March 24, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Helen Regan, Seán Federico O'Murchú, George Ramsay, Sana Noor Haq, Adrienne Vogt, Melissa Macaya, Maureen Chowdhury, Meg Wagner and Jason Kurtz, CNN

Updated 12:19 p.m. ET, March 25, 2022
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11:42 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

Ukrainian flag hoisted in Russian-occupied city of Kherson

From CNN's From Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych

(Courtesy Ihor Kolykhaev)
(Courtesy Ihor Kolykhaev)

The mayor of the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhaiev, in southern Ukraine, has posted photographs of a long Ukrainian flag draped down the wall of the city hall.

Russian forces are normally stationed at the city hall but don't appear to have intervened.

There have been several protests by Ukrainian civilians in the square where the building is located since Russian forces moved into Kherson.

The photographs show workers on a crane mounting the new flag.

"On the night when the city council was shelled, the wire which held our national flag was damaged. And the flag itself should have been replaced a long time ago -- it had faded and frayed," Kolykhaiev said in a Facebook post.

"Today we found a way to replace it. Have a nice day, my Hero City," Kolykhaiev added.

Kherson, a key port city on the Black Sea, in southern Ukraine, was overrun by Russian forces on March 2, after days of heavy bombardment and shelling. 

People living in Kherson have described days of terror confined to their apartments and houses, fearful to go outside for even basic necessities -- their city now a dystopian shell of the home they knew and loved.

CNN's Tamara Qiblawi and Gianluca Mezzofiore contributed reporting to this post.

7:46 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

Russian stocks close the day higher as trading resumes in partial reopening of Moscow stock exchange

Russia’s MOEX stock index has closed the session higher after partially reopening for the first time in almost a month.

It ended 4% higher after a shortened trading day, and was at one point trading up 10%.

The Moscow Stock Exchange last traded on February 25 after shares plunged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia. The MOEX index had lost roughly 35% of its value this year, while the RTS index -- which is denominated in dollars -- plunged 42%.

On Wednesday, the central bank of Russia said trading in 33 Russian stocks would resume today at 2:50 a.m. Eastern Time (9:50 a.m. local time), including major companies such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft, VTB Bank and Sberbank.

The central bank has brought in measures to support stocks, including blocking foreign investors from selling their shares and banning short selling. It has also brought in currency controls, limiting the amount of foreign currency people can take out of Russia.

This morning the White House criticized the move to reopen, calling it a charade and a "Potemkin market opening" that will obscure the dire effects of western economic sanctions.

"Russia has made clear they are going to pour government resources into artificially propping up the shares of companies that are trading," deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh wrote in a statement.

"This is not a real market and not a sustainable model -- which only underscores Russia’s isolation from the global financial system," Singh added.

Read more:

7:38 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

A "responsible" Europe will ignore Putin’s "humiliating demands" on gas, says Ukraine

From Andrew Carey in Lviv

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister has urged Europe to ignore Russia’s insistence that payment for future deliveries of Russian gas will need to be made in rubles.

The announcement from Moscow is seen as an attempt to get European countries to prop up Russia’s currency, the value of which has fallen significantly since the start of the war.

It is also a reminder of the importance of Russia’s energy supplies as a bargaining chip in relations between the Kremlin and the West.

"If any EU country bows to Putin’s humiliating demands to pay for oil and gas in rubles, it will be like helping Ukraine with one hand and helping Russians kill Ukrainians with the other," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet.

"I urge relevant countries to make a wise and responsible choice."

Some background: The West has imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine a month ago. However, Europe depends heavily on Russian gas for heating and power generation and the European Union is split on whether to sanction Russia's energy sector.

Putin's message was clear: If you want our gas, buy our currency. It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.

Meanwhile: Russia's stock market opened for the first time in a month on Thursday as investors took part in a highly restricted trading session. The benchmark MOEX index gained as much as 10% in early trade in Moscow. 

7:27 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

France promises funding to International Criminal Court to investigate crimes in Ukraine

From CNN’s Camille Knight and Joseph Ataman in Paris

The French Foreign Ministry has promised 500,000 euros ($548,715) of financing to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support the investigation into crimes committed in Ukraine, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

France will also be providing magistrates, investigators and experts, "to make sure the prosecutor can lead his investigation in the best possible conditions," according to the statement.

