RUSSIA has hit a Red Cross facility that may be housing wounded people or civilian cargo in Mariupol, Ukrainian officials say.
Ukrainie’s human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova said. ”In Mariupol, the occupiers aimed at the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
“Enemy aircraft and artillery fired on a building marked with a red cross on a white background, indicating the presence of wounded people or civilian or humanitarian cargo,” she added.
An ICRC spokeswoman has confirmed that images circulating across social media of a destroyed building were warehouses belonging to the organisation in Mariupol.
“We do not have a team on the ground so we have no other information, including on potential casualties or damage,” the spokeswoman said, adding that all aid stored there had been distributed.
Russian forces have encircled the strategic southern city and their steady indiscriminate shelling has killed at least 5,000 people, officials say, estimating total deaths could be as many as 10,000.
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
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UN says more than 4m people have fled Ukraine
According to the United Nation’s Refugee Agency, some 4,019,287 people have now fled Ukraine.
Of those, 2.3 million have arrived in Poland.
However, workers on the ground say that the flow of refugees has slowed in the last few days.
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PM: Russian population ‘very vulnerable to Putin’s lies’
Boris Johnson said the UK has got to be “extremely energetic” in exposing lies from Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Asked if Britain should look to fund a “sustained information strategy” in order to “bring the truth” to the Russian people, he told MPs on the Liaison Committee: “One of the depressing things is the ruthlessness with which Putin tries to conceal the reality of what’s happening from the Russian population – and genuinely, you can ring and talk to Russian friends and they will seriously dispute what is going on in Ukraine.
“I’m afraid people are very vulnerable to the lies that Putin is telling and we have to be extremely energetic in exposing them.”
He said efforts from the West to fight disinformation are “starting to have an effect”, with signs in Russia of “people waking up to what’s going on”.
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Boris Johnson says Biden does not reflect ‘not the objective of the UK Government’
The Prime Minister said he understood why US President Joe Biden had said Vladimir Putin should be removed from the Kremlin but that was “not the objective of the UK Government”.
Boris Johnson told MPs that “to desire a change of government in itself is not an ignoble thing” as he joked that some MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee would “like a change in this government”.
But he said: “It’s not the objective of the UK Government and it’s very, very important everybody gets this, we are simply setting out to help to protect the people of Ukraine and to protect them against absolutely barbaric and unreasonable violence.”
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Just 2,700 visas have been granted to people wanting to come to the UK under the Homes For Ukraine scheme, despite applications reaching 28,300, latest figures show.
Campaigners called the numbers “woeful”, urging the Government to “cut the red tape” for refugees seeking sanctuary in Britain.
The scheme started accepting applications on March 18, with the aim of allowing individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to bring Ukrainians – including those with no family ties to the UK – to safety.
However, Britain retains a visa requirement on security grounds while other European countries have waived checks in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion.
The total number of applications from Ukrainians wanting to come to the UK was 59,500 as of March 29, the Home Office said.
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Around 200-300 civilians killed in Irpin, says mayor
An estimated 200-300 civilians were killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpin near Kyiv before the town was taken back from Russian forces this week, the local mayor said on Wednesday.
Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had seized back full control of the town which has been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.
He told a briefing on Wednesday that about 50 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in Irpin, and some bodies were still trapped under rubble. He said there had been Russian shelling in the area all night.
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Russian forces hit Red Cross building in Mariupol
Russia has hit a Red Cross facility in the besieged city of Mariupol, according to Ukrainian officials
Ukrainie’s human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova said.”In Mariupol, the occupiers aimed at the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
“Enemy aircraft and artillery fired on a building marked with a red cross on a white background, indicating the presence of wounded people or civilian or humanitarian cargo,” she added.
There is currently no confirmation if anyone has been killed or injured in the attack.
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Ukraine and Russia latest
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Hero Ukrainian mechanics are blitzing Russian troops with their OWN tanks
HERO Ukrainian mechanics are repairing Russian tanks to be used by their own forces against the invaders.
Vladimir Putin’s forces have lost thousands of vehicles in the war in Ukraine, including around 600 tanks and over 1700 other armoured vehicles.
Many of their burnt out shells now litter the landscape after being blasted by Kyiv’s forces.
But ingenious Ukrainian mechanics have also been at working on repairing ones that can be salvaged.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has become one of the main suppliers of arms to their enemy.
“We take trophies and use them to protect Ukraine,” he said.
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Russia ‘may be trying to buy time’
Andrei Kozyrev, who was Russia’s foreign minister between 1990 and 1996, wrote on Twitter offering his analysis of Russia’s pledge to cut back its military operation.
“The good news from the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul is not that Putin is suddenly acting in good faith, but that heroic Ukrainian resistance is making him look for off-ramps and diplomatic disguise,” he wrote on Twitter.
He continued: “Putin’s regime understands the language of strength and only strength. Met with defeat near Kyiv, Putin now resorts to diplomatic and conventional military manoeuvring (not to tactical nukes).”
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Russia ‘more determined’ to boost ties
China and Russia are “more determined” to develop bilateral ties and boost cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said today, following a meeting in China with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Wang said bilateral ties had withstood new tests amid the changing international situation but had maintained the “correct” direction of development, and reaffirmed China’s support for continued peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
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US citizens could be singled out in Ukraine & Russia
Travel advisories have been reissued for Americans in both Ukraine and Russia.
