Europe

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: If provided an ideal option, the Russian national football team may be allowed to take part in the playoff qualifying matches for the spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Head Coach Valery Karpin said in an interview with TASS.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: Russia’s Justice Ministry has put Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcasting company on the list of foreign agents, the ministry’s website said on Monday.

"On March 28, 2022, pursuant to the requirements of the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included Deutsche Welle in its registry of foreign mass media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent," the statement said.

This decision was made on the basis of documents received from authorized state authorities.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: Moscow is handling the details of its gas delivery plans to unfriendly countries for payment in rubles, but it won’t engage in charity if Europe refuses to pay in the Russian currency, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: A meeting of the European Council on March 24-25 confirmed that Ukraine remained a territory under the control of Washington and a ‘geopolitical battering ram’ against Russia, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on Monday.

"The results of a European Council meeting, held jointly with the US leadership, confirmed once again that the collective West needs Ukraine which is fully under the control of Washington and is gripped by Russophobia only as a geopolitical battering ram against Russia," the diplomat stressed.

March 28 (Reuters) - London's Metropolitan Police is expected to issue the first fines for breaching a COVID-19 lockdown at No. 10 Downing Street, The Guardian reported (https://bit.ly/3iHeuUb) on Monday citing government insiders.

The Metropolitan Police had made referrals for the first tranche of fixed penalty notices related to parties and gatherings at No. 10, the prime minister's residence, and the Cabinet office, the report said citing multiple sources. Reports about the parties sparked a national uproar.

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - One of the architects of the Moscow-backed separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine eight years ago said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a mistake, in comments that show the Kremlin cannot count on support from all pro-Russian opponents of Kyiv.

Alexei Alexandrov was one of the leaders of a movement in 2014 to reject Kyiv's rule and create an autonomous pro-Moscow territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, triggering a war against Ukrainian government forces.

LVIV/KHARKIV, Ukraine, March 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia were preparing on Monday for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, but a senior U.S. official said Russian President Vladimir Putin did not appear ready to make compromises to end the war.

Ukraine's foreign minister said a ceasefire was the most his country could hope for from the talks, due to be held in Istanbul on Tuesday after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

"We are not trading people, land or sovereignty," Dmytro Kuleba said.

MOSCOW, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Russian and Ukrainian delegations will likely meet in Turkey on Tuesday, the Kremlin said Monday.

"The very fact that it was decided to continue in-person negotiations is important," local media reported, citing Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"Today, the delegation is leaving for Turkey... we expect that theoretically, talks could continue tomorrow," he said, adding that the negotiations would unlikely resume today.

Kyiv, Mar 28 (AP) With its aspirations for a quick victory dashed by a stiff Ukrainian resistance, Russia has increasingly focused on grinding down Ukraine's military in the east in the hope of forcing Kyiv into surrendering part of the country's territory to possibly end the war.

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — A strawberry-scented air freshener dangled from the Ukrainian military’s latest vehicle to head to war.

In a welding shop in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, workers were adding steel plates to a donated pickup truck so a volunteer could drive it to the front.

“Our victory depends on us,” said Ostap Datsenko, a welder who is part of a huge volunteer effort playing a role in Ukraine’s resistance, with support from the diaspora.

But he hadn’t expected to see so much of the war, or its shrapnel, so soon.