Austin, Blinken expected to make Easter visit
A French priest is investigating alleged, “horrific” Russian war crimes in the southern Ukraine city of Mariupol and and warns that result could show worse brutality than what was discovered in the town of Bucha.
“Every Ukrainian is now a witness to the horrific crimes of the Russian Federation,” Father Patrick Desbois says on the website of his organization, Yahad-In Unum. “If you have witnessed Russian troops shelling a peaceful neighborhood or destroying civilian infrastructure, your testimony will be very helpful in the investigation.”
Desbois, who promises anonymity, is known for his investigations of the mass shootings in Eastern European countries – including Ukraine – occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. He told The Washington Post he believes Mariupola “will be worse than Bucha,” where hundreds of residents were apparently massacred during Russia’s assault on and occupation of the city.
Desbois told the Washington Post he does not believe there is enough evidence yet to label Russian behavior as “genocide,” as President Biden has said.
“Sadly, it will depend on what happens next,” he told The Post.
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Latest developments:
►Top officials from the Biden administration are set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday in the highest-ranking visit to Ukraine by a U.S. delegation since Russia began its invasion.
►Speaking in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis lamented the “barbarity” of the war. “It is sad that these days, which are the holiest and most solemn for all Christians, we hear the deadly noise of weapons rather than the sound of bells announcing the Resurrection,” the pope said. “It is sad that arms are taking the place of words.”
►The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said it is “extremely concerned” that several mission members are being held in eastern Ukraine. The Vienna-based agency said it is using “all available channels to facilitate their release” but did not specify the number of people being held or who was holding them.
►Russian missile and artillery troops hit 423 targets in Ukraine overnight as part of the special military operation, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said Sunday. He said 26 Ukrainian command posts, 367 “places of the amassment of manpower and military equipment” and 25 gun lines were hit.
Ukraine celebrates Easter hoping ‘our sunrise will come soon’
Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday with prayers for those fighting on the front lines in the Donbas region and others trapped in cities such as Mariupol. But Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians not to let anger at the war overwhelm them.
“All of us believe our sunrise will come soon,” he said.
The Eastern Orthodox church follows the Julian calendar, first proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, rather than the Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholic Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. This means the holiday typically falls later than Easter Sunday in Western Christian tradition.The deputy commander of the nationalist Azov Regiment, which has been battling separatists in the Donbas since 2014, recorded a video address chastising the Russian military for failing to observe the holy day.
“The enemy continues to drop air bombs, ship artillery fires, guns are fired,” Captain Sviatoslav Palamar said.
Mariupol ‘almost wiped out’ but Ukraine military hanging on
The southern Ukraine city of Mariupol is “almost wiped out,” but a top adviser to Zelenskyy denied Sunday that Russia controls the beleaguered city.
Igor Zhovkva told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that weapons delivered by the U.S. and its allies so far have been what the country needs to fight Russia, but it now also needs weapons to defend its skies. Noting NATO has declined to imposed a “no-fly” zone over the country, Zhovkva said Ukraine needs anti-missile systems and anti-aircraft systems “because daily and nightly Ukraine cities are bombarded by the cruise missiles.”
Zhovkva denied the Russian claim that it controls the entire city, now believed to be home to about 100,000 remaining civilians. But he said the Russians control part of it.
“Ukrainian armed forces are still in town,” he said. “They are concentrated now mainly on the Azovstal steel plant. And they are concentrated there together with the civilians. And many of the Ukrainian soldiers are wounded.”
He criticized the U.N. secretary general’s request to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, saying he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the Ukrainian government
“This is not a good idea to travel to Moscow. We do not understand his intention to travel to Moscow and to talk to President Putin.”
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