What you need to know right now:
- US President Joe Biden calling Russian leader Vladimir Putin a war criminal on Wednesday is "unforgivable", the Kremlin said as it insisted the war in Ukraine was "going to plan" amid talk of compromise at peace talks.
- Significant progress was made on a 15-point peace plan between Moscow and Kyiv, the Financial Times reported, while a Kremlin spokesman said it was too early disclose any potential agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.
- Putin said Russia was ready to discuss Ukraine's neutral status in talks aimed at ending hostilities there, but that Moscow would still achieve the goals of its military operation.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged US lawmakers to do more to protect his country from Russia's invasion in an address to the US Congress.
- US President Joe Biden announced $800 million more in security assistance to Ukraine, including weapons to take down Russian planes and tanks.
- The US Embassy in Kyiv said Russian forces had shot and killed 10 people waiting in line for bread in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. Russia denied any troop presence in the city and said the report was a hoax.
- Ukraine's foreign ministry said Russian forces bombed a theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.
- Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke to Zelenskiy by phone on Wednesday and told him the Irish people stand fully behind Ukraine.
- Moscow has not captured any of Ukraine's 10 biggest cities following its invasion that began on February 24th, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.
- Russian forces are struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine's terrain, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence in an intelligence report on Wednesday
22:00: Ukraine handed over nine captured Russian soldiers to secure the freedom of the mayor of the city of Melitopol, who was detained last week, the Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted a senior official as saying on Wednesday.
The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier said mayor Ivan Fedorov had been released but gave no details, after he was kidnapped last Friday by Russian forces.
"Ivan Fedorov was released from Russian captivity... for him, Russia received nine captured soldiers who were born in 2002 and 2003. These are actually children," Interfax Ukraine quoted Zelenskiy press aide Darya Zarivnaya as saying.
21:10: Facebook removed official Russian posts that falsely claimed reports of Russia bombing a children's hospital in Ukraine were a hoax, a company spokesperson said, even as similar messages appeared on other social media platforms.
The misinformation, on Russian Embassy Twitter, Facebook and Telegram accounts, circulated even after Twitter Inc and Meta Platform's Facebook took down posts from the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom for breaking their rules against denying violent events, an Israeli watchdog found.
20:50: A poorly edited video purporting to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy publicly capitulating to Russian demands drew widespread ridicule on Wednesday, but experts said it could be a harbinger of more sophisticated deceptions to come.
20:30: The UN Security Council is due to vote on Friday on a Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine, but diplomats say the measure is set to fail because it does not push for an end to the fighting or withdrawal of Russian troops.
The draft resolution, seen by Reuters, also does not address accountability or acknowledge Russia's invasion of its neighbour.
20:00: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said US President Joe Biden's characterisation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a war criminal was "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric", the Tass news agency said.
Biden, referring to Putin, earlier told reporters in Washington: "He is a war criminal".
19:30: Russian forces dropped a powerful bomb on a theatre in the encircled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering on Wednesday, Ukraine's foreign ministry said.
The ministry said many people were trapped in the theatre and accused Russia of committing a war crime. It said the number of casualties was not yet known. Reuters could not independently verify the information.
Russia denies targeting civilians. In Moscow, the defence ministry said its forces had not struck the building and instead accused the Azov Battalion, a far-right Ukrainian militia, of blowing it up, the RIA news agency said.
19:00: US President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "a war criminal" over his country's invasion of Ukraine.
It is the sharpest condemnation yet of Putin and Russian actions by a US official since the invasion of Ukraine.
18:40: Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy by phone and told him the Irish people stand fully behind Ukraine.
Mr Martin, who is in Washington for St Patrick’s Day celebrations, tweeted: “I told him the Irish people stand fully behind Ukraine. He thanked us for our continued humanitarian aid, shelter, global support and sanctions against Russia.
“He offered sympathy to the family of journalist Pierre Zakrzewski.”
Just spoke to President @ZelenskyyUA.
I told him the Irish people stand fully behind #Ukraine.
He thanked us for our continued humanitarian aid, shelter, global support and sanctions against Russia.
He offered sympathy to the family of journalist Pierre Zakrzewski. pic.twitter.com/s3tsa7aAIJ— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 16, 2022
Zelenskiy also tweeted that he had spoken to the Taoiseach. "Discussed countering aggression & horrific crimes of Russia against civilians. Expressed condolences over the murder of Irish journalist Pierre Zakrzewski by Russian soldiers. Thanked for helping the people of Ukraine," he said.
Talked to 🇮🇪 Prime Minister @MichealMartinTD. Discussed countering aggression & horrific crimes of Russia against civilians. Expressed condolences over the murder of 🇮🇪 journalist Pierre Zakrzewski by Russian soldiers. Thanked for helping the people of 🇺🇦. #StopRussia
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2022
18:15: US President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million (€725 million) in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, even as his position on a no-fly zone did not change after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's urgent appeal to the US Congress for military help.
