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

Mar 31, 2022 10:57 PM

Separatist leader orders formation of city administration for Mariupol, Russian state news reports

Denis Pushilin, the head of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, has ordered the formation of a city administration for the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to a decree published on the DPR head’s website on Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported Thursday, as per CNN. "A local administration of the Donetsk People’s Republic is to be formed in the city of Mariupol," the document said according to TASS.

Mar 31, 2022 10:51 PM

Zelenskyy asks Belgian lawmakers for help with weapons, sanctions, and EU membership

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the Belgian government to help with “weapons, sanctions, membership of the European Union," adding, "maybe soon the future will pay you back”, CNN reports.

In an address to the Belgian parliament, Zelenskyy said “we need to know that Ukraine will be in the European Union because if we are they will lose. But if we lose, if we lose Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities there will no longer be a strong European Union because tyranny will come and take away from you that which you have and you are proud of. This is not a threat, this is reality.”

Zelenskyy went on to praise Belgium’s response to the war, saying the country was “one of the first to provide our defensive support. This is historic support and we are grateful. We will never forget that.”

“But you are in the heart of Europe and you can inspire all other Europeans to do more to help us get the occupiers off our land and restore precious peace. A peace that is worth more than anything,” Zelenskyy added.

Mar 31, 2022 10:08 PM

Russia bars more top EU officials in response to sanctions

Russia said on Thursday it had greatly expanded the number of European Union officials, lawmakers, public figures and journalists barred from Russia for allegedly being responsible for sanctions and stoking anti-Russian feelings. "The restrictions apply to the top leadership of the European Union, including a number of European commissioners and heads of EU military structures, as well as the vast majority of members of the European Parliament who promote anti-Russian policies," Russia's foreign ministry said.

Moscow said its blacklist also included representatives of some EU member states as well as public figures and journalists who it said were "personally responsible for promoting illegal anti-Russian sanctions, inciting Russophobic sentiments and the infringement of the rights and freedoms of the Russian-speaking population".

Mar 31, 2022 9:45 PM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in India

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day official visit, his first trip to the country since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last month.

Mar 31, 2022 9:37 PM

Russia-Ukraine War: British foreign minister Liz Truss pushes for 'deeper' ties with India

There has been a flurry of visits by foreign dignitaries to India in the last few days. US deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh arrived in India on Wednesday while Russian Foreign Minister…

Mar 31, 2022 9:36 PM

Germany and France again reject Russian demand to pay for gas in roubles

Germany and France have again rejected demands by Russia that European countries pay for its gas in rouble as an unacceptable breach of contracts, adding that the manoeuvre amounted to “blackmail”, Reuters reports.

Speaking during a news conference, Germany economy minister Robert Habeck said he had not yet seen a new degree signed by President Valdimir Putin mandating gas payments in roubles, adding that Germany was prepared for all scenarios, including a stoppage of Russian gas flows to Europe.

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said France and Germany rejected Russia’s demand.

Mar 31, 2022 8:35 PM

Ukraine state nuclear firm says most Russian forces have left Chernobyl nuclear plant

Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom on Thursday said many of the Russian forces occupying the Chernobyl nuclear plant had left and were headed for the Belarusian border, leaving just a few on the territory of the defunct plant. "The occupiers, who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the exclusion zone, have set off in two columns towards the Ukrainian border," it said in a statement. It said Russian forces had also retreated from the nearby town of Slavutych, where Ukrainian workers at Chernobyl live.

Mar 31, 2022 8:08 PM

Greenpeace activists block Russian oil transfer at sea

Greenpeace activists on Thursday blocked two oil tankers off the coast of Denmark from transferring 100,000 tonnes of Russian oil, in what the organization said was an attempt to stop funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In kayaks and rhib boats, the activists placed themselves between the oil tankers Seaoath and Pertamina Prime near Frederikshavn, Denmark, preventing the ship-to-ship oil transfer.

The Seaoath had arrived from Russia carrying 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude oil and was attempting to transfer the oil to the larger Pertamina Prime tanker, according to Greenpeace and Refinitiv ship tracking data. Commodity trader Trafigura confirmed that they had chartered the Seaoath tanker.

Mar 31, 2022 7:17 PM

Putin signs decree saying gas must be paid for in roubles from tomorrow

Russian presidentVladimir Putin has signed a decree saying foreign buyers must pay in roubles for Russian gas from 1 April, and contracts would be halted if these payments were not made. He said that Western sanctions had been prepared before, and the economic war against Russia started years ago. He added that the West would try hard to find reasons for new sanctions. Putin says the goal has been to undermine Russia’s development. The US will make profits from global instability and solve its problems at the expense of others. Europe moving to buy liquid natural gas from the US will lead to millions of job losses in Europe.

Mar 31, 2022 7:03 PM

Bus convoy heads to Berdiansk to assist in Mariupol evacuation, city council says

Mariupol's city council said a convoy of 17 buses is headed to the southern Ukrainian city of Berdiansk to take part in the evacuation of residents of the besieged city of Mariupol. "A new evacuation convoy of 17 buses, accompanied by police and the State Emergency Service, left in the morning," according to a statement, which did not have detailed information on timing. "It will join the column that stood in Vasylivka yesterday and also went to Berdiansk today. There are 45 buses in the evacuation column."

According to the statement, the convoy will reach Berdiansk on Thursday and begin evacuating Mariupol residents on Friday. In total, 80,442 Mariupol residents have been evacuated to Zaporizhzhia since the beginning of the war, the statement said.

Mar 31, 2022 6:31 PM

Kremlin looking to digitally disrupt enemy states, says British spymaster

Russia has attempted to disrupt Ukraine’s government and military in cyberspace and is looking to digitally target countries that oppose its invasion, the head of Britain’s GCHQ spy service has said. Reuters quotes Jeremy Fleming as saying during a speech in Canberra on Wednesday: "We’ve seen sustained intent from Russia to disrupt Ukrainian government and military systems. We’ve seen what looks like some spillover of activity affecting surrounding countries. And we’ve certainly seen indications which suggests Russia’s cyber actors are looking for targets in the countries that oppose their actions."

Mar 31, 2022 6:20 PM

Europe pushing for gas price cap with Russia

Italian PM Mario Draghi says Europe is pushing for a cap on gas prices with Russia because its payments are financing the war in Ukraine. Draghi told foreign reporters Thursday that the prices that Europe is paying are out of line with the global market. We, Germany and Italy, along with other countries that are importers of gas, coal, grains, corn ... are financing the war. There is no doubt,'' Draghi said. For this reason, Italy along with other countries are pushing for a cap on the price of gas. There is no substantial reason that the price of gas is so high for Europeans." Draghi noted that Russia has no other market for its gas, giving Europe room to maneuver. Asked about the risk that Russia would simply respond by turning off the taps, Draghi said, no there is no danger.

Mar 31, 2022 6:19 PM

Russian troops not withdrawing but regrouping in Ukraine, NATO says

Russian forces in Ukraine are not withdrawing but regrouping, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, commenting on Moscow's announcements about a scaling down of military operations around Kyiv.

"According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

"At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering."

Mar 31, 2022 6:08 PM

Kremlin: US officials don't understand Putin

The Kremlin has expressed regret and concern over US officials' reports that the Russian president is being misinformed by advisers about his military's performance in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that neither the State Department nor the Pentagon possess the real information about what is happening in the Kremlin. "They simply don't understand what's going on in the Kremlin, they don't understand President Putin, they don't understand the mechanism of decision-making, they don't understand the way we work," Peskov said.

Mar 31, 2022 5:58 PM

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