive cloud across Europe.

Russian forces also shelled and captured the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s biggest atomic power plant, on 4 March, causing a fire that raised alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.

London squatters break into Russian oligarch’s mansion ‘to house Ukrainian refugees’

The building has been cordoned off and is surrounded by police officers and vehicles. PA PA

Squatters have broken into a central London mansion apparently owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and declared it “belongs to Ukrainian refugees”.

At least five people have been occupying the property in Belgrave Square since early Monday morning.

Mr Deripaska, an industrialist who has had close links with the British political establishment, was targeted with sanctions by the Government last week.

He was described as “a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch”, who is “closely associated” with both the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin.

His wealth is estimated to be £2.3 billion and he has a multimillion-pound property portfolio in the UK which, according to a 2007 High Court judgment, includes the house at 5 Belgrave Square. Records indicate it has not changed hands since and is owned by an offshore British Virgin Islands company.

The squatters call themselves the London Mahknovists – after Nestor Makhno, who led an anarchist force that attempted to form a stateless society in Ukraine during the Russian Revolution of 1917-1923.

PA PA

- PA

Ben Ryan / SDCC Ben Ryan / SDCC / SDCC

South Dublin County Council has announced it will fly the Ukrainian flag over Tallaght’s County Hall, while the County Hall and Civic Offices in Clondalkin will be lit up blue and yellow at night to show solidarity with Ukraine.

“We have all been shocked and saddened by the scenes coming out of Ukraine since the illegal attack by the Russian Federation began a fortnight ago. I am proud to say that many of the people of South Dublin County have already arranged collections of money and goods for the Ukrainian people,” the Mayor of South Dublin County, Cllr Peter Kavanagh, said.

Ben Ryan / SDCC Ben Ryan / SDCC / SDCC

Kremlin says doesn’t rule out taking ‘full control’ of major Ukraine cities

The Kremlin says that it may still opt to take control of large cities in Ukraine, as Moscow’s military advances steadily towards several major urban hubs.

“Putin gave orders to hold back on any immediate assault on large cities because the civilian losses would be large,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding however that, “the defence ministry does not rule out the possibility of putting large cities under its full control”.

Two killed in Russian shelling on Kyiv: reports

Two people were killed as various neighbourhoods of the Ukraine capital Kyiv came under shelling and missile attacks, city officials have said.

“One person was killed and 10 wounded when a residential building was shelled in the Obolon district” in the north of the city, officials said, adding that later in the morning “missile fragments fell on the street in the Kurenivka district killing one person and wounding six.”

Our reporter Niall O’Connor has arrived in the Polish town of Medyka on the border with Ukraine.

Niall reports that work is underway by Polish authorities to turn the make-shift arrival centre for Ukrainian refugees into a more permanent structure.

You can follow Niall’s report from Medyka here.

A lot of work going on here in Medyka. The makeshift tents for the refugees being dug out and given solid flooring. Also clearing land to provide more tent space. Smaller crowds here today but there are still 2m people in Kyiv. More to come. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/ARw1CNYiz6

— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) March 14, 2022

Here are the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine so far today:

• A fourth round of talks between Ukraine and Russia will get underway via videoconference today. Russian officials described the talks as “hard” as the two sides trade accusations over civilian deaths.
• One person was killed and 12 others injured after an airstrike on a residential building in the capital Kyiv, which has been bracing for a major offensive. The toll was revised down from an earlier figure of two dead.
• A Kremlin spokesman says that Russian forces have so far held off on a full-scale onslaught on large cities “because the civilian losses would be large” but that Moscow “does not rule out the possibility of putting large cities under its full control”.
• China accused Washington of spreading “disinformation” over Beijing’s role in the Ukraine conflict, without directly addressing reports in US media that Russia is seeking Chinese military and economic aid.
• The Chernobyl nuclear power plant lost power for the second time since falling into Russian hands at the start of the invasion, according to authorities. 
• Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine claim that a missile strike by Ukrainian forces on their de facto capital Donetsk has left at least 16 people dead, including children.
• Britain’s defence ministry says Russia has established a naval blockade on the Black Sea coast, “effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade”.
• Nearly 2,200 residents of Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol have been killed since hostilities began, the local authorities say.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned NATO that its members could come under Russian attack if they do not act to impose a no-fly zone over his country.
• Russian police detain more than 800 people across 37 cities for protesting Moscow’s “military operation” in Ukraine. Nearly 15,000 people have reportedly been detained at rallies across the country since the invasion began.
• Almost 2.7 million people have fled the war in Ukraine, more than 100,000 of them in the past 24 hours, the UN says. More than half have gone to Poland.

