US President Joe Biden said Washington will deliver more liquid natural gas (LNG) to the European Union on Friday as part of a joint US-EU plan aimed at “helping Europe to reduce its dependency on Russian gas”. Biden will later travel to a town near the Polish-Ukrainian border to signal Western resolve against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

10:24 am: US to supply more liquid natural gas to EU

The United States will supply more liquid natural gas (LNG) to the European Union to help it reduce its reliance on gas supplies from Russia, President Joe Biden said on Friday.

"Today we've agreed on a joint game plan toward that goal while accelerating our progress toward a secure clean energy future," Biden said in a statement.

"This initiative focuses on two core issues, one helping Europe to reduce its dependency on Russian gas as quickly as possible and secondly, reducing Europe's demand for gas overall," he said.

10:16 am: Russia’s strike on Mariupol theatre may have claimed 300 lives, say officials

Ukrainian officials in the strategic port city of Mariupol said Friday some 300 people could have died in last week's Russian strike on a theatre where hundreds were sheltering.

“From eyewitnesses, information is emerging that about 300 people died in the Drama Theatre of Mariupol following strikes by a Russian aircraft,” Mariupol city hall wrote on Telegram.

9:50 am: Germany says it will halve oil imports, end coal deliveries from Russia

Germany said Friday it was drastically slashing its energy purchases from Russia, with oil imports to be halved by June and coal deliveries to end by the autumn.

"In recent weeks, together with all relevant players, we have made intensive efforts to import less fossil energy from Russia and broaden out our supply base," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

9:43 am: Volunteers drive across Europe to help Ukraine refugees

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 2 million refugees have crossed into Poland. Hundreds of volunteers have also turned up at Poland's border to provide aid. 

9:13 am: Ukrainian and Russian forces continue fighting for Kyiv suburbs

Battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces for Kyiv's northwestern satellite towns of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel are ongoing.

8:43 am: Ukraine hopes to open evacuation corridor from Mariupol

Ukraine hopes to open a safe corridor to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol on Friday in private vehicles, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

8:39 am: Missiles hit Ukrainian military unit on outskirts of Dnipro

Rescuers were searching for survivors among the debris after two missiles hit a Ukrainian military unit on the outskirts of the city of Dnipro on Friday, causing "serious destruction", regional governor Valentyn Reznychenko said on social media.

8:18 am: UK says Ukrainian forces have reoccupied towns east of Kyiv

Ukrainian forces have re-occupied towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometres east of Kyiv, helped by Russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, Britain's defence ministry said on Friday.

7:12 am: Zelensky urges halt to Russia's bombardment

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukrainians "need to achieve peace" and halt Russian bombardment that has forced millions to flee to countries like Poland, where US President Joe Biden is due to receive a briefing later today on the humanitarian crisis.

On the heels of Western leaders' summits in Brussels that aimed to show a united front against Russia's month-long invasion of its neighbour, Biden will travel to the eastern Polish town of Rzeszow, less than 80 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, and meet experts involved in the refugee response. He will also meet members of the US 82nd Airborne Division.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)