The statement added that French Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti will be encouraging other states to increase their support to the ICC in a meeting of justice ministers in The Hague on Thursday.

The ICC opened an investigation on March 2 into alleged crimes committed in the context of the situation in Ukraine since 21 November 2013, when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets of Kyiv to protest former President Viktor Yanukovych's U-turn over a trade pact with the European Union that had been years in the making.

The US government on Wednesday formally declared that members of the Russian armed forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.

"Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine,"  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources," he added.

CNN's Antonia Mortensen, Jennifer Hansler and Jeremy Herb contributed reporting to this post.

8:16 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

Kremlin dodges questions on Defense Minister amid reports of health problems

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dodged CNN questions about the health of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has not been seen in public in nearly a week, if not more.

“The Defense Minister has a lot on his plate at the moment,” Peskov said when CNN asked about Shoigu’s absence.

“The special military operation is going on. Naturally, now is not exactly the time for media activity, this is quite understandable.”

When asked by CNN if he could disprove a report by the independent investigative Russian outlet Agentnstvo citing anonymous sources in the ministry as saying Shoigu has health problems, Peskov declined to do so.

“I can't. You shouldn’t listen to the Agenstvo media outlet. Please address [these questions to] the Ministry of Defense.”

Shoigu appeared in a Channel One broadcast on March 18, which the Russian outlet said was from that day, but Russian journalists have speculated that the event being broadcast was from March 11.

Peskov also confirmed that longstanding Russian government insider Anatoly Chubais quit his job as President Vladimir Putin’s climate envoy.

However, Peskov denied any knowledge of Chubais' reported opposition to the invasion of Ukraine and said it's unlikely President Vladimir Putin would have "reacted in any way" to the resignation.

"After all, let's not forget that he [Chubais] was not a full-time employee, he was working on a voluntary basis," said Peskov. "He was not a direct employee of the presidential administration."

Peskov also confirmed that a resignation letter would have to be sent to Putin himself.

Chubais first rose to prominence as former President Boris Yeltsin’s finance minister in the 1990s before going on to hold powerful posts in the Russian energy industry.

He quit his job as Putin’s special envoy on the environment on Wednesday, making him the highest-profile Kremlin figure to resign since the war began a month ago.

7:02 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

UK imposes further sanctions against Russian "key strategic" players

From CNN's Benjamin Brown in London

The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced further sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens and companies on Thursday, targeting "key industries supporting Russia's illegal invasion."

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrives at Downing Street on March 8, in London, England.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrives at Downing Street on March 8, in London, England. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The latest sanctions target 65 individuals and entities, including six banks, Russian Railways, a defense company and the Wagner Group, a secretive Russian military contractor thought to be connected to -- and financed by -- Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch so close to the Kremlin that he is known as President Vladimir Putin's "chef."

The newly sanctioned individuals include oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler, Tinkoff bank founder Oleg Tinkov, and Herman Gref, the CEO of Russia's largest bank Sberbank.

The latest announcement also sees the Russian-installed mayor of Melitopol sanctioned. It is the first time an individual has been sanctioned for collaboration with Russian forces currently in Ukraine, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

More than 1,000 individuals and entities have now been sanctioned, according to the FCDO.

The latest asset freezes bring the global asset value of sanctioned banks, now including Russia's largest private bank Alfa-Bank, to £500 billion ($658 billion). The net worth of oligarchs and family members sanctioned is in excess of £150 billion, the FCDO said.

"These oligarchs, businesses and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay the price. Putin should be under no illusions -- we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine. There will be no let-up," Truss said.

More is likely to come from the United States and its allies. US President Joe Biden is in Europe on a high-stakes trip that includes meetings with EU, NATO and G7 leaders. He hopes to emerge from an intensive day of meetings Thursday with some new actions to announce alongside his partners: fresh sanctions on Russia, steps to cut off its oil and gas profits, or new announcements of military or financial assistance to Ukraine.

Sanctions already announced by the West against Russian oligarchs and Russia's central bank mean that the country's economy will be isolated for years. It is facing its deepest recession since the 1990s, and gross domestic product will plummet 22% over 2022, according to a forecast published by S&P Global Market Intelligence on Tuesday.

