Russia Ukraine News Highlights | Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has set off on a one-day trip to Ukraine during which he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Saturday morning, his office said in a statement on Friday.
Neutral Austria has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine as well as helmets and body armour for civilians rather than weapons. Nehammer, a conservative, has been visibly moved by telephone conversations with Zelenskiy and says he wants to show support.
Before the visit was announced, Ukraine confirmed the death of at least 50 persons in a rocket strike at the railway station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
Regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the death toll rose to 50 from an earlier reported 39 as some of the several dozen wounded had died after being taken to hospital or medical centers.
He said the station was hit by a Tochka U short-range ballistic missile that contained cluster munitions, which explode in mid-air, spraying small lethal bomblets over a wider area. "They wanted to sow panic and fear, they wanted to take as many civilians as possible," he said.
The Russian defence ministry was quoted by RIA news agency as saying the missiles said to have struck the station were used only by Ukraine's military and that Russia's armed forces had no targets assigned in Kramatorsk on Friday.
Zelenskiy said no Ukrainian troops were at the station. "Russian forces (fired) on an ordinary train station, on ordinary people, there were no soldiers there," he told Finland's parliament in a video address.
With inputs from Reuters
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Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Austrian chancellor sets off for Ukraine, to meet Zelenskiy on Saturday
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has set off on a one-day trip to Ukraine during which he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Saturday morning, his office said in a statement on Friday.
Neutral Austria has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine as well as helmets and body armour for civilians rather than weapons. Nehammer, a conservative, has been visibly moved by telephone conversations with Zelenskiy and says he wants to show support.
His trip will include a visit to Bucha, a town just outside Kyiv where invading Russian forces are alleged to have executed civilians whose bodies were left strewn in the streets. Russia denies the allegations. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen visited Bucha on Friday. (Reuters)
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Russia revokes registration of Amnesty, Human Rights Watch
The Russian Ministry of Justice on Friday said in a statement that it had revoked the registration of 15 foreign organisations, including those of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Reuters reported.
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Celebrities go online to voice support for Ukraine
A group of inter-generational stars from film, TV, sports and music including Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, Jonas Brothers and Billie Eilish have signed up for a social media campaign to show support for Ukraine.
The Global Citizen-organized social media rally Friday urges governments, institutions, corporations and individuals to help fund humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and other regions of the world. Celebrities are being asked to use their social media accounts to publicize the effort, using the hashtag #StandUpForUkraine. (AP)
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | AIG looks at cutting insurance for Russia, Ukraine: Report
AIG, one of the world's biggest commercial insurers, is considering cutting cover for Russia and Ukraine, to shield itself from the risk of hefty claims as sanctions ratchet up and the war drags on, an insurance broker and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
AIG is looking at adding exclusion clauses to policies for businesses operating in the region across a range of policies, according to the two sources who spoke to the news agency on condition of anonymity. Other major insurers are also looking to exclude Russia, Ukraine and even Belarus from a range of policies, the sources reportedly said, citing some insurers and policyholders.
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Russia cuts interest rate as ruble settles despite sanctions
Russia's central bank has managed to stabilize key aspects of the economy with severe controls, artificially propping up the ruble to allow it to rebound to levels seen before the invasion of Ukraine even as the West piles on more sanctions.
That became evident as central bank of Russia said Friday that it was lowering its benchmark interest rate and said more rate cuts could be on the way. The decision indicates it thinks strict capital controls and other strict measures are stabilizing Russia's currency and financial system despite severe pressure from U.S. and European sanctions.
The bank lowered its benchmark rate from 20% to 17%, effective Monday. The interest rate cut reflected the changed balance of risks among inflation, economic growth and banking system stability, the bank said.
