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[DaffyVina]

8:17 30 Mar
Russian forces target residential area in Lysychansk - Luhansk officials
A residential building that has been damaged by shelling by Russian forces in the Luhansk town of Lysychansk
Copyright: Luhansk OVA

Russian forces in eastern Ukraine are reported to have shelled residential areas of the Luhansk city of Lysychansk, according to Interfax Ukraine news agency.

Luhansk's regional military head, Serhiy Haidai, wrote on his Telegram channel that the shelling began at around 6:30am local time.

Haidai says “High-rise buildings have been significantly destroyed” and “casualties are reported”.

“Information on the number of dead and wounded is being specified. There is a lot of rubble”.


8:47 30 Mar
No let up in Russian attacks in Chernihiv region, says governor
The governor of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region said he saw no let-up in Russian attacks despite a promise by Moscow to scale down military operations there.

Governor Viacheslav Chaus said on his Telegram channel, "Do we believe in it [the promise]? Of course not".

Chaus said Russian forces have been "carrying out strikes on [the city of] Nizhyn, including air strikes, and all night long they hit [the city of] Chernihiv."

The BBC has not been able to confirm this independently.

Yesterday, the Russians announced they would "drastically reduce" military combat operations around Chernihiv, as well as the capital, Kyiv.


9:31 30 Mar
Reducing attacks on Kyiv just 'regrouping', says former Ukraine security adviser

Oleksander Danylyuk, a former Ukraine national security adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, says he does not believe Russia's pledge to reduce military operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

He says the sound of shelling this morning has confirmed his fears.

While there is no escalation and some troops have moved away from Kyiv, "this is just regrouping", he says.

Russia has already refocused its campaign on Ukraine's eastern regions after suffering a series of setbacks to the north of the capital.

Danylyuk believes Russia will put all its efforts into taking Donetsk and Luhansk, in the east, as Vladimir Putin needs to show a victory.

But he says Russia is "not going to ease their grab" on Kyiv and Chernihiv – "this is just words".

He says Russia has proposed de-escalation for the areas but says this is where Ukrainian troops were already advancing an retaking territories.

"So now if we just continue freeing towns near Kyiv, Russia will accuse us of working against de-escalation," he says.

"As always there are military and diplomatic KGB games all combined, this is just one game," he adds.


10:04 30 Mar
Negotiations have moved forward - Zelensky adviser
Negotiations between Russian and Ukraine have "definitely moved forward", according to Ihor Zhovkva, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.

He said the talks in Istanbul were the first time that, instead of giving ultimatums and their red lines, the Russian side listened to the Ukrainian position.

But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Ukraine would not trade "any single inch" of territory, when asked about the eastern regions.

He also said Russia had not withdrawn troops from either Kyiv or Chernihiv despite Russia saying it would scale down its operations in those areas.

[DaffyVina]

10:16 30 Mar
Four million flee Ukraine to escape war - UN
More than four million people have now fled Ukraine to escape Russia's invasion, according to the latest United Nations figures.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, says 4,019,287 Ukrainians had fled across the country's borders since the invasion began on 24 February.

More than 2.3 million Ukrainians are now in Poland.


10:31 30 Mar
The Ukrainian woman shot by Russian soldiers on the front line

Wyre Davies - BBC News, Zaporizhzhia
Photo: Natalia Mykolaivna
Copyright: BBC

Natalia suffered life-changing injuries after being shot multiple timesImage caption: Natalia suffered life-changing injuries after being shot multiple times
Russia says it doesn't target civilians - the buildings in which they live and work, or the people themselves.

Lying in a hospital bed in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Natalia Mykolaivna makes a mockery of that Russian denial.

What happened to 45-year-old Natalia was deliberate, targeted and without justification. It's a miracle she's still alive.

Clutching the comforting hand of her son, Nikolai, she told me what happened in her hometown of Polohy on the day advancing Russian troops arrived.

"I came out of my house, I was worried about my own mother, so I went to see her," said Natalia, who explained how she was allowed to pass through a Russian army checkpoint.

"I then walked towards my mother's house, raised my hands in the air - saying I'd already been told I could pass - but the soldier fired a burst from his machine gun, hitting me in the legs, everywhere from the waist down."

