RUSSIA has re-asserted its right to use nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine, which started over a month ago.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president who is deputy chairman of the country’s security council, said Moscow could respond to an enemy that uses conventional weapons.
Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world – approximately 6,000 nuclear warheads.
On Saturday, Medvedev said: “We have a special document on nuclear deterrence. This document clearly indicates the grounds on which the Russian Federation is entitled to use nuclear weapons. There are a few of them, let me remind them to you.
“Number one is the situation, when Russia is struck by a nuclear missile. The second case is any use of other nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies.
“The third is an attack on a critical infrastructure that will have paralysed our nuclear deterrent forces.
“And the fourth case is when an act of aggression is committed against Russia and its allies, which jeopardised the existence of the country itself, even without the use of nuclear weapons, that is, with the use of conventional weapons.”
It comes as Vladimir Putin’s defence minster claimed nuclear “readiness” was a priority.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Moscow was a direct threat to the world, saying: “Russia is deliberating bragging they can destroy with nuclear weapons, not only a certain country but the entire planet”.
Since the start of the war, Mr Putin has threatened the use of nuclear weapons, warning that western intervention would reap “consequences you have never seen”.
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
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Bitcoin price soars after Russia says it could try to dodge sanctions
BITCOIN prices soared after Russia said it could try to dodge sanctions by selling oil and gas in cryptocurrency.
The digital money has shot up around five per cent since Putin’s energy chief Pavel Zavalny said it could be used by friendly countries.
He added they could use various currencies, such as the Turkish lira or Chinese yuan, depending on the buyer’s preference.
The move is an attempt by the Kremlin to boost Russia’s currency, which has fallen 20 per cent in value this year, to avoid the West’s economic sanctions.
Mr Zavalny said on Thursday: “We have been proposing to China for a long time to switch to settlements in national currencies for roubles and yuan.
“With Turkey, it will be lira and roubles. You can also trade bitcoins.”
The price of bitcoin has gone from around £32,576 on Thursday to around £34,156 on Sunday morning.
Analyst David Broadstock, of the Energy Studies Institute in Singapore, said: “Russia is very quickly feeling the impact of unprecedented sanctions.
“There is a need to shore up the economy and in many ways, Bitcoin is seen as a high growth asset.”
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Ukraine ready to deploy baguette-sized Switchblade flying bombs
UKRAINE is ready to deploy baguette-sized Switchblade flying bombs that fit in a backpack to rain death on Russian tanks.
The weapon, controlled from a tablet, can scout out targets over enemy lines to hit battlefield command and control headquarters.
US President Joe Biden agreed to give Ukraine 100 Switchblades for around £600million.
The devices fly at around 60mph for up to 15 minutes using a camera relaying video of the terrain, before accelerating to 100mph when its remote pilot locks onto a target.
Military analysts say it gives Ukraine major advantages by providing surveillance and reconnaissance intelligence.
They weigh about 2.5kg and are much lighter than the 20kg Javelin anti-tank missiles already used, which America also supplied.
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Polish TV holding global charity telethon for Ukraine
British artists Fatboy Slim and Craig David are among the music stars taking part in an English-language charity telethon for Ukraine being organised on Sunday by Polish state channel TVP, the network said.
The “Save Ukraine #StopWar” programme, which will also include Ukrainian footballing legend Andriy Shevchenko, is being broadcast to more than 20 countries, TVP World said in a statement.
The two-hour show will start at 1530 GMT.
“Money will be raised for the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the statement said, adding that Polish and Ukrainian anchors would take part.
The organisers said it was “a project aimed at reaching out to millions of people around the world to help Ukrainians live through the war and win it”.
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Macron fears ‘escalation’ after Biden calls Putin a ‘butcher’
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned against verbal “escalation” with Moscow, after US President Joe Biden called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “butcher”.
Macron told broadcaster France 3 that he saw his task as “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of (Russian) troops by diplomatic means.”
“If we want to do that, we can’t escalate either in words or actions.”
Macron also added that he would call Putin on Monday or Tuesday to discuss a proposal from France, Greece and Turkey to evacuate Ukrainians from besieged port city Mariupol.
“There is a lot of cynicism from the Russian side on this question,” Macron said.
“We’re looking with the Ukrainian authorities in the city of Mariupol at how to organise the evacuation of everyone who wants to flee.”
