Ukraine said it was not opening humanitarian corridors on Wednesday that would allow civilians to evacuate, accusing Russian forces of violating agreements on granting safe passage. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the routes were "too dangerous" for the moment. All times are Paris time (GMT+2). 

11:52 am: Russian shelling kills seven in Kharkiv, local governor says

Seven civilians have been killed by Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine over the past 24 hours, the regional governor said on Wednesday.

"Twenty-two civilians, including three children, have been injured during shelling of the region. Seven people have died. A 2-year-old boy injured by shelling a few days ago has died in hospital," Oleg Synegubov announced on social media. 

11:18 am: Ukraine's Zelensky says Russia using phosphorous bombs

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday in an address to Estonia's parliament that Russia was using phosphorous bombs in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of using terror tactics against civilians.

He did not provide evidence and FRANCE 24 has not been able to independently verify his claim.

10:28 am: Ending Russian energy imports risks 'sharp recession' for Germany

An immediate end to Russian energy imports would send Germany into "sharp recession" next year, the country's leading economic institutes said in a forecast published Wednesday.

Germany, which is highly dependent on Russian gas for its energy needs, has so far resisted calls for a European boycott in response to the war in Ukraine.

Closing the taps in "mid-April" this year would limit growth to 1.9 percent in 2022 and push Germany into a recession in 2023, causing the economy to shrink by 2.2 percent, according to the forecast.

The impact of a boycott would "not be overcome" over the next two years, the economic institutes (DIW, Ifo, IfW Kiel, IWH and RWI) said in a joint statement.

9:21 am: Russia claims more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers surrender in Mariupol

Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday that more than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered in Mariupol, a strategic port city in eastern Ukraine that has been besieged by Moscow's troops for over a month. 

"In the city of Mariupol ... 1,026 Ukrainian servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered," the ministry said in a statement. The claims could not be independently confirmed.

Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk on Wednesday said he had no information about the surrender of a Ukrainian marine brigade in Mariupol.

"I don't have information," Motuzyanyk said in a message in reply to a request for comment by Reuters.

9:16 am: 'Too dangerous' for humanitarian corridors Wednesday

Ukraine said Wednesday it was halting all humanitarian corridors allowing for the evacuation of civilians from war-scarred regions of the country, accusing Russian forces of violating agreements to allow people to flee.

"Unfortunately, we are not opening them today. The situation along the routes is too dangerous and we are forced to refrain from opening humanitarian corridors today," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media.

Vereshchuk said that around Zaporizhzhia in the south Russian forces were blocking buses used in the evacuations and that in the eastern Lugansk region Moscow's army was violating an agreement to halt shooting while people escape.

"The occupiers not only disregard the norms of international humanitarian law, but also cannot properly control their people on the ground," Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

7:58 am: Mayor of Ukraine's Mariupol says more than 100,000 people awaiting evacuation

The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, said on Wednesday in televised remarks that more than 100,000 people remained in the city awaiting evacuation.

7:41 am: Presidents of Poland, Baltic states to visit Kyiv on Wednesday

Polish President Andrzej Duda and the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are on their way to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President Volodimir Zelensky, an adviser to the Polish leader said on Wednesday.

"Our countries are showing support to Ukraine and President Zelensky in this way," adviser Jakub Kumoch posted on Twitter.

"Heading to Kyiv with a strong message of political support and military assistance," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted on Wednesday, along with a picture of the presidents next to a train.

The "symbolic" visit will include talks about the details of support, Pawel Szrot, head of the Polish president Andrzej Duda's office told private broadcaster Polsat News.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Poland on Tuesday and said he had planned to go on to Ukraine but was turned down.

"I was prepared to do this, but apparently, and I must take note of this, this was not wanted in Kyiv," he told reporters on Tuesday.

6:10 am: Zelensky offers to swap pro-Putin tycoon for captured Ukrainians

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered Wednesday to swap pro-Kremlin tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk, one of the richest people in Ukraine who was arrested after escaping house arrest, for Ukrainians captured by Russia.

A hugely controversial figure in Ukraine, Medvedchuk, 67, was under house arrest over accusations of attempting to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea and of handing Ukrainian military secrets to Moscow. 

He counts Russian President Vladimir Putin among his personal friends and says the Kremlin leader is godfather to his youngest daughter Darya.

“I propose to the Russian Federation to exchange this guy of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity,” Zelensky said in a video address posted on social media.

“And may Medvedchuk be an example for you. Even the former oligarch did not escape. What can we say about much simpler criminals from the Russian hinterland? We will get everyone.”

Ukrainian authorities announced Tuesday they had captured a prominent pro-Kremlin tycoon who escaped from house arrest after Russia’s invasion.

Zelensky posted a picture online of a dishevelled-looking Medvedchuk with his hands in cuffs and dressed in a Ukrainian army uniform.

“A special operation was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine. Well done!” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

12:36 am: Biden says ‘evidence is mounting’ that Russia is committing ‘genocide’ 

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday stood by his characterisation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide”, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “is trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian”.

“I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting,” Biden told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One to return to Washington after an event in Iowa.

“We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me,” he said.

David Smith, Washington bureau chief of The Guardian, comments on Biden's statement in the video below. 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)