It had raised the rate from 9.5% on Feb. 28, four days after the invasion, as a way to support the rubles plunging exchange rate. A currency collapse would worsen already high inflation for Russian shoppers by ballooning the cost of imported goods. (AP)
Russia-Ukraine Crisis LIVE | Ukraine says 50 killed in rocket strike on rail evacuation hub
Ukraine said as many as 50 people, including five children, were killed and many more were wounded and lost limbs in a rocket strike at a railway station packed with civilians fleeing the threat of a major Russian offensive in the country's east. As regional authorities scrambled to rush civilians out of harm's way, a group of European Union leaders meanwhile visited Kyiv to offer President Volodymyr Zelenskiy support and assure him there will be a path to EU membership for Ukraine. Zelenskiy called the strike on the station in Kramatorsk in the eastern region of Donetsk region a deliberate attack on civilians. (Reuters)
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | France's Macron condemns 'abominable' strike on Ukraine train station
President Emmanuel Macron on Friday denounced an "abominable" airstrike on a train station in eastern Ukraine, saying France would "support the investigations so that justice is done.""Ukrainian civilians fleeing to escape the worst. Their weapons? Prams, toy dolls, baggage. This morning at the station in Kramatorsk, families who were leaving experienced horror. Deaths by the dozens, hundreds injured. Abominable," Macron said in a tweet.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Death toll in Ukraine station strike rises to 50, including 5 children: Governor
At least 50 people, including five children, were killed in strikes on a train station in the east Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the local governor said Friday."Fifty dead, five of them children. This is the death toll at this hour after the strike by Russian occupational forces on the train station in Kramatorsk," Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Finland to expel two Russian diplomats
Finland on Friday said it will expel two Russian diplomats over the war in Ukraine, following a wave of similar moves across Europe.Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) land border with Russia, and is currently considering whether to join NATO."The measure is in line with those taken by other EU member states", the prime minister's office said in a statement."In addition the visa extension of one Russian embassy staff member has been cancelled."Earlier this week EU countries expelled almost 200 Russian diplomats over two days for alleged spying or "national security reasons", amid increasing outrage over apparent evidence of widespread killing of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops.On Friday, Japan also announced it would send eight Russian embassy staff home. The Kremlin has slammed the mass expulsions as a "short-sighted move" and warned of retaliatory steps.The Finnish move came the same day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Nordic country's parliament, the Eduskunta, by video link.Zelensky asked the West to impose a "cocktail" of sanctions on Moscow, including a ban on Russian gas, and appealed for more weapons.Before Zelensky's address, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told a press conference that Finland was prepared to give more "military help, humanitarian help (and) monetary help" to Ukraine.Marin also said she expected Finnish lawmakers to come to a decision "before midsummer" on whether to apply to join NATO as a deterrent against potential Russian aggression.The Kremlin has warned that it would take steps to "rebalance the situation" in the event of Finland joining NATO.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Just in: Death toll in Ukraine station strike rises to 50, including 5 children: Governor
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia cuts interest rates to 17% to support shrinking economy: Report
Russia’s central bank has cut interest rates to 17 percent from its previous 20 percent, Financial times has reported.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia complains to Turkey over drones sales to Ukraine: Turkish bureaucrat
Russia has complained to Turkey over its sale of Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Ukraine, a high level Turkish bureaucrat said on Friday, but added the sales were by a private Turkish company and not state-to-state deals. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 on what he called a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression. "Russians are upset and from time to time they are complaining about the drone sales. They used to complain and they are complaining right now," the bureaucrat said at a meeting with foreign media. "But we have already given the answer ... that these are private companies and these drone purchases had been done before the war as well." Turkey has forged close ties with Russia in energy, defence and trade, and relies heavily on Russian tourists. The Turkish defence firm Baykar had sold the drones to Kyiv despite Russian objections and signed a deal to co-produce more before the invasion, angering Moscow. NATO member Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has good ties with both and has taken a mediating role in the conflict. It has hosted peace talks and is working to bring together the Ukrainian and Russian presidents.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Czechs ship tanks, rocket launchers, artillery to Ukraine
