Latest developments in the war on Ukraine

• Talks to resume Friday: Ukraine’s next round of negotiations with Russia will resume online on April 1; the head of the Ukrainian delegation said; with growing calls for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Zelenksy, who previously said he would meet Putin, said the negotiation process was “only words, without anything concrete.

Also read; War in Ukraine: Talks between Moscow and Kyiv on thin ice

• Russian troops allegedly refuse orders: Putin has massively misjudged the situation in Ukraine and some Russian soldiers have refused to carry out orders, according to the head of British intelligence agency GCHQ. Soldiers, he said, were short of weapons and morale and were “sabotaging their own equipment.”

 

• No scale back: Despite claiming it would “drastically reduce military activity” around Kyiv, the capital and surroundings cities have seen an ongoing Russian bombardment in the past 24 hours. The mayor of Chernihiv said the city came under “colossal attack.” However, some Russian forces have withdrawn from the Chernobyl nuclear power site, according to a senior US defense official.

 

• Lavrov visits China and India: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; as well as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in China on Wednesday. “China-Russia relations have withstood the new test of changing international landscape,” Wang said. Meanwhile, Lavrov is due to arrive in India Thursday. His two-day trip coincides with a visit by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss; and also US Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics, Daleep Singh.

 

• On the ground: Half of the city of Irpin; near Kyiv; has been destroyed; according to Oleksandr Markushin, the city’s mayor. Satellite images of the besieged southern city of Mariupol; show entire blocks obliterated and a Red Cross warehouse hit by military strikes. Video posted on social media also appears to show Ukrainian troops have retaken territory from Russian forces near the northern city of Chernihiv.

Meanwhile,

Putin: “unfriendly” countries must pay in rubles for gas; or contracts will be suspended

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday; that according to a newly signed decree regarding natural gas; trading with “unfriendly countries,” companies will need to have accounts in Russian banks; and also pay for contracts in rubles.

“Today, I signed a decree which sets the rules for trading in Russian natural gas with the so-called unfriendly states.

We suggest that counter-parties in these countries use a very simple and likewise transparent scheme; in order to buy Russian gas; they need to open ruble accounts in Russian banks; and payments should come from these accounts,” Putin said on Thursday.

The new rules take effect on April 1.

“when payments are not made; we shall deem this as non-performance on the part of the buyers; and that will lead to consequences. Nobody gives us anything for free; and we’re not about to be charitable,” Putin said, adding that active contracts will be suspended.