Ukraine War: The civilian death count in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion has crossed 1,000.
US President Joe Biden will visit a Polish town near the border with Ukraine today, seeking to show Western resolve against Russia's invasion.
"NATO has never, never been more united than it is today," Biden said on Thursday after a NATO summit in Brussels. He also said NATO will "respond" if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says there is a "real" threat that Moscow will use chemical weapons in his country, accusing Russia of having already used phosphorus bombs against civilians in an overnight attack on a Ukrainian village that killed at least four people, including two children.
Russia has also accused NATO member Poland, which neighbours Ukraine, of embarking on a "dangerous escalation" in tensions between Moscow and the West after Warsaw expelled 45 Russian diplomats for alleged espionage.
The United Nations human rights office said on Thursday that at least 1,035 people have been killed and 1,650 wounded in one month of war in Ukraine.
Here are the Highlights on the Ukraine-Russia War:
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Ukraine War: Pentagon claims Russia sending troops from Georgia to Ukraine
A senior US defence official told reporters that the Pentagon has seen indications of Russia sending troop reinforcements from "Georgia" to Ukraine to support its offensive in the Donbas region.
Ukraine War: France Announces Joint Evacuation Mission In Mariupol With Turkey, Greece
President Emmanuel Macron said Friday France was working with Turkey and Greece on a "humanitarian operation" to evacuate people from the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol under attack by Russian forces.
"We are going to work with Turkey and Greece to launch a humanitarian operation to evacuate all those who wish to leave Mariupol," Macron said after an EU summit in Brussels.
Ukraine War: Seven Russian generals killed in Ukraine named: Western official
Western officials on Friday named seven Russian generals they said had so far been killed, and another who had been sacked, during the war in Ukraine.
The latest to die, Lieutenant General Yakov Rezanstev, was a commander of Russia's 49th Combined Arms Army in its southern military district, an official disclosed.
Ukraine War: Macron dismisses Putin demand for gas payments in rubles
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand for Europe to pay for gas in rubles as he accused Moscow of trying to sidestep sanctions over its war on Ukraine.
Macron told journalists after an EU summit in Brussels that the Russian move "is not in line with what was signed, and I do not see why we would apply it".
Ukraine War: France, Turkey, Greece working on 'humanitarian operation' for Mariupol evacuations, says Macron
President Emmanuel Macron said Friday France was working with Turkey and Greece on a "humanitarian operation" to evacuate people from the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol under attack by Russian forces.
"We are going to work with Turkey and Greece to launch a humanitarian operation to evacuate all those who wish to leave Mariupol," Macron said after an EU summit in Brussels.
Ukraine War: French President Macron: hoping to have more talks with Putin in coming hours
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he was hoping to have more talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the coming hours" regarding the situation in Ukraine and any plans to help people leave Mariupol.
Ukraine War: Putin Signs Law On Jail Terms For "Fake News" On State Actions Abroad
Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday signed into law a bill introducing jail terms of up to 15 years for publishing "fake" information about Russia's actions abroad, as Moscow's troops continue their military operation in Ukraine.
The bill, adopted by Russia's parliament this week, sets out jail terms and fines for people who publish "knowingly false information" about actions abroad by Russian government agencies.
Russian army says will focus on 'liberation' of Donbas
The Russian army said Friday that the first phase of its military campaign in Ukraine was over and troops would now focus on the complete "liberation" of the country's eastern Donbas region.
"The main tasks of the first stage of the operation have been completed," said Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of Russia's armed forces.
"The combat potential of Ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced, which allows (us) -- I emphasise once again -- to focus our main efforts on achieving the main goal -- the liberation of Donbas."
He said Russian forces had "practically" destroyed Ukraine's air force and anti-aircraft defences as well as the navy.
Georgia mourns two fighters killed in Ukraine
Georgia mourned Friday two retired military officers who died fighting in Ukraine, in a war that has reminded Georgians of their own conflict with Russia in 2008.
The full-scale offensive on Ukraine unleashed by the Kremlin a month ago sparked an outpouring of solidarity in fellow ex-Soviet country Georgia, with hundreds of Georgians joining the ranks of the Ukrainian army.
Among them were retired military officers Giorgi Beriashvili and David Ratiani, both 53, who were killed on March 17 near the flashpoint town of Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Ukrainian forces still control Mariupol city, says regional governorThe governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region on Friday said Ukrainian forces still controlled the besieged southern city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
Speaking on national television, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said around 65,000 people had so far fled the city in private vehicles or on foot although official efforts to organise mass evacuations under temporary ceasefires have mostly failed.
Ukraine says Chernobyl workers' town is isolated by Russian forces
Local authorities in Ukraine said on Friday the town of Slavutych that services the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant was "completely isolated", with Russian forces just beyond the town's limits.
In a statement, the Kyiv region administration said: "Slavutych is completely isolated. The enemy is 1.5 km (one mile) from the town."
Ukraine claims another Russian general killed
Kyiv announced Friday its forces had killed a high-ranking Russian military official, the latest in a series of claims against the leadership of Moscow's forces one month into their invasion of Ukraine.
In a video statement, presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukraine forces had killed the senior Russian military official during fighting in the south of the country, near Kherson.
Ukrainian forces "killed commander of the 49th Russian Southern District Army, General Yakov Ryazantsev, in a strike on Chornobayivka near Kherson," he said.
Several residents of Kherson, the first Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces after they attacked Ukraine, have recently told AFP they have heard heavy fighting from Chernobayevka every night.
UK PM Boris Johnson speaks with Chinese president about Ukraine: Spokesman
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the situation in Ukraine, Johnson's spokesman said on Friday, as Western leaders call on China to refrain from supporting Russia in its invasion.
"This morning the prime minister has spoken to the president of China on the ongoing situation in Ukraine," the spokesman said, adding the call lasted about 50 minutes.
Russian military chaplain killed by rocket near Ukraine border, says church
A Russian military chaplain has been killed by a Ukrainian rocket attack in southwestern Russia close to the border with Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church said on Friday.
Oleg Artyomov was in the village of Zhuravlyovka in Russia's Belgorod region when he "came under shelling from a Ukrainian Smerch (rocket launcher) and died" on Thursday, the Moscow Patriarchate's military department said on social media.
Kremlin says Biden 'diverting attention' from US chemical, biological weapons programme
The Kremlin on Friday accused US President Joe Biden of seeking to divert attention from his country's chemical and biological weapons programme after he said Russia could use such weapons in Ukraine.
"We see this as an attempt to divert attention to some kind of ephemeral, allegedly existing threat against the backdrop of a scandal that is flaring up in the world involving chemical and biological weapons programmes that the United States has been carrying out in various countries, including Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russian ambassador sues Italian daily over Putin article
The Russian ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, said on Friday he was suing Italian newspaper La Stampa over an article that had raised the possibility of killing President Vladimir Putin.
"Needless to say that this goes against the rules of journalism and morality," Razov told reporters in front of the prosecutor's office in Rome after he had deposited the suit.
On March 22 La Stampa published an analysis headlined "If killing the tyrant is the only option". The piece said if all other options failed to halt the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the only solution would be for someone to kill the president.
Speaking through a translator, Razov said his suit accused the newspaper of soliciting and condoning a crime.
La Stampa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russian strikes kill four at Kharkiv medical facility: Police
Russian strikes killed four civilians and wounded several others while targeting a medical facility in Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv on Friday, Ukrainian officials said.
"This morning, following a bombardment on civilian infrastructure from several rocket launchers, seven civilians were injured, four of them died," said police in the eastern city near Russia's border.
The strikes targeted a medical centre in the Osnovyansky district of the city, police said. It said investigators were working on the site of the strike.
"Police are documenting this crime against the Ukrainian people and are gathering all material evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement said.
Ukrainian aid centre hit by Russian shelling, four killed, say police
Russian shelling hit a clinic that was acting as a centre for humanitarian aid in the eastern city of Kharkiv, killing four people, the regional police said in a statement on Friday.
"As a result of the morning shelling of civilian infrastructure from multiple rocket launchers, 7 civilians were injured, 4 of whom died," said a statement on social media. "There is no military facility nearby."
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
Germany slashes Russian energy imports
Germany said Friday it was drastically slashing its energy purchases from Russia amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, with oil imports to be halved by June and coal deliveries to end by the autumn.
"In recent weeks, together with all relevant players, we have made intensive efforts to import less fossil energy from Russia and broaden out our supply base," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
"The first important milestones have been reached to free us from the grip of Russian imports," he added.
US, EU announce 'task force' to wean Europe off Russian gas
The US and EU announced a task force Friday aimed at reducing Europe's reliance on Russian fossil fuels in the face of Moscow's war on Ukraine.
The initiative being unveiled by President Joe Biden and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will see the US strive to help supply Europe with an extra 15 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas this year, a statement said.
Medicine shortage in Russia due to spike in demand as panic buying soars
Russian healthcare regulator Roszdravnadzor on Friday said medicine shortages were due to "artificially" higher demand and that suppliers were not currently able to replenish stocks on time, the RIA news agency reported.
Russians have rushed to stock up on anti-depressants, sleeping pills and contraceptives among other products since the conflict in Ukraine began, data released on Thursday showed, with people buying a month's worth of medicine in just two weeks.
Thousands flee city near Ukrainian international airport
About 20,000 people have answered appeals to flee the Ukrainian city of Boryspil, which is near an international airport, Boryspil Mayor Volodymyr Borysenko said on national television on Friday.
He urged others to evacuate, saying the large number of civilians in villages nearby made it difficult for Ukrainian troops to clear Russian forces from the area.
Boryspil international airport is about 30 km east of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Russia says it destroyed Ukraine's largest military fuel storage site in missile strike
Russia's armed forces destroyed a major fuel depot outside Kyiv in a missile strike, Russia's defence ministry said on Friday.