In stranger news this afternoon, just over an hour ago, billionaire Elon Musk has just challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a fight.

The stakes? Ukraine.

I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combat

Stakes are Україна

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

Our Political Correspondent, Christina Finn, is in New York ahead of the Taoiseach’s visit to Washington DC for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

With Ireland’s global greening programme being paused due to the war in Ukraine, Christina snapped a photo of the Empire State Building lit up in Ukrainian colours.

Arrived in New York last night ahead of Taoiseach’s visit to Washington DC this week for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations

As reported, the global greening programme is on pause this week so buildings can remain in the Ukrainian colours such as the Empire State Building pic.twitter.com/FccwvgUS5x

— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) March 14, 2022

UK examining using seized property of oligarchs to house Ukrainians

Downing Street has confirmed this afternoon that it is examining whether properties of sanctioned oligarchs could be used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

While it is being considered, new legislation may be required, said Downing Street.

The spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Certainly that’s something we are looking at.

I think in the first instance the two (visa) routes that we have are how we expect people will be housed in the UK, either through family or through this sponsorship route.

The spokesperson also did not rule out using Chelsea Football Club’s hotel to house refugees.

We would certainly want to see wherever is possible (used), we are open to all options.

There are some challenges around the special licence that his been created in relation to the sanctions.

Zelenskyy hopes for breakthrough at negotiations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the ongoing talks between Ukraine and Russia are progressing with some difficulty, but said that he hoped a breakthrough could be announced later today.

In a video statement, Zelenskyy said that the negotiations are continuing.

“A video meeting between the delegations has already started today. It continues,” Zelenskyy said.

The negotiations were described as “hard” by lead negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the US Congress on Wednesday.

Democratic leadership announced today that Ukraine’s president will appear virtually.

“We look forward to the privilege of welcoming President Zelensky’s address to the House and Senate and to convey our support to the people of Ukraine as they bravely defend democracy,” House leader Nancy Pelosi and her Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer said in a joint letter to lawmakers.

NATO’s Twitter account has just issued another reminder that it’s beefing up troop numbers in Europe in response to Russia’s war.

In response to the invasion of #Ukraine by Russia, #NATO Allies have increased readiness and vigilance across Europe to defend and protect all Allies

— NATO (@NATO) March 14, 2022

Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv will restart tomorrow after meetings concluded without breakthrough earlier in today.

“A technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until tomorrow,” senior Ukrainian negotiator and president aide Mikhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter, after both sides over the weekend raised hopes that an initial agreement would be announced.

Former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko has shared another update from Kyiv, this time showing the aftermath of a rocket attack in the Ukrainian capital.

Putin's dream of creating a Greater Russia is my country's nightmare. #SaveUkraine#kyiv #StopPutinsWar #Standtogether #FreeUkraine #WeAreAllUkrainians #StandWithUkraine #StopTheWar pic.twitter.com/EKw3K6BsbZ

— Klitschko (@Klitschko) March 14, 2022

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader of Belarus, appeared on RTÉ’s Liveline this afternoon.

“Most people in Belarus are against the invasion,” she told presenter Joe Duffy – noting that, historically, there had long been very close ties between the people of Belarus and the people of Ukraine.

Tsikhanouskaya said her country was “de-facto military occupied” as the invasion continued – as Russia had been basing a large proportion of its troops along the Belarus-Ukraine border since the build-up to the war began.

The Netherlands and Australia have launched a legal case against Russia seeking to hold Moscow accountable for its alleged role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

A missile strike brought down the passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

You can get the full details here.