He added that “we have to do it quickly, in the very next days” given the intensity of combat and bombardments in the city.
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People forced to drink sewage water in Kyiv
Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko said people are starving and being forced to drink sewage water in Kyiv as the situation across the country worsens.
Speaking to Times Radio, Ms Vasylenko said that Kyiv is still facing attacks and suffering food scarcity while people are “made to stay in basements and metro stations”.
“People are actually starving without food, and drinking sewage water,” she said.
“In Mariupol, thousands of people are getting forcefully deported across the border to Russia apparently to safety but then they are sent off in an unknown direction and nobody hears from them again.
“So the atrocities, they’re just the same all over the place.”
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Mayor of Kyiv says ‘We need more help to win’
VITALI Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, has begged Boris Johnson and Joe Biden to send more help to Ukraine whilst vowing his country will “never give up”.
In a highly emotional interview today on GB News Vitali, 50, said: “I want to say thank you very much to the US and to Great Britain for all their humanitarian help and all for their financial support.
“But it’s not enough. We need more weapons and we need more help. We have to stop the Russians. The Ukrainian Army is so strong and our soldiers are destroying Russian plans, but we need more help to win.”
Explaining why he believed Ukrainian forces were putting up such a strong fight, Vitali continued: “It’s like this, Russia’s Army and Russia’s soldiers are fighting for money. We are defending our children, our families, our homeland, our future. That’s why we are strong.
“The world needs to remember this is our homeland. We are defending our friends. Our relatives. Our families. That’s why we are here. We have to defend our hometown and we have to defend our future. This war doesn’t have rules. We see big drama every day. We see millions leave Ukraine. We were always a peaceful country. We never were aggressive to anyone. But right now we have to defend ourselves.”
“The Russians want to bring us back to the USSR. They want to occupy our homeland. We see our future as democratic and part of the European family.
*We never go to the knee. We never give up. We defend our families”
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US ‘has no strategy of regime change for Russia’
The United States has no strategy of regime change for Russia, secretary of state Antony Blinken told reporters today.
“I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” Blinken said during a visit to Jerusalem.
“As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia – or anywhere else, for that matter.”
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Beckett: Biden has strong feelings and is inclined to voice them
Former foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett spoke to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge earlier.
When asked what she thought about US President Joe Biden’s strong speech about Vladimir Putin no longer being allowed to remain in power, she said: “I’ve rather liked what we’ve seen in Joe Biden.
“I know that he gets a lot of criticism, but he strikes me as being somebody who has strong feelings and is inclined to then just voice them.
“And, you know, maybe we don’t get quite enough of that sincerity and reaction sometimes from people in our political world.”
She added: “I’m sure that his staff and the people around him are right to say America’s not calling for regime change, but equally, I think many people will sympathise with the sentiments that led him to say what he did.”
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Pictured: Civilians use the humanitarian corridors
Today, civilians were being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
It is being done so under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists.
The corridors will run from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and include people leaving Mariupol in cars.
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Injured Russian soldiers freeze and appear terrified as they are awarded bravery medals
CHILLING footage shows haunted Russian soldiers frozen as they waited in line to receive bravery medals after returning home from the frontline in Ukraine with crippling injuries.
The wounded troops appeared petrified as they sat in silence in a row of wheelchairs while Russian deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin hailed their war efforts.
Despite the Colonel-General’s enthusiasm, the young soldiers – many missing a limb from the horrors of Putin’s invasion – looked shellshocked and full of despair.
Footage broadcast by the Kremlin-controlled Channel One showed Fomin declare “I serve Russia” as he greeted each ailing troop with a handshake before pinning a medal to their chest.
“You all carried out the orders assigned to you, you all gave one hundred percent,” Fomin told the wounded men.
“Like real men, like real soldiers, you continued the glorious military traditions of our grandfathers and fathers.”
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Ukrainian President has pleaded for more fighter jets and tanks
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the West of cowardice as his brave troops stave off invading troops.
The Ukrainian President has pleaded for more fighter jets and tanks to be sent out to help defend against Putin’s butchers.
He urged Western leaders to hand over supplies that are “gathering dust” in stockpiles.
“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” he said in a video address on Sunday.
Referring to NATO, Zelensky added: “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had one per cent of their courage.”
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Chernobyl radiation spikes
Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun said: “It isn’t possible to put out the fire now, as this territory isn’t controlled by Ukraine.
