War highlights: Zelensky asks UN to help save lives at Mariupol steel plant

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett over the ongoing war in Ukraine. Zelensky said he discussed the "scandalous and completely unacceptable remarks" by Russia's foreign minister about Hitler.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for help saving people trapped in the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol. 

"The lives of the people who remain there are in danger. Everyone is important to us. We ask for your help in saving them," Zelensky was quoted as saying in an official statement. 

Brazilian presidential front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin bear equal responsibility for the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

“I see the president of Ukraine, speaking on television, being applauded, getting a standing ovation by all the (European) parliamentarians. This guy (Zelensky) is as responsible as Putin for the war,” Lula told Time magazine. 

Ukraine remains in contact with its forces defending Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol as of Wednesday evening.

Russian metals billionaire Alisher Usmanov appealed the European Union’s decision to impose strict sanctions on him in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Usmanov, who owns 49% of Metalloinvest, filed an appeal at the EU’s General Court on April 29, asking the bloc’s second-highest tribunal also to suspend the sanctions until judges make a final decision, according to a court filing. A spokesperson for Usmanov declined to comment.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he would speak with other leaders from the Group of Seven advanced economies this week about potential additional sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

"With regard to additional sanctions, we're always open to additional sanctions," Biden told reporters. "I'll be speaking with the members of the G7 this week about what we're going to do or not do."

The European Commission has proposed freezing the assets of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a diplomat said. The Patriarch has been added to a draft blacklist that already includes hundreds of military officers and businessmen close to the Kremlin whom the EU accuses of supporting the war in Ukraine. The sanction, which would entail an asset freeze and a travel ban, needs the backing of EU states to be adopted.

The mayor of the destroyed Ukrainian city of Mariupol said contact was lost with Ukrainian forces holed up in the Azovstal steel plant amid fierce battles with Russian troops.

"Unfortunately, yes, there is heavy fighting in Azovstal today," Vadym Boichenko told Ukrainian television, adding that city officials had "lost contact" with Ukrainian forces inside the plant and had no way of knowing "what's going on, whether they are safe or not".

Foreign secretary Liz Truss cut Russia off from accessing UK management consultants, accountants and public relations firms as she announced a further tranche of sanctions aimed at putting more pressure on Putin.

The bodies of another 20 civilians were found in the past 24 hours in the Kyiv region, police said, raising the total number of bodies found there so far to 1,235. Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nebytov said the latest discoveries were found in Borodianka and the surrounding villages, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Bucha, the town near Kyiv now synonymous with allegations of alleged Russian war crimes. Others were found in the Vyshgorod area just north of the capital.

An Associated Press investigation has found evidence that the attack was in fact far deadlier than estimated, killing closer to 600 people inside and outside the building. That's almost double the death toll cited so far, and many survivors put the number even higher. Read more

The Kremlin said no agreement had been reached on a possible meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis for talks about Ukraine.

Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he had asked for a meeting in Moscow with Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia has been looking into various options as it braces for an oil embargo by the European Union.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it has banned entry to several dozen Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, after Tokyo joined international sanctions against Moscow over its military campaign in Ukraine.

"The administration of F. Kishida launched an unprecedented anti-Russian campaign (and) allows unacceptable rhetoric against the Russian Federation, including slander and direct threats," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The latest round of sanctions will also hit Sberbank, Russia's top lender, as well as three other banks, adding it to several banks that have already been excluded from the SWIFT messaging system.

"We de-SWIFT Sberbank – by far Russia's largest bank, and two other major banks. By that, we hit banks that are systemically critical to the Russian financial system and Putin's ability to wage destruction," von der Leyen said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - spelling out the proposed new sanctions on Wednesday said that the new sanctions will include an ‘orderly ban on imports of Russian oil,' AFP reported.

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The European Union has proposed imposing sanctions on the head of Russian Orthodox Church, news agency AFP reported citing an official document.

A new sanctions package prepared by the European Union against Russia is set to include oil and coal, France's foreign minister said Tuesday.

"France and Germany are working together to define this new package (of sanctions) which is set to include oil and coal. The modalities of its implementation are the object of discussions today," Jean-Yves Le Drian said, referring to EU talks in Luxembourg as per news agency AFP.

Oil prices bounced on Wednesday ahead of an announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve and further sanctions on Russia by the European Union, offsetting demand worries in top importer China, news agency Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures had risen $1.46, or 1.4%, to $106.43 a barrel by 0616 GMT amid thin trading volume, with China and Japan closed for holidays. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.59 , or 1.6%, to $104.00 a barrel.

The gains came on the back of news from Tuesday that the European Union would slap new sanctions on Russia for waging war on Ukraine.

The European Union has proposed imposing sanctions on the head of Russian Orthodox Church, news agency AFP reported citing an official document.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that they are seeking full restoration of territory - including Crimea. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's CEO council summit, Zelensky mentioned three top goals: to halt Russia's advance, reclaim territory and restore Ukraine's entire territory through diplomacy, reported Ukrainian media - the Kyiv Independent.

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Russian forces have turned their heaviest firepower on Ukraine's east and south after failing to take Kyiv, the capital, in the opening weeks of the war.

There were also fresh attacks in the west on Tuesday. The mayor of Lviv said Russian misile strikes had damaged electricity and water networks in the western city near the Polish border, across which flows Western arms supplies for Ukraine's military.

Russian forces also struck six railway stations in the centre and west of the country, the head of Ukraine's railways, Olesksandr Kamyshin, said. There were no injuries to civilians, he added on Twitter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put the West on notice that he could terminate exports and deals, the Kremlin's toughest response yet to the sanctions burden imposed by the United States and its allies.

Russian forces pounded targets in eastern Ukraine as the war entered Day-70 on Wednesday. Here are top 8 developments in Russia-Ukraine War.

Ukraine War | EU to target Russian oil, Zelensky wants ‘a breather’: Top points

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Ukraine on Tuesday he believed it would defeat Russia and expose the "gigantic error" of the Kremlin's invasion as he invoked Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill to underline his support for Kyiv. "This is Ukraine's finest hour, that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come," he said, echoing the words spoken by Churchill in 1940 when Britain faced the threat of being invaded and defeated by Nazi Germany.