Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia hands over control of Chernobyl

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Mar 31, 7:15 pm
Some Russian troops possibly heading to Belarus to regroup: Pentagon

Russian troops that have begun to withdraw from the ground effort against Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv seem to be heading north to Belarus to regroup before rejoining the fight, the Pentagon said Thursday.

“The best assessment we have – and it’s an assessment at this early stage – is that they’re going to be repositioned probably into Belarus to be refit and resupplied, and used elsewhere in Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters.

It’s not clear where they might go, but the Donbas region is one candidate, Kirby said.

Roughly 20% of the Russian forces that were designated to move on Kyiv are now repositioning, several U.S. officials said.

Kirby said Russian forces that are apparently leaving the Chernobyl nuclear power plant also seem to be heading toward Belarus, though noted that “indications are not completely clear at this time.”

The Pentagon assesses these troops are leaving to “refit and resupply,” and not due to a health hazard or other crisis at Chernobyl, Kirby said.

ABC News’ Matthew Seyler

Mar 31, 7:04 pm
Russia says it will open humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol on Friday

A humanitarian corridor will open out of the besieged city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The corridor, leading to Zaporizhzhya, will be provided by the Russian army at 10 a.m. Moscow time, according to Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center.

The announcement comes following “personal requests” by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Mizintsev said in a statement.

“For this humanitarian operation to be successful, we suggest it be conducted with direct participation by representatives from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the [International Committee of the Red Cross],” he said.

Russia had previously announced a localized cease-fire in the bombed-out port city to allow civilians to be evacuated Thursday. About 631 residents of the bombed-out city were subsequently able to evacuate in private cars, according to a Ukrainian official. Dozens of buses reserved to drive them out failed to make it into the city, the official said.

A number of previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol have failed.

ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova

Mar 31, 5:40 pm
US intelligence shows some Russian officials ‘likely disagreed’ with invasion

The U.S. government has intelligence that shows some Russian senior officials “likely disagreed” with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, a U.S. official told ABC News.

“Their disillusionment is probably amplified by the Russian military’s underperformance, which includes many friendly fire casualties, including shoot-downs of Russian aircraft by Russian air defense, wide-scale missile launch failures, and stiffer than expected resistance from the Ukrainian people,” the official said.

The information is based on a declassified assessment from earlier this month, a source familiar with the intelligence told ABC News.

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield told reporters this intelligence speaks to a “larger sense that this has been a failure for Russia.”

“I think we’ve seen reporting that morale amongst the Russian military is low and I think that would not come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen what the Russian military is, is enduring here,” Bedingfield said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon.

ABC News’ Justin Gomez and Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce

Mar 31, 3:57 pm
More than 600 residents of Mariupol evacuate heavily bombed city in private cars

About 631 residents of the bombed-out city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine were able to evacuate on Thursday, according to a Ukrainian official.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the residents fled the city in private vehicles after 45 buses reserved to drive them out failed to make it into the city. Vereshchuk said another 600 civilians still in Mariupol plan to try to evacuate again on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday in an address to lawmakers of Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium that more than 90% of all buildings in Mariupol have been completely destroyed by Russian strikes.

“Thousands of peaceful Mariupol residents died, people are buried just in the city, in the courtyards of high-rise buildings, or rather, what is left of the high-rise buildings,” Zelenskyy said.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Mar 31, 3:02 pm
Roughly 500 Ukrainian refugees and some Russians at US southern border

About 500 Ukrainian refugees were camped out Thursday outside the port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico, waiting to get into the United States after taking a circuitous route out of their war-torn country more than 10,000 miles away.

The number of Ukrainian refugees at the U.S. southern border entry point grew overnight from about 200 on Wednesday.

Immigration attorneys and humanitarian groups told ABC News that more and more Ukrainians have been showing up at the U.S. border this week, many of them getting there by flying to Mexico City, Mexico, and either taking a connecting flight to Tijuana or driving there.

Among the campers are also many Russians who oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, some telling ABC News they believe they would have been killed had they stayed in their homeland.

Ukrainians have asked for asylum in the United States and in many cases, have been allowed into the country under an exemption to Title 42, the federal policy that halted asylum claims during the pandemic. Some of the refugees allowed in the United States are being housed in San Diego, while others have spread out across the country.

