Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: Blinken says Russia may use 'chemical agents' in Ukraine, later clarifies

Russia-Ukraine war LIVE updates -Day 48: Nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children have fled their homes in the six weeks since Russia’s invasion, and the United Nations has verified the deaths of 142 youngsters, though the number is almost certainly much higher, the UN children’s agency said Monday. Ukraine’s UN ambassador claimed Russia has taken more than 121,000 children out of Ukraine.

The mayor of Mariupol told the Associated Press that more than 10,000 civilians have died in the city in Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24.

Meanwhile, The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that the disruption to grain exports from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could trigger a global hunger crisis. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States and India are cooperating to deliver more food to the world market and make more fertiliser amid the shortage due to the Ukraine conflict.

Blinken om Monday recognised that India's relationship with Russia had developed over decades, at a time when the United States was not able to be a partner to India. "Times have changed. Today, we are able and willing to be partners of choice with India across every realm."

Follow all the updates here:

• Apr 13, 2022 01:22 AM IST

  'Not in position to confirm,' clarifies Blinken on use of 'chemical weapons'

  US isn't in position to confirm reports of use of chemical weapons in Ukraine but was working to determine what actually happened, US Secy of State said, as quoted by Reuters.

  Ukraine had earlier said that it was checking info that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging Mariupol, Reuters stated.

• Apr 13, 2022 12:50 AM IST

  Ukraine detains pro-Kremlin, Putin-aide opposition leader

  Ukrainian officials say fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who is both a pro-Russian opposition leader and a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has been detained in a special operation carried out by the country’s SBU secret service.

• Apr 12, 2022 11:37 PM IST

  Russia may use 'chemical agents' in Ukraine: Blinken

  US has 'credible' information Russia may use 'chemical agents' in Ukraine, says Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

• Apr 12, 2022 09:08 PM IST

  Kyiv says negotiations with Russia 'extremely difficult'

  Kyiv said Tuesday that ongoing talks with Russia to end the war were "extremely difficult" after Moscow accused Ukrainian negotiators of slowing down discussions by changing position on a key issue.

• Apr 12, 2022 08:06 PM IST

  Ukraine war brings 'multi-year problem' for world food supply: UN agency

  The world is facing "a multi-year problem" in food supply as the war in Ukraine drives global prices higher and disrupts production of staple crops, the UN's  World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley said on Tuesday.

• Apr 12, 2022 07:40 PM IST

  Ukraine's 'inconsistency' slowing down peace talks with Russia: Putin

  Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that lack of consistency in Ukraine's demands was slowing down talks on ending Russia's military operation there.

• Apr 12, 2022 07:13 PM IST

  Zelenskyy accuses Russian troops of 'hundreds of rapes'

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said investigators had received reports of "hundreds of cases of rape" in areas previously occupied by Russian troops, including sexual assaults of small children.

• Apr 12, 2022 07:01 PM IST

  Putin calls situation in Ukrainian town of Bucha 'fake'

  Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday said that images and footage of dead bodies strewn across the Ukrainian town of Bucha were fake, TASS news agency reported.

• Apr 12, 2022 06:38 PM IST

  OPEC Sees Russia Conflict Curbing Both Oil Supply and Demand

  The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sees Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as curtailing both world oil demand and supply, indicating little need for the group to divert from its current production policy.

• Apr 12, 2022 05:52 PM IST

  Russian hackers tried to sabotage Ukrainian power grid: Officials

  Russian hackers attempted to launch a destructive cyberattack on Ukraine's electricity grid last week, Ukrainian officials and cybersecurity researchers said on Tuesday.

• Apr 12, 2022 05:32 PM IST

  Russia has enough funds to service its debt, finance ministry says

  Russia has enough funds to service its debt in time and to redeem all its debt obligations, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

• Apr 12, 2022 04:58 PM IST

  Concern over possible use of chemical weapons as battle rages in besieged Ukrainian port

  Civilians were fleeing from areas of eastern Ukraine on Tuesday ahead of an anticipated Russian offensive, while Kyiv said it was checking reports that Russian forces had used chemical weapons in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

• Apr 12, 2022 04:26 PM IST

  Ukraine launches probe over mine death

  Ukrainian police on Tuesday said they have launched a war crimes investigation after a 64-year-old man was killed by a mine left behind in an area from which Russian forces recently retreated.

• Apr 12, 2022 04:05 PM IST

   Zelenskyy urges quick EU sanctions on Russian oil, all banks

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the European Union on Tuesday to impose sanctions on all Russian banks and Russian oil and to set a deadline for ending imports of Russian gas.

• Apr 12, 2022 03:49 PM IST

  Indian Oil removes Russian Urals from latest tender, sources say

  Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has excluded several high-sulphur crude grades, including Russian Urals, from its latest tender, trade sources said on Tuesday.

• Apr 12, 2022 03:16 PM IST

  More than 10,000 civilians dead in Ukraine port city: Mayor

  Russian troops killed more than 10,000 civilians over the past six weeks in their unsuccessful fight to capture the strategic southern port, the mayor said.

