What's happening in Ukraine today and how are countries around the world responding? Read live updates on Vladimir Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to destroy the Donbas and all who live there.
鈥淭he constant brutal bombardments, the constant Russian strikes on infrastructure and residential areas show that Russia wants to empty this territory of all people. Therefore, the defense of our land, the defense of our people, is literally a fight for life,鈥� he said late Friday in his nightly video address to the nation.
He said the cities and towns of the Donbas will survive only if Ukraine remains standing. 鈥淚f the Russian invaders are able to realize their plans even partially, then they have enough artillery and aircraft to turn the entire Donbas into stones. As they did with Mariupol.鈥�
Zelenskyy said Mariupol, once one of the most developed cities in the region, was now a 鈥淩ussian concentration camp among the ruins.鈥�
In Kharkiv, a major city to the north, the situation was 鈥渂rutal鈥� but Ukrainian troops and intelligence agents 鈥渉ave had important tactical successes,鈥� he said without elaborating.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 20% of the city's residential buildings have been so badly damaged that it will be impossible to restore them.
Zelenskyy said rescuers were still going through the rubble in Kyiv after Thursday's missile strikes. He expressed his condolences to the family of Vira Hyrych, who was killed in the bombardment. He said she was the 23rd journalist killed in the war.
----
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appears to have dismissed the need for the United Nations to help secure humanitarian corridors out of Ukraine's besieged cities, striking a tough line a day after the UN chief toured war-wracked Kyiv with that very aim.
As an interviewer at Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV tried to ask Lavrov about UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians, Lavrov cut him off.
鈥淭here is no need. I know, I know,鈥� an irritated Lavrov said. 鈥淭here is no need for anybody to provide help to open humanitarian corridors. There is only one problem humanitarian corridors are being ignored by Ukrainian ultra-nationals,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e appreciate the interest of the secretary-general to be helpful,鈥� he added. 鈥�(We have) explained what is the mechanism for them to monitor how the humanitarian corridors are announced.鈥�
During the hourlong interview, Lavrov also accused the West of sabotaging Russia's peace talks with Ukraine. He claimed that thorny negotiations in Istanbul last month had been progressing on issues of Russian territorial claims and security guarantees until Ukrainian diplomats backtracked at the behest of the West.
鈥淲e are stuck because of their desire to play games all the time,鈥� Lavrov said. 鈥淏ecause of the instructions they get Washington, from London, from some other capitals, not to accelerate the negotiations.鈥�
When asked about the risks of war spilling into neighboring Moldova after a series of explosions rattled a breakaway border region within the country, Lavrov struck an ominous tone.
鈥淢oldova should worry about their own future,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause they're being pulled into NATO.鈥�
----
KHARKIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian authorities are cracking down on anyone suspected of aiding Russian troops under laws enacted by Ukraine's parliament and signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Feb. 24 invasion.
Offenders face up to 15 years in prison for acts of collaborating with the invaders or showing public support for them.
Not all Ukrainians oppose the invasion, and pro-Moscow sentiment is more common among Russian-speaking residents of the Donbas, an industrial region in the east.
Although the Zelenskyy government has broad support, even among many Russian speakers, not all Ukrainians oppose the invasion. Support for Moscow is more common among some Russian-speaking residents of the Donbas, an industrial region in the east. An eight-year conflict there between Moscow-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces had killed over 14,000 people even before this year's invasion.
Some businessmen, civic and state officials and members of the military are among those who have gone over to the Russian side, and Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations said more than 200 criminal cases on collaboration have been opened. Zelenskyy has even stripped two SBU generals of their rank, accusing them of treason.
A 鈥渞egistry of collaborators鈥� is being compiled and will be released to the public, said Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine's Security Council. He refused to say how many people have been targeted nationwide.
With martial law in place, authorities have banned 11 pro-Russian political parties, including the largest one that had 25 seats in the 450-member parliament - the Opposition Platform For Life, which was founded by Viktor Medvedchuk, a jailed oligarch with close ties to Putin.
----
KHARKIV, Ukraine - Hundreds of people have been evacuated to Kharkiv from the nearby village of Ruska Lozava that had been under Russian occupation for more than a month.
Almost half the village has escaped on buses, in shrapnel-ridden cars or on foot after fierce battles saw Russian troops pushed back and Ukrainian forces take full control of the village, according to the Kharkiv regional governor.
