Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned his country “doesn’t have time to wait” while pushing for an oil embargo about Russia in his last national address. He also said he is obliged to press for peace despite Russian attacks on civilians that have stunned the world, and reiterated its plea for countries to send more arms ahead of an expected surge in fighting in the country’s east.
Zelenskyy said his country was ready for a tough fight with Russian troops in the east of the country. “It’s going to be a tough fight; we believe in this fight and our victory. We are ready to fight and seek diplomatic ways to end this war at the same time.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised a major new infusion of British arms and financial aid during a surprise trip to Kyiv on Saturday. Johnson said the UK and its partners and allies would provide support so “Ukraine is never attacked again”. Britain has confirmed it will send 120 armored vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems.
Johnson praised Zelenskyi’s “determined leadership and invincible heroism“. “Putin’s monstrous goals are being thwarted,” Johnson said. The call of the Russian President, Wladimir Putinand his government are “permanently polluted” by war crimes against civilians in Ukraine, he added.
Russia’s withdrawal from northern Ukraine has ended Evidence of “disproportionate attacks” on civilians, mass graves, use of hostages as human shields, according to the latest British intelligence report. The report also claimed that Russian forces continue to use unconventional explosive devices (IEDs) to inflict casualties, lower Ukrainian morale and restrict freedom of movement.
According to the Donetsk governor, five people have been killed in a shelling in eastern Ukraine. Four were reportedly killed in the town of Vugledar and one in the town of Novomikhaylovka.
In the city of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, rescue teams were sifting through the rubble of homes destroyed in Russian bombing raids, looking for missing people. Heavy Russian bombardment has destroyed residential buildings and Ukrainian authorities are trying to search, clean up and hopefully mount some rescue efforts.
Ukraine held a prisoner swap with Russia on Saturday. the third such exchange since the start of the war, in which 12 soldiers were confirmed to be coming home, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said, Iryna Vereshchukwrote on the internet.
All in all 4,553 people were evacuated through humanitarian corridors from Ukrainian cities on Saturday, fewer than the 6,665 who fled on Friday, Vereshchuk said. Ten humanitarian corridors had been agreed on Saturday to evacuate people from contested areas across the country.
The European Commission pledges €1 billion to help Ukraine and countries hosting refugees fleeing the war after the invasion of Russia, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Czech Republic has supplied tanks, multiple rocket launchers, howitzers and armored personnel carriers to Ukraine among military supplies that have reached hundreds of millions of dollars and are continuing, two Czech defense sources told Reuters.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met Zelenskyi earlier on Saturday after a visit to the city of Bucha, northwest Kyiv, where mass graves among civilians and street killings by Russian forces were discovered last week.
Russia has reorganized the conduct of its combat operations in Ukraine. The appointment of a new general with extensive experience in Russian operations in Syria, according to a Western official. The commander of Russia’s Southern Military District, General Alexander Dvornikov, is now leading the invasion, the source told the BBC, adding: “We would expect overall command and control to improve.”