The Czech Republic has delivered tanks, multiple rocket launchers, howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine among military shipments that have reached hundreds of millions of dollars and will continue, two Czech defence sources said. Ukraine has repeatedly called on the West to urgently supply more weapons, especially heavy equipment, as Russian forces regroup in the country's east for new offensive after withdrawing from around the capital Kyiv and other regions. NATO members are providing a wide range of weapon systems to the country, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. The Czech Republic - a former Soviet satellite as part of then Czechoslovakia - has spare equipment that Ukrainian forces are familiar with in storage as well as a defence industry focused on upgrades and trade in such weapons. It has been among the most active EU nations in backing Ukraine. Defence sources confirmed to Reuters a shipment of five T-72 tanks and five BVP-1, or BMP-1, infantry fighting vehicles seen on rail cars in photographs on Twitter and video footage this week, but those were not the first shipments of heavy equipment.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Toll rises from strike on Ukraine station
Ukrainian officials are raising the death toll from a missile strike on a packed train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, as local hospitals buckled under an influx of injured victims. Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said an updated count showed 39 people were killed in Friday's strike. Ukrainian officials had earlier put the figure at around 30. Officials put the number of injured anywhere from 87 to as many as 300. Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said an updated count showed 39 people were killed in Friday's strike. Kramatorsk mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko told Ukrainian TV that between 30 and 40 surgeons were treating the wounded, and hospitals were unable to cope with the surge in admissions.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | A hasty move which will add fuel to fire, China reacts on Russia's suspension from UNHRC
A day after voting against the resolution suspending Russia’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at the UN General Assembly over civilian killings in Ukraine, China on Friday defended its vote, saying such a "hasty move" will set a dangerous precedent.In a rare move, the 193-member UN General Assembly voted to adopt a draft resolution moved by the US to suspend Russia from the world body’s top human rights organisation over allegations of Russian soldiers killing civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.The draft received 93 votes in favour, 24 against and 58 abstentions. India abstained from voting.China’s all-weather ally Pakistan too abstained from voting.Reacting to the developments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: It is like adding fuel to the fire which is not constructive to the de-escalation of the conflict, even less to advance peace talks.”"The relevant resolution will deprive Russia of its membership of the UNHRC and sets a dangerous precedent,” he said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia, Ukraine 'willing to hold talks' in Turkey despite Bucha
Russia and Ukraine are willing to move forward with talks even though images of bodies found in the Ukrainian town of Bucha have stalled the process, a Turkish official said on Friday."Both Russia and Ukraine are willing to hold the talks in Turkey but they are far away from agreeing on a common text," the official said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 700 people killed in Chernigiv since start of war: mayor
Some 700 people have been killed in the Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, including both military and civilians, since the start of Russia's invasion in February, the mayor told Unian news agency."I can give you an approximate figure -- 700 people. This includes military and civilians," Vladyslav Atroshenko said, adding that two-thirds of the pre-war population of 300,000 people had fled.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Moscow accuses Ukraine of staging Kramatorsk attack
Russia on Friday accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly attack on a railway station in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine that claimed at least 35 lives."The purpose of the Kyiv regime's attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk was to disrupt the mass exodus of residents from the city in order to use them as a a 'human shield' to defend the positions of Ukraine's Armed Fores," the defence ministry said in a statement.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Slovakia gives S-300 air defence system to Ukraine: PM
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger on Friday said the EU member had given Ukraine an S-300 air defence system, adding that it did not mean Slovakia had joined the conflict with Russia."I can confirm that the Slovak Republic has donated the S-300 air defence system to Ukraine, following Ukraine's request for assistance," Heger posted on Facebook. "The donation of the system does not mean that the Slovak Republic has become a part of the armed conflict in Ukraine," he added.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | U.N. shifts aid east in Ukraine, plans convoys to rebel areas
The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) is moving aid eastwards in Ukraine and plans aid convoys to the rebel regions of Luhansk and Donetsk next week as fighting shifts, a spokesperson told a press briefing on Friday. "We have in our planning convoys to go there I understand already next week. Whether that happens or not depends on the security situation," Jens Laerke said, calling the regions that Russia has recognised as independent states, "areas of heightened humanitarian concern". U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths has visited Ukraine and Russia this week where he met with both parties and discussed arrangements for a possible humanitarian ceasefire to the six-week old conflict. "For now, we don't have a commitment to any ceasefire from either of the two parties," Laerke added, saying this would be an "incremental process" and that Griffiths would continue efforts to seek agreement on localised ceasefires. During his visit, he told Ukraine's government that international U.N. staff would be returning to Kyiv in the coming days following the withdrawal of Russian troops from nearby areas. More humanitarian hubs were also being set up further east, such as Dnipro.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine says Russia deliberately struck railway station used by evacuees