“We’re afraid that the fire will reach the nuclear power plant. The radiation level is already elevated.”
Russia’s troops have set up a field camp and withdrawn as radioactive dust has made it impossible to conduct military operations, Ukraine’s General Chief of Staff said.
Some military units are also withdrawing to Belarus to regroup.
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Ukraine warns Russia wants to split us in half like North and South Korea
RUSSIA wants to split Ukraine in half like North and South Korea, the country’s military intelligence chief has warned as frustrated Putin launches a deadly new pincher move.
Kyrylo Budanov has accused Russian troops of attempting apply what he calls the “Korean scenario” after failing to capture Kyiv as the invasion continues to stall.
Budanov, Ukraine’s head of defence intelligence, said Putin’s butchers will soon launch a guerrilla warfare in Russian-occupied territory in a bid to create a Moscow-controlled region.
In a statement released by the Defense Ministry, Budanov said Putin realised “he can’t swallow the entire country” – and would instead try to divide the country like North and South Korea.
“The occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine,” he added.
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Chelsea set to have new owners BEFORE end of season
CHELSEA are set to have new owners in place by the end of next month – with four bidders left in the frame.
US investment bank Raine Group has told the four remaining contenders they have until April 11 to submit revised bids for the club.
And with the Government keen to push through a sale as soon as possible, it is now expected a deal will be signed off inside the next five weeks.
That will still have to be approved by Prem chiefs and the Government.
But it appears increasingly likely that Chelsea’s future will be settled well before the end of the season.
All four bidders still in the contest have links to US sports franchises, with only two of the contenders having genuine British links.
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Blind mystic Baba Vanga who ‘predicted 9/11’ also claimed Putin will be ‘Lord of the World’
A BLIND mystic who is said to have predicted 9/11 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine claimed Putin will become “lord of the world”.
Baba Vanga, known as the “Nostradamus of the Balkans”, died 25 years ago – but is believed to have possessed an uncanny knack for predicting major world events.
It’s been suggested that she believed Russia will dominate the world after a meeting in 1979 with writer Valentin Sidorov.
BirminghamLive reports that during the interview, Vanga said: “All will thaw, as if ice, only one remain untouched – Vladimir’s glory, glory of Russia.
“Too much it is brought in a victim. Nobody can stop Russia.
“All will be removed by her from the way and not only will be kept, but also becomes the lord of the world.”
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Grain exports in Ukraine getting worse by the day
Ukraine’s new agriculture minister Mykola Solskyi says the country’s ability to export grain is getting worse by the day, add it would only improve if the war with Russia ends.
Speaking in a televised briefing, Solskyi says Ukraine’s export volume has fallen to just a few hundred thousand tonnes, where they would normally be exporting 4-5 million tonnes of grain per month.
“The impact (on global markets) is direct, dramatic and large. And it continues. Every day the situation will become more and more difficult,” he says.
Ukraine is one of the biggest grain exporters in the world.
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Zahawi says there’s evidence war crimes have been committed in Ukraine
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, was asked on Sky News this morning if the UK Government agreed with Joe Biden that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, and said: “I think that’s up to the Russian people.”
“The Russian people, I think, are pretty fed up with what is happening in Ukraine, this illegal invasion, the destruction of their own livelihoods, their economy is collapsing around them and I think the Russian people will decide the fate of Putin and his cronies.”
Mr Zahawi added there is “evidence that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine”.
Pressed further about the US president’s comments on regime change in Russia, Mr Zahawi told Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News: “It’s an illegal invasion of Ukraine and that must end, and I think that’s what the president was talking about.”
Asked if Mr Biden was wrong to say what he did, Mr Zahawi replied: “No, what I’m saying to you is the White House has been very clear on this, the president gave a very powerful speech on this and I think both the United States and the United Kingdom agree that it’s up to the Russian people to decide who should be governing them.”
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Joe Biden ‘made a dangerous situation more dangerous’
US President Joe Biden’s comment that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” has prompted strong criticism from president of the US Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haass.
The comments “made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more dangerous”, Mr Haass wrote on Twitter.
“That is obvious,” he added.
“Less obvious is how to undo the damage, but I suggest his chief aides reach their counterparts & make clear the US is prepared to deal with this Russian government.”
Mr Haass also said: “The White House walk back of @POTUS regime change call is unlikely to wash.