Natalia was evacuated by neighbours and her family to the hospital in nearby Zaporizhzhia and has since been told by doctors that she survived death "by a millimetre".


11:02 30 Mar
Satellite photos show scale of devastation in Mariupol

Buildings in Mariupol -Copyright: Maxar

New satellite photos released by the observation company Maxar have shown the scale of the destruction in the besieged south-eastern city of Mariupol.

The photos show residential buildings levelled by Russian shelling, while others show artillery cannons in firing positions on the outskirts of the city.

The city's mayor has told the Reuters news agency that it is thought almost 5,000 people, including about 210 children, have been killed in the city since Russia laid siege to it.

President Vladimir Putin reportedly told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that Russian shelling of the city will not end until Ukrainian forces lay down their arms.

Towed artillery outside Mariupol - Copyright: Maxar

Mariupol after bombing -Copyright: Maxar
Image caption: Residential areas hit by Russian shelling

Mariupol before the war - Copyright: Maxar

[DaffyVina]

11:14 30 Mar
Diplomacy, strategy, combat... what's the overall picture in Ukraine?

The big picture
It's been nearly five weeks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Following negotiations yesterday Russia announced it was going to drastically reduce military combat operations in the areas around the capital Kyiv and northern city of Chernihiv.
But this was met with scepticism by the Ukrainians as well as the US and UK, who said it should be treated with caution.

Military assessment
The UK's military intelligence says Russia is focusing on eastern regions because of its military struggles, with some units which have suffered heavy losses returning to Russia and Belarus (to Ukraine's north) to resupply and re-organise.

The Institute for the Study of War says Russian forces have given up on seizing Kyiv but that they continue to fight to hold their current position near the city. Russia is also directing some reserves in an effort to gain ground that will link Kharkiv with its front line in Luhansk. And it says Mariupol is likely to fall within days.

On the ground
The Ukrainian governor in Donetsk says there has been Russian shelling along all the cities and towns on the front line that separates the two sides. Shelling is also reported in the Luhansk region.

Despite Russia's pledge yesterday, Chernihiv regional governor VIacheslav Chaus claims Russian forces carried out strikes on the city "all night long" while the sound of artillery could be heard on the edge of Kyiv city centre.

What next?

Russia says it wants to focus on "liberating" the eastern Donbas region (home to Donetsk and Luhansk) and it appears this is where its forces will now focus.
Russian troops are likely to want to create a land corridor along the south coast, linking Crimea with the Russian border. Mariupol, which sits along that route, is strategically important, which is why Russia has been bombing it so heavily, killing large numbers of civilians and creating a humanitarian crisis.


11:36 30 Mar
BREAKING
Peace talks did not offer any breakthroughs - Russia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been briefing the media on the talks held with Ukraine in Turkey yesterday, and played down any hopes of a breakthrough.

Yesterday, Russia said it intended to scale back its military activity in Kyiv and Chernihiv, and Ukraine said it would consider becoming a "neutral" state.

"What is positive is that the Ukrainian side has at least started to specifically formulating and putting on paper what it is proposing. Until now we had not managed to achieve that," Peskov said.

"As regards the rest, we cannot, put it this way, at present state there have been any breakthroughs, anything very promising," he said, in remarks reported by the Interfax news agency.

11:52 30 Mar
Crimea is part of Russia and not for discussion - Kremlin
We have more from the Kremlin on the state of negotiations with Ukraine.

Moscow spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia is careful to comment on the talks as "we believe that negotiations should take place in silence" but says the chief Russian negotiator will speak later.

He adds that Crimea, the region annexed by Russia in 2014, is "part of Russia" and the Russian constitution precluded discussing the fate of any Russian region with anyone else.

[DaffyVina]

12:10 30 Mar
'This night was rough' - attacks continue in Chernihiv
Hugo Bachega - BBC News, Lviv

The governor of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region has told the BBC that Russia has continued to attack the regional capital on Wednesday morning, despite Moscow's promise of a drastic reduction in military activity in the area, as well as around Kyiv.

"Right now, as we speak, I can hear which I think are mortar shells," Viancheslav Chaus said from Chernihiv. He said Chernihiv and the town of Nizhyn were attacked during the night and that civilian buildings were destroyed.

"We don't believe [the Russians] because we've already seen that there isn't a single time when their military forces keep their word," he said.