A video posted by the Azov battalion shows troops raising the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag over the government building in the center of the village although fighting continues on the outskirts.
Upon arrival to Kharkiv less than 12 miles (20 kilometres) away, those who fled have described to Associated Press reporters the dire conditions they faced while living in basements with little water and food and no electricity.
"We were hiding in the basement, it was horror. The basement was shaking from the explosions, we were screaming, we were crying and we were praying to god," said Ludmila Bocharnikova.
----
WASHINGTON - A former U.S. Marine was killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, according to his relatives, making his the first known death of an American citizen while fighting in the war against Russia.
Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed Monday while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. Cancel joined the Marines after graduating from Newburgh Free Academy in New York and served from 2017-21. He more recently worked as a corrections officer in Tennessee.
Cabrera said her son signed up to work with the private military contractor shortly before fighting began in Ukraine on Feb. 24 and that he agreed to go to Ukraine. She said he flew to Poland on March 12, entered Ukraine shortly thereafter and had been fighting alongside men from a number of countries.
鈥淗e wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn't come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn't have to be involved in it,鈥� she said.
Cabrera said her son's body hasn't been recovered.
Cancel had also served as a volunteer firefighter in New York and leaves behind a wife and 7-month-old son, according to an online fundraising page set up by a man identifying himself as Cancel's father. Cancel's wife received the call informing her of his death on Tuesday, the page said.
------
KYIV, Ukraine -- A leading Ukrainian political analyst says Russia's missile strike on Kyiv signalled its intention to keep fighting despite international efforts to mediate an end to the hostilities.
Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Centre think tank, said Thursday's strike on Kyiv while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting the city indicated Moscow's intention to press its attack.
"Russia is sending a clear signal about its intention to continue the war despite the international pressure," Fesenko told The Associated Press.
"With this missile strike, the Kremlin is sending a warning to all international structures and organizations trying to influence or contain Russia's aggressive military plans," Fesenko noted. "While Russia has so far failed to score any significant gains in Ukraine, it intends to continue its offensive and keep striking cities with missiles."
The attack reportedly killed at least one person and wounded at least 10 others, and was the first on Kyiv since Russia refocused its efforts on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Guterres and his team were not injured.
------
LVIV, Ukraine -- The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol says those hiding at a massive steel mill are running out of food, water and medicine.
Vadym Boichenko described the situation at the Avozstal steel plant as dire. The steel mill is the last position held by Ukrainian fighters, who also are with civilians.
The Soviet-era facility has a vast underground network of bunkers able to withstand airstrikes. But the situation has grown more extreme after the Russians dropped a series of so-called "bunker buster" bombs and unguided munitions.
"Locals who manage to leave Mariupol say it is hell, but when they leave this fortress, they say it is worse," Boichenko said, according to a translator. "They are begging to get saved."
He added: "There, it's not a matter of days, it's a matter of hours."
Boichenko said he hoped a ceasefire would allow those inside the steel mill to safely leave. Russia earlier offered a truce that was rejected by Ukrainians, who said Moscow previously broke other agreements.
"We hope there's a slight touch of humanity in the enemy," the mayor said.
Boichenko spoke Friday in a government-organized video conference.
------
MOSCOW -- The head of the Russian Central Bank says the outlook is "extremely uncertain" as the country's economy is expected to contract by up to 10% this year.
International sanctions and falling consumer demand are squeezing the economy as inflation rises.
The Central Bank cut its key interest rate from 17% to 14% on Friday and predicted the economy would shrink by between 8% and 10% this year.
"The current situation is extremely uncertain. Simultaneously, supply trends and the factors driving aggregate demand are also changing dramatically," Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina said.
The Central Bank said annual inflation was 17.6% as of April 22 and forecast it would rise to between 18% and 23% by the end of the year.
"After a temporary surge, consumer demand is decreasing in real terms, accompanied by a rise in households' propensity to save. The decline in imports due to the introduction of external trade and financial restrictions is outstripping the decline in exports," the Central Bank said in a statement.
"Despite the gradual change in the country and commodity structure of exports and imports as new suppliers and sales markets emerge, businesses are experiencing considerable difficulties in production and logistics."
------
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's President Joko Widodo says that both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to attend the G20 summit to be held in Bali in November.
