These are the key events from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as air sirens blared in the capital of Ukraine amid Russian forces targeting key defences.
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Corridors
- Russian forces will “observe a regime of silence” from 10am Moscow time (07:00 GMT) to ensure safe passage for civilians wishing to leave the capital, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, the head of Russia’s National Defence Control Centre, Mikhail Mizintsev, was quoted as saying by the Tass news agency.
Talks in Turkey
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Turkey for talks on Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
Fighting
- Ukrainian troops repulsed efforts by Russian forces to enter Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said. Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize the southern regional capital of Mykolaiv in attacks that have been repulsed by Ukrainian troops, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said.
A planned attack on rebel region
- Russia’s defence ministry has said it has obtained secret documents which prove that Ukraine planned a March attack on Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The ministry published six pages of documents it said showed Kyiv planned a military assault on the Russian-backed rebel regions in Donbas. The claim could not be independently verified.
Death toll
- The United Nations human rights office says it has verified 1,335 civilian casualties so far in Ukraine, including 474 killed and 861 injured, but the true toll was likely to be higher. Ukraine says its forces have killed more than 11,000 Russian troops. Russia has confirmed about 500 losses.
Sanctions
- The UK unveiled new aviation sanctions giving it the power to detain any Russian aircraft and banning exports of aviation or space-related goods to Russia. A US ban on imports of Russia’s oil prompted a further increase in oil prices. Prices have surged more than 30 percent since Russia invaded its neighbour on February 24.
Economic effects
- McDonald’s, Starbucks and L’Oreal are temporarily closing all outlets in Russia. Coca-Cola and Pepsi suspended sales in the country. Unilever became the first major European food company to stop imports and exports out of Russia. The London Metal Exchange halted trade in nickel after prices of the metal, a key component in electric vehicle batteries, doubled to more than $100,000 a tonne.
Gazprom continues gas shipments via Ukraine
- Russian natural gas company Gazprom has continued gas shipments via Ukraine at the same volume of 109.5 million cubic metres a day, the company has said.