The BBC has not been able to verify the claims independently, although residents described hearing attacks during the night and also on Wednesday.

One said: "This night was rough. We heard there was fighting all night in the suburbs, away from the city centre. We heard artillery. But there was no aviation tonight."

Another said: "It was impossible to sleep in the house, only in bunkers... There was no aviation yesterday [Tuesday], only artillery attacks. I can hear shelling at the moment [Wednesday morning]. It's still loud but not as intense as during the night."


12:37 30 Mar
Shelling will only end when Mariupol surrenders - Putin
Destroyed and damaged buildings in Mariupol
Copyright: Getty Images

A little earlier we shared satellite pictures of the devastation of the key southern port city of Mariupol, which has been under heavy shelling for weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his French counterpart the shelling of the besieged city will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender, the Kremlin said in a statement.

But French officials said the Russian leader had agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from the city.

Officials from France's Elyseé palace called the situation in the city "catastrophic" and added that "civilian populations must be protected and must leave the city if they wish to. They must have access to food aid, water and the medicines they need".

France, along with Turkey, Greece and several humanitarian groups, have presented Putin with a plan to evacuate the city.
Officials said Putin told Emmanuel Macron that he will "think about" the proposal.


12:52 30 Mar
Russian bombardment intensifies in east

Paul Kirby - BBC News Online Europe editor

For the past few days, Russia has stressed it is switching its focus to eastern Ukraine, and UK defence intelligence says that is "likely a tacit admission" that it is struggling to sustain operations in the north.

Seizing land on the south coast is a big aim for President Putin, but so is his bid to "liberate" the east. Russian-backed puppets had already seized control of more than a third of the two eastern areas in 2014.

Russian forces are tightening their grip on the north-eastern region of Luhansk, but they have far less control of Donetsk region and Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation in the east has reputedly some of the best-trained brigades in the army.

But Russian attacks have intensified on towns to the west of the "line of contact" - the front line from the earlier war.

Luhansk authorities say there have been 35 artillery attacks on local towns in 24 hours. Only this morning, blocks of flats and a kindergarten were hit in Lysychansk, says the regional military leader.

Damaged kindergarten in Lysychansk
Copyright: Serhiy Haidai/Luhansk OVA
Image caption: Luhansk regional military leader Serhiy Haidai says a kindergarten was hit in Lysychansk

At least one person was killed in a residential block, he says. Details cannot be independently verified.

Meanwhile, separatist leaders allege at least one person has died in Ukrainian shelling of Russian-held areas of Donetsk.

[DaffyVina]

13:46 30 Mar
Pizza, coffee and the sound of shelling in Kyiv
Oleksiy Sorokin -CCopyright: BBC
Oleksiy Sorokin, political editor of the Kyiv Independent, says people in the Ukrainian capital are trying to get back to normal as much as possible, despite the sounds of fighting just 20-30km north-west of the city.

“Every night we go to sleep and hear Ukrainian air defences and Russian artillery… the city looks like a fortress. Meanwhile some people eat pizza and grab a coffee,” he told the BBC from Kyiv.

“Yesterday I visited my friends who live in the west of Kyiv. You can basically hear every shot fired” he said.

Sorokin said Ukrainians don't trust Russia, but there are signs that they are pulling out of the region. Morale remains very high among Ukrainians, he said.

Asked about Ukraine's peace proposal, he said that many Ukrainians understand that the country wasn’t going to be able to join Nato in the near future.

But he said there is concern about suggestions that the government might be ready to freeze talks about control of the Donbas and Crimea regions. “That’s what many people, especially here in Kyiv, are afraid of,” he said.

Photo: Volunteers cover a monument with sandbags in Kyiv, 28 March


13:59 30 Mar
China ready to take its relationship with Russia to a 'higher level' - state media
Stephen McDonell -BBC News, China correspondent

The foreign ministers of China and Russia have met in China, prior to a meeting of government representatives from countries which border Afghanistan.

According to China’s state media, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that relations between the two countries have withstood new tests presented by a changing international situation.

Wang said China was ready to take their relationship “into a new era” and “to a higher level”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov briefed his Chinese counterpart on the “special military operation” in Ukraine, as Moscow has repeatedly described its invasion of the country.

Lavrov said the two countries “oppose hegemonism and power politics” and “uphold the principles of the UN”.

