Heavy battles are approaching for Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions as well as for the besieged city of Mariupol, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said today.
Oleksiy Arestovych added that Ukrainian troops around Kyiv had retaken more than 30 towns or villages in the region and were holding the front line against Russian forces in the east.
“Let us have no illusions – there are still heavy battles ahead for the south, for Mariupol, for the east of Ukraine,” Mr Arestovych said on national television.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, warned that retreating Russian forces were creating “a complete disaster” outside Kyiv as they deposit mines across “the whole territory,” including around homes and corpses.
03:14 PM
What happened today
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The Ukrainian government said photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin was found dead near Kyiv after going missing two weeks ago.
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Russian police detained 176 people today at protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an NGO said.
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At least 35 people have been confirmed killed as a result of Tuesday’s rocket strike on the regional administration building in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mykolaiv, Governor Vitaliy Kim said.
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Heavy battles are approaching in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions as well as for the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said.
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Pope Francis said that he is considering a trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
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Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region said.
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Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, said 42 buses carrying Mariupol residents had departed from the city of Berdiansk, 70 kilometres south-west, while another 12 had left Melitopol with local residents on board.
02:50 PM
Russia ‘putting mines in bodies and booby traps in homes’ as it retreats from around Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian troops of booby-trapping corpses and homes with mines and trip wires as they retreat from the north of Ukraine, reports James Crisp.
He warned Ukrainians that the retreating Russians had left “a complete disaster” in the wake of their pullback from around Kyiv.
“They are laying mines all over the territory. They are laying mines in houses, equipment and even near the bodies of people who have died. There are many traps, a lot of other dangers,” he said late on Friday.
“There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers,” he added. “It is still impossible to return to normal life as it was even in the areas we return after the fighting,” he said, “You will have to wait, wait until our land is cleared.”
He did not provide evidence and The Telegraph has not been able to independent corroborate his claims.
02:34 PM
The week that turned the war: How Ukraine fought back the Russian advance
Vladimir Putin looks more isolated than ever as his forces suffer a series of shocking setbacks on the battlefield, writes Justin Huggler.
The past week may go down as the moment the Ukraine war began to turn against Russia.
Vladimir Putin’s forces suffered a series of shocking reverses on the battlefield. For the first time, Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost every day for an entire week, pushing Russian forces 20 miles back from Kyiv.
Russia’s legendary 4th Guards Tank Division, storied for its victories at Stalingrad and Berlin, was routed in a small, little-known Ukrainian town called Trostyanets.
By the end of the week, Ukraine even appeared to take the war to Russia as Kyiv refused to confirm whether it was behind a cross-border helicopter raid that left an oil depot burning out of control in the Russian city of Belgorod.
02:17 PM
Britain’s most advanced anti-aircraft missile shoots down Russian helicopter
The Starstreak missile is believed to have shot down the helicopter over the Luhansk region in its first deployment by Ukrainian forces, reports Sam Hall.
Britain’s most advanced anti-aircraft missile , Starstreak, has shot down a Russian helicopter in its first deployment by Ukrainian forces after they were trained to use the Belfast-made weapon.
Video footage shows a Russian Mi-28N helicopter flying over the Luhansk region in the east of Ukraine being cut in two after it was struck by a missile.
A Ministry of Defence source confirmed to The Times that the missile shown in the video was the Starstreak system in action over the skies of Ukraine.
The source added that the anti-aircraft system had been deployed in Ukraine for almost a week.
01:58 PM
Kamala Harris refuses to say whether she thinks Putin should remain in power
US Vice President Kamala Harris has refused to say whether or not she thinks Vladimir Putin should remain in power, spending two minutes of an interview dodging the question, reports Jamie Johnson in Washington.
Joe Biden said in an off the cuff remark last Saturday: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” in comments that reverberated around the world and caused French President Emmanuel Macron to warn the West against inflammatory language.
Mr Biden later said the comments were his personal opinion and not a policy change, and in an interview last night, Ms Harris would not be drawn on what her personal opinion is.
“Listen, I think you frame the point quite accurately and well, which is America’s policy has been and will continue to be focused on the real issue at hand,” she told MSNBC.
When asked again if she would say whether she thought he should remain, Ms Harris said: “Listen, let me be very clear, let me be very clear. We are not into regime change and that is not our policy. Period.”
01:38 PM
Ukrainian journalist killed near Kyiv
The Ukrainian government said photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin was found dead near Kyiv after going missing two weeks ago and accused the Russian army of having killed him.
