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April 1, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Simone McCarthy, Travis Caldwell, Helen Regan, Sana Noor Haq, Sara Spary and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, April 2, 2022

What we covered

More than 6,000 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities on Friday, according to officials, but over 100,000 residents remain trapped in the besieged southern city of Mariupol, where local leaders say Russia is not allowing aid in.
Ukraine's President said Russian troops are "slowly but noticeably" moving out of the north of the country, adding preparations are underway for more potential Russian strikes in the Donbas region and Kharkiv.
A fire broke out at a fuel depot in Belgorod, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, which the regional governor said was caused by an air strike from Ukrainian helicopters. CNN is unable to verify this claim. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense told CNN it had no information about the incident.
Russia won't immediately cut off gas supplies under a new decree requiring payments in rubles, according to the Kremlin.
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12:29 a.m. ET, April 1, 2022

PM Scott Morrison: Australia will send armored vehicles to Ukraine after Zelensky’s request

From CNN’s Angus Watson and Sophie Jeong

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers an address to the Federal Budget Lunch in Sydney, Friday, April. (Flavio Brancaleone/AAP Image/Reuters)

Australia will send locally produced armored vehicles to Ukraine after a request from President Volodymyr Zelensky, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.

Morrison did not say when or how many vehicles — known as Bushmasters — would be sent to Ukraine.

“We're not just sending our prayers, we're sending our guns, we're sending our munitions, we're sending our humanitarian aid, we're sending all of this and body armor,” Morrison said.
“We're going to be sending our armored vehicles, our Bushmasters as well. And we’re flying them over there on our C-17s.”

Zelensky appealed for the armored vehicles while speaking to Australia’s parliament via video link on Thursday, saying “we have to keep those who are fighting against this evil armed.”

“You have very good armed personnel vehicle, Bushmaster, that could help Ukraine substantially, and other pieces of equipment that could strengthen our position in terms of armament,” Zelensky said. “If you have an opportunity to share this with us we would be very grateful."

Zelensky also called for further sanctions on Russia.

Some context: Australia has previously provided military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and also announced a ban on exports of alumina and aluminum ore to Russia. Russia relies on Australia for nearly 20% of its alumina needs, according to the Australian government.

12:00 a.m. ET, April 1, 2022

It's 7 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know

Fourteen tons of food and medicine were confiscated by Russian forces along a humanitarian corridor on Thursday, a Ukrainian minister said, as focus remains on efforts to get aid in -- and Ukrainians out -- of bombarded areas.

Here are the latest developments in the war on Ukraine:

Confiscated aid: Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories said some evacuation buses en route to Mariupol were held at a Russian checkpoint and 14 tons of humanitarian aid bound for Melitopol was confiscated by Russian troops on Thursday.
Evacuation corridors: Russian forces said they will reopen the evacuation corridor from besieged Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on Friday at the request of French and German leaders. More than 100,000 civilians are trapped in the southern city, Ukrainian officials say, which has suffered weeks of Russian bombardment.
Shift to the east: Ukrainian officials reported heavy shelling in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, particularly in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of the Donbas and around the northeastern city of Kharkiv, amid an apparent shift by Russia to redirect military efforts to the Donbas region. NATO's chief warned that Russian forces are not withdrawing, but are repositioning as they maintain pressure on Kyiv and other cities. Ukrainian and US officials say Russians may be regrouping in Belarus.
Troops from Georgia: Russia is redeploying some of its forces from the country of Georgia to reinforce its invasion of Ukraine, British military intelligence said. Russian troops have been stationed in Georgia following Russia's 2008 invasion of the former Soviet republic on its southwestern border.
Talks to resume Friday: Ukraine's next round of negotiations with Russia will resume online on April 1, the head of the Ukrainian delegation said. But Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told CNN he has a “very, very small portion of optimism” following diplomatic negotiations in Istanbul earlier this week.
EU-China Summit: Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will meet with European Union leaders in an online summit on Friday, as China faces pressure to condemn the Russian invasion. The war in Ukraine will be a "main focus" of the summit, the European Council said.
Rubles for Russian gas: According to a newly signed decree, gas buyers from "unfriendly countries" will need to open and pay from ruble accounts in Russian banks, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday. France, Germany and the UK said they will not pay for Russian gas in rubles.

8:30 a.m. ET, April 1, 2022

Ukrainian officials say humanitarian convoys were stopped and raided by Russian forces. Here's what we know

Russian forces said they will reopen the evacuation corridor from the besieged city of Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on Friday. According to Ukrainian officials, the convoys ran into several issues on Thursday, including Russian troops confiscating aid and blocking buses.

Here's what we know:

The Russian Defense Ministry said the military will reopen the humanitarian corridor from the southern city of Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on April 1 at the request of the leaders of France and Germany.
The corridor will open from 10 a.m. Moscow time and Russian troops will set up an intermediate point in the southern city of Berdiansk, the ministry said.
France said the evacuation corridor on Thursday was “insufficient” to allow rescue from Mariupol.
Ukrainian minister Iryna Vereshchuk said about 100,000 civilians remained trapped in the city, which has suffered weeks of bombardment from Russian forces.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is preparing to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol.

"It is desperately important that this operation takes place. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it," the ICRC said.

Aid confiscated, buses stopped:

Russian forces on Thursday confiscated 14 tons of humanitarian aid from buses bound for Melitopol in southern Ukraine, according to Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories.
Vereshchuk said the food and medication was loaded on 12 buses.
Russian forces also blocked 45 buses going to Berdiansk on Thursday en route to Mariupol, she added.

"We are negotiating for the buses to be returned and for the Melitopol residents tomorrow to evacuate using these buses," she said.

