LAST UPDATE | 30 Mar 2022
TODAY’S MAIN DEVELOPMENTS:
Good morning all, Lauren Boland here. It’s Wednesday, and the 35th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Let’s take a look at what’s happening so far today:
In Frankfurt, Germany, a teddy lies in memory of the children killed in Ukraine in front of the Russian consulate, where daily vigils have taken place.
Ukraine is waiting for signs today that Russia is following through on its declaration that it would “radically” reduce military activity around Kyiv.
After ceasefire talks that the two sides described as “meaningful” and “positive”, Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin said there was progress on “the neutrality and non-nuclear status” of Ukraine.
He said Russia would “radically, by several times reduce the military activity” around Kyiv in the north of the country.
However, the Pentagon insists that the “vast majority” of Russian forces around Kyiv have remained in place, while air raid sirens continued to sound several times overnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there were “positive” signs from the Istanbul talks but that Ukraine would not be letting down its defences.
“Yes, we can call those signals that we hear at the negotiations positive. But those signals don’t silence the explosions of Russian shells,” Zelenskyy said.
Ireland is among several European countries that decided to expel selected Russian diplomats yesterday, with four being told to leave Ireland.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland this morning, Junior Minister Ossian Smyth said the diplomats were selected “because their activities were not in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behavior”.
“Their activities in Ireland were consistent with the diplomatic mission,” Smyth said.
He declined to say whether or not the diplomats were found to be spying.
“It’s the long policy of the government not to go into details on national security matters,” he said.
“We’re one of eight countries that are expelling diplomats at the moment.
“The [Russian] ambassador was summoned yesterday to Ivy House by the Department of Foreign Affairs and it was explained to him that these four people were no longer welcome in the country and would have to leave at the soonest opportunity.
“I think it is absolutely important and necessary that that happened.”
Despite Russia’s claims of scaling down military activity in the area, its forces bombarded the city Chernihiv in northern Ukraine overnight.
On social media, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus said: “The enemy has demonstrated its ‘decrease in activity’ in the Chernigiv region with strikes on Nizhyn, including air strikes.”
He said Chernihiv was “shelled all night”.
Later, speaking on local television, Chaus said that “the situation is not changing” since Russia announced it would ease off and said that the bombardment of Chernihiv destroyed civil infrastructure.
Around 350 people have died in the city since the start of Russia’s invasion, while only 120,000 people of 280,000 are still living in the area, where communications, water, and electricity are down.
More than four million people have fled Ukraine to escape the war, according to the latest tally by the United Nations.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says 4,019,287 people have left the country since 24 February.
Around half – 2.3 million – have gone west into Poland.
Amnesty International has condemned Russia’s “witch hunt” to prosecute anti-war protestors and critics of the Russian state.
A law introduced in recent weeks makes sharing “false” information about the invasion – which Russia will only call a “military operation” – punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
In a statement this morning, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The persecution of those opposed to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine goes far beyond previous efforts to stifle protesters and activists.”
She said: “Those caught criticising the war face an absurd number of arbitrary charges merely for speaking out.”
“They are not only charged with ‘discrediting’ the armed forces, but also with slander, fraud or accusations of ‘terrorism’.”
Filippo Grandi of the UNHCR has arrived in Ukraine on a visit to discuss supports for people displaced by the war.
“Refugees from Ukraine are now 4 million, five weeks after the start of the Russian attack,” Grandi wrote on Twitter this morning.
“I have just arrived in Ukraine. In Lviv I will discuss with the authorities, the UN and other partners ways to increase our support to people affected and displaced by this senseless war,” he said.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has suggested that Ireland may need 35,000 new homes to permanently house Ukrainian refugees while speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.
“It is more than likely that many of our Ukrainian friends that are here are going to stay for a sustained period of time. So we are going to have to look at providing permanent housing solutions,” he said.
“The additional requirements could very well be another 35,000 homes.”
That’s it from me for the morning. My colleague Michelle Hennessy is here to take you through the next developments.
Michelle Hennessy here with more from Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.
He also spoke to RTÉ’s Claire Byrne about some of the more temporary accommodation solutions that are being put in place.
Yesterday it was confirmed that the Irish Defence Forces are building a large tent village for Ukrainian refugees in Gormanstown Camp in Meath.
The camp, which will have electricity and running water, will only be used as a last resort when hotels and other facilities have run out of space.
This morning O’Brien also said some temporary accommodation may be provided through modular housing, but this will not be the main solution to the crisis.
O’Brien said that’s believed that there would be some temporary accommodation provided through modular housing but that they will not be the main solution to the crisis.
