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The latest developments in Russia's war on Ukraine. All times EST.
10:03 p.m.: Danish police have searched for a yacht on a tiny Baltic Sea island near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites, the local administrator said Thursday.
German authorities confirmed on Wednesday they had raided a ship in January that may have been used to transport explosives used to blow up the pipelines.
The police were searching for a specific boat moored at the island in September, Soren Thiim Andersen, the highest authority on the island of Christianso, told Reuters.
The Sept. 26 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, constructed to supply Russian natural gas to Europe, have become a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Authorities in Sweden, Germany and Denmark are investigating the blasts and say they were deliberate but have not said who might be responsible.
However, this week media reports in the United States and Germany suggested a pro-Ukrainian group could be responsible.
7:44 p.m.: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law on Thursday allowing for the use of the death penalty against officials and army servicemen convicted of high treason, Reuters reported, citing a statement from his office.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, is the only country in Europe that still applies the death penalty. It exists for crimes such as murder or for acts of terrorism.
Executions are carried out with a single shot to the back of the head.
The new law is part of changes to the criminal code aimed at strengthening Belarus' fight against "crimes of an extremist (terrorist) and anti-state orientation."
Under another change approved by Lukashenko on Thursday, anybody found guilty of "discrediting" the Belarusian armed forces will face a jail term. Russia passed a similar law after invading neighboring Ukraine just over a year ago.
6:55 p.m.: The chief of Lithuania's military intelligence said Russia has enough resources to continue the war in Ukraine for two more years at the current intensity, Reuters reported.
Moscow says it launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine a year ago. Kyiv and the West call it an unprovoked war to subdue an independent state.
"The resources which Russia has at the moment would be enough to continue the war at the present intensity for two years," Lithuania's intelligence chief Elegijus Paulavicius told reporters.
"How long Russia is be able to wage the war will also depend on the support for Russia's military from states such as Iran and North Korea," he added.
Paulavicius was introducing a national threat overview by Lithuania's intelligence agencies, which also claimed hackers linked to the Russian and Chinese governments repeatedly attempted to break into Lithuanian government computers in 2022.
"Their priority remains continuous long-term collection of information related to Lithuanian internal and foreign affairs," the agencies said.
It did not say whether the hacking attempts were successful.
6 p.m.: U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday appealed for a protection zone around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine after another outage there, saying he was "astonished by the complacency" around the issue, Reuters reported.
"This is the sixth time – let me say it again sixth time, that ZNPP has lost all off-site power and has had to operate in this emergency mode," Grossi told the board's quarterly meeting, according to an IAEA statement.
"Let me remind you – this is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. What are we doing? How can we sit here in this room this morning and allow this to happen? This cannot go on. I am astonished by the complacency."
Europe's biggest nuclear power plant lost its last external power line early on Thursday after missile strikes across Ukraine overnight. It switched to emergency diesel generators, a last line of defense to keep cooling reactor fuel and prevent a potentially catastrophic meltdown. It was later reconnected to Ukraine's energy grid, operator UkrenergoIt said.
As in previous attacks, Russia and Ukraine blamed each other. Grossi has been trying to get both sides to strike a deal in which they would pledge not to fire at or from the plant and heavy weapons would be removed, diplomats say.
5:11 p.m.: Russia has introduced personal sanctions against 144 government officials, journalists, lawmakers and other public figures from the three Baltic states who are deemed "most hostile" to Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, ruled from Moscow during the Cold War but now members of the European Union and NATO, have been among the strongest critics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The ministry said the move was a response to what it called active lobbying by the three Baltic republics for more sanctions against Russia and to their "interference in our internal affairs, inciting Russophobic sentiments."
4:17 p.m.: Representatives from Turkey, Sweden and Finland agreed at a meeting Thursday to hold more talks on the stalled bids by the Nordic countries to join NATO, the alliance said, according to Agency France-Presse.
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries still to ratify the applications, which must be accepted by all 30 existing members of the military organization.
Ankara has held up the process and is pushing a list of demands, including that Sweden expel dozens of mostly Kurdish residents it suspects of ties to separatist militants.
A statement from NATO said that "participants welcomed the progress that has been made" on a three-way deal struck last year aimed at satisfying Turkey's complaints.
3:25 p.m.: Belgium on Thursday announced it would expand reception capacity to cope with what it called a migration "crisis" as EU ministers debated bringing down rising numbers of arrivals and overhauling their broken asylum rules ahead a bloc-wide election next year, Reuters reported.
