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Russia Ukraine War News Highlights | A newly released video shows Ukrainian children in an underground bunker receiving Easter presents.
The video was released Sunday by the far-right Azov Battalion, which is among Ukrainian forces at the Azovstal steelworks where soldiers and civilians have been holed up under a Russian attack.
The group’s deputy commander, Sviatoslav Palamar, says the video was shot Sunday at the plant.
One toddler is seen wearing homemade diapers made of cellophane. People are hanging laundry on makeshift hangers.
One of the women in the video begs for help from world leaders and says she and others stuck under the plant are tired of the bombing and are desperate for their freedom.
“We want to live in our city, in our country. We are tired of these bombings, constant airstrikes on our land. How much longer will this continue?” she says through tears.
“The children are constantly crying here -- they want to play and live,” she adds. “Stop this aggression. I ask everyone, help please, free us!”
Another woman says there are 600 civilians sheltering under the plant, without food and water.
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Explosions hit security ministry in breakaway Transnistria
The interior ministry of Transnistria, a separatist Moscow-backed territory in Moldova, said Monday that the state security ministry's offices had been hit in what appeared to be a grenade-launcher attack.
No one was injured in the incident, which happened at around 6:00 pm on a public holiday for the Orthodox Easter, the ministry added.
But windows had been blown out in the state security ministry building and "smoke is billowing out of the buildings", the Transnistria region's interior ministry said in a statement.
According to preliminary information, the attackers had used a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, the ministry said.
Pervy Pridnestrovsky television channel cited witnesses as saying they had heard several blasts. De-miners, firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene.
Neither the leadership in Transnistria nor the Moldovan government have yet commented on the incident.
Transnistria is an unrecognised Moscow-backed breakaway region that borders western Ukraine. (AFP)
EU, India agree to broaden ties amid Ukraine war
The European Union (EU) and India agreed on Monday to set up a trade and technology council to step up cooperation, as the bloc's chief held talks with officials in New Delhi who have seen a flurry of top visits since the start of the Ukraine war.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is on a two-day trip to India's capital, part of Western efforts to encourage New Delhi to reduce ties to Russia, its main weapons supplier, following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
India has refrained from explicitly condemning Russia's invasion, while calling for an immediate end to violence. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation".
The United States is the only other country that has a technical agreement with the EU similar to the one signed on Monday with India.
"I think this relationship today is more important than ever," von der Leyen said in her opening remarks during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We have a lot in common but we are also facing a challenging political landscape."
She identified cooperation on security, climate change and trade as the main areas of focus.
"Both sides agreed that rapid changes in the geopolitical environment highlight the need for joint in-depth strategic engagement," an EU-India joint statement said.
"The Trade and Technology Council will provide the political steer and the necessary structure to operationalise political decisions, coordinate technical work, and report to the political level to ensure implementation and follow-up in areas that are important for the sustainable progress of European and Indian economies." (REUTERS)
Ukraine war has consequences for Asia, EU chief tells India
Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens India's regional security, the European Union chief said Monday during a trip to New Delhi aimed at fostering deeper strategic ties.
Ursula von der Leyen is the latest visiting Western diplomat to press India, which gets most of its arms from Russia, over its neutral stance on the conflict.
Both the EU and India face challenges from a rising China, and von der Leyen raised the spectre of Beijing's partnership with Moscow to warn the war had consequences further afield than Europe.
"The outcome of the war will not only determine the future of Europe but also deeply affect the Indo-Pacific region," she told an audience at the Raisina Dialogue, an annual geopolitical conference in New Delhi.
"Russia and China have forged a seemingly unrestrained pact. "They have declared that the friendship between them has 'no limits'... What can we expect from the 'new international relations' that both have called for?"
Von der Leyen's trip to New Delhi follows several recent overtures from high-profile diplomatic guests seeking to lure India away from Russia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted his British counterpart Boris Johnson last week, during which the pair announced a new defence and security partnership.
Von der Leyen said the EU was focused on strengthening its own ties with India over the coming decade after unveiling a new special council to boost trade and tech cooperation.
In a joint statement, India and the Commission "agreed that rapid changes in the geopolitical environment highlight the need for joint in-depth strategic engagement".
India and the bloc last year agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement that had been stuck since 2013 over issues like patent protection and tariff reductions.
The economic rise of China, and frosty relations since a deadly 2020 border clash between the two Asian giants, have softened India's long-standing reluctance to cutting import barriers.
"The European Union is India's third most important trade partner, but we can do so much more," von der Leyen said. "Our trade is far below our potential."
The two sides traded goods worth about 62.8 billion euros ($67.5 billion) in 2020, according to the European Commission.
India has talks on full free trade deals underway or due to start soon with multiple countries including Britain, Australia and Israel.
India and the United Arab Emirates signed a "milestone" economic deal to boost trade and investment in February. (AFP)
At least five people were killed and another 18 injured on Monday in Russian strikes on railway infrastructure in the central Ukraine region of Vinnytsia, Kyiv said."Preliminary information shows that five people died and 18 were injured. Rescue operations are under way, investigators, prosecutors and other services are working at the scene," the office of the Ukrainian prosecutor general said in a statement on social media.
