Ukraine War LIVE: World Bank to discuss next-phase financing for Ukraine
- LIVE Updates: Despite the desperate situation in Mariupol, Ukraine said it was holding off Russian forces in other parts of the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which before the invasion were already partly controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
LIVE: More reports of Russian strikes around major population centres surfaced on Sunday as the Ukraine war enters Day 54....Read More
Ukrainian soldiers resisted a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverised port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the nearly two-month war. Russia said on Saturday it had control of urban areas, with some Ukrainian fighters remaining in the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov.
Meanwhile, an explosion in Kyiv was also reported by local media, though deputy mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said air defence systems had thwarted Russian attacks. Russia said it had destroyed an ammunition factory near the capital.
Shelling in Ukraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv, killed five people and injured 13, Ukrainian media reported. On Sunday, police in the Donetsk region said that over the past 24 hours Russian forces opened fire on 13 settlements under Ukrainian control, killing two civilians.
About four million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been shattered and thousands have died since the start of the invasion on Feb 24.
Russia said Ukraine had lost more than 4,000 soldiers in Mariupol as of Saturday. Kyiv says its total troop losses nationwide so far in the war are less than that, between 2,500 and 3,000.
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.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 10:16:27 PM IST
Ukraine says it sees signs Russia is starting new eastern offensive
Ukraine's armed forces command has observed signs that Russia is starting an anticipated new offensive in the east of the country, increasing the intensity of attacks in parts of the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, it said on Monday.
- 18 Apr 2022, 08:59:04 PM IST
World Bank to discuss next-phase financing for Ukraine
World Bank President David Malpass said on Monday that more countries are expected to announce contributions to help Ukraine to maintain its government through the World Bank's multi-donor trust fund and parallel funds this week.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 08:26:22 PM IST
Japan, Switzerland agree to keep tough sanctions on Russia
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said Monday his country has joined the international community in implementing tough sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but that does not mean it has abandoned its traditional neutrality.
- 18 Apr 2022, 07:18:11 PM IST
Ukraine mayor describes 'hard' interrogation by Russian captors
A Ukrainian mayor described hours of "hard" interrogations when held for almost a week by Russian forces last month and said he had appealed to the pope for help to stop a war that had wrecked swathes of his city in southern Ukraine.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 06:12:45 PM IST
Putin says Western countries have hurt their own economies with sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Western countries had scored an own goal by imposing sanctions against Russia over Ukraine which he said had led to a "deterioration of the economy in the West".
- 18 Apr 2022, 05:22:35 PM IST
Russian strikes kill at least 7 in Lviv, says Ukrainian mayor
Russian missiles hit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Monday, killing at least seven people, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow’s troops stepped up strikes on infrastructure in preparation for an all-out assault on the east.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 03:56:16 PM IST
Two captured Britons appear on Russian state TV, ask to be swapped
Two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces appeared on Russian state TV on Monday and asked to be exchanged for a pro-Russian politician who is being held by the Ukrainian authorities.
- 18 Apr 2022, 03:21:37 PM IST
Kremlin says Ukraine is not consistent when it comes to peace talks
The Kremlin on Monday accused Ukraine of constantly changing its stance when it comes to issues that have already been agreed at peace talks.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 03:08:24 PM IST
Air strikes hit western Ukraine as Russia forces mass in the east
Air strikes killed at least six people in Ukraine's western city of Lviv on Monday, as Russia pounded targets across the country while massing forces for an expected all-out assault in the east.
- 18 Apr 2022, 02:32:40 PM IST
4 civilians shot dead while fleeing town in Luhansk region, claims governor
Four civilians were shot dead while trying to flee by car from the town of Kreminna in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region during a Russian attack, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said in a post on messaging app Telegram on Monday, Reuters reported. A fourth person was seriously injured, he said. Reuters could not independently verify the information.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 02:23:51 PM IST
Ukraine halts civilian evacuations for the second straight day due to shelling
Ukraine said Monday it was halting for a second consecutive day the evacuation of civilians from frontline town and cities in the east of the country, accusing Russian forces of blocking and shelling escape routes, AFP reported. "Unfortunately, today, April 18, there will be no humanitarian corridors," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media.
- 18 Apr 2022, 01:25:00 PM IST
US natural gas prices at 13-year high as Ukraine war creates supply crunch
US natural gas prices surged to the highest intraday level in over 13 years as robust demand tests drillers’ ability to expand supplies.
Futures rose as high as $7.558 per million British thermal units, topping January’s short squeeze-fueled rally and roughly double levels from the start of the year. Read more
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- 18 Apr 2022, 12:56:02 PM IST
6 Killed, 8 wounded in Russian strikes on Lviv
Six Ukrainians were killed, and eight other wounded in Lviv as five powerful missiles struck the western city, news agency Reuters reported quoting regional Governor.
- 18 Apr 2022, 11:53:45 AM IST
Ukraine says five 'powerful' missile strikes hit Lviv
Witnesses said multiple explosions believed to be caused by missiles struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early Monday as the country was bracing for an all-out Russian assault in the east, news agency AFP reported.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Facebook that five missiles struck the city and that emergency services were responding to the blasts. He said more details would follow.
With missiles and rockets battering various parts of the country, Zelensky accused Russian soldiers of torture and kidnappings in areas they control.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 10:32:31 AM IST
Ukraine troops in Mariupol hold out against Russian aggression
Defenders of Mariupol were encircled by Russian forces but have not surrendered the crucial port city, Ukrainian officials said, hours after Kyiv warned of a possible naval landing operation and additional air strikes, Bloomberg reported.
Many of the remaining Ukrainian troops in the besieged city are thought to be within the giant Azovstal steelworks.
- 18 Apr 2022, 10:06:47 AM IST
Ukraine says Russia wants to 'destroy' Donbas
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of wanting to "destroy" the entire eastern region of Donbas, as the last remaining forces in the strategic port of Mariupol prepared Monday for a final defence.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 08:42:07 AM IST
Biden prays for those living in ‘dark shadows of war’
President Joe Biden says he’s praying on Easter for those living in the “dark shadow” of war, persecution and poverty. Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says he’s also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of God’s children.
- 18 Apr 2022, 07:54:45 AM IST
Ukraine says it is pausing the evacuation of civilians
Ukraine says it is pausing the evacuation of civilians from the east of the country for a day because of a failure to agree terms with Russian forces.
"As of this morning, April 17, we have not been able to agree with the occupiers on a ceasefire on the evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk states.
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- 18 Apr 2022, 06:36:21 AM IST
Zelensky implores world to respond to torture
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond.
“Torture chambers are built there,” Zelensky said in an evening address to the nation as per news agency AP. “They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities.”
- 18 Apr 2022, 05:44:56 AM IST
Pope Francis pleaded for end of the bloodshed on 'Easter of war'
Implicitly criticizing Russia, Pope Francis pleaded for an end to the bloodshed and lamented the "Easter of war" during his address in St. Peter's Square after Mass.
"May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," he said.
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