Belgium, one the world's richest countries, has been unable to provide accommodation to many new arrivals, with reception centers almost full. Hundreds of people have been squatting in places such as an abandoned building and a tent city in the capital Brussels, home to EU institutions.
Officials have said hosting refugees from Ukraine and increasing immigration from Africa and Asia is straining the country of some 11.6 million people.
2:30 p.m.: Officials in Poland and Slovakia are urging their allies to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, saying they are ready to send their Soviet-made MiG-29 jet fighters to Kyiv as part of an international coalition, The Associated Press reported.
However, it still remains unclear if any other Western supporters of Ukraine are ready to take that step. Slovak and Polish officials have made the calls before but have renewed their appeals in recent days. The Slovak defense minister said Thursday that it's time to make a decision because people in Ukraine are dying and the fighter jets could make a difference.
1:39 p.m.: Violent Videos Raise Questions About Ukrainian Military Recruiters: Videos have been posted online showing Ukrainian recruitment officers wrestling with civilians on the streets, and even dragging them into vehicles. The authorities say these are isolated incidents, but a lawyer from Ukraine's Helsinki Committee says there are "quite a lot" of court proceedings against recruitment centers. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report.
12:44 p.m.: Leonid Volkov, a top associate of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, says he is suspending his political and public activities after he denied signing a letter arguing for lifting European Union sanctions on some London-based Russian oligarchs, only to later admit he lied about his actions, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Volkov, the chairman of Navalny's International Anti-Corruption Foundation (MFBK), wrote on Telegram on March 9 that he was taking this step after making "a big political mistake" by signing a letter last year addressed to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell asking for sanctions imposed over Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, German Khan, and Aleksei Kuzmichyov to be lifted.
"Moreover, by [signing the letter], I abused my authority as I signed it not as an individual but as a representative of the organization. I did not inform my colleagues about it," Volkov's statement on Telegram added. He also posted the documents online.
12:03 p.m.: Bloodied and Muddied: Ukrainian Troops Fighting for Bakhmut Regroup in Chasiv Yar: As Moscow's punishing offensive gains ground around Bakhmut, fears are growing that Chasiv Yar will become the next bulwark against Russian forces. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report.
11:17 a.m.:
10:20 a.m.: Poland will transfer a limited number of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to Paweł Szrot, the head of the Polish president's office, The Kyiv Independent reported.
"As far as I know, it will not be a large number of aircraft," Szrot told the Polish Press Agency. "The number will certainly not correspond to the number of [transferred] tanks."
Szrot added that the transfer of tanks, however, would be part of an international coalition so that Ukraine could "feel" this support.
Slovakia's Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad also confirmed Thursday that his country was prepared to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in a joint effort with Poland.
9:25 a.m.: A federal court in New York has authorized the seizure of a $25 million Boeing 737 owned by a Russian energy company, citing U.S. sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.
The aircraft is owned by PJSC Rosneft Oil Co., headquartered in Moscow and led by sanctioned oligarch Igor Ivanovich Sechin. The U.S. attorney in Brooklyn said Wednesday the company violated sanctions that bar U.S.-built planes from entering Russia without a license.
Authorities say the plane has left and reentered Russia several times since last year and was last in the U.S. in 2014. The company didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
8:30 a.m.: Georgia's ruling party, in the face of two days of violent protests and sharp criticism from the West, says it is withdrawing its controversial "foreign agents" legislation from parliament, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
"As a party of government responsible to every member of society, we have decided to unconditionally withdraw this bill that we supported," the Georgian Dream party said in a statement on its website on March 9.
The initial protests erupted as lawmakers took up the controversial foreign agents law on March 7. The proposed legislation, which is backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and was approved in a hastily called first reading on March 7, would force civil society organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to be classified as foreign agents.
7:45 a.m.: Russia's latest mass missile strike Thursday against Ukraine resulted in nationwide blackouts and train delays, but power already has been restored to some areas and repair work continues elsewhere, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK says parts of Kyiv were temporarily without electricity following the latest Russian mass missile strike.
According to DTEK, parts of Holosiivskyi, Solomianskyi, and Sviatoshynskyi districts of Kyiv remain without power due to one of the powerlines being overloaded.