At least 39 people were killed and 87 wounded in a Russian rocket strike on a railway station packed with women, children and elderly trying to flee fighting in east Ukraine early on Friday, Ukrainian officials said. Two powerful rockets struck the station in the city of Kramatorsk in what President Volodymr Zelenskiy said was a deliberate attack on civilians. "Lacking the strength and courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population," Zelenskiy said in a statement. "This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop." Zelenskiy later said in a video address to Finland's parliament that no Ukrainian troops had been at the station at the time of the attack. Reuters could not verify what happened at the station. The Russian defence ministry was quoted by RIA news agency as saying the missiles said to have struck the station were used only by Ukraine's military and that Russia's armed forces did not have any targets assigned in Kramatorsk on Friday. The head of Ukrainian Railways said at least two children were among the dead. Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksander Honcharenko said about 4,000 people had been at the station at the time of the attack. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, published a photograph online showing several bodies on the ground beside piles of suitcases and other luggage. Armed police wearing flak jackets stood beside them. Another photo showed rescue services tackling what appeared to be a fire, with a pall of grey smoke rising into the air.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 39 killed, including 4 children, in train station strike: Ukraine security service
A strike on a train station in eastern Ukraine on Friday killed 39 people, including four children, Ukraine's SBU security service said."Russian fascists bombed Kramatorsk station, 39 killed including four children," SBU spokesman Artem Dekhtyarenko said on Facebook.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine war underpins record food prices: UN
The United Nations says prices for world food commodities like grains and vegetable oils reached their highest levels ever last month due to fallout from the war in Ukraine. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday its Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of commodities, recorded a double-digit percentage-point increase in March from the record level already set the previous month.FAO said the index came in at 159.3 points last month, up 12.6 per cent from February's all-time high since the index was created in 1990. The Rome-based agency says the war in Ukraine was largely responsible for the 17.1 per cent rise in prices for cereals, including wheat and all coarse grains. Russia and Ukraine together account for around 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively of global wheat and maize exports.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | EU has frozen 30 billion
euros in Russian, Belarusian assets
The EU has so far frozen nearly 30 billion euros in assets from blacklisted Russian and Belarusian individuals and companies under sanctions imposed for Moscow's war in Ukraine, it said Friday.A total of 29.5 billion euros ($32 billion) "includingassets such as boats, helicopters, real estate and artwork" have been seized and another 196 billion euros of transactions have been blocked, the European Commission said in a statement.The EU's figures were partial, based on data from around half of the EU's 27 member states given to the bloc's "Freeze and Seize" task force operating in coordination with G7 partners including the US.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Czech Republic will spend 2 billion euros on looking after Ukraine refugees in 2022 - minister
The Czech Republic's costs for handling the influx of refugees from Ukraine this year are estimated at 2 billion euros ($2.17 billion), Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said on Friday. The country has issued 272,000 special visas to Ukrainian refugees as of April 7, the interior ministry said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Denmark to set up 'Ukrainian villages' for refugees
Denmark plans to house Ukrainian refugees in temporary "Ukrainian villages" set up in former schools and hospitals, a cabinet minister said Friday as the country prepares to receive up to 100,000 people fleeing the war.The approach breaks with normal practice in the Scandinavian kingdom, which has for decades followed very restrictive migration policies, and where asylum seekers and refugees are placed among the country's population of 5.8 million."We started with the normal integration policy, but with the estimates that are in front of me, if we just continue, we won't recognise our welfare society," Migration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in an interview with daily Berlingske.According to the minister, the number of Ukrainians arriving in Denmark could exceed 40,000 by April 17, double the number of Syrians who fled the war in that country in all of 2015."Ukrainians will be housed in a type of Ukrainian village, which may have day care and education for children in Ukrainian, which Ukrainians themselves help facilitate," he said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia denies attack on Ukrainian train station
