Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv extended curfew cancelled; 136 children killed since invasion began, says Ukraine

Mini

Moscow signalled on Friday it was scaling back its ambitions in Ukraine to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the East as Ukrainian forces went on the offensive to recapture towns outside the capital Kyiv. In an announcement that appeared to indicate more limited goals, the Russian Defence Ministry said a first phase of its operation was mostly complete and it would now focus on the eastern Donbass region, which has pro-Russia separatist enclaves. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again appealed to Russia to negotiate an end to the war, but says Ukraine would not agree to give up any of its territory for the sake of peace. Click here to catch up on the latest on today’s developments from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, speaking by video to a major policy conference in Qatar on Saturday, urged that nation and other energy producers to increase their gas exports to Europe as part of a drive to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

“The future of Europe rests with your efforts,” Zelenskyy said in a virtual address to the Doha Forum in Qatar, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of gas. “I urge you to increase energy production so that Russia understands that no state should use energy as a weapon to blackmail the world.”

Last year, 38 percent of the natural gas used by the European Union came from Russia, according to Bruegel, a research organization. Moves by the bloc to wean itself off that supply is vital to a broader Western effort to punish Moscow, a major oil and gas producer, for its invasion of Ukraine.