Russia-Ukraine Crisis: 'Elimination' of last troops in Mariupol would end Moscow talks, says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting Friday with the country's military leaders and the heads of its intelligence agencies. Stay tuned for more updates.

The head of the Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, has met with crew members from the sunken missile cruiser Moskva and said they would continue to serve in the navy, Tass news agency said on Saturday. (Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Saturday, their second call since the start of Russia's invasion ofUkraine. (PTI)

Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, westernUkraineand beyond Saturday in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Russia's pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. (AP)

'Elimination' of last troops in Mariupol would end Moscow talks, says Zelenskyy

40,000 Ukrainians fled from war in 24 hours, UN says

- Many of the nearly five million people who have fled Ukraine will not have homes to return to, the United Nations said Saturday as another 40,000 fled the country in 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. - AFP.

Ukrainians brave Russian-mined cemetery to mourn the dead

The handmade sign on the gate warns "The cemetery is mined. Danger." but residents of the formerly occupied town of Trostyanets in northern Ukraine still come to visit the fresh graves of family killed in the war.

The graveyard in this town in Sumy region has only been partly made safe since Russian forces planted mines there as they pulled back in early April, cemetery manager Olena Matvienko said. - Reuters.

Spanish village changes its name to Ukraine in show of solidarity

A peaceful white-walled village in southern Spain has changed its name to Ukraine in solidarity with those caught up in the conflict more than 4,000 km (2,500 miles) away.

On a sign at a roundabout at the village's entrance, Ukraine has replaced Fuentes de Andalucia and the country's blue and yellow flag has been painted alongside.

Streets have been renamed City of Kyiv, Odesa and Mariupol in the village of more than 7,100 inhabitants east of Seville.

"The main objective is to raise awareness about the conflict in Ukraine but also about where countries are at war in current times," Francisco Martinez told Reuters as he stood in City of Kiev street. - Reuters.

Smoke is seen over a forest in Kyiv, after strikes were reported to have hit the Ukrainian captial, on April 16, 2022, during Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. Credit: AFP Photo

Kyiv mayor warns more strikes likely

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person died and several more were wounded in the Saturday morning airstrikes on the Darnytski district of the capital, as Russian forces resumed scattered attacks on the capital in western Ukraine.

“Our air defence forces are doing everything they can to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless,” Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. - AP.

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

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

UAE offers one-year residency visa to Ukrainians on humanitarian grounds

Citizens of Ukraine can apply for a permit to stay in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a period of one-year under a special procedure, the Ukrainian Embassy has announced.

The embassy, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE, said that the Ukrainian citizens can apply for one-year residency visa under special provision for countries affected by wars and disasters. - IANS.

Russian activists Elena Malysheva, Polina Oleinikova and Polina Kviatkovskaia take part in a three days hunger strike to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in front of Russian embassy in Berlin. Credit: Reuters photo

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

Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that it had 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. - Reuters.

Ukraine working with Turkey, understands parallel ties to Russia -Ukrainian diplomat

Ukraine is working with NATO member Turkey as much as possible for more support over Russia's invasion and understands - even though it is not happy with - the reality of Ankara's parallel ties to Moscow, a Ukrainian diplomat said.

Ankara has criticised the invasion and sold drones to Kyiv despite Russian objections. But it has also opposed Western sanctions against Moscow and maintained a careful rhetoric by refraining from accusing either country over the conflict, even amid reports of war crimes in parts of Ukraine.

"We would be happy if Turkey joined the sanctions" and cut flights from Russia. "But we understand this reality," the diplomat told foreign journalists on Friday on condition of anonymity. - Reuters.

Russia strikes armoured vehicle plant, military repair facility in Ukraine

Russia destroyed production buildings of an armoured vehicle plant in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and a military repair facility in the city of Mykolaiv, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying on Saturday.

The strikes were carried out by high-precision long-range weapons, it said.

Russia also downed one Ukrainian SU-25 aircraft near the city of Izyum in Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine, Interfax added, citing Russia's defence ministry. - Reuters.

Ukraine military factory in Kyiv targeted in strikes

A military hardware factory in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was hit by strikes early Saturday, an AFP journalist said, 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 Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on social media there had been explosions in the city's Darnyrsky district.

Kyiv mayor reports 'explosions' in capital

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an online posting that Kyiv was struck early Saturday in the Darnytskyi district in the eastern part of the capital, saying there were “explosions”.

He said rescuers and paramedics were on the scene and that victims' details would be released later.

Klitschko urged residents to heed air raid sirens and warned those who have fled the capital not to return for now for their safety.

Thick smoke rising from the site on the eastern side of Kyiv could be seen from parts of downtown near the Dnipro River. - AP.

9 evacuation corridors, including Mariupol, agreed for Saturday

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk 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. - Reuters.

At least two die in Russian attacks across Ukraine

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

One person was killed and three wounded in shelling in the eastern region of Luhansk, Governor Serhiy Gaidai said in an online post.

One person died and one was injured in an overnight attack on a small village near Poltava, the capital of the central Ukraine Poltava region, the region's Governor Dmytro Lunin said in a post on the Telegram. - Reuters.

Rescuers and medics on site of explosion in Kyiv's outskirts

Rescuers and medics were working on the site of an early Saturday blast on the outskirts of Kyiv, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said in an online post.

The explosion took place in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district, Klitschko said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. It is the southeastern district of Kyiv, on the left bank of Dnipro river.

Klitschko added that information on wounded is being confirmed. - Reuters.

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

Explosions were heard in the early hours on Saturday in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and the western city of Lviv, local media reported. Air raid sirens were going off over most of Ukraine early on Saturday.

70% of Severodonetsk destroyed

Head of the Severodonetsk Civil Military Administration Oleksandr Striuk said on April 15 that Severodonetsk is under heavy fire by Russian forces and that only around 20,000 residents of the total 135,000 remain in the city.

(The Kyiv Independent)

Death toll in Kharkiv shelling rises to 10

At least 10 people have been killed, including a 7-month-old baby, as Russian forces used multiple rocket launchers against the Industrial District of Kharkiv at about 4:30 pm local time.

(The Kyiv Independent)

Ukraine's Zelenskyy: Between 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday told CNN that between 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died so far in the war withRussiaand another 10,000 have been injured.

Anticipating need for coastal defence, Ukraine Asked for anti-ship missiles

For several weeks, senior Ukrainian officials in Washington and Kyiv have been telling the Pentagon they need anti-ship missiles and other coastal defence weaponry, asking the United States to help them open a new front to turn back the Russian invasion, senior US officials said.

The United States responded, adding coastal defence weapons to an $800-million package announced this week. Senior Pentagon officials also requested in a meeting Wednesday that US military contractors develop proposals for additional anti-ship missiles that the US could provide to the Ukrainians or American allies.

The Ukrainian strike on the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was a stark demonstration of the power of anti-ship missiles launched from the coast, and it showed, a senior Defense Department official said, that Ukraine’s requests for more such weaponry was “very prescient.”

Mariupol discussed with leaders, says Zelenskyy

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

“The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation. (AP)