VLADIMIR Putin justified his Ukraine invasion in a sickening pro-war rally today as Mariupol rescuers fight to save kids trapped in a bombed theatre.
Speaking on a stage at the centre of Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, Putin promised to tens of thousands of people waving Russian flags and chanting “Russia, Russia, Russia” that all of the Kremlin’s aims would be achieved.
“We know what we need to do, how to do it and at what cost. And we will absolutely accomplish all of our plans,” Putin, 69, told the rally from a stage decked out with slogans such as “For a world without Nazism” and “For our president”.
But in chilling scenes reminiscent of Hitler’s Nuremberg rally, Russian slogans used at the rally incorporated the “Z” symbol that Russian forces have used as a motif in Ukraine. One read “Za Putina” – “for Putin”.
It comes as Mariupol city council says rescuers are continuing to clear rubble at the drama theatre and searching for survivors despite “continuous shelling”.
It said information about the victims “is still being clarified”.
More than a day after the air raid, there are no reports of deaths, and it is not clear how many people have emerged from the rubble.
One woman who said she had been preparing food for the people sheltering in the theatre said nearly 800 civilians were in the building when it was hit.
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
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Putin has ‘underestimated Western unity’ says PM
Describing his call with Mr Zelensky, Mr Johnson said: “I said we stand with you at a time when your people are facing such horror with such courage.”
Mr Johnson said he had pledged to do more to help Ukraine, saying more defensive weapons would be sent and more action to “tighten the vice” around Mr Putin’s economy.
Mr Johnson said: “I am more than ever convinced that Putin will fail.
“He will fail, because in his catastrophic venture in Ukraine he fatally underestimated the heroism and the resolve of the Ukrainians to fight.
“He underestimated western unity.
“And among other things, by the way, he underestimated the passionate commitment of the people in this country to help.”
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Biden brands Putin a ‘war criminal’
PRESIDENT Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” on Wednesday after a theatre in was Mariupol bombed.
Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s talk to Congress yesterday, President Biden spoke to reporters at an unrelated event.
“I think he is a war criminal,” the President said.
“We saw reports that Russian forces were holding hundreds of doctors and patients hostage in the largest hospital in Mariupol,” Biden continued to say.
“These are atrocities. They’re an outrage to the world. And the world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price.”
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PM tells Zelensky he will do more to help Ukraine
Boris Johnson said he has told President Volodymyr Zelensky he will do more to help Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Speaking at the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, the Prime Minister said he had spoken to Mr Zelensky this morning.
The Prime Minister said: “From my office, I said we stand with you at a time when your people are facing such horror with such courage.
“When you’re fighting, not just for your lives and your homes – for the cause of democracy and freedom itself.
“We know that we must do more to help. I pledge to you that we will.”
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Leading Russian colonel killed
According to reports, a leading Russian paratroop commander has been killed in battle.
It is the latest setback for Vladimir Putin, with several senior military officers having died.
Colonel Sergei Sukharev, of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma, and his deputy Major Sergei Krylov were killed on Thursday, according to both the Ukrainian government and Russian state TV.
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In pictures: Putin gives speech marking annexing of Crimea
A screen shows Russian President Vladimir Putin delivering a speech during a concert marking the 8th anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia.
Russia in 2014 annexed the Black Sea peninsula, shortly after Crimeans voted in a disputed referendum to secede from Ukraine.
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Putin’s speech CUT mid-sentence during state TV broadcast
Russian state television cut President Vladimir Putin’s speech mid-sentence as he was addressing tens of thousands of supporters at Moscow’s main football stadium on Friday.
As the Russian leader was addressing crowds, state television switched to showing a clip of patriotic music.
Putin was cut mid-sentence as he was saying: “It so happened that the beginning of the operation coincided by chance with the birthday of one of our outstanding military…”.
Russian state television is tightly controlled and such interruptions are highly unusual.
Putin was speaking at an event in support of the Russian army in Ukraine and to mark the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
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Successful applicants under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme will receive a permission letter from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) confirming that they can travel to the UK.
This will allow them to board a plane or take other transport to the UK.
Refugees should not make their own way to the UK until they have received this letter, the Government said.
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Ukrainian refugees with family in UK can now apply for a visa
Ukrainian refugees without family members in the UK can now apply for visas under a new sponsorship scheme which opened on Friday.
Applicants and their sponsors are now able to fill in an online form on Gov.uk under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
Guidance published on Friday says that, by completing the form, both the applicant and sponsor have given permission for their data and contact details to be shared for the purpose of checks.
Those who hold a valid Ukrainian passport will not need to attend an appointment at a visa application centre to give their biometrics.
The Government said it is prioritising applications under the scheme and aims to make a decision “as quickly as possible”.
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Zelensky says 130 people saved from theatre bombing – but hundreds still trapped
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that 130 people had been saved after the bombing of a theatre in the port city of Mariupol, besieged by Russian forces, but that “hundreds” were still trapped in rubble.
“More than 130 people have been saved. But hundreds of Mariupol residents are still beneath the rubble,” Zelensky said in a video address on Facebook.
He promised to continue rescue operations in Mariupol “despite shelling” in the southern city that has suffered vast destruction.
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Thank you for reading this morning’s coverage. Milica Cosic now logging off, and I shall be passing the blog to my colleague Joe Gamp.
He’ll be bringing you the latest news and updates until 10pm tonight.
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News you may have missed
If you’re just joining the blog, here’s the latest news from today:
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Ukraine: We’re pressing on with bid to join EU
Ukraine will not abandon its bid to join the European Union, the deputy chief of staff of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“I will be categorical – this is absolutely unacceptable. It is our choice, the application for EU membership has been submitted and now it is being put into practice,” deputy chief of staff Andrii Sybiha said.
