In Mariupol, a strategic city located on the sea of Azov under siege by the Russian army, satellite images have raised fears of massive civilian massacres, even greater than in the ones found in Bucha, where the UN has "documented the killing of 50 civilians". For its part, the EU has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to guarantee humanitarian corridors on the occasion of Orthodox Easter.
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22:32pm: Ukraine official: humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol might be opened on Saturday
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Friday said "there is a possibility" a humanitarian corridor out of the besieged port city of Mariupol could be opened up on Saturday. "Watch the official announcements tomorrow morning. If all goes well, I will confirm," she said in an online address to people waiting to be evacuated.
22:13pm: Blinken and Ukrainian PM discussed additional ways US can help Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Friday additional ways that the United States can help Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
21:46pm: Canada says it has provided heavy artillery to Ukraine forces
Canada said on Friday it has provided heavy artillery to Ukrainian security forces, following up on a pledge by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this week to send more artillery weaponry to Ukraine in the face of a Russian assault on its East.
Canada has now delivered a number of M777 howitzers and associated ammunition to Ukrainian forces, and is finalizing contracts for commercial pattern armoured vehicles that it will send to Ukraine as soon as possible, the defense ministry said.
21:34pm: Pentagon seeking info from US industry on Ukraine-ready systems
The Pentagon is looking for new avenues for US industry to accelerate production and build more capacity for proven, effective weapons that require minimal training and can be rapidly exported to Ukraine, according to a government website posting on Friday.
The Department of Defense posted a request for information on SAM.gov that had an initial response deadline of May 6 and sought information on weapons or commercial capabilities related to air defense, anti-armor, anti-personnel, coastal defense, counter battery, unmanned aerial systems, and communications like radios or satellite internet.
21:33pm: France's Thales accused of selling to Russia despite sanctions, denied by company
A senior Ukrainian official on Friday accused French defence electronics company Thales of violating European sanctions and selling Russia equipment that was used to kill civilians fleeing recent fighting outside Kyiv, claims strongly denied by Thales.
"A family was trying to escape but was killed by Russian murderers," tweeted presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak. "Killed, as it is now proved, with French weapons sold in circumvention of sanctions in 2015."
Reached by AFP, Thales, whose largest shareholder is the French state, denied violating the sanctions that were imposed after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014.
21:21pm: Russia grants Belarus one-year grace period for more than $1 billion in loans
Russia has granted Belarus a one-year grace period for more than $1 billion worth of loans, RIA news agency cited the Belarus finance ministry as saying on Friday.
21:10pm: Russia says one sailor died, 27 missing after missile cruiser sank
One sailor died and 27 more are missing after the Russian missile cruiser Moskva sank last week, while 396 other crew members were rescued, RIA news agency cited Russia's defence ministry as saying on Friday.
Moscow says the Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, sank last week after a fire sparked an ammunition blast. Ukraine says it hit the vessel with an anti-ship missile.
20:23pm: Pentagon sees over 20 nations attending Ukraine talks in Germany
The US military expects more than 20 countries to attend Ukraine-focused defense talks it will host in Germany next week that will focus in part on Kyiv's long-term defense needs, the Pentagon said on Friday. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby appeared to play down expectations of announcements about long-term assistance at the April 26 talks, saying: "We're not going into this with a pre-cooked set of endings here."
He added that about 40 nations were invited to attend the talks, which were not being organized under the NATO alliance umbrella, and include non-NATO nation states.
20:16pm: Russia court jails opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza
A Russian court on Friday ordered pre-trial detention for opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian army, his lawyer said.
Moscow's Basmanny district court ordered that the 40-year-old Kremlin opponent be held in pre-trial detention until June 12, lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said on Facebook.
18:56pm: Russia says Ukrainian fighters 'securely blockaded' at Mariupol steel plant
Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries had been "securely blockaded" at the Azovstal steel plant where they have been holding out in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. President Vladimir Putin had ordered his defence minister on Thursday to block off the vast Azovstal complex rather than try to storm it. The defence ministry also reported hitting dozens of targets in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine on Friday.
18:52pm: Moldova summons Russian ambassador over military statements
Moldova on Friday summoned Moscow's envoy after a senior Russian commander said Moscow sought "control over the south of Ukraine" that could provide access to Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria.
"Moldova's foreign ministry views these statements as unfounded and contradicting Russia's position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country within internationally recognised borders," the ministry said in a statement.
18:22pm: Sweden's ruling Social Democrats to decide on NATO by May 24
Sweden's ruling Social Democrats will decide at the latest by May 24 whether to reverse the party's long-held objection to NATO membership, following a review of policy sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Both Finland and Sweden are scrambling to adjust to a new geopolitical reality in the wake of Moscow's invasion.
18:08pm: Putin to meet with UN chief Guterres in Russia next week
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Moscow on Tuesday, where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his February invasion of Ukraine, said Eri Kaneko, associate spokesperson for the UN chief. Guterres will also have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kaneko told reporters.
17:59pm: Amsterdam Trade Bank, part of Russia's Alfa Bank, declared bankrupt
Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB), a subsidiary of Russia's Alfa Bank, has been declared bankrupt, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) said on Friday, citing an Amsterdam District Court Ruling. In a statement on the Dutch Central Bank's website it said that ATB depositors would be covered up to €100,000 ($108,000) each under the country's deposit guarantee system. The bank had around 23,000 customers, the DNB said.
17:55pm: Russian military say it has captured Ukrainian arms depot
Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that the Russian military had captured a large arms depot in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, the TASS news agency reported. The defence ministry said that the arms depot contained thousands of tonnes of ammunition, according to TASS.
17:21pm: Scholz rejects 'slanderous' criticism of party's Russia policy
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday hit back against accusations his centre-left Social Democrats have been too lenient towards Russia, as critics accuse Berlin of dragging its feet on deliveries of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
Opponents have confronted his Social Democratic Party (SPD) with a "distorted and slanderous depiction" of its Russia policy since the Second World War, Scholz said in an interview with German weekly Spiegel. "That annoys me," he said, adding that the SPD was "bound into the Western and transatlantic alliance".
The government has said that after decades of chronic underinvestment, the German army, called the Bundeswehr, is simply not in a position to send the weapons Ukraine wants.
The potential to send arms to Ukraine from the stocks of the Bundeswehr had been "largely exhausted", Scholz said in the interview.
"What is still available will absolutely still be delivered," Scholz said, naming anti-tank weapons and artillery munitions.
17:20pm: Greece to release seized Russian tanker, says coastguard
Greece will release a Russia-flagged crude oil tanker seized this week under EU sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.
"The ship has been released and is free to go," the spokeswoman told AFP, adding that Greek authorities had been satisfied that the vessel, which is reportedly carrying Iranian oil, has changed ownership and is now not bound by EU sanction regulations.
The more than 115,000-tonne Pegas was originally headed to Marmara terminal in Turkey, according to the Marine Traffic website.It was seized on Tuesday at Karystos anchorage, south of the island of Evia.
The ship is being renamed Lana, the coastguard spokeswoman said. She did not identify the new owner.
16:55pm: Russia-Ukraine talks have stalled says Russia's Lavrov
Talks between Moscow and Kyiv to put an end to Russia's near two-month military campaign in pro-Western Ukraine have stalled, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
"They (negotiations) have stalled now," Lavrov said after talks with his Kazakh counterpart in Moscow, adding that Russia has still had not received an answer to a latest proposal sent around five days ago.
The Russian foreign minister also said he was under the impression Kyiv may not want to continue the talks.
"It is very strange for me to hear every day statements by various Ukrainian representatives, including the president and his advisers, that make one think that they do not need these negotiations at all, that they have resigned themselves to their fate," Lavrov added.
Kyiv said last week that negotiations with Russia to end the war were "extremely difficult".
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to EU chief Charles Michel earlier Friday, accused Kyiv of lacking consistency in its demands at the talks and not being ready "to look for mutually acceptable solutions", the Kremlin said.
16:44pm: Spain reopens embassy in Kyiv
Spain on Friday reopened its embassy in Kyiv, the government said, the latest European country to return its diplomats to the Ukrainian capital after Russia invaded the pro-Western country. Spain's diplomatic delegation was evacuated from Kyiv to Poland the day after Russia invaded on February 24.
But on Friday afternoon, a delegation led by Spain's ambassador to Ukraine, Silvia Cortes, reopened the embassy with "the support of special police forces", the interior ministry said in a statement.
The reopening follows Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's visit to Kyiv Thursday where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Sanchez announced that Madrid would send 200 tonnes of military equipment to Ukraine, double what it has sent so far.
Sanchez also said that Spain would make dozens of experts from its justice ministry available to the International Criminal Court to help investigate "alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine".
16:39pm: Next weeks may be decisive in Ukraine war, EU official says
Russia will likely increase its military attacks in eastern Ukraine and along the country's coast, a senior EU official said on Friday, with the next weeks seen as potentially decisive for the war.
"This is not a fairy tale with an imminent happy ending. I think we are likely to see a very significant increase in the intensity of Russian military attacks in the east, I think we are likely to see an intensification of Russian military attacks along the coast," the official told reporters. "I think we will see the next couple of weeks as being decisive."
16:05pm: Russian negotiator says 'several long conversations' took place with Ukrainian side
Russian chief negotiator confirmed a news report that "several long conversations" took place on Friday with the head of Ukraine's delegation at peace talks between the two sides. Vladimir Medinsky gave no details of the conversations. Earlier this week the Kremlin said Russia had submitted a new written proposal, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had neither seen nor heard about it.
16:01pm: Ukraine war underscores Europe's need for energy security, says IMF
The war in Ukraine poses serious economic challenges to European countries and highlights the urgent need to improve energy security, the IMF said Friday. In a report on the continent's economic outlook, the IMF also stressed the need to manage impact of the flood of refugees created in the wake of the Russian invasion in late February.
The war will take a hit on the broader European economy, which is expected to grow just 1.6 percent this year, far below the expansion expected in January prior to the attack, according to the analysis from the International Monetary Fund. The conflict and the Western sanctions on Moscow have driven up food and fuel prices, accelerating inflation globally.
"The war is a reminder, too, of how Europe must do more to improve energy security, notably by expanding renewable sources and improving efficiency," Alfred Kammer, head of the IMF's European department, said in a blog.
15:54pm: G7 officials exit World Bank meeting as Russian official begins to speak
Officials from Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations and others walked out of a World Bank development committee meeting on Friday in Washington when a Russian official began to speak, a source told Reuters.
15:47pm: Canada says international collaboration with Russia is impossible right now
Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday said that it was impossible to collaborate with Russia in the G20, a group that meets to discuss ways to foster global economic growth, as long as it is waging war in Ukraine.
"The G20 can't function effectively with Russia at the table," Freeland said in a joint news conference with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
Since the war is undermining growth, "Russia does not have a place at the table of countries who have come together to maintain global economic prosperity... You can't be a poacher and gamekeeper at the same time."
15:27pm: White House confident Europe will close off Russian energy exports
A senior White House adviser said on Friday he is confident Europe is determined to close off remaining Russian oil and gas exports as Moscow's war in Ukraine drags on.
"I have confidence that Europe is getting the message and they are determined to close off this last source of export revenue," Daleep Singh, deputy White House national security adviser, said in an interview with CNN.
15:26pm: France sending heavy artillery to Ukraine
France is sending several heavy artillery pieces to Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday, as growing numbers of Western nations contribute heavier arms to Kyiv following the Russian invasion. "We are delivering significant equipment, from Milan (anti-tank missiles) to Caesar (self-propelled howitzers)," Macron told regional newspaper Ouest-France.
"I think we have to continue on this route. Always with the red line that we will not become parties to the conflict." Defence Minister Florence Parly confirmed on Twitter that France would send "several Caesar artillery cannons and thousands of shells".
14:55pm: Putin says Kyiv refusing to allow Mariupol troops to surrender
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Kyiv of refusing to allow Ukrainian troops to surrender in the besieged port city of Mariupol, as he spoke to EU chief Charles Michel.
"All servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces, militants of the national battalions and foreign mercenaries who laid down their arms are guaranteed life, decent treatment in accordance with international law, and the provision of quality medical care", "but the Kyiv regime is not allowing for this opportunity to be used", Putin told the European Council President.
14:47pm: Netherlands aims to end use of Russian gas by end of year
The Dutch government on Friday said it aimed to end the use of Russian gas by the end of the year. As part of this effort, the government said it would compensate companies for filling a key gas storage facility at Bergermeer, one of Europe's largest, ahead of the winter.
14:43pm: Putin tells EU's Michel Ukraine is being 'inconsistent' at talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin told European Council President Charles Michel that he would only hold direct talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy if ongoing discussions between the two countries produce concrete results, the Kremlin said on Friday. Putin told Michel that Kyiv was showing that it was not ready to seek mutually acceptable solutions and accused the Ukrainian side of being "inconsistent" in negotiations.
13:21pm: Erdogan says plans calls with Putin, Zelenskiy for leaders' meeting
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he was planning to hold phone calls with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in the coming days, adding that he hoped the calls could lead to a leaders' meeting in Turkey to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
NATO member Turkey shares a martime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has good ties with both, and has taken a mediating role. It has hosted talks between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in Antalya, and negotiators from both countries in Istanbul, while pushing for a leaders' meeting.
"We are not without hope," Erdogan told reporters when asked about the peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. "Our friends will get in touch with them today, we plan to hold a call again with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky today or tomorrow," he said. "With the calls, we plan to carry the process in Istanbul to the leaders' level," he added.
13:17pm: UK PM says Ukraine war could last until end of 2023
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday indicated there may be no swift end to the conflict in Ukraine because of the stiff resistance to Russia's invasion.
Asked if he agreed with defence intelligence assessments that fighting could drag on until the end of next year, he told reporters in New Delhi: "The sad thing is that is a realistic possibility."
Johnson said Russia's Vladimir Putin had made a "catastrophic blunder". "The only option he now has really is to continue to try to use his appalling grinding approach," he added.
13:07pm: UK PM Johnson says India's position on Russia is not going to change
India's position on Russia is not going to change, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday following a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
"The position on Russia that the Indians have historically is well known. They are not going to change that, of course, that's true," Johnson said during a news conference. "But they can see what is going on and there is an increasing appetite to do more with the UK."
12:55pm: Ukraine says Russian plan to take full control of Donbas and southern Ukraine is 'imperialism'
Ukraine's Defence Ministry denounced plans announced by Russia on Friday to take full control of Donbas and southern Ukraine as "imperialism".
"They stopped hiding it," the ministry said on Twitter. It said Russia had "acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is."
12:49pm: Russia prepared to stop firing to allow evacuation of Mariupol's Azovstal plant
Russia is prepared to stop firing to allow fighters at the Azovstal steel works in Ukraine's port city of Mariupol to leave the plant, along with any civilians that are still there, RIA cited the defence ministry as saying on Friday. The ministry said claims by Ukraine and some western countries that Russia was preventing civilians from leaving the city were "groundless", the TASS news agency reported.
12:34pm: Britain to reopen embassy in Kyiv next week
Britain plans to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv next week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday during a two-day visit to India.
12:28pm: Gazprom may lose a third of its gas exports to Europe in 2022
Kremlin-controlled Gazprom's gas exports to Europe could fall by around a third this year due to the crisis in Ukraine, rivalry with liquefied natural gas, and plans to switch to rouble payments, analysts said on Friday.
12:27pm: India's Reliance buys at least 15 million barrels of Russian oil
Reliance Industries Ltd , operator of the world's biggest oil refining complex, has ordered at least 15 million barrels of Russian oil since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, trade sources said. Reliance has bought an average 5 million barrels a month for the June quarter, the sources said.
12:23pm: Over 369,000 refugees from Ukraine registered in Germany
More than 369,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have been recorded in Germany thus far, said a German Interior Ministry spokesperson. The tally since the start of the war was at 369,381, said the spokesperson at a regular government news conference on Friday, adding that the actual number is likely much higher.
12:16pm: India says no pressure from UK's Johnson over India's stance on Russia's invasion
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put no pressure on his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi over New Delhi's position on Russia's invasion of Ukraine when they met on Friday, India's foreign secretary told reporters. India has not explicitly condemned the invasion by Russia, its biggest supplier of military hardware. "They did discuss the Ukraine issue but there was nopressure," Harsh Vardhan Shringla said after the premiers met in New Delhi.
12:03pm: Kremlin critic faces charges for spreading 'false information' about Russian army
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent opponent of the Kremlin and its military campaign in Ukraine, is facing criminal charges over allegedly false information about the Russian army, his lawyer said Friday.
"Vladimir Kara-Murza is now in the Main Investigation Department of Russia's Investigative Committee," which probes major crimes, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said on Facebook.
Prokhorov added that a "criminal case" has been launched over the "public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".
The law, introduced after Russia's launch on February 24 of its military operation, imposes a sentence of up to 15 years in jail for publishing information about the military deemed false by the government.
11:34am: Germany's Scholz says top priority is avoiding NATO confrontation with Russia
NATO must avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia that could lead to a third world war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Der Spiegel when asked about Germany's failure to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine.
Scholz is facing growing criticism at home and abroad for his government's apparent reluctance to deliver heavy battlefield weapons, such as tanks and howitzers, to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks, even as other western allies step up shipments.
Asked in an extensive interview published on Friday why he thought delivering tanks could lead to nuclear war, he said there was no rule book that stated when Germany could be considered a party to the war in Ukraine. "That's why it is all the more important that we consider each step very carefully and coordinate closely with one another," he was quoted as saying. "To avoid an escalation towards NATO is a top priority for me."
11:27am: Russian actions in Ukraine 'may amount to war crimes', UN says
The United Nations on Friday accused Russia of taking action in Ukraine "that may amount to war crimes", including indiscriminate bombing that killed civilians and destroyed schools and hospitals.
"Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
11:04am: UN says has documented 50 'unlawful' killings in Bucha
A United Nations mission to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha has documented that 50 civilians were killed there, including by summary execution, the UN said on Friday.
"During a mission to Bucha on the ninth of April, UN human rights officers documented the unlawful killing including by summary execution of some 50 civilians there," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
10:34am: Russia to seek full control of Donbas, southern Ukraine, general says
The Russian army will aim to take full control over eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian news agencies quotes a top general as saying, a day after Moscow announced the "liberation" of Mariupol.
"Since the start of the second phase of the special operation...one of the tasks of the Russian army is to establish full control over the Donbas and southern Ukraine," Major General Rustam Minnekaev said, adding that this would create a "land corridor" to annexed Crimea.
10:05am: Scotland Yard examining some 50 allegations of Ukraine war crimes
British police said on Friday they were gathering evidence after receiving about 50 reports of alleged war crimes following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
London's Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team said its specialist detectives were assessing some 50 referrals made since the start of the conflict as part of action in support of an International Criminal Court investigation.
"We’ve had around 50 referrals into us and we expect that number to grow over the coming weeks as more and more people who fled from Ukraine arrive here in the UK," said Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy from London police's Counter Terrorism Command.
9:56am: UK allows gas payments to Gazprombank until May 31
Britain has granted Russia's Gazprombank and its subsidiaries a licence for payments until the end of May despite sanctions in order to ensure gas supplies to the European Union, a Treasury document showed on Friday.
The licence permits an individual or company to continue payments under contracts that began before April 21, 2022 and allows actions such as opening and closing bank accounts in order to make such payments, according to the document published online.
Gazprombank, one of the main channels for payments for Russian oil and gas, is among Russian entities that have been sanctioned by Britain to penalise the Kremlin and its supporters over the Ukraine conflict.
9:02am: Japan says disputed islands 'illegally occupied' by Russia
Japan described four disputed islands as "illegally occupied" by Russia for the first time in nearly two decades on Friday as ties sour between the countries over the war in Ukraine.
The two nations have long been engaged in attempts to agree a post-World War II treaty, but the islands held by Moscow and claimed by Tokyo remain a key sticking point.
Japan's foreign ministry last used the expression in its annual policy report in 2003 to describe the islands, which Moscow calls the Kurils and Tokyo the Northern Territories.
This year's Diplomatic Bluebook report comes at a time when tough sanctions are imposed on Russia by Japan and its G7 partners, and ahead of a key revision to Japan's national security strategy later this year.
"The greatest concern between Japan and Russia is the Northern Territories," it said, calling them "Japanese territories over which Japan holds sovereign rights, but are currently illegally occupied by Russia".
8:47am: Mariupol mayor appeals for 'full evacuation'
The mayor of Mariupol issued a new appeal on Friday for the "full evacuation" of the southern Ukrainian city, which President Vladimir Putin says is now controlled by Russian forces.
"We need only one thing – the full evacuation of the population. About 100,000 people remain in Mariupol," Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television.
8:45am: 'Russians not staging many ground offensives'
"The Russians claim to have taken control of the whole of Mariupol but in reality for days they controlled most of Mariupol but not all of it – and as Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, that situation remains unchanged except that now the Russians are claiming victory there, which the Ukrainians are not willing to concede," FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reported from Kyiv.
In the Donbas, Cragg continued, "The story is of Russian forces not staging really major ground offensives and not making any major territorial gains, but the experts believe that the Russians have not actually really yet deployed all the forces that they're capable of deploying on the ground".
8:42am: No civilian evacuations in Ukraine on Friday, Kyiv says
No evacuations of civilians will take place in war-torn Ukraine on Friday as the situation on the roads is too dangerous, a senior official said.
"Because of the insecurity along the routes, there will be no humanitarian corridors today, April 22," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
6:12am: Satellite photos show possible mass graves near Mariupol
Satellite images released Thursday showed what appeared to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there in an effort to conceal the slaughter taking place in the siege of the port city.
The images emerged hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol, despite the presence of an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters who were still holed up at a giant steel mill. Putin ordered his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off “so that not even a fly comes through.”
Satellite image provider Maxar Technologies released the photos, which it said showed more than 200 mass graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting. The imagery showed long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol.
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of “hiding their military crimes” by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush.
The graves could hold as many as 9,000 dead, the Mariupol City Council said Thursday in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
4:59am: Ukraine says Russia planning sham independence vote in occupied regions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of planning to “falsify” an independence referendum in the partly occupied southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
In a video message Thursday evening, Zelensky urged residents of areas under occupation to not provide any personal information, like their passport numbers, to the Russian forces.
“This is not to help you... This is aimed to falsify the so-called referendum on your land, if an order comes from Moscow to stage such a show,” the Ukrainian leader said. “This is the reality. Be careful.”
Kyiv in early March accused Moscow of planning a referendum in Kherson similar to a 2014 Crimea poll, in which an overwhelming number of residents voted to join the Russian federation.
That vote, which took place after a Russian takeover of the region, was condemned as illegal by Ukraine’s government and the West.
The eastern pro-Russian territories of Donetsk and Lugansk also declared independence in the wake of referendums denounced as illegitimate by the international community.
“Any ‘Kherson People’s Republics’ are not going to fly,” Zelensky warned. “If someone wants a new annexation, it can only lead to new powerful sanctions strikes on Russia.”
Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russian forces after their February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
To the north, the Russian army also controls a vast area surrounding the city of Zaporizhzhia, which remains in Ukrainian hands.
1:37am: Fate of Mariupol’s trapped residents is in Putin’s hands, says mayor
Russian President Vladimir Putin alone can decide the fate of the 100,000 civilians still trapped in Ukraine’s war-torn Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko told Reuters on Thursday, saying that satellite images of a mass grave site were proof Russians were burying bodies to try to hide the death toll.
Earlier Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol after nearly two months of siege that has led to the most intense battles of the war and its worst humanitarian catastrophe. Under heavy bombardment, citizens who did not flee have suffered without electricity, heating or water.
“It’s important to understand that the lives that are still there, they are in the hands of just one person – Vladimir Putin. And all the deaths that will happen after now will be on his hands too,” Boichenko said in an interview.
Putin on Thursday said Russian troops had “liberated” Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation.” Russia denies targeting civilians.
“There were no plans to liberate the city. It was a plan of destruction,” Boichenko said. He estimated that 90 percent of the southeastern port city had been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