The AFP news organisation is reporting that the European Union will sanction Roman Abramovich and other oligarchs in its latest round of punishment of Russians seen as supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The billionaire owner of the Chelsea football club and the others are being added to a list of individuals whose assets in the EU – including superyachts and mansions – can be seized and entry into the bloc refused, diplomats said.

They are part of a fourth round of EU sanctions against Russia, the details of which are expected to be published later today.

Meanwhile a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Chelsea fans that they must stop the “completely inappropriate” chanting of Abramovich’s name.

Volunteer Angel Casus spoke to Niall O’Connor in Medyka about helping refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Four protesters who have been surrounded by police on the balcony of a central London mansion owned by oligarch Oleg Deripaska say they have “made their peace with getting arrested”.

The squatters broke into the property in Belgrave Square at around 1am today and declared that it “belongs to Ukrainian refugees”.

Deripaska, an industrialist who has had close links with the British political establishment, was targeted with sanctions by the Government last week.

The four men have been sitting on the edge of the balcony, surrounded by police both inside and outside the building, for more than an hour.

Reports are emerging that Russian soldiers blew up explosives at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy company, said explosives had been detonated and that further explosions were planned.

❗️WARNING❗
Russia is going to blow up ammunition in front of the Zaporizhzhia NPP power unit.
In the next hour, the occupiers, who captured the #Zaporizhzhia NPP, plan to begin "disposal" of ammunition right on the site of the station near the ruins of the ZNPP training center.

— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 14, 2022

⚡️Energoatom: Russian troops blew up explosives at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy company said on March 14 that the explosives had been blown up near the Russian-controlled Ukrainian plant’s main reactor and that further explosions are planned.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 14, 2022

Defence minister Simon Coveney has approved sending approximately 5,000 units of ready-to-eat meals and 200 units of body armour to Ukraine.

The decision to provide this additional material is in response to a direct request from Ukraine for specifically defined non-lethal equipment.

The meals and body armour came from existing Defence Forces’ stocks and have already been shipped. They are expected to arrive at a co-ordinating Polish logistics hub in the next few days.

“This practical assistance is a further tangible demonstration of Ireland’s support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” Coveney said.

The Irish Universities Association has agreed to provide places for Irish students who have had to leave Ukraine in the middle of their studies.

Higher education minister Simon Harris said: “”When it comes to higher education, the immediate priority is to ensure Irish students fleeing Ukraine can continue their studies here.

My Department has contacted them all and they are deeply traumatised by what has unfolded. We will work to extend supports and care to them.

The majority of these students were studying medicine or dentistry.

Russia has accused the West of seeking to push it into an “artificial default” through unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine, but vowed to meet its debt payments.

Russia is due to make an interest payment on its external debt later this week and Moscow warned it will be doing so in rubles if sanctions prevent it from using the currency of issue.

“The freezing of foreign currency accounts of the Bank of Russia and of the Russian government can be regarded as the desire of a number of foreign countries to organise an artificial default that has no real economic grounds,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in a statement.

Ratings agency Fitch last week downgraded Russia’s sovereign debt rating deeper into junk territory, warning that the decision reflects the view that a default is “imminent”.

Russia, not Europe, must feel the greatest cost from EU sanctions, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

EU finance ministers are meeting today and tomorrow to discuss the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the European economy.

Speaking in Brussels this afternoon, Donohoe said the government has been proactive in trying to support citizens, but the EU may be able to do more together.

“Government has already brought in an array of measures to try to help with all of the affordability issues that we know so many are facing with the rising cost of energy.

“What we will be doing both today and tomorrow is assessing whether any further steps can be taken at European level,” Donohoe said.

In a joint statement the Eurogroup warned uncertainty has “increased significantly”.

It comes on top of existing pressure on the supply chain, higher energy prices and inflation.

Nine people died and another nine were injured when Russian forces hit a television tower outside the city of Rivne today, local authorities said.

“Nine dead, nine wounded,” the head of the regional administration, Vitaliy Koval, said on messaging app Telegram.

Koval added that work was under way to free survivors trapped under rubble.

Rivne is around 200 kilometres northeast of Lviv, which has become the exit point for many Ukrainians fleeing the country to Poland.

The cruise missiles that devastated a western Ukrainian military base over the weekend were launched from aircraft flying in Russian air space, a US defense official has said, indicating that a no-fly zone would not have prevented the attack.