“There is an impression abroad sometimes that modular homes will be the solution to everything and they’re there to have a role in it, but they’re not.
“Will there be a requirement for some temporary type accommodation through modular homes? I think so.”
The Kremlin has played down hopes of a breakthrough following peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul yesterday.
“We cannot state that there was anything too promising or any breakthroughs,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“There is a lot of work to be done,” Peskov said.
He added that Moscow considered it “positive” that Kyiv had started outlining its demands in writing.
“We carefully avoid making statements on the matters” that are discussed at the talks because “we believe that negotiations should take place in silence”, he added.
Ukrainian ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova has claimed that Russian forces struck a Red Cross facility in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where officials have warned of an unfolding humanitarian disaster.
“In Mariupol, the occupiers aimed at the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Denisova said in a statement on social media, adding the building was targeted by aircraft and artillery.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that as of today, Russia has lost around 17,300 troops since the invasion began.
In an update on Russian losses, it added that 605 tanks, 131 helicopters and 1,723 armoured personnel carriers have been destroyed.
Information on Russian invasion
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) March 30, 2022
Losses of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, March 30 pic.twitter.com/HnyLWy8Hz6
The death toll from a Russian strike on a regional government building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has risen from seven to 15.
In a social media post, the State Emergency Service said rescuers have recovered 14 bodies from beneath the rubble of the building. One person died in hospital.
Rescue operations are continuing at the site, the State Emergency Service added.
⚡️ Death toll of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration bombing increases to 15.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 30, 2022
A Russian missile destroyed the building in the early hours of March 29.
Kremlin says Russia will gradually transfer gas payments to rubles
The Kremlin has said Russia will not immediately require its natural gas buyers to pay in rubles after Moscow said it will now only accept payments in its national currency.
“Payments and deliveries are a time-consuming process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow will now only accept rubles as payment for natural gas deliveries to “unfriendly” countries, which include the European Union.
On Thursday, the Russian government, its central bank and energy giant Gazprom are expected to present Putin with a system that will allow gas payment to be conducted in rubles.
“It’s not like… what will be delivered tomorrow, must be paid for by the evening,” Peskov said.
Asking about the possibility of transferring to ruble payments for other Russian exports, Peskov said this was “an idea that certainly needs to be explored”.
“This is an area in which our government is also working,” Peskov added.
Western countries have piled crippling sanctions on Moscow since it moved troops into Ukraine, with the United States banning the import of Russian oil and gas among other measures.
However, the European Union – which received around 40% of its gas supplies from Russia in 2021 – has retained deliveries from Moscow.
The Joint Committee on European Union Affairs has heard that Russia would have “no justification” for ordering Irish diplomats to leave Moscow in retaliation for the expulsion of officials from its embassy in Dublin.
The Committee met today for an update on the EU’s response to the war in Ukraine after four “senior officials” from the Russian Embassy were ordered to leave Ireland, with the government saying their actions have been against diplomatic standards.
Minister of State for European Union Affairs Thomas Byrne told the committee that the Government had “no option” but to expel the four Russian officials because assessments found they were not doing diplomatic work and were engaged in “other work”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Norway, the second-biggest supplier of gas to Europe behind Russia, to deliver more energy to his country and the European Union.
“You can make a decisive contribution to the energy security of Europe by providing the necessary resources, both for the countries of the European Union and for Ukraine,” he said in a video address to the Norwegian parliament, adding that Russian vessels should be blocked from the world’s ports.
He also said that Russia wants “to destroy the foundation of Europe”, adding that “the future of Europe is being decided now”.
Speaking generally of Russia’s military activities in Ukraine, he added that “for the Russians, there are no prohibited targets”.
His speech was the latest of a string of addresses to legislators in several countries, including the US, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Israel, Japan and the European Union.
He is due to address the Dáil and the Seanad on 6 April.
A spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed to © AFP 2022 that a building belonging to the organisation in Mariupol has been hit by Russian strikes.
“We do not have a team on the ground so we have no other information, including on potential casualties or damage,” the spokeswoman said, adding that all aid stored there had been distributed.
Russian forces have encircled the strategic southern city and their steady indiscriminate shelling has killed at least 5,000 people, officials say, estimating total deaths could be as many as 10,000.
Aid groups have called regularly for access to Mariupol, where the conditions are described as hellish, and Ukrainian officials have accused Russian troops of forcibly deporting residents to Russia.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has visited a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on his first trip to the country since Russia’s invasion raised fears of a nuclear accident.
