With that, we wrap up today's coverage of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Thank you for joining us today, and do not forget to return tomorrow as CNBC-TV18 resumes the live coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. Good night.

Mar 26, 2022 9:07 PM

Infosys supports and advocates for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

In a statement, the software company said, "At this point we do not foresee any impact on delivery or services for our clients from our Eastern European centres and have activated necessary business continuity protocols. Infosys has a small team of less than 100 employees based out of Russia, that services some of our global clients, locally. We do not have any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises. A key priority for Infosys in times of adversity, is to continue extending support to the community. The company has committed $1 million towards relief efforts for the victims of war from Ukraine."

Mar 26, 2022 9:03 PM

Lviv hit by multiple missile strikes

The western Ukrainian city Lviv has been struck by multiple missiles and.smoke is bellowing across the city’s horizon, reports the Guardian. It appears that there were three missiles, with one landing close to the city’s communications tower. A spokesman for the military administration of Lviv region said: "There were three powerful explosions near Lviv on the side of Kryvchytsy, now there is an air alarm, so keep calm and be in shelter."

It appears that one of the targets may have been an oil refinery around a mile east of Lviv’s city centre. Igor Zinkevych, an official from Lviv’s city council, said: "There have been three powerful explosions near Lviv ... Everyone should keep calm and stay indoors."

Mar 26, 2022 8:51 PM

Russian oligarchs welcome in Turkey, foreign minister says

(Russian oligarchs are welcome in Turkey but must abide by international law in order to do any business, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday. Turkey has strongly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine but opposes sanctions imposed by its NATO allies on principle.

"If Russian oligarchs ... or any Russian citizens want to visit Turkey of course they can," Cavusoglu said in response to a question at the Doha Forum international conference. "If you mean whether these oligarchs can do any business in Turkey, then of course if it is legal and not against international law, I will consider it," he said, adding: "If it is against international law then that is another story."

Mar 26, 2022 8:46 PM

US is considering sanctioning Russian companies that make supplies for the military: CNN

The United States is considering sanctioning Russian companies that make supplies for the Russian military, sources familiar with the option tell CNN, though an official decision hasn't been made.After meeting with top US officials in Warsaw on Saturday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said they believed officials in US President Joe Biden's administration were "keen to move on with further sanctions."

Mar 26, 2022 8:40 PM

Biden says Putin is "a butcher" after he meets with refugees

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "butcher" after visiting with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. Asked by reporters traveling with the President what seeing the refugees made him think as he deals with Putin every day, Biden responded, "he's a butcher", CNN reported.

During the brief question-and-answer session at Stadion Narodowy, Biden recounted how he had been to places like this in his life, but said he is always surprised by "the depth and strength of the human spirit."

"It's incredible, it's incredible. See all those little children. Just want to hug, just want to say thanks. I mean, it's, just makes you so damn proud," he said.

He added: "Each one of those children said something to the effect, 'Say a prayer for my dad or my grandfather or my brother who's back there fighting.' And I remember what it's like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder. And you pray you don't get that phone call."

Mar 26, 2022 8:35 PM

Russia again says it is willing to use nuclear weapons if its existence is threatened.

Dmitri A. Medvedev, the former Russian president and vice chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the country was prepared to use nuclear weapons against the United States and Europe if its existence was threatened, the latest instance of nuclear saber-rattling as Russia faces fierce resistance in Ukraine, The New York Times reports. The statement did not go beyond Russia’s previously published doctrine, but it comes as NATO is doubling its troops in Eastern Europe and as President Biden said during a visit to Poland that the United States treated its duty to defend its NATO allies as “a sacred obligation.”`

Mar 26, 2022 8:18 PM

Russian oligarch's jets seized in UK

Two private jets owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch have been seized by the British government.The jets belonging to billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler had been under investigation at Farnborough and Biggin Hill airports for three weeks. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said "Putin's friends" should not "enjoy luxuries" while innocent people die in Ukraine.