He said "Russia is committed to cooling tensions” in Ukraine and “will continue peace talks” as well as “maintaining communication with the international community”.

Wang said China had “always stood on the right side of history”, adding that the Ukraine “issue” had “a complex history” and claimed it was “the result of a long-standing European security conflict”.

Wang also said China supported the efforts being made by Russia, and all parties, to "prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis”.

China has repeatedly refused to criticise Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.


14:39 30 Mar
Russia's position unchanged on Crimea and the east - chief negotiator
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky is speaking following yesterday's talks in Istanbul, at which Russia said it would pull back from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

He says talks with Ukraine are continuing but adds that Russia's position on Crimea and the Donbas region has not changed.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, while parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk - collectively known as the Donbas - are held by Russian-backed separatists.

But Medinsky says Ukraine has stated a willingness to meet Russia's core demands. He says if it sticks to its promises then "the threat of a Nato stronghold" in Ukraine will be removed.


14:55 30 Mar -analysis
Why peace negotiations still have a long way to go
Jenny Hill -BBC News, Moscow

"Peace is closer" proclaimed one pro-Kremlin newspaper this morning.

But even the most loyal publications acknowledge that negotiations still have a long way to go. And there is little evidence to suggest that Moscow is committed to any form of compromise.

It may have announced that it would drastically reduce military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv. But it was also quick to emphasise that this was no ceasefire.

And Moscow’s demands (including that Kyiv cede control of territory to Russia) haven’t changed.

The official language too remains belligerent; shortly after the talks ended yesterday, a foreign ministry spokeswoman gave a televised address in which she returned to a familiar Kremlin narrative, insisting that Ukraine must be ‘de-Nazified.’

And we still don’t know for sure what Vladimir Putin really wants and how far he’s prepared to go to achieve it.

He has consistently cast Ukraine, Nato and the West as enemies of Russia. His country may be sanctioned, his invasion may not have gone to plan but he remains defiant, determined to tell Russians that his "special military operation" has delivered victory.


15:15 30 Mar
Russia claims to have recruited 16,000 Middle East fighters
Russian Defence Minister Shoigu visits Russia"s Hmeimim airbase in Syria, February 15, 2022.
Copyright: Reuters

Earlier we brought you news that Syrian soldiers were being offered up to £5,000 a month to fight on the front line for Russia in Ukraine - now we have some more on that story from BBC News Arabic's Emir Nader.

Russia says it has signed up around 16,000 recruits from the Middle East, with social media in Syria flooded with requests for people to join Russian troops.

One recruiter told the BBC: "The recruitment to Ukraine is exactly like how we recruited to Libya; there are representatives in the regions.

"You have the right to change your decision after you apply. No one will force you to go."

Syria's economy, already ravaged by civil war, now faces a spike in the price of essentials like wheat, much of which comes from Ukraine and Russia - making the Russian offer look all the more tempting.

Russia has supported the Syrian regime during the country's civil war and Russian state news claims Syrian soldiers want to return the favour.


15:44 30 Mar
Up to 300 killed in Irpin before Ukrainian forces seized back control - mayor

A view of a destroyed military vehicle in Irpin, Ukraine, 29 March 2022
Copyright: Reuters

Up to 300 people are estimated to have been killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpin near Kyiv before it was taken back from Russian forces this week, the Reuters news agency reports quoting the town's mayor.

Oleksandr Markushyn said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had seized back full control of the town which has been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.

Markushyn told a briefing on Wednesday that about 50 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in Irpin, with some bodies still trapped under rubble.

He also says there had been Russian shelling in the area all night, despite Russia saying it would "drastically reduce" military combat operations around the capital Kyiv and in the northern city of Chernihiv.

As we reported earlier, our correspondents heard explosions from the outskirts of the city this morning.

[DaffyVina]

16:02 30 Mar
'Russian military knew they were shooting civilians'

A US-Ukrainian woman who's working to help displaced people in western Ukraine has described the dangerous journey many of those she's been speaking to have endured.

Christina Katrakis, who spoke to the BBC from Vorokhta in western Ukraine, relays the account of one family, who say Russian soldiers shot at their vehicles while they were leaving their village near Chernobyl in northern Ukraine. She says the cars had white flags and signs saying they were carrying children.