• Apr 12, 2022 02:43 PM IST

  Putin says Russia will achieve 'noble' aims of its Ukraine military campaign

  Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow's military operation in Ukraine would undoubtedly achieve what he said were its "noble" objectives.

• Apr 12, 2022 02:21 PM IST

  Putin flies into Russian far east for Ukraine talks with Belarusian leader

  President Vladimir Putin flew into Russia's far east Amur region on Tuesday for talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expected to focus on Ukraine and Russian-Belarusian integration.

• Apr 12, 2022 01:31 PM IST

  UK minister says Russian chemical attack would draw Western 'response'

  A UK minister warned Tuesday any use of chemical weapons by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine "will get a response and all options are on the table".

  The stark warning came hours after London said it was trying to verify reports Moscow used chemical weapons Monday in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

  "If they are used at all, then (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin should know that all possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond," armed forces minister James Heappey told Sky News.

• Apr 12, 2022 01:05 PM IST

  Russia says it destroyed ammo depots in two Ukrainian regions

  The Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday that its missiles had destroyed ammunition depots in Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi and Kyiv regions.

  The ministry said Russian forces had struck an ammunition depot and hangar at the Starokostiantyniv airbase in the Khmelnytskyi region, as well as an ammunition depot near Havrylivka north of the capital Kyiv.

• Apr 12, 2022 12:17 PM IST

  Nokia to stop doing business in Russia

  Telecoms equipment maker Nokia is pulling out of the Russian market, its CEO told Reuters, going a step further than rival Ericsson, which said on Monday it was indefinitely suspending its business in the country.

  Hundreds of foreign companies are cutting ties with Russia following its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and after Western sanctions against Moscow.

• Apr 12, 2022 11:06 AM IST

  UK Says fighting in eastern Ukraine to intensify over the next 2-3 weeks

  Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 12 April 2022
  
  Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/kt8tMUxq3P
  
  🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/vGy3y0iSjJ

  — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 12, 2022

  Fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify over the next two to three weeks as Russia continues to refocus its efforts there, the UK's Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin on Tuesday.

   

  Russian attacks remain focused on Ukrainian positions near Donetsk and Luhansk with further fighting around Kherson and Mykolaiv and a renewed push towards Kramatorsk, British military intelligence said.

• Apr 12, 2022 10:27 AM IST

  Ukrainians 'surrounded' in Mariupol

  Ukrainian forces are "surrounded and blocked" in Mariupol as Russian forces push to take the city, Myhaylo Podolyak, an official from President Volodymyr Zelensky's office tweeted as per Reuters.

  The Ukrainian army insists that "the defence of Mariupol continues". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes "tens of thousands" of people in the city have been killed.

• Apr 12, 2022 09:24 AM IST

  Putin to discuss war with Belarus leader Lukashenko on Tuesday: Report

  Russia's President Vladimir Putin will meet Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and Western sanctions, news agencies in Russia and Belarus reported.

• Apr 12, 2022 08:30 AM IST

  Zelenskyy warns Russia could use chemical weapons

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday warned that Russia could use chemical weapons in the war-hit country and called on the West to impose tougher sanctions to deter Moscow from such acts. Zelenskyy's warning came amid unconfirmed reports suggesting chemical weapons were used in the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol. Read more

• Apr 12, 2022 08:01 AM IST

  Ukraine braces for new Russian offensive as Moscow dismisses rape allegations

  Ukraine pleaded for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east, as more reports emerged of rape and brutality against Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces, news agency Reuters reported.

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised address late on Monday that Russia could resort to chemical weapons as it amassed troops in the eastern Donbas region for a new assault on the port of Mariupol, where thousands are believed to have died under a near-seven week siege.

• Apr 12, 2022 07:03 AM IST

  India's total purchases of Russian oil for month less than what Europe does in afternoon: Jaishankar

  In a strong response to criticism of India's purchase of Russian oil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said India's total purchases of Russian oil for one month were less than what Europe does in one afternoon. 

  Answering a question about India's import of Russian oil, Jaishankar said, "If you're looking at (India's)energy purchases from Russia, I'd suggest your attention should be on Europe. We buy some energy necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at figures, our purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon." Read more

• Apr 12, 2022 07:01 AM IST

  Russia aggressively building base in Donetsk and Luhansk for fresh attacks: Ukraine

  Russia has nearly completed its buildup for a renewed assault on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine's defence ministry said. The governor of Luhansk said Russia was moving military vehicles closer to the front lines in the region, news agency Reuters reported.

• Apr 12, 2022 05:47 AM IST

  Austria's Nehammer says talks with Putin left 'no optimistic impression'

  Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Monday his meeting with Vladimir Putin did not leave him optimistic after he arrived seeking either an end to the conflict in Ukraine or humanitarian solutions for civilians there, news ganecy Reuters reported.

  "I generally have no optimistic impression that I can report to you from this conversation with President Putin. The offensive (in eastern Ukraine) is evidently being prepared on a massive scale," Nehammer told a news conference in Moscow after his afternoon meeting with Putin.