Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Russia evacuates flagship after ...

We are resolved to continue to provide security, economic, and humanitarian support to the government and people of Ukraine as they defend against President Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war,” Price said in a statement.Blinken and Kuleba also noted that the assistance from the U.S. government and allies has been “instrumental” in Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces, Price said.Blinken also “commended the bravery of the Ukrainian people, noting in particular those defending Mariupol,” Price said.The Associated PressRussian news reports say a criminal case has been opened against a Siberian journalist whose news website had published content critical of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.Mikhail Afanasyev, the chief editor of Novy Fokus in the Russian region of Khakassia, was arrested by security forces Wednesday over the website’s reporting on 11 riot police who had allegedly refused deployment to Ukraine as part of Russia’s military action there.Afanasyev was accused Thursday of disseminating “deliberately false information” about the Russian armed forces, an offense which carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence, according to a law passed in early March.Another Siberia-based journalist was also arrested Wednesday on suspicion of breaching Russia’s new laws on the media coverage of the situation in Ukraine. Mithil Aggarwal and Anastasiia ParafeniukMore than 31,000 people crossed the border into Ukraine on Wednesday, including 27,000 Ukrainians, the State Border Guard Service said Thursday.In a Telegram post, it said that over 71,000 people and more than 16,000 vehicles left Ukraine, crossing the western borders into the European Union and Moldova.There has been an influx of returning Ukrainians as Russian forces regroup and focus on eastern and southern parts of the country.Border guards did not say where the non-Ukrainians coming into the country were from or what they were likely to be doing, but in the past officials have reported an influx of humanitarian workers and military volunteers.Rhoda Kwan and Associated PressRussia has warned it could rule out keeping the Baltics nuclear free if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, saying such a move would force it to boost its defenses in the region. "Two less, two more — with their importance and population, there is no big difference."Finland and Sweden on Wednesday reached important stages on their way to NATO membership with the Finnish government issuing a security report to lawmakers and Sweden’s ruling party initiated a review of security policy options.Mithil AggarwalAs Russia prepares for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian resistance is "tying down" the invading troops in Mariupol, according to the British defense ministry.In an intelligence update published Thursday, it said "the combination of widespread missile and artillery strikes and efforts to concentrate forces for an offensive represents a reversion to traditional Russian military doctrine."Urban centers have faced indiscriminate attacks from Russia, it said, adding that the eastern towns of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka are likely to be targets of "similar levels of violence."Mithil Aggarwal and Anastasiia ParafeniukNine humanitarian corridors will open in Ukraine on Thursday after a day of closure, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has announced.In a Telegram post, she said that residents of the encircled city of Mariupol and Berdyansk will be able to evacuate to Zaphorizhzhia via their own transport.