“Putin will see it as confirmation of what he’s believed all along. Bad lapse in discipline that runs risk of extending the scope and duration of the war.”
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Missile strikes yesterday
Russian missile strikes rocked Ukraine’s largest western city yesterday – less than 24 hours after tinpot despot Putin vowed to focus his army on the east.
Officials claim at least five people were injured in the blasts in Lviv, which is just 45 miles from Nato member Poland’s border.
Lviv – which had been a safer destination for refugees – had so far been largely spared bombardment that has devastated cities across Ukraine since Putin ordered his troops into the country on February 24.
But on Saturday several rockets struck the city close to the NATO border while Joe Biden was visiting the capital of Poland.
Humiliated tyrant Putin on Fridat vowed his troops would focus on “liberating” pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region – adviser to Ukraine’s ministry of defence Markian Lubkivskyi said he was sceptical over the claims.
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32nd day of the invasion
Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, now in its 32nd day, has stalled in many areas, with Putin’s aim to quickly encircle Kyiv and force its surrender crushed by staunch Ukrainian resistance.
But as the capital continues to come under bombardment from Putin’s troops, with many areas reduced to burnt-out wreckages, authorities have announced a fresh curfew in a bid to keep civilians safe.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko put the curfew in place from 8pm local time on Saturday until 7am on Monday – only allowing residents out of their home to get to bomb shelters.
Shops, gas stations, pharmacies and public transport are not open during the 35-hour curfew.
Ms Vasylenko also told the dire situation in cities across Ukraine, as terrified families continue to flee the war-torn country.
“In Mariupol, thousands of people are getting forcefully deported across the border to Russia apparently to safety but then they are sent off in an unknown direction and nobody hears from them again,” she added.
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‘Starving’ Kyiv civilians are forced to drink SEWAGE water
DESPERATE civilians in Kyiv have resorted to drinking SEWAGE water as the city continues to be bombarded by horror Russian missile strikes.
Panicked people in the Ukrainian capital are facing starvation as food becomes scarce while they are “made to stay in basements and metro stations” amid relentless shelling, according to an official.
With the besieged city hit by shortages of water and supplies, MP Lesia Vasylenko says families are turning to unthinkable measures.
“People are actually starving without food, and drinking sewage water,” she told Times Radio.
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Nuclear disaster fears
Wildfires caused by Russia shelling are posing threats to Chernobyl.
Workers at Chernobyl have been too tired to make safety repairs, raising the likelihood of a nuclear disaster, Ukraine warned earlier this month.
Employees had been forced to work relentlessly while at gun point and were not relieved for weeks.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said: “The Ukrainian regulator informed the IAEA that staff at Chernobyl were no longer carrying out repair and maintenance of safety-related equipment.
“It is in part due to their physical and psychological fatigue after working non-stop for nearly three weeks.”
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Trump says Putin loves the ‘nuclear word’
Donald Trump delivered another fiery rally to his fans on Saturday night as he claimed Vladimir Putin loves the “nuclear word” and bashed Joe Biden over Ukraine.
As former President Trump spoke to thousands of his supporters in Commerce, Georgia, for his latest Save America rally, he said: “We have the president of Russia mentioned the N-word. … the nuclear word.”
“The nuclear word is a very dangerous, dangerous word and it’s being thrown around very cavalierly.”
Trump also said “the invasion of Ukraine should never have happened,” before calling President Biden a “sleepy son of a b****.”
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Next round of Ukraine-Russia talks set to take place tomorrow
Face-to-face negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are set to take place in Turkey, starting tomorrow according to one of the Ukrainian negotiators.
David Arakhamia revealed on Facebook that talks will take place from Monday to Wednesday.
Ukraine described previous talks with Russia since the start of the invasion last month as “very difficult”.
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Russian forces ‘fire rockets at nuclear reactor’
RUSSIAN forces have fired rockets at a nuclear research facility in the besieged city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have claimed.
A Ukrainian minister warned the shelling of Kharkiv’s Institute of Physics and Technology could lead to a “major environmental disaster”.
The institute is home to a facility called Neutron Source which contains a nuclear reactor used for research.
The same site was attacked by Russian troops earlier this month.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian parliament said it wasn’t possible to assess the extent of the damage from the latest attack due to fierce fighting in the area.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine reportedly said: “The continuation of its bombardment can lead to severe radiation consequences with contamination of nearby territories.”
