HEADLINES

• The conflict in Ukraine has entered its fourth week. 

•  Russian missiles struck an airport near the western city of Lviv, where hundreds of thousands found refuge from Ukrainian battlefields as Moscow tries to regain initiative in its stalled campaign. 

•  Mayor Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said Russian missile strikes damaged a gas line in a residential area of the capital. He later renewed his call for Western nations to arm Ukraine with defensive weapons, such as anti-aircraft guns. 

•  Kyiv administration said 222 people were killed in the capital since the start of the war, including 60 civilians and four children.

•   130 people have been rescued from the rubble of a theater in Mariupol, where local officials said hundreds of civilians were hiding. More than 350,000 people are sheltering in the besieged city, officials added.

•  Ukraine's food supply chains were collapsing and the conflict was creating a wave of "collateral hunger" across the world, World Food Program said.

•  Ukrainian forces continue to push back Russian attempts to surround Kyiv and Mykolaiv, an armed forces spokesperson said, while heavy shelling of encircled cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol continued.

•  Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and intensified diplomatic efforts during a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

• President Putin is due to talk to President Macron on the phone on Friday. 

• Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland will formally ask for an U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ukraine at the next NATO summit.

• The UK's media regulator revoked the broadcasting license of Moscow-backed TV channel RT.

• Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says he spoke with the European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen about progressing Ukraine's EU membership bid within the next few months. 

• A celebration is being held at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to mark the anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Four years ago the stadium hosted the World Cup Final between France and Croatia. 

• According to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, the Russian people's trust in President Putin is 79.6 percent, and their satisfaction with his work is 77.2 percent. The social poll was conducted from March 7 to 13 this year, and the data source is 1,600 Russian citizens over the age of 18.  

Xi holds call with Biden

Chinese President Xi Jinping was due to speak by phone to his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Friday, as Washington claimed it is hoping to discourage China from backing Russia in the Ukraine crisis. 

Biden's administration has not yet offered evidence that Beijing is willing to help Moscow, but the US leader is expected to tell Xi that China will pay a price if it supports Russia's military operations in Ukraine. 

Scheduled for 9 a.m. Eastern time (1300 GMT), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Biden would use the conversation to "make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs." 

"We're concerned that they're considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine," he said.  Beijing and Moscow have denied such plans, with China's foreign ministry calling the idea "disinformation." 

Xi and Biden's talk follows a seven-hour meeting in Rome on Monday between lower-level Chinese and US aides, which were described as "tough" and "intense" by officials.

Washington has already threatened lower-level Chinese government officials privately and publicly that increased support for Russia risks unspecified counter measures.

However, targeting Beijing with similar economic sanctions imposed on Russia would have potentially dire consequences for the U.S. and the world, considering China's status as the second largest economy and largest exporter.

Beijing has recognized Ukraine's sovereignty and supports a diplomatic conclusion to the conflict, but says Russia has legitimate security concerns that need answering. 

It is also yet to impose the kind of sanctions seen from the West, and with Russia cut off from large parts of the world economy, it is looking to countries like China to replace its lost trade.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said this week that Russia was counting on China to help it withstand the blow to its economy from Western sanctions. 

China would continue trade and economic cooperation with both Russia and Ukraine based on equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect, China's Commerce Ministry said on Thursday.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian echoed the sentiment on Twitter, writing that Beijing's position on Ukraine was "above-board, objective, fair, and beyond reproach." 

He added: "The US and NATO should focus on promoting peace in Ukraine and stop fuelling the tensions by sending ammunition. They need to join hands with Europe and Russia to work for lasting peace through dialogue."

CGTN's Aljosa Milenkovic sent this report from the town of Volnovakha, in the Donbas, which has seen heavy fighting. Though battlefield details are hard to verify, the people of the town told CGTN of a brutal battle. Warning: This report contains disturbing images.