Moscow said Monday it was expelling 40 German diplomats in response to the "unfriendly decision" by Berlin to kick out Russian diplomats over the conflict in Ukraine.Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement it summoned Germany's ambassador in Moscow and handed him a note "declaring persona non grata forty employees of German diplomatic institutions in Russia as part of a symmetrical response"."A strong protest was made to the head of the German diplomatic mission in Moscow in connection with the openly unfriendly decision of the German government," to expel Russian diplomats, the ministry said.Earlier in April, Germany said it was expelling a "significant number" of Russian diplomats, amid similar moves by other European states, over Ukraine.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the decision was in response to the "unbelievable brutality" of Russian forces in its pro-Western neighbour Ukraine.
Ukraine’s PresidentVolodymyrZelenskyyhas hailed talks with U.S. Secretary of State AntonyBlinkenand U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as “encouraging” and “effective.”Speaking in Monday’s video address, he said the U.S. is offering “powerful” support to his country.Zelenskyyadded that they agreed “on further steps to strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine and meet all the priority needs of our army.” He noted that ramping up sanctions against Moscow also was on the meeting’s agenda.Blinkenand Austin said the United States had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition for Ukraine’s war effort, along with more than $300 million in foreign military financing.Zelenskyynoted that Ukraine would expect the United States to lead other allies in offering a set of security guarantees in the future.The Ukrainian president also denounced Russia for launching strikes on Orthodox Easter Sunday, describing them “deliberate destruction of life in Ukraine.
Moscow said Monday it was expelling 40 German diplomats in response to the "unfriendly decision" by Berlin to kick out Russian diplomats over the conflict in Ukraine.Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement it summoned Germany's ambassador in Moscow and handed him a note "declaring persona non grata forty employees of German diplomatic institutions in Russia".
Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens India's regional security, the European Union chief said Monday during a trip to New Delhi aimed at fostering deeper strategic ties.Ursula von der Leyen is the latest visiting Western diplomat to press India, which gets most of its arms from Russia, over its neutral stance on the conflict.Both the EU and India face challenges from a rising China, and von der Leyen raised the spectre of Beijing's partnership with Moscow to warn the war had consequences further afield than Europe."The outcome of the war will not only determine the future of Europe but also deeply affect the Indo-Pacific region," she told an audience at the Raisina Dialogue, an annual geopolitical conference in New Delhi."Russia and China have forged a seemingly unrestrained pact. "They have declared that the friendship between them has 'no limits'... What can we expect from the 'new international relations' that both have called for?"Von der Leyen's trip to New Delhi follows several recent overtures from high-profile diplomatic guests seeking to lure India away from Russia.Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted his British counterpart Boris Johnson last week, during which the pair announced a new defence and security partnership.Von der Leyen said the EU was focused on strengthening its own ties with India over the coming decade after unveiling a new special council to boost trade and tech cooperation.In a joint statement, India and the Commission "agreed that rapid changes in the geopolitical environment highlight the need for joint in-depth strategic engagement".India and the bloc last year agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement that had been stuck since 2013 over issues like patent protection and tariff reductions.The economic rise of China, and frosty relations since a deadly 2020 border clash between the two Asian giants, have softened India's long-standing reluctance to cutting import barriers."The European Union is India's third most important trade partner, but we can do so much more," von der Leyen said. "Our trade is far below our potential."The two sides traded goods worth about 62.8 billion euros ($67.5 billion) in 2020, according to the European Commission.India has talks on full free trade deals underway or due to start soon with multiple countries including Britain, Australia and Israel. India and the United Arab Emirates signed a "milestone" economic deal to boost trade and investment in February.
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor will join an EU investigations team to probe possible international crimes committed in Ukraine, the EU's judicial cooperation agency said Monday."The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague will become a participant in the joint investigation team (JIT) on alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine," Eurojust said in a statement.
The United States believes Ukraine can win the war against Russia if it has the "right equipment", Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Monday, as Kyiv accused Russia of failing to reach a deal to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol.The landmark visit by Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ukraine comes as the war entered its third month, with thousands killed and millions displaced by the fighting. The bloody conflict has triggered an outburst of support from Western nations that has seen a deluge of weapons pour into Ukraine to help beat back the Russian invaders."The first step in winning is believing that you can win. And so they believe that we can win," Austin told a group of journalists after he and Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."We believe that we can win, they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support."The meeting between the two sides lasted three hours and was "very productive and detailed", according to a Pentagon spokesman, adding that Zelensky was also briefed on an upcoming security summit in Germany on Tuesday among Western allies.
Moscow said Monday it had arrested members of a "neo-Nazi terrorist" group in Russia who allegedly planned to assassinate pro-Kremlin TV anchor VladimirSolovyovon orders from Ukraine."The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation detained a group of members of the neo-Nazi terroristorganisationNational Socialism/White Power, which is banned in Russia," Russia'sFSBsecurity agency said in a statement carried by news agencies, adding that those arrested are Russian citizens.TheFSBclaimed the group was planning the "murder" of Russian TV and radio journalistSolovyov"on the instructions of the Security Service of Ukraine".It added that the group "confessed to preparing the murder ofSolovyov, after which they planned to flee abroad".
