Wednesday briefing: US senators unite to brand Putin with war crimes

Top story: Mariupol situation remains desperate

Good Wednesday morning to you from me, Warren Murray.

The US Senate has passed a unanimous resolution condemning Vladimir Putin as a war criminal – a rare show of unity in the deeply divided congress – as the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the Russian side were sounding “more realistic” in negotiations to end the war. Talks are set to resume via video link today. Earlier, Zelenskiy acknowledged that Ukraine would not become a Nato member, in a significant concession.

As the war approaches its third week, heavy shelling of Ukraine’s cities has continued. The Ukraine ministry of defence said the “worst situation remains in the area of Mariupol, where the opponent tries to block the city in the western and eastern outskirts of the city”. There have been reports of Russian troops seizing a hospital in Mariupol and taking about 500 people hostage. Leaders of three European Union countries – Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia – met with Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday, arriving by train in a bold show of support amid the danger.

The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, told Ukrainians: “Europe stands with you … The main goal of our visit and the main message of our mission is to say to our Ukrainian friends that they are not alone.” The leader of Poland’s ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said an international peacekeeping mission should be sent to operate in Ukraine. Joe Biden has signed off on $13.6bn in US aid and Zelenskiy is due to address the US Congress today. Meanwhile Nato commanders will be meeting in Brussels where they are expected to draw up plans for new ways to deter Russia, including more troops and missile defences in eastern Europe. Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, is expected to plead for more weapons from individual Nato countries. Keep up with further developments at our live blog.

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Arbiter end – Silicon Valley executives will no longer be the “supreme arbiters” of online speech, according to the culture secretary. Nadine Dorries said “unelected” tech leaders had become some of the most powerful people in the world due to a lack of robust regulation, which would change under the revised online safety bill to be published on Thursday. It requires platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to prevent proliferation of illegal content such as child sexual abuse and terrorist material; and mandates the biggest tech firms to protect adults from legal but harmful content, such as cyberbullying. Social media platforms face hefty fines for breaches. There are protections for journalistic content and content of “democratic importance”. Dorries said: “We would never pursue legislation that threatens freedom of expression … nor can we maintain the current status quo, where a handful of west coast execs are the supreme arbiters of online speech.”

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Midweek catch-up

> Hopes are high that British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori could be freed and allowed to return to London within days under a deal in which the UK agrees to repay a £400m debt and release an Iranian prisoner.

> Few teachers are aware that equalities legislation applies to their school’s policies on hair, despite high-profile court cases affecting black students who have been penalised or excluded for their hairstyles, a survey has found.

> Spain’s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has appealed for people to be on the lookout for a soil-testing kit containing radioactive material that was stolen from a van in the Madrid region.

> New Zealand is reopening its borders. From 13 April, vaccinated people from Australia will be let in without isolating; followed on 2 May by vaccinated people from other visa-waiver countries such as the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Japan and Singapore.

> The UK’s most prestigious children’s books prize, the Carnegie medal, and its sister award for illustration, the Kate Greenaway medal, highlight books that can help young readers. Here is this year’s shortlist.

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‘Truly regrettable’ – A black girl of 15 was strip-searched by police at school in a procedure that involved exposure of intimate body parts, according to an official investigation that found racism likely to have influenced officers’ actions. The child is now in therapy and self-harming, according to family members’ statements. Details of her treatment emerged in a review initiated by Hackney council after the incident in December 2020. Police had been called by teachers who told the review they believed she was smelling strongly of cannabis and suspected she was carrying drugs. None were found during the subsequent search. The Metropolitan police has apologised for what a senior officer described as “truly regrettable” treatment. A separate Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) report is nearing completion.

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Tomb find – Several tombs and a leaden sarcophagus likely dating from the 14th century have been uncovered by archaeologists at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris as reconstruction continues after its devastating 2019 fire. It is thought the coffin was made for a senior dignitary in the 1300s – the century after the cathedral’s construction.

The team used a mini endoscopic camera to look inside: “You can glimpse pieces of fabric, hair and a pillow of leaves on top of the head, a well known phenomenon when religious leaders were buried,” said Christophe Besnier, the lead archaeologist. “The fact that these plant elements are still inside means the body is in a very good state of conservation.”

Today in Focus podcast: Abramovich’s long fall out of favour

When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, he transformed the club’s fortunes and ushered in a new era of billionaire owners in the Premier League. But as David Conn explains, the issues that led to sanctions being imposed on him last week by the government have been in plain view for years.

Lunchtime read: ‘At 10 I knew all about nuclear blasts’

From CND marches, to books, films and music, fear of the bomb was everywhere in the 1980s. Now, for many, the war in Ukraine has brought back that sense of dread. By Zoe Williams.

Sport

A revitalised England were set 135 to beat India and secure their first victory of the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. Ralf Rangnick said the referee’s failure to award a free-kick in the buildup to Atlético Madrid’s winner was decisive as Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League last 16 in a match that shone a light on the team’s also-ran status. Chelsea have withdrawn a request for Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors after causing exasperation and disbelief in the sport and in Downing Street with their desperate push for permission to sell tickets.

The roar of 70,000 horse racing fans was a welcome noise on the first day of a Cheltenham Festival crowned by Honeysuckle’s repeat victory in the Champion Hurdle. England have been preparing for Saturday’s final Six Nations match, against France, by perfecting their chop tackles to avoid another nightmare red-card scenario in Paris. Harriet Dart’s surprise breakthrough run to the second week of the BNP Paribas Open came to an end in the fourth round at Indian Wells with a heavy defeat against a searing Madison Keys. And Lancashire fast bowler Saqib Mahmood will make a highly anticipated debut for England when the second Test against West Indies gets under way on Wednesday.

Business

The US Federal Reserve is expected today to raise interest rates for the first time since 2018, adding a quarter of a percentage point in line with actions by its peers including the Bank of England to combat inflation, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Asian share markets have been on the rise today in anticipation of the Fed’s decision. A bounce in the FTSE can be expected as well, while sterling is worth $1.304 and €1.190 at time of writing.

The papers

Today’s Guardian print edition leads with “Ukraine’s Nato concession as airstrikes batter capital” – the front-page picture slot goes to hopes that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe may be about to be freed. The i has “Putin turns to Plan C”, saying the Russian ruler is on the brink of waging a “war of attrition” with long-range bombing of cities and infrastructure, and expanding the war into Ukraine’s west.

“Zelenskiy – we can’t join Nato” – that’s the Times while the Daily Express calls Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s comments a “glimmer of hope for peace”. The Telegraph takes it a semantic step further, adjudging Zelenskiy to have accepted that Ukraine can “never” join Nato. “A city of fear and defiance” – the Daily Mail delivers reportage from Kyiv.

The Financial Times says “West turns up heat on Moscow with moves against oligarchs and military”. The Metro sports colourful phrasing regarding mounting sanctions against Abramovich and his ilk: “Oli lolly crackdown … You’re not blinging anymore”. And Woody Johnson, former US ambassador to the UK, is making a £2bn “swoop” for Chelsea, according to the Sun.

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