“He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Guta Mezhygirska on April 1,” presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Levin had been found dead and said he had been killed by Russian soldiers.
“According to preliminary information, unarmed Maxim Levin was killed by servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces with two shots from small fire arms,” it said in a statement on Telegram.
“The occupiers killed a Ukrainian photo-journalist.”
01:28 PM
Kharkiv Zoo staff evacuate family of tapirs
kharkiv zoo staff keeps evacuating animals under russian shelling. today it was a family of tapirs — the only in ukraine that brought a baby to this world.
donate above ????????so all kharkiv zoo 5000+ residents are saved from russian bombs pic.twitter.com/7fAuq0ZsDU
— maksym.eristavi ????????????️???? (@MaximEristavi) April 2, 2022
01:17 PM
More than 170 detained in anti-war protests across Russia
Russian police have detained 176 people today at protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an NGO said.
OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 176 people during demonstrations in 14 cities in Russia.
An AFP journalist in Moscow witnessed more than 20 people being detained by riot police under heavy snowfall in the capital’s central Zaryadye park, a short distance from the Kremlin.
01:00 PM
Death toll from strike on government building in Mykolaiv rises to 35
At least 35 people have been confirmed killed as a result of Tuesday’s rocket strike on the regional administration building in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mykolaiv, Governor Vitaliy Kim said in an online post today.
Rescue workers have continued to dismantle the rubble and search for victims after the strike blasted a hole through the side of the building in central Mykolaiv.
12:48 PM
Ukraine faces heavy battles in east and south despite progress in Kyiv, senior official says
Heavy battles are approaching in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions as well as for the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said today.
Speaking on national television, Mr Arestovych said Ukrainian troops around Kyiv had retaken more than 30 towns or villages in the region and were holding the front line against Russian forces in the east.
“Let us have no illusions – there are still heavy battles ahead for the south, for Mariupol, for the east of Ukraine,” he said.
12:36 PM
Pictured: A funeral for a Ukrainian serviceman in Lviv
12:18 PM
Russian troops disperse pro-Ukraine rally in occupied town
Local authorities in the occupied Ukrainian town of Enerhodar said Russian forces had violently dispersed a pro-Ukrainian rally today and detained some participants.
Residents had gathered in the centre of the town in the south of the country to talk and sing the Ukrainian national anthem, when Russian soldiers arrived and bundled some into detention vans, the local administration said in an online post.
“The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions,” it said in a separate post on Telegram, sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in a square and letting off bangs and clouds of white smoke next to the town’s main cultural centre.
It also accused Russian forces of shelling another part of the town on Saturday and said as a result four people had been wounded and were being treated in hospital.
The local administration’s report and video have not yet been independently verified.
12:02 PM
More than 4.1 million Ukrainian refugees flee war
Nearly 4.14 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on February 24, with tens of thousands continuing to flood into neighbouring countries each day, UN numbers show.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said that 4,137,842 Ukrainians had fled in just over five weeks, an increase of 34,966 on the figure given yesterday.
Women and children account for 90 per cent of those who have left Ukraine, with men aged 18 to 60 eligible for military call-up and unable to leave.
The UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that in addition to Ukrainian refugees, nearly 205,500 non-Ukrainians living, studying or working in the country have also left.
Nearly 6.48 million people were meanwhile estimated to be internally displaced within Ukraine as of mid-March, according to the IOM.
That puts the total number of people displaced by the conflict at well over 10 million, or around a quarter of Ukraine’s total population.
11:50 AM
Russia and Kazakhstan call for neutral and nuclear-free Ukraine
Vladimir Putin and Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agreed during a phone call today that any potential peace deal should result in a ‘neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free’ Ukraine, Kazakhstan’s presidential office said.
In a readout of the call, it said that Putin had briefed Tokayev on the progress of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
11:37 AM
Russia to target missile systems supplied to Ukraine by the UK
Russia will specifically target long-range coastal defence missile systems that the UK is sending to Ukraine, Russia’s ambassador in London, Andrey Kelin, has said, reports James Kilner.
In his interview with Russian news agency, TASS, Mr Kelin said that the UK’s long-range missile systems were “destabilising”.
“Any supply of weapons is destabilising, especially those that Wallace spoke about. They aggravate the situation and make it even more bloody. These, apparently, are new fairly high-precision weapons. Of course, they will be legitimate targets for our Armed Forces if they cross the Ukrainian border,” he said.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said this week that the government was going to send more “lethal aid” to Ukraine, including long-range coastal missile systems. The Russian Navy has anchored off Ukraine’s coast where it has been able to bombard port cities such as Mariupol.
