Russia-Ukraine war highlights: Russia says village in Belgorod region shelled by Ukraine
With the Ukraine war entering the third month, Russia resumed its assault on the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in a giant steel works in Mariupol on Saturday, days after Moscow declared victory in the southern city and said its forces did not need to take the plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country's army was not ready to try to break through the siege of the port city. But he said America's top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would visit Kyiv on Sunday and discuss the types of weapons Ukraine needs to battle the Russian invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has not confirmed any travel plans for Blinken and Austin....Read More
In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, at least eight people were killed by Russian missiles, Zelensky said.
Nearly five million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been shattered and thousands have died since the start of the invasion on February 24.
Russia calls its action a special military operation to demilitarise Ukraine and eradicate what it calls “dangerous nationalists”. The West and Kyiv accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of unprovoked aggression.
Russia says village in Belgorod region shelled by Ukraine -TASS
Russia said on Sunday a village in its Belgorod region bordering Ukraine was shelled from across the frontier, state news agency TASS quoted a local official as saying.
Ukraine blames Russia after Mariupol humanitarian corridor fails on Sunday
No humanitarian routes were established out of the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Sunday, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, blaming Russian forces for not holding their fire.
Ukraine leader pushes for more arms; US officials to visit
Ukraine's leader petitioned for more powerful Western weapons as he prepared to meet with top U.S. officials in the war-torn country's capital Sunday and Russian forces concentrated their attacks on the east, including trying to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops holding out in the battered port city of Mariupol.
Ukrainian presidential adviser says Russian forces trying to storm Azovstal plant
Russian forces are attempting to storm the Azovstal plant in Mariupol by land, backed up by aerial and artillery bombardment, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Sunday.
Turkish President Erdogan dials Ukraine's Zelensky, says evacuation in Mariupol must be ensured
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and said evacuation in Mariupol must be ensured.
Ukrainian steel plant bombed; Zelenskyy to meet US officials
Russian forces called in airstrikes on a besieged steel factory in the southern city of Mariupol to try to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops holding out in the strategic port, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would meet in Kyiv with two top American officials.
Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter with prayers for those trapped
The sun came out as Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday with prayers for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them in places like Mariupol.
Russia says it struck arms depots in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday its high-precision missiles struck nine Ukrainian military targets overnight, including four arms depots in the Kharkiv region where artillery weapons were stored.
Air raid sirens heard in northern Donbas
The sound of outgoing artillery and air raid sirens were heard Saturday in Sloviansk, a town in northern Donbas that had come under Russian attack the day before, news agency AP reported.
UK says Ukraine repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in Donbas
Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in Donbas this week, a British military update said on Sunday.
Despite Russia making some territorial gains, Ukrainian resistance has been strong across all axes and inflicted a significant cost on Russian forces, the UK Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin.
"Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness," the update added.
Ukraine says Russian attacks continue in east
The Ukrainian military says Russian forces have continued to press their attacks in the east.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Sunday that the Russians fired on Ukrainian positions along the entire line of contact on the war's 60th day.
It also said the Russian military intensified its offensive and assault operations in the Siverodonetsk, Kurakhiv and Popasna directions.
“No justice and no logic,” Zelensky slams UN chief's move to meet Putin before coming to Kyiv
Ukrainian President Zelensky has criticised the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres decision to visit Moscow before coming to Kyiv.
The UN chief will visit Moscow to meet with Putin on Tuesday. Guterres will then see Zelensky and Ukraine's foreign minister on Thursday, two days after visiting Moscow, the United Nations said in a statement.
The Ukrainian leader argues there is "no justice and no logic" in his visiting Russia first.
Ukraine says it hit Russian command post
The Ukrainian military said Saturday it destroyed a Russian command post in Kherson, a southern city that fell to Russian forces early in the war, news agency AP reported.
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency posted a statement saying the command post was hit on Friday and two generals were killed and one was critically wounded.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an online interview that 50 senior Russian officers were in the command centre when it came under attack. He said their fate was unknown.
The Russian military did not comment on the claim, which could not be confirmed.
From sanctions to shelling: Key moments in two months of war
The war between Russia and Ukraine entered its third month on Sunday with no end in sight to Moscow’s aggression in the war-torn nation. Despite being accused of war crimes, killing civilians and facing severe economic sanctions from the western nations, the Russian troops have again renewed their attack in Mariupol on Sunday.
Zelensky says he will meet top US officials for ‘more weapons’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he would meet Sunday in his nation's capital with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin. The White House declined to comment.
UN chief Guterres heading to Turkey ahead of Moscow, Kyiv visits
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Ankara before heading to Moscow next week to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and then to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, a U.N. statement said on Saturday.
Guterres will visit the Turkish capital on Monday, where he will be received by President Tayyip Erdogan, the statement said. The U.N. aid chief, Martin Griffiths, said on April 18 that Turkey was a valuable host for humanitarian talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Russia has already fired most of its missiles at Ukraine: Zelensky
Zelensky said Russia had already fired most of its missile arsenal at Ukraine.
"Of course, they still have missiles left. Of course, they can still continue the missile terror against our people," he said in a video address later on Saturday.
"But what they have already done is a powerful enough argument for the world to finally recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and the Russian army as a terrorist organization," he added.
Russian missiles kill 8 in port city Odesa
At least eight people were killed and several others injured as two missiles struck a military facility and two residential buildings in Odesa; and two more were destroyed on Saturday, the Ukrainian armed forces said as per Reuters.