CNN's Charles Riley and Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

8:23 a.m. ET, March 25, 2022

Ukraine claims to have destroyed large Russian warship in Berdyansk

From Tim Lister, Celine Alkhaldi, Olga Voitovych and Gianluca Mezzofiore

Smoke rises after shelling near a seaport in Berdyansk, Ukraine, on March 24.
Smoke rises after shelling near a seaport in Berdyansk, Ukraine, on March 24. (AP)

The port of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine was rocked by a series of heavy explosions soon after dawn on Thursday. The port had recently been occupied by Russian forces and several Russian warships were docked there.

Social media videos showed fires raging at the dockside with a series of secondary explosions reverberating across the city.

On Friday Ukraine’s armed forces named the Russian ship they said they attacked and destroyed in Berdiansk as the "Saratov." In earlier reporting, the ship was named as the "Orsk."

Several Russian ships had been unloading military equipment at Berdyansk in recent days, according to reports from the port by Russian media outlets.

The Ukrainian armed forces said that "two more ships were damaged. A 3,000-ton fuel tank was also destroyed. The fire spread to the enemy's ammunition depot. Details of the damage inflicted on the occupier are being clarified."

It's not known what weapon was used to attack the port.

Analysis of videos uploaded on Thursday also showed one Russian naval vessel leaving the port soon after the explosions.

This post has been updated with new information from Ukrainian officials.

6:20 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

Putin wants "unfriendly" countries to pay for Russian gas in rubles

Story by Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, on March 23.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, on March 23. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia will seek payment in rubles for natural gas sold to "unfriendly" countries, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, and European gas prices soared on concerns the move would exacerbate the region's energy crunch.

European nations and the United States have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. But Europe depends heavily on Russian gas for heating and power generation, and the European Union is split on whether to sanction Russia's energy sector.

Putin's message was clear: If you want our gas, buy our currency. It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.

The ruble briefly leapt after the shock announcement to a three-week high past 95 against the dollar. It pared gains but stayed well below 100, closing at 97.7 against the dollar, down more than 22% since February 24.

Some European wholesale gas prices were up to 30% higher on Wednesday. British and Dutch wholesale gas prices jumped.

Russian gas accounts for some 40% of Europe's total consumption. EU gas imports from Russia this year have fluctuated between €200 million to €800 million ($880 million) a day.

Read the full story:

6:19 a.m. ET, March 24, 2022

It’s midday in Ukraine. Here’s what we know

One month after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, its forces continued to be pushed back around the capital of Kyiv and took up defensive positions northwest of the capital, a US official said. On Wednesday evening, CNN teams on the ground saw a barrage of outgoing fire from the area.

Ukraine’s gains: Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian forces back on the frontlines around Kyiv, a senior US defense official told reporters Wednesday. Russian forces are about 55 kilometers (roughly 34 miles) away from Kyiv’s city center to the east, the official said. To the northwest of Kyiv’s city center, Russian forces are “digging in, and they are establishing defensive positions,” according to the official, and have not got any closer to Kyiv’s city center along this line.

Russia intensifies attacks in East: At the same time, the official said Russian forces are becoming more active in the eastern part of Ukraine in the Donbas area, saying they’ve “applied a lot more energy” in the Luhansk and Dontesk regions, the two areas the Kremlin declared as independent republics ahead of last month’s invasion.

Russian ship destroyed: A large Russian ship has been destroyed in the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk, southeastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Navy on Thursday. CNN could not confirm the Navy's claim although social media videos appeared to show a very large fire with secondary explosions in the port.

Russian stocks partially reopen: Russia's stock market opened for the first time in a month on Thursday as investors took part in a highly restricted trading session. The benchmark MOEX index gained as much as 10% in early trade in Moscow. Russian stocks last traded on February 25 after President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine caused shares to plummet. In the weeks since Russian stocks stopped trading, sanctions imposed by the West have crushed the ruble and put the country's economy into a tailspin.

Biden arrives at NATO summit: US President Joe Biden arrived in Brussels for emergency summits to respond to the war in Ukraine. The visit comes as the West continues to grapple with how to disrupt Russia's invasion. According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Biden will "discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts" during the NATO summit and reaffirm the US commitment to its NATO allies.