Summary of the day so far

 

4h ago

13.24 BST

Summary of the day so far

It’s nearly 3.30pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/mar/31/russia-ukraine-war-live-turkey-approves-finland-nato-bid-ukraine-marks-bucha-massacre-anniversary

 

• Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill to allow Finland to join Nato, clearing the way for Helsinki to join the western defence alliance. The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership, after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week. Sweden’s Nato bid faces objections from Ankara over claims it is harbouring what it considers members of terrorist groups.
• Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, has said he has intensified talks with Russia about deploying tactical nuclear weapons in his country, alleging there were plans to invade Belarus from neighbouring Poland. Belarus had deployed a special forces contingent to its southern border with Ukraine “to prevent provocations”, he added.
• Russian troops attacked Ukraine with ten “Shahed” kamikaze drones overnight, according to Ukraine’s state broadcaster in its morning update on Friday. “Nine S-300 missiles were fired at Kharkiv: civil infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, three people were slightly injured,” it said.
• The White House says it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons and munitions to fuel the war in Ukraine. “We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions,” White House national security council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.
• Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to call up 147,000 Russian citizens for statutory military service as part of the country’s spring conscription campaign, Russian state media reported on Thursday. The Russian leader last signed a routine conscription campaign in September, calling up 120,000 citizens for statutory service, the state-run Tass news agency said. The general staff of the armed forces of the Russian Federation stated on Friday that it was not a second wave of mobilisation.
• Ukraine will never forgive the Russian troops responsible for alleged atrocities in Bucha, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, as the town near Kyiv marked the anniversary of its recapture following 33 days of occupation in 2022. The leaders of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia travelled to Ukraine on Friday to take part in commemorative events, the Croatian government said.
• Russian authorities have arrested a US journalist working in the country and accused him of espionage, a charge that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Evan Gershkovich, a well-respected reporter from the Wall Street Journal, was detained on Wednesday during a reporting trip to the Urals city of Ekaterinburg. All accredited foreign journalists can continue to work in Russia, the Kremlin said on Friday.
• Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting in April when Russia assumes the international body’s presidency, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed on Thursday. Russia’s coming UN security council presidency was “the worst joke ever for April Fool’s Day”, said Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
• Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said Moscow will continue to give the US advance notice about its missile tests despite suspending participation in the New Start nuclear arms treaty, reversing a statement he made on Wednesday. The White House said on Tuesday that the US had told Russia it would cease exchanging certain data on its nuclear forces after Moscow’s refusal to do so.
• Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon and the British grass-court tournaments this year after the All England Club (AELTC) and the LTA jointly opted to reverse their bans on players for this season’s events. Russian and Belarusian players will be required to sign neutrality agreements, which prohibit them from expressing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, receiving funding from the Russian or Belarusian state and being sponsored by organisations funded by their governments.
• Ukrainian athletes will not be allowed to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, government minister Oleh Nemchinov has said. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations Tuesday for the gradual return to international competition for Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals