Live blog: Situation in Mariupol 'extremely severe' – Zelenskyy

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Zelenskyy: Situation in Mariupol 'extremely severe'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the situation in the besieged port of Mariupol remained extremely severe and Kiev was in touch with city's defenders every day.

Zelenskyy, speaking in an online address, accused Russia of trying to wipe out the city's inhabitants but did not address Moscow's claim earlier in the day that its troops had cleared the entire urban area of Mariupol of Ukrainian forces.

Russia says all urban areas of Mariupol cleared of Ukrainian forces - RIA 

The Russian defence ministry said it has cleared the entire urban area of Mariupol of Ukrainian forces and blockaded a few fighters in the Azovstal steelworks, RIA news agency reported.

Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that as of April 16, Ukrainian forces in the besieged port city had lost more than 4,000 people, RIA added.

‘Elimination’ of last Mariupol troops will end talks: Zelenskyy

The elimination of the last Ukrainian troops trapped in the besieged port of Mariupol will put an end to talks with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

"The elimination of our troops, of our men (in Mariupol) will put an end to any negotiations" between Ukraine and Russia, Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Ukrainska Pravda news website.

"That will be an impasse as we don't negotiate neither our territories nor our people."

Putin, bin Salman discuss bilateral ties, oil

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, their second call since the start of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. 

The Saudi Press Agency said the two discussed bilateral relations and “ways of enhancing them in all fields.”

The Kremlin’s statement added the two also discussed their joint work on an oil output agreement, known as OPEC+. 

Head of Russian navy meets crew of sunken missile cruiser - TASS

The head of the Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, has met with crew members from the sunken missile cruiser Moskva and said they will continue to serve in the navy, Tass news agency reported.

Russia had claimed that Moskva sunk after an ammunition explosion. Ukraine said it hit the vessel, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, with a missile. 

1,449 people evacuated from cities: Ukraine

A total of 1,449 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors, fewer than the 2,864 who escaped on Friday, a senior official has reported.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, made the announcement in an online post.

Moscow bars entry to Russia for UK's Johnson, Truss, Wallace

Russia's foreign ministry has barred entry to the country for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and 10 other British government members and politicians.

The move was taken "in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British Government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it would expand the list soon.

The Kremlin has described Johnson, who has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers, as "the most active participant in the race to be anti-Russian".

One dead after renewed Russian strikes shatter Kiev calm

Russia has stepped up air strikes on Kiev, killing at least one person at a tank factory a day after Moscow warned it would renew attacks following two weeks of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital.

Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least one person was killed and several wounded in the attack on the Darnyrsky district in the southeast of the capital after what Moscow said were "high-precision long-range" strikes on the armaments plant.

"Our forces are doing everything possible to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless," Klitschko said. "It's no secret that a Russian general recently said they were ready for missile attacks on the capital of Ukraine. And, as we see, they are carrying out such shelling."

One killed, 18 wounded in missile strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv - governor

One person was killed and 18 wounded when a Russian missile hit one of the central districts of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, the regional governor has said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Another 40,000 Ukrainians flee conflict: UN

Many of the nearly five million people who have fled Ukraine will not have homes to return to, the United Nations has said as another 40,000 fled the country in the last 24 hours.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,836,445 million Ukrainians had left the country since the Russian invasion on February 24, a number up 40,200 on Friday's total.

The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) says nearly 215,000 third-country nationals, largely students and migrant workers, have also escaped to neighbouring countries, meaning more than five million people in all have fled Ukraine since the war began.

Russians strike empty refinery in east

Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai has said the Russian forces shelled an oil refinery in the city of Lysychansk, and a large fire erupted on its territory.

Haidai said it wasn’t the first time the refinery was targeted and accused the Russians of trying to “exhaust” local emergency service. He underlined that there was no fuel at the refinery at the time of the attack and “the remains of oil sludge” were burning.

Kiev military factory targeted in Russian strikes

A military hardware factory in the Ukrainian capital Kiev was hit by strikes, a day after Russian forces bombed a missile unit outside the city.

Smoke rose from the area and there was a heavy police and military presence after Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on social media there had been explosions in the capital's Darnyrsky district. 

Russia's defence ministry said Moscow's forces had used "high-precision long-range" weapons to hit facilities at an armaments plant in Kiev.

Air strikes hit Lviv region: governor

The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine reported air strikes in the region in the morning.

Maksym Kozytskyy said on the Telegram messaging app that Russian Su-35 aircraft took off from the Baranovichi airfield in Belarus and carried out missile strikes in Lviv.

Ukraine's air defence system shot down four cruise missiles, Kozytskyy said. He didn’t offer any details about possible casualties or damage.

Nine evacuation corridors agreed for Saturday: Ukraine 

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said nine humanitarian corridors had been agreed for Saturday to evacuate civilians, including from the besieged city of Mariupol by private cars.

Vereshchuk said in a statement that five of the nine evacuation corridors were from Ukraine's Luhansk region in the east of the country, which local officials have said is under heavy shelling.

At least two die in Russian attacks across Ukraine - officials 

At least two civilians were killed and four wounded in Russian attacks across Ukraine, local officials have said.

One person was killed and three wounded in shelling in the eastern region of Luhansk, Governor Serhiy Gaidai said in an online post. A gas pipeline was damaged in Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, which was without gas and water, Gaidai said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

"Evacuate, while it is still possible," Gaidai said in a subsequent post, adding that busses were ready for those willing to be evacuated from the region.

Russia hits airfield in Ukraine's Oleksandriya

Russian forces late on Friday evening hit an airfield in Oleksandriya, a city in Ukraine's Kirovohrad region, with a missile strike, the mayor of the city, Serhiy Kuzmenko, said on Facebook on Saturday.

He didn’t say whether the strike resulted in any casualties.

In the eastern Luhansk region, overnight shelling killed one person and wounded three more, according to the region’s Governor Serhiy Haidai. The shelling also damaged gas pipelines in the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

Zelenskyy: Russian oil ban key step to peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that existing sanctions on Russia are "painful" but not yet enough to stop the Russian military.

Zelenskyy called for “the democratic world” to ban Russian oil. While the United States has enacted such a ban, Europe has not enforced a complete ban as it is heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies.

“In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to his nation.

Blasts heard in Ukraine's capital Kiev and western city of Lviv

Explosions were heard in the early hours on Saturday in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, and the western city of Lviv, local media reported.

Air raid sirens were going off over most of Ukraine early on Saturday.

There has been no official confirmation of the explosions.

Zelenskyy, military commanders discuss Mariupol's fate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting with the country’s military leaders and the heads of its intelligence agencies.

“The details can not be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelenskyy said.

Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said Russian troops who occupy areas around Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were terrorising civilians and looking for anyone who had served in the army or the government.

Zelenskyy: About 3,000 Ukraine troops killed in Russian attacks

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in seven weeks of conflict with Russia and about 10,000 have been injured.

There was no count of civilian casualties, he told CNN. He said 19,000 to 20,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in the fight, now in its eighth week.

Moscow said last month that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded.

Ukraine: 918 populated areas liberated from Russia

Ukraine has said that 918 populated areas were liberated from Russian forces.

“We are resuming the provision of regular and emergency medical care, the work of educational institutions - where it is really possible,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address.

Reiterating that utility services and public offices will soon be operational in liberated areas, he noted mine clearance operations are already underway.

UN: 1,982 civilians killed, 2,651 injured in Ukraine crisis

The civilian death toll in the Russia-Ukraine conflict climbed to 1,982, the UN has said, while the number fleeing has surpassed 4.6 million.

At least 2,651 more people have been injured in Ukraine since February 24, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement.

“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” it said.

Most have gone to neighbouring countries – more than 2.72 million to Poland, 726,857 to Romania, 484,725 to Russia, 447,053 to Hungary, 419,499 to Moldova, 329,597 to Slovakia and 22,827 to Belarus, according to the latest UNHCR figures.

Germany mulls releasing $1B military aid to Ukraine

The German government has said it plans to release more than a billion euros in military aid for Ukraine, amid complaints by Kiev it is not receiving heavy weapons from Berlin.

The funds will feature in a supplementary budget for this year.

In total, taking into account all countries, Berlin has decided to increase its international aid in the defence sector "to two billion euros" with "the largest part being planned in the form of military aid in favour of Ukraine", a government spokeswoman told AFP news agency.

This envelope of two billion euros "will go mainly to Ukraine", Finance Minister Christian Lindner confirmed on Twitter.

High ranking Ukrainian officials to visit US

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and top Ukrainian finance officials will visit Washington next week during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, sources familiar with the plans have said.

Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko are slated to meet bilaterally with finance officials from the Group of Seven countries and others, and take part in a roundtable on Ukraine to be hosted by the World Bank on Thursday, the sources said.

For live updates from Friday (April 15), click here