LIVE UPDATES: Zelensky Ready for Dialogue With Putin – Deputy Head of Ukrainian Presidential Office

US Secretary of Defenсe Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and other senior US defenсe officials are consulting with Kiev and NATO countries about Poland's proposal to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

"Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley and members of our defense department are in touch with Ukrainian counterparts NATO counterparts, discussing what are clearly logistical challenges here," Psaki said during a press conference.

Psaki said the ongoing talks address issues related to how the allies could get combat jets to Ukraine in a way that will not escalate the conflict with Russia.

The United States has a number of interests with regard to Venezuela, including to ensure steady oil supply globally, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

"We have a set of interests with Venezuela. They include, of course, supporting democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people. They include securing the release of Americans who were unjustly detained there," Blinken said. "It's also true that we have an interest globally in maintaining a steady supply of energy, including through our diplomatic efforts."

Officials from the United Nations held meetings at the Russian ministries of defense and foreign affairs on Wednesday to discuss humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"Our humanitarian colleagues, who are in Moscow, held a high-level meeting today with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Participants agreed to continue strengthening this cooperation for the purpose of facilitating principled and timely humanitarian assistance to all people affected by the crisis in Ukraine," Dujarric told a briefing.

Poland's proposal to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine is associated with certain complexities, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

"The decision about whether to transfer any equipment to our friends in Ukraine is ultimately one that each government will decide for itself and has to make," Blinken said during a press conference. "We're in very close consultation with allies and partners about the ongoing security assistance to Ukraine, because in fact, I think what we're seeing is that Poland's proposal shows that there are some complexities that the issue presents."

The United Kingdom will strengthen its security and economic ties around the world to further isolate Russia, UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss said on Wednesday.

"We will step up our work to build economic and security alliances around the world, including with India and the Gulf nations, to further isolate Russia," Truss said during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

US President Joe Biden has been exceedingly clear that no American forces will fight in Ukraine, including in the skies over the country, a senior American defence official said on Wednesday.

"The President has been exceedingly clear there will be no US troops fighting in Ukraine, that includes in the skies over Ukraine," the official said. "Nothing has changed about that policy, no one is looking for an armed conflict with Russia here in the United States."

Power outage at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine does not pose a near-term risk of radiological release, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday.

“[US Energy Department] analysis shows the loss of power does not pose a near-term risk of radiological release,” Granholm said via Twitter. “While there is no near-term risk to public health, these latest developments are another example of Russia’s extraordinarily reckless and dangerous actions.”

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of a power outage at Chernobyl on Wednesday, the agency said. The IAEA likewise assessed that there is no critical impact on safety.

The US Energy Department will continue to monitor the situation and coordinate with federal and international partners on the matter, Granholm also said.

On 25 February, units of the Russian airborne forces took full control over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine. Since, the Russian troops and the Ukrainian soldiers of the NPP guard battalion have been jointly securing the power units and the sarcophagus of the plant. However, the Russian Ministry of Defence has issued a warning that Ukrainian forces may conduct a false flag operation involving a radiological event.

Kiev allowed nationalists to use weapons against those who attempt to evacuate to Russia, threaten to kill relatives, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's National Defense Control Center (NDCC), said.

"The Kiev regime has authorized nationalists to use weapons against those who are attempting to evacuate to Russia, threatening to kill relatives who remain on Ukrainian territory. Radicals also threaten physical harm against those who are trying to receive humanitarian assistance," the general said.

According to Mizintsev, there are two checkpoints of the so-called territorial defence on the Sumy-Grayvoron highway, the personnel of which are in civilian uniform, armed with small arms and Molotov cocktails with the task of preventing the refugees from escaping.

"In Kharkov, nationalists, under the threat of using weapons, are forcing local residents to set up barricades of car tires at every intersection in order to prevent civilians from accessing humanitarian corridors," the general said.

Ordinary Ukrainians are beginning to understand that they mean nothing to the current regime, he said.

"Residents of cities and towns have lost their already dubious faith in the current government, which prefers not to notice human suffering," he added.

The United States ban on Russian energy imports is a political decision that has nothing to do with stabilizing the global market, Kenyan Petroleum and Mining Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau said.

"Here are two things you have to think about. One - it is not about stabilizing the market, it's political. And one has to have the political logic behind it. So I think it is an individual issue, country by country. I can’t really say if this is a good idea or not, because I’m not in the mind of these people," Kamau said when asked about Russia's oil import ban.

Energy market volatility could last for three to four more years, Kenyan Petroleum and Mining Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau said.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a ban on US oil imports from Russia over the situation in Ukraine.

"In my opinion, it will come off a little bit when the winter ends, but then it will be back in November when we star coming back for winter. I think this situation will only be over in about 3-4 years," he said when asked about the energy market prospects.

The Russian narrative that the United States is using its biological laboratories in Ukraine to develop bioweaponry is "untrue," a senior American defenсe official said on Wednesday.

"The Russian narrative that they've put out there is that the United States is somehow running or facilitating biological weapons labs in Ukraine and that these labs are going to pose a threat to them. This is a piece of the Russian playbook here to claim there are victims to create a false narrative to try to justify their own aggressive actions. It is absurd, it is laughable, it is untrue," the official said during a press briefing.