War highlights: Over 300 people saved from Azovstal plant, says Ukrainian Prez

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that more than 300 civilians were rescued from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. 

The Ukrainian government has received 12 Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones and has placed an order for another 24 drones, news agency ANI reported citing Turkish media. 

Ahead of victory day celebrations, thermonuclear missile RS-24 Yars rolled through Moscow's Red Square. The deadly missile shown off in public is a chilling reminder of Russia's might as Putin flexes nuclear arsenal. The RS-24 is a 3-stage solid fuel missile, reportedly carries payload of 3 reentry vehicles (RV) & penetration aids. Watch full video

US First Lady Jill Biden hailed the "amazingly strong" refugees from war-torn Ukraine as she visited neighbouring Romania on Saturday, AFP reported. "You are amazingly strong," Biden said after listening to mothers and children recount how they fled Russia's invasion of their country. "We stand with you, I hope you know that," she said in a visit to a school in Bucharest, accompanied by her Romanian counterpart Carmen Iohannis, according to images transmitted by TVR public television.

Ukraine has received 12 Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones and has placed an order for another 24 drones, reported a Turkish news website on Saturday. According to a report of the news website Haberler, more than 300, or potentially over 400, Bayraktar TB2 and Siha drones have been produced in Turkey over the past eight years, with 96 of them shipped to foreign clients.

In a rather turn of events at the United Nations Security Council, Russia has accused Ukraine of war crimes. Submitting evidence backing its claims during the Arria-Formula meeting at the UN, Russia blamed Ukraine of using its own civilians as human shields to block humanitarian corridors. As part of 'proof', Russian diplomats presented interviews with several Ukrainian citizens who admitted that it was the Ukrainian Military that opened fire at cars trying to use the evacuation routes. Watch video

Russia's most senior lawmaker on Saturday accused Washington of coordinating military operations in Ukraine, which he said amounted to direct U.S. involvement in military action against Russia. "Washington is essentially coordinating and developing military operations, thereby directly participating in military actions against our country," Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Several missiles hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, the regional administration's spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said in televised remarks. Bratchuk said the strikes hit the city after targets in the surrounding Odesa region had been hit by four missiles earlier in the day, Reuters reported. He did not give further detail about the new strikes, saying that the facts were still being established.

Ukrainian troops solidified their positions around the nation’s second-largest city Saturday as Russian forces delivered more punishing attacks on an embattled steelworks in a bid to complete their conquest of the southern port of Mariupol in time for Victory Day celebrations.

Ukrainian foreign ministry has shared images of a kindergarten school in Kyiv which was shattered in the war. 

EU makes fight with Russian President Vladimir Putin even more personal. The European Union is likely to now sanction Putin's 'girlfriend' and Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva next. The final decision is yet to come as approvals by European governments have not been given. Watch this video

In yet another indication of the extent of losses suffered by Russia during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and its failure to make significant inroads against its much smaller neighbour, the United Kingdom said on Friday that some of Russia's ‘most capable units’ had suffered ‘heavy losses’, adding that it will take Moscow a 'long time' to reconstitute its armed forces. Full report

UK intelligence has said that the continued targeting of Ukraine's key cities highlights Russia's desire to fully control access to the Black Sea, which would enable them to fully control Ukraine's sea lines of communication

U.S. first lady Jill Biden on Saturday praised the Romanian government and relief organizations for the range of humanitarian aid they are providing to Ukrainians who are fleeing Russia’s war against their country. She called the show of solidary “amazing" but also “just the beginning.”

Marking its first declaration on Ukraine since Russia's February 24 invasion of its neighbour, the UN Security Council unanimously adopts a text backing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' efforts to find a "peaceful solution" to the war. The declaration stops short of supporting a mediation effort by Guterres, as was laid out in an earlier version of the text.

Pro-Russian separatists in Moldova said on Saturday their region had been hit four times by suspected drones overnight near the Ukrainian border. Nearly two weeks of similar reported incidents in the Transdniestria breakaway region have raised international alarm that Russia's war in Ukraine could spread over the frontier.

The territorial defence headquarters of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said on Saturday that 50 more people had been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to Russia's Interfax news agency, Reuters reported.

US President Joe Biden announces a new $150 million weapons package to Ukraine, including artillery munitions and radar, while urging Congress to pass a $33 billion aid package including $20 billion in military aid, AFP reported.

The new batch brings the total value of US weaponry sent by the Biden administration to Ukraine -- including heavy artillery, shoulder-held Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and drones -- to $3.8 billion since Russia invaded on February 24, says Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

A UK intelligence report says that Russia's war on Ukraine has taken a toll on its most advanced capabilities.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on the West to supply more modern weapons to Ukraine.

Estonia’s Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets announced plans to assist in the reconstruction of major infrastructure in Ukraine.

In an informal 'Arria Formula' with the members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Russian diplomats presented evidence of unlawful acts committed by the Ukrainian military and nationalist groups, claiming it hindered the process of evacuation of people. (ANI)

Dozens more civilians have been rescued on Friday from the tunnels under the besieged steel mill. 

Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian positions in eastern Ukraine, but are reportedly suffering heavy material and personnel loses as Ukrainian troops repelled 8 Russian attacks. 

The US has authorized an additional $150 million in military assistance to Ukraine.