LIVE UPDATES: Biden Reportedly Considering Sending High-Level Official to Meet Zelensky in Kiev

Australia has imposed new sanctions against 14 Russian companies, including Gazprom, Transneft, Rostelecom, RusHydro, according to an updated list of sanctioned individuals and legal entities on the website of the country's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

According to the list, restrictions were introduced against Kamaz, the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Sevmash, Alrosa, Sovcomflot, Russian Railways and other companies.

The Kiev regime is completing the formation of three new nationalistic battalions from criminals in Kharkov, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, said.

"In Kharkov, the formation of three new nationalistic battalions ("Slabozhanshchina", "Kharkovshchina-1" and "Kharkovshchina-2"), staffed by prisoners who served sentences for grave and especially grave crimes in the Alekseyevskaya and 43rd correctional colonies, is being completed," Col. Gen. Mizintsev said.

He said the main tasks of these battalions are "blocking Kharkov from the south and preventing the exit of the local population from the city, as well as destroying units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in case of their retreat or attempt to surrender."

"We call on the UN, the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations to immediately take all measures and influence the Ukrainian side to save civilians," Col. Gen. Mizintsev said.

The Biden administration is considering sending a high-level official to Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Politico reported citing two US officials.

The report said on Wednesday that the US administration has made no final decision about who to send to Kiev but it could be President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Russian reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicles will have a digital catalog that will allow them to automatically recognize NATO military equipment, a source told Sputnik.

"Russian reconnaissance and reconnaissance/attack UAVs will receive a digital catalog with electronic images of military equipment adopted by NATO countries. This will allow them to automatically identify it on the battlefield and create, directly on board the device, a map of the location of enemy positions, which will be sent to the command post," the source said.

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said the United States is likely to determine in its own investigation that Russia allegedly committed genocide in Ukraine.

"I am going to predict that what President [Joe] Biden called it is what we will ultimately likely find when we are able to gather all of this evidence," Nuland said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.

Nuland accused Russian forces of intentionally seeking to destroy Ukraine and its civilian population.

Biden has previously spoken emotionally about the policy of the Russian authorities more than once. On Tuesday, he used the word "genocide" to refer to the situation in Ukraine and its impact on the world.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by saying Russia considers such allegations attempts to distort the situation on the ground, which is unacceptable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting on Thursday on the situation in the oil and gas sector, with the main report to be made by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in charge of the issue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has notified Russia that it had suspended its membership, effective May 11.

"The Russian Federation has been informed accordingly and the suspension will enter into force on 11 May," the statement read.

Russia, the world's leading exporter of civilian nuclear energy plants, joined NEA in 2013. The OECD, a global policy forum, halted Russian participation in its bodies in early March in response to the military operation in Ukraine.

The United States is still checking the deconfliction line with Russia every day, but has not used it to transmit any content, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

"The deconfliction line [with Russia] is still operational. We do check it every day. I haven't heard any reports to the contrary ... I also haven't heard any indications that we've had to use it to transmit any content," Kirby said during a press briefing.

The United States intends on beginning shipments of the most recent package of military aid to Ukraine right away, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Wednesday.

"We will literally start right away," Kirby told a press briefing when asked how soon the defense aid could start flowing to Ukraine.

The US on Wednesday announced a new defense aid package to Ukraine, which includes equipment such as transport helicopters, armored personnel carriers, Javelin missiles and Howitzer artillery systems among other gear.

Marchenko argued that her husband is being persecuted for political reasons. She said that he had not broken any law and had always advocated for "peace, dialogue and harmony in Ukraine."

The ministry mentioned that it рфв summoned the Czech ambassador earlier in the day to protest Prague’s recent decision on ousting a senior Russian diplomat.

"The ambassador was handed a note from the ministry declaring a senior diplomat of the Czech embassy in Moscow a persona non grata...," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the diplomat was ordered to leave Russia by the end of the day on 16 April.

The ministry added that Russia plans to expand its travel ban list in the near future.

"This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters. In addition, we continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from our Allies and partners around the world," Biden said in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by saying Russia considers such allegations as attempts at distorting the situation on the ground, which is unacceptable.