The BBC can't independently verify the allegations.

Video content
Video caption: WATCH: 'Russian military knew they were shooting civilians'
Lady speaking with American-English/ Ukrainian accent and a family of refugees seen in the background.

"They were travelling in 20 cars, then Russian troops start shooting at the cars, knowing that peaceful civilians are in the cars, because they had white flags and the cars had writing, "children."
The infantry fighting vehicles were crushing the cars from behind, they were just going on top of the cars and shooting inside of the cars, and then driving by and finishing people off.
These infantry fighting vehicles that were going after them and crushing them, they knew that they were facing peaceful civilians, because the soldiers were sitting waist up, so they were not even scared, they knew they were shooting at the civilians.
We have 5000 displaced people here alone in Vorokhta base. And we are seeing these stories from Mariupol, from Kyiv, from Kharkin, every day. "

[DaffyVina]

16:30 30 Mar
Russian attacks in populated areas could amount to war crimes - UN rights chief
Michelle Bachelet - Copyright: EPA

Russia's attacks in populated areas of Ukraine are of "immense concern" and could amount to war crimes, the UN human rights chief has said.

Presenting her latest report on the situation in Ukraine, Michelle Bachelet expressed concern over the "persistent use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas".

She said missiles, heavy artillery shells and rockets and airstrikes were causing "massive destruction and damage to civilian objects".

Bachelet said her office had received "credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times".

Her office is also investigating allegations that Ukrainian forces have used these weapons as well, she 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, adding 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 said "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".


16:41 30 Mar
More than 1,000 civilians deaths recorded in Ukraine - UN human rights chief
More now from the UN's human rights chief's update on the situation in Ukraine.

Michelle Bachelet said her office had verified 1,189 civilian deaths in Ukraine, including 98 children, since the invasion began on 24 February.

However, the true toll is likely to be far higher, she warned, explaining that it was difficult to confirm casualties in the areas most affected by the war, such as Mariupol.

Bachelet said: "Civilians are enduring immeasurable suffering, and the humanitarian crisis is critical."

There has been a "significant increase" in the mortality rate among civilians in besieged cities, she said.

This could be attributed to disrupted medical care coupled with conflict-related deprivation and stress, she added.


17:03 30 Mar
Where have refugees from Ukraine fled to?

As we reported earlier, some 4,019,000 people have now fled Ukraine since the start of the war on 24 February, according to the latest figures from the UN refugee agency.

More than six million people are displaced within Ukraine, meaning that in total at least a quarter of the population have abandoned their homes because of the war.

It's the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.

As of 29 March:

Poland had taken in 2,336,799 refugees
Romania 608,936
Moldova 387,151
Hungary 364,804
Russia 350,632
Slovakia 281,172
Belarus 10,902



18:08 30 Mar
WATCH: Refugees sheltering with monks in Romanian monastery
Among the many places offering shelter to Ukrainian refugees is the Sihastria Monastery in northern Romania.

One of those who has taken refuge is Iryna who travelled from Kharkiv with her best friend and their children - spending three days in her old van. This is her story.

Video


18:30 30 Mar
Refugee situation very fluid - UNHCR

UNHCR commissioner Filippo Grandi meets refugees in Lviv, Ukraine
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Filippo Grandi (right) met displaced people in Lviv

As we've been reporting, the number of people who have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded has now topped four million.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has been visiting a centre where refugees are staying in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

He said numbers crossing the border into Poland have dropped and the situation is "not like before".

“Now, it is a very fluid situation," he said. "Some people maybe come to see their relatives, some people go to other countries, some people stay in Poland... I think everybody is watching how the war is going.”

He urged donors to be flexible about where their money could be spent, given changing needs within Ukraine and in countries like Poland.

"We need to be ready for any movement in this very difficult situation," he said.


19:51 30 Mar
Two million children have fled war in Ukraine - Unicef
As we've been reporting, more than four million people in Ukraine have fled the country since the war began, the United Nations has said today.

Now the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has said two million of that number are children.

Combined with another 2.5 million children who have been displaced within the country, it means 60% of children in Ukraine have been forced from their homes, Unicef said.

[DaffyVina]

19:24 30 Mar
Russia to continue to allow gas payments to be made in euros - Germany
Russia will continue to allow European countries to pay for its gas with euros and not rubles as it had previously threatened, the German government has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Scholz that payments from Europe next month "would continue to be in euros and transferred as usual to the Gazprom Bank which is not affected by sanctions", German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.

The bank would then convert the payments into rubles, Hebestreit quoted Putin as saying.

"Scholz did not agree to this procedure in the conversation, but asked for written information to better understand the procedure."

Russia had previously said that "unfriendly" countries would have to pay for its gas in roubles from 31 March.

The German spokesman added that Scholz remained committed to a G7 agreement that energy supplies from Russia would be paid for only in euros or US dollars.

Germany gets about half its gas and a third of its oil from Russia and has warned that it could face a recession if supplies suddenly stopped.


19:30 30 Mar
No breakthrough in talks, says French foreign minister
France sees no sign of a breakthrough in talks between Ukraine and Russia , French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said.

"The war continues, and for now as far as I know there is no breakthrough or anything new," he said in an interview with broadcasters France 24 and RFI.

"There are many statements from the Russian authorities... I will only believe actions," he added.

Earlier today Russia also said there was nothing very promising said or any breakthroughs achieved in talks in Turkey on Tuesday.


20:06 30 Mar
US military in Europe must 'change' after Russia's Ukraine invasion -General Tod Wolters

The US military's top commander in Europe says he believes that the "force posture" of US troops in the region must "change" to reflect a growing threat from Russia.

Gen Tod Wolters, who leads the military's European Command, told a congressional hearing that Russia's "senseless act" - the invasion of Ukraine - provides an opportunity to "re-examine the permanent military architecture that exists" on the continent.

Wolters added that this would involve both on-the-ground troop deployments in Eastern Europe and "air policing", as well as naval forces.

Wolters also said that the US has established two centres - each with about 100 personnel - that are working to funnel military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian liaison officers are present at these centres.



20:26 30 Mar
Pentagon says Russian troops 'repositioning' for future operations in Ukraine

More from the US now, as Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said that Russian troop movements away from Kyiv are a “repositioning” – rather than a withdrawal – to allow them to refocus their efforts on other parts of Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Kirby said that less than 20% of the Russian battalion-size groups deployed near Ukraine’s capital have “started to reposition” to the north, possibly headed towards Belarus.

“We’ve not seen them reposition to their home garrison, and that’s not a small point,” he added. “If the Russians are serious about de-escalating... then they should send them home.”

Kirby added that the Pentagon believes that the forces moving away from Kyiv are likely to be refitted in Belarus before being redeployed for “future operations” in Ukraine.

Most of the forces that have begun moving north, Kirby said, are those near Hostomel Airport near Kyiv, which was the scene of heavy fighting in the opening days of the war in late February.



20:46 30 Mar
Kharkiv mayor urges businesses to resume work
BBC Monitoring - The world through its media

A residential building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv
Copyright: EPA

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, has appealed to local businesses to gradually resume work.

Speaking in a video address posted to his Telegram channel, Ihor Terekhov said: "The city and the country need to restart the economy.

"In recent weeks, the president and the government have significantly simplified the rules for doing business and significantly reduced tax rates. I ask Kharkiv entrepreneurs: Gradually return to work."

The mayor explained that while it might be "impossible" to return to full capacity right away, "it can be done in a reduced way".

According to Terekhov, as of 30 March, as a result of Russian actions, 1,531 civilian infrastructure facilities have been destroyed in the city, including 1,292 residential buildings, 70 schools, 54 kindergartens, 16 hospitals, and 239 administrative buildings.


21:05 30 Mar
Putin feels misled by his military advisers, White House says

The White House says it has intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin feels he has been misled by his military advisers, which has resulted in persistent tension between him and his military leadership.

"We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth," White House director of communications Kate Bedingfield told journalists.

She said it was "increasingly clear" that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had been a "strategic blunder" that would leave it weaker over the long term.

Bedingfield also said the US had "continued to see evidence today of Russia attacking and advancing in places where they had previously said they would not".

Russia said on Tuesday it would reduce military operations around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv in order to focus on the eastern Donbas region, but local officials said attacks continued overnight in Chernihiv.


22:07 30 Mar
Assessment that Putin is being misinformed is disconcerting, Pentagon says
More now from Pentagon spokesman John Kirby's briefing for reporters earlier.