Part of Odesa Oblast was without power last night as a result of the attacks. Repair crews from DTEK and Ukrenergo are on the site of critical energy infrastructure that was targeted in the attack. Electricity will be rationed according to location-specific schedules available on DTEK's website while repairs continue.
Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on national television that 70% of electricity supply has already been restored to Kharkiv Oblast. Residents of the city, as well as those of Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv, and Chuhuiv remain without power, but according to the governor, power supply is expected to be restored within the next 2-3 hours.
7 a.m.: Russia said Thursday its forces had carried out a "massive retaliatory strike" on Ukrainian infrastructure after what it called a terrorist attack in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, last week, Reuters reported.
Ukraine said at least six civilians were killed in the largest Russian missile strikes since mid-February, The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that it hit Ukrainian defense companies and other "military infrastructure" with a range of weapons including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Russia said it had destroyed targets including drone bases and sites producing ammunition, and disrupted the transport of foreign weapon supplies across Ukraine by rail. It was not possible to independently verify the claims.
6:05 a.m.: Ukrainian officials reported Russian missile strikes Thursday in multiple parts of the country that killed at least six people, The Associated Press reported.
Ukraine's military said it shot down 34 of 81 missiles that Russia fired, and that it downed four Iranian-made drones used by Russian forces.
"The occupiers can only terrorize civilians," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram. "That's all they can do. But it won't help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done."
5:13 a.m.: A 13-year-old Russian girl, who was placed under house arrest for comments critical of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, is being denied contact with her father, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday, quoting a rights group report.
Since the beginning of the offensive last February, Russian opposition voices have been targeted by legislation that government opponents say is designed to stamp out criticism of the conflict.
OVD-Info, a human rights monitor, said the girl, who drew a pro-Ukrainian sketch in school, was moved to a "juvenile rehabilitation center" after investigations had begun into her father's comments.
According to the rights group, authorities first targeted the family after Moskalyeva drew a picture critical of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine at school in April last year.
Her father Alexei Moskalyev, a single parent, was later fined $420 for discrediting the army in a post on social media.
This month he was accused of repeating the offense and was placed under house arrest, OVD said.
4:13 a.m.: Hungarian ruling party lawmakers visiting Finland and Sweden could not confirm a date for the Hungarian parliament's pending ratification of the two Nordic countries' NATO admission, the leader of the delegation said, according to a Reuters report.
Sweden and Finland applied last year for membership in the transatlantic military alliance after Russian forces swept into Ukraine. All 30 NATO members must ratify the applications, and Hungary, as well as Turkey, have held back their approvals.
"This is a promising beginning, which however does not suggest when and what the decision will be made," Csaba Hende, Hungary's Deputy Speaker of the House representing the ruling Fidesz party told Reuters after meeting Finnish lawmakers in Helsinki.
3:16 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry, citing Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko, said one of Russia's earthy warning and control aircraft deployed in Belarus had been damaged.
2:15 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in its latest Ukraine assessment that Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut but have not completed a turning movement around the city. Russian forces also continued offensive operations along the outskirts of Donetsk City.
Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces landed on the Dnipro River Delta islands for the third consecutive day, the assessment said.
1:14 a.m.: China will maintain its cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States despite international concerns about the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence agencies said Wednesday.
"Despite global backlash over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defense, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support," they said in a report released as the Senate Intelligence Committee held its annual hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security.
The report largely focused on threats from China and Russia, assessing that China will continue using its military and other assets to intimate rivals in the South China Sea and that it will build on actions from 2022, which could include more Taiwan Strait crossings or missile overflights of Taiwan.
"Perhaps needless to say, the People's Republic of China, which is increasingly challenging the United States, economically, technologically, politically and militarily, around the world remains our unparalleled priority," said Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the main intelligence adviser to President Joe Biden.
12:46 a.m.: The chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Wednesday that European sanctions against him and his fighting force were justified and he did not plan to fight them in court, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a statement from Prigozhin.
Prigozhin is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his recruits have been fighting for months to capture the battle-scarred city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
He made the statement after a European court earlier Wednesday canceled EU sanctions imposed on his mother, Violetta Prigozhina, ruling that Brussels had not proved she was linked to her son's actions in Ukraine.
12:02 a.m.: The Associated Press, citing Ukrainian officials and media, reported that Russia launched a massive missile barrage on Ukraine early Thursday.
The strikes hit cities all over the country and appeared to target energy infrastructure facilities, The Associated Press said.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
