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Heavy fighting in east Ukraine amid rescue bid, Israel slams Lavrov: Top points
Ukraine-Russia war: Fighting was intense around Izyum, Lyman and Rubizhne, as Russian forces prepared their attack on Severodonetsk, the last easterly city still held by Kyiv, Ukraine's general staff said.
Intense fighting was reported on Monday from the east of Ukraine, particularly the Donbas region that included the pro-Russian separatist areas of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Russia’s offensive in the region came amid renewed efforts by the Ukrainian authorities to evacuate more civilians from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol.
Kyiv said more than 100 civilians were evacuated over the weekend from the sprawling Azovstal steel plant, the last holdout of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, which had been surrounded by Russian forces since they invaded the east European nation on February 24. The UN human rights office said the civilian toll in Ukraine since the beginning of the war exceeded 3,000.
Here were the latest updates on the months-long war that had so far uprooted more than 13 million people from their homes and killed thousands.
- A Russian rocket strike hit a strategically important bridge across the Dniester estuary in the Odesa region of southwest Ukraine, authorities said.
- Ukraine said it was closing its four Black and Azov sea ports, which Russian forces had captured "until the restoration of control".
- Ukraine's defence ministry said its drones had sunk two Russian patrol boats near the Black Sea's Snake Island, which became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance after soldiers there rebuffed Russian demands to surrender.
- Stranded civilians awaited rescue in Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia, where vehicles from UNICEF and other international NGOs were on standby. In coordinated efforts between Ukraine, Russia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), another evacuation had been scheduled to start on Monday.
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- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the evacuation was "underway" but declined to give further details stating everything was “fragile” and that things may “fall apart at any given moment”.
- With the Russian siege leaving residents in dire conditions, with little access to food, water and medicine, the city has become emblematic of a war
- Fighting was reportedly intense around Izyum, Lyman and Rubizhne, as Russian forces prepared their attack on Severodonetsk, the last easterly city still held by Kyiv, Ukraine's general staff said. "The situation in the Lugansk region can be described in a few words -- active and heavy fighting continues," the defence ministry added.
- In Lyman, relentless shelling has reduced hamlets around the city to rubble, according to AFP reports. "Half of the city is destroyed," said a local, adding, "I don't have a house anymore," he said.
- The governor of Lugansk has said he expected more intense battles ahead of May 9, the day Russia would celebrate the 1945 surrender of Nazi Germany to allied forces, including the then Soviet Union.
- Russia was moving towards solidifying its grip on areas it controlled and from Sunday introduced the Russian ruble in the region of Kherson, initially to be used alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia.
- Israel lashed out at Russia over “unforgivable” comments by its foreign minister about Nazism and anti-Semitism, including claims that Adolf Hitler was Jewish. Israel, which summoned the Russian ambassador in response, said foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s blamed Jews for their own murder in the Holocaust.
- EU ministers met to respond to Russia's decision last week to cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, which had refused Moscow's demand to pay in rubles. The bloc was also working on a phased ban on Russian oil imports, although several member states are wary of the economic damage, and no decision is expected Monday.
- Two German ministers said Berlin would be ready to back an immediate EU ban on Russian oil imports, and that Europe's biggest economy could weather shortages and price hikes.
- In a symbolic show of support, many Western nations were reopening their embassies in Kyiv that were closed due to the invasion, with Denmark the latest to make the move Monday.
(With inputs from agencies)
