Russia-Ukraine war latest: 6 major developments from Thursday

·Breaking News Editor, Yahoo News UK

3 March 2022 at 0:58 pm·3-min read

Ukrainian soldiers talk as they stand near their weapons at a frontline, northeast of Kyiv on March 3, 2022. - A Ukrainian negotiator headed for ceasefire talks with Russia said on March 3, 2022, that his objective was securing humanitarian corridors, as Russian troops advance one week into their invasion of the Ukraine. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images) — Ukrainian soldiers talk as they stand near their weapons at a frontline, as the Russian invasion hits one week (Getty)

Here's what you need to know on 3 March.

This article was updated at 6pm

Putin claims invasion going to plan Russian president Vladimir Putin made a televised address on Thursday afternoon, saying Moscow's military operations in Ukraine were going according to plan, and praising its soldiers as heroes.

Putin made a series of unsubstantiated allegations against Ukrainian forces, including that they were holding foreign citizens hostage and using human shields. Read more (Sky News)

Negotiators meet again Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met for the second time on Thursday, but failed to come to an agreement. A Ukrainian negotiator said ceasefire talks with had not yielded the results Kyiv hoped for, but the sides had discussed humanitarian corridors and agreed to speak again.

"To our great regret, we did not get the results we were counting on," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. The first talks on Monday broke down without a resolution.

Paralympic ban Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from competing in the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, as the two nations become further ostracised from the international community. The International Paralympic Committee apologised to the athletes affected, telling them: "You are victims of your governments’ actions."

Formula One also tightened its stance on Russia, cancelling its contract with the Russian Grand Prix, stopping any races happening there for the foreseeable future. Read more (Yahoo News UK)

BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 20: A firework display is seen inside the stadium alongside the Olympic rings during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on February 20, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images) — Russian and Belarussian athletes have been banned from participating in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing. (Getty Images)

Putin makes his first gain Putin's forces have claimed to have taken control of their first Ukrainian city on Wednesday evening, the strategically important Black Sea port of Kherson. Russian tanks rolled in and Ukrainians were told to remain in their homes.

The capital city of Kyiv has remained under Ukrainian control, with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stating on Thursday that defence lines were holding against the Russian attack.

He added: "We have nothing to lose but our own freedom." A 40-mile-long convoy of 15,000 Russian soldiers has stalled in its approach to the city, reportedly over supply issues. Read more (Reuters)

KYIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 28: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â MANDATORY CREDIT - — Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukrainian defence lines were holding against the Russian attack. (Getty)

KHARKIV, UKRAINE - MARCH 02: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â MANDATORY CREDIT - — Cities are being bombarded by Russian missiles. (Getty)

Nuclear war 'not in the heads of Russians' Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that using nuclear weapons is "not in the heads of Russians" and blamed the West for stoking fears of nuclear war. Speaking in a virtual news conference in Moscow, Lavrov insisted Russia was trying to "stop any more violence" in Ukraine. Despite widespread damage and shelling of civilian buildings, Lavrov insisted Russian forces were under "very strict order to use weapons only against military infrastructure". Read more (Sky News)

Nato 'has blood on its hands' The Ukrainian deputy president claimed Nato had "blood on its hands" due to its refusal to agree to a no-fly zone. Ukraine has repeatedly asked for a no-fly zone to be implemented, but Nato has said no, due to fears it would further escalate global tensions. Speaking to the World Tonight on BBC Radio 4, Olha Stefanishyna said "it is inhumane knowing that the civilian population and kids will be killed by not taking this decision".

"The blood of those civilians – including the mother and father of two kids who were born just yesterday and only today lost their parents in a shelling – is not only on Russian hands."