The fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continued for the 72nd straight day. A total of 12 civilians including children were evacuated by bus from Azovstal complex in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Reuters reported. The Ukrainian forces have accused Russia of violating ceasefire aimed at evacuating civilians who were tapped underground in the bombed steelwork plant. The evacuation comes at a time when US First Lady Jill Biden is in Europe where she will also meet the Ukrainian refugees by visiting Romania and Slovakia.
Here are the top ten developments from battleground Ukraine.
1. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Germany’s head of state President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit the country on May 9, the day Russia marks the victory of Soviet Union over the Nazi Germany in the Second World War, AP reported. Speaking at London’s Chatham House think-tank on Friday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken to Steinmeier and invited both him and Scholz to come to Kyiv.
2. The leaders of Group of Seven or G-7 will meet on Sunday to discuss potential new sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. The call will give the countries the opportunity to coordinate — and potentially finalize — any new measures.
3. Pope Francis said that Russia’s war in Ukraine is particularly ‘barbarous’ given that it involves Christians killing fellow Christians in a scandal that should drive the faithful toward unity, AP reported.
4. Russia has handed over 41 people, including 28 military, in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Friday.
5. Russia has said that it has no intentions of deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, foreign ministry spokesperson Alexey Zaitsev said. “Russia firmly abides by the principle that there can be no victors in a nuclear war and it must not be unleashed,” he said.
6. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Russia thinks it can escape war crimes prosecution because of nuclear threat. “They do not believe that they can be made responsible for the war crimes because they have the power of the nuclear state,” he said.
7. Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has said that there was compelling evidence to prove that Russian forces committed war crimes, Reuters reported. The crimes included extrajudicial executions, torture of the Ukrainian civilians in the hands of Russian forces, the rights group said in a report.
8. A senior official from the Russian parliament said Friday that Russia will remain in southern Ukraine “forever”, speaking on a visit to the Moscow-controlled city of Kherson, AFP reported. “Russia is here forever. There should be no doubt about this. There will be no return to the past,” Andrey Turchak said.
9. The Ukrainian government has claimed that Russia lost 24,900 troops and 1,110 tanks among losses in its war in Ukraine since February 24.
10. The Pentagon has denied reports of helping Ukrainian forces in sinking the Russian warship Moskva in the Black Sea last month, AFP reported. “We did not provide Ukraine with specific targeting information for the Moskva,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
(With agencies inputs)
