Here are the top developments of the day on the Russia-Ukraine crisis:

  1. Russian forces continued their attack on the port city of Mariupol in Ukraine on Thursday, The Associated Press reported. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said Russian forces were “cynically, ruthlessly and purposefully” attacking apartment buildings in the city.Mariupol city has been under siege for the last 10 days, leaving over four lakh people in the city trapped and scrounging for food and fuel. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said over 1,300 people have died in the city so far.
  2. A convoy of Russian forces near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv has begun regrouping again, Reuters reported, citing satellite images. Britain on Friday predicted a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital within days. On Thursday, reports said citing satellite images that the convoy had dispersed. On Friday, Reuters reported that American satellite company Maxar has released images that show armoured units grouping around towns on the outskirts of northwest Kyiv.
  3. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeleneskyy on Friday refuted Russia’s allegation that Kyiv was developing chemical or biological weapons. “I am the President of an adequate country, an adequate nation, and the father of two children... no chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction were developed on my land,” Zeleneskyy said in a video posted on Instagram.
  4. Moscow on Thursday said that it will open daily humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities to the Russian territory, Agence France-Presse. The announcement came despite Kyiv’s insistence that no evacuation routes should lead to Russia. “Humanitarian corridors towards the Russian Federation will now be opened, without any agreements, every day from 10 am,” Defence Ministry official Mikhail Mizintsev said. He claimed evacuation routes in other directions would proceed “in agreement with the Ukrainian side”.
  5.  Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said on Friday that the bloc will increase military aid to Ukraine and may impose more sanctions on Russia, reported Reuters. At a meeting of European Union leaders in Versaille, Borrell said the bloc’s military aid to war-hit Ukraine will be doubled.
  6. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that were some “positive shifts” in negotiations with Ukraine, reported Ukraine. Putin, who held a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, did not give any more details, said the report. Ukraine and Russia have held three rounds of talks so far, the most recent being on Thursday. The foreign ministers of both the countries met in Turkey on Thursday, but failed to make progress on negotiating a ceasefire, according to the BBC.
  7. The Russian Embassy in India has issued guidelines reassuring Indian students in Russia that there are no security reasons which require them to leave, reported ANI. The advisory, dated March 9, said that there have been “certain disruptions” of banking services in Russia and direct flight connectivity from Russia to India. It said if students have concerns regarding these issues, they may consider returning to India. The embassy also said that many universities have shifted to online education and that students can decide on the appropriate course of action regarding the continuation of their studies.
  8. Russia may ban WhatsApp and Instagram and designate Meta, the parent company of the two social media platforms which also runs Facebook, as an “extremist organisation”, The Guardian reported citing details from the Russian news agency Interfax. Prosecutors have asked a Russian court to designate Meta as an “extremist organisation”, said Interfax. Meta had said that it would allow calls for violence against Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters had reported on Friday.
  9. Two Ukrainian cities – Lutsk and Dnipro – witnessed shelling while at least one person was killed on Friday morning, The Guardian said, citing information from regional authorities. Lutsk, in northwestern Ukraine close to the Belarusian border, witnessed explosions. Mayor Igor Polishchuk said the attacks had taken place at an airfield. Air strikes on the central-eastern city of Dnipro, near a kindergarten and an apartment building, killed at least one person, said the report.
  10. The food agency of the United Nations on Friday warned of an increase in food prices as a result of the Ukraine war, reported The Guardian. The Food and Agriculture Organization, in a statement, said there could an increase between 8%-20% in prices of international food and feed. The agency said that it was not clear if Ukraine would be able to harvest crops in view of the conflict while the status of Russian food exports is also uncertain.