The Russians, on the other hand, are being told they have to first be taken into the custody of the .S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as their requests to enter the country are considered.

Humanitarian groups are questioning the handling of the Ukrainians and Russians at the border versus all the other migrant groups fleeing horrific situations, including those coming from Haiti and Central America.

ABC News’ Will Carr

Mar 31, 12:34 pm
Ukraine resumes control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Russian troops are giving back control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, according to a letter from Russia’s nuclear power company, Rosatom.

The site had been under the control of Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24.

The letter is dated March 31 and was signed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom.

ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko

Mar 31, 12:15 pm
Ukraine resumes control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Russian troops are giving back control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, according to a letter from Russia’s nuclear power company, Rosatom.

The site had been under the control of Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24.

The letter is dated March 31 and was signed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom.

ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko

Mar 31, 11:18 am
Putin says gas exports will be stopped unless payment made in rubles

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree requiring payment in rubles for gas exports.

As of Friday, Putin said all buyers from “unfriendly” countries — including Germany, France and Poland — must open ruble accounts in Russian banks, and contracts with parties who refuse will be deemed null and void.

President Joe Biden will be releasing one million barrels of oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months, according to the White House.

“Because of Putin’s war of choice, less oil is getting to market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump for Americans. President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to help American families who are paying more out of pocket,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.

Mar 31, 10:15 am
Red Cross says its warehouse in Mariupol was damaged

A warehouse belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was shelled in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.

A satellite image shows the damage to the building, which bears a large white sign with a red cross on the roof.

“We can confirm that an image being circulated online shows damage to the ICRC warehouse in Mariupol,” the ICRC said in a statement Wednesday. “We do not have a team on the ground there, so have no other information on potential casualties or the extent of the damage.”

The Geneva-based humanitarian organization said it had distributed all supplies from the Mariupol warehouse earlier in March, including medical supplies to hospitals and relief supplies to people living in shelters. No ICRC staff have been at the warehouse since March 15 and it was unclear how the building has been used since, according to the organization.

The ICRC noted the “massive humanitarian needs” in Mariupol, but said it has been “unable to bring in more supplies due to the intensity of the fighting and the absence of a functional agreement between the parties to allow for the safe passage of humanitarian assistance.”

“Under international humanitarian law, objects used for humanitarian relief operations must be respected and protected at all times,” the ICRC said. “We are concerned that even a building with a red cross on it can be seriously damaged. Civilian infrastructure, hospitals and medical personnel cannot be targeted.”

“But what we are most outraged by is the overall humanitarian situation in Mariupol and the relentless suffering inflicted on civilians living there,” the organization added. “People are trapped with no safe way out of the city, and they are running out of the very basics needed for their survival. This must change.”

Mar 31, 9:32 am
Russia ‘lied’ about withdrawing troops, NATO says

Russian troops “are not withdrawing” from parts of Ukraine as claimed, but rather are “repositioning,” according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who cited NATO “intelligence.”

“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference Thursday. “Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region [in eastern Ukraine].”

Meanwhile, pressure is being maintained on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and other major cities, according to Stoltenberg.

“We can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering,” he added.

Mar 31, 9:23 am
Videos show intense fighting in Mariupol

Videos circulating online show intense fighting taking place in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.

The footage, verified by ABC News, was taken by a Russian state media journalist who is embedded with the Russian military. The videos were posted online Thursday, though the exact date of filming was unknown. Based on the location of the fighting, ABC News assesses it is highly likely the videos were shot in the past couple of days.

One video shows a Russian tank firing multiple times on the streets of Mariupol. Another video shows the Russian journalist filming himself in Mariupol as tanks open fire and gunshots erupt all around him.

The strategic port city in southeastern Ukraine has been under heavy Russian bombardment for weeks and tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped there.

Mar 31, 8:15 am
‘Significant Russian shelling’ persists in Chernihiv, says UK

Despite Russia’s claims of curbing its military activity around Chernihiv, “significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued” in the besieged northern Ukrainian city, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday in an intelligence update.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, “despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units,” according to the ministry.

“Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in the coming days,” the ministry added.

Heavy fighting also continues in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mariupol, “a key objective of Russian forces,” according to the ministry.

“However Ukrainian forces remain in control of the center of the city,” the ministry said.

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