Ukrainian officials reported shelling around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, despite a promise by Moscow to scale down military operations there. Follow our live blog for the latest developments. All times indicated are Paris time [GMT+2].

11:35 am: Russia’s Lavrov to visit India on Thursday, New Delhi says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit India, which has so far refused to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, for a two-day visit beginning Thursday, New Delhi said.

India has abstained from UN resolutions censuring Russia and continues to buy Russian oil and other goods, despite pressure from Washington, with US President Joe Biden last week describing India as "somewhat shaky" on Russia. India and Russia have had a close relationship for decades. New Delhi, which describes Moscow as its "longstanding and time-tested friend", sources most of its key military hardware from Russia.

11:22 am: UK govt issued 25,500 visas to Ukrainian refugees

The British government said on Wednesday it had issued 25,500 visas to Ukrainians under schemes set up to bring in refugees after Russia invaded Ukraine last month. Data from the Home Office showed that 22,800 visas had been given under the Ukraine family scheme, with 2,700 being offered under the sponsorship scheme.

With the number of people fleeing from the war currently in millions, the government has been under pressure to do more to take in refugees.

11:10 am: Finland resumes rail link to Russia, passenger services to remain closed

Finland's national railway operator VR Group said on Wednesday it would resume freight services between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg in Russia on March 30, but passenger services will remain suspended, it said on Wednesday.

The operator had halted the service as a result of UK sanctions against Russian Railways, but it was later clarified that the sanctions do not apply to VR Group's contracts, it said in a statement. Passenger services between the two countries, which were suspended on Monday until further notice, will remain closed.

10:45 am: Over 4 million people have fled Ukraine, UN says

The number of Ukrainians fleeing abroad is now 4,019,287, the United Nations' Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday, with more than 2.3 million having headed west into Poland..

10:33 am: Poland urges EU to tax Russian fossil fuels

Poland's prime minister on Wednesday called on the European Union to impose a tax on Russian fossil fuel imports, adding to unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

"Today I call on the European Commission to establish a tax on Russian fossil fuels so that trade and economic rules in the single European market can function in an equitable manner," Mateusz Morawiecki said.

10:28 am: Poland to impose 'total embargo on Russian coal', to 'stop using Russian oil by end of year', PM says

Poland plans to stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022 and to stop importing Russian coal by May at the latest, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as it cuts economic ties with Moscow due to the war in Ukraine.

"We will impose a total embargo on Russian coal, and I hope that by April, May at the latest, we will have completely exited from Russian coal," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference. "We will do everything to stop using Russian oil by the end of this year."

10:22 am: Russian shelling continues in almost all frontline cities across Ukraine’s Donetsk region, local governor says

Russian forces are shelling nearly all cities along the frontline separating Ukrainian government-controlled territory from areas held by Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donetsk region, its regional governor said on Wednesday.

Pavlo Kyrylenko said on national television the situation could worsen as Russian forces concentrated their efforts to attack the Donetsk region.

10:20 am: Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv 'shelled all night' despite Russia’s vows to scale down operations, governor says

Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday that Russian forces had bombarded the northern city of Chernihiv despite Moscow's earlier claims that it was "radically" scaling back military activity in the area. "The enemy has demonstrated its 'decrease in activity' in the Chernihiv region with strikes on Nizhyn, including air strikes. Chernihiv was shelled all night," regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus wrote on social media.

10 am: Ukraine reports shelling outside Kyiv, around Chernihiv despite Russia’s vows to scale down operations

Ukrainian officials reported shelling around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, despite a promise by Moscow to scale down military operations there.

Kyiv's deputy mayor, Mykola Povoroznyk, told national television the capital itself had not been shelled overnight. "The night passed relatively calmly, to the sounds of sirens and the sound of gunfire from battles around the city, but there was no shelling in the city itself" he said. The Chernihiv region’s governor, Viacheslav Chaus, said he saw no let-up in Russian attacks.

"Do we believe in it (the promise to reduce military activities)? Of course not," Chaus wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

9:25 am: Germany declares 'early warning' gas plan to secure supply

Germany on Wednesday raised the alarm level under its emergency gas plan as fears rose that Russia could cut off supplies if Western countries refused to make payments in roubles. After G7 countries rejected the Russian demand, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference he had called for the first "early warning" alert level under the plan, establishing a crisis team in the ministry to monitor the situation.

Under Germany's existing gas emergency plan, the early warning is the first of three stages and does not yet imply state intervention. Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement that supplies were safeguarded for the time being and that Germany was closely monitoring supply flows with market operators.

9:15 am: Shelling continues around Eastern city of Kharkiv as Ukraine claims having regained control of cities

FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent is in the eastern city of Kharkiv and reports, as shelling continues in the city. Kyiv has claimed to have pushed back the frontline, regaining control of areas previously controlled by pro-Russian troops.

8:15 am: An inside look at Mariupol's devastation, as besieged port city now reduced to ghost town

France 2's team managed to enter a part of the southern port city of Mariupol, which is besieged and under heavy Russian shelling. Inhabitants that have not fled are living under constant infighting and have been without running water or heating for almost a month.

6:58 am: Residential areas of Ukraine's eastern city of Lysychansk shelled

Residential areas of Ukraine's eastern city of Lysychansk were shelled by heavy artillery on Wednesday morning, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai wrote on Telegram. "A number of high-rise buildings have been damaged. Information on casualties is being confirmed," he said. "Many buildings have collapsed. Rescuers are trying to save those still alive."

06:14 am: Trump asks Putin to help dish dirt on Hunter Biden

Donald Trump has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched an invasion of Ukraine last month, to reveal any compromising information he might have on US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.

The former Republican president returned to accusations he had repeated many times during his unsuccessful campaign against Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

In an interview excerpt broadcast Tuesday by Real America’s Voice “Just the News” show, Trump claimed that the wife of the mayor of Moscow gave $3.5 million to Hunter Biden.

“That’s a lot of money,” he said. “She gave him $3.5 million so now I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it.”

Trump has long claimed, without providing evidence, that the younger Biden received the funds from Elena Baturina, wife of the late Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, in a bid to curry favor with Joe Biden.

04:55 am: US State Department warns that Moscow may ‘detain’ Americans in Russia

The US State Department issued a travel advisory on Tuesday warning that Moscow “may single out and detain US citizens in Russia” and repeating earlier warnings for Americans not to travel to the country.

The warning was “due to the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces” as well as the potential for harassment of US citizens by Russian authorities, the travel advisory said, repeating calls for Americans travelling or living in Russia to leave “immediately”.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)