Russia-Ukraine live news: Zelenskyy says situation ‘difficult’ | Russia-Ukraine war
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says conditions in Kharkiv and Donbas are difficult and Ukraine is in “the fight for our lives”.
- An operation to evacuate civilians trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant has stalled.
- Mayor of Mariupol stresses the situation inside the plant is “dire”, with people running out of food and water.
- Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told Chinese state media that in peace talks with Ukraine, Russia has called for sanctions to be lifted.
Here are the latest updates:
Russia forced to merge, redeploy depleted units: UK
Britain says Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in northeast Ukraine.
“Shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its combat mass, despite localised improvements,” the British military said in a post on Twitter.
“Russia hopes to rectify issues that have previously constrained its invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines and simplifying command and control,” the military said
Kharkiv hit by sustained Russian shelling
Kharkiv’s regional military administration says the city has been hit by multiple Russian attacks.
One person was killed and five were injured “as a result of enemy artillery and mortar strikes”, Kharkiv’s regional military administration said on its Telegram account on Saturday.
The city is the second biggest in Ukraine.
Russia wants sanctions lifted as part of peace talks
A little more detail from Lavrov’s interview with Xinhua.
He told the Chinese state media agency that a Russian demand for the removal of sanctions was part of its peace negotiations with Ukraine. He described the talks, which are taking place on video link, as “difficult”.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has told Polish journalists that the chance of the talks ending was “high” because of Russia’s “playbook on murdering people,” the Interfax news agency said.
Ukraine cracks down on anyone suspected of ‘collaboration’
Ukrainian authorities are cracking down on anyone suspected of aiding Russia and its forces.
Offenders face up to 15 years in prison for acts of collaborating with the invaders or showing public support for them under new laws adopted by Ukraine’s parliament after the Russian invasion.
A “registry of collaborators” is being compiled and will be released to the public, Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s Security Council, was quoted as saying in a report by The Associated Press news agency. He would not say how many people had been targeted nationwide.
Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigations has said more than 200 criminal cases on collaboration have been opened, while Zelenskyy has also stripped two security service generals of their rank over alleged collaboration, accusing them of treason.
Lavrov dismisses need for UN help on humanitarian corridors
The Russian foreign minister appears to have dismissed the need for the United Nations to help secure humanitarian corridors out of Ukraine’s besieged cities.
As an interviewer at Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV tried to ask Lavrov about UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s call for humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of civilians, Lavrov cut him off.
“There is no need. I know, I know,” Lavrov said, appearing irritated. “There is no need for anybody to provide help to open humanitarian corridors.”
Successive efforts to help civilians escape the devastated southern port city of Mariupol have failed.
Australian Olympic Committee backs humanitarian visas
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has said it will support Ukrainian athletes seeking to resettle in Australia on humanitarian grounds, according to the Reuters news agency.
Outgoing AOC President John Coates told the committee’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Saturday that it was “sad” young Ukrainian athletes were swapping sports equipment to take up arms against Russia.
“Today I announced that the AOC executive has by circular resolution last week, determined that the AOC will support humanitarian visa applications by Ukrainian athletes and will seek the assistance of you, our member sports, in their settlement requirements,” Coates said.
More than one million people evacuated into Russia since invasion: Lavrov
Lavrov says some 1.02 million people have been evacuated into Russia since Moscow invaded…
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