Russia-Ukraine war latest news: ‘dozens of people killed in rocket strikes’; talks under way on Belarus border – live | World news

Russia has closed its airspace to 36 countries, Russian state news agency Tass reports.

Among those countries barred from using Russian airspace are the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

The US has suspended operations at its embassy in Minsk, Belarus, and non-emergency employees and family members are being authorised to voluntarily depart the US embassy in Moscow.

In a statement on Monday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the decision was taken “due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine”.

The United States is expanding sanctions on Russia’s central bank in a move that will block Americans from engaging in any transactions with it and freezing any assets it holds in the US.

In a statement today, the US treasury department said the decision would apply to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Russia’s National Wealth Fund – which is run by a close ally of Vladimir Putin – and its Ministry of Finance.

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said:

The unprecedented action we are taking today will significantly limit Russia’s ability to use assets to finance its destabilizing activities, and target the funds Putin and his inner circle depend on to enable his invasion of Ukraine.

Today, in coordination with partners and allies, we are following through on key commitments to restrict Russia’s access to these valuable resources.”

The EU has warned that Belarus could start hosting Russian nuclear weapons after a “very dangerous” decision at a referendum to drop the country’s non-nuclear status, AFP reports.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said:

We know what does it mean for Belarus to be nuclear.

It means Russia will put nuclear weapons in Belarus and this is a very dangerous path.

The Kremlin has claimed that President Vladimir Putin placed Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert after statements from the UK’s foreign secretary Liz Truss, PA Media news agency reports.

According to the Interfax news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing:

Statements were made by various representatives at various levels on possible altercations or even collisions and clashes between Nato and Russia. We believe that such statements are absolutely unacceptable.

I would not call the authors of these statements by name, although it was the British foreign minister.

The website of Russian state news agency Tass was hacked on Monday with the site replaced with messages claiming Russian president Vladimir Putin is forcing them to lie, Reuters reports.

According to Reuters, the message read:

We urge you to stop this madness, do not send your sons and husbands to certain death.

Putin is forcing us to lie and is putting us in danger … It’s not our war, let’s stop him!

The message has since been removed. The website now says: “Sorry, the page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in rocket strikes by Russian forces on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Monday morning, the Ukrainian interior ministry has said.

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said in a post on Facebook:

Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads (rockets). Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded.

Roman Abramovich has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, his spokesperson has said.

A spokesperson for the Chelsea football club owner said:

I can confirm that Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution, and that he has been trying to help ever since.

Considering what is at stake, we would ask for your understanding as to why we have not commented on neither the situation as such nor his involvement.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Abramovich is in Belarus assisting in the Ukraine-Russia talks, at the request of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appealed to the European Union to allow Ukraine to gain membership immediately under a special procedure, as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces.

‘Our goal is to be with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal. I’m sure that’s fair. I am sure we deserved it,’ he said in a speech shared on social media.

Talks between Ukraine and Russia have begun, the foreign ministries of both countries have confirmed.

Ukraine has said its goal for the talks is an “immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops”. Its delegation includes several high-ranking officials, but not its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, himself.

The Kremlin has declined to comment on its aim in negotiations, but Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky has said Russia wants to reach an agreement that was in the interests of both sides.

Hello. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

It has just gone 1pm in Ukraine. Here is a round-up of the latest headlines:

• Talks between Ukraine and Russia got under way on the border with Belarus this morning. Ukraine had agreed to talks with Russia “without preconditions”, the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday.
• Recent British intelligence appears to corroborate a recent report from Ukraine’s military that Russia had “slowed down” its offensive. Britain’s defence ministry has said Russia’s advance on Kyiv has been slowed by logistical failures and fierce Ukrainian resistance.
• The Russian central bank has increased interest rates to 20% from 9.5% after the rouble plunged up to 40% on Monday in the wake of western sanctions.
• The EU is expecting Ukraine’s application to join the European Union “imminently” and officials in Brussels said “this will need to be assessed very rapidly by the council and the decision made as to whether to request an urgent opinion from the European Commission”.
• Residents in Mariupol this morning said the port city on the Sea of Azov was surrounded by Russian forces and under heavy attack.
• Amnesty International has condemned Russia’s reported use of cluster munitions in Ukraine, saying an attack on a pre-school “may constitute a war crime”.
• Russian invasion forces seized two small cities in south-eastern Ukraine and the area around a nuclear power plant, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, but ran into stiff resistance elsewhere as Moscow’s diplomatic and economic isolation deepened.
• The UK government announced a slew of measures “to prohibit any UK natural or legal persons from undertaking financial transactions involving the Russian central bank, the Russian national wealth fund, and the country’s ministry of finance”.
• The Russian rouble plunged nearly 30% to an all-time low versus the US dollar on Monday as markets opened for trading on the first day after western nations announced punishing economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
• The US stepped up the flow of weapons to Ukraine, announcing on Sunday it will send Stinger missiles as part of a package approved by the White House.
• At least 102 civilians in Ukraine have been killed since Russia launched its invasion last Thursday, with a further 304 injured, but the real figure is feared to be “considerably higher”, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday.
• An update from Ukraine’s interior ministry late last night said 352 Ukrainian civilians have so far been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children.The ministry said a further 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded.
• Blasts were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv early on Monday morning, Ukraine’s state service of special communications reported. Meanwhile, about 150km north-east of Kyiv in Chernihiv, a missile reportedly hit a residential building in the centre of the city, causing a fire to break out, the agency added.
• About 800 people were arrested as Belarus voted to ditch its non-nuclear status in a referendum that raises the stakes at a time when the country has become a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Monday.
• Forty Ukrainian civil society groups have come together to call on the West to establish safe zones for refugees inside Ukraine, and provide technology to help document Russian war crimes as part of a plan to make Vladimir Putin and his inner circle face justice at the international criminal court.

That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for now. My colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest news from Ukraine.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is trying to broker a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, his spokesman said.

The Russian-Israeli billionaire has come under pressure to speak out following the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s forces, PA Media reported.

There have been calls in parliament for him to face sanctions as a major oligarch “with links to the Russian state”.

A spokesman for the Chelsea owner said:

I can confirm that Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution, and that he has been trying to help ever since.

Considering what is at stake, we would ask for your understanding as to why we have not commented on neither the situation as such nor his involvement.

Abramovich’s involvement followed a request from the Ukrainian film producer Alexander Rodnyansky. There were no further details about Abramovich’s role, although it was acknowledged his influence was “limited”.

“I can confirm that the Ukrainian side have been trying to find someone in Russia willing to help them in finding a peaceful resolution,” Rodnyansky said. He added:

They are connected to Roman Abramovich through the Jewish community and reached out to him for help. Roman Abramovich has been trying to mobilise support for a peaceful resolution ever since.

Although Roman Abramovich’s influence is limited, he is the only one who responded and taken it upon himself to try.

If this will have an impact or not, I don’t know, but I am in contact with (Ukraine president Volodymyr) Zelenskiy’s staff myself, and know that they are grateful for his genuine efforts.

Abramovich stepped back from day-to-day running of Chelsea on Saturday night, handing stewardship to the west London club’s charitable foundation trustees.