March 31, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

A Ukrainian official said on Thursday that a convoy of buses en route to the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol had been held up at a Russian checkpoint in Vasylivka, a city between the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia and the Russian-held city of Berdiansk.

"Our task is to open a humanitarian corridor and help people survive, especially civilians — women, children, the elderly," according to Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrainian minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it was preparing to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol on Friday.

Vereshchuk said about 100,000 people requiring immediate evacuation remain in the city, out of a pre-war population of more than 400,000.

"That is, another 100,000 women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities who need our and the world's help," she said. 

Vereshchuk claimed that 45,000 Ukrainian citizens have been forcibly deported to Russia, a figure CNN could not immediately verify. The Russian military says that thousands have been "evacuated" to Russia from separatist-held regions and "dangerous areas" of Ukraine. 

Earlier today, Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told CNN's John Berman that buses were moving through the evacuation corridor.

Orlov said up to 1,500-2,000 will be able to evacuate the city between today and tomorrow.

He added there are "constant street battles" in the city, but the Ukrainian army still controls the city center.

People remaining in Mariupol are "living like mouse. They are living underground in shelters, bomb shelters below. So people just do their best to be alive in this situation," he said.  

CNN's Adrienne Vogt contributed to this post.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that he expects additional offensive Russian actions that will be “bringing even more suffering.”

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels for the secretary general’s 2021 Annual Report, Stoltenberg said that according to intelligence, “Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region. At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities.”

“We have heard the recent statements that Russia will scale down military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. “But Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions, so we can only judge Russia on its actions, not on its words.”

He called on Russia to “end this senseless war, withdraw all its troops and engage in talks in good faith.”

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. 

Britain has issued further sanctions against 12 Russian citizens and two media entities, it was announced on Thursday.

The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that it is targeting "Russian propagandists and state media who spread lies and deceit about Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine."

The latest people sanctioned include famous Russian TV anchor Sergey Brilev and head of Sputnik International Broadcasting, Anton Anisimov.

The managing director of the Russian broadcast company RT, Alexey Nikolov, and CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding Aleksandr Zharov were also sanctioned with asset freezes and travel bans.

The sanctions also target the media houses Rossiya Segodnya and RT-owner TV-Novosti.

"We will keep on going with more sanctions to ramp up the pressure on Russia and ensure Putin loses in Ukraine. Nothing and no one is off the table," she added.

Aside from media figures, the UK government also sanctioned Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center. Referring to Mizintsev as the "butcher of Mariupol," the UK accuses him of being responsible for planning and executing the siege and bombardment of Mariupol.

The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv said that Russian attacks on his city are actually increasing, despite Russia's pledge that it would "drastically reduce" its military assault on Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Patients are in the hallway of the hospital because it is currently the safest place, away from windows, he said.

While Russian troops are moving back toward the border, artillery strikes and mortar attacks are increasing, he said, and officials overnight saw multiple Russian planes cross into Ukrainian airspace toward Chernihiv.

"The Russians are using mortars — which is like a very old, very old weapon — and it is not a precision weapon, and they're shooting mortar shells at us, four or five kilometers away from the city ... and also flying aircrafts and dropping bombs from a low height, so aiming deliberately at the destruction of civilian populations and residential neighborhoods," he added.

Alexey Sorokin, a member of the Russian Football Union delegation, criticized Russia’s suspension from world soccer on Thursday at the FIFA 72nd Congress in Doha, Qatar, and said it was unfair.

Speaking to journalists before the start of the congress, the former FIFA Council member said he found it “strange” that the Russian team is not allowed to play international events.

Some context: Russia is currently suspended from club and international football by UEFA and FIFA “until further notice” as a result of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, pending the outcome of a Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal.

Earlier this month, the Russian Football Union declared interest in hosting the European Championship in either 2028 or 2032 -- despite the country’s football ban.  

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it is getting ready to aid the safe passage of civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Friday.

“Our teams are traveling right now with pre-positioned relief items and medical supplies to be ready to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of Mariupol” the ICRC said in a statement.

Ukrainian officials said Thursday an evacuation corridor had been agreed with the Russians.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrainian minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, said in a statement that the Ukrainian side had received a message through the ICRC confirming Russian readiness to open a "humanitarian corridor" from Mariupol through the city of Berdyansk. 

Some context: Satellite images from Maxar Technologies have shown that entire city blocks in central Mariupol have been obliterated and a Red Cross warehouse was hit by military strikes. Ukrainian officials say around 90% of the buildings in the city have been damaged or left uninhabitable after weeks of intensive bombardment by Russian forces. 

In an interview with CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour Wednesday, Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, compared the situation in Mariupol with what happened during World War II: "I think that the catastrophe of Mariupol, I can say is very similar to what happened in the time ... the Second World War in the blockade of Leningrad because the people practically died without food, without water.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address his 17th international parliament by the end of today in a bid to drum up support during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Described by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday as a "lion of democracy," Zelensky has also addressed three multilateral institutions — the European Council, G7 and NATO — and over the weekend, he spoke virtually at the Doha Forum.

Zelensky first virtually addressed the European Parliament on March 1 and will address special sessions of the Australian, Dutch and Belgian parliaments on Thursday.

His second address was to the UK parliament on March 8, with subsequent addresses every few days to the following countries' governments: Poland, Canada, United States, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Italy, France, Japan, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that conditions were not yet in place for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Draghi told a news conference on Thursday when asked about a telephone call with Putin the previous day.

Draghi also said that Putin told him that current gas contracts remained in force and that European firms will continue to pay in euros and dollars, rather than in roubles.

"What I understood, but I may be wrong, is that the conversion of the payment ... is an internal matter of the Russian Federation," Draghi said.

Asked about increased defence spending following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Draghi said Italy will reach the NATO goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2028, adding that this was not in dispute among members of his coalition.

However, Draghi said that the government's upcoming economic forecasting document would not spell out a specific increase in defence spending.