A “couple dozen” cruise missiles were launched from bombers flying over Russia to the Yavoriv overnight Saturday, killing 35 people and wounding 134.

The base was located west of Lviv and just 20 kilometers from Ukraine’s border with EU and NATO member Poland.

The strike made clear that western Ukraine, largely spared so far since Russian forces invaded on 24 February, was vulnerable especially from long-range missiles.

NATO allies Turkey and Germany have appealed for a ceasefire and to open humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met in the Turkish capital Ankara with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who hopes to facilitate a solution via direct talks with Moscow.

The meeting was the first between the leaders since Scholz replaced Angela Merkel.

“We are in agreement on the issue of reaching a ceasefire as soon as possible,” Scholz told a joint news conference after the meeting.

“It must be ensured that necessary corridors are open for the evacuation of civilians.”

A reporter from The Wall Street Journal has shared striking images of Mariupol “just months ago”. 

A far cry from the recent images of the besieged city where officials say nearly 2,200 people have been killed.

I took those photos in beautiful Mariupol just months ago. Mind-blowing and heart-breaking that it has come to this: More than 2,000 dead, and 400,000 trapped without heat, food or clean water. https://t.co/wctRynmDFe pic.twitter.com/N1jRSb9gPB

— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) March 14, 2022

Call with my Estonian counterpart @eliimets on crucial next steps to force Russia to stop aggression and war crimes against Ukrainians. More biting sanctions must be imposed on Russia as soon as possible. I underlined the importance of speeding up Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 14, 2022

Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke with his Estonian counterpart Eva-Maria Liiments about the “crucial next steps to force Russia to stop aggression and war crimes against Ukrainians”. 

He said that more “biting” sanctions must be brought against Russia.

The EU today brought in a fourth round of sanctions, further targeting individuals and companies “implicated in the assault on Ukraine”. 

Russia has accused Kyiv of committing a “war crime” in an attack on the separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in which it claims 23 people have been left dead. 

Moscow has accused Ukraine’s army of firing a missile at a residential area in Donetsk. 

Already during this war the UN human rights office said it is gravely concerned by the rising death toll and warned Russia last week that attacks targeting civilians are banned and could amount to war crimes. 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has accused Russia of “completely unacceptable breaches of international law”.

“They’re war crimes and they should be called that,” Coveney said recently.

A burning apartment building after shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine yesterday. AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

More than 160 civilian cars have been able to drive out of the besieged southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol along a humanitarian evacuation route, the city authorities said earlier today. 

The city council said on Telegram that “currently the ceasefire regime is being maintained along the humanitarian corridor”.

The successful evacuation comes after several failed attempts since Russian forces surrounded the port city on the Azov Sea early this month.

Heavy bombardment has left some 400,000 inhabitants with no running water or heating and food running short.

Almost 2,200 people have died in the city since the invasion. 

На Первом канале в прямом эфире выбежала женщина с плакатом pic.twitter.com/3EMbhSdIGU

— Ярослав Конвей (@YaroslavConway) March 14, 2022

A woman holding an anti-war poster jumped on screen during a live news broadcast on Russia’s state-run Channel One TV station this evening.

Footage of the incident is being widely shared on social media.

The poster says “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They are lying to you.”

Moscow correspondents from various western news outlets, including The Guardian and the Washington Post, have reported that it is genuine footage.

The executive director of the Bellingcat investigative journalism group also verified that the incident took place and was broadcast on Channel One.

The woman reportedly works for the TV station and she has been detained by police.

A senior US official has told AFP that the United States has “deep concerns” about “alignment” between Russia and China.

It comes after high-ranking US and Chinese officials met for seven hours on the Ukraine war and other security issues.

“We do have deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia,” the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Video of a Russian strike on Kyiv. https://t.co/3xLBJuCRS4 pic.twitter.com/HpWBpDnoWX

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 14, 2022

CCTV footage captured the moment a Russian projectile destroyed a Kyiv city bus and damaged the surrounding street, killing one person and injuring six.

The blast occurred today near Kurenivskyi Park in the Ukrainian capital.