Widodo, the current chair of the G20 group, made the remarks in a televised statement on Friday in which he said that he had telephone conversations this week with Zelenskyy and Putin. He said he urged both leaders of Ukraine and Russia to end the war through negotiations.
"I reiterated the importance of ending the war immediately," he said. "I also emphasized that peaceful efforts should continue and Indonesia is ready to contribute to these peaceful efforts."
He said that he invited Putin and Zelenskyy to the G20 summit as the war in Ukraine has a major impact on the global economy.
"We understand that the G20 plays the catalyst role in the recovery of the global economy," Widodo said.
Widodo said that he has rejected the Ukrainian leader's request for arms but instead will send humanitarian aid.
"The mandate of Indonesia's constitution and the principles of our foreign policy prohibit us from providing arms assistance to other countries," Widodo said. "However, we are ready to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine."
------
KYIV, Ukraine -- The Ukrainian men's national soccer team will return to the field for the first time since the Russian invasion when it plays a friendly against German club Borussia Monchengladbach on May 11 ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier.
The Ukrainian soccer association said Friday it will assemble the team for a training camp in Slovenia starting Monday.
Bundesliga club Gladbach said the proceeds from the game would go to charity efforts focused on Ukraine and Ukrainians abroad and that citizens of the country would get free entry.
Ukraine's national team hasn't played since November and had to postpone its World Cup qualifying playoff game against Scotland from March to June 1 because of the war. The winner will face Wales on June 5 for a place at this year's World Cup in Qatar.
------
MADRID -- The Spanish government said Friday that its largest shipment of military equipment to Ukraine so far is on track for delivery after a ship carrying 200 tons of material has docked at a port in Poland.
Spain's defence ministry confirmed the ship's arrival in Poland. Spanish newspaper El Pais, citing Polish port authorities, said the vessel had docked at the port of Gdynia, where the material would be unloaded and transported some 700 kilometres (435 miles) to a logistics base in Ukraine.
The shipment includes 30 trucks, several special heavy transport vehicles and 10 smaller vehicles that will be used to transfer the military material to Ukraine, according to Spain's prime minister.
The shipment to Ukraine on the Spanish ship Ysabel, a 149-metre (489 feet) vessel, was announced last week by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a visit to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "This is the largest shipment made up to now, more than doubling what we have sent so far," he added.
Prior to the shipment on the Ysabel, Spain had sent 1,370 anti-tank grenade launchers, 700,000 machine-gun cartridges as well as an armoured ambulance and medical material to Ukraine.
------
WARSAW, Poland -- Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, says that the war has not changed her husband, but only revealed his qualities, including a determination to prevail, to the world.
Zelenska, speaking in an interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita published Friday, also says she has not seen her husband President Volodymr Zelenskyy since Russia invaded Ukraine.
"Since February 24, I have been seeing my husband just like you -- on TV and on video tapes of his speeches," she said.
She accused Russia of trying to carry out a genocide against the Ukrainian people, expressed her sympathy with all those who have been forced to flee their homes.
"I wish I could hug each of them. It is easy to imagine the difficult path they went through, escaping from basements or bunkers in Mariupol, from firing from Kharkiv, from the occupied Kyiv region, and even from Lviv or Odesa, which were also under fire from Russian missiles," she said in the interview.
The newspaper, making clear that it interviewed Zelenska remotely and not revealing her location, asked her if the war had changed her husband.
"The war has not changed him," she replied. "He has always been a man you can rely on. A man who will never fail. Who will hold out until the end. It's just that now the whole world has seen what may not have been clear to everyone before."
------
LONDON -- Tens of thousands of troops from NATO and other north Atlantic nations will take part in a series of military exercises across Europe in the coming weeks as western countries seek to deter Russian aggression.
The exercises, backed by aircraft, tanks, artillery and armored assault vehicles, will take place in Finland, Poland, North Macedonia and along the Estonian-Latvian border. They will include troops from NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, which includes non-NATO members Finland and Sweden.
"The scale of the deployment, coupled with the professionalism, training and agility of the British Army, will deter aggression at a scale not seen in Europe this century," Lt. Gen. Ralph Wooddisse, commander of the U.K.'s field army, said in a statement.
