Tens of thousands evacuated from Ukrainian cities

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Russian prosecutors have called for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to serve 13 years in prison for the new fraud charges he is facing.

The opposition politician is currently on trial at the prison colony outside Moscow where he is already serving a two-and-a-half year sentence.

Navalny was jailed last year after surviving a nerve agent attack that he blames on the Russian government.

In this latest trial, prosecutors have requested that the Putin critic be sent to a "strict regime" prison which would mean harsher conditions than he is in currently.

"You can't put everyone in prison. Even if you ask for 113 years, you won't scare me or others like me," Navalny said in court according to his team.

Read more on Navalny's background here.

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An international peacekeeping mission with military capability should be sent to Ukraine, the leader of Poland's ruling party has suggested while on a symbolic trip to Kyiv.

"I think that it is necessary to have a peace mission - Nato, possibly some wider international structure - but a mission that will be able to defend itself, which will operate on Ukrainian territory," Jaroslaw Kaczynski said.

He made the suggestion at a press conference in Ukraine's capital, where he appeared tonight alongside the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky and the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia.

The central European leaders have made the risky trip to Kyiv by train in a show of support for Ukraine.

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As a 35-hour curfew came into force in Kyiv, there were loud explosions on the western edge of the capital.

The blasts, which are continuing, could be heard across this city as prime ministers from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia held talks here after a train journey through this dangerous war zone to show what they called “unequivocal support” for Ukraine.

Russian artillery and warplanes continue to pound cities and towns across Ukraine.

In the besieged city of Mariupol, local officials say around 400 patients and doctors are being held hostage in a hospital.

Russia also claims to have seized control of the southern region of Kherson.

But according to Western officials, Russia’s overall advance on the ground, including around Kyiv, is said to be stalled.

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Economic growth in Europe will be “severely impacted” in the wake of sanctions against Russia, the EU’s trade chief has warned.

Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Trade, warned of higher inflation, pressure on energy and food prices, market volatility and disruption to supply chains.

But, speaking after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, Dombrovskis added it was “impossible” to assess the exact economic impact at this stage.

Finance ministers today discussed proposals to help the worst hit businesses, including grants and loans.

But Dombrovskis insisted that the fundamentals of the EU economy were “solid” - and that the bloc can “withstand” the crisis.

“We have already several tools at our disposal,” he said, pointing to financial flexibilities handed to member states during the pandemic.

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It is “risky” for the Polish, Czech and Slovenian prime ministers to visit Kyiv, a Polish deputy foreign minister has said - but the trip is “worth taking for the sake of values”.

The leaders, along with the head of Poland’s governing Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, took a train to Kyiv for talks with the Ukrainian president and prime minister.

They are said to be representing the European Union.

Polish deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, pointed out that the leaders of Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states flew to Tbilisi in 2008 in a show of support after Russia’s invasion of Georgia.

The Polish president at the time was Jaroslaw Kaczynski's late twin brother, Lech - and Jaroslaw accompanied him on the trip.

“At that time neither the Polish president nor his Ukrainian colleague lacked the courage to stand on the side of the attacked nation,” Przydacz told Polish TV.

He said the trip “is obviously risky”, describing the Russian leadership as “barbarians”. But he said Poland had flagged the visit to both Belarus and Russia beforehand.

“Nevertheless, the prime ministers decided that this risk is worth taking for the sake of values, for the sake of our common security and for the sake of solidarity with the (Ukrainian) nation,” he said.

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Tetyana looks lost. She is cleaning her flat after a missile blast smashed the windows in her apartment block in a sleepy Kyiv neighbourhood. No glass is left to protect her home from the early spring wind. Her balcony is reduced to rubble.

She tells us she woke up to the air raid alert about 4am today and saw missiles “flying in the sky”.

“I walked away from the window and then – boom! Shattered glass hit my back,” she says. “I was shocked!”

She lives in one of three multi-storeyed residential buildings damaged by a shell in Kyiv this morning. In one of them, five people were killed.

Now Tetyana plans to temporarily move out of the flat where she's lived for 33 years and where her granddaughter grew up.

“I only saw the war in the films, remembered it only from TV,” she adds. “Now I’ve experienced it myself.”

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More than 120,000 people in the UK have registered an interest in giving a home to some of those fleeing the violence in Ukraine, since a new government scheme launched yesterday.

If you're thinking about signing up, here are some tips from people across the UK who have hosted refugees or asylum seekers in their own homes in the past.

1. Be prepared for the mental impact. Lucy Stevens, near Colchester: It is likely people will be very traumatised. Our foster son was highly traumatised and required a lot of input with regards to mental health [which] also has an impact on your own family.
2. Find people who match your stage of life. Ruth Elphinston, Birmingham: If you've got young kids, bring in families with young kids. Or if your kids have left home, think about hosting a young adult. It makes things easier as they'll fit in with the way you're living your life already.
3. Think about ground rules. Alison Baxter, Oxford. Sharing the sitting room, smoking and if you will cook for them are all points to consider. It's better to set down clear guidance because your guest is going to be anxious if you just say "make yourself at home".
4. Get the GP sorted early. Karina Litvack, London: I've never found access to the NHS to be a problem for the refugees I've helped, but you sometimes have to book an interpreter which takes longer.
5. Don't feel bad about saying no. Justyna Bell, Belfast: Have a conversation with your entire household before you decide for sure about taking someone in. Really open up and don't think it's not very humanitarian if you have some objections.

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Nigerian students trapped near the frontline in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson have requested help following the occupation of the city by Russian forces.

Reports say more than 100 African students, many of them from Nigeria are stuck in the city.

The students are calling on the Nigerian government to quickly evacuate them before anything happens to them.