11:20 AM
Veteran war crimes prosecutor urges ICC to issue Putin arrest warrant
Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has called for the International Criminal Court to quickly issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“Putin is a war criminal,” Ms Del Ponte, who came to prominence investigating war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said in an interview with Le Temps.
The 75-year-old Swiss national said that international arrest warrants for Putin and other high-level Russian officials were needed to hold them responsible for the war crimes committed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Ms Del Ponte, who also served for years on the UN commission probing rights abuses in Syria’s war, stressed that issuing an arrest warrant was an important signal “that investigative work has been done.”
“It is the only instrument that exists that makes it possible to arrest the perpetrator of a war crime and bring them before the ICC,” she added.
10:55 AM
MoD map of Russian attacks and troop movements
10:38 AM
Pope Francis implicitly criticises Putin over Ukraine for first time
Pope Francis came the closest he has yet to implicitly criticising Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying today that a “potentate” was fomenting conflicts for nationalist interests.
The term ‘potentate’ refers to a monarch or ruler, especially an autocratic one.
“From the east of Europe, from the land of the sunrise, the dark shadows of war have now spread. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past,” the Pope said in an address to Maltese officials after arriving on the Mediterranean island nation for a two-day visit.
“However, the icy winds of war, which bring only death, destruction and hatred in their wake, have swept down powerfully upon the lives of many people and affected us all,” he added.
“Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that, will either shared, or not be at all.”
The Pope has already strongly condemned what he has called an “unjustified aggression” and denounced “atrocities” in the war.
But he has only referred to Russia directly in prayers, such as during a special global event for peace on March 25.
10:17 AM
Hundreds evacuated to safety from Mariupol as dozens of buses arrive in Zaporizhzhia
[embedded content]
09:59 AM
Zelensky adviser: Russian forces in ‘rapid retreat’ from northern areas
Russian forces are making a “rapid retreat” from areas around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv in northern Ukraine, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said today.
“With the rapid retreat of the Russians from the Kyiv and Chernigiv regions… it is completely clear that Russia is prioritising a different tactic: falling back on the east and south,” he said on social media.
09:58 AM
UK blocks use of private jet with ‘links to Russian oligarchs’
This morning I’ve prevented the use of another jet that has links to Russian oligarchs. We won’t stand by and watch those who’ve made millions through Putin’s patronage live their lives in peace as innocent blood is shed.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) April 2, 2022
09:45 AM
Red Cross plans fresh evacuation effort from Mariupol
A Red Cross convoy will try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol today as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in southeast Ukraine.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed.
“They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians,” the ICRC said in a statement on Friday. A previous Red Cross evacuation attempt in early March failed.
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was hopeful about the Mariupol evacuations.
09:28 AM
Pope Francis says he is considering trip to Kyiv
Pope Francis has said that he is considering a trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Asked by a reporter on a plane taking him from Rome to Malta if he was considering an invitation made by Ukrainian political and religious authorities, the Pope answered: “Yes, it is on the table”. He gave no further details.
The Pope has been invited to Kyiv by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Ukraine’s Byzantine-rite Catholic Church and Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash.
09:07 AM
Russia says cooperation in space only possible once sanctions are lifted
Russia’s space director said that the restoration of normal ties between partners at the International Space Station (ISS) and other joint space projects would be possible only once Western sanctions against Moscow are lifted.
Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, claimed that the aim of the sanctions is to “kill Russian economy and plunge our people into despair and hunger, to get our country on its knees”. He added, “they won’t succeed in it, but the intentions are clear”.
“That’s why I believe that the restoration of normal relations between the partners at the International Space Station (ISS) and other projects is possible only with full and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions,” Mr Rogozin added.
08:48 AM
Zelensky: Russian retreat of troops ‘slow but noticeable’ in north of country
[embedded content]
08:27 AM
EU says it eyes further Russia sanctions that will not affect energy sector
The European Union is working on further sanctions on Russia but any additional measures will not affect the energy sector, the EU’s Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said in Cernobbio on Saturday.
The 27-nation bloc will be faced with a growth slowdown caused by the war in Ukraine but not a recession, he added, saying the 4 per cent growth forecast was too optimistic and the EU would not reach it.
08:16 AM
Russian soldier dies from radiation poisoning in Chernobyl
The serviceman was part of a unit camped in the toxic nearby Red Forest, clueless about what they were being exposed to, reports James Kilner.
Radiation from the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine has reportedly killed one Russian soldier after his unit camped in a toxic area known as the Red Forest. The soldier was part of a team that captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 65 miles north of Kyiv, in the first days of the war.