Rafael Grossi has repeatedly warned of the dangers of the conflict – the first in a country with a vast nuclear estate.
Russian forces seized control of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant site – where radioactive waste is still stored – on 24 February, the first day of the invasion.
They also captured Europe’s largest nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhia on 4 March, sparking alarm when shelling caused a fire at a training facility.
“I’m at South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant to meet Ukrainian government officials and staff, and start IAEA technical assistance for safety and security of country’s nuclear facilities,” Grossi wrote on Twitter.
I'm at South #Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant to meet Ukrainian gov't officials and staff, and start @IAEAorg technical assistance for safety and security of country’s nuclear facilities. Vital to be on the ground to provide effective support to 🇺🇦 in these extremely difficult times. pic.twitter.com/LqcR23SXgK
— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) March 30, 2022
“Vital to be on the ground to provide effective support to in these extremely difficult times.”
Grossi also thanked the staff of the facility, also called the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear plant, for “their endurance and resilience”.
“I want to say that we are here with you, that we are ready to support you in whatever way and form we can,” he said in a video message also posted on Twitter.
The director of the Ukrainian energy firm Energoatom said Wednesday that Russian actions were jeopardising safety.
“Due to these actions by the invaders, IAEA norms are being violated on a daily basis” at Yuzhnoukrainsk and Chernobyl and the situation is “getting worse”, Energoatom director Petro Kotin said in the statement.
“As long as these installations are under the control of Russian invaders the entire world is in danger,” he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that “the Russian occupiers have created an enormous ammunition depot in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl.”
She warned it could explode at any moment and cause a “colossal environmental catastrophe”.
She called on the UN Security Council to send a special UN mission to remove military forces for the 30-kilometre zone around the nuclear power plant.
Grossi began his Ukraine visit today to meet government officials, as well as send experts and equipment to the country “to help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident”.
The IAEA has not said how long its chief will stay in Ukraine.
Ukraine has 15 reactors at four active nuclear power plants, as well as stores of nuclear waste, including at Chernobyl – the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
Grossi met Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in Turkey earlier this month to discuss nuclear safety but no agreement has been reached yet.
New satellite imagery has revealed the scale of damage to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol amid Russia’s invasion of the country.
The imagery, captured on Tuesday by Maxar Technologies, a geospatial intelligence company based in the US state of Colorado, includes a before and after comparison showing buildings damaged and destroyed, with debris and wreckage strewn across roads.
Another image shows the roof of Mariupol’s theatre having fallen through.
Ukrainian authorities have said approximately 300 people were killed in a 16 March Russian attack on the theatre while it was being used as a shelter.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has spoken to Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba ahead of the virtual EU-China summit.
In a tweet, Borrell said he “reconfirmed the EU’s continuous support to Ukraine and its people” to Kuleba.
Kuleba said that the EU’s fifth package of sanctions against Russia “must come as soon as possible and be as tough as possible”.
Discussed with FM @DmytroKuleba the situation in #Ukraine.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) March 30, 2022
I reconfirmed the EU’s continuous support to Ukraine & its people. We will maintain the pressure to stop Russia’s armed aggression and obtain withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Ukraine. #StandWithUkraine
Spoke with @JosepBorrellF on preparations for the EU-China Summit and efforts to put an end to Russian aggression. As long as barbaric Russian war crimes continue, we need to elevate sanctions pressure. The 5th EU package must come as soon as possible and be as tough as possible.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 30, 2022
Where is this conflict now after weeks of a brutal invasion that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people and the displacement of four million refugees in Ukraine?
The Journal‘s resident security analyst, Tom Clonan has written this insightful piece in which he says the Russian invasion of Ukraine has reached a turning point.
At least 200 killed in Irpin since start of Ukraine war
The mayor of Irpin has said that at least 200 people have been killed in the Kyiv suburb since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Oleksandr Markushyn said that more than half of the city had been destroyed and it was not safe for residents to return.
“I think about 200 to 300 people have died, unfortunately,” Markushyn told reporters.
“Fifty percent of the city is destroyed, including critical infrastructure,” he said, adding that while Irpin was “100 percent” under Ukrainian control, it was “still dangerous” and still being shelled by Russia.
Boris Johnson said the UK was “certainly looking at going up a gear in our support for the Ukrainians as they defend themselves”.
Asked what would need to happen for sanctions to be lifted against Russia, the British Prime Minister told the Commons Liaison Committee that a ceasefire would not be enough and that “goes straight into (Vladimir) Putin’s playbook”.