He says the Pentagon agrees with assessments - mentioned earlier by White House director of communications Kate Bedingfield - that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not being fully informed about events in Ukraine.

Kirby said the Pentagon saw this assessment as "disconcerting".

"It's his military. It's his war. He chose it...the fact that he may not fully understand the degree to which his forces are failing in Ukraine, that's a little discomforting," he said.

Kirby also said that an uninformed Putin could result in a "less than faithful" effort at ending the conflict through negotiations.

"If he's not fully informed of how poorly he's doing, then how are his negotiators going to come up with an agreement?" Kirby asked.

Additionally, a senior defence official said that Russian forces are walking away from the Chernobyl nuclear facility, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986. The area was taken by Russia days after they invaded Ukraine on 24 February.



21:19 30 Mar
Russian troops 'very close' to Mariupol city centre - Pentagon
Photo: Donetsk People's Republic troops in Mariupol
Copyright: Getty Images
Pro-Russian separatist troops pictured in Mariupol on 29 MarchImage caption: Pro-Russian separatist troops pictured in Mariupol on 29 March

Russian forces are "very, very close" to the city centre of embattled Mariupol, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

In a briefing for reporters at the Pentagon, Kirby accused Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and hospitals.

"The town is just being shellacked with airstrikes in [the] bombardment," Kirby said.

"The place is just being decimated from a structural perspective by the onslaught of Russian airstrikes."

Kirby also said that at "an appropriate time" the US will review lessons learned from the war and their role in supporting Ukrainian forces.

"[The US will] take a look at what we have learned by watching and seeing how Russia has underperformed and how, quite frankly, amazingly that Ukrainians have performed," he said.

"We all want to learn from things as we see them and we're going to learn from our own behaviors here, our efforts to help Ukraine defend itself."



1:10
Top US diplomat on the 'Achilles' heel' of autocracies

Responding to reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his own generals about progress in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said a failure to speak "truth to power" is an "Achilles' heel" of authoritarian governments.

While Blinken did not comment on the reports directly, he said he believes that a weak point of autocracies is "that you don't have people in those systems who speak truth to power or lack the ability to speak truth to power".

"And I think that is something that we're seeing in Russia," he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House said intelligence suggests that Putin feels he is being misled by military advisers, which has resulted in tension in the Kremlin.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US defence officials find the assessment "disconcerting", as it suggests Putin may not be aware of how his own military is performing on the battlefield and may result in a "less than faithful" effort at ending the fighting through peace talks.

[DaffyVina]

22:18 30 Mar
Bussed to Russia: 'We shouted to tell them to stop'

A Ukrainian refugee from Mariupol has told the BBC that she and others from her area were taken to Russia, despite making it clear they did not want to go.

Speaking anonymously to the BBC's Newshour programme, she described being loaded onto a bus by soldiers who said they would be safe.

Later they learned the troops were Russian and the bus was heading towards Russia, she said.

They were taken in a convoy of about 10 buses, she says, and went through rebel-held territory in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

"We all shouted to tell them to stop there, but they refused to stop there," she added.

Their bus continued to travel to a refugee camp in a sports centre in Russia.

There they were told they would be sent to economically depressed areas in Russia where people were needed for work.

The next day, she says she boarded a train to Tula - about 200km south of Moscow - where passengers were met by police and taken to buses.

"We put our bags on the ground and said 'we're not going anywhere'," she added.

She says she and her companions waited until the buses left then bought train tickets to St Petersburg, and from there travelled by bus to Tallinn in Estonia, where they plan to stay until the fighting stops.

"Russia is being extremely dishonest," she claimed.

"They have double standards. On the one hand they are killing our people and on the other they want to look like they are trying to help us."

The BBC has not been able to independently verify her account, but is aware of other, similar accounts.

A Kremlin spokesman has told the BBC claims that people are being taken to Russia against their will are "a lie".



23:13 30 Mar
GCHQ: Russian troops shot down their own aircraft and mutinied

Russian troops have accidentally shot down their own aircraft and have at times refused to obey orders, according to Britain's cyber-intelligence agency, GCHQ.

In a speech to be delivered at the Australian National University on Thursday, Sir Jeremy Fleming will say it is clear that Vladimir Putin "massively misjudged" the situation in Ukraine, and "over-estimated" the capabilities of Russia's military.

