Thread by @fulelo

Ukraine news 🧵 on @bbcworldservice at 0700 AM GMT on 18.03 - listen live: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/li…

There have been a series of explosions in western Ukraine near to the city of Lviv. Video published by a local TV station showed a large plume of smoke coming from the area

of the international airport, six kilometres from the city centre. The mayor has said that a nearby aircraft maintenance facility was hit rather than the airport itself. Reports suggest cruise missiles were fired from a Russian bomber aircraft - three explosions were heard.

Lviv is just 70 km from the Polish border, well away from the main battle zones in the east and south. The area has been relatively quiet, apart from five days ago, when there was a similar attack on a military training facility at Yavoriv, 30 km from Lviv.

President Biden will urge China not to provide Russia with military equipment for its war in Ukraine, when he holds talks on the phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today. US officials have criticised Beijing for failing to denouce the invasion -- warning

that China has a responsibility to use its influence on Vladimir Putin to defend international rules and principles. On Thursday, the White House repeated its concerns that Beijing might supply Russia with weaponry that could be used against Ukraine.

In New York, China's ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, said Beijing wanted peace through negotiations, adding that sanctions against Russia will undermine stability.

The US House of Representatives has voted to remove Russia and Belarus from their "most favoured nation" trade agreements, which offer countries privileges such as lower tariffs on imported goods. Stripping Russia of the status would clear the way for higher tariffs

on key products it sells to the US, including fuels, fertilisers and metals. The Senate is expected to also approve the legislation. The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said Democrats and Republicans remain united in sending Vladimir Putin the clear message

that his inhumane violence against the Ukrainian people will come at a crippling price.

Australia and Japan have imposed further sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The Australians have added two Russian billionaires Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg as well as

11 banks and government entities to its sanctions list. Tokyo has sanctioned 15 more Russian nationals and 9 organizations, including state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport.

The Hollywood movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has warned the Russian people that they are being fed misinformation about their country's assault on Ukraine. In a nine-minute video published on Twitter, he said the Kremlin was intentionally lying to them

by saying the invasion was intended to "de-nazify" Ukraine." Mr Schwarzenegger said Ukraine did not start this war, nor did nationalists or Nazis. The Austrian-born former bodybuilding champion - whose film "Red Heat" was the first American movie filmed in Moscow's Red Square -

spoke of his affection for the Russian people. Addressing President Putin directly, he said "You started this war, and you can stop it".

https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1504426844199669762

The US ambassador to the United Nations has said that African states cannot remain neutral on the war in Ukraine. Speaking to the BBC, Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that in the General Assembly vote two weeks ago to deplore the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 17 African countries -

- abstained and another 8 did not vote at all. The ambassador said there can be no neutral ground, and that this crisis was not simply a Cold War competition between the West and Russia. Ms Thomas-Greenfield said the US was helping to find alternative sources of

commodities which countries import from Russia. The diplomat also said the US would support South Africa’s offer to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

The WHO says it has verified 43 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine, and that healthcare workers are among the dead and injured. The W.H.O's Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus told the UN Security Council that such attacks were a violation of international humanitarian

law. He said that UN convoys with critical supplies have not been able to enter difficult areas. The British UN ambassador, Barbara Woodward, accused Russia of playing a cynical game after Moscow tabled a draft UN resolution calling for the protection of women and children

and condemning indiscriminate shelling in Ukraine. The draft has now been dropped without a vote. UN officials say there've been 1900 confirmed civilian casualties so far in the conflict, with 726 people killed - 52 of them children.