War in Ukraine: Latest developments

By: 2 years ago

An aerial view taken on April 8, 2022 shows diggers working in the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv. AFP

KYIV—Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Third prisoner swap underway

Kyiv says 26 Ukrainians are returning home following a prisoner exchange with Russia.

“On the order of President (Volodymyr) Zelensky, the third prisoner exchange took place today. Twelve of our servicemen are returning home, including one female officer,” deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk says on Telegram.

Fourteen civilians including nine women were also on their way home, she added.

Johnson offers more arms

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pays an unannounced visit to Kyiv and pledges armoured vehicles and anti-ship missiles to Ukraine.

“It is because of President Zelensky’s resolute leadership and the invincible heroism and courage of the Ukrainian people that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s monstrous aims are being thwarted,” Johnson says after meeting Zelensky, according to a Downing Street statement.

Zelensky in turn calls on the West to “follow the UK” in providing military aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine ‘must win’ in east before talks

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak says Ukraine must score a victory in the Donbass region before any potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

“Ukraine is ready for big battles. Ukraine must win them, including in the Donbass. And once that happens, Ukraine will have a more powerful negotiating position, which will allow it to dictate certain conditions,” he said on national television, as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.

“After that the presidents will meet. It could take two weeks, three,” he added.

Five killed in Russian shelling

Russian shelling killed five civilians and wounded five others in two eastern Ukrainian cities Saturday, the Donetsk governor said.

Four of them died in the city of Vugledar, and one in the town of Novomikhaylovka, Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Telegram post.

Global event raises 10.1 bn euros

A global pledging event for Ukrainian refugees called “Stand Up for Ukraine” has raised 10.1 billion euros ($11 billion), European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says in Warsaw.

“The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ campaign has raised 9.1 billion euros for people fleeing bombs, inside and outside Ukraine, with an additional billion pledged by EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development),” she says.

Ukraine ‘still ready’ for talks

Ukraine is “still ready” to continue negotiations with Moscow, which have stalled since the discovery of atrocities in Bucha and other areas near Kyiv, President Zelensky says.

“We are ready to fight and to look in parallel to end this war through diplomacy,” he says at a news conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who was visiting the capital and Bucha.

4.4 million flee Ukraine war

More than 4.4 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country since Putin ordered an invasion on February 24, the UN refugee agency says.

Ninety percent of those who have fled are women and children, as the Ukrainian authorities do not allow men of military age to leave.

Evacuations from Kramatorsk resume

Evacuations resume from the town in eastern Ukraine where a missile strike killed 52 people at a railway station as civilians fled a feared Russian offensive.

Zelensky describes Russia as an “evil with no limits” after the attack and calls for a “firm global response”.

US President Joe Biden accuses Russia of being behind the attack, calling it a “horrific atrocity”, while French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian deems it a “crime against humanity”.

Russia’s defence ministry accuses Kyiv of carrying out the attack, saying it wanted to use fleeing residents “as a ‘human shield’ to defend the positions of Ukraine’s Armed Forces”.

Russia warns of YouTube reprisals

Russian officials warn of reprisals after video hosting service YouTube blocks the channel of the lower house of parliament due to US sanctions.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, says Washington is breaching the rights of Russians.

EU in talks with ICC prosecutor

The European Union is to discuss its support for war crimes probes in Ukraine in meetings over the next two days with the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, the European Commission says.

Karim Khan, of The Hague-based court, is to meet EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday in Luxembourg, then take part in a meeting of EU foreign ministers in the city on Monday.

Odessa curfew

A curfew starts in Ukraine’s southern city of Odessa on Saturday evening to Monday evening over a “missile strike threat” from Russia, and after the shelling of the train station in Kramatorsk.

Germany reaches ‘limit’ in arms to Ukraine

Germany has almost exhausted its ability to supply Ukraine with weapons from its army reserves, but is working on direct deliveries from the arms industry, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht says.

“For deliveries coming from the Bundeswehr’s stocks, I have to say honestly that we have reached a limit,” she tells German daily Augsburger Allgemeine.

Berlusconi ‘disappointed’ in friend Putin

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tells a public meeting of his right-wing Forza Italia party he is “deeply disappointed and saddened” by the behaviour of his old friend Putin over the Ukraine invasion.