- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to meet with Ukrainian and Russian presidents
- Russia acknowledges 1 death, 27 missing after Moskva flagship’s sinking
- UN says it has confirmed 2,345 civilian deaths and 2,919 civilians wounded since the war began
- Mariupol official says push to evacuate civilians has failed
This article was last updated at 16:13 GMT/UTC.
German finance minister backs chancellor on Ukraine arms deliveries
Germany’s finance minister, Christian Lindner, said he supports Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s policies on arms deliveries to Ukraine, but called on Scholz to send heavy weapons.
The FDP is one of the coalition partners in the German government.
“The chancellor has the trust of the FDP,” Lindner said during a Free Democrats (FDP) party congress speaking via video from Washington where he is attending G20 and G7 meetings. He is also in quarantine as he contracted COVID-19 while in the US capital.
Scholz has been criticized both domestically and abroad for Germany’s refusal to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, such as tanks and howitzers, despite repeated pleas from the Ukrainian government.
Lindner has led the business-friendly FDP since 2013 and is considered an influential figure in the German political arena.
He said that Ukraine is under attack by Russia for embracing European values and turning its back on Putin’s authoritarianism. “Ukraine is also fighting for values that are important to us,” he said, “therefore, Ukraine must win this war and Ukraine will win this war.”
At least 5 killed, 18 injured in missile strikes in Odesa, Ukraine says
Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an online post that five people were killed and 18 injured in a missile strike on the southern port city of Odesa.
Earlier, Ukraine’s southern air command said two missiles struck a military facility and two residential buildings while two missiles were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defense.
Regional spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk said on national television that there were casualties, “killed and wounded,” he said.
Evacuation of civilians from Mariupol fails: city official
An aide to the mayor of Mariupol said on his Telegram channel that the latest attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol failed.
He blamed Russian forces for telling the 200 residents of Mariupol that gathered for the evacuation that they should disperse or face possible shelling.
Mariupol is a strategic port city in the southeast of Ukraine, besieged for weeks by the Russian military. Multiple attempts at evacuating civilians have been unsuccessful, with Kyiv and Moscow trading blame for the failures.
Naftogaz: One third of gas exports via Ukraine could be lost due to war
The head of Ukraine’s state energy firm Naftogaz said one third of gas exports from Russia to the EU via Ukraine could be lost if Russian forces continue to disrupt operations in areas that are under occupation.
Russia is the top gas supplier to the EU. Its invasion of Ukraine has sent a shockwave through energy markets, sending prices soaring to record highs.
UN: Almost 5.2 million refugees displaced by Russian invasion
The UN’s refugee agency said 5,163,686 refugees have been displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. By far the largest number, 2,884,764, have crossed into neighboring Poland.
In April alone, 1,128,000 Ukrainians left the country, compared with 3.4 million in March.
Of those who fled, women and children account for 90%. Men between the age of 18 and 60 are unable to leave as they are needed to help with the military effort to repel Russia’s invasion.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates more than 7.7 million people are also considered internally displaced in Ukraine.
Artillery strike in Luhansk kills 2 civilians, regional governor says
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, said an artillery strike on the front line in the town of Zolote resulted in the death of two civilians.
Haidai said two others were wounded in the strike.
Earlier, Haidai said in a television interview that Russian forces had intensified shelling of all the Ukrainian-controlled cities in the region. Russia denied targeting civilian areas.
Missile strikes Odesa, city council says
Local authorities in the southern port city of Odesa said a missile struck infrastructure in their city without providing additional details.
In a statement posted online, the city council said, “Odessa was hit by a missile strike. Infrastructure has been hit.”
Latvian ambassador returns to Kyiv
Ilgvars Klava, the Latvian ambassador to Ukraine, has returned to Kyiv, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted.
Klava’s return came after Russia withdrew its troops from the Kyiv region. He had been in the Latvian capital Riga for consultations.
On April 7, the Latvian Embassy in Kyiv had reopened its doors. Diplomats have begun to return to Kyiv after many relocated temporarily to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as the capital came under attack from Russian forces.
Lviv region announces Orthodox Easter curfew
Maksym Kozytskyy, the regional governor of Lviv, announced a curfew starting on the night of Orthodox Easter, citing “new intelligence.”
The curfew will begin at 11 p.m. on Saturday and go until 5 a.m. Sunday and continue every day between these hours until further notice.
Kozytskyy wrote, “Unfortunately, the enemy doesn’t have such a concept as a major religious holiday. They are so beastly that they don’t understand what Easter is.”
He added church leadership supports the decision and said churches in the region would adjust their Easter night services to the morning hours.
Russia resumes bombardment of Azovstal steel works
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleskiy Arestovych said Saturday that Russian forces resumed air strikes on the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol where Ukraine’s remaining forces and an unknown number of civilians are holed up.
Arestovych said, “The enemy is trying to strangle the final resistance of the defenders of Mariupol in the Azovstal area.”
On Thursday, Putin ordered Russian forces not to storm the steel works but rather seal the plant “so not even a fly comes through” to starve what remains of Ukraine’s resistance in the besieged city.
It wasn’t clear how the new assault on the plant would affect the planned evacuation from Mariupol.
US plans to accuse Russia of ‘using weapons of massive destruction,’ says Russia
Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed without evidence that the United States is planning to accuse Russian Armed Forces of using chemical, biological or tactical nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Ukraine.
“This plan has already been developed and is a response to Russia’s success in conducting a special military operation,” said Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ radiation, chemical and biological protection troops.