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that the strike happened on Thursday evening, using Kalibr cruise missiles fired from the sea. Konashenkov said the depot was used to supply Ukraine's armed forces in the centre of the country.
Reuters was not able to independently verify Konashenkov's remarks.
Russian missiles hit Ukrainian military unit near city of Dnipro, says governor
Rescuers were searching for survivors among the debris on Friday after two missiles hit a Ukrainian military unit on the outskirts of the city of Dnipro, causing "serious destruction", regional governor Valentyn Reznychenko said on social media.
Ukraine hopes to open safe corridor from Mariupol today
Ukraine hopes to open a safe corridor to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol on Friday in private vehicles, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Ukraine has re-occupied towns 35 km east of Kyiv, says UK
Ukraine has re-occupied towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometres east of Kyiv, helped by Russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, Britain's defence ministry said on Friday.
Polish businesses face labour shortage after Ukraine war Szymon Janiewski employed 10 Ukrainians at his small construction company in Poland until war broke out in their homeland.
"I no longer have any Ukrainian employee," the 40-year-old says. "They were my company's backbone."
The workers had gone to Ukraine in January to see their families. A month later, Russia invaded their country and they never returned.
Janiewski is far from being the only Polish entrepreneur to lose Ukrainian employees to the conflict. More than 300,000 Ukrainians had a residence permit in Poland before the war, according to official figures, though the real number is believed to be around 1.5 million.
"Ukrainian citizens, men, have left their workplace in Poland and gone to defend their motherland," Polish Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Malag told Radio Jedynka.
Poland's construction sector is the most affected: It employed 480,000 foreigners before the war, and four in five were from Ukraine, according to Jan Stylinski, head of the Polish Association of Construction Industry Employers. But a quarter of the Ukrainians in Poland have left the country since the war started on February 24.
Russian ex-president says Western sanctions won't sway Kremlin
It is "foolish" to believe that Western sanctions against Russian businesses could have any effect on the Moscow government, Russian ex-president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying on Friday.
The sanctions will only consolidate the Russian society and not cause popular discontent with the authorities, Medvedev told Russia's RIA news agency in an interview.
The West has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but one month into the war, the Kremlin says it will continue the assault until it accomplishes its goals of Ukraine's "demilitarisation and denazification".
Some of the sanctions have specifically targeted billionaire businessmen believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin.
Gold set for weekly gain on Ukraine worries
Gold prices were set on Friday for a third weekly gain in four, as no material progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks supported the safe-haven metal, although a spike in U.S. yields on fears of aggressive tightening measures dented bullion's appeal.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,961.99 per ounce, as of 0332 GMT, hovering close to a more than one-week high scaled in the previous session, and adding nearly 2% so far this week. U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,963.40.
"I would assign the most recent gold gains to concerns about Ukraine starting to creep back in because we haven't had the kind of progress on talks that I think markets were hoping for around the beginning of the month," said Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX.
Russia running out of precision munitions in Ukraine war, says Pentagon official
Russia is running out of precision guided munitions and it is more likely to rely on so-called dumb bombs and artillery, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday.
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl speculated that he did not believe President Vladimir Putin wanted to have an all out conflict with NATO.
War In Ukraine: 10 Latest DevelopmentsAs US President Joe Biden gears up to visit a town in Poland near the border with Ukraine -- seeking to show Western resolve against Russia's invasion -- here are the 10 latest updates on the war in Ukraine.
Complex questions arise as face recognition tech joins Ukraine warUkraine is employing face recognition technology to identify invading Russian troops killed on its soil, a complex and unprecedented avenue for software already seen as problematic, experts said Thursday.
The embattled nation uses details resulting from the process to try to track down and notify the families of the dead, in an act Ukraine says is aimed at piercing Russia's war information filter.
While this type of artificial intelligence could offer closure to families denied it by the fog of war or Kremlin secrecy, the potential for mistakes is considerable and consequential.
"If you're a Russian parent being informed that your child has been killed when it's not true, that gets into a complex ethical dilemma," said Jim Hendler, director of the Institute for Data Exploration and Applications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York state.
US-based Clearview AI, often criticized by privacy advocates, says it gave Ukrainian officials free access to its service that matches images from the internet to pictures uploaded by users trying to identify someone.
Russia more of a burden to China after Ukraine invasion, says US Pentagon official
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has made it more of a strategic burden on China, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday.
"I do think that there's a degree to which what Putin has done in Ukraine makes Russia much more of a strategic burden for Beijing than it was six weeks ago or six months ago," Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said.
In February, China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership, backing each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.
Ukraine Russia War: US Official Says Russia Will Be Militarily, Economically, Politically WeakRussia will emerge from the conflict in Ukraine weaker and more isolated, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday.
"I think with a high degree of certainty that Russia will emerge from Ukraine weaker than it went into the conflict. Militarily weaker, economically weaker, politically and geopolitically weaker, and more isolated," said Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl.