People gather outside a shopping centre destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 14, 2022. (Reuters)Russia-Ukraine War News Live Updates: Explosions were heard in the early hours on Saturday in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western city of Lviv, local media reported. Earlier in the day, Ukraine said it was trying to break Russia’s siege of Mariupol as fighting raged around the city’s massive steelworks and port, and the capital Kyiv was rocked by some of the most powerful explosions in two weeks.
Russia said it struck what it described as a factory on the outskirts of Kyiv that made and repaired anti-ship missiles, in apparent retaliation for the sinking on Thursday of the Moskva, the flagship of Moscow’s Black Sea fleet. Ukraine said one of its missiles had caused the Moskva to sink, a powerful symbol of its resistance to a better-armed foe. Moscow said the ship sank while being towed in stormy seas after a fire caused by an explosion of ammunition.
Notwithstanding its continuing military strikes against Ukraine, Russia has started supplying some components of the second regiment of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system to India, people familiar with the development said on Friday. However, they added that some of the critical parts and systems of the regiment are yet to be delivered.
A view shows a residential building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 14, 2022. (Reuters)
Ukraine is sending top officials to Washington for next week's spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, where discussion will focus on the Russian invasion and its impact on the global economy.
Coming to the gathering are Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko, according to a World Bank official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had not been officially announced. (AP)
A stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier making an obscene hand gesture at the Russian Black Sea flagship Moskva has become a collector's item for Ukrainians who see it as a sign of "victory", reported news agency AFP.
It added that many Ukrainians were seen queueing for hours outside the central post office in Kyiv to get their hands on the limited edition stamps.
Explosions were heard in the early hours on Saturday in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and the western city of Lviv, local media reported.
Air raid sirens were going off over most of Ukraine early on Saturday. There has been no official confirmation of the explosions. (Reuters)
More bodies are being found every day, under rubble and in mass graves, said Andriy Nebytov, the head of the Kyiv's regional police. He said that the largest number of bodies were found in Bucha, where there were more than 350.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that existing sanctions on Russia are "painful" but not yet enough to stop the Russian military.
Zelenskyy called for "the democratic world" to ban Russian oil. While US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe relies more heavily on Russian energy supplies, and the US has been working to keep India from stepping up its use of Russian energy.
"In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia's money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to his nation. (AP)
Oleh Synehubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, said that the Russian shelling of a residential area in the city of Kharkiv resulted in seven deaths and caused injuries to 34 other people.
Russia's Ministry of Defense alleged its rockets had "eliminated up to 30 Polish mercenaries" in a strike on the village of Izyumskoe near Kharkiv. (Deutche Welle)
A week after Delhi sent its sharpest message to Moscow by abstaining on a resolution to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a “wide ranging discussion” with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and exchanged views on the global impact of the Ukraine conflict as well as the situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar.
Jaishankar is in New York, after the Indo-US 2+2 ministerial and other cabinet-level meetings in Washington DC, where he met the UN Secretary-General.
“A wide-ranging discussion with UNSG @antonioguterres. Exchanged views on the global impact of the Ukraine conflict, especially on food and energy security. Implications for developing countries are serious,” Jaishankar said in a Twitter post Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday told CNN that between 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died so far in the war with Russia and another 10,000 have been injured. (Reuters)
The bodies of more than 900 civilians were discovered in the Kyiv region following the withdrawal of Russian forces, the regional police chief said in a briefing Friday. Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv's regional police force, said the bodies had been abandoned in the streets or given temporary burials. He cited police data indicating that 95% of the casualties had died from sniper fire and gunshot wounds. ``Consequently, we understand that under the (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed in the streets,'' Nebytov said. ``The number of killed civilians has surpassed 900 _ and I emphasize, these are civilians, whose bodies we have discovered and handed over for forensic examination.'' He added that more bodies were being found every day, under the rubble and in mass graves. --AP
Ukraine has agreed to receive 13 billion yen in financial support from the Japanese government and also signed an agreement for 500 million Canadian dollars in support from Canada, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on Friday.
"These are funds to finance our primary needs .... We are negotiating assistance at all levels with everyone who can help," he said in a televised video address.
Smashed tanks in the mud, destroyed buildings and mourning families mark a recaptured east Ukrainian village whose residents are contemplating the price both they and their former Russian occupiers have had to pay.
Ukrainian soldiers last month retook Husarivka, an agricultural village with a peacetime population of 500-600 around 150 km southeast of Kharkiv city, after heavy fighting following the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. --Reuters
Ukraine's defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on Friday that for, the first time since the start of its invasion, Russia used long-range bombers to attack the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Motuzyanyk said Russia was concentrating its efforts on seizing the cities of Rubizhne, Popasna and Mariupol. --Reuters
Ukraine defence ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk on Friday stated that with ongoing streetfighting, the situation in Mariupol is hard. Stating that active fighting is ongoing around Illich Steel and Iron Works in Mariupol’s port area, he claimed Russia is concentrating its force on capturing Rubizhne, Popasna and Mariupol.
Ukraine on Friday said 7 people were killed and over two dozen injured in a Russian attack on civilian evacuees in east, AFP reported.
Russia's foreign ministry on Friday warned of unspecified 'consequences' if Finland and Sweden join NATO, news agency AFP reported.
The Russian rouble firmed slightly towards 80 against the dollar on Friday and stock indexes declined, while shares in gold producer Petropavlovsk underperformed the broader market in Moscow trade and at one point fell more than 20% on the day.
Russian shares in Petropavlovsk, which is also listed in London, extended sharp losses suffered on Thursday after the company said it was considering putting itself up for sale, following sanctions on Russia and the risk of countermeasures.
Petropavlovsk shares were down 17% at 8.45 roubles ($0.11) apiece as of 0749 GMT.
Shares in Russia's largest lenders Sberbank and VTB, both sanctioned by the west, slid around 0.7% the day after a central bank official said it was quite possible that the Russian banking sector would lose half of its capital. (Reuters)
Amidst heavy shelling in Lysychansk, a resident of Ukraine celebrated her 55th birthday, wishing for "peace for everyone".
The Russian Defence Ministry Friday said that it has destroyed a group of up to 30 Polish mercenaries from a private military unit.
It has also vowed to step up its attack on Kyiv in view of the Ukrainian forces committing "sabotage" on Russian territory.
The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that its S-400 defense systems have shot down a Ukrainian MI-8 helicopter, which was allegedly used to attack the Klimovo village in the Bryansk region of Russia on Thursday, Reuters quoted state media as saying.
The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that the Ilyich steel and iron plant in Mariupol, Ukraine’s second-largest steel-maker, has been “liberated” from Ukrainian forces, Reuters quoted the state media as saying.
Russia has been concentrating its war effort in the East, looking to take over the key port city of Mariupol.
Meanwhile, the Ministry also claimed that it has struck a military target on the edge of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with cruise missiles overnight. It stated they will be carrying out more strikes in the city.