They described their current situation as traumatising, saying that they have been living in the city’s underground shelters for over two weeks, since Russian forces took over the city.

One of the students, Jerry Kenny, who spoke to the BBC, said six of his friends have fallen sick due to the poor conditions where they live. He said that they are currently cut off from food and other essential supplies.

Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffery Onyeama said at the weekend that he was in contact with Nigeria’s Ambassadors to Ukraine and Russia, as they engage the Russian and Indian governments as well as NGOs in a bid to safely evacuate the students in Kherson.

So far, more than 1,400 Nigerians have been evacuated from Ukraine since the country was invaded by Russia three weeks ago.

Many of them were moved to neighbouring Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia before being airlifted to Nigeria.

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The number of Ukrainian refugees to have fled the country since the beginning of the war is now 3,000,381, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

They include 1.8 million Ukrainians now in Poland, the UN refugee agency has said, with 300,000 moving on to Western Europe.

Refugees have been fleeing cities under attack from Russian forces. Twenty days into the conflict, the UN says the invasion of Ukraine has resulted in 691 confirmed civilian deaths and 1,143 injured.

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Some more details now on President Biden's planned visit to Brussels next week, where the White House says he'll be meeting with Nato and EU leaders to discuss the response to the invasion.

On 24 March the US president will join a special Nato summit where he will reaffirm the US's "ironclad" commitment to the defensive alliance, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Biden will also meet with EU leaders the same day at a scheduled European Council summit to coordinate the transatlantic response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Reacting to the news that the Kremlin had today added Biden to a list of individuals banned from entering Russia, Jen Psaki said this wouldn't have an impact on the president's schedule.

"It won’t surprise many of you that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia, none of us have bank accounts we won’t be able to access so we will forge ahead," she said.

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Around 29,000 people were able to flee besieged Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Tuesday, a Ukrainian presidential adviser has said.

Some civilians were able to leave the southern port city of Mariupol, where 20,000 people have fled the city in the past day in 4,000 private cars. Local authorities say that Russian forces are preventing buses from evacuating civilians from the city, which is facing intense Russian bombardment.

In the north-eastern city of Sumy, the Red Cross says it was able to evacuate thousands of civilians in 100 buses after Russia gave the greenlight for a humanitarian corridor out of the city today.

Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has tweeted to say that negotiations with Russian officials "will continue tomorrow".

He said that "there is certainly room for compromise".

"A very difficult and viscous negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise. During the break, work in subgroups will be continued," he said.

Russian state TV's Channel One plays a crucial part in the Kremlin's media messaging.

It is Russia's second most popular channel, and its flagship news programme Vremya (Time) is watched by millions.

Normally, there is no room for deviation from the party line.

So when Marina Ovsyannikova ran on to the set behind the news anchor in prime time, brandishing a poster saying "Stop the War!", it was an unprecedented moment of dissent against the Kremlin that reached into living rooms across the country.

Ovsyannikova, who has a Ukrainian father and Russian mother, has been fined 30,000 roubles (£214, $280) for an anti-war video she had also released.

Read more on Monday's extraordinary moment of protest.

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On Monday night, Marina Ovsyannikova staged an anti-war protest during a live news bulletin in Moscow.

As she was leaving the courtroom, the state TV employee - who claims she was questioned about the incident for over 14 hours - told reporters the protest was entirely her own decision.

"I made this decision by myself because I don't like that Russia started this invasion," she said.

The Russian Ministry of Defence says Russian troops have helped evacuate thousands of civilians trapped in the fighting in Ukraine to western parts of the country in the past 24 hours.

Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defence Control Centre, said more than 36,000 were evacuated "thanks to the unprecedented security measures taken by the Russian Armed Forces".

He added that an evacuation of Ukrainian citizens to Russia was also ongoing.

The official reiterated claims that Ukrainian forces were hampering evacuation efforts.

Almost three million people have now fled Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations (UN).

And the UN says there are an estimated 1.85 million internally displaced people inside Ukraine.

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A growing line of Western drug makers are now pulling out of Russia as the invasion of Ukraine enters its third full week.

Novartis is suspending all Russian investments and marketing activity, and will also make a $3m (£2.3m) donation to various NGOs.

Eli Lilly says it has halted investments, promotions, clinical trials and the export of non-essential medicines. It will also donate the profits from its remaining Russia sales to humanitarian relief.

AbbVie, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer and Sanofi have also recently announced they will halt certain operations in the country.

The Pentagon says Russian troops continue to make little progress on the ground in Ukraine, 20 days since their invasion began.

But several major cities are suffering heavy bombardment, according to a senior US defence official.

A troop convoy moving toward Kyiv remains some 20 km outside the capital Kyiv, where the official said civilians are increasingly facing assault.

Russians continue to face stiff resistance in their attempt to take Kharkiv - Ukraine's second-largest city - and Mykolaiv, a southern city near the Black Sea.

However, invading forces have isolated Chernihiv in the north, and Mariupol in the southeast, though the US says Ukraine is working to keep lines of communication open with local leaders.

The defence official notes that both the Russians and Ukrainians have used about 90% of their combat power. More US-funded weapons are expected to arrive in Ukraine over the next 24 hours, he said.

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A US astronaut will return to earth aboard a Russian capsule - after initial fears he might be stranded due to tensions over Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Mark Vande Hei, 55, - who has been in space for 355 days - will arrive back on Earth in Kazakhstan. Two Russian cosmonauts will also be brought back.

Dmitry Rogozin, chief of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, had warned about sanctions causing technical issues to the International Space Station (ISS), but Nasa said it had continued to run smoothly.

The US controls power and life support aboard the ISS and Russia controls things such as its propulsion.

You can read more here.