The deployments will begin this week in Finland, where troops from the U.S., Britain, Estonia and Latvia will participate in Exercise Arrow to improve their ability to work alongside Finnish forces.
Also this week, some 4,500 troops will take part in Exercise Swift Response, which will include parachute drops and helicopter-borne assaults in North Macedonia. The operation will include forces from U.S., Britain, Albania, France and Italy.
Next month, 18,000 NATO troops, including forces from Britain, France and Denmark, will take part in Exercise Hedgehog along the Estonia-Latvia border.
In late May, about 1,000 British soldiers will join troops from 11 other nations for Exercise Defender in Poland.
"The security of Europe has never been more important," U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. "These exercises will see our troops join forces with allies and partners across NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force in a show of solidarity and strength in one of the largest shared deployments since the Cold War."
------
BERLIN -- The German government has strongly criticized the Russian missile strike on Kyiv during the UN secretary-general's visit to the Ukrainian capital Thursday.
Germany "condemns the Russian missile attack on Kyiv, while Secretary-General (Antonio) Guterres was there simultaneously for talks, in the sharpest possible manner," government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner told reporters in Berlin on Friday.
The attack "reveals before the eyes of the world community once more that Putin and his regime have no respect whatsoever for international law," he added.
The U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says one of its journalists was killed by the Russian missile strike. Ten people were wounded in the attack, including at least one who lost a leg, according to Ukraine's emergency services.
------
The U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says one of its journalists was killed by a Russian missile strike on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, Thursday night.
Vira Hyrych died when the building she lived in was hit and her body was found in the building's rubble Friday, Radio Free Europe said. Hyrych had worked for the broadcaster's Ukrainian-language service since 2018, Radio Free Europe said in a statement.
Ten people were wounded in the attack, including at least one who lost a leg, according to Ukraine's emergency services.
Describing the attack, Russia says it "destroyed production buildings" at a defence factory in Kyiv. Russia used "high-precision, long-range weaponry" to hit the Artem factory in the Ukrainian capital, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said Friday.
The spokesman appeared to be referring to strikes on Kyiv that took place on Thursday evening, shortly after a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said cruise missiles were used in the attack and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was killed and four hospitalized when a residential building was hit.
Konashenkov also said Russia had destroyed a missile launch site that Ukraine had used to strike the Russia-held Ukrainian city of Kherson.
------
LONDON -- Britain is sending a team of experts to Ukraine to help local authorities investigate reports of war crimes, including sexual violence, committed by Russian troops.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says the team, including experts in conflict-related sexual violence, will arrive in Poland in early May and meet with representatives of international agencies, non-governmental organizations, refugees and the Ukrainian government to determine what assistance it can provide.
"Russia has brought barbarity to Ukraine and committed vile atrocities, including against women," Truss said in a statement. "British expertise will help uncover the truth and hold Putin's regime to account for its actions. Justice will be done."
Truss plans to meet with the president of the International Criminal Court, Judge Piotr Hofmanski, on Friday in the Hague, where she will reaffirm Britain's support for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine.
------
LVIV, Ukraine -- A British aid group says it believes two Britons have been abducted by Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine.
The British Foreign Office said it is "urgently seeking more information" about the two men's case.
Dominik Byrne, the co-founder and chief operating officer of the Presidium Network, told The Associated Press on Friday that the men were last heard from on Monday.
Byrne said the men were taken while trying to carry out an independent evacuation in Dniprorudne, near the city of Zaporizhzhia, some 470 kilometres (290 miles) southeast of Kyiv.
Byrne said the family that the two men had been trying to evacuate later were interrogated by Russian forces, who asked them about the "British spies." Bryne said the family later escaped to Poland.
Byrne identified the men as Paul Urey and Dylan Healy. He said they had been operating on their own in the war zone and hadn't been associated with any aid group.
The British Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia hasn't acknowledged taking the men.
------
STOCKHOLM - The Swedish capital will rename part of a park near the Russian Embassy to Fria Ukrainas plats (Swedish for Free Ukraine Square) to show "Stockholm's solidarity with the Ukrainian people," the mayor said Friday.
Stockholm's planning department has decided to rename part of Mariebergspark, with the Stockholm mayor Anna Konig Jerlmyr calling it on Facebook "an important mark against the actions of the Russian regime."