There have also been renewed warnings that “Russian government security officials may single out and detain US citizens” in both countries.
“There are continued reports of US citizens being singled out and detained by the Russian military in Ukraine and when evacuating by land through Russia-occupied territory or to Russia or Belarus,” the updated Ukraine travel advisory said.
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Kremlin says no breakthrough in Ukraine talks
The Kremlin says there was no breakthrough in the latest round of talks with Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today it was a positive factor that Ukraine submitted its written proposals, but added that we cant say there has been something promising or any breakthroughs.
He emphasized in a call with reporters that there is still a lot of work ahead, following Tuesdays talks in Istanbul.
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EU will work with countries to prepare for gas supply situations
The European Commission said today that it will work closely with European Union countries to prepare for gas supply situations.
This comes after Germany triggered an emergency plan to manage gas supplies in case of a potential disruption to flows from Russia.
“We are prepared for any such cases. We will of course, work closely with member states to have everybody be prepared for any sort of situations,” EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans told a news conference.
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‘No areas without sirens’, says senior Ukrainian official
Air raid sirens were heard across Ukraine overnight, a senior Ukrainian official has said.
Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said there were “no areas without sirens” during the night, with reports of fighting near the western suburb of Irpin.
The adviser told CNN: “There was an air alarm throughout the country during the night.
“In fact, there were no areas without sirens. In the morning they were repeated.”
This comes after Moscow promised to scale back its military operations near the cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv.
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Russia will not demand immediate switch to gas payments in roubles
Russia will not immediately demand that other countries pay for its gas exports in roubles, the Kremlin said today.
It also promised a gradual shift, saying Russia should work on an idea to widen the list of its exports requiring rouble payment.
Russia’s top lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin warned the European Union earlier today that if it wanted Russian natural gas then it would have to pay in roubles, and cautioned that oil, grain, metals, fertiliser, coal and timber exports could also soon be priced the same way.
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Russian foreign minister to visit India on Thursday
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, will visit New Delhi on Thursday.
It will be aa two-day trip, the Indian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Details of the trip are yet to be confirmed.
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Greece to hold emergency meeting over gas payments in roubles
Greece will hold an emergency meeting of its energy regulator, gas transmission operator and its biggest gas suppliers over gas payments in roubles ahead of the expiration of a deadline given by Moscow, its energy ministry said today.
The aim of the meeting is to assess all available scenarios about Greece’s gas supply sufficiency in case Russia stops gas flows to the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order last week to charge “unfriendly” countries in roubles for Russian gas has boosted the currency after it fell to all-time lows.
However, the move has drawn strong criticism from European countries.
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Home Office issues 25,500 visas to Ukrainians
The Home Office has revealed that around 25,500 visas have been issued to Ukrainian people fleeing the war.
Of those, 22,800 were given under the Ukraine Family Scheme, and 2,700 were approved to those on the sponsorship scheme.
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Pictured: Pope meets with Ukrainian refugees
Pope Francis has met with Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion today.
He also met with Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Andriy Yurash, during the weekly general audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.
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Poland to end Russian oil imports
Poland has today announced steps to end all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
The country has already largely reduced its dependence on Russian oil, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
Morawiecki told a news conference that Poland was launching the most radical plan among European nations to wean off Russian energy sources.
Poland said yesterday that it was banning imports of Russian coal. Morawiecki said he expects gas imports will be cut in May.
Morawiecki says Poland will take steps to become independent of Russian supplies and is calling on other European Union countries to walk away from Russia fossil fuels.
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UN: More than 4 million people have fled Ukraine
According to the United Nation’s Refugee Agency, some 4,019,287 people have now fled Ukraine.
Of those, 2.3 million have arrived in Poland.
However, workers on the ground say that the flow of refugees has slowed in the last few days.
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Russia’s losses
As of today, Ukraine’s armed forces say Russia has lost around 17,300 troops during the invasion.
In its update of Russian losses, Ukraine has also said that more than 600 tanks, 75 fuel tanks, 131 helicopters and 1,700 armoured personnel carriers have been destroyed.
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Raab: No engagement in Russia in direct military confrontation
The Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said he is cautious about the prospect of the UK acting as an independent guarantor of Ukraine’s security – if it declared itself to be neutral as part of a peace deal with Moscow.
“It would depend on what precisely is involved. We have been very clear we are not going to engage Russia in direct military confrontation. Ukraine is not a Nato member,” he said.
“We will consider anything that (Ukrainian) President Zelensky says he needs very carefully. But we are not going to, I think, replicate unilaterally the Nato commitments that apply to Nato members.”
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Raab: UK’s sanctions against Russia will remain in place
The Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said the UK’s sanctions against Russia will remain in place until the invasion of Ukraine is “withdrawn”.
“The sanctions are there to tighten the grip on Putin’s war machine,” he told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“Until the invasion is withdrawn – and I think that would need to be either entirely or verifiably – I don’t think the sanctions can or should be lifted.”
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Ukraine reports more Russian attacks in north
The governor of Ukraines northern Chernihiv region says Russian attacks continued overnight despite Moscow saying it would reduce military activity in the area.
Viacheslav Chaus said in a video message on social media that houses and infrastructure including libraries and shopping centers had been damaged in the cities of Chernihiv and Nizhyn.
Chaus didnt say if anyone had been killed or injured.
Of Russia’s statement that it would cut back its military activity, he said: “Do we believe that? Of course not.”
