TOP HEADLINES

• The UN Security Council was divided on Friday as Western nations expressed concern about Moscow's announcement it will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, but permanent Council member Russia remained defiant.

• Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia faced "existential threats" to its security and development from "unfriendly states" as he presented President Vladimir Putin with an updated foreign policy doctrine.

• A senior Ukrainian official ruled out any ceasefire in the conflict with Russia that would involve Russian forces remaining on territory they now occupy in Ukraine.

• Russia said if the U.S. threatened Moscow over its arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, it would reap a "whirlwind", the state-owned news agency RIA reported.

• A $2.6 billion U.S. military aid package that could include air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets and fuel trucks for Ukraine's fight against Russia could be announced as soon as Monday.

• The United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk deplored how grave human rights violations were "shockingly routine" in the Ukraine conflict and said the number of civilian casualties was far higher than official figures.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Bucha to become a "symbol of justice" on the one-year anniversary of Russia's withdrawal from the town synonymous with war crimes allegations.

• The International Monetary Fund said a four-year $15.6 billion loan program had been approved for Ukraine, part of a global $115 billion package to support the country's economy.

• The International Olympic Committee criticized Ukraine's decision not to allow Ukrainian athletes to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, saying it would hurt only Ukrainian sport and its athletes.

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will push back on Russia's attempts to "weaponize energy" and rally support for a Ukrainian counter-offensive when he meets NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next week.

• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russia, which has decided to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, could if necessary put intercontinental nuclear missiles there too.

• Ukraine's foreign minister said Wimbledon's decision to let Russian and Belarusian players compete as neutrals was "immoral" and urged the UK to deny them visas.

IN DETAIL

Concerns raised over Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus 

The UN Security Council was divided on Friday as Western nations expressed concern about Moscow's announcement it will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, but permanent Council member Russia remained defiant.

China and Brazil condemned nuclear proliferation in general as the Council met to discuss the recent announcement from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"This is a further blow to the arms control architecture, to strategic stability in Europe, and to international peace and security," French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said at the meeting requested by Ukraine.

"Let us be clear: No other country has raised the prospect of nuclear use in this conflict," said Deputy British Ambassador James Kariuki.

"No one is threatening Russia's sovereignty," he added, condemning Putin's statement as "his latest attempt to intimidate and coerce."

"This has not worked and will not work. We will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to defend itself." 

Russia, however, stuck to its position that there was no difference between what it plans to do in Belarus, and NATO's deployment of American nuclear weapons in Europe. Western allies have called the analogy "misleading."

China and Brazil warned of the dangers of nuclear proliferation. "Two wrongs do not make a right," said Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho. 

"Reacting to a nuclear sharing arrangement or to any other perceived nuclear threat by the placement of weapons in a non-nuclear weapon state also constitutes a breach of NPT [non-proliferation treaty] obligations. This is a race to the bottom that makes nobody safe, regardless of who made the first move."

The UN's high representative for disarmament, Izumi Nakamitsu, called for all states to "avoid taking any actions that could lead to escalation, mistake or miscalculation."

Russia will start training crews on April 3 and plans to finish the construction of a special storage facility in Belarus for tactical nuclear weapons by July 1. Ex-Soviet state Belarus said on Friday that it was also ready to host strategic weapons. 

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