"We’ve seen Russian soldiers – short of weapons and morale - refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft," says the text of the speech on GCHQ's website.

Echoing comments from US and Ukrainian officials this week, Fleming will also say that Putin's advisers "are afraid to tell him the truth".

Even so, Fleming will say that "what's going on and the extent of these misjudgements must be crystal clear to the regime".

The speech also notes that GCHQ believes Russia has made a "sustained" attempt to disrupt Ukraine through cyber-attacks.

"And we've certainly seen indicators which suggest that Russia's cyber actors are looking for targets in countries that oppose their actions," he said.



23:39 30 Mar
Russians tried to hack Nato, says Google
Russian hackers have recently attempted to penetrate the networks of Nato and the ministries of defence of several Eastern European countries, according to a report from Google's Threat Analysis Group.

The report did not say which militaries had been targeted in what Google described as "credential phishing campaigns" launched by a Russian-based group called Coldriver, or Callisto.

The campaigns were conducted using newly created Gmail accounts.

Google says that while the "success rate of these campaigns is unknown", it is not aware of any Gmail accounts being compromised.

US officials have repeatedly warned that Russia and Russian-backed hacker groups pose a threat.

Russia has denied accusations of mounting cyber-attacks on Western targets.

[DaffyVina]

2:35
Neutrality referendum could take at least a year - Ukraine negotiator
David Arakhamia
Copyright: Getty Images
Image caption: Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia in a 2019 photo

It could take at least a year for Ukraine to hold a referendum on its neutrality, according to the head of Ukraine's delegation at peace talks with Russia.

Ukrainian neutrality is a key Russian demand to end the war. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed he is open to that idea, provided that Ukraine receives security guarantees.

In a TV interview, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said that such a decision should ultimately be made by the people of Ukraine - rather than politicians - in a national referendum.

Declaring neutrality, he said, would require three million signatures to be registered.

"This is a big procedure that cannot take place outside of peaceful territory," he said.



2:59
Irpin near Kyiv still under bombardment - mayor

Despite Russian claims to be de-escalating fighting near Kyiv, Irpin's mayor says the town is facing "continuous" and deadly shelling.

Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said that on Wednesday the town had been struck by rockets, mortars and artillery.

"Obviously, it's not safe," he said. "Many people died from their [Russian] mines, from their artillery fire and a lot of people were shot down."

Markushyn also claimed that on two city streets, Russian forces shot women and "then were driving over them on tanks".

The BBC is unable to independently verify Markushyn's claims.

Irpin, which is about a 20-minute drive from Kyiv, has been the scene of intense fighting for weeks.



4:18
Notes from a Kyiv cafe: 'We hope for the best'
Hannah Chornous - BBC News, Kyiv

Woman stands behind counter with glass display filled with pastries in a cafe in Kyiv
Copyright: BBC
Image caption: Cafe worker Maryna had to leave Donetsk in 2014 but says she intends to stay in Kyiv now

The empty streets of Kyiv looked even more deserted on Thursday, on a chilly day with a light drizzle. The reaction to Russia's claims to reduce military activity around the capital was equally dull.

"It does not work this way," Anya told me, sitting in a café on a cobbled street in the city centre. "They should just leave our country."

"We must not give the Russians any concessions. We should stand our ground firmly, till the end," her friend Dasha added. "Otherwise, it will be the same we had here for eight years, this constant fear of having an aggressor nearby."

A Ukrainian soldier dressed in military fatigues examines the counter filled with pastries in a cafe in Kyiv
Copyright: BBC
Image caption: Serviceman Oleksandr says he is confident that the Russian troops will not get to Kyiv.

Meanwhile, serviceman Oleksandr says he is confident that the Russian troops will not get to Kyiv. "Surely it will all be over," he said cheerfully while waiting for his sandwich. "It just requires more time."

"We really want all of this to end. Everyone wants to go back to their peaceful lives," Maryna who works in the nearby Bassano café told me. "But I do not think it is over yet."

Her restaurant relocated from Donetsk to Kyiv in 2014 when the war with the Russia-backed militants in the east of Ukraine broke out. "We thought that was it. But now we have déjà vu," she says.

This time they do not intend to leave. "We hope for the best," Maryna explains.