They then occupied the 20-mile exclusion zone around the plant, where people are banned from living, dug trenches into radioactive mud and drove their trucks along dirt roads, kicking up radioactive dust. Now ill and exhausted, they have retreated to Belarus.
08:03 AM
Ukraine’s economy could contract 40 per cent in 2022
Ukraine’s economy shrank 16 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and could contract 40 per cent in 2022 as a result of Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian economic ministry said in a statement today, citing preliminary estimates.
“Areas in which remote work is impossible have suffered the most,” it said.
07:41 AM
MoD: Russian forces reported to have withdrawn from Hostomel airport
07:29 AM
Seven humanitarian corridors planned for evacuations today
Seven humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine’s besieged regions are planned for Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The planned corridors include one for people evacuating by private transport from the city of Mariupol and by buses for Mariupol residents out of the city of Berdyansk, Ms Vereshchuk said.
07:13 AM
Putin ‘running out’ of missiles – because parts are made in Ukraine
A substantial portion of fighter jet engines and tank components are made in Ukrainian factories, which no longer supply Russian forces, reports Tony Diver.
Vladimir Putin risks running out of viable tanks, missiles and fighter jets because the components they use are made in Ukraine, The Telegraph understands.
The engines for all Russian helicopters, ships and cruise missiles and a substantial portion of fighter jet engines and ground-to-air missile and tank components are made in Ukrainian factories, which no longer supply Mr Putin’s forces.
Russian troops are understood to be running low on arms after five weeks of conflict and the heavy shelling of many Ukrainian cities.
This week, Russia’s deputy defence minister said the country was moving into “phase two” of the conflict and would pull its forces back from Kyiv.
06:43 AM
New radio station helps Ukrainian refugees adapt in Prague
A new Prague-based internet radio station has started to broadcast news, information and music tailored to the day-to-day concerns of some 300,000 refugees who have arrived in the Czech Republic since Russia launched its military assault against Ukraine.
In a studio at the heart of the Czech capital, radio veterans work together with absolute beginners to provide the refugees with what they need to know to settle as smoothly as possible in a new country.
The staff of 10 combines people who have fled Ukraine in recent weeks with those who have been living abroad for years. No matter who they are, their common goal is to help fellow Ukrainians and their homeland facing the brutal Russian invasion.
Natalia Churikova, an experienced journalist with Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said she couldn’t say no to an offer to become the broadcaster’s editor-in-chief.
“It was for my people, for people who really needed help, who really needed support, something that would help them start a new live or restart their lives here after they have lived through very bad things trying to escape from Ukraine,” Churikova said.
06:22 AM
Russian missiles strike several Ukrainian cities, say local officials
Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region said.
“Poltava. A missile struck one of the infrastructure facilities overnight,” Dmitry Lunin wrote in an online post. “Kremenchuk. Many attacks on the city in the morning.”
Lunin later said at least four missiles hit two infrastructure objects in Poltava while, according to preliminary information, three enemy planes attacked the industrial facilities of Kremenchuk.
Poltava city is the capital of the Poltava region, east of Kyiv, and Kremenchuk one of the area’s major cities.
There was no immediate information about possible casualties, Lunin said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
05:37 AM
Ukraine continue to advance against Russian forces near Kyiv, UK says
Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv, British military intelligence said on Saturday.
Russian forces are also reported to have withdrawn from Hostomel airport near the capital, which has been subject to fighting since the first day of the conflict, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a regular bulletin.
“In the east of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have secured a key route in eastern Kharkiv after heavy fighting,” the ministry added.
05:15 AM
Dozens of buses leave Berdiansk and Melitopol with Mariupol residents on board
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 42 buses carrying Mariupol residents had departed from the city of Berdiansk, 70 kilometres southwest, while another 12 had left Melitopol with local residents on board.
“That’s more than 2,500 people. More than 300 private cars follow the buses. All of them are now heading to the city of Zaporizhzhia,” she said on Telegram, adding more evacuations of Mariupol were planned for Saturday.
Dozens of buses carrying Mariupol residents who had escaped the devastated city arrived Friday in Zaporizhzhia, about 200 kilometres to the northwest, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.
The buses carried people who had been able to flee Mariupol to Russian-occupied Berdiansk.
“We were crying when we reached this area. We were crying when we saw soldiers at the checkpoint with Ukrainian crests on their arms,” said Olena, who carried her young daughter in her arms.
04:49 AM
Zelensky won’t discuss fuel depot attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declined to comment on whether he ordered an attack on a Russian fuel depot.