The footage shows the projectile impacting the ground from an angle in the park as pedestrians and cars pass by, sending debris across the street as the area soon begins to fill with black smoke.

It was corroborated by a message from mayor of the city and former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written a letter of condolence to the family of US documentary maker Brent Renaud.

Renaud was shot dead in Irpin, according to medics and and eye witnesses. He is the first foreign reporter killed since Russia invaded Ukraine.

I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of Brent Renaud who lost his life while documenting the ruthlessness & evil inflicted upon 🇺🇦 people by Russia. May Brent’s life & sacrifice inspire the world to stand up in fight for the forces of light against forces of darkness. pic.twitter.com/bvQjM470OU

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 14, 2022

Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall has been injured while covering Russia’s invasion.

Hall who covers the State Department for Fox News, was injured while “newsgathering outside of Kyiv,” the US news outlet said in a statement.

“We have a minimal level of details right now, but Ben is hospitalized and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information,” it said.

The woman who carried out the anti-war protest on Russian TV (which can be seen below) also recorded a message beforehand saying she was “ashamed to be” an employee of the Channel One state-run TV station.

Several media outlets have named her as Marina Ovysannikova.

о хре неть pic.twitter.com/Q6cLEcWdUf

— Farida Rustamova (@faridaily_) March 14, 2022

“Unfortunately in recent years I worked on Channel One, making Kremlin propaganda and I am now very ashamed of this,” she said.

“I’m ashamed that I allowed lies to be spoken from the TV screen. I’m ashamed I allowed Russian people to be zombified,” she added.

“We were silent in 2014 when this was all just beginning,” she said, apparently referring to Moscow’s takeover of Crimea and support for Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists.

“We didn’t go to protests when the Kremlin poisoned (Alexei) Navalny. We just silently observed this anti-human regime. And now the whole world has turned away from us.”

The incident is a highly unusual breach of security at the tightly-controlled state broadcaster.

Its flagship 9pm news show called Time has run since the Soviet era and is watched by millions around the country, particularly by older Russians.

In a statement carried by state news agency TASS, Channel One said that “an incident took place with an extraneous woman in shot. An internal check is being carried out.”

TASS cited a law enforcement source as saying the woman has been detained and could be charged under legislation banning public acts that aim to “discredit the use of Russia’s armed forces”.

Four people have been arrested after trying to breach a cordon outside a Russian oligarch’s London mansion which has been occupied by squatters.

They were stopped by police near the property belonging to Oleg Deripaska in Belgrave Square, west London, at around 6:30pm.

PA PA

The Metropolitan Police said: “Four people, inc the two detained earlier, have been arrested after attempting to gain access to the row of buildings where a protest remains ongoing in Belgrave Square, W1.

“Officers remain on scene engaging with four people who remain on the balcony of a building there.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has extended martial law in Ukraine for another 30 days.

Zelenskyy extends martial law in #Ukraine for another 30 days pic.twitter.com/x4781hdVJ2

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 14, 2022

The United Nation’s top court said it will give a judgment on Wednesday on Ukraine’s charge that Russia falsely justified its invasion by accusations of genocide.

Kyiv filed the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, demanding that the tribunal order an end to the offensive.

It accuses Russia of illegally trying to justify its war under an international convention by falsely alleging that Ukraine committed genocide in regions held by pro-Russian separatists.

Russia declined to turn up to a hearing at the UN court on 7 March.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has released its latest intelligence update.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 14 March 2022

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/wg3FhtrkiY

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/cJikRzwVpQ

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 14, 2022

Here are the main developments as we finish our liveblog coverage tonight.

• An evacuation convoy of approximately 160 cars managed to leave Mariupol.
• Diplomats will resume talks tomorrow after a “technical pause” in negotiations this afternoon.
• A senior US official said the United States has “deep concerns” about “alignment” between Russia and China.
• An air strike on a residential building in Kyiv killed one person and injured 12 others.
• Nine people were killed in an air strike in the city of Rivne.
• The EU imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Russia. 
• Ireland is sending 5,000 ready-to-eat meals and 200 units of body armour to Ukraine.
• A Russian TV station employee interrupted an evening news broadcast with an anti-war protest.