These are the key events so far on Monday, March 28. Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- After failing to take over the whole country, Russia is trying to split Ukraine in two to create a Moscow-controlled region, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence said.
- Luhansk, a Russian-backed eastern Ukrainian rebel region, says it may hold a referendum on joining Russia, drawing a warning from Kyiv that any such vote would have no legal basis and trigger a strong international response.
- Russia continues its “full-scale armed aggression”, while Ukrainian forces have repulsed seven attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine’s army has said.
- Ukraine’s deputy prime minister says Russian forces were “militarising” an exclusion zone around the occupied Chernobyl power station.
(Al Jazeera)
Diplomacy
- The next round of face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia will be in Turkey on March 28-30, a Ukrainian negotiator said on social media.
- Top American officials said the US does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, ramping up efforts to clarify President Biden’s statement that President Putin “cannot remain in power”.
- French President Macron called for restraint in both words and actions in dealing with the Ukraine conflict, following Biden’s remarks.
- Germany’s decision to become more energy independent means it will have to accept higher energy costs, Chancellor Olaf Scholz says.
- Hollywood A-listers held a moment of silence at Sunday’s Oscars gala in support of the people of Ukraine.
Refugees
- The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 3,821,049 Ukrainians have fled the country – an increase of 48,450 from the previous day.
ICRC denies aiding forced evacuations
- The International Committee of the Red Cross denies accusations it helped with forced evacuations of Ukrainians to Russia.
Energy
- China’s state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, according to the Reuters news agency.
You can read key moments from Day 32 here.