In an interview with FOX News, Mr Zelensky said he does not discuss any orders he issues as commander in chief.
Earlier, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security council denied allegations from Moscow that two Ukrainian helicopter gunships had struck the facility in the city of Belgorod north of the border at around dawn Friday.
The regional governor in Belgorod said two workers at the depot were injured, but Russian media cited a statement from state oil company Rosneft that denied anyone was hurt.
But if Moscow’s claim is confirmed, it would be the war’s first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace.
04:20 AM
Red Cross to try again to evacuate civilians from Mariupol
A Red Cross convoy travelling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in the southeast.
The convoy was forced to turn around yesterday, said the Geneva-based organisation, saying it had become impossible to proceed.
03:51 AM
Retreating Russians leaving mines behind, Zelensky warns
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his people early Saturday that retreating Russian forces were creating “a complete disaster” outside the capital as they leave mines across “the whole territory,” even around homes and corpses.
He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for the second day in a row, and the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil.
Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow’s claim is confirmed, it would be the war’s first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace.
“Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after Moscow began sending upwards of 150,000 of its own troops across Ukraine’s border.
03:35 AM
US to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine
The United States will work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to bolster its defenses in the Donbas region, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing a US official.
The transfers, requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, would begin soon, the unnamed official said, according to the Times. The official declined to say how many tanks would be sent or from which countries they would come, the paper said.
The Pentagon declined to comment to Reuters. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tanks would allow Ukraine to conduct long-range artillery strikes on Russian targets in the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine bordering Russia, the official said, according to the Times.
It marks the first time in the war that the United States has helped transfer tanks, the newspaper said.
03:21 AM
Some Russian troops still in Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine says
Some Russian troops were still in the “exclusion zone” around the Chernobyl nuclear power station on Friday morning, a day after ending their occupation of the plant itself, a Ukrainian official said.
Russian forces occupied the defunct power station north of Kyiv soon after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 but Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company, Energoatom, said on Thursday they had left the plant and were heading towards the border with Belarus.
“Russians were seen in the exclusion zone this morning,” Yevhen Kramarenko, who heads the agency in charge of the exclusion zone, said in televised comments on Friday.
He did not say what the troops were doing or where they might be headed. He added that no Russian troops had been seen on the territory of the decommissioned nuclear power plant.
03:00 AM
US curbs exports to more Russian and Belarusian companies
The Biden administration announced on Friday a new round of export restrictions against Russia and Belarus, adding 120 entities, mostly companies with links to the military, to a list of those effectively blocked from receiving vital technology.
The additions to the Commerce Department’s entity list follow several similar actions taken by the United States to weaken the Russian military since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Friday’s action aims to “degrade Russian and Belarusian defense, aerospace, maritime, and other strategic sectors in response to Russia’s brutal assault on the sovereignty of Ukraine,” the Commerce Department said.
02:48 AM
China tells EU it will pursue Ukraine peace in its own way
China offered the European Union assurances on Friday that it would seek peace in Ukraine but said this would be on its own terms, deflecting pressure for a tougher stance towards Russia.
Premier Li Keqiang told EU leaders that Beijing would push for peace in “its own way”, while President Xi Jinping said he hoped the EU would treat China “independently”, in a nod to Europe’s close ties with the United States.
The EU told Beijing during the virtual summit with Mr Li and Mr Xi not to allow Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We called on China to help end the war in Ukraine. China cannot turn a blind eye to Russia’s violation of international law,” European Council President Charles Michel told a news briefing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the first EU-China summit since Dec 30, 2020.
02:11 AM
Today’s top stories
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Liberated villagers weep with joy as Ukrainian soldiers pushed back humiliated Russian forces, days after Moscow announced it would reduce its operations around Kyiv in order to foster trust
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The Argentine government has triggered a row with the United Kingdom by accusing it of “double standards” for its backing of Ukraine against Russian aggression while refusing to come to the negotiating table over the Falkland Islands
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Vladimir Putin risks running out of viable tanks, missiles and fighter jets because the components they use are made in Ukraine, The Telegraph understands
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Radiation from the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine has reportedly killed one Russian soldier after his unit camped in a toxic area known as the Red Forest
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The UN has recorded 3,257 civilian casualties since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, with 1,276 deaths.
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Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv on Friday after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv to promote trust at the bargaining table
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The US military has cancelled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile that it had initially aimed only to delay in a bid to lower nuclear tensions with Russia during the war in Ukraine, the Air Force told Reuters on Friday