He claimed that western leaders had made several provocative statements in March and April this year, on the possibility of Russia using weapons of mass destruction on a regular basis.
France and Germany sold weapons to Russia after EU arms embargo
France and Germany reportedly sold €273 million ($296 million) of military hardware including bombs, rockets, missiles and guns to Russia despite an EU arms embargo, according to The Telegraph.
The embargo was introduced in response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The European Commission this month closed a loophole that made the sale of such equipment possible after it was discovered that at least 10 EU member states exported €350 million in weapons to Russia while it was in place. Of that total, 78% of the supplies came from German and French defense companies, according to the report, which is based on EU information.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced heavy criticism for his unwillingness to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine. Some segments of German society are reluctant to see German weapons used against Russians.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also faced criticism for his efforts to negotiate with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, leading to charges of appeasement. Macron has also echoed Russian propaganda in calling Russia and Ukraine “brotherly nations,” to the consternation of Kyiv.
Both Paris and Berlin have opposed an EU ban on buying gas from Russia. The EU currently pays Moscow €1 billion a day to meet its energy needs, money that has led to allegations that the EU is funding Russia’s war on Ukraine despite stiff sanctions.
Russia intensifies shelling of Luhansk
Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said in a television interview that Russian forces had intensified shelling of all the Ukrainian-controlled cities in the region. Russia denied targeting civilian areas.
He added that Ukrainian forces were leaving some settlements in Luhansk in order to regroup, but the move did not imply a setback.
Evacuations due to start at midday
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a Facebook post that if all went as planned, evacuations from the besieged city of Mariupol would start at noon local time (0900 GMT).
“Today, we again will be trying to evacuate women, children and the elderly,” she said.
Mariupol city authorities had earlier announced on their Telegram channel that evacuations would take place from the “Port-City” shopping center, to the city of Zaporizhzhya.
Previous attempts to evacuate the city have not been successful, with Ukrainian and Russian authorities blaming each other for the failure.
UK intelligence says Russia made no gains
British military intelligence say Russian forces have made no major gains in the past 24 hours despite increased activity.
“Despite their stated conquest of Mariupol, heavy fighting continues to take place frustrating Russian attempts to capture the city thus further slowing their desired progress in the Donbas,” said the statement shared on Twitter.
Humanitarian corridor could open out of Mariupol — Ukrainian deputy PM
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Friday that there was “a possibility” that a humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol could open on Saturday.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that there are still 100,000 in the besieged city and say they need full evacuation.
The remainder of Ukrainian forces in the city are holed up in the Azovstal steelworks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would not bother launching on offensive on the steelworks and declared Russian victory in the city. However, US and Ukrainian officials have said the city is still contested.
Russian opposition activist jailed over ‘false information’
Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. for allegedly spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces.
Kara-Murza is the vice-chairman of Open Russia, a liberal NGO founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky — once believed the richest man in Russia before he fell foul of Putin and was jailed — who has been living in Switzerland since his release in 2013.
Kara-Murza was hospitalized with poisoning symptoms in 2015 and 2017.
Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against Ilya Krasilshchik, former publisher of independent news site Meduza.
Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading “false information” about its military shortly after it invaded Ukraine in late February. The offense is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights advocates have so far counted 32 cases opened under the law.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy claims Moscow plans to invade other countries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address late on Friday that Russia plans on capturing countries other than Ukraine.
“All the nations that, like us, believe in the victory of life over death must fight with us. They must help us, because we are the first in line. And who will come next?” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy’s comments follow statements by Russian military commander Rustam Minnekayev, who said that Moscow plans to take control of the south of Ukraine and open a corridor to the Russian-occupied Trans-Dniester region of Moldova.
UN chief to meet with Putin, Zelenskyy
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to meet separately with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine next week, the organization said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said earlier in the day that Guterres was to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin next Tuesday.
Later, the UN said that Guterres would travel on to Kyiv on Thursday to see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
UN spokesperson Eri Kaneko said that Guterres wanted to discuss “steps that can be taken right now” to stop fighting with Ukrainian and Russian officials.
“He will also meet with staff of UN agencies to discuss the scaling up of humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine,” the UN said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Guterres had appealed for a four-day “humanitarian pause” leading up to Sunday’s Orthodox Easter holiday but his call came to naught.
Summary of Friday’s events in Ukraine-Russia crisis
Canada’s Defense Ministry on Friday said it sent heavy artillery to Ukraine’s forces.
Spain reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said.
The Netherlands plans to stop importing natural gas and oil from Russia by the end of the year, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks between Moscow and Kyiv have stalled. Earlier, Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said he had spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart.
Russia’s Central Military District (CFD) command said that Moscow was planning to seize Ukraine’s south and open a route to Moldova’s Trans-Dniester region as part of the “second phase” of its military operation. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry denounced the plans as “imperialism.”
Russia for the first time acknowledged casualties in the sinking of its Black Sea flagship the Moskva last week, saying that one person had died, 27 were still unaccounted for and the 396 other crew members had been rescued.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of planning to “falsify” a “referendum” in parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that are under Russian control.
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper that Berlin would allocate funds totaling €37 million (€40.1 million) for reconstruction in Ukraine. Most of the money would go to restoring Ukraine’s power grid, with the rest being for rebuilding of apartments and the provision of medical supplies.
You can revisit our live updates from April 22 here.
si/aw (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-says-missiles-hit-residential-buildings-in-odesa-live-updates/a-61566394?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf