Four cargo ships loaded with grain set sail from the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk and Odessa on Sunday. After the bombings near the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant on Friday, the IAEA director expressed concern and called on the warring parties to “extreme restraint”.
10:50 p.m.: American actress Jessica Chastain meets President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In an iconic image, American actress Jessica Chastain traveled to Kyiv, where she met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, who thanked her for her “support”.
2.52pm: Amnesty “regrets the pain” caused by its report but stands by its conclusions
“Amnesty International deeply regrets the grief and anger caused by our press release on the Ukrainian army’s combat tactics,” Amnesty International wrote in an email to Portal. A report published on Thursday accusing the Ukrainian authorities of endangering civilians had angered the Ukrainian president and led to the resignation of the director of the NGO antenna in Kyiv.
“Amnesty International’s priority in this conflict, as in any conflict, is to ensure the protection of civilians. Indeed, this is the sole purpose of publishing this latest report. While we fully stand by our conclusions, we regret the pain caused,” continues the NGO.
2:19 p.m .: Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for more determination in the face of Russian “nuclear terror”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called on the international community to react more strongly to Russian “nuclear terror” after the bomb attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine.
During a telephone conversation with EU Council President Charles Michel, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry and fuel, the Ukrainian head of state wrote on Twitter.
2:05 p.m .: Russian occupation authorities accuse Kyiv of another attack on the Zaporizhia power plant
The Russian occupation administration announced on Sunday that the Ukrainian army damaged administrative buildings during a strike at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the target of the fire that Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday “the Ukrainian army carried out a strike with a cluster bomb fired from an Ouragan multiple rocket launcher,” said the occupation authorities of the city of Energodar, where the power plant is located in southern Ukraine. “The shrapnel and rocket engine fell 400 meters from a working reactor,” said the source, quoted by Russian public news agency Tass, adding that this strike “damaged” administrative buildings and “a spent nuclear fuel storage facility.” met. These claims could not be independently verified.
1:49 p.m.: Four ships loaded with grain leave Ukrainian ports
Four ships loaded with grain left Ukraine’s Black Sea ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk on Sunday, authorities said. “The second convoy with Ukrainian supplies has just departed from the ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk: three ships from Chornomorsk and another from Odessa,” the Ministry of Infrastructure said on Telegram.
According to him, the four ships are the Mustafa Necati, the Star Helena, the Glory and the Riva Wind with “about 170,000 tons of agricultural goods” on board.
1:06 p.m .: Pope sees “signs of hope” in resuming grain exports
Pope Francis hailed the resumption of maritime grain exports from Ukraine as a “sign of hope” and saw it as evidence that “dialogue is possible” to end the war.
“I would like to welcome with satisfaction the departure of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports. This step shows that it is possible to have a dialogue and achieve concrete results that will benefit everyone,” the Pope told the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square gathered in Rome, at the end of the traditional Angelus prayer.
“This event is also a sign of hope and I sincerely hope that along this path it will be possible to end the fighting and achieve a just and lasting peace,” he said.
12.54 p.m .: One injured person at the Zaporijjia power plant
According to the Ukrainian energy company Energoatom, a worker was injured in new bomb attacks by Russian forces on the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe, on Saturday evening.
Energoatom said via messaging app Telegram that the facility’s storage facility, where 174 containers of spent nuclear fuel are stored outdoors, was hit by rockets.
10.05 a.m .: The Russian Arkady Dvorkovitch re-elected as head of the International Chess Federation
Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected President of the International Chess Federation (Fide) after a Ukrainian rival claimed his position was untenable because of the war.
In India, a total of 157 out of 179 national chess federations voted for Arkady Dvorkovitch, Fide electoral commission chairman Roberto Rivello announced.
The Russian faced the Ukrainian grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets, who received only 16 votes. Five delegates abstained and one vote was declared invalid.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed “excellent news” and a “very significant victory”.
Many Russian officials have been subject to sanctions since February’s invasion of Ukraine. But Arkady Dvorkovich, 50, who served as deputy prime minister under President Vladimir Putin from 2012 until his election as Fide president in 2018, was able to retain his presidency.
8:20 a.m.: Russian occupation officer dies after attack
An official of the Russian occupation administration in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region has succumbed to his injuries after an attack, Moscow-appointed local authorities said. “Vitali Goura, deputy head of the Nova Kakhovka administration in charge of municipal services, died from his injuries,” local official Katerina Goubareva said on Saturday evening, relayed by that administration by telegram.
This executive was seriously injured after an “attack” at his home on Saturday morning and suffered multiple gunshot wounds, said an anonymous source from that administration, quoted by the TASS agency.
The village of Nova Kakhovka on the Dnieper and under Russian control is about 80 km east of the city of Kherson.
In recent months, several Russian-appointed officials have come under attack in areas they have captured in Ukraine.
7:50 am: IAEA director condemns bombings near Zaporizhia power plant
The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has condemned Friday’s bombings near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
“I am deeply concerned by yesterday’s bombings near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which underscore the extremely real risk of a nuclear catastrophe threatening public health and the environment in Ukraine and elsewhere,” Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
He also called on the parties to the conflict to exercise “maximum restraint” around the plant.
01:12 Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, (Ukraine), April 27, 2022. © Ed Jones, Afp
7.30 a.m.: A cargo ship arrived in the port of Chornomorsk on Saturday
A cargo ship arrived at Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Chornomorsk (south) on Saturday to load grain for the first time since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities said.
“Today, for the first time since the Russian invasion, the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier ‘Fulmar S’ arrived for loading at the port of Chornomorsk,” Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook, thanking the United Nations and Turkey for their help the establishment of this “grain corridor” in the Black Sea, “which has been put into operation at the entrance and exit of Ukrainian ports”.
7 a.m.: Five new freighters loaded with grain leave Ukraine
Five grain-loaded cargo ships will set sail from Ukraine’s ports of Chornomorsk and Odessa to resume grain exports, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), which oversees the operations, said Saturday night.
In total, these boats are transporting more than 161,000 tons of corn and food products to Turkey, China and Italy, which will track their voyage to Istanbul, where they will be inspected before boarding the Bosphorus offshore, according to CCC.
With Portal and AFP