Evacuations:

1,458 people reached Zaporizhzhia in their own cars on Thursday, Vereshchuk said.
631 of them escaped from Mariupol.
827 were from Berdiansk, Enerhodar, Melitopol, Polohy, Huliapole and Vasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

12:07 a.m. ET, April 1, 2022

Zelensky removes two top Ukrainian generals, says he does not have "time to deal with all the traitors"

From CNN's Mariya Knight and Hira Humayun

(Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky/YouTube)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he removed two top Ukrainian generals, calling them "antiheroes" in his nightly address posted to social media on Thursday night.

"Today another decision was made regarding antiheroes. Now I do not have time to deal with all the traitors. But gradually they will all be punished," he said.

The generals — former chief of the Main Department of Internal Security of the Security Service of Ukraine, Naumov Andriy Olehovych, and the former head of the Office of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kherson region, Kryvoruchko Serhiy Oleksandrovych — have been stripped of their rank.

“Those servicemen among senior officers who have not decided where their homeland is, who violate the military oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people as regards (to) the protection of our state, its freedom and independence, will inevitably be deprived of senior military ranks. Random generals don't belong here!” Zelensky said.

9:21 p.m. ET, March 31, 2022

Ukrainian minister: Russian forces took 14 tons of humanitarian aid

From CNN's Nathan Hodge and Hira Humayun

Russian forces on Thursday confiscated 14 tons of humanitarian aid from buses bound for Melitopol in southern Ukraine, according to Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories.

Vereshchuk said the food and medication was loaded on 12 buses.

"This is the price for the agreed corridors and for the Red Cross' guarantees that the corridors will be provided and working," Vereshchuk said. "We are negotiating for the buses to be returned and for the Melitopol residents tomorrow to evacuate using these buses."

Vereshchuk said 1,458 people reached Zaporizhzhia in their own cars on Thursday, with 631 of them escaping the besieged city of Mariupol and 827 coming from Berdiansk, Enerhodar, Melitopol, Polohy, Huliapole and Vasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russian forces also blocked 45 buses going to Berdiansk on Thursday en route to Mariupol, she added.

Russia will reopen the evacuation corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on Friday at the request of French and German leaders, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

9:24 p.m. ET, March 31, 2022

Russian troops have withdrawn from Chernobyl, says Ukrainian nuclear operator

From CNN's Nathan Hodge

Russian forces have withdrawn from Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, the state enterprise overseeing Ukraine's nuclear power plants said on Thursday.

"It was confirmed that the occupiers, who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the Exclusion Zone, marched in two columns towards the Ukrainian border with the Republic of Belarus," said Energoatom in a statement published on Telegram.

On April 26, 1986, an explosion ripped through the No.4 reactor at Chernobyl, killing 30 people immediately. Countless others died from radiation symptoms in the years that followed.

In late February, during the first week of the war, the plant and its surrounding territory fell into the hands of Russian troops.

On Thursday Russian troops announced their intention to leave and hand over control to Ukrainian personnel, said Energoatom.

It also posted the copy of a formal letter purportedly signed by a representative of Russia's National Guard, a representative of Russia's state nuclear energy company Rosatom and a Chernobyl plant shift manager, with the heading, "The act of acceptance and transfer of protection of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant."

The letter states that "the administration of the protected facility makes no claims in relation to the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation."

Radiation claims: The Telegram statement from Energoatom said that a small number of "rashists" — a Ukrainian slur for Russians that combines the words "fascist" and "racist" — remained at the station.

"It should be noted that the information about fortifications and trenches that the rashists built right in the Red Forest, the most polluted in the entire Exclusion Zone, was also confirmed," Energoatom said.
"So it is not surprising that the occupiers received significant doses of radiation and panicked at the first sign of illness. And it manifested itself very quickly. As a result, almost a riot broke out among the military, and they began to gather from there," continued the statement.

CNN was not immediately able to verify those claims.

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Russian troops have withdrawn from Chernobyl, says Ukrainian nuclear operator

8:31 p.m. ET, March 31, 2022

Russia raises stakes in energy standoff by insisting on rubles for gas

From CNN's Mark Thompson and Chris Liakos

Russia has reiterated its threat to cut off natural gas supplies to Western countries that refuse to pay in rubles, raising new concerns about an energy supply crunch and rationing in Europe.

Moscow said last week it wanted to be paid in rubles, rather than US dollars or euros, and senior Russian lawmakers said supplies could be cut if customers refused. Germany, Russia's biggest energy customer in Europe, had described the plan as "blackmail" and a breach of contract.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Thursday that requires buyers of natural gas from "unfriendly countries" to hold accounts at Gazprombank — Russia's third-largest bank — and settle contracts in rubles. It takes effect on Friday.

"If these payments are not made, we shall deem this as non-performance on the part of the buyers and that will lead to consequences," Putin said in a televised address. "Nobody gives us anything for free and we're not about to be charitable," he added.

Putin had given the Russian central bank and state-owned gas giant Gazprom until Thursday to come up with detailed proposals to switch the payment currency for gas to rubles.

According to the decree, Gazprombank would open accounts on behalf of Western gas buyers, purchase rubles on their behalf and then transfer the cash to Gazprom's accounts.

Europe's leading economies rejected any change to the terms of existing supply agreements, and said they were prepared for all scenarios including disruption to flows of natural gas.

"The contracts are in euros and must be paid in euros and will be paid in euros," French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Robert Habeck. "We will not accept the method of payment for [Russian] gas in any other currency than stated in the contract," Le Maire added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said that Berlin will make payments for Russian gas only in euros.

Read more: