Live blog: Russia destroys fuel depot near Zaporizhzhia - defence ministry

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Russia has destroyed a depot containing 70,000 tonnes of fuel near the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, the Russian defence ministry has said.

It also said Russian forces had destroyed Ukraine army warehouses storing missiles, ammunition and other artillery weapons in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said a 46-year-old woman, as well as a 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the city of Zaporizhzhia. 

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1630 GMT — Swiss pharma exports to Russia soar despite sanctions

Swiss exports to Russia have dropped only slightly despite the sanctions imposed by Bern, with pharmaceutical exports soaring to record levels, a report has said.

Switzerland has matched the 10 rounds of ever-tightening sanctions imposed by the European Union since the Russian offensive began in Ukraine in February 2022.

Though Swiss trade with Russia has come to a standstill in many key sectors, notably machines and watches, pharmaceutical exports are at a record high, the Neue Zurcher Zeitung am Sonntag newspaper said after analysing figures from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.

Medicines are considered humanitarian goods and are exempt from sanctions.

1033 GMT  — Russia accuses Western politics of ‘liberal hypocrisy’

Russia has said “liberal hypocrisy” has turned Western politics into a “conveyor belt of misanthropy,” as prominent Russian military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was buried in Moscow following a cafe blast in St. Petersburg last Sunday.

“Vladlen (Tatarsky) proved today that the front is everywhere: in the war zone, in the rear and in the cities, in hearts and minds. He was on the verge of death on the battlefield so many times and died in the centere of peaceful St. Petersburg at the hands of a terrorist, who, according to reports, acted on instructions from the Ukrainian special services,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday on Telegram.

Zakharova said that the West did not condemn the killing of Tatarsky in the six days since the blast, claiming the suspect for the blast received sympathy instead and that the event was initially portrayed in the media as a “false flag.”

1021 GMT  — Pope appeals to Russians on Ukraine in Easter message

Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country's offensive in Ukraine in his Easter message to the world.

"Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia," he said.

Since Russia began its offensive in Ukraine last year, Francis has at least twice a week referred to Ukraine and its people as being "martyred" and has used words such as aggression and atrocities to describe Russia's actions.

During his remarks, Francis also appealed for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians following the recent surge of violence.

0742 GMT  —  Russia strikes residential building in Zaporizhzhia: Ukraine

A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter have been killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, authorities have said.

Ukraine's State Emergency service also reported that a 46-year-old woman, who it described as the wife and mother of the victims, was pulled from the wreckage.

City council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said two missiles had destroyed one building and damaged dozens of others during the overnight strike.

The strike was the latest in a series of recent attacks on civilian targets in the region as Moscow's full-scale offensive drags into its second year.

0035 GMT — US opens probe into leaked documents related to Ukraine

The US Department of Justice has said it has begun an investigation into a trove of leaked US documents, many related to Ukraine, that have spread to the internet.

"We have been in communication with the Department of Defense related to this matter and have begun an investigation," a Justice Department spokesperson told the AFP news agency.

US officials told the Washington Post that some documents appeared to be manipulated but many were consistent with CIA World Intelligence Review reports that are shared at high levels within the White House, Pentagon and State Department.

In addition, the leak would prove valuable to Moscow by showing how deep US intelligence has penetrated parts of the Russian military apparatus, US media said.

Among the documents, for example, were discussions about South Korea's debate on whether to provide the United States artillery shells for use in Ukraine, The New York Times said.

1600 GMT — 'No nation would gladly accept what Russian occupation has brought'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in an address that the values they are fighting for in Ukraine fit each nation regardless of whether it's "geographically far from our people."

"There is no nation that would gladly accept what the Russian occupation has brought. Russian concentration camps, the deportation of our children, the rape of women, the burning of cities," Zelenskyy said.

"The more the world knows about the Russian aggression, the faster the aggressor will lose, and calmness will return worldwide."

Earlier in his address, the Ukrainian leader went on to thank his allies for the humanitarian and defence support, including Poland, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

For our live updates from Saturday (April 8), click here.