Addressing Zelenskiy's remarks in his speech, Biden said the United States has offered Ukraine $1 billion in security aid, adding America will continue to give Ukraine weapons to fight and defend themselves, offer humanitarian relief and support Ukraine's economy with additional financial assistance.
17:50: European stocks closed at over two-week highs on Wednesday after fresh talks of compromise from Russia and Ukraine boosted gains spurred by China's promise to roll out more economic stimulus.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 3.1 per cent, at its highest level since February 28th.
17:30: Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 12.54 per cent as of March 11th, its highest since late 2015 and up from 10.42 per cent on a week earlier, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, with weakening rouble sending prices soaring amid unprecedented Western sanctions.
Inflation accelerated sharply as the currency fell to an all-time low and amid signs of increased demand for a wide range of goods, from food staples to cars, on expectations that their prices will rise further. Prices of nearly everything from baby food to pharmaceuticals rose sharply last week.
17:15: Three people were killed and five wounded after shelling caused a fire at a market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's State Emergencies Service said. The fire was later extinguished, it said in an online statement.
17:10: Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to Russians he described as traitors and said the West wanted to try to use them as a "fifth column" to destroy the country.
The Kremlin leader assailed Russians who he said were more mentally aligned with the West than Russia and said the Russian people would quickly be able to tell the difference between traitors and patriots.
"Of course they (the West) will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors - on those who earn their money here, but live over there. Live, not in the geographical sense, but in the sense of their thoughts, their slavish thinking," he said.
17:00: Ukrainian authorities accused Russian forces of firing artillery at a convoy of civilians fleeing the city of Mariupol on Wednesday, wounding at least five people including a child on their way to the city of Zaporizhzhia.
The governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region shared photos and videos of the aftermath of the alleged attack that showed the blackened shell of a white car.
Reuters could not independently verify the allegations. Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.
16:48: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday for Russia to stop its military actions in Ukraine.
"The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further," he said on Twitter.
Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice. The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2022
16:30: Russian authorities on Wednesday blocked the website of Britain's BBC, which foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Telegram post was "just the beginning of response actions to an information war unleashed by the West".
16:20: Russian tech entrepreneurs are set to launch a picture-sharing application on the domestic market to help fill the void left by Instagram, which the authorities blocked this week.
The new service, known as Rossgram, will launch on March 28th and have additional functions such as crowdfunding and paid access for some content, its website said on Wednesday.
Russian state communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to Instagram from Monday after its US owner Meta Platforms said last week it would allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as "Death to the Russian invaders".
16:10: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia on Wednesday to stop the military actions it started in Ukraine on February 24th.
"The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022 in the territory of Ukraine," the judges said. They added Russia must also ensure that other forces under its control or supported by Moscow should not continue the military operation.
15:50: US President Joe Biden will announce an additional $800 million (€726 million) in security assistance to Ukraine, but his position on a "no-fly zone" has not changed after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's urgent appeal to the US Congress.
In his address to Congress, Zelenskiy compared the ongoing attacks in Ukraine to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that pulled the United States into World War Two, and begged lawmakers, and Biden directly, for more help.
"This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for our life, for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people?," Zelenskiy said, through an interpreter.
Biden has referred to the creation of a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine as "World War Three".
15:26: It is too early disclose any set of potential agreements between Moscow and Kyiv on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Psekov said on Wednesday according to the RIA news agency.
The comment came after the Financial Times earlier reported that Ukraine and Russia had made significant progress on a tentative 15-point peace plan.
The newspaper cited three people involved in the talks as saying the plan included a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal if Kyiv declares neutrality and accepts limits on its armed forces.
14:40: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that keeping Russia in check was a long-term policy of the West, and that the Ukraine conflict had merely been a pretext for the West to impose sanctions.
Putin said Western countries wanted to hit every Russian family with the sanctions, and accused them of engaging in an unprecedented information campaign against Russia.
In his most explicit acknowledgement of the pain inflicted by Western sanctions, he said inflation and unemployment would rise, but promised support to families with children. Structural changes to the economy would be needed, he said.
"The West doesn't even bother to hide the fact that its aim is to damage the entire Russian economy, every Russian," Putin said in remarks to government ministers that were broadcast on state television.
He added that the West would not succeed in what he called its attempt to achieve global dominance and dismember Russia.
14:30: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged American lawmakers to do more to protect his country from Russia's invasion in an address before the US Congress in which he pleaded with President Joe Biden to be the world's "leader of peace."
"Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people," Zelenskiy said in his virtual address before showing a video containing graphic images of death and destruction in Ukraine that ended with "Close the sky over Ukraine."
Zelenskiy continued his push for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Ukraine and asked for more planes and defence systems to respond to the invasion.