Several European cities have renamed streets. One of the first was Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where a quiet alley where the Russian Embassy in the Lithuanian capital is located, changed its name to "Heroes of Ukraine street" in March.
------
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A 25-year-old Dane was allegedly killed in Mykolajiv on April 26 while fighting with the International Legion Ukraine, a unit for foreigners who want to join the fight against Russia, according to Danish broadcaster TV2. The man's name was not given.
In a statement to Danish media, the Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen said it could not confirm the report and was in contact with Ukrainian authorities.
"It may therefore take time before the details are clarified" because the war creates "extremely difficult conditions," the statement read.
The Jyllands-Posten daily, one of Denmark's largest newspapers, said up to 100 Danes have travelled to Ukraine to fight Russia, citing Ukraine's Embassy in Denmark.
------
LVIV, Ukraine -- The British Defence Ministry says Russia's focus in its war on Ukraine remains the Donbas region.
In an update Friday, the British military said heavy fighting had been seen around Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. The British said they believe Russia is trying to attempt an advance south from Izium toward Slovyansk.
The British military said in a tweet: "Due to strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost to Russian forces."
The British military has been offering daily public reports on the fighting since the start of the war in February.
------
KYIV, Ukraine -- Russia pounded targets from practically one end of Ukraine to the other Thursday, including Kyiv, bombarding the city while the head of the United Nations was visiting in the boldest attack on the capital since Moscow's forces retreated weeks ago.
Ukrainian emergency services said 10 people were wounded when a Russian missile hit a 25-storey apartment building in Kyiv on Thursday evening and set off a fire, which partially destroyed the first and second floors.
The bombardment came barely an hour after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a news conference with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said Ukraine has become "an epicentre of unbearable heartache and pain."
A spokesperson said Guterres and his team were safe.
Meanwhile, explosions were reported across the country -- in Polonne in the west, Chernihiv near the border with Belarus, and Fastiv, a large railway hub southwest of the capital.
The mayor of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, said rockets were intercepted by air defences.
------
KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had "very substantive and warm talks" on energy and defence cooperation with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov during his visit to Kyiv on Thursday.
Zelenskyy said they agreed that damaged Ukrainian military equipment could be repaired at Bulgarian plants and then sent back to Ukraine.
"Another issue we agreed on was the supply of Ukrainian electricity to Bulgaria and the joint use of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline" to diversify energy supplies in the region," Zelenskyy said late Thursday in his nightly video address to the nation.
Russia this week cut off natural gas supplies to Bulgaria and also to Poland, two NATO members which have been among the strongest European supporters of Ukraine in the war.
Although Bulgaria gets over 90% of its gas from Russia, the cutoff does not immediately put the country in dire trouble because of other potential suppliers. The Trans-Balkan gas pipeline runs from Greece through Bulgaria and Romania to Ukraine.
----
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- An 11-year-old Ukrainian boy was one of at least three people wounded in what emergency officials are calling the first Russian strike in a residential area of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia since Russia's invasion began.
The city has been a crucial waypoint for tens of thousands of people fleeing the besieged southern port of Mariupol.
The rocket strike came Thursday as parts of southern Ukraine prepared for a further onslaught by Russian forces who seek to strip the country of its coastline.
Residents said at least eight homes in the modest neighbourhood were damaged or destroyed.
Glass shards cut the boy's right leg to the bone. The injured boy's father, Vadym Vodostoyev, said "it just takes one second and you're left with nothing."
----
KYIV, Ukraine -- Russia struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday evening.
At least one person was killed and several were injured, including some who were trapped beneath the rubble, according to rescue officials. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Shevchenkivskyi district in the northwestern part of the city was hit twice, causing fires in at least two high-rise buildings.
The explosions, which sent plumes of black smoke into the air, came just shortly after the two leaders held a press conference in which Guterres condemned the atrocities committed in towns like Bucha, where evidence of mass killings of civilians was found after Russia retreated. Authorities said the UN chief and his team were safe.
Appearing to be one of boldest attacks on Kyiv since Russian forces retreated from around the capital weeks ago, the explosions came as residents have been increasingly returning to the city. Cafes and other businesses have reopened, and a growing number of people have been out and enjoying the spring weather.
___
Get in touch
Do you have any questions about the attack on Ukraine? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.
- Please include your name, location, and contact information if you are willing to speak to a journalist with 麻豆影视.
- Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.