“In my view, we should continue to intensify sanctions with a rolling programme until every single one of his troops is out of Ukraine,” he said.
Asked if that included Crimea, he added: “As I said, every single one of these troops is out of Ukraine.”
Johnson was asked if this would include Georgia, which has been occupied since 2008.
He said: “I think that we need to to have a total rethink about all the support that we offer countries such as Georgia and Ukraine.” He said rather than offering them full Nato membership, the West should instead change the “security architecture” by arming those countries so heavily that Russia would not invade.
Johnson said western countries should be engaging in negotiations with Putin, but only if that is what Ukraine wants.
Asked whether French President Emmanuel Macron had been speaking to the Russia leader for “too long”, he said that “Putin is plainly not to be trusted”.
I think the most important thing and here I think Emmanuel and I would be in total agreement, the most important thing is that whatever happens should be what the Ukrainians want, and it’s for them to decide what their future should be.
That is what is at stake here. It’s not for any of us, you know, whatever we may think to try to create a future for them, it’s for them to decide their future.
Johnson also said he understood why US President Joe Biden had said Putin should be removed from the Kremlin but that was “not the objective of the UK Government”.
He told MPs that “to desire a change of government in itself is not an ignoble thing” as he joked that some MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee would “like a change in this government”.
But he said: “It’s not the objective of the UK Government and it’s very, very important everybody gets this, we are simply setting out to help to protect the people of Ukraine and to protect them against absolutely barbaric and unreasonable violence.”
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has said that over 14,000 PPS numbers have been issued to Ukrainian citizens who have arrived in Ireland after fleeing Ukraine.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Humphreys said that of those who have received PPS numbers, just under 10,000 are women and young girls and 4,000 are men and young boys.
She said that Supplementary Welfare Allowance is being paid in respect of over 9,000 people, while Child Benefit is also being paid in respect of almost 4,000 children.
Humphreys said that her Department will arrange to provide the most appropriate social welfare payment once people have settled in, “which – depending on the individual circumstances, could include the One Parent Family Payment, disability allowance or jobseekers payments”.
She added that interpretation services are being provided where required to assist Ukrainian citizens access the department’s services and application forms and information on supports are available in both Ukrainian and Russian.
A dedicated webpage has also been published on the department’s website to ensure that people arriving from Ukraine are aware of the supports and services available to them. The page has been translated into both Ukrainian and Russian.
“Along with colleagues from other Departments, officials from my Department are responding in a sensitive and caring way and we are doing all we can to ensure that those who need our help will receive it as quickly as possible,” Humphreys said.
A Cabinet meeting held yesterday heard that as of Monday night, 14,611 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland.
Two thirds are female and one third are male. Of the overall figure, one third are children.
To date, the Government said 22 unaccompanied minors have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine. Around 600 people are arriving each day from Ukraine.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has said that Russia’s widespread and indiscriminate attacks in populated areas of Ukraine are of “immense concern”, warning that they could amount to “war crimes”.
Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Bachelet said that the entire population of Ukraine had been “enduring a living nightmare” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion five weeks ago.
“The lives of millions of people are in upheaval as they are forced to flee their homes or hide in basements and bomb shelters as their cities are pummelled and destroyed,” she said.
Bachelet called on Moscow to heed strong international appeals “and immediately act to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory.”
She said missiles, heavy artillery shells and rockets and airstrikes were causing “massive destruction and damage to civilian objects.”
In addition, she said her office had received “credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times”.
The office was likewise probing allegations that Ukrainian forces had also used such weapons, she said.
“Homes and administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, water stations and electricity systems have not been spared,” Bachelet said.
The UN rights office, she said, had verified 77 incidents in which medical facilities were damaged, including 50 hospitals.
Ten of the facilities were completely destroyed, she said, stressing that the actual numbers are “likely to be considerably higher.”
“Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,” Bachelet warned.
The UN typically does not categorically state that war crimes are being committed, since this can only be determined in a court of law.
But Bachelet stressed that “the massive destruction of civilian objects and the high number of civilian casualties strongly indicate that the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution have not been sufficiently adhered to.”
The UN rights chief said her office had verified recorded 1,189 civilian deaths in Ukraine, including 98 children since 24 February, but she warned that the true toll was surely far higher.
US intelligence: Putin advisers ‘afraid to tell him the truth’ on Ukraine
US intelligence officials have determined that Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about Russian forces’ performance in Ukraine, according to an official.
The source said recently declassified intelligence suggests the president has felt misled by the Russian military and there is now persistent tension between him and his senior defence officials.
The US official did not detail underlying evidence for how intelligence officers made the determination.