Mar 26, 2022 7:42 PM

Biden meets Ukrainian government ministers to discuss action against Putin

The US president Joe Biden and his secretaries of state and defence Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin have met Ukraine’s foreign and defence ministers Dmytro Kuleba and Oleksii Reznikov to discuss Ukraine’s military, diplomatic and humanitarian situation, the White House has said.

Officials said the talked over “US efforts to rally the world in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, including through the president’s meetings this week in Belgium and the significant military and humanitarian assistance the United States is providing to Ukraine”. The White House added: "They discussed further efforts to help Ukraine defend its territory. They also discussed the United States’ ongoing actions to hold President Putin accountable for Russia’s brutal aggression, in coordination with our allies and partners, including through the new sanctions actions announced by the President in Brussels on 24 March."

Mar 26, 2022 7:39 PM

Russia may accept Bitcoin as oil and gas export payments from friendly countries

The chair of state’s Duma committee on energy Pavel Zavalny said Russia was willing to be more flexible with payment options for friendly nations and could allow them to pay in the cryptocurrency or…

Mar 26, 2022 6:55 PM

Russia-Ukraine Crisis: War, climate change both a result of dependency on fossil fuel, says scientist

Russia sells oil, gas and coal to countries across the world and uses the revenues to buy weapons. The same resources used by countries are responsible for global warming.

Mar 26, 2022 6:52 PM

US pledges additional security aid to Ukraine

Ukraine has received additional security pledges from the United States on developing defence co-operation, its foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday.

“We did receive additional promises from the United States on how our defence co-operation will evolve,” Kuleba told reporters, the Reuters news agency reported.

Mar 26, 2022 6:34 PM

Zelenskyy urges energy producers to increase their exports to Europe.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, speaking by video to a major policy conference in Qatar on Saturday, urged that nation and other energy producers to increase their gas exports to Europe as part of a drive to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

“The future of Europe rests with your efforts,” Zelenskyy said in a virtual address to the Doha Forum in Qatar, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of gas. “I urge you to increase energy production so that Russia understands that no state should use energy as a weapon to blackmail the world.”

Last year, 38 percent of the natural gas used by the European Union came from Russia, according to Bruegel, a research organization. Moves by the bloc to wean itself off that supply is vital to a broader Western effort to punish Moscow, a major oil and gas producer, for its invasion of Ukraine.

The United States banned imports of Russian energy on March 8, and European nations have pledged to gradually follow suit. In Germany, which has been Moscow’s most important natural gas customer, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last month that the country would halt certification of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that would link his country with Russia.

Germany has set an ambitious goal of freeing itself from its dependence on Russian natural gas by the middle of 2024.

But securing alternative supplies of fossil fuels is costly and can take years. Rising energy prices have also caused Europe to tread carefully at it tries to minimize the economic damage caused on the continent and the pain to the general public.

Mar 26, 2022 6:00 PM

Kyiv mayor cancels extended curfew

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Saturday canceled an extended curfew planned for the capital. In a statement on Telegram, Klitschko said the curfew -- planned to begin Saturday at 8 p.m. and run until 7 a.m. on Monday -- would not be introduced. "Curfew time will remain normal - from 20:00 to 7:00 [8:00 pm to 7:00 am local time]," Klitschko said. "It will be possible to move around the capital and the region on Sunday afternoon."

Mar 26, 2022 5:53 PM

Russians seize town for Chernobyl workers

Russian forces have taken control of Slavutych, the town housing workers for the defunct nuclear power plant of Chernobyl, according to the regional governor, Oleksandr Pavlyuk. He posted a message on the Telegram messaging app saying Russian soldiers had seized the town's hospital and kidnapped the mayor.

Slavutych was built for the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl plant after the 1986 disaster - the world's worst ever nuclear accident.

On Friday, the UN's nuclear watchdog warned that fighting in the town was stopping workers from travelling to and from the plant, which still houses several nuclear waste containment facilities. Russian forces seized Chernobyl itself right at the start of the conflict.

Mar 26, 2022 5:41 PM

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