Mr Sybiha said on national television that negotiations with Russia were continuing, however they were proving difficult.
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Leading Russian colonel killed
According to reports, a leading Russian paratroop commander has been killed in battle.
It is the latest setback for Vladimir Putin, with several senior military officers having died.
Colonel Sergei Sukharev, of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma, and his deputy Major Sergei Krylov were killed on Thursday, according to both the Ukrainian government and Russian state TV.
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UN warns food supply chains are ‘falling apart’ in Ukraine
Food supply chains in Ukraine are collapsing, with a portion of infrastructure destroyed and many grocery stores and warehouses empty, a UN World Food Programme (WFP) official has warned.
Jakob Kern of the WFP is also concerned about the situation in cities such as Mariupol, saying that food and water supplies were running out and that convoys are unable to enter the city.
A woman reacts after she was rescued from a residential apartment building that was hit by shelling as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continuesCredit: Reuters 
A woman reacts as she leaves the area where a five-storey residential building partially collapsed after a shelling in KyivCredit: AFP -
Pope Francis says humanity has been threatened ‘once more’
The Pope has called the war a “perverse abuse of power” that has condemned defenceless people to “brutal violence”.
“The tragedy of the war taking place in the heart of Europe has left us stunned,” Pope Francis said in a message to a Catholic Church conference in Slovakia.
“Once more humanity is threatened by a perverse abuse of power and partisan interests which condemns defenceless people to suffer every form of brutal violence.”
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UN says humanitarian crisis increasing exponentially
The humanitarian needs in Ukraine are “increasing exponentially”, the United Nations refugee agency has warned.
Matthew Saltmarsh, from the agency, says the situation will continue to worsen if there is no end to the fighting.
He says the situation is particularly dire in southern Ukrainian cities besieged by Russian troops.
“The humanitarian situation in cities such as Mariupol and Sumy is extremely dire, with residents facing critical and potentially fatal shortages of food, water and medicine,” he says.
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Biden to urge China not to arm Russia
It has been claimed that US president Joe Biden will urge China not to provide Russia with military equipment for its war in Ukraine, when he speaks to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping by phone later today.
Biden yesterday called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a pure thug” and “a murderous dictator” who was waging an “immoral war” against the people of Ukraine, during an address at a lunch to celebrate Irish heritage on St Patrick’s Day on Capitol Hill.
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Bombed zoo asks people for help
A zoo in Ukraine has asked people to buy e-tickets to help support the stressed-out animals after it came under shelling.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on Twitter: “From the very beginning of #war the Mykolayiv Zoo was bombed. Half of the staff was evacuated, some of them went to war.
“The Director Volodymyr Topchyi decided to stay and to help stressed animals.”
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Bombing hampers Mariupol theatre rescue
Rescue workers continue to dig the rubble of Mariupol’s drama theatre that officials say was hit by a Russian air strike yesterday
Hundreds of civilians – including children – were believed to be in the building, which had been clearly marked as a civilian shelter.
Mariupol’s mayor Vadym Boychenko told the BBC: “Right now a rescue operation is in progress.
“So we need more time [to give an estimate on survivors and casualties]. The city is still being bombed, and that’s interfering in the rescue operation.”
Dmytro Gurin, a Ukrainian MP from Mariupol whose parents are trapped in the city, also told the BBC: “Everything is in rubble. The bomb shelter has three zones and we don’t know exactly what’s going on with every zone.
“It looks like the bomb shelters weren’t damaged but people cannot get out because we cannot clear the rubble because of artillery fire and it’s very, very dangerous.”
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Poland ‘to build gas pipelines to de-Russify economy’
According to Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland is seeking to be economically independent of Russia.
This would be done, Morawiecki said, by removing dependence on Russian energy by building new gas pipelines.
Poland would also subside farmers for rising fertiliser prices, in order keep food prices down.
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Two killed in airstrike on Kramatorsk
There have been reports of shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
Two people have been reported killed.
Regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko also says that six people were wounded in the attack on a residential block and an administrative building.
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Sergei Lavrov: Russia’s ‘illusions about the West are over’
Moscow will never accept a global perspective, the Kremlin said today.
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov also said that Russia has lost all illusions about relying on the West.
Today, Joe Biden is to talk via videolink with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Medics concerned ‘chemical weapons will come next’
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who travelled to Ukraine to assist with the humanitarian aid effort, has told Sky News that medical staff are growing increasingly concerned about the use of chemical weapons.
The Shadow Health Minister said she was helping train medical professionals on the difference between chlorine gas, sarin gas, nerve agents, and how to secure hospitals in the event of a chemical attack.
“We actually had medics who were in tears and one of the things that we talked about was the mental health impact and the PTSD that they will be experiencing,” she said.
She also told Sky News: “Doctors are trained to treat patients but they’re not trained to have to work out what to do with 100 injured people and chemical weapons”.
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Frequent shelling in Luhansk region preventing safe evacuation
The governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region has said that frequent and widespread shelling by Russian forces was preventing the safe evacuation of civilians from towns and villages on the front line.
Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said 59 civilians had been killed in the region since the start of the war.
“There is not one community that hasn’t been under fire,” he said on national television, naming the towns of Severodonetsk, Rubizhne and Popasna as particular hotspots.
Efforts to evacuate civilians have been hampered by the fighting.
However, the local authorities hope a temporary ceasefire can be agreed for Saturday to allow trucks to distribute food, medicine and other aid.
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BREAKING: People rescued from Mariupol theatre
Around 130 people have been rescued from Mariupol theatre after airstrike.
More than 100 people have been rescued from a bomb shelter beneath a bombed theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman has said.