The intelligence community concluded that Putin was unaware that his military had been using and losing conscripts in Ukraine.
They also determined that he is not fully aware of the extent to which the Russian economy is being damaged by economic sanctions imposed by the West.
The findings demonstrate a “clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information” to Putin, and show that his senior advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth”, the official said.
The new intelligence comes after the White House on Tuesday expressed scepticism about Moscow’s public announcement that it would dial back operations near Kyiv in an effort to increase trust in talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey.
Slovakia expels 35 Russian diplomats
Slovakia, a member of the European Union, has said it will expel 35 Russian diplomats based on information provided by intelligence services.
The country will “reduce the staff of the Russian embassy in Bratislava by 35,” foreign ministry spokesman Juraj Tomaga told © AFP 2022.
“We regret that following the previous expulsions of Russian diplomats in the last couple of years, the Russian diplomatic mission has not shown any interest in operating correctly in Slovakia,” he added.
It comes after four “senior officials” from the Russian Embassy were ordered to leave Ireland, with the government saying their actions were not “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour”.
Belgium and the Netherlands have also expelled Russian diplomats for alleged espionage.
Putin says gas for rubles will not hurt Europe’s contracts
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today that Moscow’s demand that Europe switch to paying for gas in rubles should not mean contracts were on worse terms.
“The decision taken should not lead to worsening of contractual terms for European importer companies of Russian gas,” the Kremlin said in a statement summarising Putin’s comments in a phone conversation with Scholz.
That’s it from me, Jane Moore, for now. My colleague Hayley Halpin will take you through the next while.
Hello, Hayley Halpin here. I’ll be taking you through the next while.
Ukraine has announced the first indictment of a citizen for collaborating with Russian forces, under a new law that could lead to sentences of up to 12 years in prison.
The General Prosecutor’s Office said a resident of the eastern town of Kramatorsk had posted a video on TikTok “in which he denied Russian aggression against Ukraine and publicly called on citizens to support illegal decisions and actions of the aggressor state.”
“This is the first indictment sent to court for collaboration,” prosecutors said in a post on Telegram.
Kyiv adopted the collaboration law in mid-March, just over two weeks into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country.
Under the law, “cooperation” with “enemy” forces could lead to sentences between ten and 12 years in prison.
All persons found guilty of collaborating with Russian forces would also be banned from public office, including local ones, for up to 15 years.
It is the first such law passed by the Ukrainian parliament since he Russian invasion began in late February.
Prosecutors said over 150 investigations into suspected collaboration with Russian forces have been opened since the law came into force.
Ukraine has also introduced a law that punishes the “illegal” publication of images and videos of Ukrainian troop movements, a move that has worried the media.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin has warned there will be costs associated with the Ukrainian refugee crisis in Ireland from 2023.
He said the Government doesn’t anticipate having to borrow this year explaining they hope to allocate a “significant proportion” of a Covid contingency fund to the challenges arising from the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
“But into 2023 there will be costs and therefore the budget towards the latter part of the year will have to reflect that, and that does create challenges for us economically and fiscally, and we’ll approach all of this in the context of the forthcoming budget and we’ll work also with our European colleagues in the European Commission in terms of other collective responses we can bring to bear,” he said.
“But the economic implications of this war are there,” the Taoiseach said.
“They are there to be seen in continuing increases of energy prices, in food security issues, some aspects of agriculture and food are already bearing the brunt of this because of higher input costs, the pig sector in particular. These were very viable enterprises and now are under pressure and we have responded sectorally to some of these areas and we will continue to do that.
“Over the next while, we will be targeting those most in need and those on lower incomes.”
US President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed “additional capabilities” to help the Ukrainian military, during a telephone call today, the White House said in a statement.
“The leaders discussed … continued efforts by the United States with allies and partners to identify additional capabilities to help the Ukrainian military defend its country,” the statement said.
Speaking of the four “senior officials” that are to be expelled from Ireland’s Russian Embassy, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
“We did have a security briefing in relation to these four individuals, but also on the general situation pertaining to activities and so forth.
“We don’t divulge security information of that kind.
“I take very seriously the presentations received from the Garda Commissioner, the Chief of Staff.
“We’re very clear that the reasons were well founded for doing this under the Vienna Convention and on the basis that the activities of these individuals was not in accordance with international standards of diplomacy.
“I think people can read various things from that.”
That’s all from us with the liveblog this evening. We’ll bring you any other major developments on Ukraine elsewhere on the site.
Contains additional reporting by AFP and Press Association
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