Russia's defence ministry said Friday it did not launch an attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine, which a local rescue worker said killed at least 35 people."All statements by representatives of the Kyiv nationalist regime about the 'rocket attack' allegedly carried out by Russia on April 8 at the railway station in the city of Kramatorsk are a provocation and are absolutely untrue," the ministry said in a statement.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia an 'evil with no limits' after railway attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia as an "evil with no limits" after a rocket attack on an east Ukraine train station killed at least 35 people. "They are cynically destroying the civilian population. This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop," Zelensky said in a statement on social media after the strikes on a hub that has been used by many civilians in recent days to flee an anticipated Russian advance.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | UK sanctions daughters of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov
The UK on Friday announced sanctions on the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.The Foreign Office said it was targeting the "lavish lifestyles of the Kremlin's inner circle" as it sanctioned Putin's daughters Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, and Lavrov's daughter Yekaterina Vinokurova.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | World food prices hit record high in March, UN agency says
World food prices jumped nearly 13 percent in March to a new record high as the war in Ukraine caused turmoil in markets for staple grains and edible oils, the UN food agency said on Friday.The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 159.3 points last month versus an upwardly revised 141.4 for February.The February figure was previously put at 140.7, which was a record at the time.Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil via the Black Sea, and Moscow's six-week-old invasion of its neighbour has stalled Ukrainian exports.The FAO last month said food and feed prices could rise by up to 20 percent as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, raising the risk of increased malnutrition. Read more here
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Over 30 killed, 100 wounded in Russian rocket strike on Ukrainian station, rail company says
More than 30 people were killed and over 100 were wounded in a Russian rocket strike on a railway station in east Ukraine on Friday as civilians tried to evacuate to safer parts of the country, the state railway company said. It said two Russian rockets had struck a station in the city of Kramatorsk which is used for the evacuation of civilians from areas under bombardment by Russian forces.
"Two rockets hit Kramatorsk railway station," Ukrainian Railways said in a statement. It later added: "According to operational data, more than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded in the rocket attack on Kramatorsk railway station." Reuters could not verify the information. Russia did not immediately comment on the reports of the attack and the casualty toll. Moscow has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said thousands of people had been at the station at the time the rockets struck. "The 'Rashists' ('Russian fascists') knew very well where they were aiming and what they wanted: they wanted to sow panic and fear, they wanted to take as many civilians as possible," he said. Kyrylenko published a photograph online showing several bodies on the ground beside piles of suitcases and other luggage. Armed police wearing flak jackets stood beside them.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia says it destroyed training centre for mercenaries near Odesa
Russia said on Friday it had destroyed a training centre for foreign mercenaries near the city of Odesa as part of its military campaign in Ukraine. "High-precision missiles of the Bastion coastal missile system destroyed a foreign mercenary assembly and training centre near the village of Krasnosilka, northeast of Odesa," a defence ministry spokesperson said in a briefing.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | 30 killed, 100 injured in Kramatorsk station attack
At least 30 people were killed on Friday in a reported rocket attack on a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk being used for civilian evacuations, AFP journalists saw. "Two rockets hit the Kramatorsk railway station. People have been hurt. We are clarifying the details," Alexander Kamyshin, the head of Ukraine's railway company wrote on social media.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Emmanuel Macron warns of 'difficult scenes' to come in Ukraine's Donbas
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he expects Russian forces to step up their attacks in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine in the coming weeks, leading to further "difficult scenes" after the reported atrocities against civilians near Kiev. "This war is unfortunately not going to stop in the coming days," Macron told RTL radio, adding that he saw little chance of "diplomatic concessions" from Russian President Vladimir Putin anytime soon.
Macron acknowledged like other Western leaders that Putin's retreat from areas near Kyiv could presage a focus on capturing areas in the east and south to create a land link between Crimea and the Moscow-backed separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk in Donbas. "May 9 is a national holiday for Russia, an important military event, and it's almost certain that for Putin May 9 must be a day of victory," Macron said, referring to the holiday marking Russia's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
"They are going to concentrate their efforts in the Donbas, and we're going to experience very difficult scenes in the coming days and weeks," he said. Macron has held multiple telephone talks with Putin since he launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, in particular on humanitarian aid for residents in bombarded cities, but so far to little avail.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Slovak PM, top EU leaders visit Kyiv
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and two top European Union officials are in Kyiv looking to shore up the bloc’s support for war-torn Ukraine. Heger said in a tweet Friday that he, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief have come with trade and humanitarian aid proposals for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government.