13:25: The Council of Europe on Wednesday expelled Russia from the continent’s foremost human rights body in an unprecedented move over its invasion and war in Ukraine.
The 47-nation organisation’s committee of ministers said in a statement that “the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership.”
The decision comes on the heels of weeks of condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Early in the week, the group’s parliamentary assembly initiated the process of expulsion and unanimously backed that Russia would be kicked out.
Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, insisted on Wednesday that it would have left the body regardless.
In an interview with Russian broadcaster RBK, he accused Nato and EU countries of “abusing their majority in the council, eventually transforming it into a tool for anti-Russian policy.”
12:55: There are no plans at this stage for French President Emmanuel Macron to travel to Ukraine, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.
A trip can be envisaged as soon as a visit appears useful to resolve the crisis, Attal told a news conference following a cabinet meeting.
12:50: Some 175,000 refugees from Ukraine have registered in Germany so far, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The number could be even higher because there is no obligation to register, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit told a regular news conference on Wednesday.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz would discuss the situation with the leaders of Germany's 16 states on Thursday, added Hebestreit.
12:40: A Russian woman who burst into a TV studio to denounce the Ukraine war during a live news bulletin told Reuters on Wednesday she was worried for her safety and hoped her protest would open Russians' eyes to propaganda.
In her first television interview since her extraordinary on-air protest on Channel One on Monday evening, Marina Ovsyannikova said that she had no plans to flee Russia and that she hoped she would not face criminal charges.
"I believe in what I did, but I now understand the scale of the problems that I'll have to deal with, and, of course, I'm extremely concerned for my safety," Ms Ovsyannikova, an editor at Channel One, told Reuters.
"I absolutely don't feel like a hero... You know, I really want to feel that this sacrifice was not in vain, and that people will open their eyes."
12:00: Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said on Wednesday Ukraine's financial system was stable and the government was fulfilling its social payment obligations despite the war with Russia.
"The banking system is stable, we do not have sharp exchange rate fluctuations," he said, declining to estimate the financial toll of the conflict.
11:30: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that peace negotiations must lead to a fair deal for Ukraine that includes reliable security guarantees that protect it from future threats.
"We can and must fight today, now. We can and must defend our state, our life, our Ukrainian life. We can and must negotiate a just but fair peace for Ukraine, real security guarantees that will work," he said in a video address.
10:30: The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a demilitarised Ukraine with its own army along the lines of Austria or Sweden was being looked at as a possible compromise.
"This is a variant that is currently being discussed and which could really be seen a compromise," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by RIA news agency.
The reference to demilitarisation appeared to relate to the idea of neutral status for Ukraine.
Ukraine was promised by Nato as far back as 2008 that it would one day become a member of the alliance. Russia has said it cannot allow that to happen, and cited it as part of the logic for what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
09:50: Russia’s military forces blasted Ukraine’s capital region and other major cities on Wednesday as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defence that has frustrated their progress nearly three weeks after invading.
With Russia’s ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, a glimmer of optimism emerged that talks between the two sides could make progress.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said negotiations will continue and Russia’s demands for ending the war are becoming “more realistic”.
07:50: Ukrainian officials have raised hopes the war could end sooner than expected, possibly by May, saying Moscow may be coming to terms with its failure to impose a new government by force and running out of fresh troops.
"The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said in a video address ahead of the next round of talks.
In a hint of a possible compromise, Zelenskiy said earlier Ukraine was prepared to accept security guarantees from the West that stop short of its long-term goal of joining Nato. Moscow sees any future Ukraine membership of the Western alliance as a threat and has demanded guarantees it will never join.
07:45: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks. "The work is difficult, and in the current situation the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive."
US President Joe Biden will make his first visit to Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine to discuss the crisis with NATO allies next week, the White House said.
Biden will attend a Nato leaders meeting at the military alliance's headquarters in Brussels on March 24th.
Biden is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, a White House official said.
Nato is set to tell its military commanders on Wednesday to draw up plans for new ways to deter Russia from future military action, including more troops and missile defences in eastern Europe, officials and diplomats said.
"We need to reset our military posture for this new reality," Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Tuesday. "Ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term, in all domains."
At least 10 of Nato’s biggest allies, including the United States, Britain and France, have deployed more troops, ships and warplanes to its eastern flank, and put more on stand-by.
07:30: Just over three million people have now fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations, with over 1.8 million arriving in neighbouring Poland. Its prime minister and those of Slovenia and the Czech Republic were in Kyiv on Tuesday to show solidarity.
In Kyiv, around half of the 3.4 million residents have fled and some spend nights sheltering in metro stations.
Local authorities said Tuesday's bombardments on Kyiv killed at least five people as buildings were set ablaze and people were buried under rubble. Russia denies targeting civilians.
The emergency service in Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv said on Wednesday that at least 500 residents of the city of Kharkiv have been killed since Russia invaded. Reuters was unable immediately to verify the information.
