Ukraine: Zelenskyy says Russia blocking Mariupol refugee efforts — live updates

The national carrier of Vietnam is to suspend flights from Hanoi to Moscow from March 25, according to state run Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

The agency reported that the temporary suspension was due to review procedures, requirements and regulations for operations in Russia.

The countries have close links which date back to the Soviet era and Hanoi has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Peace negotiations are 'difficult' says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described attempts to negotiate peace with Russia as "very difficult."

Zelenskyy made the comments in a video address released early on Wednesday.

"They are very difficult, sometimes scandalous, but we are moving forward step by step," Zelenskyy said and added that Ukrainian officials were negotiating on a daily basis.

"We will work, we will fight as much as possible. Until the end. Brave and open," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader has indicated a willingness to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin but there has been no response to his requests for dialogue.

Russians accused of destroying Chernobyl laboratory

The agency responsible for managing the Chernobyl exclusion zone has accused Russian forces of destroying a new laboratory at the nuclear power plant.

Ukraine's State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management said that Russian troops had "illegally seized" the laboratory and then said they "robbed and destroyed the November Central Analytical Laboratory."

The agency said the laboratory contained "highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world."

The facility was built at a cost of €6 million ($6.6 million) with the help of the European Union.

It had been in operation since 2015.

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of 'capturing' Mariupol refugees

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of "simply capturing" refugees trying to make their way out of the besieged city of Mariupol, on a previously agreed route.

Zelenskyy said in a video message that there were 100,000 people in the city "without food, without water, without, medicine, under constant shelling."

There were around 450,000 people living in the city before Russia invaded.

Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Tuesday

After weeks of bombardment by Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Italian parliament there is "nothing left" of the post city of Mariupol.

The UK's Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces continued to "repulse" Russian attempts to take over the southern port city of Mariupol.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 300,000 people in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson are running out of food and medical supplies.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was willing to consider dropping its demands for full NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees.

The UN refugee agency said more than 3.3 million Ukrainian refugees have poured into neighboring countries since Russia's invasion on February 24.

Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, paid tribute to Boris Romanchenko, who survived several Nazi concentration camps but was killed last week in a Russian strike on Kharkiv.

A senior US defense official said Russia's combat power in Ukraine has dipped below 90% of its pre-invasion level, pointing to the possibility of heavy losses and rising casualties.