Part of that, Heger says is “to offer options for transporting grains, including wheat.” Ukraine is a major world wheat supplier and Russia’s war on Ukraine is creating shortages, notably in the Middle East. He adds that the three want to help Ukraine on its path toward closer ties with the EU by “creating a ReformTeam.” Ukraine has applied to join the EU, but was already sorely in need of reforms, notably to root out rampant corruption, years before Russian troops invaded in February.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Latvia blacklists 15 Russians, Belarusians
Latvia says it has blacklisted 15 citizens of Russia and Belarus on grounds that their activities pose a threat to the nation’s national security. A list of nine Russians and six Belarus citizens was given by Latvia’s State Security Service — the counterintelligence agency — to Interior Minister Marija Golubeva. The State Security Service said Friday they include people who “may be involved in obtaining intelligence or providing support for Russia’s foreign policy interests." It says among them are those who despite the crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine express support for the Kremlin. Earlier this month, Latvia said it will close two Russia’s consular missions and expel a total of 13 Russian diplomats and employees currently stationed in the Baltic country.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukrainian negotiator says Bucha deaths affect mood at talks with Russia
Ukraine and Russia are "constantly" holding peace talks online but the mood has been affected by events including the deaths of civilians in the town of Bucha, Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said in televised comments on Friday. Ukrainian officials accuse Russian troops of carrying out extra-judicial killings in Bucha, outside Kyiv. Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine and has said the deaths in Bucha were a "monstrous forgery" staged by the West to discredit it.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine forces control Sumy region bordering Russia
Ukrainian forces are in control of the entire northeast region of Sumy along the border with Russia, its governor said Friday, warning residents against returning while it was being cleared of mines. "The area is free of orcs," Sumy regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on social media, referring to invading Russian troops. "The region is not safe. There are many areas that have been mined and are still not cleared," he said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Civilians flee east Ukraine, warnings of 'horrific' abuses
Civilians in eastern Ukraine struggled to evacuate Friday as Russia redirects its firepower, with President Volodymyr Zelensky warning of "even more horrific" devastation being uncovered around the capital. Ukrainian allies tightened the screws on Moscow further in response to shocking images from Bucha and other regions around Kyiv, with the European Union announcing an embargo on Russian coal and a ban on Russian vessels at its ports.
And at the United Nations, the General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, only the second-ever suspension of a country from the body. "Russia's lies are no match for the undeniable evidence of what is happening in Ukraine," US President Joe Biden said, calling Russia's actions in the country "an outrage to our common humanity."
More than a month into President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has shifted its focus after stiff resistance put paid to hopes of an easy capture of the country. Instead, troops are being redeployed towards the east and south, aiming to create a long-sought land link between occupied Crimea and the Moscow-backed separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk in Donbas.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukrainian defences holding in Luhansk region
The governor of Ukraine's eastern region of Luhansk said on Friday Russia was accumulating forces in eastern Ukraine but had not broken through Ukrainian defences.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russia acknowledges significant troop losses
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has acknowledged that Russia has suffered “significant losses of troops” during its military operation in Ukraine. Peskov said: “Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it is a huge tragedy for us.” Speaking in an exclusive interview with British broadcaster Sky on Thursday, Peskov also hinted that the operation might be over “in the foreseeable future.” He said that Russian forces were “doing their best to bring an end to that operation.” He said: “And we do hope that in coming days, in the foreseeable future, this operation will reach its goals, or we’ll finish it by the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegation.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | EU President Ursula Von der Leyen, Josep Borrell say they are en route to Kyiv
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Friday that she was en route to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv alongside the bloc's diplomatic chief Josep Borrell. "Looking forward to Kyiv," Von der Leyen wrote on Twitter accompanied by a picture of her with Borrell and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger. The EU foreign chief meanwhile wrote on the platform that he was, "going to Kyiv".
