LIVE UPDATES: US Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Ban Russian Uranium Imports

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Thursday that the increase in the number of Ukrainians advocating peace talks with Russia was a "dangerous trend."

"Keep in mind that there are more and more of them [who advocate negotiations with Russia]. It is a very dangerous trend when people even from western Ukraine start talking about such things," Danilov said in an appearance on the Hovoryt Velykyi Lviv (Great Lviv Speaks) talks show, referring to a statement of an unnamed official from the Lvov region of Ukraine, who called for "sitting down at the negotiating table" with Russia.

A group of US senators introduced on Thursday bipartisan legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources said in a release.

"Today, US Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jim Risch (R-ID), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced bipartisan legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium," the release said.

America’s nuclear industry is "ready to transition away from Russian uranium," Ranking Member Barrasso was quoted as saying in the release.

In October, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Ukraine could not hold any talks as long as Vladimir Putin remains president of Russia and signed a relevant decree. Russian officials have repeatedly emphasized their readiness to start peace negotiations to resolve the ongoing conflict.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has banned entry for 144 citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, including ministers, parliamentarians and public figures, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"A decision has been made to include the most hostile ministers, parliamentarians, public figures, journalists from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in the Russian stop list," the ministry said in a statement.

This step was taken as a response to "active lobbying by the Baltic states for sanctions and other measures against Russia, interference in our internal affairs, inciting Russophobic sentiments," it explained.

"The 144 citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia included in the list are also involved in the barbaric campaign launched by the authorities of these states for the mass demolition of monuments to Soviet soldiers-liberators, persecution of the Russian-speaking population, rewriting of history, glorification of Nazism, and the criminal line being pursued to escalate the Ukrainian conflict and to pump the Kiev regime with weapons," the ministry added.

"Hypersonic missiles are generally very, very difficult to counter, and it would not surprise me that Ukrainian air defenses are limited in their ability to go after hypersonic missiles," he said.

By building a military center in Ukraine, Warsaw wants to deploy its infrastructure to increase the size of its "group", the construction of such a center will draw Poland into the conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Obviously, we are talking about Warsaw’s intention to deploy its infrastructure to increase the Polish grouping, previously announced as the Polish Volunteer Legion, which will be located on the basis of the center [in Ukraine]," she said during a briefing.

"The fact that this is fraught with direct involvement of Poland in the Ukrainian conflict does not bother anyone in Warsaw, let alone in Kiev," Zakharova said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's plan to allocate around 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) for ammunition supplies to Ukraine is insufficient as Kiev needs artillery shells worth 4 billion euros as proposed by Estonia in February.

During an informal meeting of the EU defense ministers in Stockholm on Wednesday, Borrell made a proposal that includes the allocation of 1 billion euros for supplies of NATO standard ammunition from the bloc's existing stockpiles to Ukraine, as well as measures to increase own production. Reznikov and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also took part in the event.

"We need more [artillery shells]," Reznikov is quoted by the Europa Press news agency as saying at the meeting in Stockholm in response to Borrell's plan.

The Ukrainian minister cited Estonia's proposal as the one his country found sufficient, adding that Kiev needed around 100,000 artillery shells per month to be able to conduct a successful counteroffensive this spring.

"I call on everyone in this room today and elsewhere: we must commit to protect the safety and security of the plant. And we need to commit NOW. What we need is Action. I will continue my urgent consultations and contacts," Grossi said during a meeting of the IAEA board of governors.

Grossi added that the stocks of diesel fuel at the plant would be enough only for 15 days of operation.

Located on the left bank of the Dnepr River, the ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe by number of units and output. It went under the control of Russian forces in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled by Ukrainian troops, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident.

An agreement on a protective zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) was almost reached, but Kiev blocked it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

During his recent visit to Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for some reason, linked the issue of extending the grain deal with the need "to demilitarize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," the minister said.

"No one, except for Ukraine itself, has ever talked about any demilitarization ... The IAEA Director General [Rafael Grossi] has been promoting an agreement for several months to declare the ZNPP a nuclear safety zone ... We actively cooperated with the IAEA director general. The agreement was almost reached, we were ready to support it, but it was blocked by Kiev, which is precisely putting forward preconditions for prisoners of war and the demilitarization of the ZNPP," Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

The minister also expressed regret that Guterres once again failed to take a neutral position on the matter.

Poland has handed over a new batch of 10 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday.

"We have transferred another 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine," Blaszczak told journalists.

Other NATO countries would soon also ship their tanks to Ukraine, the Polish defense minister stated, specifying that eight tanks would be sent by Canada, with another eight coming from Norway and six from Spain.

In late February, Blaszczak said that Warsaw had sent four Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Emergency power outages left 40% of people living in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev with no heating on Thursday, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Air raid alarms went off in various parts of Ukraine on Thursday morning. The country's energy ministry said airstrikes targeted energy infrastructure in seven regions, including the Kiev region.

"After the attack 40% of consumers of the capital city are so far without heating due to emergency blackouts," Klitschko wrote on Telegram.

Emergency blackouts were also enacted in other Ukrainian regions, including Zhitomir, Odessa and Dnepropetrovsk. Mayor of Zhitomir Sergey Sukhomlin said that most of local households were left with no electricity and water supply.

Ukrainian Railways stated that a number of trains are delayed due to power cuts in some parts of the railroad, with delays exceeding one hour in some cases.

Cold shutdowns were initiated at two of the ZNPP's six power units due to Ukraine's cutting power supply, the official added, denouncing Kiev's move as a provocation in a scenario where Russia will then be accused of failing to ensure security at the nuclear facility.

All safety systems at the station were working normally when it switched to the diesel generators, the press service of the ZNPP said.

"Last night, diesel generators were automatically launched to provide the station's own needs due to a short circuit in the line between the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant and the Dneprovsk substation of the ZNPP. All safety systems worked normally. There are enough fuel reserves to ensure the work of the diesel generators and they are being constantly refilled," the press service stated.

It added that radiation levels around the station were normal, with no changes reported following the disruption with power supply.

Energy infrastructure facilities have come under attack in seven Ukrainian regions, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Thursday.

"Shelling of energy facilities in Kiev, Nikolaev, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Odessa, Dnepr and Zhitomir regions was recorded," Galushchenko wrote on social media.