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Ukraine presses on with efforts to evacuate trapped civilians
Ukraine said it aimed to establish up to 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate trapped civilians on Friday, but civilians trying to flee besieged Mariupol will have to use private vehicles.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | First Bushmaster vehicle to reach Ukraine from Australia
The first of 20 Bushmaster armoured vehicles has left Australia for Ukraine, one week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy specifically requested the Australian-manufactured four-wheel drives. A Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport jet that can carry four Bushmasters left the east coast city of Brisbane for Europe on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
The 20 Bushmasters cost 50 million in Australian dollars, which is $37 million in US dollars. The vehicles are in addition to $116 million in Australian dollars ($87 million in US dollars) in military and humanitarian aid previously committed to Ukraine. Zelenskyy requested Bushmasters when he made a video address to the Australian Parliament on March 31. “And as soon as he asked, we said yes,” Morrison said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Joe Biden says Russia's ouster from UN Human Rights Council 'meaningful step' by global community
US President Joe Biden has lauded the suspension of Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, from the world organisation's leading human rights body, saying this "meaningful step" by the international community has further demonstrated how President Vladimir Putin's war has made his country an international pariah.
The 193-member UN General Assembly on Thursday voted to adopt a draft resolution moved by the US to suspend Russia from the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. The Suspension of the rights of membership of the Russian Federation in the Human Rights Council' resolution was adopted with 93 votes in favour, 24 against and 58 abstentions. India abstained from voting. Reacting to Russia's suspension from the UNHRC, President Biden said: this is a meaningful step by the international community further demonstrating how Putin's war has made Russia an international pariah.
Biden said the US worked closely with its allies and partners around the world to drive this vote because Russia is committing gross and systemic violations of human rights. Russian forces are committing war crimes. Russia has no place on the Human Rights Council. After today's historic vote, Russia will not be able to participate in the Council's work or spread its disinformation there as the Council's Commission of Inquiry investigates Russia's violations and abuses of human rights in Ukraine, he said.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Japan decides to expel some Russian diplomats
Japan has decided to expel some Russian diplomats, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, quoting multiple people connected with the matter. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold a news conference at 6:00 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) at which he is expected to announce additional Japanese sanctions on Russia.
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Russian retreat reveals destruction as Ukraine asks for help
Russian troops retreating from this northern Ukrainian city left behind crushed buildings, streets littered with destroyed cars and residents in dire need of food and other aid — images that added fuel to Kyiv's calls Thursday for more Western help to halt Moscow's next offensive. Dozens of people lined up to receive bread, diapers and medicine from vans parked outside a shattered school now serving as an aid-distribution point in Chernihiv, which Russian forces besieged for weeks as part of their attempt to sweep south towards the capital before retreating.
The city's streets are lined with shelled homes and apartment buildings with missing roofs or walls. A chalk message on the blackboard in one classroom still reads: “Wednesday the 23rd of February — class work.” Russia invaded the next day, launching a war that has forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee the country, displaced millions more within it and sent shock waves through Europe and beyond.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned Thursday that despite a recent Russian pullback, the country remains vulnerable, and he pleaded for weapons from NATO to face down the coming offensive in the east. Nations from the alliance agreed to increase their supply of arms, spurred on by reports that Russian forces committed atrocities in areas surrounding the capital.
Western allies also ramped up financial penalties aimed at Moscow, including a ban by the European Union on Russian coal imports and a U.S. move to suspend normal trade relations with Russia. Kuleba encouraged Western countries to continue bearing down on Russia, suggesting that any letup will result in more suffering for Ukrainians. “How many Buchas have to take place for you to impose sanctions?" Kuleba asked reporters, referring to a town near Kyiv where Associated Press journalists counted dozens of bodies, some burned, others apparently shot at close range or with their hands bound. "How many children, women, men, have to die — innocent lives have to be lost — for you to understand that you cannot allow sanctions fatigue, as we cannot allow fighting fatigue?”
Russia Ukraine News LIVE Updates | Sanctions on Russia's shipbuilding, mining
The Biden administration on Thursday announced it is levying sanctions against Russia’s largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining companies. The move blocks their access to the U.S. financial system as the United States looks to exact more economic pain on President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.
Alrosa is the world’s largest diamond mining company and accounts for about 90% of Russia’s diamond mining capacity, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Alrosa generated over $4.2 billion in revenue in 2021. Diamonds are one of Russia’s top 10 non-energy exports by value. The State Department also said it was blacklisting the United Shipbuilding Corporation, as well as its subsidiaries and board members.
The moves against the two-state owned companies come a day after the U.S. announced it was targeting the two adult daughters of President Vladimir Putin, two of Russia’s largest banks and banning new American investment in Russia.
